GILROY
– Despite an eight-paragraph apology letter some called
groveling, Trustee David McRae said he is not wavering in his
belief that e-mail is underutilized in Gilroy Unified School
District. And he hopes the constituents who elected him for his
no-nonsense approach do not lose faith in his ability
to deliver a message loud and clear.
GILROY – Despite an eight-paragraph apology letter some called groveling, Trustee David McRae said he is not wavering in his belief that e-mail is underutilized in Gilroy Unified School District. And he hopes the constituents who elected him for his no-nonsense approach do not lose faith in his ability to deliver a message loud and clear.
McRae’s strong-worded letter to the editor regarding insufficient e-mail usage in the school district published in The Dispatch last Monday was followed up Friday with a five-point apology. The backpedaling by the recently elected trustee occurred after a storm of critical feedback – from fellow trustees, parents and staff – convinced the straight-talking official he broke the delicate balance between speaking his mind and abandoning diplomacy.
“I was brave to the point of stupidity,” McRae said Tuesday from his Stanford University office where he is a facilities supervisor. “There is no danger in me going soft, but at the same time I don’t want to inadvertently insult a group of people. I want to be effective, not offensive.”
Feelings about McRae’s two letters vary widely.
Some were downright offended by McRae’s initial letter which talked about ending the “excuses and feet dragging” of teachers when it comes to learning how to use e-mail.
“He didn’t have the information he needed to make that sort of judgment,” said Michelle Nelson, a GUSD teacher who serves as president of the Gilroy Teachers Association. “Many teachers who are computer literate aren’t using e-mail because they don’t have access.”
Nelson said in some cases Internet cable has been stolen from classrooms. In other situations, teachers do not have Internet capability inside their classroom, finding real-time communication more effective.
“These are teachers. They don’t sit at a desk with a computer all day. They are in a classroom teaching,” Nelson said.
McRae’s fellow school board member John Gurich, a teacherin Morgan Hill, was offended enough to chastise him in an e-mail.
“I didn’t want to really get into it publicly, but I told him he didn’t have his facts straight,” Gurich said. “He should have gone to the classrooms and seen for himself what the situation is. He has a son that goes to Palma (High School) I believe, and I know not all the teachers there do everything he claims.”
In McRae’s first letter, he said that most high-performing schools have “full” Internet access to “all” weekly homework assignments.
“I take back the wording,” McRae said. “But I believe we should be able to compete with any school anywhere and at any level. I’m not satisfied unless that is our goal.”
For others, McRae’s letter said things that needed to be said, it just did it in the wrong way.
GUSD parent Rob van Herk, who volunteers many hours a week maintaining the district’s Web site and providing tech advice on many of the issues McRae raised, said he had two responses to the trustee’s letter.
“On the first reading, I thought the tone was unfortunate, but after reading the content one more time I think a lot of people agree with what he is saying,” van Herk said. “I spoke with some of the teachers who were offended, and it was clear (McRae) was not referring to them (or their e-mail practices).”
Opinions are also mixed on McRae’s second letter, in which he asks forgiveness from “hard-working” teachers and apologizes to board members and Superintendent Edwin Diaz for “blind siding” them and “bogging” them down.
Some have referred to the letter of contrition as groveling, others call it a noble gesture.
Trustee Bob Kraemer, who would not comment on the specific controversy, said he “respects” what McRae has done by writing an apology.
“Writing that second letter took a big person,” Kraemer said.
The backlash against McRae raises questions about whether the culture of GUSD allows for a sufficient amount of open debate. Several sources for this story would not comment on the record, citing concerns over potential backlash and unintended consequences.
Kraemer says free and open debate does exist in GUSD, but there are appropriate and inappropriate times and places for it.
“A board meeting is an appropriate public place to ask the tough questions,” Kraemer said. And in some instances, he added, a letter to the editor is not the best public forum for a board member to address concerns.
Still, there is a dilemma, especially for new and outspoken board members who are still refining their political skills, says county Supervisor Don Gage.
McRae, elected in November on a reform-based platform, may have been well served by the philosophy Gage espouses. Elected in 1997 as the lone Republican on the all-Democrat county board, Gage took his seat knowing he could be an isolated, token vote if he ruffled too many feathers.
“My rule of thumb is to raise issues in a fact-finding way. I don’t get into personalities,” Gage said. “You can’t fold under the pressure and become silent, but it’s all about how you present your message.”
There is a danger, however, Gage said.
“It’s easy to blend in to the board,” Gage said of hard-nosed candidates who lost efficacy after Election Day. “I’ve seen that happen a lot.”
McRae says he won’t blend in.
“I have to do a better job of phrasing my concerns,” McRae said. “But I hope as a board and a district we have a goal to make change before parents, teachers or the community feel they have to organize and force a change.”
