We have heard over the past several months a great deal of talk about transparency and based on recent actions by the school board, that is really just what it is, talk.
On Oct. 25, the board received a list of the applicants they ranked in order of priority and then made a determination of who would be the applicants they were going to interview.
When Chairman Nelson was about to announce the names of the candidates that were going to be interviewed, Superintendent Larson told her to read the names alphabetically, even though the list was not provided with the names in alphabetical order.
The document they were discussing was a public document.
They were discussing the document during a public meeting.
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The meeting was being videotaped.
Still, Chairman Nelson read the document in alphabetical order without even raising an eyebrow.
No questions were asked. They were given instructions by Superintendent Larson and they followed those instructions lockstep.
Again, not a single board member questioned or challenged the superintendent's instructions.
Why did Superintendent Larson do this?
It's simple, she wanted to hide, yes hide, the prioritized list of candidates from the public.
If the school board claims to be transparent, then they were required to read the document the way it was presented, not in a manner that was nothing but nontransparent.
It is Superintendent Larson’s job to inform the board when rules need to be followed, not tell the board to do something that hides the truth from the public.
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Truth is crucial.
Truth garners support from all the people in this district and should be implemented all the time, not occasionally.
Can any one of the board members tell us of one single thing that is more important than the truth?
Nick Hillman
Brainerd
