For those who are regular readers, I’m grateful. This is going to be a pretty raw, real post. It’s going to make me vulnerable, open to criticism, and even folks may not only disagree but may not like what I’m going to share. However, I need folks to see things from the angle I sit. So, here I go.
What Happened at the Board Meeting? What’s Next? Communication to Parents Social media is a funny thing. People tend to post things like “what happened” and it’s an online or 21st century version of the “telephone game.” It’s most often partially true, but almost always without full context given or shared. Here’s what happened.
The honest truth is: for parents who aren’t in certain Facebook groups or friends with certain folks---the idea of a calendar change to a 4-day school week hasn’t even been on their radar. How do I know? I’ve talked to them, and they’ve been shocked, unaware. "You've Had 2 Years to Get Questions Answered" Supporters of four-day weeks have consistently shared that they’d like to see what questions board members have. Most of my previous questions to the administrative team are around retention and recruitment broadly. Columbia is thinking outside the box. They just approved more pay for teachers who cover classes. Why aren't we thinking in this way? We're so focused, I think, on this idea that we can't see the forest from the trees. There's a narrative out there that the board has done nothing to support teachers or have a conversation about retention and recruitment since the previous vote. This has been shared and stated by some board members, even. This narrative is not a full picture. I have given suggestions outside the box. The reality is our admin team is like our teachers, swamped in a pandemic. It's also worth noting that in both years after the previous vote, the board has approved increasing staff (certified and non-certified) and also approved salary increases--at a time when many families, businesses, and organizations struggled to keep their doors open. Supporting teachers is more than supporting a 4-day week and I'm proud that we've been able to accommodate needs of our staff to best serve our students. All of that said, four-day week research data is at best mixed, and the newest data (which is rarely discussed) offers more of a mixed-to-negative picture of four-day week rather than positives for student outcomes. Merits aside, if Hallsville moves to a four-day week here are my logistical questions and commitments that I will be sharing with Mr. Downs. I share in the spirit of transparency. These questions don’t need 100% flushed out before approval is given, but right now, I’m being asked to trust the process. With all due respect: I trust our district to implement a plan. Right now, we have no plan as I see regarding many of these items to even begin to flush out. As a taxpayer, parent, before such a decision is made, there needs to be confidence by the board that there is at least a minimum understanding of how the district will approach these items.
Perceptions Are Reality Here’s going to be the touchy part that hasn’t been shared which may upset folks. However, I’ve always been a straight shooter and so I won’t stop now. I share these perceptions on the issue, the approach taken, and what's happening before our eyes. In my policy/political work world: perception is reality.
The Reality of a 4-day Week: As we move forward, I wanted to remind folks of a few things.
Bits & Pieces / Wrapping Up I have resisted the urge to respond to posts on social media by-and-large, but do have a few comments I would share:
Craig Sometimes, I wonder how society gets enough folks to volunteer to be elected officials who aren't paid---like school board members. When I think this, I typically snap back to reality pretty quick: many people (me included) believe that doing the right thing and public service is worth the trouble, no pay, and time it takes. I sincerely say and write that it's an honor to serve our community.
