EDITOR:
This is to make you aware that the Platte County R-3 superintendent is proposing a new policy committee that will usurp the authority of our elected school board. Here’s how it would work and why we should oppose this.
The policy committee would consist of 12 voting members and 16 non-voting members. The voting members would include 10 district employees and two parents. The non-voting members would include 14 district employees and two members of the school board. All 28 members of the policy committee would effectively be handpicked by the superintendent and board president. The district employees would outnumber parents and school board members by a margin of 24 to four.
The policy committee would review, update, and recommend policy changes. However, all policies must be successfully voted out of the policy committee before going to the Platte County R-3 Board of Education for consideration. In other words, 24 district employees would control district policy, not the board of education.
This proposal appears to compromise the statutory powers of the board. Not only would the superintendent handpick committee members, 24 of them would be his employees. It’s outrageous and unnerving that our district leadership would even consider such an idea.
To be clear, the policy committee would fundamentally undermine the board of education’s ability to set policy, a right that is firmly established in board policy itself. While the superintendent has authority to establish a committee, it should not be the only way for submitting new policies to the board.
The board of education is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20, at the District Education Center in Platte City. The policy committee is slated to be on the board meeting agenda. While no vote is expected to take place to approve it, this is your opportunity to share your opinion with the board of education.
For those who want to address the board of education at the next board meeting, go to the PCR-3 School District website, scroll over the leadership/board of education tabs, and click on public participation. Please note you have to register in advance to provide public comments. This proposed misuse of power must be stopped.
--Mike Stark
Platte City