SCHOOLS: Board deaf to its patrons

I'm not surprised by last Saturday's Coeur d'Alene Press headline "Containing public comment." The Coeur d'Alene School Board is trying to silence public opinion. The new rules imposed for meetings allow the trustees to ignore public concerns without any record of dissent. How convenient the only issues to be discussed will be on an agenda of their choosing.

Similar to the IB task force they set up this summer, pre-selecting eight support staff and one citizen for IB and one citizen opposed. This board continually shows an elitist attitude that assumes the people are ignorant.

The trustees' avoidance of actual dialogue will move to an all time low by not allowing the voice of the opposition. Instead of discussing the issues, Superintendent Bauman uses the Coeur d'Alene Press to promote the board's positions. An example is the article this summer about how well a few IB students are doing in Spanish with no comment on how poorly IB students did in math, science and history. I'm still trying to figure out why the trustees keep defending a program like IB! We need leadership that will deal honestly with the public's discontent instead of trying to silence it. If the board does not recognize that We the People have a voice, change will be necessary. It appears the only light of reason our school board is going to see will be from the ballot box.

BETTY WOODARD

Coeur d'Alene