Tail Wagging the Dog

It seems like the Moore County Board of Education has gone from bad to worse. When superintendent Susan Purser was here the stories of scarce budgets and teary pleas from overhyped PTA moms abounded. Of course our local rag never reported the fact that the county commissioners fully funded their requests. They never reported that instead of investing in the class room Dr. Purser hired more bureaucrats who got close to six figure salaries and vehicles and other waste and inefficiency. 

The arrival of new superintendent Aaron Spence could have been a promising reset to the Board. That is all gone now. Aaron Spence and Mike Griffin are on a spending spree the likes of which are unparalleled in our county. They are spending millions of dollars on lap tops and electronic smart boards. They botched the Academy Heights School closing and they also have continued to beat the drums of higher taxes and higher spending. They are spending money on training the associate superintendents to become superintendents. Translation, we the taxpayers are subsidizing the training of people who will leave and work somewhere else. Many of the bureaucrats and other employees get excessive benefits like vehicle pay. 

They have safety and emergency plans drawn up by their technology office who has no public safety experience and yet they will be coming to the board of commissioners for more money for their school police force. The leadership of our schools are in the hands of people who want to raise our taxes and spend more and more with no accountability or oversight. Now the rumors are floating around that they want yet another bond issue and potentially more taxes to pay for it. 

We need our school board to start asking some questions. What kind of long term plan do we have? Where is there waste and inefficiency? What bureaucratic positions can be cut? Don't our plans for emergencies need to be in consultation with the sheriff's office and public safety professionals? We need the board to stop being "yes" people and actually be in charge. Aaron Spence and Mike Griffin work for the board not the other way around. 

I hope the board will wake up and realize that if they keep being passive, Aaron Spence will lead our local education system into more debt, more waste, and inferior results. You and your children deserve better. Come on School Board. Wake up and do your job. Talk about the tail wagging the dog. In 2014 there are four seats up for election. Sounds like there is a need for new management.