To the Editor:

When Senator-elect Jarrett Coleman, R-16th, announced his resignation from the Parkland School Board, I had advocated and continue to believe the process for selecting a replacement needs to be done in an open and transparent fashion.

In reality, the process the board selected to take would all but insure an institutional candidate would be selected to fill the vacancy.

In a recent news release, President Carol Facchiano was quoted as saying, “By doing this, the school board stays nonpartisan.”

However, the result was inherently partisan, as it renders a result that is pleasing to the board.

What is worse is the decision to go this route and candidate that would be selected was done behind the scenes, thereby eliminating public comment or input.

I had pushed for an open process, whereby candidates could apply and be interviewed, however, that was rejected.

I was further embarrassed when questions were raised by the community regarding the process to apply, and my colleagues chose to hide behind their decision and state nothing has been decided.

I believe it is time for debate on board action be done in the sunshine and allow for all stakeholders to understand where board directors stand on any given issue. There is something rotten in the state of the Parkland School District.

The board leadership is askew if it fully stands behind this process to fill the board vacancy.

Finally, I will continue to fight for transparency, accountability and good governance which should be the norm in government.

Patrick H. Foose, M.Ed.

Parkland School Board director

member, LCTI Joint Operating Committee