Have you seen the news about Jeffco Schools since the last Jeffco Schools Budget Hearing meeting on Tuesday, May 26th?
First, there’s this:
You MUST listen to the radio show audio provided.
Newkirk goes on extremist talk radio, no inclusion of parents as stakeholders, allows our children’s teachers to be called “childish” and our children to be called “useful idiots.” Then he and the talk show host “disingenuously call for an ‘adult debate’, while chiding teachers and mischaracterizing their alleged participation as ‘disgusting’, ‘mean’, ‘vicious’ and ‘bad examples’ for students. ”
You didn’t imagine it; listen again, that really happened!
This article calls it an agenda driven spin. We think it’s just ugly and insulting and a disservice to our children. The community is allowed to speak up whenever they think something is wrong and the Board (even the majority Newkirk, Witt, and Williams) is ACCOUNTABLE to the public!
Then there’s the excitement from the Budget Hearing Meeting on May 26th. http://www.9news.com/story/news/education/2015/05/27/jeffco-board-member-makes-controversial-comparison/28030665/
“Jefferson County School Board member John Newkirk made a comparison that some are calling offensive,” reads the article.
Watch the video provided in the news article. The audience attending the Budget Hearing literally gasped.
Our inbox was instantly flooded with parents and community members in complete disbelief that Newkirk had just compared funding charter schools students with the pre-civil rights treatment of African Americans.
Sharing a letter from a charter school parent who was simply astounded by the comments at the last Board of Education Budget Hearing meeting on Tuesday:
From: Michele Minihane
Date: Tue, May 26, 2015 at 11:18 PM
Subject: Apologize. Please.
To: board@jeffco.k12.co.us