ReportCard! – Danville School Board

We just finished a ReportCard! for Danville City Council for June 1st until now, so it’s only fair that the school board gets the same treatment.

Here’s the ground rules for this ReportCard! – We’re only grading the time period from June 1st until now. Whatever deeds or misdeeds that happened before then aren’t rated here. You’ll hear this about all seven school board members, so I’ll just say it once here. All of them have a serious desire to makes things the best for the students when it comes down to the bottom line. You couldn’t ask for anything more as a top priority from these people.

All seven names have been randomized, so let’s get to work…

• Ed Polhamus: Polhamus just seems to fit right at home during every school board meeting, and this last roadshow meeting that the board had at Schoolfield elementary school was enough to make me smile at Polhamus’ actions. He took that microphone and worked the small crowd like a talk show host, showing off his knowledge about the budgeting process. He even knew when to throw it to somebody else for follow-up information. He’s eased off of his “Daddy Polhamus” talks enough, so he’s earned his A grade.
• Cheryl Bryant: If you just looked at Bryant, you’d wonder what in the hell she’s doing there. I was guilty of that at first until I quickly caught on that she’s got a lot of educational experience and she’s just going through some painful health issues. Every time that a DPS student makes a presentation to the board, you can see a giant smile on her face and that’s just wonderful. She knows the rules and policies, and she’s a strong asset to the board. She easily gets an A- for this grading period.
• Terri Hall: Hall has really impressed me with her speaking directly up on anything she doesn’t like or needs clarification on. She also listens intently to any student’s presentation. Add her fun personality to the mix, and she’s getting an A today.
• Philip Campbell: Every time it looks like Philip Campbell doesn’t even want to be at a school board meeting (which is more than that should happen), he’ll pop in and make a good point. He’s got that style that when he wants to say something, he’ll say it and he’ll get everybody’s attention when he speaks. He’s getting a B for this grading period.
• Sharon Dones: She’s still earning the ropes of the job, but she used her real-world experience in personnel to impress me. During the discussion of the parameters for the new superintendent search process, Dones just took control and said how it should be handled from the personnel side of things. She also zeroes in on personnel recommendations that she’s got questions on. That human relations expertise combined with her willingness to quickly learn gets her an A grade.
• Renee Hughes: She’s quiet during board meetings. She’s fun during board meetings. She gets bored during ridiculously and unnecessarily long presentations (as do I). She’s fun to watch because she’s got those eyes of death once something happens that she doesn’t like. Once you get to know her, you’ll know that she’s passionate about her elected office. She’s getting an A- here.
  
• Steven Gould: I expected a lot out of Steven Gould when he took office, and I’ve gotten more than I expected. He’s analytical and questions everything that sounds even the slight bit questionable to him. I joke about it but it’s true. He has that ability to ask the right questions just like an excellent attorney. Gee, I wonder why? He’s getting the only A+ on this set of ReportCards.

See, Danville City Council? If you don’t make any stupid decisions, you can get good grades on your next ReportCard just like the school board did.