[LCSD] Lebanon Express stories

Today's LE had two stories on Monday's meeting. They covered the same ground as the earlier DH stories: The passage of the PIE amendments and the board's refusal to approve the hiring of the two LHS administrators.

Larry Coonrod, the reporter on both stories, was explicit in noting the disjunct in rationales between the two decisions:

Reversing the logic they had just used in accepting a rewritten charter school contract, the Lebanon School Board rejected the school district's recommendation to hire two Lebanon High School academy principals for next year.

Also:

Kelley was visibly agitated at the board's rejection of the two principals.

“You're not building community, you're destroying it by sending the wrong message,” Kelley said. “You have two outstanding candidates before you that I cannot guarantee will be here in 30 days.”

Kelley's right. By almost all accounts, the process that governed the hiring of the two administrators was a good one. The board's refusal to approve it (remember, the board is merely there as a check on egregiously bad decisions, not to conduct the process themselves) indicates that the board members, or at least three of them, are more interested in their desired outcomes than respecting a decent process. That, of course, is not news - but the fact that it keeps happening means, as Kelley notes, that there is still damage being done to the district and its reputation.

One thing that caught my eye from the story about the passage of the PIE amendments:

Among the amendments, the boards accepted were the following:

€ Removal of the prohibition on PIE starting other private or charter schools.

€ An increase in the percentage of state school funds that Sand Ridge receives from the district from 80 to 85 percent for grades K-8 if the school meets prescribed conditions.

What are the prescribed conditions? I would like to know; commenters at LT's place are arguing over whether or not the conditions will be met, but no one seems to really know what the conditions are. Anyone out there have a copy of the amendments they would like to pass on?