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SV school board given state honor

Published/Last Modified on Saturday, Dec 15, 2007 - 06:16:45 am MST

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Herald/Review report

SIERRA VISTA — The Sierra Vista Unified School District governing board has received the top award in the state for its outstanding boardmanship.

Presented Thursday night at the awards banquet at the Arizona School Boards Association’s annual state conference in Tempe, this honor now ranks the Sierra Vista board as one of the top five governing boards in Arizona.

All five of the Sierra Vista governing board members were honored at the awards ceremony with a plaque, and a larger plaque was awarded that can be placed in the Sierra Vista board meeting room. It reads: “The Sierra Vista Unified School District No. 68 is awarded the Arizona Total Boardsmanship Award for Commitment to Board Development and Continuing Education Attainment.”

Board members are president Connie Johnson, clerk Deb Scott, and members Nancy Richardson, Don Rothery and Hal Thomas.

“It was such a joy to see them receive this great honor,” Superintendent Renae Humburg said.

At the regular meeting of the Sierra Vista board on Tuesday, the award will be listed on the agenda to enable the district to honor and recognize each board member.

Of the 227 district school boards in the state, only five won this prestigious award.

Board members earn this honor by continually educating themselves on how to be the best board members they can be by learning in depth how to define their duties, what their responsibilities and roles are in the district operations, the role of the board president, laws and legislation, budgets and finance issues, and so on.

Throughout the year, each board member attends seminars and workshops to broaden and strengthen their knowledge. They also attend a variety of state and national meetings where they take additional training, and meet and confer with governing board members from around the state and the country.

In Arizona, school boards are elected by a vote of the populace, but serve on their governing boards without compensation.

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Taxed Out wrote on Dec 29, 2007 3:34 PM:

" I agree that we should congratulate the Board for the award. After all, it was not an award for doing anything, merely for sitting in chairs at appointed times. They are quite competent at that. Other boards that did not attend enough meetings to get an award may have been in their districts doing something productive and perhaps even doing it well. "

Another critic heard from wrote on Dec 28, 2007 6:50 PM:

" I'm not so sure there are only 5 or 6 "pathetic" critics of the school board here. I'm also not opposed to paying taxes to support good schools, but I'd like to think the money was being managed by competent decision makers. "

Voter wrote on Dec 28, 2007 8:35 AM:

" FOR THE BOARD wants congratulations for the board. This is a joke,,,right? He needs to get a life and realize the board is caught up with themselves. The voters will soon enough settle this matter......... And you folks that don't like paying school taxes need to get a life also....Public education is here to stay and it will be funded with taxes. "

For the Board wrote on Dec 27, 2007 9:07 PM:

" You guys are pathetic you represent a minority. Our board received state honors for a reason. We should all congratulate our school board. They work hard for little or no money. Sierra Vista at the MAJORITY loves the school board. "

To Repetitive wrote on Dec 27, 2007 4:17 PM:

" The people on these boards aren't destroying the school boards reputations. They did a good job all by themselves, by being incompetent. "

Poster-Dude wrote on Dec 27, 2007 3:44 PM:

" I agree with REPETITIVE. The local school board and the superintendent are excellent people. However, they don't belong in their current positions. It is not the posters on this board who have sullied the boards/superintendents reputation. The board and superintendent have done this to themselves and in the process damaged the entire local public school system. The board is not the victim here. BTW,,,I gladly pay a lot of school taxes. I do not regret paying school tax. I only regret my historical support of this board. "

Repetitive wrote on Dec 27, 2007 11:21 AM:

" When you read through the critic's comments, there's clear indication that about five, perhaps six, people are writing the criticisms. People who have a clear agenda. They are also the ones that leave "out of your mind" messages repeatedly. They want the public to think they represent a majority viewpoint by their constant repetition. Fall off your chair if you want to... the local school board and the superintendent are excellent people. Dr. Humburg is an excellent administrator. Just because you don't want to pay taxes to support schools, doesn't give you the right to destroy good people's reputations! "

Independent wrote on Dec 27, 2007 9:01 AM:

" So the Board attends conferences to learn new skills. Do they use these skills? It isn't apparent from watching them or asking questions of them. They receive inferior and incomplete staff information and are content, asking no questions. In essence, they are figureheads. All have an education background, which until recently I thought an advantage in a Board member. Now, I believe as someone stated at a recent meeting, that we need a manager, not another educator when we elect three new Board members next year. It's time to get an outside perspective. "

For the Children?? wrote on Dec 24, 2007 5:27 AM:

" The current board was endorsed by the local Union . The union got what it wanted. Incompetent lackeys. Despite its name, the National Education Association does not promote good education in America. That is a fundamental mischaracterization and error. The NEA is a destructive force to real education in America. The NEA is a powerful teachers union, which, in moments of candor, will admit it is about securing higher pay and benefits for teachers, not improving their performance and certainly not watching out for the interests of children. "

