Special Note: The author would like to thank Keith Ball, Principal of Woodstock Middle School in Cherokee County, Georgia, for all the extra traffic he has been driving to this site.

If Mr. Ball referred you to this blog, please understand that his actions are the result of his personal vendetta against my fiancee’, Allison Burnes. For the record, Allison Burnes does not write, edit, approve, or support what is published here. I alone am responsible for this content.

Mr. Ball’s problem is with me, but he can’t seem to muster the courage to take me to task directly. Instead, he is referring all of Allison’s prospective employers here, hoping to sabotage her career by blaming my writings on her. It’s wrong, and you deserve to know his motives and the relevant facts. If you would like to read all of the articles related to Mr. Ball as of 2-15-2010, please use this link. The posts are displayed in reverse chronological order, so read from the bottom up. Thank you for visiting.

Yesterday’s primary election in Cherokee County brought both kinds of news.  I’m happy to report that Kim Cochran, one of the most qualified people in the School Board race, won her seat on the school board, defeating Wes Frye.  I am confident that as a former educator with considerable experience, she will bring valuable insight and excellent leadership to the school board.  I congratulate her on her victory and could not be happier with that particular outcome.

The news regarding the other two school board seats is, unfortunately, tragically bad.   When only 14.7% of the registered voters actually bother to vote, the outcome of any election is bound to be ugly.  Those 15% of the people signed up for four more years of Mike Chapman and Janet Read on the school board.  The arrogant, unresponsive, smug incumbents have won the day, and the kids, unfortunately, have lost.

I sure wish that the incumbents had spent half as much time during their last term dealing with the actual issues as they spent preparing for that recent forum.  It’s interesting that finding out what the community’s hot issues are and developing sound answers to those issues becomes so much more important just before an election.  Shouldn’t that always be a priority for those elected to serve?

With Read and Chapman back in place, I worry that Cochran’s one, lone voice of sanity on the board will not have the power to bring about change.  As sad as this is, we might as well settle in and expect everything to remain as it is for another four years.  Good teachers will continue their mass exodus from places like Woodstock Middle School, where unqualified administrators like Keith Ball care more about their own personal growth than the kids’ educational growth, and more about their power trips than their school system’s health.

On that issue, it’s onward and upward.  If I reach high enough, I’ll find someone who will listen — and act.