This commentary was submitted as a letter to the editor by Douglas County school board member Justin G. Williams.
On Tuesday evening, the Douglas County School Board of Education hosted a regular board meeting in conjunction with a community engagement forum at Sierra Middle School. In an article entitled “Calling for change in Douglas County,” reporter Nancy Mitchell recounted the events of the evening. Unfortunately, Ms. Mitchell quoted me in her article and failed to explain my remarks. Let me put them in context.
The community engagement forum is an opportunity for community members, parents, and staff to voice their opinions and questions directly to the Board. The Tuesday meeting was dominated by a raucous crowd concerned about the budget. We heard questions and declarations ranging from “Why do we hate teachers?” to “Why do we want to destroy education?” and “Why are we trying to undermine our educators?”
It is clear that a great deal of misinformation and fear has been spread to teachers across the district. In fact, some audience members went so far as to insinuate that the Board wants to cut the budget more than is required. This is outrageous and irresponsible. The sole purpose of this behavior is to drive a wedge between staff and the Board. One audience member spoke during public comment and demanded that the Board guarantee that no more cuts will happen. This is simply impossible to guarantee.
The Governor and the Legislature set the budget for our District. As a Board, we work closely with the Administration to put as many of those dollars as possible into the classroom. In my comments Tuesday evening, I tried to emphasize that budget cuts are not the fault of the Board of Education or the District Administration. Budget cuts are a function of the economy.
I would like the community and our teachers to know that I support you and the Board of Education supports you. Budget cuts are always hard. Our school district, just like the State, is required to balance to budget. We have no choice but to make budget cuts and we are doing everything we can to realize efficiencies and avoid impacts to the classroom. We want every dollar possible to benefit our students and our classrooms.
I am calling on our teachers, our parents and our community to ask questions about the budget if you have concerns. Please do not listen to the rumors. The education of our children is too important.
Sincerely,
Justin G. Williams
Douglas County Board of Education
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