Press Conference: Myers turns in Petitions
This in via email from the Chris Myers for School Board campaign:
Myers Submits Signed Petitions and Issues Challenge to Opponents
Toledo, Ohio. Chris Myers, candidate for Toledo Public Schools Board of Education, submits his signed petitions today and offers remarks about improving our school system.
Date: Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Place: Lucas County Board of Elections One Government Center – third floor
In his speech today, Myers issues a challenge to his opponents, stating, “my challenge to my opponents is to identify three decisions where you’d have done something different than what the board did…And I’ll go first:
1…The Board still has no board goals. How can you move the district forward without goals? I would work hard to get board goals established.
2…I would ensure the district is investing wisely. I would support the district’s investing in the best investments regardless of the location of the institution.
3…I would not have voted to increase the board travel fund, especially at the time we are laying off teachers.”
The media is respectfully requested to be present.
Myers has been active in his support for improving TPS for several years including audio taping and reporting board meetings as well as creating Web sites like http://www.ideasfortps.com and http://www.tpssearch.com to help inform and engage TPS stakeholders.
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media alert sent by Ellen Critchley, Critchley Creative
Nothing about how to enhance and improve relations to the community with the children and their parents? IMO, there is a need to focus on the basic fundamentals to involve the parents and their children to achieve their goals by providing the atmosphere at school like it is the place to be. Giving that statement, it is imperative for relations between teachers, children and parents are nutured and supported by the board, administrations and the community. That is the key to students to grow as model citizens in the future of this community.
This is purely IMHO:
1) This nonsense of board having no goals will lead you to nothing but political showdown period. Time to step the ego aside and start thinking of the critical relations between teachers, students, and parents.
2) The “investing wisely” statement should be at the vote of the board presented by the district treasurer which is a normal protocol. No need to make this part of your platform because this is what you are to do if elected.
3) Vote against increase in board travel? What? Am I reading this right? Board travel to workshop will only enhance the existing board to learn the proper way of how to act in public, how to deal with relations and etc, if they are not taking advantage of this opportunity then why are they on the board? Most of the time, conferences and workshops are very effective to help the board make wise decisions or think professionally. So perhaps they should go to a workshop with the district treasurer about “How to save money and make interest with the surplus” so you don’t ask us tax payers for another levy passage.
If TPS is laying off teachers that is because the enrollment is down, simple as that, which pertains to the law of supply and demand. I expect that in TPS where accountability in taxpayer’s dollars are taken seriously. So board travel is not a big issue to me especially when it is a seperate issue from laying off teachers. We lay off teachers due to declining population in the city and declining enrollment in schools to complement the reality of real numbers. As wishful thinking, if the city would do this in the divisions of police and fire, but that’s another whole new issue.
All in all, I am disappointed in Mr. Myers platform. I guess that is one less vote for him this coming November.
August 21st, 2007 at 1:40 pmClarification…this isn’t his platform…Chris has held numerous press conferences and offered many ideas about improvements that can be made in the district.
This is just one press conference…and I like his challenge. I’m not happy with the board’s performance. I’d like to know what the candidates will do differently and, if any of them respond to the question, all of us will be better informed.
August 21st, 2007 at 2:12 pmOn the topic of challenging the other candidates, it has limited value unless it’s done in a debate or other setting where you are going to get media on the challenge. I think we all know it’s a common campaign technique, as Ben Konop did with his ethics challenge just as one example. How effective it will be hinges on how much media Chris gets on turning in his signatures.
I agree the Board should have goals, every organization should have some type of goals so they can gauge their own progress as well as demonstrate to others what they have achieved.
Number two is not clear for me, I’m not recalling an incident where the location of investments has been a recent issue that the majority of parents or voters would be aware of.
If however any the candidates who read the blog decide to take Chris up on his challenge, I’ll be sure to post any responses I receive.
