School Board Role Misunderstood

* After reading the March 12 letter from Ken Williams, I feel compelled to clarify some of his misleading, self-serving comments.

The Orange County Department of Education has never been in the business of “accepting educational fads.” Rather, the board has always recognized the individual differences of the children we serve. These children have always been the No. 1 priority of the county Board of Education.

Our students come to us with a wide spectrum of educational challenges. Some are physically or developmentally disabled; some come through the court system; others reside at Orangewood Children’s Home.

Indeed, some are at Juvenile Hall facilities. And some, despite making several efforts, simply cannot fit into the regular school setting.

These children either return to their local schools or graduate from the county schools. Some even go on to college. No “bold public positions” were taken by either trustee Eric Woolery or trustee Williams on behalf of these special-needs students.

Since Woolery and Williams joined the Board of Education four years ago, we have spent countless hours in public hearings with the boardroom filled with people wanting us to change things over which the board has no control.

Williams’ and Woolery’s lack of understanding of the role of the county board took hours of time and taxpayer dollars that we might have used to attend to the challenges of educating our students.

The Board of Education is not seated to take control of local district decisions or to attempt to tell districts how and where to budget their federal funds. It is neither our responsibility nor our desire to do so. Williams and Woolery were never able to grasp this concept. Lack of knowledge fed their frustration and made their impact futile.

The Orange County Board of Education continues to work in cooperation with school districts. The Regional Occupation Program continues to disburse Goals 2000 and Vision 2020 money to those local districts that have elected to participate in these programs.

As always, we still strive to give our students the very best education possible, and we are still succeeding.

SHEILA MEYERS

Board member, Orange County

Department of Education