Oconee County Board of Education reneges on Strickland invitation
There is something rotten in Watkinsville, and the stink is coming out of the Oconee County Board of Education office on Third Street. Tonight they decided to keep someone off their ruling educational group because this person belongs to a different political party from those is command.
Oconee County resident and previously qualified Democratic candidate Carter Strickland was denied an opportunity to replace recently resigned Tom Breedlove on the Board of Education by the very same people who set up the criteria for him to be in consideration for it in the first place. The BOE sent the signal to the children in school that it is OK to change the rules halfway through the process, especially if there is a voice of dissent from the other party.
The Board of Education set itself up for scrutiny from the Department of Justice for ignoring its own previously set standards in direct opposition to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and 1975. After setting up a standard of allowing the four previously qualified candidates to be the only ones to be initially considered, the Board decided that Carter Strickland was not enough of a team player to be included in the final selection.
This continues a series of embarrassing gaffes, poor timing and mistakes by this Board of Education, most recently beginning with the knowledge of an affair going on between the softball coach and a former player going into stalker territory, then paying a pair of Superintendents at the same time, moving on to voting to give themselves a raise and now no pay at all, continuing on with a debacle at North Oconee in removing the principal, does anyone else need any more evidence of their incompetence and lack of leadership?
This Board of Education has besmirched what was once a point of pride in the excellent educational systems and converted it into a shameful source of ridicule and scorn. We can and should do much better for our children. I would suggest the first place would be voting for Mark Thomas over Mack Guest in the Republican primary.
Oconee County resident and previously qualified Democratic candidate Carter Strickland was denied an opportunity to replace recently resigned Tom Breedlove on the Board of Education by the very same people who set up the criteria for him to be in consideration for it in the first place. The BOE sent the signal to the children in school that it is OK to change the rules halfway through the process, especially if there is a voice of dissent from the other party.
The Board of Education set itself up for scrutiny from the Department of Justice for ignoring its own previously set standards in direct opposition to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and 1975. After setting up a standard of allowing the four previously qualified candidates to be the only ones to be initially considered, the Board decided that Carter Strickland was not enough of a team player to be included in the final selection.
This continues a series of embarrassing gaffes, poor timing and mistakes by this Board of Education, most recently beginning with the knowledge of an affair going on between the softball coach and a former player going into stalker territory, then paying a pair of Superintendents at the same time, moving on to voting to give themselves a raise and now no pay at all, continuing on with a debacle at North Oconee in removing the principal, does anyone else need any more evidence of their incompetence and lack of leadership?
This Board of Education has besmirched what was once a point of pride in the excellent educational systems and converted it into a shameful source of ridicule and scorn. We can and should do much better for our children. I would suggest the first place would be voting for Mark Thomas over Mack Guest in the Republican primary.
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