The issue of to mandate masks -- or not -- was the big decision of the day. Ultimately, the board voted 4-3 to remove the mandatory language and strongly encourage use. At some point, I know we were going to reach this day, where we need to see how badly the buildings will be hit by quarantines and the virus itself. In college, one of the academic ideas that has stuck with me in the policymaking space is looking at "the tragedy of the commons." This is a simple, non-academic article on its premise. In a nutshell -- it's based on the idea that there's a shared "space" for folks (in the academic example, it's based on pasture usage and cows). The idea is that there's only so much land in the shared space and the "commons" works when folks have one cow---but the tragedy of the commons happens when folks turn their individual interests above the good of the whole and get more cows. This is a "tragedy" because the more individuals who add individual, extra cows to only their benefit and to the detriment of others--they actually eat the food (grass) of everyone in the shared space together and can cause others' cows to not have enough food. I continue to try to be transparent in my mindset and thinking all while trying to listen. My concern has been related to the tragedy of the commons--that if our kids are masked--we can limit quarantines to as small as possible (which benefits everyone--teachers, students, parents) and the sacrifice of each person and their parents to the benefit of others. It's as simple as that. The board, admin team, and teachers are in an impossible situation. There's multiple articles about how this issue is tearing communities up. Here's one, another, and another -- all within the past month. These highlight the increased anger, divisiveness, and inability of society to listen to one another in a genuine way. I work incredibly hard to know my strengths, weaknesses, and biases in various situations. A potential weakness is that I could be an "insider." I work in the policy/political space. I sit in public meetings all day as a profession. That bias means that decorum and tradition is personal to me--because our democracy is rooted in it. We had 11 citizens who spoke, some for masks and some against. Everyone stayed within the three minute comment time and the conversation stayed (with the exception of a couple times) non-personal. What I struggled with was after the vote was taken and we moved on was how there were multiple audience participants who interrupted the board's conversation with questions or comments. The content of the questions wasn't necessarily bad, but I struggled with how comfortable some folks seemed to be with interrupting an official meeting instead of trying to listen, learn, and take questions to people in a one-on-one setting. Honestly, it puts the board in a bind. If we say: thanks, but please be respectfully quiet, comment time is over---the board look like jerks. If we let folks interrupt with questions regularly, it can very easily get out of hand, take all night, and lose decorum. Because I sit in public meetings all day and recognize that if I speak out of turn, I'm at risk of removal from the meeting if I chime in with an opinion or question. I may lose my rapport with legislators or those testifying. So, I take notes, follow-up as necessary, even text them immediately if it's urgent to get a piece of information to them---but I refrain from interrupting their meeting in which I'm an audience member in. That's likely why I take the lack of active listening yesterday so personally. Mask opinion aside, I think society is losing the ability to listen well. Rightfully so, it's my role as a board member to listen and try to understand everyone who spoke (and those who didn't but still attended). even though I have my own opinion. I'm admitting to you that I struggle with this. As I was reading about improving listening skills, multiple articles referenced that most people only recall about 25% of what someone tells them due to trying to prepare to respond and other factors. Too often, I resort not to the acronym I just learned of RASA (Receive, Appreciate, Summarize, Ask) but I go to responding. Too often, I don't listen mindfully and hold my tongue -- but I respond. By listening to respond instead of listening to ask questions and learn, I know that I can talk past others---missing their point and even cause them to miss mine. I think the issue of masks, vaccines, 24-hour news media and politics today amplify this by encouraging the drama and talking over one another to try to get the last word. As a pragmatist in life, this is hard and bothered me more than the vote itself -- because it gets me to think about things like: what would the parents have done if the vote went the other way? What will backlash will be if the board decides that too many little kids or are being quarantined and we reinstate? I fear for the lack of civility and the lack of active listening if it comes to that decision (which I hope we don't get to). Like many of you, I work to ensure my faith guides my life. I encourage you to read this positive article about how my Christian faith encourages listening and how listening well is an act of love to one another and to God. Until next time, Craig First, I admit I've been slacking. Having two kids is a challenge, the pandemic, work, everything is just crazy. How do you parents of multiple kids do life? I'm still trying and failing in many ways including keeping blogs updated after each meeting.
