Severna Park High School Students Get a Lesson in Civics and Civility

Two items on the chopping block at a recent School Board meeting were the future of the Citizen's Advisory Committee and  a teacher's job at Severna Park High School.  While board member Debbie Ritchie was stating that anyone can come before the school board at any time to testify - using that as justification for eliminating the CAC -  by the end of the evening she was complaining to all "these grassroots people" for taking up two and a half hours of her time while asking the school board to reconsider keeping Kathy Gabriele at the school. 

Many of Ms. Gabriele's former and current students signed up to testify on behalf of keeping the teacher with the least seniority in the music department.  Some of the students had well prepared statements, reading them to the board members and the Superintendent.  Some just spoke from the heart hoping their voices would be heard. 

All of the students were respectful to the Board and sat quietly in their seats while waiting for their turns at the microphone.   The board members on the other hand chastised the students and their parents by lecturing they should have all been at the County Council hearings on the budget. 

Eugene Peterson delivered two such speeches, I guess believing one was not enough.  According to him that's where the money decisions are made and that's where the begging should have taken place.  Other school board members were clearly just not interested, staring blankly at the students while they spoke.  

The students were told that the position was being cut at the school because of low enrollment in the music department, but then were told there is a huge increase in overall school enrollment thereby necessitating the cut in teachers.   Uh...you 'gotta 'splain that one to me, Lucy.  The kids didn't get it and neither did I. 

Then there was another comment made by board member Debbie Ritchie that "Anne Arundel County doesn't have the willingness to pay the taxes that would allow us to have the money to allow us to pay the teachers."  Must I remind Mrs. Ritchie, the other board members and the Superintendent that we pay taxes out of our family funds and just like the schools we must make choices about how we spend our money?   Maybe the Board of Education should take a look at the support staff positions on Riva Road as a place to start making position cuts and for once leave the teachers alone.  But then, keeping teacher positions isn't what this is really all about.  Getting the parents to fight for more money is.

Making the evening even more interesting was the arrival of Councilman Dick Ladd, who said he'd been watching the meeting on cable TV and saw student Solon Snider who had 'shadowed' him at the County Council.  So he thought he'd come down to make a statement before the Board about the music program at Severna Park. 

He was criticized by Dr. Maxwell, the superintendent, for not funding at the level the schools say is required to keep teachers.  When one of the parents stood and emotionally told the board members about Mr. Ladd personally giving $5,000 to the music program at SPHS, board member Theresa Birge snapped: "Well that doesn't pay for a teacher!" 

If nothing else the kids learned a Civics lesson.  Hopefully this lesson will not dampen their willingness to stand up for things that matter.   The reality is that the students and parents have no say in the education of our kids since there is no representation on our behalf.  The voter approved changes in the school board nominating process took the selection of board members out of the hands of the people, resulting in a symbiotic relationship between the school board and the superintendent.

The people we've hired to represent us do not listen and now  Dr. Maxwell wants to drastically change the makeup of the CAC, making it a county-wide organization instead of within each school.   The members would be appointed by the school board after being approved by the superintendent.  With this kind of centralization of power and no dissention among the CAC, the school board members and the superintendent, the possibilities for corruption are endless.

This, Mrs. Ritchie is why we have "those grassroots people".