December 3rd District meeting speech - 100+ parents in attendance

Below is my speech as presented to the Board of the Soquel Union Elementary School District.

Good evening, guests, parents, staff and School Board.

Over the past two weeks, I have put a lot of thought into what I wanted to say tonight. I would like to appeal to the community minded side of this Board regarding the subject of hard working parents and how they give to the schools with selfless dedication, much like this Board does.

In reference to the pending School-Connected Organizations, Administrative Regulation 1230, many things have been said at these meetings over the last few months that are alarming when heard from this side of the room. At times they sound like an attack on the giving parents of the district.

The Home and School clubs are being accused of wrongdoing, yet the officers of the organizations have not been notified by the Superintendent of these allegations of inequitable funding of programs and scholarships. This Board has sat at these meetings and heard the Superintendent raise caution of inequitable practices, yet with no supporting evidence being presented. I believe this Board is only hearing one side of an accusation. I encourage you to be responsible in asking for detailed information about program funding and which students are being served, and allow the Home and School Clubs to be part of that conversation. I encourage the Board to ask for that information before allowing radical changes to the Administrative Regulation, as were presented at the last meeting. I ask you to listen to the audio of the November 19th meeting and re-hear what was said, and please listen from a parents point of view.

Inequitable practices have been cited as a leading reason for sweeping change, but the volunteer parents of all of the Home and School Clubs that are here tonight,  believe that accusation is not supported by fact. The Superintendent has stated, and I quote, “WE are going to really designate why parents are giving and what the target is.” The Home and School clubs are their own charitable organizations, recognized as independent entities and PARENTS will determine why they are giving and this office will be a partner in determining what that target is. The District Office has the right to refuse our abundant giving, but the Superintendent will not dictate to us, how we operate, as we all strive to work together within the confines of the education code. We expect the Board to support the efforts of this community, and we expect each Board member to research each law as it relates to issues before the Board, and not just accept the Superintendent's belief or interpretation of law.

In closing, the parent volunteers of all of the Home and School clubs are upstanding community members and work extremely hard to raise funds, funds that benefit each and every student.

Thank you for listening.

Chris Hadland