Shame, shame, shame.
Members of the Clarkston Board of Education and key members of school administration need not attend the opening home football game. Their lack of foresight, or because of their inability to see past the noses, has dealt a hurtful blow to about 60 athletes, their families and to a homeboy, trying to give back to the community.
What I am talking about is the recent development between six-sevenths of the board, Superintendent Al Roberts and the seventh member of the school board, Tony Miller.
Prior to garnering the most votes in the last Clarkston School Board election, Tony (as I have called him since he was about five years old) was a coach for the football program.
‘About 10 years ago, my high school coach called me and asked if I wanted to coach,? Tony, a 1991 CHS grad, said. ‘And, I thought that was quite an honor.?
Tony, an engineer for General Motors, has stayed close to his roots, buying a home not too far from where both he and I grew up off of Clarkston Road, near Walters Lake. He likes the community. He likes the schools, the teachers and the coaches. He loves coaching kids.
School administrators everywhere ask for members of the community to become involved with the schools. Tony took that to heart, and when a vacancy opened up on the school board, he ran.
First, he went and talked to somebody he could trust — his old principal from Sashabaw Junior High, Dave Reschke (now assistant superintendent with the schools). Reschke saw no problems and Tony started campaigning.
‘I went door to door. I talked to friends, old coaches and teachers,? Tony said. ‘I worked my butt off, spent my own money and got the most votes. I was the happiest guy in the world. I was able to give back to the community that had given so much to me.?
Then he got dropped for a loss.
The day after the election folks in the school administration told him he couldn’t coach and be a board member at the same time. Something about a possible conflict of interest.
You see, Tony’s vocal about what he sees as a discrepancy within the schools. ‘I publicly said that we have the third highest paid superintendent in the area and the third lowest paid teachers in the area. If I was elected, and I was, I was gonna? work to close that gap — either by lowering the superintendent’s pay, raising teacher pay or a combination of both.?
And, now for the first time since the 1980s, Tony isn’t with the Clarkston Wolves on the sidelines.
What is interesting is this isn’t a unique phenomena in Michigan — there are other districts where coaches are also board members. One coach/board member, Ron Tarrant, is even an assistant superintendent of another school district. If I can find examples of this, why couldn’t Clarkston School Administrators?
In benching his boss, Al Roberts said he’s relying on the state’s Incompatible Offices Act of 1978. I went on line, spent about five minutes and found the latest state Supreme Court ruling dealing with the act (Macomb County Prosecutor versus Murphy). First off, the act is about as clear as three yards and a cloud of dust: nothing in the act is clear. But the supreme court’s opinion is: ‘We conclude that defendant’s positions are not inherently incompatible because only a potential breach of duty . . . That a breach of duty may occur in the future or that a potential conflict exists does not establish incompatible offices.?
So why the big fuss? Why did Tony have to file suit? Why didn’t all folks agree as role models and adults that Tony would abstain from voting on ‘football matters? as is the case in other districts with coaching board members?
Parents and taxpayers should ask themselves, why? And, then ask the board what is really going on? We should applaud and encourage the Tonys of the world, not chop block them at the knees.
There’s trouble in la-la-land, folks. And, while some take controversy as a bad thing, or a problem, I think it can be an opportunity to right a wrong. The board can reinstate Tony as assistant coach and they can tell Roberts and the rest of the administration who’s the boss. Administrators work for the board and the board works for students and parents — not the other way around.
By the way, I have a copy of the supreme court opinion anybody can read/copy.
E-mail the highly motivated Don at: dontrushmedon@aol.com