We're entering our second year of the pandemic. March 2020 seems like forever ago, doesn't it? Our kids didn't return to classes for the 2020 academic year, returned fall 2020 and had an adjusted Fall 2020 - May 2021 school year. Our teachers, administrators, and staff did amazing things. That brings us to summer 2021. We thought we were home free. The vaccine was readily available. Then, the delta variant came and we have to continue to adapt. Let's acknowledge something together. We're tired. We're weary. We're angry. We're on edge. Let me give a personal anecdote. My family is going to start next week our 4th consecutive week at home because our boys somehow got e. Coli and being a highly communicable disease, we must wait until their poop doesn't show it in their system anymore. Honestly, a part of me wishes it was a COVID quarantine because it's been a stressful 3 (going to be at least 3+ weeks) of kids at home while we balance them + work. I can (and have been) angry and frustrated at the rules, the slow tests, the unknown. Then, I read about the 3-5% of cases of children who have major complications and even die. Are my kids and is my situation more valuable to rush them back to child care to possibly give it to another child who may be one of the 3-5%? COVID isn't too different as I process what I'm going through. Would my stress, anger, and frustration at the lack of work productivity and schedule adjustments be different if my children were in the 3-5%? Absolutely. Our administrative team and faculty have been faced with the most undesirable situation. Nobody is happy. They aren't happy about the decision they had to make. Neither are parents. Neither are students. But leaders have to lead and make decisions with consulting and weigh pros/cons. In the end, the administrative team presented our return to school plan to the school board last night. In the end, it was approved as presented by the administrative team. Prior to approval, a motion was made to approve the plan as presented -- and it failed -- by a vote of 3-4 (4 against). The 4 against were split for opposite reasons: wanting masks required for all students or wanting masks strongly encouraged but not required at any level. This is a perfect example and how our community is split. For me, I am completely torn. Seeing faces, emotions, and learning in this way is the most desirable for our youngest children. It kills me to think about elementary age children in masks. Our youngest with learning delays likely may not make as much progress as if unmasked. That said, I recognize the harm that was done by being completely virtual from March 2020 - May 2020 for these littlest kiddos. On the flip side, by masking our youngest children, we per the close contact rules (outlined on page 7-8 of the plan) we can minimize and better control close contacts to ensure our youngest learners have the most time in-seat possible. It really comes down to weighing the value of possible quarantines and keeping the most kids in-seat as possible vs. the mask wearing. If by requiring masks---that we can prevent or lessen the number of children in quarantine---then that's for the greater good of all. It's tough and it isn't an easy decision. This calculated risk is what our admin team faced and presented to us as a board. To me, it made the most sense for the greater good of all kids. As with any decision the board makes, parents are faced with decisions now to do what they feel is in the best interests of their kids. I would say that as a board member, it's my intention (and I believe the intention of the administrative team) to revisit the mask requirement as the situation changes. The reality is that with the delta variant, as I write this--our state ICU capacity only has 14% remaining--now is the time to be cautious to ensure as many children can remain in-seat as possible for as long as possible. I hope and believe it can be revisited as the situation stabilizes and changes. I hope this is helpful to explain the rationale. I'm always happy to answer further questions folks have. For the admin team and board -- I believe -- the decision that was reached was not an ideological or political or some other statement---but one to allow the most kids to be physically in seat while ensuring our staff also were able to lead and teach their students. Now, moving on to COVID relief. Between all of the federal relief packages (2020/2021) coming in, our district is to receive approximately $3 million. We have already ordered devices for our district to go 1-1 with technology (something we've talked about for 5-10 years!). Those funds will provide the resources to cover some of our new staff this year, license for English and language arts evaluation tools and more. It's important for folks to know that our district is utilizing these one-time resources in positive ways but also it's allowing us to build our capital fund amounts for replacing things like the intermediate school chiller system that is 25+ years old. Lastly, it's very likely the board will ask voters in April 2022 to approve a no-tax-increase-bond for capital projects. The facilities committee has been meeting and is likely to present to the board in September. Look for community forums and conversations this fall as we shape what that looks like. The capital needs of our district are great and will always be more than there are resources for. We will likely have approximately $5 million in bonding capacity that (if approved by voters) we could utilize. As our staff return to be with our kiddos, let's all do our best to understand we are and have experienced trauma in the pandemic. It's probably fair to say that all of our mental health is not at its best. However, we're stronger together as a community. We are choosing to live here and need each other. I don't say that to be mushy --- I say that because that's the backbone of living in a small community---and I want to keep that backbone in tact. Thank you for giving and trusting me to be on your school board. Until next time, Craig Friends, I admit that I've slacked since the pandemic started. I wanted to get a blog up about what the school board has been up to the past few months.
