Lawson

The following comments and views are my own and not necessarily those of the Alpena Public School Board of Education or my colleagues.

Dear concerned citizens,

If you’ve been reading the news and are wondering what is going on with your school board, let me shed some light. There’s a simple reason all this is happening. Six years ago, I ran for the APS Board of Education and was elected. I ran on a simple premise: that there was a huge part of the community that was unrepresented and I thought we should change that. But many people weren’t happy that these people who had formerly been shut out of the process were suddenly quite vocally represented. In fact, the board president at the time tried to convince us that we didn’t have to represent anyone because we are trustees. Well, isn’t that the whole point of being elected? In the recent election, more people committed to community representation were added to the board, and then they elected me board president, triggering recent events.

Before I continue, I’d like to state that, regarding my rules for public comment, the behavior of some people in our board meetings was atrocious and they were trying to interrupt other people who were speaking with whom they didn’t agree. So, I adopted rules to improve behavior. I did it in such a way that they themselves would go research what they can and can’t do and now it works very well. I didn’t mean to make anyone obsessed with me but apparently, I did.

One of the biggest problems we have is that the Left doesn’t see their hyper-partisan initiatives as political or biased. So, I’ll say it again and yes, this has been central to my campaigns from the beginning: which is more political and biased? To push a new, experimental and controversial agenda on our students, or to resist that agenda and propose alternatives more suited to our community? How you answer that question may determine how you respond to the recall effort and how you vote this year.

I’ve often been accused of bringing politics into the schools. I believe the opposite is true. My goal is neutrality: an environment free from social experiments and charged rhetoric. If you look back through our public comment, you’ll find that the biggest opposition we’ve had is when we considered removing something, not putting it in. People have been running for school boards for decades now with unspoken biases, agendas and political affiliations. A couple election cycles ago, I invited board members who were supportive of transgender ideology and rules to campaign on that. I didn’t hear anything over the sound of the crickets.

Consider this.

Before I was elected, things happened in the schools you didn’t know about. It took electing me to get in there and hound the board about it until it was finally revealed that boys had been allowed into the girls’ bathrooms administratively by the previous superintendent with no public announcement to inform the community that it had been done.

My detractors like to remind me that I’m supposed to represent everyone in the community, even those with whom I disagree. Never mind that this was definitely not the standard when I joined the board, I absolutely accept this challenge, and I’ve disappointed some of my supporters by not moving fast enough on certain issues.

We now have a board with very diverse perspectives and experience. But they also have diametrically opposed views, as is also true among our administration and employees. But go watch the recordings, especially from the last few months, and you will see a group of people who are working well together, are respectful to one another and are productive. Everyone is contributing and has a voice. I’m proud of that, and I will keep doing this job for the community if that is its will.

Again, I invite you to attend or watch our meetings online. What you will see is a strong board, not rubber-stamping anything, but working respectfully and productively with the superintendent to improve our students’ outcomes and conditions. This new groove had a few hiccups at first, but it’s working well now. The board and superintendent have a good relationship, and while we certainly value and depend on his leadership, we are also contributing more, as a board setting policy and representing the community should. I believe this dynamic will serve the district and community well as we move forward together, planning responsibly for the future, setting a purposeful strategic plan and supporting staff in the implementation of effective tools for the betterment of our students’ learning outcomes.