One more post

Here is my response to the BEA:

----- Original Message -----
From: Janet Suppes
To: smiller@washingtonea.org
Cc: Michelle Miller ; Gerlitz Dennis Gerlitz ; John Stokes ; Audrey Bennett
Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2009 11:28 PM
Subject: Bellevue PTSA Council Meeting

Stephen,
I understand that you were not happy with how the meeting went last night. I figured it was just best to address this directly.

The purpose of the meeting was to learn about the BETF bills. PTA has been very involved in their development, and active in lobbying for them in Olympia. It only made sense to have someone come to our meeting and share with our members what all levels of our organization has been so excited and energized about. I appreciated having teachers there, since it is always a good thing to listen to all viewpoints and form your own opinions. These are complicated matters, and it isn't always easy to figure out the details just by reading the bills. It is important to have someone there to go through it. That's why we invited Barb to come speak.

During Barb's presentation, I expected that there would be questions, even challenging ones. What I didn't expect was the confrontational tone that was taken by you and a couple of other teachers. We were there to learn, not to get in an argument. You obviously had a different agenda. I was at a loss at one point, you were so far out of line, I wasn't sure how to get you to back off. Fortunately, Connie spoke up and made it very clear that you were out of order. You were invited to have a voice in our meeting. I was surprised that you used it to be so disrespectful to the membership. I wouldn't doubt that your tone is what led to such a lopsided vote to endorse the bills.

But the rudeness didn't stop there. During the meeting, you decided to have a loud whispering conversation with Barb. I finally had to tell you to please stop, it was disturbing the meeting. You made sure we all knew you were sitting there, and you made it clear when you were leaving. I would never presume to make such a spectacle of myself at any meeting.

So lets be honest. I saw the diatribe you wrote to John complaining about the meeting. I actually was not surprised. I figured you would take it that way, since it was consistent with the confrontational attitude you entered the room with. The meeting evolved in an unexpected way. We did not coordinate the last minute vote. We did not lie to you. How paranoid can you get? I have better things to do with my time than create plots and schemes to make a group of people angry. The vote was held according to our rules. I'm not sure where you got the notion that you had a vote, or could dictate what we propose or how we conduct our meetings. Yes, I cut you and Michelle off several times because you were launching into accusations and attacks, and were not adding anything constructive to the discussion. We had people who had substantive things to say, and they deserved to be heard. You had no right to dominate the conversation.

It is probably a good idea to have a presentation on 5607 and the current status of the bills. But don't count on it being you or anyone from the BEA. I am sure we can find someone capable of speaking to the issues and making an informative presentation.

The BEA decided to have a strike against an incredibly supportive parent community, and one of the best school districts in the country. The strike has caused a complete disruption of our school year, and made the scheduling of the snow days a hardship to many, especially seniors. The union got what it wanted, but it has a price. That price is a loss of trust and an erosion of support in the parent community. Fortunately, most of it is directed toward the union, not at the teachers. Parents still support their teachers, and are still active and involved in their schools. I would have thought you understood this, and would be going out of your way to be more conciliatory. That was not in evidence last night or in your email to John.

As I said, I was happy to have teachers join us last night. It was an opportunity to learn. I am still glad that we had so many there. You and the BEA are welcome at our future meetings. As you said, there is a P and T in PTSA. But the parents and the teachers are there for the Students, and to provide the best environment we can for our children. The focus is not on the P or the T.


Janet Suppes
Bellevue PTSA Council
President
janetPTA@gmail.com
425-445-3707