Wow, its been a BUSY last couple of months

In case you haven't noticed, there is a lot going on in our school district, and I thought I'd use this opportunity to do some recapping and referencing some timely posts on the topic of our district and its future.

We had previously recapped the coverage on these important budget issues on a post entitled "The Coverage is Everywhere on this . . . ".

Since then the Times has covered a recent teacher ". . . march against budget cuts and contract."
Today the Times has a story about the blogging of school issues and a push toward change. Thanks Shirley!

We told you that Assemblyman Mark DeSaulnier responded to a recent letter protesting the state budget cuts, and about a petition you can download to Say No to an All Cuts Budget.

So, we started the month of April with a meeting on April 12th at Rocco's with Paul Strange and Gary Eberhart (School Board members): Meeting Recap is here

On April 14th, we had a letter writing campaign organized by Mt. Diablo Parents for Progress: Letter Writing at Monte Gardens

We then had a another meeting on April 26th with April Treece (Board of Education President) and Dick Allen (Board of Education Vice President) at Rocco's: Meeting Recap is here

To recap some of the blog posts of late, I've posted below some of the most commented, controversial, or informational:

First, a post that garnered over 50 comments over at the MDUSD blog authored by Board of Education members Paul Strange and Gary Eberhart. This one was all about our District's budget and some insight into how we got to where we are now: Budget, Budget, Budget - Who's in charge of the budget? These board members have also started to podcast the board meetings, and you can see how to do that here: Board Meeting Podcasts Now Available!

We had Andre Gensburger (aka Mr. Writer) pose a very important question at the last community meeting (April 29th) at Pine Hollow Middle school "What is being done to resolve the split within the board over the issue of the superintendent in order for there to be an effective direction for the board as a whole? " You can listen and read of the (non)results here: April Treece responds

You can also read of Mr. Writer's recently posted strong viewpoint: Somebody Tell Me What is Going on?

Then, some very important questions are still being asked by some Northgate parents. These questions were originally asked of April Treece and Dick Allen (Board of Education President and Vice President), and never answered. To date, only Paul Strange has offered up his answer. Check the Northgate Blog for this one: Still No Answers, We're Not That Patient and Mr. Strange's follow up answer: Board Member Reply

We also had the Northgate High School Blog call for Superintendent McHenry's resignation in their blog post: No Accountability! Then No Confidence!

So parents, if you're reading this now... its not too late to jump right in and get involved. Ask questions, keep reading the blogs and get informed. We will do our best to keep you advised of events and activities you can get involved in and we welcome your voices. Importantly, the following events are coming:

Tuesday, May 6th: Community Meeting at Mt. Diablo High School
Thursday, May 8th: Town Hall Meeting with Tom Torlakson at Las Lomas
Tuesday, May 13th: MDUSD Board of Education Meeting
Wednesday, May 14: Rally at Civic Park in Walnut Creek (details coming!)