Clarifications

In the below article our choice of words made it appear that a particular candidate was personally invited to participate at a school event. This is not true. The candidate volunteered to work at the event and was never solicited. We apologize to Kailee Zehrung, the organizer of the event, for our mistake. See Kailiee Zehrung's Parent Post >>

The point is not who the candidate was, nor was it how the candidate went to the event.

The point is that the school district's stated policy is that they will not allow any candidate to participate at any school function since it could be taken as an implied endorsement of that candidate by the school district.

It is against state law for school administration or the school board to endorse any candidate. Yet a candidate was allowed to participate at a school function.

Why was a candidate allowed to participate at this school function especially after other candidates where told they couldn’t participate at other school functions that occurred earlier in the week? Who is responsible to make sure that the school policies are upheld? Here in lies the problem.

Do we hold the hold the parent who organized the event responsible? Of course not.

Do we hold Superintendent Wilkinson accountable. Yes but she has been consistent with this policy not only in regards to school politics but also local politics. We are quite sure that she would not have allowed this to happen. On the flip side given Principal Anderson's poor decision making history, Superintendent Wilkinson should be keeping a closer eye on what goes on in Prairie Vale so that she can step in when needed.

Do we hold Principal Anderson accountable? Absolutely. It is her job to oversee that the activities held at their school meet and adhere to the policies of the school district.

Why didn’t that happen here? There in lies the crux of the issue. This is why we need a new school board member outside of the "Clique" and with a fresh perspective to help in finding a solution.

What are we talking about? The school administration rightly so has declined participating or allowing political candidates to participate in events, publicly stating that they cannot endorse political candidates. Without blinking an eye they then endorse candidates at school board meetings and allow some political candidates to get preferential treatment.

Prairie Vale held their Auction and Bingo night at which candidate John Robertson, who does not have a child in Prairie Vale, was asked to call the numbers for Bingo. He accepted. Shouldn’t Principal Anderson have stepped in and not allowed this? Where was Superintendent Wilkinson? Why was this allowed to happen? If participating in any school event would be an implied endorsement by the school, then John Robertson’s participation in the Prairie Vale Auction was definitely an implied endorsement by the school district.

It seems the school district can pick and choose what rules to follow. Some go as far as to say this is another example of a few families being allowed to control the district. Even though Principal Anderson was not the person who invited John Robertson, shouldn't she have had the common sense to veto his participation in the event? Or was it another attempt to make sure she had another friend on the school board, one who wouldn't vote to hold her accountable for her actions? It seems that way to us.

This is why this school board election is so important. If another individual from the "clique" gets elected, nothing is going to change. There will never be any form of accountability and things will continue status quo or further deteriorate. One would not have to look any further then Enron to find an example of what can happen when the Good Ole Boy network goes unchecked. Hopefully on Tuesday the patrons will vote for the best candidate for the district and not another clone of the "Clique".