Commentary: No one listened to school task force

Long-time residents of Newport-Mesa should be appalled by interim Supt. Robert Barbot’s “open letter,” which appeared in the Feb. 19 Daily Pilot editorial pages.

Paragraphs two and three are particularly disturbing to me and, I’m sure, others who served on the long-forgotten Newport-Mesa Unified Community Involvement Task Force in the mid-’90s.

In the wake of the Stephen Wagner embezzlement scandal and the deficient curriculum audit, this task force, comprised of 16 local citizens and 16 school district employees, met for more than a year after regular working hours to craft a set of important recommendations, which were then to be submitted to the Newport-Mesa school board.

The final, 10-page report dated June 1, 1994, recommended greater publicity for parent involvement, coordination of community and school resources, regular community forums, communication training and shared decision making.

However, as former Newport Beach Mayor John Hedges stated in a 1994 Daily Pilot op-ed piece, “The task force report has left disgruntlement in its wake. In a flurry of letters dating to early last year, the members complain that, while the task force was created with great fanfare, their report has been shelved. Further, district administration has studiously ignored the recommendations, especially shared decision making.”

But the big question here is why did the board of education feel that shelving these major reform recommendations, without comment, was in the best interests of the community? Why not ask one of the school board trustees who still serve on the board? Their names are Judy Franco, Martha Fluor and Dana Black.

So, now, we read from our new/old interim superintendent that the district is, “Continuing to listen, support, respect and work together to strive to do what is right and continue to give all students the excellent educational opportunities they deserve.” He goes on to say, “this has been the historical and demonstrated practice of the N-MUSD and its communities.”

He finally reminds us that when organizations falter, they “need to recommit, make course corrections and move forward” and that “this approach is at the core and nature of all organizations that are successful.” Oh, really?

In light of what occurred in the ‘90s, namely the slap-in-the-face given to the task force and community, to say nothing of the district’s more recent missteps and failures at the public’s expense, I find Barbot’s statements in his “open letter” to be grossly disingenuous, misleading and insulting, and I hope that parents and concerned citizens throughout our community demand a long-overdue explanation from Barbot and the board on why these key proposals continue to gather dust on some closet shelf at the district office.

KENT S. MOORE lives in Corona del Mar.