Letter to the Editor,
I have not kept count, but too many times I have come home from a Board of Education meeting unable to sleep or keep from pacing.How Elizabeth Miller can put up with the demeaning attitude of fellow Board Member Tom Morelli is hard to understand, except that she is a lady.
I grew up with an elderly aunt who would have described Mr. Morelli as a person who uses a multiplicity of words in order to confound and confuse. If someone asks for clarification his response is often rude and is perceived as designed to make others look inferior.
There are times I feel embarrassed for our District. An outside authority should not be invited to present information and then be treated with disrespect or have their motives questioned. Unfortunately this puts a shadow over the entire Board when in fact it is not the entire Board conveying this attitude but only one or two members.
No matter how a budget is explained it is analyzed to the nth degree, and then some. So often decisions are not made or are put off because the Board is split. There are those who trust that our teachers and administration are doing their job to the best of their ability and those who will always think there is a better way. Teachers always strive to find a better way or a new method to reach students, but it seems as if there are Board members who think it is their job to find and dictate the methods our teachers will use. It is sad that some act as if that better way would not be found without their help.
I have had people ask, “Why teach,” as if it were something you do if you have no other option. These people are ignorant of the years of college, stress and dedication which go into the educational field. This is small compared to the time, effort and compassion which make the heart of a teacher. There are many such hearts in our District.
Diane Paine
Grafton