Thank goodness, I no longer have a child in the Hamilton County school system and that no one in my family is in need of a possible job, as five of our school board just sealed this county's coffin.

Such a display of small-town politics and attempts to control the office of superintendent so far into the future will be evident to any professionals who might consider this town for future businesses.

Backhanded, underhanded tactics by "career" politicians who are not capable of maintaining a "real job" continue to blacken the eyes of our city and we can all thank them when VW goes to Alabama.

S. Cook
Hixson

* * *

Well, that does it for me. I just read on the Chattanoogan's website that the incompetent, joke of a school board voted to renew Dr. Scales' contract even though his original contract hasn't even come close to expiring.

I would like to thank Debra Matthews, Chip Baker, and a few others for making my decision for me. Because you people voted the way you did, you made for us a decision my wife and I had been going back and forth on.

Our children will no longer be attending any Hamilton County public school. We are leaving Hamilton County.

Because the next thing you know, the tax that the school board is dying to get will happen, and there's no way I will give one more cent to their vacation or retirement pay. My children deserve more than this. A lot more.

Matt Riley

* * *

What happened to the voice of the voting public? I read with dismay the report that the school board has voted to extend Dr. Scales' contract.

The vote for early renewal reinforces the general perception that the voting public has no say in school board decisions. It seems that is true - you see I took the time to compose an email voicing opposition to this early renewal and sent the email Wednesday morning, June 18, at 7 a.m. to our county mayor and every county commissioner, plus every elected school board member. I used the "read receipt" feature on my email program to see if the email was read. Each recipient had two full days prior to the school board meeting to check and read their email.

It should be no surprise for the public to know that only two school board members, Rhonda Thurman and Chester Bankston, took time to read the email. The only elected county official to read my email was Bill Hullander. I received a "read receipt" from all three of these officials and Ms. Thurman and Mr. Hullander each replied with a brief comment. I have not at this time received "read receipts" from any of the others. Apparently they did not take time to check their email for voter input or comment prior to their meeting.

As I said, this doesn't surprise me in the least. My email content was not radical, threatening, abusive nor was it confrontational. I put thought into my choice of words hoping the rational approach would be worthy of their attention. I was wrong.

Perhaps I am mistaken, but this "experiment" of mine seems to prove that once elected our officials do not take time to check the pulse of the voting public - these questions beg to be asked. Do they care what we think? Does our opinions matter? It seems the answer is a resounding No.

All they want from us is our vote and tax dollars.

Thank you, Ms. Thurman, Mr. Hullander and Mr. Bankston for taking time to read and consider my input.

Tom Wheatley
Soddy-Daisy

* * *

Please remember the following people at election time: Jeffery Wilson, Debra Matthews, Chip Baker, Joe Conner and Janice Boydston.

They have conspired to extend the contract of Dr. Jim Scales without the approval of anyone in the county as I see it.

Why the rush? In spite of all the hogwash put out by county school officials, I can find no evidence of improvements under the direction of Dr. Scales. He can't manage the budget. He thinks pulling up pants at Howard and setting the starting time back an hour will somehow improve the 29% graduation rate. He is simply an unproven entity.

Is there some incentive to renew his contract after only two years of mediocre performance? Who did these board members represent? Certainly not the voters in their districts.

In the early years of this great country, these shameful board members would be tarred, feathered and rode out of town on a rail.

Harry Presley
pharry752@aol.com

* * *

I’ve never had a child in the school system and I still have to pay for the mismanagement of these idiots.

Mike Dobbs

* * *

Could someone please explain why we would want to extend Dr. Scales' contract at such an early date? Is there a chance that he will seek other opportunities if we don't write him a blank check? By offering the extension now, it appears that we feel that anything he may do between now and the expiration is okay.

What is the rush? If he did decide to seek other opportunities, is there no one in this county that could do the job? We have many qualified managers who would be glad to get his pay. There is absolutely no reason for hiring from outside the area.

James Dandy

* * *

I have frequently listened to the school board and administrators suggest that parents and the community come together to support the schools. Yet, the school board negotiated and approved a renewal of Dr. Scales contract with little to no input from many of the board members, let alone the community.

I have been homeschooling my children for years due to crime, drugs, and a broken educational system. Even though my children attend home school, as a taxpayer I am amazed that the school board has such a loathing of the citizens of the county as to spend so little time discussing the issue.

What was the rush with two years remaining on the existing contract? There was plenty of time to have public forums for taxpayers, parents and educators to provide input to the decision.

It also seems odd that a single member of the board can take it upon themselves to negotiate a contract on behalf of the board without some public consent of the rest of the board members. Perhaps the community does not get involved in the schools to a greater extent because the school board is not interested in involving the community, only dictating the terms as if we are all their children.

Also, where can I get one of these $4,500-a-day consultant jobs teaching one school how to rap?

J. Robert Harris
harr8882000@yahoo.com

* * *

Goodbye, Joe and Chip. It is obvious, you never cared about the children of Hamilton County. Now go and play your childish games elsewhere.

Richard Sims
Chattanooga

* * *

As another poster said, this is the straw that broke the camel's back for us. With a few exceptions, such as Rhonda Thurman, it is more than obvious that the school board doesn't care about what the parents, students, teachers, or voters want. All they care about is what they want.