August 21st, 2007 at 2:53 pmMaggie, whatever. Chris Myers needs to do a better job to get his message out if he’s been doing multiple press conferences. I have yet to see very much of him through the internet, newspapers or TV news, now granted I don’t have a lot of luxury time to go chase after Mr. Myers to find out what he stands for. I believe if a person who wants to be elected, that person shall go where the voters are and get their message across if they want the votes.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:16 pmRockets Man, Chris does have quite a bit of information related to his platform on his campaign website, it’s linked on the sidebar.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:30 pmLisa, I will check it out sometime after dinner and before Big Brother. Hopefully I won’t fall asleep in between, which has happened quite a bit lately with my age.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:52 pmNow I know who to ask when I miss Big Brother.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:00 pmLOL! Go Evil Dick…Go Evil.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:39 pmRockets Man, here is the statement which will fill in the blanks. Remember, that was just the press release, which is deliberately vague. Of course you are welcome to learn more at my Web site http://myersforschoolboard.com
Petition Kick Off – Chris Myers – 8/21/07 – 851 Signatures
Today, I will drop off my petition for School Board. This is the first major benchmark toward victory in November.
There are many challenges that face the district given the recent report cards. There are many schools still in poor performance and it is going to take new leadership to get this done. There is a large dissatisfaction with the board out there in the community; larger than it has been before.
Over the last few months, I am the only candidate who has proposed a vision of where the district should be and the concrete steps that can be taken to get where we as a community need to be. The stagnation of the recent report card results show we need candidates who clearly understand the issue and have creative solutions to tackle the challenges and my campaign has done that. I have shown that I will stand up and demand changes when the district drags their feet by reforming schools with chronic performance problems and they have begun to respond. I have proposed a way to better prepare our students to be entrepreneurs, and to have the business community help out. I have proposed a program to help the budgeting process, and a better way to hire and pay teachers. I have taken a strong stand on a new way to hire, evaluate and pay our teachers. I have been the only candidate to advocate for the district to stream the meetings live and to record and report on the meetings. I have created a Web site where citizens can brainstorm ideas to improve the district. I have been – and continue to be – dedicated to putting forth concrete ideas to deal with the challenges that face the district.
The question the community should ask of all candidates is this: What you would do differently?
The community is rejecting the political games and is looking for leaders who deal with the issues that will make the district better. This board and district has suffered by the politics and the narrow sightedness of candidates using the position as a stepping-stone to another office. And resurrecting more names from the past will not solve the problems.
The Toledo Public School System is at a crossroads. We can continue to do the same thing and elect the same old-same old, or we can say “we’ve had enough and we’re not going to take it anymore.”
That is why I’m issuing this challenge to my opponents. If we’re going to offer the public something other than what we’ve already had, which is resulting in our schools being downgraded to academic watch, let’s tell the public what we’d have done differently. My challenge to my opponents is to identify three decisions where you’d have done something different than what the board did…And I’ll go first:
1…The Board still has no board goals. How can you move the district forward without goals? I would work hard to get board goals established.
2…I would ensure the district is investing wisely. I would support the district investing in the best investments regardless of the location of the institution.
3…I would not have voted to increase the board travel fund, especially at the time we are laying off teachers.
(4. Get the meetings on the Internet, stop dragging your feet; 5. Hold public hearings before the budget is put together; 6. I would not have voted to hire the more expensive superintendent search firm; and so on.)
And I challenge the voters and the media. Don’t let us get away with wonderful sounding words that mean nothing. Hold us to concrete ideas that will improve the district. Our students and taxpayers deserve nothing less of us.
Now I’m going to file my petitions and I’m confident I will have the number necessary to be on the ballot.
August 21st, 2007 at 9:35 pmThis evening’s Big Brother:
Danielle won the power of veto and took her own nominee, Amber, off the block. In turn, she backdoored Jen by putting Jen up on the block to join Jameka.
Amber on the life of her daughter has promised Danielle that should Amber win any future HOH that she will not nominate Danielle to be voted off.
Gee, sounds just like a lot of Toledo politics, doesn’t it?
August 21st, 2007 at 10:24 pmMaybe that’s why I enjoy Big Brother…
August 21st, 2007 at 11:07 pm