By Jess Boon
Pittsboro, NC – Good Evening Board Members & Superintendent Jackson…
Me again. Here is the good news; I am not going to stand here and riddle off data, statistics, sad mask stories about silent lunches, kids drinking water in the hallway, mask shaming by teachers and students, teachers literally walking out mid year because they can’t teach in with the protocols in place or even the 80,000 maskless people at the Super Bowl.
Instead I want to talk directly to you, the Board, the people in this room and the parents and people of the community listening on Zoom tonight.
We, parents, grandparents, guardians, educators who stand here every month are united by one thing, and that is not our political views. You look around this room and this county and you will find Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, unaffiliated among other things. But what unites us is that we all want CHOICE; choice to make a decision for our children! We want to be properly represented by you, the board; the people who were voted in, not as doctors, but as advocates for our children’s education.
So tonight, I focus my energy on you, Ms Hlavac.
When I moved here to Chatham County, 2 ½ years ago, I had the ability to vote in a Board of Ed election. I was purposeful in my research, but only knew what I knew. I saw on the ballot, there was a working mom with two young children in the school district and I thought to myself, this is someone who will have my back and my kids back. They share my plight, working mom, two young kids, hands on. Shuffling kids through car pool and activities and finding time to work and make dinner. This is who I want to represent me, because they will understand and fight for me and my kids and other moms/families like me and what I stand for.
WOW, I was never so wrong. You, Ms. Hlavac have violated every ounce of your duty as an elected official. You pulled your children quickly out of public school (the same public schools that you sit up here and make decisions for) and put them into virtual school, when the constituents you represent did not have the financial means to keep their kids home with a nanny, we had to opt to put them back in the classroom, some at the time were not yet comfortable with that being their only option. It must have been nice to have that CHOICE. What does that feel like? The ability to choose what you think is best for your children?
In addition, I have sent you and the board over fifteen emails these past months. NEVER have you EVER responded back to me. You, Ms. Hvalac, represent my district. I voted you in and yet crickets; not one response to one of those emails. So I feel very unrepresented and frankly lied to and mislead by you.
YOU DO NOT have the best interest of the children first and foremost, you have the best interest of YOUR children.
So I ask you, why are you here? Why do you sit on this board? Why did you want to this position? Why won’t you respond to the people that you represent, the people that gave you this power of their children’s education? And why do you think you should make decisions on behalf of my children and the other 8,000 children in this county?