First, Mr. Downs and the administrative team have begun compiling one-time projects that the district is in need of. Long story short is that federal pandemic funds have provided a significant influx of money to the district (both last year) and this upcoming budget year. Our target reserve amount of 25% has grown to being projected more than 50% at the end of next year. These one-time projects range from wireless infrastructure upgrades, going one-to-one with technology, capital improvement projects like we approved past few months (new dishwasher and upgrades to bathrooms). I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much our teachers have been rock stars this year. You all know I'm in the capitol regularly and I speak so highly of our teachers who everyone knows have had a crazy year. Thank you. Next week is teacher appreciation week---and it's important that we thank and support our teachers. We've seen this appreciation from our community, like Jessica Hoskins' leadership to organizing and fundraising for donuts and coffee. If you have students in the district, be sure to thank their current and former teachers next week (week of May 3). It's old news now, but it's sad that we're losing Mrs. Jackson as our primary school principal. I'm grateful for Mrs. Jackson's leadership and time with our district. I'm also excited about Mrs. Nichols and Mrs. Terry being our new leaders as principal and assistant principal! Join me in congratulating and looking forward to what's to come. As far as budget updates, with the expected budget surpluses, I wanted to make note of a couple of different things. First, the initial budget has scheduled a $1,250 raise to the base salary across the board. After educational and service movements, this equates to approximately a 4.23% increase for next year. This raise will be passed along also to our classified/hourly staff. Not only do our teachers deserve this but our peers are giving similar raises and do ensure we remain competitive, it's a must. Our admin team is also making strategic hires for student and academic supports. Specifically, we are likely to hire a kindergarten teacher, middle school interventionist, an online supervision paraprofessional, and even possibly a second agriculture teacher. We have not made any specific decisions, but it's also important for our district to begin to think about positioning and succession planning for the district leadership. A significant piece of this is for the board to consider filling the assistant superintendent position. I know and hear concerns about administrative bloat and it's something the board is cognizant of. However, to ensure the long-term success of our district which is growing, it's something that you'll likely hear more about in the coming months. As the school year begins to wind down, look for the Board to (my educated guess) begin conversations about the next no-tax-increase bond. While our operating fund balances are very good, we still have capital improvements that we can't let up on. Like our primary addition, we will seek input from the public and shape any proposal based on feedback to ensure (1) a successful vote but most importantly that we're focused on (2) student needs. As a board, we should always keep up with enrollment trends, especially in the strange times of COVID. After this year's kindergarten class being small, initial indicators are for a bounce-back and next year's class size to be closer to normal-times. Additionally, summer school enrollment looks to be up at this point as well. These are good indicators to ensure our district state funding (per student) remains consistent but also watching trends of growth. Lastly, we welcomed Torrie Vroman on the board for her first meeting last week. I celebrate and thank Tonya Schleeter for her service and partnership to further our district. Until next time, thank you for reading. Please reach out if you have questions or concerns! Craig Friends,
It's been too long! I apologize. A few things have taken place that I wanted to share with ya'll that have impacted my timeliness. You'll recall, I used to be pretty quick at getting these updates up! The need and my desire to give our admin team, teachers, staff a lot of grace has a lot to do with me being a bit delayed and not pushing. Outcomes and improvement is critical---but I am a huge believer that in these days of a pandemic, it's my responsibility as a board member to step back, give space to those doing the day-to-day work and get out of the way. Additionally, in November, we added a household member to our home, a now 18-month old--and we've been adjusting and spending significant time together to ensure that we are working toward a strong family bond together. Now, to the stuff you actually care about. December's meeting's agenda and items can be found here. You'll see reports of evaluations of library/media, finances, and a new Kelly Services contract to adjust for the minimum wage increasing. We began conversations from a proposal letter of the City of Hallsville regarding our school resource officer. This comes after the district was informed that our SRO with the county was being taken back due to low deputy staffing at the county sheriff's office. The board agreed in December to keep moving forward with conversations. In January, this conversation continued with the district and city in detailed conversations around the contract and what it would look like. The SRO is a valuable resource for our students, community, and staff---but getting a new arrangement right is critical. I'm grateful to the City and our Chief for engaging and working with the district to work toward a solution. In January, we had an agenda placeholder for a contract but that contract was not finalized by the meeting and did not take place. In December, we were given a report on the Community Survey. This survey identified top three facility needs from patrons: (1) replace south wing of Middle school, (2) install second set of secure entrance doors at the high school, middle school, and intermediate school, and (3) install a turf field at the football stadium--which is interesting because it was also listed as a top example of what should not be included in the plan. It's an interesting read and I encourage you to read this survey. This will be part of facilities conversations as the district moves forward to update its facilities master plan and continue planning toward a future bond initiative. In January, our agenda can be found here. we approved the school climate survey, e-Rate FY22 projects, food service program evaluations, and a job description for the head of operations and facilities lead. I must say that the climate survey surprised me. In the time of a pandemic, I was thrilled to see that we didn't have a huge swing in any group surveyed. This is to be celebrated and directly attributed to how our teachers are treating these unprecedented times with families, how our admin team is working with and empowering their staff, and our parents/students also knowing and acknowledging the hard work of our district at all levels. I'm grateful for this and want to call it out. It's a big deal to me. I conclude by sharing my shout out and celebrations for the district. We have an incredible team of folks who we---the community---should be proud of and thank. Thank you to each of our staff at all levels. I'm proud to be a board member and appreciate our work in these unprecedented times. Our next regular meeting will be Feb. 17. As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Until next time, Craig The Hallsville school board met on Wednesday (11/17). Our full agenda can be found here. A few quick highlights including approving the program reports of the health services program and instruction/curriculum. We also approved our first budget amendment for the fiscal year, to adjust for increased virtual tuition pay, COVID funds distributed by the state, and updated ADA budgeting based on the withholding that we experienced at the beginning of the fiscal year--in July. Lastly, we discussed and approved entering into a 5-year lease to purchase 5 buses. The approved contract is within the budgeted amount and continues tradition of the idea of paying off one-bus per year in the contract.
