blevkog

I read today in the Herald that some of the members feel the new bureaucrat in charge won't be as plugged in to the respective communities that board members represent. I see now; the childish behaviour and grandstanding was the board members way of reflecting the interests of the community. The parents of the communities must have wanted them to argue about seating positions while the issues they got paid to deal with went unresolved. Democracy in action. You gotta love it.

Yeah, I saw that, too. In principle they are probably right - it's better to have more representatives from throughout the region. In principle. This lot just couldn't make it work, so it's best to just start over.

If the writer of this article new anything about the law he would realise it takes more that two says to launch a lawsuit.

If the writer of this article new anything about the law he would realise it takes more that two days to launch a lawsuit. Sorry for the spelling error.

Democracy, freedom of choice, freedom of speech, freedom to debate must always be protected.
You are free to say what you want because people like this fight for our rights.

What have you ever fought for?

Democracy,
What useful "debate" did this board participate in? What "choice" are they defending as they bravely continue to make asses of themselves in public by taking legal action? If they were debating something useful and pertinent to their job as board members, say just for argument, something to do with the education of our kids, then perhaps they deserve to keep their jobs. But that is not the case.

And yes, they were elected, but they were elected to perform a service, which again and again they demonstrated their inability to perform. They were entrusted by families in this community with the authority to make decisions on our behalf that affect the education of our children, not to storm out of meetings because of seating arrangements or whatever happened to be the acrimony-du-jour.

Yes, I am certain that some among the board are guilty only by association, and this is very unfortunate, but the fact of the matter is that the minister would have probably stirred up more trouble than it's worth, and initiated more legal troubles, had she kicked out only half of the board.

Merely casting a vote is not democracy, we must also see the results of that vote, and in this case we saw nothing but bickering and childishness.

Replacing an elected board with an appointee is not ever the preferred option, but this I believe is one of the rare cases in which it is justified. Personally, I'd rather they run a by-election to fill all vacant spots, but HRM doesn't want to bankroll that because we have a ruinous debt coming down the line called the Commonwealth Games, and spending a few thousand now in the interest of democracy is not as sexy as pissing away hundreds of millions in an effort to make Halifax world-class. (Fuck, I hate everything associated with that term.)

What have you ever fought for?

Dem's fightin' words. More pertinently, dem's defensive fighting words. Too defensive by half, I'm thinking. Do you know these guys or something? Or maybe, could it be, do we have an actual former board member commenting here on the 'kog? Ooooh, come on, out yourself, be brave. (I was wondering about signing an anonymous letter with the handle Democracy. It has a certain naivetee and arrogance, which makes sense if you're a former board member.) Yes, I've been throwing rocks at you guys for some time now, it's your turn to toss a few back. Tell us why you deserve the trust of the families of HRM. Explain to us how meetings adjurned because most of the members walked out helps the teachers in our classrooms. Come on, I'm all ears.

Do that, and then put your stones on the line next year and you never know, you might get your job back.

Oh, and if you're Gin Yee, I voted for you and will vote for you again should the opportunity arise. Hang in there, brother.

Kev,

I doubt it's Gin Yee - it looks to me like he's got the decency to back away from defending these yahoos. OTOH, Democracy (and let me say I truly love the irony of someone claiming to be speaking up for free speech and free debate hiding behind a pseudonym) could be Deb Barlow - there's the same 'over-the-top' factor there of trying to claim this exercise in childish petulance is in any way shape or form based on principles.