Response to Misinformation Regarding Closing Gtown Elementary and Published in the Courant

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#003366" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Save Georgetown Elementary</B></FONT><B> </B><B>   |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Georgetown Politics"><U><B>Back to Georgetownpolitics.com</B></U></A></div> <div> Volunteers (phone calls, legwork, babysitting) are needed in this vital effort! Please call Lori Ventimiglia (303) 569-0762 or Katherine Flecksing (303) 569-3285 to find out how you can help. </div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#003366" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="id189.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Save Georgetown Elementary"><U><B><U>SaveGeorgetownElementary.com</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I>In response to the scathing comments and misinformation written and published in the Clear Creek Courant (March 9, 2005) regarding the closure of Georgetown Elementary school:</I></div> <bR> <div> To Geoff King who said, “At the March 1 business meeting, Georgetown, true to form, was represented by one person.”  The March 1 meeting was NOT a business meeting, but a work session in which the agenda purported that the materials and learning aids for the open houses were to be put together. Georgetown residents, leaders and parents did indeed attend many of the meetings regarding the budget proposals. Oddly, the only time the East-enders made an appearance was at a meeting in which there was not supposed to be public comment and AFTER the board had supposedly made the decision to take the option of closing ANY school off the table. At this public work session the President of the board, Marlynn LaGreca, allowed her east-end neighbors and friends to speak blasphemy against our entire community. So much for the guiding principle “Maintain positive school and community relationships and partnerships”. As I understand it (after having attended several meetings and after foolishly trusting the BOE when they publicly proclaimed that our school was no longer in danger of closing, I did not attend this meeting), the president of our School Board inappropriately allowed a “mob” mentality to ensue at the meeting. Public comment was not allowed when Georgetown citizens did attend the meeting before this one, nor at the meeting after it. Biases are apparently being served. Another case in point: Georgetown residents were given only 5 minutes to speak at one meeting that I attended, but the Middle School Principal was allowed to speak on behalf of her job and those of her staff for close to an hour. Interestingly, her extensive speech was entirely omitted from the minutes. </div> <bR> <div> Geoff King is perpetuating ignorance by proclaiming as fact blue sky numbers and money that would be saved if Georgetown Elementary were closed. He states that $400,000 would be saved next year if the school were closed. According to the school board's published figures, closing Georgetown Elementary next year would only save about $260,000.00 and another $254,000.00 would need to be cut. Hmmm. Perhaps the other $254,000.00 could be saved if King-Murphy Elementary were to be closed as well - but alas closing any other Elementary School has never been discussed. </div> <bR> <div> Anyone who says that Georgetown doesn't give a “rat's ass about the rest of the district” is obviously full of vim and ignorance. Logically speaking, Georgetown parents have no choice but to care about the rest of the district, as that is exactly where our children will be (would have) headed after they have completed elementary school here.</div> <bR> <div> This budget crisis should not have turned into a community war, but should have instead been an opportunity for our communities to come together to come up with some creative solutions.  The leadership of the board apparently decided that a community war suited her purposes and agenda. </div> <bR> <div> I don't trust the board anymore nor do I have faith that they will weather this bullyness of Georgetown with any semblance of dignity. After the comments made regarding our community and our beloved school, I also no longer trust that my children will be safe if they were to attend school in Idaho Springs. If the hatred of our town is so rampant, I would be remiss to think that those in positions of power would not lash out against our children. </div> <bR> <div> Call our bluff. We are creative, well-educated (some despite having attended Georgetown Elementary!) and a community who very much cares about our children and their education. We may not be able to pull together a Charter School for this coming next year, but we will the following year. We will not send our children to a community who obviously is full of hatred for our town. We will home-school. We will have a community learning center. And the District will have less money to spend on East-ender children, whom Geoff King and Tom Hayden apparently believe to be superior to our own. It's too bad that the school board did not harness our energy and willingness to help, but instead chose to alienate, lie to and perpetuate public slander of our community. </div> <bR> <div> For those of you who will remain in the district, I suggest that you look at the leadership of this district and ask the tough questions about HOW WE GOT INTO THIS BUDGET CRISIS TO BEGIN WITH. We didn't get into to this budget crisis because there is an Elementary School in Georgetown.  </div> <bR> <div> Representing $12,000.00, </div> <div> Kerry Ann McHugh</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Click here to join the SaveGeorgetownElementary.com Discussion Forum</B></div> <div>   <div align="center"> <a href="http://pub45.bravenet.com/forum/3818864053"> <img src="http://assets.bravenet.com/cp/forum.gif" border="0" title="Free Message Forum from Bravenet.com" alt="Free Message Forum from Bravenet.com" /></a> <a href="http://www.bravenet.com"><img src="http://assets.bravenet.com/cp/bn-forum.gif" border="0" title="Free Message Forums from Bravenet.com" alt="Free Message Forums from Bravenet.com" /></a> </div>   </div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>