By Mike Tanghe
Members of the Board and Superintendent Haley:
To say I am disappointed in your failure to lead would be paying you too high a compliment.
For nine months, you have stumbled, backtracked and failed to develop and follow through on a coherent plan that would get our kids back on campus.
Where are we now?
Board members backtracking votes because they are concerned about being “uninvited to events?”
The teachers union’s tail wagging the dog by threatening to sue because they don’t like a plan? And the board acquiescing to them?
Dr. Wilma Wooten’s letter to the board didn’t say you couldn’t open. It cautioned that opening required explaining in detail the district’s plan to meet the state and county requirements.
You should do as others have done and provide this plan to the county and stand by it!!
The board’s own attorney said the district met the definition of opening. Why spend taxpayer dollars for an attorney if you don’t follow their guidance?
My job is to work as a risk manager for businesses. I start my meetings with the ice breaker of stating the safest way to operate is to turn off all the lights, lock the doors, unplug all the computers & phones, and curl up in a fetal position in the middle of the darkened room.
This will greatly reduce risk, but clearly, my clients would fail.
After we laugh at the ridiculousness of this “plan,” we then discuss risks they face and create real plans and processes to lessen the prospect, but not eliminate, those risks.
This allows for the greatest chance of success.
I’m gutted that the board’s latest decision has again forced our kids to continue to be curled up in their darkened rooms.
This deepens the hole the board has placed them in as compared to the open private and public schools that have had the courage to create and enact plans that bring the kids back on campus.
If your goal is to create a plan that pleases 100% of all constituents and assures 100% elimination of COVID-19 transmission, then I would suggest you resign your board seat immediately.
Kids belong in school on campus. You’ve had nine months to figure out how to make this happen.
Sadly, I have zero confidence this will happen until fall 2021 when the virus is behind us and we are then trying to reverse the mental health and social burdens due to 18 months of unnecessary solitary confinement.
Michael Allman was the only member yesterday who deserves thanks for attempting to lead.
For the rest, lessons in creating a feasible plan, and then having the courage and leadership to enact the plan are sorely lacking.
Mike Tanghe
Del Mar
