I am writing to all concerned in a letter I received from the school board dated May 14, 2003. I feel that all those involved deserve to know and be it there were so many people there standing united, it would be impossible for me to write to them all individually. I also believe that those not directly involved deserve to know the way that our school system is being controlled. Needless to say I was extremely surprised and disappointed at the contents. I don't know whether our administrators played sports or not in high school but I must let them know that coaching and teaching are two very distinctly different things. In the letter it was stated that teachers possess the following; They are in a constant learning environment, that they are organized, that they are,....(put the rest here) There is no one single profession that enhances the ability to COACH. According to statements made at the school board meeting, and in a letter written to me, that the school board believes the teaching profession somehow gives them an advantage in the coaching profession is in the very least, shortsighted. In the letter it was stated that teachers possess the following; They are in a constant learning environment, that they are organized, that they are,....(put the rest here), and I do not doubt for one second that they (but not all) do. But please tell all the hard working people out there, in every other field besides teaching that they do not possess these very qualities you so described as only qualities that teachers possess in accordance with coaching, and therefore they are given an unjustified advantage. These people that take very seriously, the coaching profession. I cannot believe our own school board and administrators could make such a statement, let alone believe it. I do not for one second, feel that a factory worker, a salesperson, a secretary, a business owner, etc., does not have to possess the same qualities that a teacher does (and possibly more in some cases).....to be organized in their work (and their coaching), or be constantly learning at work (and in coaching), or (put the rest here). Most teachers work very hard and most possess these very fine characteristics, but so does almost every honest, hardworking American! Therefore, because of these very facts that have been set before you, I feel that the school board and administrators are discriminating against all whom are not teachers and, above all, insulting their intelligence by stating at the most recent school board meeting, in front of the public, that teachers are given an advantage by our own school system, when viewing their resume for a coaching position in our school district!

Please let it be known that I respect the school board and the administrators, as I do the teachers within our system, BUT I also respect just as much, the factory workers position, the secretaries, the salespersons, etc.! The true and honest facts that lie before you are very clear. Teachers do not possess any more qualities than any other profession/job, no matter how one attempts to manipulate them. It is time that our school system stop discriminating and work with the people, and for the people, as their jobs were intended, of this very fine community in which we all live. The people deserve it.

What happened at the most recent school board meeting was nothing short of a slap in the face to everyone involved, including those not in attendance. When, after being asked on numerous occasions throughout the evening to PLEASE have all the facts in front of you, and THEN make a decision based on your own personal judgment. Having discussed the issues with (3-4-5??? find out how many) school board members, two of which were talked too immediately following the meeting, they stated that they DID NOT have all the facts in front of them in their decision making process and some have even gone to the superintendent to share their disappointment and to request a re-vote. I ask you, on behalf of those directly involved, whose job was it to see that they had all the information to make a sound personal decision? I know in my businesses, in which I own, the buck stops with me. Therefore it was up to someone (?) to see to it that all the school board members did receive all the information. Whose job is it...The Principal’s? A school board member’s? The superintendent’s? The secretaries? If, as so stated in the school board meeting that teachers are given an advantage when being looked at for a coaching position in Ridgway, what does it say about our school when the facts NEEDED to make a sound decision on ANY matter are not even given to those decision makers that is most pertinent  It makes it very difficult to justify when you are told directly after a meeting by two school board members and then told by another two the very next day, that they didn’t have all the information, when that is the one major thing all the parents and citizens present at the meeting requested. As I so stated at the meeting, "little things win big wars", to which I was told, "but little things also win you jobs." I guess after reviewing all that has taken place, I now can see the context in which that statement was intended! I think that we, the people, deserve to know why these school board members were uninformed, and whose job it is to see to it that they have this information. I can only hope that this was an isolated incident, and that other decisions, past, present and future, that involve our children were made, are made and will be made with everyone having ALL the information necessary to make a sound personal decision for what is best for the children.

When basing decision's that involve what's best for our children, I do not feel that public perception should be the most important issue, not wanting the public to perceive that a group of parents/children/citizens can get together and have a coach removed, as you so stated in a written correspondence with me dated *(()*( . The most important decision should have been "what's best for the children", what's the right thing to do, and who is the very best qualified person(s) for the job.

As a final note I would like to say that no matter how much you try to manipulate these facts, the truth reigns, as it should.

On Jan XX, 2003 in a meting with the Principal and the athletic director, I requested a meeting with those parties involved. To this day, that request has gone unfilled. The part that bothers me the most is that according to school policy #1111, "the parties are to be sat down, the issues discussed before moving it on." Why didn’t the administrators know this? I requesting what was school policy and denied it?

In a telephone conversation dated 01/20/2003, it was stated by the superintendent that the school board thinks the whole entire situation is ridiculous and indicated to the superintend that the just don’t know what to do about it and have basically thrown their hands up. For someone to make the statement (let alone a whole school board) that the "entire situation is ridiculous", when you had children going in groups to the very people that

When ones vision becomes so skewed that they cannot determine right from wrong, it is time for them to move on.