I will admit, the rest of this post is going to be more commentary and thoughts than recounting of the meeting. This is my disclaimer. :) We also discussed the academic calendar. The board took no action, leaving the calendar the way we adjusted it in the early fall. There was conversation around trying to be proactive to prevent school close contacts and quarantines as we enter the holiday timeframe. I appreciate those who are questioning, asking, and pushing the board and the district. That's how we come up with the best ideas. We're also all living the crazy time that is...COVID. We are all stressed. We all don't want quarantined. We all don't want COVID. We all don't want to give COVID to each other. Ultimately, my opinion came down to our district not having COVID numbers as places like Columbia or even Southern Boone have had. This is a big deal and a huge shoutout and pat on the back is deserved for our students, teachers, staff, and admin who are leading and doing an amazing job. Are there students and adults sick for 2 weeks not reporting or getting tested? Due to stigma or some other reason Probably. I pray they are quarantining since this isn't in the best interests of the community. That said, am I seeing more masks around? As I went to Prengers yesterday compared to recent weeks---yes. Let's bunker down, be safe, be smart, be transparent with one another. We all are exhausted from COVID. We all want "normal" to return. With vaccines closer---we're getting to see some light in the tunnel we are in. As we enter into the holiday season, I've preached the message of grace---and we need it more each and every day. Professionally and personally, COVID has closed in on us. That's okay. I will try to not fret. I will be as smart as possible. For several years--during this time around Thanksgiving and the Christmas season we see people posting things they are thankful for. COVID is super stressful. But I was reminded this week while taking 15 seconds to check out an incredibly beautiful sunrise...that the little things like breathing each day, having food on my table, a family who loves me, friends who support me, neighbors around us who care for us....these are the things that we need to focus on and remember. More than ever--don't just post about it. Live it. I'm going to try to. We're a community. We're stronger than a virus and we will get to the end of this. In the meantime, let's take an extra deep breath both for our own sanity and for the unknown extra burdens that each person we face are dealing with unique times. Thanks for reading my sermon. :) I'll probably try to offer a quick blog right before Christmas at our December meeting. Until then, as always, don't hesitate to reach out. I'm thankful for our community and for our district teachers and staff. You all are truly rock stars. Until next time, thank you for reading. Craig Pre-Election Musings From A Moderate, "Swampy" Policy Wonk, & Provisional United Methodist Pastor10/28/2020 I'm ready for Nov. 3 election results to come and go. How about you?
