My Blogna Has a First Name, It's Civility

I’m going to start blogging again. But I’m going to make some disclaimers and set some ground rules.

First, I will be posting each blog in various forums. My own web site, the Patch, Facebook, etc. You should take note that when I blog or comment on news articles, I do so as an individual, expressing my own views, not to be considered the views of the school board, its individual members, or employees of the school district. If through my official duties as president of the school board, I am required to offer comment to the media through a district press release, it will be noted as such. But comments made in that capacity will never be released through blogging forums or social media.

My ability to edit and moderate varies, depending on the forum. That being the case, I ask that comments remain on topic. If you want to maintain a forum of personal attacks, feel free to start your own blog. ­This blog, however, is about my personal views on school district business, my vision for the future, my frustrations with the education world, and my desire to share these views, along with pertinent district information with the citizenry. Why? Because I can. I want people to know me and what I believe in. You can only fit so much information on an 8X5 election flyer. I feel that if I’m going to ask for your vote, you have a right to know who you are (or aren’t) voting for.

I love discussion and debate with rational people that are willing to deliberate the issue. When it becomes a band of bullies hijacking a thread to complain about everything I’ve ever done to infuriate you, it serves no purpose. I know I make some people unhappy. As the old cliché goes- you can’t please everyone. So, in order to garner meaningful input and stimulate discussion that doesn’t cause decent folks click on to a new page, I am instituting a distasteful new aspect to my blogs; censorship. Unless you can somehow, in a clever and snarky fashion, work in pertinent comments regarding my injunction against the school board, my status as a licensed cosmetologist, the fact that I wore a black and gold hood to graduation, etc., it had better be on topic or it will be deleted, when I have the ability. I will ask Patch to acquiesce to these terms, but I cannot control comment moderation in their case. But I can control my contributions to that forum. So if you want to comment on my views, you will do so in a polite and on topic manner or you won’t have the opportunity to comment at all. This is not to say you can’t disagree and make your disapproval of me known. For instance:

Let’s pretend the district couldn’t pass 10 levies in a row and teachers had to be laid off. I decide to write a blog explaining that though regrettable, there was just not enough money to keep current staff. If your comment states “you shouldn’t have worn colors to graduation and pretended you went to a real college.”- It will be deleted. However, if your comment says- “Only a hair dresser would try to justify cuts this bad.”- That would be acceptable. So my friends and frenemies, ask yourself before posting- is this comment on topic?

The next disclaimer should be self-evident, but for whatever reason, I have to remind the masses that I am a human being, (pausing for sarcastic thoughts running through some minds), with a personality, life experiences, proficiencies, deficiencies, and demeanor that are unique to me. I’m not as politically correct as some would like, I’m not as uncompromising as some would like. I’ll never be the perfect politician; I can’t always use the professional voice. I make tpyo’s. I’m an easy going person and my personality comes out, especially when I blog. If you want politically correct sound bites, I suggest you check out www.whitehouse.gov. For those of you that just had a coronary, calm down, it’s called humor. For those of you that smiled, I look forward to dialogue.