NEW DOMINION PODCAST: Dr. Marci Catlett - Superintendent of Fredericksburg City Schools | WHY BEHIND THE WHY: An interview with Spotsylvania School Board candidate Alex Carlson
While Mr. Carlson seems like a nice guy and nice guys are great, Spotsylvania's school board is in a crisis. While his focus is on board integrity and relationships, he offers us no glimpse at all in what he believes are the greatest issues and challenges that face our school division and his proposed solutions. Voters need and deserve to hear that. School board members affect every student and really every citizen, not just those in one voting district. There is a huge divide on this board and it boils down to the 4/3 majority. While some like to point out the bickering among board members, I maintain that the so called bickering is typically the only positive outcome from most meetings. Because the three members who make up the minority understand the issues and are trying to move real solutions forward, the only way they have a voice is to push back on Lisa Phelps, and prior to that Kirk Twigg, who are doing their level best to silence any dissent or answer real questions and concerns from their colleagues in the minority and the public. Phelps mutes her colleagues, times out speakers, and the four in the majority frequently get up and leave the dais in the middle of public comments. While, yes, that behavior is unethical, it also leads to a toxic atmosphere in which nothing moves forward for students, decisions are made in secret, and a political agenda is openly promoted and becomes policy with one quick public reading and a 4/3 vote, What the so called bickering also does is to allow the public at least a glimpse at what is going on behind closed doors and in secret decisions that appear to be allowing Phelps and Taylor to make every significant decision about topics to which the minority are rarely privy prior to meetings. This is the only way we, the voters in the Battlefield, Chancellor, and Courtland Districts have any idea about policy changes and decisions that affect students, staff, and the community at large. We in Battlefield, Chancellor, and Courtland have been silenced and have no voice, though our districts make up a significant part of the county. If not for the so called bickering, we would know even less. Many of us are thankful for the refusal of our board members, Cole, Daniels, and Shelley who, through their refusal to remain silent at meetings, allow us what little representation and knowledge we have. If Mr. Carlson seriously wants to serve our community he needs to be transparent as to what he sees are real problems and issues that face this board and what he proposes as solutions. Those questions have been asked multiple times on his campaign page and he appears to dodge them, suggesting private meetings with the citizens asking the questions. It is my belief that's not the solution. Private meetings allow for the opportunity to tell people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear, which are open statements as to where the candidate stands on every important question and issue that faces SCPS and what his proposed to solutions are. Nice guys are great but we need to know where exactly candidates stand and what his plan is to move our division forward. We have yet to hear that from Mr. Carlson.
While Mr. Carlson seems like a nice guy and nice guys are great, Spotsylvania's school board is in a crisis. While his focus is on board integrity and relationships, he offers us no glimpse at all in what he believes are the greatest issues and challenges that face our school division and his proposed solutions. Voters need and deserve to hear that. School board members affect every student and really every citizen, not just those in one voting district. There is a huge divide on this board and it boils down to the 4/3 majority. While some like to point out the bickering among board members, I maintain that the so called bickering is typically the only positive outcome from most meetings. Because the three members who make up the minority understand the issues and are trying to move real solutions forward, the only way they have a voice is to push back on Lisa Phelps, and prior to that Kirk Twigg, who are doing their level best to silence any dissent or answer real questions and concerns from their colleagues in the minority and the public. Phelps mutes her colleagues, times out speakers, and the four in the majority frequently get up and leave the dais in the middle of public comments. While, yes, that behavior is unethical, it also leads to a toxic atmosphere in which nothing moves forward for students, decisions are made in secret, and a political agenda is openly promoted and becomes policy with one quick public reading and a 4/3 vote, What the so called bickering also does is to allow the public at least a glimpse at what is going on behind closed doors and in secret decisions that appear to be allowing Phelps and Taylor to make every significant decision about topics to which the minority are rarely privy prior to meetings. This is the only way we, the voters in the Battlefield, Chancellor, and Courtland Districts have any idea about policy changes and decisions that affect students, staff, and the community at large. We in Battlefield, Chancellor, and Courtland have been silenced and have no voice, though our districts make up a significant part of the county. If not for the so called bickering, we would know even less. Many of us are thankful for the refusal of our board members, Cole, Daniels, and Shelley who, through their refusal to remain silent at meetings, allow us what little representation and knowledge we have. If Mr. Carlson seriously wants to serve our community he needs to be transparent as to what he sees are real problems and issues that face this board and what he proposes as solutions. Those questions have been asked multiple times on his campaign page and he appears to dodge them, suggesting private meetings with the citizens asking the questions. It is my belief that's not the solution. Private meetings allow for the opportunity to tell people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear, which are open statements as to where the candidate stands on every important question and issue that faces SCPS and what his proposed to solutions are. Nice guys are great but we need to know where exactly candidates stand and what his plan is to move our division forward. We have yet to hear that from Mr. Carlson.