Occasionally you may wish to share your thoughts with the District 25 School Board. Here’s their contact info.
School Board Members–
Chair–
Marianne Donnelly – Zone #4 (2007) (Dennis)
56 Tulane Avenue
Pocatello, ID 83201
home: (208) 232-4060 cell: (208) 317-4885
email: maridonn@ida.net
Vice Chair–
Janie Gebhardt – Zone #2 (2012) (Larry)
1200 Aspen Drive
Pocatello, ID 83204
home: (208) 235-6548 cell: (208) 380-2206
email: janiegebhardt@cableone.net
Clerk–
Frank Rash – Zone #3 (2010) (Terri)
388 Myrl
Pocatello, ID 83201
home: (208) 904-3029 cell: (208) 223-6200
email: fbrash@yahoo.com
Member – Vice Chair Designee
John Sargent – Zone #5 (2011) (Michelle)
2157 Elmore
Pocatello, ID 83201
home: (208) 237-5246 cell: (208) 241-2920
email: jdsargent@aol.com
Member
Jackie Cranor – Zone #1 (2011) (Glen)
617 Dell Road
Chubbuck, ID 83202
home: (208) 237-2634 cell: (208) 705-0555
email: cranorja@gmail.com
Bill, I sent this to Goedde and others on Wed.
Senate Education Committee Chair: John Goedde
I am a long time citizen of Idaho (53 years) and I am very concerned about Tom Luna’s educational reform proposals. The plan is very short sighted and has not relied on any proven educational research. All of the people of our area who are discussing these proposals do not believe that high school students can safely and effectively use these laptop computers. The common bet is, how long will it take for them to break, lose, or damage the lap top? Some students will break through safeguards to enter dangerous web sites like porn, and gambling. Will they spend too much extra time on face book, social networks, or just surfing the web when they should be doing school work. Will the pedophiles that troll the net for victims find it easier to access our kids? Will the “smart” kids take the test for the rest of the students or sell the answers for the on-line test? How will the on-line providers prevent groups of kids from taking the test together and cheating? Despite what the state superintendent says, kids really are resourceful and they will find a way to beat the computer on-line services. Where will the money that is spent on these computers and the on-line courses go. Will it stay in Idaho and help benefit Idaho families and business, or are we sending valuable resources out of state when we need every dime and job we can keep here? Why the sudden push to “reward” these on line providers with our hard earned state tax dollars. Why has he not proposed a small trial project to see the benefits or disasters that will result from his proposal? Much has been made about the Albertson foundation and Mr. Melaleuca decrying our schools and teachers. Perhaps if they want to dig into their own pockets and pay for these computers, on- line providers and support staff, that would be better than risking our scarce resources on unproven ideas. But they want to spend the State of Idaho’s money, not their own. Why are they so against teachers and unions? Is it that unions have always fought for the needs and rights of the common citizen? Look at Idaho history for a great lesson on why we need unions to keep the ultra wealthy and powerful from dictating their whims on the rest of us. As a former businessman and employer, I wanted my employees to be educated to think, and learn new skills on the job, not regurgitate facts on a standardized test. My employees must be hard working, ambitious, and able to think on the go. They must have the desire to make themselves and my company the best it can be. This can-not be learned from a computer. It comes from a learning environment filled with dedicated teachers who inspire these students, our future employees, to be the best that they can be. To this end, it would be a disaster to increase the number of students per class room as per Luna’s plan. The best solution is to reduce the number of students to teacher and allow more effective teaching at the classroom level. This is where the best learning is happening. Thank you for listening to my ideas.
Peter Moore, 875 Cahina Way, Pocatello, Idaho 83204 208-235-4003