Recall Candidates Believe Teachers Deserve Better

St. Helena Star
By Jeannie Kerr
Thursday, January 28, 2010

“Teaching is the profession that teaches all other professions.” — Anonymous Author.

This quote sums up in a simple way the incredible responsibility we place on our teachers. Although we all know how important our teachers are, and how grateful we are to them for helping our children learn, we often do not express it enough.

Lately, there has been some unfortunate misinformation circulating in our community regarding the recall effort and the supposed plans that recall candidates may have regarding the teachers of our district if the recall is successful.

It seems there has been some miscommunication on this subject because the current candidates and recall supporters have made a concerted effort to avoid putting the teachers in an awkward position by discussing the recall with them.

We all agree that this recall effort is not about the teachers but about the decisions that our current school board has made. There are some consistent messages that have come out of the recall that we candidates would like to reiterate here.

Recall supporters have consistently maintained that more school funds should be directed toward our teachers and classrooms so that our students will derive the most benefit from our district’s large budget.

Our school district is blessed with some of the most skilled and talented teachers that deserve all of the support that we can give them. They are the direct link between our children and learning; we want them to have all of the necessary tools and incentives to provide the best education they can to all students.

Recall supporters also hope that teachers will feel free to go to the administration and the board and voice any concerns they have regarding our schools and how they operate. Since the teachers are “in the trenches,” they are our best resource to inform us of what is really happening with our students. Their input is crucial to the success of our school district.

I know that my children and other children will be grateful for the opportunities given to them because of the skilled and caring teachers we have here in St. Helena.

It is important for us to all remember that our teachers are the heart and soul to the development and learning of our students.

I speak on behalf of all of the candidates in the upcoming recall election when I say that we have never felt that this current situation was about decreasing resources to teachers, it has always been about change that is necessary to make sure that our teachers have many resources available to them in order to prepare all of our students for the future.

(Jeannie Kerr is running for Trustee Cynthia Lane’s seat in the St. Helena School Board election. She has been involved with the parent groups for the primary/elementary and middle schools and the St. Helena Public Schools Foundation. She has children attending St. Helena Elementary School and RLS Middle School. She also serves on the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission and in 2003 was named St. Helena Chamber of Commerce “citizen of the year” for spearheading the renovation of a playground in Crane Park.)