There was a rash of letters to the editor about the upcoming school board election published in Foster's today. I reproduce them in full below. Foster's also published an article about the second lawsuit today, which I'll just link to for copyright reasons. Here are the letters:
Wrong again
To the editor: On Feb. 22, the New Hampshire Superior Court in Strafford County again found that currently serving members of the Oyster River Cooperative School Board broke NH's right-to-know law. The judge found that "the board violated the Right-to-Know law and its own policies."
The court's decision can be read in its entirety at http://www.orol.org/rtk/search/court/, under item No. 21, Final Order.
This is the second court ruling to find to find that this board, under the Chairmanship of Henry Brackett, has violated the right-to-know laws. These laws essentially require that the board does the public's business in public, with a few exceptions that are clearly spelled out in state law.
I hope you join me in voting for new leadership and new members to the Oyster River school board in the upcoming election. Maria Barth has had extensive experience chairing the Kittery school board before moving to Lee. She therefore is well acquainted with the principles of right-to-know and will conduct school board business transparently and in public.
Breaking the law is no way to set an example for our kids. Let us, the voters, set a good example by holding the incumbent school board members accountable on election day. Let's give new volunteers a chance to show us that they respect our laws.
Jeannie Sowers
Madbury
Clean house
To the editor: On Tuesday, March 13, Oyster River will have the chance to vote in a new school board. In the past year, what has the current school board accomplished?
1. They embarrassed and insulted us: board member Jim Kach espoused his sexist, bigoted and "birtherist" views on his Twitter account. He would not resign; the board said nothing and took no action — not even a reprimand. You can read his views for yourself athttp://www.ipetitions.com/petition/orsb-kach-tweets/.
2. Led by Chairman Brackett, they wasted our money: the board spent well over $185,000 of taxpayer money in a secret deal, buying out the contract of the superintendent. (That does not include legal fees, paid for by you and me. The board also hired a PR firm and tried to hide the cost in the lawyer's bill.) The former superintendent was promptly hired by Barrington. Henry Brackett initiated this fiasco and refuses to explain why he did it.
3. They broke the law, multiple times: the board was found guilty of violating our Right-to-Know laws by the New Hampshire Superior Court. In the judge's exact words, "the Board [including Mr. Kach] and [Chairman] Brackett knew or should have known their conduct violated the Right-to-Know Law." They held meetings in secret, in violation of the law, wasting our money to buy out an employee who had one year left on his contract and had served us for years. Another lawsuit is pending, and it looks bad.
4. They've promised to keep doing this: not a single board member has taken responsibility for these illegal actions. As Chairman Brackett put it at the candidates' forum, "we will continue on as before." Mr. Kach said the only thing he would do differently is "hire a better lawyer." Great. And we taxpayers will foot the bill.
Please vote out Brackett and Kach. They are a disgrace. The bright side to all of this is the excellent candidates who have now stepped up to serve. Please vote in Maria Barth, Ed Charle, Al Howland, and Tom Newkirk.
Ruth Sample
Lee
Will do my best
To the editor: As a candidate for the Oyster River School Board I get asked the same question over and over. "What would I do differently" from the present board regarding the circumstances surrounding the Right to Know lawsuits, the incident of lost temper toward the student representative as well as inappropriate Tweets?
I can't promise that I would never make a mistake and, though I seldom lose my temper, I suppose it could happen. But what I can promise is that I would take responsibility and I would publicly apologize. I would do my best to heal the rift in the district that my actions might cause.
The two incumbent board candidates have allowed the situation to go on for a year, diverting precious time and energy away from the big issues of supporting our foundation of excellence, affirming our trust in our staff, and building consensus around budgeting. We need to put our energy into our district's motto of "Working Together To Engage Every Learner."
Maria Barth
Lee
Rational voice
To the editor: I am a candidate for the Oyster River School Board, and I am writing to ask district voters for support. I have been a Durham resident since 1987 when we moved into the district so our children could attend the schools — a decision we have never regretted.
I have been on the faculty at UNH since 1977, working in the areas of writing instruction and teacher development. I founded and direct the New Hampshire Literacy Institutes, a program for teachers now in its 32nd year — and I created the Writers Academy for middle and high school students. I would bring a long and deep involvement in literacy issues to the board.
If elected I will try to be a rational, moderate voice. I will listen to all sides, and I will try to make the best judgments I can, aware that these decisions may be unpopular with some.
This election will also be a referendum on the current board. So I encourage voters to consider carefully the candidacies of Maria Barth and Ed Charle. Both are running against incumbent board members. Maria has wide experience in town government and would help hold a new board to clear adherence to the Right to Know Law. Ed, a local family physician, would be an intelligent and caring addition to the board.
