All we see are concerned residents in Aromas

Yes, emotions are high in Aromas, but I don’t see any devils
running around. I see good people who care about our community,
especially their children.
Dear Editor:

Yes, emotions are high in Aromas, but I don’t see any devils running around. I see good people who care about our community, especially their children.

Why is it that the CBS group has never been directly approached by the administrators of the Aromas-San Juan District for a heart-to-heart meeting? This is a group that collected 400 signatures in support of Ms. (Mary-Ann) Tucker and has helped promote better parental attendance at board meetings over the last four months, not to mention a growing e-mail network.

We have written our concerns to the district and shared minutes from parent meetings. Nothing has been done with that information to our knowledge. Yes, the release of Ms. Tucker was hurtful, but it helped open our eyes to many other things.

We are equally concerned in “How” it was done as to why it was done. Maybe it is easier to name-call rather than answer questions directly. We have met openly to answer questions and debate issues. We have shown our faces and put our names out there. Yes, my name will be at the bottom of this letter, unlike the opposing letter written last Friday the 13th about the “Devil playing in Aromas.”

People tend to get frustrated and irritated when they are told that their feelings and opinions don’t matter because they are too emotional about an issue. I once used that excuse with my wife. She confronted me directly about trying to avoid the central issue. Not speaking to me for the rest of the day also helped me achieve a deeper awareness.

Many of us feel that the district is making light of our opinions and feelings concerning issues surrounding our children’s education. The new strategic plan calls for a better partnership between the district and parents. This is not how one fosters a nurturing partnership in my view. 

The editorial written last week is exactly the same kind of tactic that many parents are tired of dealing with, focusing attention away from the central issues when questions hit too close to home. Some of these issues I speak of are:

– Not adequately addressing the tremendous decrease of student enrollment in the district – that is costing the district money.

– Lack of responding to many questions from the community about a variety of issues, both big and small. No outreach plan is in effect for a consistent communication network with parents.

– Voting patterns, written responses and scattered phone call communication from board members convey that several of the board member are out of touch with the needs and concerns of Aromas (we can not speak for San Juan).

– Confidentiality of information from the board and administration of the district seems to be compromised at times. Some teachers and parents find out facts about personnel that no one else knows. Example is that rumors of Mary-Ann’s nonrenewal were floating around months before the March board meeting.

– Board members giving different accounts of district procedure – Who do we believe?

The members of CBS do not wish ill on any of the school board members. We are waiting for the district to prove to us that we can trust the “trustees.”

Until that happens, we will act within the laws of the system, granting citizens the right to recall officials. We feel that three members of the board do not represent a large number of the people that elected them. We feel that change is necessary now. The money we spend on the recall is a relatively small amount to the amount it is costing us in the loss of students from our district monthly.

We are concerned because we know the wonderful potential of our district. We know of the great things our teachers and principals are doing. We want the best for our district. We are disappointed that the board and the district are not finding ways to publicize these great things to the community. At a time like this we need a board that is much more proactive or we fear for the future of our district.

No, I don’t see any devils, only concerned citizens for better schools.

Charles J. Trementozzi

teacher, parent, taxpayer and resident of Aromas

for 11 years

Editor’s Note: The unsigned

letter of Friday, June 13 referred to was an editorial by the Free Lance.