Shared Governance or Good Ole Boy Network?

Some naysayers believe that having the support and camaraderie of other elected officials and governmental entities is a bad sign. They are suspicious of any and all connections. But I have some news for them. The new train of thought is towards the shared governance model.

What! You mean there are others who are saying what I’ve been saying all along? Well you shouldn’t be surprised. Great minds think alike.

Just what is shared governance? It is a way of working through the decision-making process by involving all of the entities affected by an event or a policy or a procedure, bringing them all to the table to share ideas and making an informed decision for the betterment of the community, without the waste of double work or the inconvenience of ill conceived implementations. For instance, Milford Elementary. If the county and the school board had a better relationship and had been working together and communicating, we would not have ended up with a county dump, a gun range and a major arterial feeder road all being built too close to a school, too close to make parents feel that their children were being taken care of and were going to be safe coming to and going from that location.

Another example that comes to mind is the recent teacher layoffs, or RIFs. If the school board had been working well with state authorities, policies and laws could’ve already been on the books to protect our teachers form this type of shock and emotional rollercoaster of being laid off only to be rehired weeks later. For instance, Allatoona High School. All of the coaches were “let go” because all were less than two years in tenure……but the school was only two years old!! If the communication channels had been open between administration, state level officials and the school board, that snafu could’ve been avoided.

Recently, I was the only Cobb County candidate in attendance at the June 17, 2010 Education Policy Forum put on by the Georgia School Boards Association and the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education. Here are just a few quotes from the GPEE:

*Within communities, individuals and organizations should create community partnerships to focus on education…..
*Through the strategic allocation of state and local resources, schools should serve as the center of communities....
*State leaders must launch a public outreach campaign to encourage collective responsibility for education in the state and begin the difficult work of changing a culture of low educational expectations.
*Local community leaders should host forums to discuss the status of …education…….Students, parents, educators, business representatives, elected officials, faith-based leaders and others should be invited to join in the discussion.
*Parents, community members and local business owners should be actively engaged in the work of improving … education by attending public meetings that address education, becoming familiar with locally-elected officials and actively participating in the election process.


So, as you can see, prominent organizations and other entities that truly understand what is required to bring our schools and students into the 21st century, agree that shared governance is the key to surviving this current economy and seeing our children excel and seeing our communities come together for the betterment of the whole. This isn't "good ole boy" politics, it is simply what we all learned in kindergarten...."play pretty together." We will all benefit!!

Letter of Support from Community leaders for Bill Borden

We have been following with interest ......editorial election coverage about our friend School Board Candidate Bill Borden. So … we thought we’d share with Cobb County the Bill Borden that we know and that we believe has the experience to serve on the Cobb County School Board.

Since completing the Alaskan Iditarod in 2002 Bill has volunteered hundreds of hours of his time to transform his Iditarod journey to a story of character education for the school children in Cobb County. Bill’s Iditarod story makes him a 1200 mile “Iditarod Finisher” and this same tenacious spirit has made him successful in his business and community leadership.

Our friend Bill is …
Citizen of the Year for Kennesaw
Citizen Oversight Committee for Cobb School Board
Cool Dreams Program for Cobb County School Children
Graduate of Leadership Cobb
Sponsor for Shop with Hero, Big Shanty, Love the Lake
Citizen Oversight Committee Cobb Board of Commissioners
Chattahoochee Technical College Foundation
Board of The Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History
Long time member of Acworth Business Association
Long time member of Kennesaw Business Association
Past president of West Cobb Business Association
Rotarian and NW Cobb Chamber Council Chairman
Cub Scout and Boy Scout Leader

When you look at Bill’s community service record you realize that our community trusts Bill!

Those of us who have known and worked with Bill for many years are keenly aware of his leadership skills and personal character contributions that have helped create quality of life in our schools and throughout our community.

