Ravalli Republic reporter David Erickson wrote this week about Hamilton School Board chairman David Bedey’s controversial vision statement he proposed at a recently school board meeting. It’s just a draft, he claims, one to start conversations. Uh, that’s an understatement. Some teachers in the district got pretty riled up upon hearing of the vision statement, according to David’s article. The draft statement includes some pretty interesting anti-government statements, as David reports:
Under the heading “Preparation to Participate in Self-Government,” Bedey wrote: “To make sense of the various positions put forward by ideologues across the political spectrum, our graduates must have a sound grasp of the political principles set forth by our Founders and of the free market system. Furthermore, increasing politicized scientific claims and counter-claims confuse the discussion of many crucial issues. Thus, to prepare our graduates to engage in self-government, it is also essential that they gain an understanding (of) the scope and the limits of science.”
Under the heading “Local Control,” Bedey wrote: “The Board of Trustees shall strive, within the limits of the law, to oppose further encroachments into the management of the District’s schools by the state and federal government and to restore those elements of local control that have been lost over the past decade.”
Bedey didn’t like his words being described as anti-government. He submitted a letter to the editor that will run on Thursday’s opinion page in the Ravalli Republic.
I’ll leave that up to you to decide. A citizen emailed us a copy of the vision statement in its entirety. Have a look-see for yourself.
Politics in the 'Root 