I will not allow such selfish, greedy, corrupted individuals to have any influence on my children's lives. Mr. Riley stated that he and his family will be leaving Hamilton County, partly due to the corrupted school board that runs the public schools. Well, he's not the only one. I will also be moving my family elsewhere.

Why not just stay in Chattanooga and send your children to a private school? Because that would mean we are still living in Hamilton County. And it's common knowledge that the corrupted school board members are buddies with corrupted Hamilton County government officials. Why would I spend a small fortune to send my children to private schools in Chattanooga and still have more of my money go to the Hamilton County School Board for their taxes they want to start collecting? Believe me, it will happen. Because that's what they want, so that's what they'll get.

Jeffery Wilson, Debra Matthews, Chip Baker, Joe Conner and Janice Boydston are just like selfish, spoiled children who throw temper tantrums, lie, and do whatever else they have to do in order to get their way. Well, let them get their way and play with other children's futures. They are done ruining my children's futures.

I wish I could say I'll miss Chattanooga and Hamilton County. But I can't. After seeing all the greed and corruption in this town, I know that there are better places to live than this. It's hard to tell the difference anymore between Chattanooga and Washington, D.C. They are both filled with despicable politicians who don't care about what their own citizens want. And that's all the school board is. A bunch of small town politicians who think they are bigger than they actually are.

I thank you, Rhonda and Chester. You may not be the only two who voted against Dr. Scales' absurd new contract, but you are the only two who have proven that you care about your voters, and that you care about the children and teachers and parents of the Hamilton County Public School System.

Ryan Mitchell
Chattanooga

* * *

On the news last night, I saw someone flipping through a report of Dr. Scales’ “accomplishments” since becoming superintendent. Does the public have access to this report? I truly hope he has accomplished something worthwhile, but if he has, I am not aware.

I am, however, aware our schools are trying to function on a huge deficit and it only appears to be increasing. Teachers and staff are losing their jobs. I can only wonder what college students training to become teachers must be thinking about their career choice. All I see is a series of bad spending choices. The first thing that comes to mind is paying Dr. Register to hold Dr. Scales' hand during the transition.

Most recently, the choice to change the start time for Howard High because some students are just too lazy and irresponsible to get to school on time. I understand more buses will have to be purchased to accommodate this change. Now that we’ve contractually obligated ourselves to Dr. Scales for an additional two years, what is his incentive to make things change for the better? He has more job security than our teachers.

I’m surprised they didn’t also suggest a salary increase with the contract. After all, how can anyone expect to make ends meet with just $200K per year? I feel there is definitely more to this story than we are aware of. The contract should not be a current priority.

Ann Williams
Hixson

* * *

I attended the school board meeting yesterday (6/19/08) and was not at all surprised by the school board vote to approve another contract for Dr. Scales. It was obvious that this had been “arranged” ahead of time. I found it interesting that after some pointed questions from Rhonda Thurman, Mr. Joe Conner admitted that Dr. Scales had asked him to make the necessary changes to this early contract renewal.

The only positive part of the afternoon was the signing of a Pledge by Dr. Joe Dumas – District 2 candidate for school board, Mr. Gregg Jester – District 4 candidate for school board, and Mrs. Rhonda Thurman – running unopposed. The Pledge can be read in the Student Scene section of the Chattanoogan.com. Pay special attention to Pledges #1 and #3.

The Hamilton County School Board needs to be an open, sensible and responsible group of citizens. The present board has isolated themselves from hearing input from the public by requiring anyone who wishes to address them to “sign up” 3 days ahead of time and by discouraging responses during their meetings from the board members. I have personally contacted every board member several times in the past two years and have yet to receive a response from anyone except Mrs. Thurman, who always contacted me. I am not even in her district. I am in District 2.

If you are satisfied with the status-quo, then vote to re-elect the present board members. If you think the students, teachers, and parents plus the tax paying citizens deserve better, replace the current members who are up for re-election.

In the opinion archives of the Chattanoogan.com is a letter under the heading It Would Be Scary If School Board Could Levy Taxes – And Response (2) posted June 18, 2008. It has some additional information on some of the present school board members opinions on taxing the citizens for HCDE school expenses and is worth a look.

Please vote in the Aug. 7 election.

Claire Griesinger
Signal Mountain

* * *

The first sentence of S. Cook's letter confirms what is a widely shared belief. S. Cook's first statement is basically I do not have a child in the school system and no one in my family needs a job.

Many parents will not speak openly to school principals fearing retaliation towards their child, or government employment. As a result, valid internal problems in the school system are not getting resolved. The Hamilton County School system continues to blame parents for lack of involvement, at the same time, a parental inquiry to a school administrator or principal is met with pure defensiveness rather than answers and transparency. Communication is not occurring in the best interest of these children, regardless of the PTA presence or not.

The schools that have leaders that promote and embrace parent/school communication and seek to repair problems without retaliatory actions or defensiveness are the most successful schools in the system.

Normal Park and CSAS are prime examples of the power of parent-school communication and success. It appears to me, that the lowest performing and most violent schools in the system have leaders, parents, and teachers that do not value or understand or promote this relationship. Everyone needs to work on communication and involvement, not just the parents as our school system that will not look in the mirror would have you believe.

Allison Graham
Chattanooga