I wanted to write a few musings or thoughts from my perspective as a moderate, insider, and provisional pastor, as we prepare for the election. As a starter, I'll disclose again that I've publicly said I would describe my personal political leanings as a "compassionate conservative." What does this mean? It's rooted in the early administration beliefs of George W. Bush. My definition would be: Compassion it means we owe it to fighting poverty in our own country and in others. Compassion means that I value people where they are today, a universal human dignity. Conservatism means that I believe in the partnership between government, the private sector, and the nonprofit sector (secular and faith-based) to solve community problems at a local level. It's conservative to believe in accountability for both governments, private industry, and nonprofits and holding high standards. Needing to Empower The Moderates What does a moderate mean today? I think it's where compassionate conservatives would fit. In the 2020 presidential election, I think it means: we are trying to find who we want to vote for. At a local level, it means I pay particular attention to how people run and the language they use. Where does a compassionate conservative (or another form of a moderate) fit in today's political context? It's weird that only 18 years ago a compassionate conservative viewpoint was probably viewed as "hardcore right." Today, we don't have a place. And it's sad. President Trump's policies have offered little to no compassion, both abroad and in the USA. Vice President Biden and Senator Harris both represent coastal states where the culture is very different from my midwestern roots, and I see little "conservatism" or this idea of ensuring that government's role can be controlled and limited. My message to you moderates out there: it's okay to feel conflicted. It's okay to vote your conscience. It's okay to speak out on social media that you wish both sides would moderate out instead of going toward the far right or far left. Politics won't change until moderates speak out in voice and in voting---from the top level---down the tickets. Empowering the moderates will likely also bring an inherent, natural civility back to the forefront of our policymaking world. Until we have to talk about nuance or a middle ground, it will always be more convenient to try to out a bigger turnout in the base of one side or another. It's time for the moderates to rise up. Why do moderates need to rise up? Our social media is filled with anger, hate, frustration at the other side. Our social media perpetuates our own feelings with algorithms to make my opinions stronger instead of challenging and encouraging understanding of another viewpoint. Does this mean the US will become an authoritarian dictatorship if we move to the middle? No. Does this mean the US will become a socialist country if we move to the middle? No. Swampy Politics I admit it. I'm the swamp. I am a lobbyist, have been a lobbyist for years. I believe that everything I have advocated for has been needed, is a good thing, and that lobbyists in fact...are needed. Do you want an elected official changing laws around your work who have no idea how your job actually works? In a nutshell, lobbyists work to educate elected officials on the impacts of change. Lobbyists often work to protect status quo, yes. Is this a good thing, always? No. President Trump calls people like me the "swamp" in which needs to be drained. Vice President Biden has been a US Senator for 45+ years (10+ years longer than I've been alive!). In an election campaign, we hear and see lots of things used as scare tactics: X person is supported by a group who supports abortion. X person is supported by white supremacists. X person is in the pocket of the big corporate interests. X person voted to defund the police. The list back and forth goes on and on forever. Let's be real for a minute. Politics is swampy. In the state House, there are hundreds of votes taken during session (likely thousands). Between committee votes, amendments, and multiple floor votes -- it's incredibly easy to look at one vote, one snapshot in time and criticize it. Let me take two examples. Judy Baker's (D) campaign locally noted Caleb Rowden (R) "opposed Medicaid Expansion" and sited HB 2011. HB 2011 is the funding bill for the Dept. of Social Services, which included a policy rider/note that funds in that budget at the time could not be used to implement Medicaid Expansion. So, Caleb is a darned-if-you-do and darned-if-you-don't. If he votes FOR the bill, he votes against Medicaid Expansion (as he voted). If he votes against the bill, he voted against funding Medicaid funding for kids, child care for families, and against supporting funding for foster kids. See how these votes are catch-22s and can be spun either way? I love this parody on political ads because it's so true. Likewise, Republicans have said that Lauren Arthur has voted to "defund the police" and voted for "rioting" because she voted against funding HB 4 in 2017. Similar to the other example, HB 4 is a funding bill to fund the Public Safety Dept, including the Highway Patrol. I have no idea why she voted against it, but it could be because of a policy rider which was added like: MODOT shall not spent to encourage enactment of primary enforcement of seat belts. So, by standing on a principle (potentially, I don't know the her rationale) that you shouldn't put a policy in a funding bill that she thinks needs broader discussion---she's all of a sudden for defunding the police and rioting? So: don't put weight in the silly attack ads from either side. They can be spun and there's always more to it. They call it the "swamp" because it isn't a clear, simple, easy pond. In fact, it's muddy, views blocked with trees and even clear water blocked with marshy grass. Policymaking is not clean and simple. There are lots of shades of grey. Attack ads are the worst at taking one random vote and taking the