Throughout my five years at this newspaper – and particularly the past three – we’ve been reporting on the many wrongheaded decisions made and dubious actions taken by the people entrusted with running our school district.
Inexplicable mistakes continue to cost local taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in investigations and legal fees, and contribute to a high rate of turnover among staff members and teachers who, rather than tolerate bullying and questionable policies, have chosen to seek employment elsewhere.
Yet nothing changes, other than the names of our School Board members and those of Superintendent Mark Rendell’s underlings in the district offices, as top school officials resign under a cloud or are scapegoated and pushed out.
So I’m left to wonder: Does anyone care?
Yes, there are occasions – such as Rendell’s dim-bulb decision to unjustly fire a beloved Sebastian River High School teacher who physically subdued an out-of-control student – when we see parents motivated enough to pack the School Board chambers for meetings.
But they’re few and far between.
Too often, there’s nobody around to challenge Rendell’s recommendations and explanations and demand public answers from School Board members who repeatedly fail to hold the superintendent accountable for his decisions and actions.
Usually, there’s no outrage – or even curiosity – from the community, even when serious school district problems make headlines.
That’s why you need to know about Claudia Wahl, who lives in Orchid Isle Estates and, along with her husband, owns Statewide Commercial Insurance in downtown Vero Beach.
She does care about our schools, and passionately so.
Not only does Wahl regularly show up at School Board meetings, where she questions Rendell’s recommendations and demands answers from board members; she also peppers the superintendent’s staff with requests for public records, which she uses to bolster her claims and challenge the district’s spin.
“I’m just a citizen and a parent, and I know more than the board members,” Wahl said last week, when she was researching the ridiculous sums the district spends on outside legal counsel.
“Somebody’s got to ask these questions, because this district has serious issues,” she added. “I’m not sure the leadership we have is up to what needs to be done, and I’m not afraid to call them out on things.”
In addition to the more than $3 million that the School Board has spent on outside legal fees since the start of the 2013-14 academic year, Wahl’s concerns include:
nThe breadth of outside School Board attorney Suzanne D’Agresta’s authority to hire other outside law firms, and the mismanagement of district funds;
nThe district’s academic performance, which, across the past four years, she claims is noticeably poorer than reported publicly;
nThe district’s lack of transparency on important issues, such as Rendell’s performance and investigation results, and the staff’s propensity for manipulating information to put the school district and its leadership in the best possible light.
“This district is really good at spin,” Wahl said, adding, “I think that’s the reason everyone tends to cling to the status quo. Most people don’t know what’s really going on. They believe what the district tells them, and they assume everything is great.
“Thing is, I’m not sure they want to know because, if we put a spotlight on our schools, people will find out that there’s a problem here, and nobody wants to think about that.”
Nobody here wants to think that the Vero Beach community – as wonderful as it is, with its small-town charm and desirable quality of life, with all its affluence and philanthropy – doesn’t have terrific public schools.
It’s easier to simply pretend all is well, just as it’s always been.
Thankfully, though, Wahl refuses to do that.
She began taking a closer look at our schools more than four years ago, when her teenaged children were preparing to enter high school, because she wanted to make sure they were aware of all the educational opportunities available to enhance their chances of getting into good colleges.
The more research she did, however – the more she learned about the School District’s flawed operations and secretive ways – the more she wanted to know.
And it was on.
Wahl spent countless hours attending meetings, submitting public-records requests and emailing schools officials, as well as doing online searches to compare our district to others around the state.
In November, Wahl identified 17 “crucial issues,” as she described them, and sent emails pertaining to all 17 of them to each of the newly elected School Board members. Attached to the emails were Excel spreadsheets, quotes from the superintendent and other relevant information.
She no longer bothers emailing Rendell, she said, because it never results in anything productive.
“Sometimes, I feel so alone in this,” she said. “It’s exhausting, and there are times when I think about giving up and moving on to something else I’d like to accomplish. I’ll finish working on some issue and think, ‘This is it.’
“Then something happens, and I get pulled back in.”
No one expects anyone else, particularly other parents, to devote the same time and energy Wahl puts in. But it would be nice if, say, another dozen or two dozen parents and grandparents cared enough to regularly attend the School Board meetings, publicly ask questions and demand answers on issues that affect their kids’ education – especially in cases where a school or school district leader’s actions seem questionable or wrong.
Another 50 would be better.
“I really don’t know why more parents aren’t showing up in a public way,” Wahl said. “Maybe once people realize we have major problems with academic performance, people will be open to changing the status quo and we can build momentum.”
Let’s hope so.
A big part of what makes Vero Beach such a special place is the pride we take in living here, and the quality of our schools should reflect our commitment to our community.
Wahl has made a commitment, so much so that she is seriously considering a run for the School Board in four years.
“I was hopeful I could make a difference as a concerned citizen and a parent,” she said, “but it’s extremely difficult to do it that way.”
Especially doing it alone.
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