I don’t know what upsets me more; someone on the Board of Education leaking a “confidential memo” or the mean-spirited content of Superintendent [Tim] Cuneo’s “leaked confidential memo” that slammed three parents who resigned from the district’s Special Education Program Task Force.
I am all for freedom of the press as well as the importance of conducting business with as much transparency as possible. But how is SMMUSD supposed to find a new superintendent when someone on the Board of Education is our very own Julian Assange? How can a superintendent get the job done when the basic expectation of trust with the board is questionable?
Furthermore, the parents Mr. Cuneo targeted need no introduction as they are well-known, longtime advocates for special education and have a long history, like it or not, of rattling the district’s cages. I haven’t always agreed with their tactics but one has to appreciate their tireless dedication and commitment to special education and therefore they are owed the courtesy of sotto voce comments to the board and not the paranoid, hand-wringing dress-down Mr. Cuneo gave them in his memo.
In these dismal economic times, I have faith that the Santa Monica City Council will give the district our share of the Y and YY funds, regardless of Mr. Cuneo’s fear of the alleged saboteurs. He should be confident of his special Ed department as well as his district. After all, it is a reflection of his ability as our leader.
Laureen Sills