School Board needs new vision
To the Editor:
When I read that Dr. (Mack) McCary had been dismissed as superintendent
of Jackson County schools, my first thought was “here we go again.”
Yet another person who is more than qualified for the job is dismissed
because his vision of where the school system should go does not agree
with that of the Board of Education.
When Dr. McCary was hired, he was exactly what the county needed. Now,
after weathering scandals that he had no control over, he's not the
person for the job? Was anyone other than Dr. McCary really surprised?
Many people probably saw this coming when his assistant was announced.
But, we have to be honest with ourselves about some things. Dr. McCary
came into a bad situation from day one. It has literally been years
since the school system went through a year without a scandal, with
each scandal culminating in the Board of Education releasing someone
from their administrative duties and pointing to them as the source
of most of the problems encountered during that time. But just as Frank
Burrell came to the job as superintendent with the school system in
an administrative shambles, Dr. McCary came into the job in much the
same hole. I'm not at all surprised that he was unable to work through
the problems that he encountered. He would have needed the complete
backing of the Board of Education to do that. Obviously, he did not
have that.
During the last several years, although several very qualified people
have been dismissed from their jobs in the administration of the school
system, we can find almost the same board members commenting on each
situation.
I find it amazing that there are board members who have made it a life's
career on the board.
Dr. McCary's qualifications did not change suddenly because the board
didn't agree with him. They cite morale as one of the reasons for his
dismissal. But morale was not the best before his arrival. The teachers
had gone through years of not knowing from one year to the next what
was going to happen. Each school seemed to have a small group of people
who had a direct line to the ear of the Superintendent, and they seemed
to be able to dictate the direction of the schools. Many of those people
were good friends, if not relatives of the board, and they wasted no
time announcing that they had a bit of pull there. Could it be that
Dr. McCary followed what he felt was best for the schools rather than
listening to those small groups? Reading that he failed to follow the
direction and instruction of the board” sent out signals to anyone
who knows the history of the school system that apparently he didn't
let those small groups lead him.
Now the board thinks that Sue Nations is the current Band-Aid, because
she has been “loyal” to the school system. Is this their way
of saying that she will do what she's told and be a good girl? Maybe
it is. When Sue was the principal at Fairview Elementary School, her
assistant was Dr. Tom Dowell, a man who had much more experience in
school administration, and yet he was the assistant. I don't think I
was the only person that found that situation a bit odd. So perhaps
she is the best person for the job because she is obviously “politically
correct” in the system.
I realize that the members of the Board of Education are elected, but
maybe it is time to find a new vision for the board. There is no lifetime
achievement award for being on the Board the longest, and there is no
“until death do us part” in that process. The citizens are
not doing the students any favors when they re-elect someone based on
a record that ceased to be unblemished years ago. When the same names
pop up in each scandal, those people need to look in the mirror and
ask if perhaps they could be part of the problem since they do hire
each person.
The students in Jackson County Schools are the future of the county.
The county has very qualified teachers who have given, and are continuing
to give, their heart and soul to the job of educating those students.
They deserve to finally have an administrative unit who stands hand
in hand with them in that vision and commitment.
Shelly Sorrell
Schenectady, N.Y.
|
Young's reply
To the Editor:
After reading of the letter from Gary Carden last week, I feel the readers
should be advised.
Gary's letter contained a few complaints that have been written by other
readers. He had nothing new in his letter, but it was a well-condensed
version of many people and presented accordingly.
However, there was one very great omission in Gary's letter; he did
not give any ideas for improving the traffic in the Sylva and Dillsboro
area. At the moment, I have asked many of the complainers how they would
make the traffic conditions through Dillsboro and Sylva better.
To date, not one of the complainers have come up with any ideas on making
the traffic flow through Sylva and Dillsboro any better.
The full and empty dump trucks, the logging trucks and other cargo vehicles
bringing supplies to the merchants in Sylva daily continue to double
park and block traffic.
I invite the complainers to make a good suggestion better than the plan
the Department of Transportation has to construct a Southern Expressway.
Frank Young
Cullowhee
|
What Christians believe
To the Editor:
I read with interest the letters about paganry and Christendom.
To set the record straight, the dictionary defines a pagan as someone
other than a Christian, Muslim or Jew - a worshipper of false idols.
On the other hand, Christians believe in the Holy Bible and the teachings
of a man named Jesus Christ.
Christians are instructed to live apart from unbelievers (2 Corinthians
6:14) and separate themselves from vain words (Ephesians 5:1-7).
Christians fear God's judgment about witchcraft, sorcery, or false worship
(Isaiah 47:9-15); the second death (Revelation 21:8), and living outside
the tree of life (Revelation 22:15).
Further, Christians, who were once entangled in bondage of sin, are
to avoid false doctrine, Romans 16:17. They are to obey the written
word from God as contained in the Holy Scriptures.
There is no middle ground for the true Christian (Joshua 24:14-25, Revelation
3:14-19).
Christ becomes such a real and powerful force by his virgin birth, sinless
nature, resurrection from the dead and appearances that each person
who accepts him admonishes personal joy and peace. No other religion
can provide such pure joy that comes by a manly sacrifice each of us
can identify with in flesh and spirit.
According to Christian perspective, material or earthly goods cannot
save one's soul nor bless a person (Daniel 5:23). The earth is the Lord's,
and He has given man dominion over it.
The true God of Israel knew people would be tempted to worship other
Gods and that's precisely why He gave us the first two commandments,
Exodus 20:1-6.
God hardly tolerates false religions, but goes so far as to destroy
them, as history dictates.
Christian doctrine encourages a person to find this true God by humbly
confessing sin and asking for forgiveness through God's Son, Jesus Christ.
No man comes to God but by Jesus Christ (John 16:6), which, in effect,
comes by a humble self.
Kenneth Lee
Sylva
|
Hopes area doesn't change
To the Editor:
Somewhere among the tortured syntax of Frank Young's most recent diatribe,
I gather he wants us to "look across the mountain" and pattern
our future growth on Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.
I would fervently hope our civic leaders take Mr. Young's advice, as
they have in the past, with a chuckle and a grain of salt. If such advice
weren't so laughable, one would think the writer had never lived in
Sylva.
He certainly has missed the beautiful ambience that we love about the
area... an atmosphere that I, for one, hope never changes.
Lord, deliver us from those who come in from the outside and agitate
for reforms and changes we don't want or need.
Jim Greenwald
Balsam and Sarasota, Fla.
|