Clueless wrote on Dec 23, 2007 8:37 PM:

" Are those the best responses you can come up with? They would be pathetic and uninspired coming form a sixth grader. Thank you for further proving my point- You have nothing of substance to say! If you did you would not have to resort to childish taunts and name calling. Say what you want about the board, they are responsible for what happened. Leave the kids and the schools out of it. Stop being so negative. You are making Sierra Vista look like a community of hateful, heartless, uneducated trolls. "

Hi Clueless II wrote on Dec 23, 2007 4:25 AM:

" Clueless...a/k/a...Joseph Goerbels/////If you're so tired.....go to bed. "

Hi Clueless wrote on Dec 22, 2007 7:22 PM:

" Perfect name, as you are, and so is the board, "

Clueless wrote on Dec 22, 2007 10:55 AM:

" Here's an idea: Spend less time thinking up ridiculous conspiracy theories and pathetic attempts at cleverly worded negative comments. You people have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Yes, a major mistake was made and I am certainly not apologizing for or blindly supporting the school board. I am tired of hearing you people spew hatred towards the idea of public education and children in general. Why don't you stop complaining and making cowardly anonymous attacks and actually DO something? "

Transplant wrote on Dec 22, 2007 4:13 AM:

" Looking at this school board from a distance . I would say the critics of this boards action are justified. This board would have been quickly bounced if they were in the bay area. I've been to a board meeting or two, both here and there and sat on a board. The ballot box will settle this matter. "

Not Surprised wrote on Dec 21, 2007 8:13 PM:

" It is all dependent on how the nominations are written up and what the criteria were to be nominated. Nothing wrong with getting put in for an award. Nothing wrong with getting one. Had the tax fiasco not highlighted the Board's inattention to detail, it might have been percieved diffrently. Timing is everything. "

The future is near.... wrote on Dec 21, 2007 3:39 PM:

" I am not a school board member, neither do I have a child in this district nor am I an educator, but I am one voter who plans on voting for the best for the jobs...and if the current board runs again, they have my vote. They've done an amazing job and I support them whole heartedly. Children are the future...and we need to support them in every way possible. Period. It's sad that all of you are pointing fingers, yet none of you have attended meetings to find out what a school board is about. "

Willie wrote on Dec 21, 2007 2:41 PM:

" Kudos to 2nd Best -- I echo your comments! The school board doesn't have the moral courage to return the unearned award -- they're too busy congratulating each other on a job well. Unfortunately, my kids DID endure several years of notably mediocre education -- overseen by an incompetent school board and an asleep-at-the-wheel superintendant. "

2nd Best wrote on Dec 21, 2007 11:21 AM:

" Let me see. We have the superintendant of the year in Humburg and the school board of the year. And together they brought us the tax fiasco. I'd sure hate to see my kids in the second best school district in the state. No wonder our kids get such a poor education. We are number one in the world in spending per pupil and not even close to number one in education results which shows money isn't the answer. If the board had any morals they would give the award back. "

K Switzer wrote on Dec 21, 2007 7:42 AM:

" Another fine example of "Screw up and move up" eh SV school board? "

SHAME ?? wrote on Dec 21, 2007 4:11 AM:

" This board owns the CLAIM TO SHAME golden apple award for Arizona. Mr "Very Obvious" below thinks that if he/she keeps singing accolades about this board,,,,, someone will eventually believe this is a good board. The only thing this board is good at is warming seats. "

2nd the Motion wrote on Dec 20, 2007 8:50 PM:

" I was standing in a long line at Home Depot last week when someone moved to banish the school board to Siberia. Two guys seconded the motion. Another shopper labeled the board as the \\\"Fiasco Five\\\". There was general agreement that this board is an embarrassment to the community. "

SV Board Supporter wrote on Dec 20, 2007 2:53 PM:

" To THE PLAN: Don't you think that would be the best for us is to have a board member rise to Superintendent? Of course! So we hope this is the route they'll take. I'm for it 100%! After all the SV school board was given state honor. "

Willie wrote on Dec 20, 2007 8:02 AM:

" This is an example of the blind leading the blind (and incompetent). Can't wait to vote this school board out of office! "

THE PLAN wrote on Dec 19, 2007 10:22 PM:

" A board member will rise to be Superintendent! Watch and see. That's the PLAN! "

Bah Humbug WHAT? wrote on Dec 19, 2007 2:24 AM:

" I read Bah Humbugs comment about naysayers and laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair ROTFLMAO......This boards actions speak for themselves in the incompetence camp. The truth is the board had reason to know of the fiasco long before the tax bills hit the street. It was their job to know. They blew it and everyone pays the price. It's hard to find a voter around here that can't wait for the next election so we can send these arrogant folks out to pasture. "

