After last month's heated discussions about the prom attendance policy, which disallows seniors with more than 14 absences from attending their senior prom, you'd think the body that sets policy and stresses the importance of attendance would practice what they preach... but mysteriously, school board representative John Wladar, who also happens to chair the special ed and transportation committees, was once again MIA at the June 19 regular school board meeting.Wladar was also missing last month. The board voted to approve his excused absence from the May 15 regular meeting.
He also was absent from his own transportation meeting last month, on Tuesday, May 13, missing out on an incredibly tense meeting as the bigwig at Krise bus made a presentation, at the request of some of the board, that essentially violated a contract with district-employed bus drivers in the DV support staff union.
Wladar was asked to comment, but his empty seat declined.
(I'm starting to think I, as a full-time three-hour-away college student, have a better DV school board meeting attendance record.)
Posts
5 comments:
Just to clear the air, Mr. Wladar has been ill. Is this a good enough reason for you?
Perhaps Wladar should not be holding public office if he cannot make even one meeting per month because of illness. Hopefully he gets well soon, because he chairs two very important committees and is 1/9th of the vote on financial and policy matters that affect the students–and the taxpayers who put him in office.
I encourage all commenters to please leave their names with their comments.
The point isn't about his illness for which everyone wishes him well. It seems a privilege to sit on the Delaware Valley School Board. You are voted into this position by the taxpayers of this school district. If you cannot handle it's many time-consuming commitments then you can always resign. I respect someone for trying but if they can't fulfill the job and it's duties then they should step down. There are plenty of other candidates for the job. If he truly is behind DV and the school board he should be the first to understand and want a qualified candidate to be there in his place. These are very important times at DVSD and his voice and attendance is extremely important at the meetings. Hopefully this all can be straightened out but I feel it was worth bringing it to people's attention and investigating his empty seat.
The policy that covers school board director attendance (http://www.dvsd.org/SchoolBoard/SchoolBoardPolicies/pdfs/Membership%20(004).pdf) indicates:
_____________________
A Board member who neglects or refuses to attend two (2) successive regular meetings of the Board, unless detained by sickness or prevented by necessary absence from the district, or if in attendance at any meeting neglects or refuses to act in his/her official capacity as a school director, may be removed from his/her office, with prior notice, on the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining members of the Board.
_____________________
Mr. Wladar has not violated the policy if his absences were due to illness. I am sure all wish him good health.
Does the sickness have to be his own to be excused?
Seems to me sometime in the past year he was absent due to a family illness. Perhaps he needs to just explain himself to the public just a little bit so that
everyone knows what is going on and aren't forced to think otherwise. I am not asking for a blow by blow description as I believe in respecting someone's privacy but come on someone in the public eye needs to communicate.
Post a Comment