We ask Cobb County Voters to focus Bill’s trusted experience and respected community leadership when choosing School Board leadership that will be best for our community and our children.Respectfully, Friends of Bill … Former State Representative Roger Hines, Mayor Tommy Allegood, Mayor Mark Mathews, Community Pastor North Star Church Marlon Longacre, Kennesaw’s Civil War Museum Director and Citizen of the Year Jeff Drobney, Former Cobb Chamber Chairman Fred Bentley, KBA President Elect John Loud, North Cobb Baseball’s Kevin Marcy, Chattahoochee Tech Foundation Dana Herron, President of Marietta Business Association Sigurd Hoyer, Cobb Chamber Bonnie Hall, Kennesaw City Attorney Randall Bentley, Allstate Dana Dorris, City Councilman Bruce Jenkins,

More questions from the MDJ - read the truth here first

Following is a list of questions received today from the MDJ as they continue their balanced reporting and search for “dirt” on one candidate for the Post 4 School Board seat. I am giving you my answers prior to their printing them in their paper. The answers and the meanings they print will likely be distortions of my actual words. Here are my direct answers.

1. Please send me copies of Cool Dreams’ IRS tax returns for 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Quote from my CPA – “You are not required to file Form 990 or Form 990-EZ if your annual receipts are less than $5,000; however, you are required to file Form 990-N (e-Postcard). These have all been filed for 2007-2008-2009.”


2. As for the Cool Dreams Foundation speaking engagements – You spoke to schoolchildren in Georgia before the foundation was registered here, right?
Yes, Bill Borden spoke to schools, business groups, scout troops, etc.

Were you paid for those engagements? If so, who were the checks made out to? Cool Dreams Foundation in Alaska?
If there were donations, checks were made to Cool Dreams Inc, an Alaska corporation but if I was paid to speak, a rare occasion, checks were made to me personally.

(I’m not following as to why you just registered the foundation in Ga. at the end of March to do business here, if you were already doing business here.)

Cool Dreams Foundation was registered in March of 2010 because that was when Cool Dreams first had a physical presence in the state of Georgia and donations were being sought for the signs to be installed in Swift Cantrell Park for the Fisher King Iditarod Lead Dog Memorial Trail. This was a public-private partnership and the first time any “significant” monies would come through Cool Dreams so the Cool Dreams Foundation was registered.

3. How much do you charge for speaking engagements?

I don’t charge for speaking engagements however I do accept donations. When asked, I do request donations be made to Cool Dreams. If funds are not available for a donation, I still gladly take my message into the schools and business community. I have spoken for free way more times than I have had donations made. And I do not take a salary for speaking. Monies taken from the account go to care for and feed the retired sled dogs, for web site maintenance, for hand outs for the kids and for audiovisual equipment used in the presentations.

4. In an effort to verify the note on your website that you have presented your message to more than 300,000 school children -- For the last 6 months, can you list the names of schools and their cities where you have spoken? You can go back further, if you’d like.

The number 300,000 is an estimate and I’ve probably spoken to more. I’ve stopped trying to count. Some group presentations are in classrooms for individual classes while some are entire auditoriums for the entire student body.
Here is a partial list of schools and other organizations I have spoken to over the past several years:
Kennesaw Charter School
Dawson County Middle School
Barber Middle School
Due West Elementary
Drakes Creek Middle School
Crabapple Middle School
Georgia 9th District PTA Assembly
Hayesville Middle School
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
KSU Fighting Owls basketball team
Lewis Elementary
Five Forks Middle School
Alvaton Elementary School
Free Home Elementary School
JJ Daniel Middle School
Powder Springs Business Association
Woodstock Rotary Club
Marietta Rotary Club
Paulding Business Association
Acworth Business Association
Cub Scout Pack 702
Boy Scout Troop 422
Cub Scout Pack 412
Marietta Metro Rotary Club
Cobb Youth Leadership
Cobb County Juvenile Court Staff
Marietta Kiwanis Club
East Cobb Kiwanis Club
Vinings Rotary
North Cobb Rotary

Note: You are welcome to visit any time there is a Cool Dreams presentation and report some good news for a change.


