How I will improve the educational experience in Pollock Pines

By Ney Grant

Communication is my top priority. Communication to keep the community informed and engaged, and communication with the teachers to resolve potentially festering issues.

A few days later myself and two others picketed the school, not so much to demand the school remain open but to raise the visibility of the issue so that other parents knew what was about to happen. That morning didn't make a difference but the photo in the Mtn. Democrat seemed to. The board meetings and community forums the rest of that year were anything but quiet.

I worked hard that year to understand the budget situation and I offered possible solutions and opinions. I was then invited and I served on the 2003/2004 school board budget committee. We didn't save the school, but I made a positive impact by writing a newsletter to parents keeping them informed and asking for suggestions and opinions. We will never know, but I am of the opinion that had the community become involved and engaged sooner, we may have been able to keep the school open.

We lost a valuable resource with the closing of the school. But we have another, more important resource that may be threatened. Our teachers.

My kids, now at Sierra Ridge Middle School, have had a wonderful educational experience and I feel are being well prepared for higher education. I thank our teachers for that, and I appreciate that the teachers have taken a quiet back seat to the turmoil around the school closing. They now deserve some attention and I will make this a priority.