Archive for Steve Graves

Stand Up Clark County, Bow & Take A Seat You Won!

Posted in School Board Election 2012 with tags , , , , , , on November 6, 2012 by Joan Graves

Congratulations Ashley Rithie, Michael McGowan and Beth Griffith. I am so amazingly proud of this community. This is what it’s about. This is what it means to be in America. We exposed the corruption and you said enough is enough.

To all of Steve’s supporters thank you. You guys are amazing. You worked tirelessly. I have made so many new friends through this process. And now I can fully admit that I am actually glad Steve didn’t win. I wanted a change in leadership on the board. Steve and I had many long talks about what it would mean to our family. We made the decision to make the sacrifice but if I’m honest I have to say, I’m really glad we don’t have to actually do it. Sometimes God just wants us to be willing to make the sacrifice.

The major message is that the community overwhelmingly voted in Michael McGowan. Voting out incumbant Debbie Fatkin for a little known resident like Michael McGowan speaks volumes. The same can be said of Ashley Ritchie. Her opponent, Deanna Wolfe, was not as instrumental as Debbie but the message was equally clear. This community has had enough. We asked you for change and you gave it. It’s a lesson that is turning heads.

Stand Up Clark County didn’t promote Beth Griffith but we are asking the community to support her now. We want to give Beth all the tools of success and that means throwing our support behind her. In January three of our five board members will be new. On key issues such as closing small schools and combining the middle schools we know three board members are in agreement. We have no reason to think this board will not be successful.

It has been an incredible journey and you all have blessed my life tremendously. I just don’t have the words to express what this night means. This victory has been a looooong time coming. But…..CLARK COUNTY! Take a seat. Your job is done.

 

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What Does Stand Up Clark County Stand For?

Posted in School Board Election 2012 with tags , , , , , on November 4, 2012 by Joan Graves

Stand Up Clark County has undergone many changes over the last year. We have won and we have lost. We have grown in numbers and in strength. Yet, in all the changes our core beliefs remain the same.

We are not in favor of closing small schools. It makes no sense to close the best schools in the county and force them into lower performing schools. The state restrictions on the number of students a school contains does not apply to schools already in existence only to new ones being built.

We do not support combining our middle schools. Experts will tell you the middle school years are some of the most difficult. It is not logical to create one massive middle school when we they aren’t functioning at their highest level independently.

Stand Up Clark County wants technology in our schools. However, our students are in greater need of the basics. Studying by worksheets or online is vastly different from studying from a textbook. Colleges across the country require textbooks. How will our students ever be college ready if they have no experience with the basic tool of a textbook?

Clark County has some of the greatest minds in education. We have amazing teachers doing tremendous things with very little. We need to give them more. Therefore, we are against spending $50 for valet parking, fueling the superintendent’s car, flying around the country and going on retreats twice a year while our teachers are paying for supplies out of their own pockets. Our teachers work for less money, for longer hours, buy their supplies and live terrified of losing their job. That must change. If we aren’t committed to our teachers we have not right to expect them to be committed to us.

We can’t expect a different outcome if we keep doing what we’re doing. The only path to success is change. We have a rare opportunity to change things in a single day. We can vote in three new board members with fresh ideas, dedication and willingness to take on the enormous responsibility of pulling our schools from the mud in which we’ve been stuck.

We are Stand Up Clark County and we are asking you to give us four years of new board members and they will give us four years of school improvement.  On Tuesday Nov. 6 you will walk into the voting booth the same as you’ve always been. But when you push the button for Steve Graves, Ashley Ritchie or Michael McGowan you leave that booth knowing our students are no longer Waiting For Superman.

Stand Up Clark County and save our schools.

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Tonight’s Middle School Merger Meeting & Why BJ Swope Didn’t Vote For It

Posted in Board Meetings, Board of Education (General), Documents, Elaine Farris, Emails with tags , , , , , , , on October 23, 2012 by Joan Graves

Tonight's Middle School Merger Meeting & Why BJ Swope Didn't Vote For It

Tonight there was a meeting about the merging of middle schools. Michael McGowan and Steve Graves, candidates for the school board, both eloquently stated their convictions against the merger. Judy Hicks took a hard-nosed approach about not breaking contracts. She fails to remember her contract was first with the community she serves and second to the people we pay.

The theme of the night was parents pleading for the board to slow down and consider all options before blindly plowing ahead. The board was basically listening only because they are required to. The superintendent and boar chair made it clear their minds were made up. Dr. Michael Kuduk voted against the merger. Debbie Fatkin who made a motion for the merger last week didn’t bother to show up. Deanna seconded Debbie’s motion last week be remained silent tonight. That leaves only BJ.

In this email dated September 23, 2010 BJ questions Elaine regarding safety issues of the current GRC building. Two years ago BJ Swope made it clear that his conscience wouldn’t allow for him to place middle schoolers in a building that so many of us already have kids in. The safety violation is never explained. Is it mold? Is it worse?

We don’t know because as BJ clearly states Elaine won’t answer. What we do know is that in the email BJ says he can’t vote to put middle school students in the building and last week he stayed true to his word. Rather than take a stand on it he opted to abstain.

The cry from the parents tonight is clear. What is really behind the rush of this middle school merger? Why is our board so absolutely adamant that this be done right now? Is the rush somehow connected to BJ’s safety concerns? There is more than we know but the great thing is that we have a group of middle school parents able to clearly articulate exactly what’s on their minds. They are willing to invest their time and effort into finding what is truly steering the middle school merger.

Stand Up Clark County and support the middle school parents.

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