Mary, these are excellent questions and I had simlar thoughts as I read the paper this morning. When I originally read the posting to fill the vacancy, I had thought the school board was looking to give some experience to a person who might consider running someday in the future. It makes a lot of sense (to me) not to have a former public servant in this role, because while they bring great experience and credentials, these individuals have already "had their shot" at leadership, and it would be nice to expand the pool of skills to include more diverse voices. I had considered submitting a letter of interest for this position because I have always wanted to better understand the inner workings of the SPPS budgeting and advocacy processes. Since I'm not sure I could stomach a year's worth of city-wide campaigning for an unpaid, rather thankless public service opportunity, the idea of submitting a letter and resume (more typical of a job search strategy) was much more palatable. There are already six (or 5 out of 6, however you look at it) credible and experienced board members that would serve as mentors to the individual selected. I saw the original posting as an innovative way to give someone considering future leadership to test out their skills. Cristy Highland Park
On 4/28/05, Mary <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Late Wednesday, I electronically filed my application for the 6 month > vacancy on the St Paul School Board. Thursday morning, the P Press announced > that Andy Dawkins has also tossed his hat in the ring, joining former Chief > Finney and Gilbert de la O. There were also three other citizens, whose > names weren't recognizable to me as public figures, listed. > > My initial dismay over my own position quickly turned to curiosity over > the real issue at hand: how to best serve the city and public schools > through this temporary vacancy? > > Questions for this list: > > 1. Will the schools be better served by having an experienced, genuinely > dedicated, and potentially up -to -speed public servant sit on the board, or > will we be better served by inviting someone new to offer their perspective > and other types of experience? > > 2. Another way to look at this issue could also be: is the community best > served by having a public servant who may be retiring or transitioning > return or by inviting a new servant to emerge? > > As for how I would answer those 2 questions -- I'd have to say we would be > better served in the short-term by having a seasoned public servant sit on > the vacant seat and better served in the long-term by using the seat as a > means for a new servant to emerge. > > Although I have applied for the spot, my own community involvement has > been guided by what may be an overly idealistic view: public service demands > that the greater civic good prevail over personal interest. I'm not certain > what the greater civic good would be in this instance. > > Ideas? > > Mary Petrie > Mounds Park > > ------------------------------------------------- > JOIN the St. Paul Issues Forum TODAY: > http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/ > ------------------------------------------------- > POST MESSAGES HERE: [email protected] > > To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul > > Archive Address: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ ------------------------------------------------- JOIN the St. Paul Issues Forum TODAY: http://www.e-democracy.org/stpaul/ ------------------------------------------------- POST MESSAGES HERE: [email protected] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
