To the editor:
Dear Brandon Community, Board of Education Members, Mr. Miller, and all those involved in the Feb. 11 school board meeting,
First, thank you, Mr. Allar, for being gentlemanly and fair when you allowed me to walk up to the podium to speak without having followed standard meeting protocol. Furthermore, thank you for running a very effective board meeting; clearly, you demonstrated an ability to lead in a fair manner. Second, thank you, Mr. Miller, for being gentlemanly enough to sit there and take the ‘heat? you did Monday night! I don’t know many who would not feel the need to defend themselves and/or make rude gestures. You took a bit of a beating, but what did you expect?
How a leader handles a tough situation is a demonstration of their character. For those involved in this debacle, I’d say they clearly underestimated their audience (internally and externally), and that is a no-no in the business of working with people. The actions taken with Dr. Ferguson were handled poorly! It is too costly today to not be a ‘thinker? and a leader who is able to understand the culture they are placed in, and work effectively within the environment. What did you expect to have happen when you abruptly removed the principal of the only high school in the district, who, by the way, has been at the helm of a blue-ribbon school for a decade or more? Didn’t you realize he was appreciated and respected? Not by all, of course, that is not possible, but by many! Then, you send home that unprofessional letter to parents; what on earth were you thinking? Anyone who read the first and second sentence knew right away that something bad had happened between the two of you, and now it was going to play out as a matter of public record.
I hope that Mr. Miller and all those involved in this situation left the meeting knowing they had just experienced (learned) an incredibly difficult lesson: sometimes our hasty actions result in a lot of regretful situations! As one of the speakers noted so eloquently, we all make mistakes and need to be forgiven. This is true, but oh, how some of our mistakes are so much more painful than others.
Also, thank you, Brandon citizens for demonstrating the utmost professionalism and respect as we gathered in a very emotional and heated situation. Every person who spoke did so passionately and with the necessary level of respect you want to see in a community discussion like we had Monday night. I was grateful to see us come together, even if we were on opposite sides of the discussion, in a professional and civil manner. American men and women have died for our ability to gather like we did, and personally, I feel we all honored their sacrifice simply by how we engaged in the process and handled ourselves. I respect each person in the gymnasium that night.
The education of our children is so important! Remember, whether you like it or not, we are in a global market economy (this is said with all due respect)! Our children must have the necessary skills to compete in this type of economy, and a solid K-12 education is fundamental! Without a strong K-12 education, they are not going to be able to compete for the jobs that move their future forward!! Nothing is more important right now than this, so there is a lot at stake here.
Citizens, let me encourage you to get involved now! Make sure you know that your tax dollars are being spent on leadership that will move Brandon forward in such a way that we remain a solid educational system.
Also, hold these leaders responsible for ‘getting along,? and if they can’t play nice, remove them quickly! All this for the sake of the most important thing: producing the best students possible, so they in turn can go out and become Americans that can compete for jobs!!
This, my friends, is so important. Let’s get it right please! Thank you for taking the time to read my comments.
Kind regards,
Debbie Schummer