In a recent letter to the editor, Ernesto Olivares takes me to
task for challenging the current trustees of the school board who
were unwilling to second the nomination of Tom Bundros to be
considered as the next vice-president.
In a recent letter to the editor, Ernesto Olivares takes me to task for challenging the current trustees of the school board who were unwilling to second the nomination of Tom Bundros to be considered as the next vice-president.
What Mr. Olivares doesn’t know is that I emailed those trustees asking them why they did not support Tom’s nomination.
Then I waited. Only two trustees, David MacRae and Pat Midtgaard, answered my email. I appreciate their thoughtful responses. Our school district policies require principals, teachers and other employees to respond to concerns of the community in a timely manner. Perhaps some of the trustees who set these policies don’t believe that they should be held to the same standard. I have found that no answer is often the most revealing answer of all.
Apparently, Mr. Olivares believes that the requirements for a strong leader are “leadership by example, consensus building and the willingness to collaborate with your fellow board members.” In my opinion, Tom Bundros has been an exemplary trustee; always willing to listen and respond to his constituents. I may not always agree with Tom, or he with me, but he listens. Consensus building may be important, but I find it equally worthy to go against prevailing thought sometimes. When Tom Bundros chose to vote against the immediate dismissal of Kristen Porter, he was the lone dissenter. Every other trustee voted to dismiss her immediately; a decision that ultimately cost taxpayers of Gilroy. I have seen Mr. Bundros collaborate with his fellow trustees on a weekly basis, so I am not sure how this translates to a lack of leadership.
But let’s get to the crux of the matter. I don’t believe that any of the trustees are void of integrity, but it’s a little harder to spot in some than it is in others. I absolutely have a pulse on how the individual trustees perceive good leadership qualities. I don’t agree with the perception of leadership held by the majority of the trustees. I want more for the students in Gilroy than just a facility with a solid foundation; I want the academic program offered to be the foundation for limitless opportunity.
I have had the audacity to ask that we solve the problems faced in Gilroy by raising the academic bar, challenging parents and students as much as we challenge teachers, and not looking to outsiders to solve problems which are for the most part home-grown. I have been here long enough to know that Tom Bundros does not fit the GUSD leadership mold. This fact alone is one of the reasons that I support him.
But this is Christmas week, a humbling time indeed. I realize that my opinions are just that – my opinions. Not only can I live with dissent and differing opinions, I welcome dissent with open arms. So here goes a little more dissent. The latest online poll in The Dispatch asks whether people would welcome religious displays in public places. I am solidly in the minority here. I do not want to see Nativity scenes in our parks anymore than I want to see the Ten Commandments on the steps of City Hall. I love seeing the Nativity Scenes at churches and in private homes. I love seeing other religious symbols in these places, too. I don’t love them because of the actual physical presence (you’ve seen one crèche you’ve seen them all) but because these symbols remind me of what is really valuable.
What is important during this time of year is not to see a menorah, but to value the miraculous fact that Judaism survives and thrives today against all odds. What I love most about the Nativity scene is the simplicity of it. The message I get from seeing a Nativity is that the birth of Christ was a blessed event. It reminds me that the birth of any child is an answered prayer we owe to a higher power. For me, a Nativity scene juxtaposed against the backdrop of the skate park or a tennis court or a post office sends the wrong message.
These sacred symbols should be cherished for the places they reach in our hearts, not their prominence in our parks.