5. What happened with Real Estate Counselors Inc.? The SoS website says it was closed in November 2002. Do you know why? I’m hearing that two men involved with the business went to federal prison, so I’m trying to track it down. Please tell me everything you know about the company.

Real Estate Counselors Inc was a title agency in a closing firm where I was employed as a law clerk. I left there in the mid 1990’s. I am not sure why it closed in 2002 but I think the attorney(s) moved and/or went on to other firms. One of the clients of the firm was investigated for federal loan fraud and two men went to prison for this. Their crime had absolutely nothing to do with me personally or with Real Estate Counselors or, as far as I know, any of the other law firms that they used. I willingly participated in this investigation and this is not nearly the same as being “investigated” so I hope you can make that clear in your story.

NOTE: MDJ appears to be implying that I was investigated by the FBI. I was not.

6. Campaign contributions are due next week. Can you give me a preview of how much you’ve taken in?

About $3,000 but will give you an exact number when we complete the forms.


Thank you. Happy Fourth of July.
KIM

The time is now to step up.

Cobb County schools could easily go the way of Clayton County if we don’t stop the craziness.

Together, we can take our School Board to the next level. We can present a unified voice. We can build a consensus and stop the public bickering. We can do great things and benefit our children!

A candidate with a strong financial and business background is needed
to wrestle with the tough issues of budgeting for our schools in a down economy. Did you know that Cobb County Board of Education is the largest employer in the county? Did you know that there are 5,400 line items in a budget that is over $800 Million? This serious issue needs serious attention and qualified expertise.

My son graduated from Kell High and is now at Georgia Tech. Character education is an important part of who I am as I teach a message of proper planning, perseverance and faith to students with my Cool Dreams Foundation. Being a guest lecturer at Kennesaw Mountain High for their marketing and accounting classes has been inspiring, teaching the kids about checkbook balancing, investment strategies and other practical financial knowledge. Giving back as a volunteer for the North Cobb High baseball boosters is fun. Brenda and I are long time Kennesaw State University 100 Club members which supports their basketball team. Look for me at Kennesaw State University, as I will be teaching Business Law there in the fall. I am, and always have been, all about helping our children.

Scouting is another important way I’ve been involved with kids. My son started Cub Scouts as a Baker Elementary student. Being his den leader was memorable and I’m still in touch with many of those boys. While Cubmaster of Troop 422 at St. Catherine’s, we founded Troop and Pack 412 at Summit Baptist Church. My son attended the National Jamboree in 2005 with me when I was on the Jamboree Staff and went on to achieve the rank of Gold Palm Eagle Scout.

During a down economy, a candidate who truly understands how our excellent schools are the building block for our economic engine in Cobb County is a plus. Good schools bring good business and maintain our property values. Join me and let’s make our schools and our community the best that they can be.

I am Republican.
I am a fiscal conservative.
I am the candidate who is most qualified.
I need your vote July 20.

Questions proffered by a local Cobb County newspaper

.
Dear Candidates:

Below you will find a series of questions we would like you to answer. We intend to publish your answers verbatim as much as possible, though we reserve the right to edit lengthy answers for space. To that end, please limit each answer to 150 words. Please email your answers to News Editor Kim Isaza, newseditor@mdjonline.com no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 9. Thank you!

1. Do you favor extending Superintendent Fred Sanderson’s contract past its expiration date of June 30, 2011?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Not without him going though the proper re-application and re-qualification process and conducting a national search to determine if he is the best person available for the job.

2. If the top job is open, do you think we need a national search or try to find a candidate closer to home?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Yes. A national search of the entire qualified candidate pool should be conducted to make sure we have the best person available in the position. I would not restrict the search geographically either way, to say I was going to hire local or hire national. We need the best qualified person in this job.

