To You, The Reader

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this publication. These candidates who have the courage to put their names and faces out there in these turbulent times…hats off. I have witnessed firsthand how good men and women have had an astounding amount of political mud thrown in their direction on a personal basis, only to still respond respectfully, still only focusing on the professional and sidestepped aspects of legitimate grievance, even as their own personal lives and character were repetitively assaulted without mercy by those with no room to speak. Credit where credit is due, and especially with the school board candidates…you guys deserve so much more credit than you’ve gotten with what you’ve had to put up with and how maturely you’ve handled everything and I really hope your efforts pay off both for you and our community. This whole election process has unveiled very troubling and ugly undertones with the current administration and if anything has become apparent…it is the necessity of it being time to right this Ship, stop making excuses and stop pointing fingers. The district has consistently declined for the last five years. At what point do we start looking for tangible causation?

In my world, and basically any other world where professionalism and efficacy is a focus, a five year losing record cannot be passed off on the players; at this point its time to fire the coaches and hire a better management team.

So! Here we are, April 5, Election Day!

These last eight months have shown me a ton about our hometown and the quality of character of the current people running it, both better and worse. I cannot tell you how many times I have witnessed blatant disregard and indifference from incumbents and other existing members on the school board, later tempered by outright haughtiness and straight falsity in their efforts to discredit these three family men who just want to see our schools get back to improving year to year. We are told to embrace the mediocrity of decline the current complacent majority tries to sell, pointing fingers and passing the buck as the district keeps taking on water with nobody around willing to pick up a bucket.

Until now.

We have some amazing candidates begging for a chance to volunteer their time to positively affect change within this community. Begging. But not just begging; putting the work in. Going door to door in the wind and cold. Taking time away from their families and careers. Putting in their hard-earned money (for an unpaid position). Going head-to-head in open forums on the biggest local stages and answering random questions. Talking to hundreds and thousands of people throughout this campaign trail and being completely available, embracing public transparency to the extent of scheduling and showing up for in-person meetings with knowingly rude constituents, just to have that discussion and get the truth out. And that is just for the School Board election.

We have some great people stepping up for change at the County Board level as well. 30 year teachers, several veterans, self-made successful company owners, parents, grandparents, active community members/volunteers, trainers, coaches, professionals and many more titles and accolades that even further lend themselves to the undeniable truth that our community is finally waking up to this completely needless settling for mediocrity. We are answering the call.

I’ve included contact information for each and every one of these candidates. Each and every one of them want you to reach out. Please give them a chance; they deserve it.

Wholeheartedly,

Jason C. Johnston, Editor In Chief