I’ve written various posts about the Avery Doninger case. I’ve focused on Avery’s role. I’ve talked about the role of the Principal and Superintendent. I’ve touched upon the role of the board of education, but haven’t really talked much about our role in this.

The school board is elected by us. We have a responsibility to be involved in our schools. As parents, we need to be in our schools advocating for our children. As business people we need to be in our schools advocating for our future employees. As citizens, we need to be involved in the electoral process and holding the officials we elect accountable.

When I first started covering the Doninger case, I spoke with my father-in-law about it. He is a retired Special Agent for the U.S. Treasury Department. In 2002, he served as a member of the Tri-Town Amity Investigation Committee, which investigated the operating deficit of the Amity Regional School District for the fiscal years ending June30, 2000 and June 30, 2001.

In the cover letter to their report, they said,

Before the detail is discussed, it is critical to understand that the primary cause of the deficit is a culture which has been years in the making and, in fact, continues to this day. This culture is one of a lack of accountability that emanates from the Amity Board of Education

(Emphasis added)

In a few weeks, voters across the state will go to the polls to elect board of education members. Are you asking serious questions about not only how much money your local school board will spend, but also, how wisely will it spend it? What will your local school district be doing for preparing students for twenty first century careers where so much takes place online? Will it enact draconian measures to thwart students’ communications online, or will it work with students to help them become stronger advocates both online and offline?