What The BPA says about school board candidates

You'll want to read this week's The Independent Voice of Blythewood & Fairfield County newspaper. Grab the "real thing" or read it online at www.blythewoodonline.com

Look for the article with the title, "R2 Black Parents Assocation grades board incumbents"

The BPA gives Lindsay Agostini an A for the past four years on the board and concludes with "she undoubtedly deserves 4 more years."

The BPA gives Monica Elkins a B+ and recommends another four years for her.

James Shadd? He gets a NI for Needs Improvement. Rather than demonstrating integrity in its ratings by adding a Not Recommended, the BPA chose to end with "you decide". But read what they had to say about Shadd. Then you will decide - to vote for someone else.

A huge error in the BPA statement about Shadd was the sentence, "He was elected and assiduously became Chairman of a contentious board." 

Can you use "assiduously" correctly in a sentence? Dictionary.com defines it as "with careful and consistent effort; diligently or tirelessly" and "constantly; ceaselessly"

Some (many? most?) will argue that is the wrong adverb with which to describe his ascension to the Board Chair role on June 30, 2020.

He was nominated, and no one else was nominated for the position. Why? I'm going to guess that Lindsay Agostini and Monica Elkins knew that the deck was stacked. There had been a round of telephone calls before the June 30th meeting to assure that Shadd would get at least the four necessary votes. Not every board member was included in that round of calls. But you can bet that McKie, Holmes and Caution-Parker were. With Shadd's own vote, that made four - the majority.

Agostini and Elkins are working hard to be re-elected. Several of the challengers are working hard. There could be two new faces on the board. Hopefully, not three.

Why do I think James Shadd does not deserve re-election? Since he was elected Board Chair, he has not acknowledged or replied to even one email or letter from me.

I can understand that, as only a board member, he would duck a reply, claiming he can't speak out for the board. Of course, he could speak for himself. But, when he receives a letter addressed to Board Chair (and a Certified Mail letter at that, with a Return Receipt Requested), then he should reply. So it's just plain rude and unprofessional not to reply. It was his duty and obligation to reply. 

And he didn't.

What was that Certified Letter about? It was about correcting the situation of two illegitimate women on the school board.

By now you've probably voted. If not, you can vote absentee/in-person today, tomorrow and Monday. Or you can vote in-person on Tuesday, November 4.