It looks like a group of AASD teachers called Appleton Educators United is looking for a candidate or candidates to fill the Board of Education vacancy left by Leah Olson’s resignation.
That’s the bald report, now comes the editorializing….
The purpose of the Board of Education in its own flowery worded Board Operational Goals is to make sure that “school personnel will carry out the policies of the Board with imagination and dedication”. State statute directs them in more straightforward language to “[v]isit and examine the schools of the school district, advise the school teachers and administrative staff regarding the instruction, government and progress of the pupils and exercise general supervision over such schools.”
Additionally, per their very florid Board Operational Goals “[t]he Board is committed to the education of all students as appropriate to the best of their individual abilities; to a constant awareness of the concerns and desires of the whole community regarding the quality and performance of the school system.”
Essentially, the Board’s job is to supervise and direct school staff and administration with the goal of making sure students are receiving a quality education. Their commitment ought to be to the students and then the wider taxpaying community that is providing the funding for the schools.
The goal of Appleton Educators United is, in their own words, to “gather educators who wish to protect public education.”
That goal is not inherently the same as the responsibilities the Board of Education is required to uphold. While the aims and desires of teachers may often align with the best interests of students, that is not always the case, and when conflict arises between the interests of those two groups, the Board should absolutely be holding student needs foremost in priority, something a candidate picked and promoted by teachers would be unlikely to reliably do.
I think it’s highly inappropriate for a teacher group to be seeking out candidates and were their candidate to be appointed, it would create a gigantic conflict of interest.
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