context it's in out of context. Think about your work or life and think about if it was taken as a snapshot. Something like: you own a restaurant and a convicted felon of manslaughter comes to be served. You serve them as a paying customer and later, your competitor says that you support manslaughter because you served the customer. This is swampy politics translated in the business world. It's not okay in either circumstance. I work with the people who are being attacked on both sides of the political spectrum and both sides have amazing, great people who have done good things for the state. It's important to remember this. My Christian Faith & The 2020 Election In a few weeks, I will go before the Board on Ordained Ministry of the Missouri Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church as a candidate under consideration to be ordained as a deacon. My Christian faith are the roots of my being. Since January, I've been progressing through the Bible in an audio format. We finally got to the New Testament in October! In just a few weeks, we'll be finished with the gospels. The last month has been a huge breath of fresh air. Jesus' compassion, anger at the righteous, work to bring people into the faith, and wants to be 100% in sync with God and God's plan for his role as the Messiah. My faith and the 2020 election makes me be introspective to ask the following questions with my answer below:
What questions do you have about faith and the election? Comment below and I'm happy to offer my thoughts! Concluding Thoughts I will say the 2020 Election is really difficult. My politics has changed as I've grown and been exposed to more people, ideas, and have traveled the world. My values remain the same or are even more firm. Does that mean I vote straight ticket anymore? Nope. Is that okay? Yes. A candidate should earn my vote. A party doesn't earn my vote. Our current politics combined with the heavy influence of social media in our lives to believe we are incredibly divided. I remain convinced we are not as divided as some of our political leaders or social media wants us to believe. Some say a civil war may be on the verge of starting if one candidate or another wins. I refuse to give into that talk. Our country is strong and I believe those of us who believe we are stronger than those working to divide will come out on top. My Christian faith teaches me to have hope both in this life but to place my allegiance not to a candidate or party but to Christ as my Savior. As you enter the ballot box, I hope you also carry this attitude with you. We are better when we work together to solve our problems. Voting is a way we do that. We live in a fallen world, but are all made in God's image and I will continue to work to see God's love and grace in each candidate, each neighbor, and each person I interact with. I hope you join me. Thank you for reading. Craig Can you believe it's almost November? I guess today's cold rain, sleet, and snow flurries reminded us that fall is quickly winding down!
I have purposefully not written much lately, feeling the need to provide grace to our teachers, staff, and admin team as we adjust to the daily challenges educating our children during a pandemic brings. I do think it's important to highlight a few things. First, let's celebrate because we have completed our $7 million bonding project on time, under budget, and the results are spectacular. The classroom wing and gymnasium look wonderful and are functioning great. Thank you again to each of you who helped shape, inform, and for continuing to support our district. As a reminder, because we were significantly under budget, we were able to address the following items:
I also want to celebrate how our staff (building administrators down to support staff) have handled the pandemic. We live in very stressful times. We are asking them to do the impossible. My heart breaks for how Columbia's education community is being torn apart because of disagreements among what's best for their students, teachers, and staff. We've worked together, are adjusting, and I am grateful for how our community has handled the delicate balance of the threat of the pandemic with our goals of educating children in our community. If you missed my "nerdy" items, here's a few highlights:
Lastly, there has been much social media conversation around bullying in our district the past several weeks. Bullying isn't and shouldn't be tolerated. It is investigated when shared. Board policy provides the school flexibility to handle these situation to the best of their knowledge. I want to ensure our community knows bullying is taken seriously. If you are concerned about bullying being an issue, please do reach out. Thank you for your support and for all each of you do to make our community a great place to be. Until next time, Craig Just a quick blog to share the Hallsville Board of Education met yesterday (8/12) and approved an updated 2020-2021 Hallsville Academic Calendar. Please print/use this moving forward. The first day of school is now September 1st. This is to give our teachers and staff better and appropriate time to prepare for the numerous unknowns that they will be facing.
Our regularly scheduled board meeting is next Wednesday (Aug 19) and we'll continue our normal meeting plus COVID-related items. Our staff at all levels (principals to janitors) are working diligently to make sure they are ready. As we enter these last few weeks of preparations and we grow more anxious about who our teachers will be, what school will look like, and as numbers of COVID-19 may rise in our community, let's remain as full of grace as possible. As you get the chance to interact with the staff -- give them an air (and socially distanced) high-five and genuine thank you for all their work. Until next week, Craig |
AuthorHallsville resident. Foster Parent. School board member. Politico. Jesus Follower. Cardinals Fan #MizzouMade Archives
June 2020
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