3. Do you favor school starting the first week in August? Mid August? Or after Labor Day?

BILL BORDEN SAID: First, any decision that is made needs to be done well in advance. Families make plans sometimes a year in advance and for a board to make a decision that affects so many people without proper and timely notice is arrogant. Having been raised on a farm, I have thought that the school calendar which allows for longer summers which was originally based on our agrarian society, provided time for family vacations, provided the ability for teachers to supplement their income with part-time jobs or to increase their education with advanced degrees acquired during the summer, was a good thing. However, studies show that a lengthy summer also allows for degradation in the education that was already provided and that the student’s retention of learned knowledge over those summer breaks is low. The psychological effect of the lengthy breaks is also evidenced in teacher and student opinions such as missing their friends, missing the social network that the education provides as well as the teachers appear to favor more evenly spaced time off. With this taken into consideration, I believe a mid-August start date would be the most appropriate for CCSD. We definitely need to have a meeting of the minds of all the local school systems to coordinate calendars as they’ve done in the past. This would allow students, parents and employers that have to deal with multiple school systems to coordinate work schedules and vacation time.

4. Do you think the strategic plan sets a high enough bar academically for our schools?

BILL BORDEN SAID: It puts in place accountability measures so that we can measure data. It is more of a road map than a destination.

5. Do you think the Cobb system is improving, holding steady, or declining in terms of student achievement?

BILL BORDEN SAID: I believe student achievement is declining based on morale issues. A student must feel good about the education they are receiving. Our students should not be worried about their teachers, their programs and their basic education. We have some of the best teachers in the country. The emotional well being of those teachers must be cared for by administration and the Board must set policies to demand that.

6. Do you think the school board and superintendent have lost the trust and confidence of a lot of citizens? If so, what would you do to restore that trust?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Yes. The Board lacks cohesiveness and a single voice to put policies in place that will keep the teachers teaching and off the emotional roller coaster that they have been on recently. Teachers are the foundation of our education system and that foundation needs to be unshakable. My background is one of negotiating deals to a win-win conclusion on a daily basis and I intend to bring a consensus to the Board that reflects our teachers’ and constituents’ ideas. My proven servant leadership skills and my background of business, legal, financial and classroom experience will benefit the Board. With the friendships I have developed in the Cobb County business community and with other elected local and state officials, I will be able to build a model of mutual governance that has been lacking with the current Board.

7. Do you think the school board and superintendent have lost the trust and confidence of a lot teachers? If so, what would you do to restore that trust and confidence?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Yes. Teachers need enhanced job security. Our School Board has not always been debt free. Present Board’s aversion to debt, which has caused the recent RIFs and almost immediate rehirings, has demonstrated a lack of loyalty to the teachers by the administration and Board. We must reconfirm to the teachers our commitment as a community to educate our children and provide our teachers with a stable work environment. I, for one, do not want the person educating my child to worry about where their next paycheck is coming from and I am committed to using my accumulated knowledge to make sure the Board accomplishes this.

8. Do you favor allowing more than 2 or 3 minutes per person for public comment at board meetings?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Public comments should be enhanced through the use of community meetings so that Board members are intimately familiar with what their constituents feel. Public comments at the Board meeting should be categorized by topics presently on the Agenda with an equal amount of time allotted for each topic and that time further divided amongst the speakers wishing to address that topic.

9. Does the Board agenda need to be restructured to devote more time to academic issues?

BILL BORDEN SAID: There needs to be a balance. There needs to be fiscal responsibility to be sure we spend our assets wisely but we also need to address issues that affect student performance.

10. What would you do as a board member if you found out that the superintendent and his staff were withholding important information from the board?

BILL BORDEN SAID: I would call for their heads on a platter.

11. School boards, under Georgia law, are supposed to set policy. Do you believe the current school board does a good job of setting policy? If not, how or what would you change?

BILL BORDEN SAID: More detailed policies need to be set and administration must be held accountable to those policies. I feel that a better job can be done making sure that the superintendent follows those detailed policies more closely and is held accountable for any failure to do so.

12. The Superintendent has proposed cutting $123 million in the fiscal 2011 budget. If you had presented the budget, how would it have differed from the superintendent’s?

BILL BORDEN SAID: I would look at areas such as transportation. We get 6 million from the state but spend 43 million. There may be some deficiencies we can look into in transportation as well as other areas.

