We had to leave at around 9:30, so we can't speak to anything that may have happened after that, but we left thinking that the meeting went far better than we had expected walking in. There clearly appears to be a pattern of major mistakes being made, but we do have to say that, given the atmosphere in the Auditorium, things could have very, very easily gotten out of hand. That they didn't was a testament to both the Board Members present and (most of) the audience in attendance.
Yes, it was frustrating to sit through the lengthy explanation and re-explanation of how the evening would proceed. But for the two hours that we were there, the meeting was effective. People were able to have their say and their statements were articulate, cogent and in some cases downright heart-wrenching. The Board responses were basically what was expected.
Last night, a loud and clear message was delivered to the Board. Only time will tell what they choose to do in reaction to that message. If the board takes the attitude that "we've let the people have their say, now we can go on with business as usual" then last night's meeting will have been for naught. We sincerely hope that's not the case.
What did you think of the meeting? Are you satisfied with the Board responses? What should be our community's next steps? Please post a comment below by clicking the "comment" link.
Also, if you, or someone you know, made a statement at the meeting last night and have it in written form, please contact us at editor@ardsleytoday.com if you would like to have it posted to the site. Many of the statements from last night's meeting deserve to be widely distributed and readily archived as a marker to judge our School Board's progress. We would happily post them here for those very reasons.
Comments