Local School Board Issue
Guy Gooder has left his elected post on the Macon County School Board. He departed by all accounts in good standing with the board, the community and the children he pledged to serve. Despite the controversy of potential conflicts between his business and his role as School Board Member; no critic has implied any such impropriety on his part or on the part of any school organization that did or will do business with Gooder Grafix.
The resignation of Guy Gooder makes any more discussion on this matter a moot point. Everyone involved, especially those remaining on the board, can claim “no harm, no foul,” and move on to business as usual. Decisions will be made and money will be spent. Polices of the Board and the functioning of the school system will go on as if Mr. Gooder was never elected at all.
Therein lies a question and a unresolved aspect of this story. If Guy has done nothing improper and functioned in good faith in his duties as school board member: What issues, policies and oversights will not be addressed in Mr. Gooder's absence? Surely he had ideas, suggestions and ambitions for making our school system a more efficient and effective place of learning. The potential for conflict created by his business certainly does not invalidate his aspirations of making our schools better. Neither does it invalidate the shared hope of the constituency that voted him into office. The resignation of Mr. Gooder puts to rest the question of whether or not he could function honorably in the dual role of business owner and servant to the education system. His resignation does not however, put to rest the contributions he would have made had he not been limited by circumstances of income.
Will the appointed replacement for Guy ask the same questions or address the same issues that he would have had he stayed? Will Roberta Swank ask Guy for council and direction on these issues that he felt needed addressing. The same Board Members that voted unanimously to instate her have never implied that Guy Gooder was doing a bad job in the same role. Had he been a hair dresser and not a sign maker after all, this exercise would not be necessary. In the interest of serving the will of the voters as well as the needs of the children of this county perhaps Roberta could at least investigate Guy's concerns and ideas for making our schools better.
Have we gained a school board clean of even the hint of financial conflicts of interest? I hope we have. Such an image and ideal are important for any government institution to maintain. Still I wonder what cost our diligence will engender. If we have gained, what have we lost? More importantly, who will ultimately end up paying the fee?
The resignation of Guy Gooder makes any more discussion on this matter a moot point. Everyone involved, especially those remaining on the board, can claim “no harm, no foul,” and move on to business as usual. Decisions will be made and money will be spent. Polices of the Board and the functioning of the school system will go on as if Mr. Gooder was never elected at all.
Therein lies a question and a unresolved aspect of this story. If Guy has done nothing improper and functioned in good faith in his duties as school board member: What issues, policies and oversights will not be addressed in Mr. Gooder's absence? Surely he had ideas, suggestions and ambitions for making our school system a more efficient and effective place of learning. The potential for conflict created by his business certainly does not invalidate his aspirations of making our schools better. Neither does it invalidate the shared hope of the constituency that voted him into office. The resignation of Mr. Gooder puts to rest the question of whether or not he could function honorably in the dual role of business owner and servant to the education system. His resignation does not however, put to rest the contributions he would have made had he not been limited by circumstances of income.
Will the appointed replacement for Guy ask the same questions or address the same issues that he would have had he stayed? Will Roberta Swank ask Guy for council and direction on these issues that he felt needed addressing. The same Board Members that voted unanimously to instate her have never implied that Guy Gooder was doing a bad job in the same role. Had he been a hair dresser and not a sign maker after all, this exercise would not be necessary. In the interest of serving the will of the voters as well as the needs of the children of this county perhaps Roberta could at least investigate Guy's concerns and ideas for making our schools better.
Have we gained a school board clean of even the hint of financial conflicts of interest? I hope we have. Such an image and ideal are important for any government institution to maintain. Still I wonder what cost our diligence will engender. If we have gained, what have we lost? More importantly, who will ultimately end up paying the fee?
posted by kamuizot at 1:08 PM
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