Taxed Out wrote on Dec 18, 2007 4:56 PM:

" If the Arizona School Boards Association is so naive as to believe that merely trying to learn and attending the Association's functions makes a Board superior, how much can we trust anything they do or say? I'm wondering if it is smart to pay them to conduct the search for Superintendent Humburg's replacement. "

Very Obvious! wrote on Dec 18, 2007 9:44 AM:

" Bah humbug to naysayers, and congratulations! are indeed board members... SHAME! "

Happy Pagan wrote on Dec 17, 2007 8:36 PM:

" Be nice if some of them utilized what they supposedly learned in these seminars. I'm glad they seek to improve their knowledge and techniques but I see little evidence of it in meetings. Some of them are just past their "shelf life". "

I see, wrote on Dec 17, 2007 7:12 PM:

" I see that, Bah humbug to naysayers, and Congratulations! must be board members. I can't believe after the fisaco that happened, they get an award. Go figure, there are people that think OJ was innocent, and Charles Manson does have followers too. "

Taxed Out wrote on Dec 17, 2007 6:02 PM:

" According to the Herald, "Board members earn this honor by continually educating themselves on how to be the best board members they can be by learning in depth how to define their duties, what their responsibilities and roles are in the district operations, the role of the board president, laws and legislation, budgets and finance issues, and so on." It is apparent that learning in depth doesn't assure that members can/will perform their duties. Perhaps more involvement in performance would be better for the district than involvement in getting educated to perform functions they neglect to perform. "

Have to Pay Taxes wrote on Dec 17, 2007 5:25 PM:

" We HAVE to pay taxes to support schools, but there is a limit to how much will be tolerated. When the SVPSD expenditures for admistrative costs fall below the state average and classroom dollars spent exceed the state average, then talk to me about more taxes. At present they spend more on administration than in the classroom (State Statistics). When the SVPSD admits they always intended to collect more that the $2.5M override money they said was needed (now over $1M more), then talk to me about truth override taxes. THE WHOLE UNEMOTIONAL TRUTH WOULD BE REFRESHING! "

Bah humbug to naysayers wrote on Dec 17, 2007 10:15 AM:

" All you critics, why don't you find something valuable to do with your time. Like volunteering to make our schools and community a better place instead of griping continually because you don't want to pay taxes to support schools. That is what your criticism is really about. So the school governing board are not the incompetent people you like to protray they to be! Talk about making mistakes...you naysayers are mistakingly forming opinions that have no truth to them. Readers need to wake up and see you all for what you really are....uninformed naysayers! "

Congratulations! wrote on Dec 17, 2007 10:00 AM:

" I have long observed that the SV District board is one of the hardest working I've ever observed. It has some outstanding intellectual board members who serve without any compensation. Those of you who criticize, have you ever attended a board meeting, or taken the time to observe these dedicated individuals at work? I will bet you have not. The fact they were not informed about a tax calculation error, until the tax bills came out, is not their fault. If you looked at the TRUE facts, you would form more accurate opinions. "

Oh No wrote on Dec 16, 2007 3:49 PM:

" I darn near lost my lunch when I read that headline. That has to be the joke of the week. Qualifies for News of The Wierd. "

Taxed Out wrote on Dec 16, 2007 1:55 PM:

" Visit the Arizona School Boards Association web site and to get an indication of that organization's orientation. The site contains bad press on how Arizona neglects education. It also leaves such information on the site for years. We can hope that the award was not intended merely to influence opinion that has resulted from the tax fiasco. "

Give me a break... wrote on Dec 16, 2007 5:57 AM:

" Another case of the blind leading the blind... What a crock! "

Silver Lining wrote on Dec 16, 2007 2:44 AM:

" Yes Louise,,,there\'s always a silver lining in every bad story. I just had one of my best belly laughs in the last 5 years. Thank-you board for allowing me a minor bit of pleasure. "

What The ..? wrote on Dec 15, 2007 6:15 PM:

" Does anyone know the period of time covered by this award? My jaw dropped to the floor when I saw this headline and then I almost had an accident in my pants when I read "to be the best board members they can be by learning ...... budgets and finance issues, and so on." Talk about a mutual admiration society. "

Taxed Out wrote on Dec 15, 2007 1:57 PM:

" Congratulations to the Governing Board. However, the award is apparently for activity, i.e., attending things, rather than performance, i.e., attending to things. If the award really is for performance, we can be comforted by the fact that there are more than 222 districts that are in really bad shape. "

SV TaxPayer wrote on Dec 15, 2007 11:16 AM:

" What a crock! "

Oh Brother! wrote on Dec 15, 2007 9:37 AM:

" Does this make up for not paying attention to the budget?? A big enough "atta boy" to overcome public anger over the tax fiasco? Time and the next election will tell. "