As an active community parent, as well as a product and committed advocate of the public school system, I, like many that live in Westbury, want the very best for the children of this community. So I’m troubled that in the September Board Action meeting, the auditorium was stacked with teachers from around the district. When we went over scores, that have not improved dramatically, it was the usual five to 15 community members, and the same held true for changes in administration; it was scarce teacher attendance at best. For meetings to address the bond and our overcrowding concerns…empty!
But I think I understand why. It was an incendiary letter sent from Christine Corbett, President of the WTA that prompted the teachers to come out in full force. Here are portions of it to you with my commentary.
In part Ms. Corbett feels that the WTA “inherited 3 anti-public school trustees.” What a strange word choice. Inherited is generally used when property is gifted to another person by a will. These are not rare heirlooms, real estate or your grandmother’s vase. These are three duly elected board members who were sworn-in to serve Westbury. They are not an inheritance and she should be ashamed for making such a poor word choice when you should understand the historical significance of that word when it refers to people.
Next she makes the charge that they are “anti-public school.” Again this is hyperbolic and without any basis. Dr. Brown has served on this board before and served well. He wasn’t anti-public school then. Mr. Quintanilla has run before and has made it no secret that he wants nothing more than to provide his valuable insights as a finance professional to the Westbury community. And most especially to serve as a voice for the Hispanic community that had concerns that they weren’t being heard. Ms. Cadet has run before and now as an elected trustee has shared many ideas and visions about improving Westbury. What makes them “anti-public school?” It’s safe to say that the WTA President feels that since they, like two other board members have made the difficult and expensive decision to send their children to private school, that their ability to serve Westbury is somehow compromised. Remember these are not paid positions. They serve at the will of the people. So here are unpaid elected officials doing what they can to improve schools. It’s actually pretty noble that they would want to give of their time and their skills. Yet the WTA President also elected to send her child to private school. A choice she made willingly and I’m sure it was done to serve her child’s needs. Should we assume that she is unable to teach public school kids, let alone lead a union of public school teachers because of her personal choice? And more than that, as an “anti-public school” teacher and WTA President, why should we believe that she is working in the best interests of our Westbury students?
Additionally she has charged the new board members with an accusation of starting a charter school. In her letter she states: “The new members are looking to open a charter school in Westbury.” It is irresponsible and not at all in the best interest of the district to make such an outlandish claim. While I initially thought it was a distraction, it is much more than that. This is a deliberate attempt to smear them, but why? Perhaps they do want more academic rigor, perhaps they treat the tenure process with great thought and want the best for our community. Since when are those bad principles? But more than that, please understand they are elected with that authority and have every right to use it if they believe it is in the school district’s best interest.
“But now they decided to flex their muscle by denying tenure of two teachers.” Since the executive session process is held behind closed doors, how is it that the WTA President is aware of how any particular board member has or will vote? Especially since those votes would be cast in public, if they happen at all. I am deeply troubled by that and the board should get to the bottom of where these leaks are coming from. It should be of great concerns to all that this is occurring. Perhaps our board president can tell us what she plans to do about it?
Finally it is important to take notice of where the WTA’s position truly is. This room has never been filled with this many teachers previous to their contract expiring this past June. We had much more serious issues in this district that would certainly warrant a full room of teachers but now the president has told you why in an explosive letter. As she says in her letter to her constituents: “We worked very hard against it, but the stars were not aligned for us and now we have a mess.” What did she work against? She worked against the community of Westbury that spoke loudly that they want change in this district. Like it or not these new, elected public school board members are here to serve Westbury for the next 3 years. Gone are the days of blaming the kids or the parents for our low scores. This is enough with the excuses and smear campaigns. Let’s finally get back to the business of our district…educating our kids in the best way possible.
—Larry Kirton
