Regarding our school district and Superintendent Dr. Moore, I’d like to explain a few things about the past 18 months of Board and District actions. Four issues were debated during that time and some discussions were contentious. The first was the plan to hire a highly paid Senior Officer for Diversity, Equity Inclusion. Next was the selection of new English Language Arts curriculum packages. Third were the pornographic library books parents asked to be removed and last was the selection of new Math curriculum packages.
The processes to review the new ELA and Math packages from national publishers was managed by the Asst. Superintendent and both resulted in the committee’s selections being biased and age inappropriate. The Math packages had blatant CRT references and political biases. The K-5th ELA curriculum was heavily laced with CRT and LBGTQ materials going so far as to suggest kindergarteners should discuss police relations and read LBGTQ books. Our retired teachers also felt the instructional system to teach reading was faulty.
Although many of us asked that the review system of the challenged library books involve parents and residents as required by statute, the Assist. Superintendent devised a system that was conducted behind closed doors. There was never any explanation why the review committee found 5 books totally unacceptable for our libraries while the vast majority were returned to the shelves.
In all three cases, the Superintendent and 4 board members sided with the Asst. Superintendent’s processes and selections. A group of concerned citizens, with the help of the Florida Department of Education, fought and were successful in getting the district’s curriculum selections changed to better packages. The Superintendent and some board members argued for the hiring of the DEI senior position but in the end the position wasn’t filled.
Over that same 18 months, the FL legislature was passing laws that supported our positions on the curriculums and library books. Now, the same library books will have to all be reviewed again in the Sunshine of open, community-involved review committees. I might add, during a school board meeting discussion on the subject, the Assist. Superintendent called one of the parents requesting the book removals a liar.
It’s my belief that had the community and parents been listened to and the selection processes handled differently, we would not have had all of the angst and drama we’ve had. We’re pleased that in most cases our preferences have won the day and with the library books, they still may be removed from the shelves.
Let’s be clear, the two candidates we support – Jackie Rosario and Thomas Kenny – have never said anything about replacing Dr. Moore. Ms. Rosario has been pilloried unmercifully by some progressives and local media because she did not always agree with Dr. Moore or her colleagues on the board. Regardless of the often 4 – 1 vote, in the end, we will have better curriculums, more appropriate books in our libraries and a better-quality education for all students.
While we’re on the subject of how to handle employees, Dr. Moore brought the Asst. Superintendent to our district and was his supervisor. If the buck stops at the top guy’s desk, then the actions of the Asst. Superintendent are directly related to Dr. Moore’s performance. Fortunately, for all of us, the Asst. Superintendent is no longer with the district. Maybe now we can all get back to a better quality of discourse and outcomes to benefit all students.
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