Making our voice heard

As you may have seen in press releases this week, high school principal Coleman McDonough has been chosen to be a part of Commissioner of Education Brenda Cassellius’s Working Group on School Funding. There are a number of reasons why I can’t think of a better choice.

As an educational leader and former teacher, Coley is a passionate advocate for education with a laser-like focus on making sure education works as well as possible for families. Since arriving in North Branch last summer, he has demonstrated time and time again that his first priority is children.

As well, he is not afraid to speak his mind, and community members can be confident their interests will not be on the sidelines as the funding group works toward its goal of creating equity in education funding for all students.

Perhaps most importantly, Coley is a parent and has children in, this district. As a parent, he wants the what we all want for our kids; the same opportunities offered countless students statewide not living in regions that face the challenges we face here. Like other parents in our district, he is bound and determined to see that the students of North Branch Area Public Schools (NBAPS) have a brighter future as a result of this process.

Equity in school funding is the most major issue facing NBAPS and the families it serves, and we are approaching the issue from a variety of angles. As Coley is making his voice heard at MDE, I am heading a subcommittee of Schools for Equity in Education exploring the possibility of suing the state for its failure to uphold its constitutional duty to provide a uniform education for all students.

As well, school board members are making their presence felt even now at the Capitol on our behalf.

I mentioned some weeks ago that we all must be ambassadors of the district. These are just a few examples of how the district is taking that message to heart.