While four previous columns in the Empire have expressed concerns about efforts to recall the Juneau Board of Education president and vice president, I see the process as a potential vote of “no confidence.” Why? In July of 2022, I criticized the district for its inability to help Juneau’s public school students learn the three Rs. That problem continues, according to updated statistics.
From what I can tell reading, writing and arithmetic are not the board’s highest priority when there can only be one top priority, not several.
Back to the recall. Should current board leaders have known that closures and consolidation were in the district’s future, and that it was a question of when, not if? Yes. What happened?
Should they have done earlier planning to prepare? Yes. Last-minute damage control plans prepared under extreme time constraints hardly serve as a good example of considering all relevant options and giving all “stakeholders” adequate time to assess and reply to each option.
Meanwhile, Juneau’s public schools should prioritize the three Rs, not other stuff, but that’s not likely to change because of the board’s official mission:
“In Juneau, we partner to provide each student with meaningful, relevant, and rigorous learning experiences in order to graduate diverse, engaged citizens ready for a changing world.”
Last time I checked, high school graduates do not need to demonstrate any educational proficiency to get their diploma. Public schools need to rethink their core purpose and refocus on the three Rs, key to everyone’s future in “a changing world.”
Mike Clemens
Juneau