Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Attendance at School Board Meetings

Question: How many school board meetings have you attended in the past two years?
Rachel Chumney: I have attended about three or four board meetings, most of which have been attended since I have filed for office. I have to say I don't think I have been missing much. The board meetings are not very interesting.
A runoff election for Place 4 on the Richardson ISD Board of Trustees will happen on June 15 (early voting June 3-11 at Richardson Civic Center). The runoff is between incumbent Lanet Greenhaw and Rachel Chumney. I endorsed Lanet Greenhaw in the joint election on May 11. I endorse her again in the runoff. The question above is one reason why.

If you think that someone who doesn't think school board meetings are interesting, who didn't even attend any school board meetings before deciding to run for school board herself, if you think such a person might not be a good fit for school board trustee, then you might want to look beyond Rachel Chumney for a better candidate.

Look, Rachel Chumney is a nice enough person. She's just not qualified for school board. Don't rely just on the quote I found telling. Listen to Chumney's whole answer (starting 25:57). Then, compare with Lanet Greenhaw's answer (starting 27:15). No contest. Vote for Greenhaw.


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1 comment:

Kevin Chumney said...

Mark: Have you ever gone to one of these meetings? Don’t bother, Rachel is exactly right – nothing happens. They are completely staged and scripted. No dialog, no debate, no engagement with parents. Every vote is unanimous. That’s not an exaggeration – every vote. Other than perhaps Stalin-era politburo meetings, what governing body acts in this manner? Is this the hallmark of a truly effective board, digging deep into the issues for the betterment of our schools, or is it indicative of stagnant complacency? Rachel is exactly what is needed on the board.
Rachel may not have attended the 300 plus meetings her opponent has during the last 15 years, but she has looked at all of the minutes and resolutions for those meetings. There is very little of interest, other than the numerous votes to increase property taxes and the debt burden of taxpayers. Her opponent states publicly in your video that she will protect the homestead exemption. Unfortunately, that doesn't match up with the facts. She voted to reduce the exemption. The Board also recently put out a survey that supposedly indicates two-thirds of RISD taxpayers support further reductions in the exemption and additional tax increases. That's obviously a pre-curser to another tax grab coming our way soon despite the opponent's statements to the contrary.