Al Howland, running unopposed, is a former high school science teacher. He has been deeply involved in volunteer work in Oyster River schools (often as "Captain Balance" in the primary grades). Anyone who has heard him at the various forums will be aware of his comprehensive understanding of school issues.
A transformed board can offer the community the new start that we need.
Tom Newkirk
Durham
An apology?
To the editor: Jim Kach of the Oyster River School Board owed us an apology and his resignation, but instead is running to continue on the School Board.
As many will remember, Mr. Kach was discovered to have tweeted publicly about female politicians and public figures, assessing them according to their weight, attractiveness, and other physical attributes. (See a selection of tweets for yourself:http://fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110719/GJNEWS_01/707199964.) He stated that he didn't realize this was offensive and disrespectful and so refused to resign. We really do not need another term of this totally out-of-touch board member, who has already modeled disrespect and bigotry to the students of the district. Is it really just fine to publicly insult and demean women? Can a woman feel comfortable coming before the Board? Don't we hold elected officials to account when they insult half the electorate?
Board Chair Henry Brackett, who had a duty to insist that Mr. Kach resign, declined to do so, totally ignoring the public outcry. By his silence and inaction, he signaled tacit agreement with Mr. Kach's reactionary views. Indeed, he still embraces Mr. Kach and his disgusting tweets by associating himself with Mr. Kach's campaign. All over Lee, you can find Brackett and Kach signs residing chummily together along the roadsides.
Nineteenth-century views on women have no place in a 21st-century School Board. Please join me in bringing respect and dignity back to the School Board by voting them out on Tuesday March 13.
Susan Mayer
Lee
These came in on March 6th:
Like Russia?
To the editor: How do the ORCSD School Board problems look from Russia?
I recently attended a meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to review the development of the rule of law in Russia with U.S. scholars, embassy personnel, American Bar Association representatives, Russian jurists, and a Russian journalist. We debated how to define or assess the rule of law. This discussion confirmed for me that David Taylor, Foster's Daily Democrat, N.H. judges, and citizens who have called the Oyster River Cooperative School District School Board to account for violating Right to Know have acted appropriately to protect the rule of law in our state. An independent press emerged in our discussions at the embassy as a critical protection of the rule of law. Foster's Daily Democrat has played that role in reporting on the ORCSD School Board violations of Right to Know.
Free elections also contribute to the rule of law when citizens use the ballot to remove those they know to be in violation of the law or the community's values.
In the summer, when ORCSD School Board member and candidate for re-election Jim Kach revealed himself to be a man who I believe disseminated sexist, homophobic, and racist rhetoric, he refused to resign. He said he would let the March 13 elections demonstrate whether ORCSD voters believe he represents their values. Since then, he has been unfazed by the New Hampshire court system's ruling against ORCSD violations of RTK.
I hope citizens in the ORCSD will go to the polls on March 13 and make clear that we are a community which values the rule of law and rejects the kind of bigotry Mr. Kach has so regrettably displayed. In the election, we also have a choice between a School Board Chair who has been at the heart of the violations of Right to Know (Henry Brackett) and a candidate with a track record of over a decade of unblemished leadership in public school boards, Maria Barth.
In Moscow, I understood that the fragile rule of law U.S. citizens have painstakingly developed is indeed worth fighting for and voting to protect. The alternative is to let secrecy, bigotry, and arrogance prevail.
Cathy A. Frierson
Durham
For OR board
To the editor: I am writing in support of Ed Charle and Maria Barth for Oyster River School Board. Both Ed and Maria show a willingness to listen and make thoughtful decisions based on the best interest of the school district as a whole.
In the past year, our district has lost a superintendent, a high school principal, a director of instruction, and most recently, our technology director and also our second director of instruction. We cannot afford this loss of talented administrators to continue.
We need board members who can instill confidence and trust in both our staff and community. Please join me in voting for Ed Charle and Maria Barth on Tuesday, March 13.
Denise Day
Durham
For Newkirk
To the editor: The parents and students of the Oyster River School District, as well as the taxpayers of the District, are most fortunate to have, running on their behalf, Dr. Thomas Newkirk of Durham for an at-large seat on the Oyster River School Board. Tom has devoted his life to education and to how students learn. He is author of the recently published book The Art of Slow Reading, and has done much earlier work on K-12 education and the learning process. Tom will bring his great wealth of expertise and a great sense of stability and respect to the Oyster River School Board and to the teachers of the District, to the administrators who serve them, and to the staff employees. If the need arises, he is highly capable of chairing the Oyster River School Board, of becoming the face of the district, and of maintaining and advancing the integrity of the Oyster River schools. I urge all district voters to vote on March 13 for Thomas Newkirk for Oyster River School Board.
John E. Carroll
Durham
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