13. Do you favor tax increases or budget cuts to balance the budget in years to come?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Both. There are many budget cuts in a 5400 line item budget that could be made once it is examined in detail. The budget must be prioritized with those services that directly affect the children’s education, health, safety and welfare taking priority. We need innovative ideas for alternative income streams which will help balance the budget. These should include utilization of the present infrastructure as well as public-private partnerships which I have proven most recently do work in education scenarios. As a last resort, I would raise the taxes and I feel most concerned citizens, once they understand all of the implications, would not begrudge our community the many benefits that increase would bring.

14. Should school bus service be further curtailed, and if so, how?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Curtailing the school bus service will not be necessary if we treat the transportation department as an alternative revenue source. Free and safe transportation for students to their schools is essential. Through my many contacts with local government, we will strive to coordinate safe and efficient routes for our children’s commute. Utilization of the national Safe Routes Program will further enhance and contribute to the system’s ability to deliver our children to their school safely.

15. Do you favor bidding out the school system’s contract for legal services? If so, by what date?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Bidding, no. Cheapest is not always best. However the Board should request proposals and curriculum vitae’s yearly from those firms interested in serving the Cobb School System and review them for the most qualified attorneys to represent the system.

16. Several school board members have been criticized for “flip flopping” on campaign promises. Is it acceptable to disavow a campaign promise, and if so, why?

BILL BORDEN SAID: While it is unacceptable to break a promise, one should not promise anything without understanding all of the ramifications or base a promise on a changing environment. However, it is perfectly acceptable for any human being to have a change of opinion when presented with new facts. One should vote for a candidate based on the candidates’ ethics, intelligence, beliefs and past achievements knowing that the candidate will vote the same way as you the voter would vote when presented with the same set of facts. I, for one, would not elect a candidate who did not maintain an open mind to new ideas, new viewpoints, new methods and new solutions to any situation.

17. Do you favor eliminating vacation rollover days for central office staff and certain other employees?

BILL BORDEN SAID: No, I do not favor the complete elimination of the vacation rollover days. A limitation must be put in place to level the playing field between teachers, administration and staff without the drastic losses of personnel to systems with better benefit structures which would cause a reduction in the quality of education within our system. There are many factors that need to be considered, such as other systems offering higher incentive packages, the present budget crunch and job losses.

18. Do you think CCSD should, in the future, apply for federal Race To The Top funds if they are available? Explain why or why not.

BILL BORDEN SAID: Yes with a caveat. All funds come with not only strings attached but ropes! Before any funds are applied for, the teachers, parents and pertinent organizations should be polled and their opinions considered. We need to be sure that with major decisions such as this, everyone has a seat at the table.
19. Do you favor raising taxes to the 20-mill max?


BILL BORDEN SAID: Yes, if necessary to achieve a quality education. As a property owner I understand that this would cause me to pay more taxes but the benefits far outweigh any detriment.

20. Do you think Cobb will need a SPLOST 4, and if so, for what specific projects?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Yes, however I hope that before a SPLOST 4 vote becomes necessary, we are able to come together to present a concise point of view to our state legislators to insist that they pass the ability to utilize a fractional SPLOST. That would allow us to designate a portion of the SPLOST to be restricted for classroom educational use. As a member of both Cobb County and School Board SPLOST Citizen Oversight committees, my position has demonstrated to me the attributes and liabilities of SPLOST funding. SPLOST allows us to tax transient visitors to our community, an otherwise untaxable population, however it is an unreliable revenue stream in a down economy and must be used with caution.

21. Would you vote to return to the A, B, C type report card for primary grades, or do you prefer the Standards Based Report Card?

BILL BORDEN SAID: No. The 3-2-1 report card provokes conversation and encourages dialog so that the parents and teachers can address student needs. Let’s look at evaluating the card in a year or two.

22. Does the school system need a new headquarters building, as one incumbent has repeatedly suggested?

BILL BORDEN SAID: Not necessarily a new building but one further away from Glover Street. I would not vote to spend any money on a move at this time.