Release to the Press and Public

1800 Grand Avenue: One Month Update

By Jonathan R. Narcisse

On September 18^{th I was sworn in as a member of the Des Moines Independent Community School Board of Directors. As promised, I have scheduled listening posts so I can hear your concerns about our school district. On the following dates I will be available from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at:}

^{Central Library, 1000 Grand Avenue on October 22nd}

^{Forest Avenue Library, 1326 Forest Avenue on October 24th}

^{Northside Library, 3516 – 5th Avenue on October 29th}

^{East Des Moines Library, 3800 East Douglas Avenue on November 5th}

^{Southside Library, 1111 Porter Avenue on November 19th}

^{Franklin Avenue Library, 5000 Franklin Avenue. Date to be determined.}

^{Next, I’d like to share with you the good, the bad and the ugly of my experience on the Des Moines school board thus far:}

^{The Good}

^{Over the past month I have become more excited about being a member of the Des Moines School District than I ever imagined possible. We have some great teachers, men and women really committed to academic excellence and empowering our students with the academic tools to function in a very competitive world.}

^{For instance, just today I visited Central Campus and met with their staff. They are outstanding people working in an outstanding program. Plus, at a time when the city of Des Moines is striving to bring people back to the heart of the city, Central Campus is blessed to have students from all over the metro – even home-schoolers.}

^{For more of the good news I would invite and encourage you to read our Des Moines Education Times, a publication dedicated to telling the good news about what’s happening in our Des Moines School District. If you would like to receive a copy of that feel free to email me and I will get you added to our distribution list.}

^{The Bad}

^{All is not well, however, in the Des Moines School District. The problem begins with our board. We have lost institutional memory and thus forgotten our core mission of educating kids. Our policies and procedures, 300 pages, were voted on without actually reading them. As a result a number of key policies are outdated. Our bill approval process is frightening. One person looks at the bills and the rest are expected to approve them without seeing them.}

^{We also continue to ignore key issues like adequately securing our buildings. Go visit a school in West Des Moines and then visit a school in Des Moines. The difference in security is noticeable.}

^{I mentioned that I would have liked to have discussed this issue in light of the tragic shooting in Ohio but it was not part of our agenda.}

^{The Ugly}

^{I have asked for an update on attendance in our school district, particularly our high schools, but reports I’m receiving are very troubling. I’ll update you on this as I get more concrete data.}

^{The Taylor Ohde Kitchell contract remains a concern. I’ve asked for reports and evaluations. This is a $20 million plus contract being paid out of scarce local option tax dollars. One man alone working for T.O.K., Doug Ohde, was paid $19,200 for his September hours. That was his total compensation paid by our tax dollars for 160 hours of work. Others working for T.O.K. were paid $11,675.36, $10,723.43 and $10,576.48 out of our tax dollars for their September hours.}

^{Our Board President, Dick Murphy has stated if I want to know what he’s doing to earn those tax dollars I should contact the company and ask him. Personally, I’d rather see a performance evaluation by the District. After all, Doug Ohde is being paid more than our Superintendent.}

^{As always graduation figures remain troubling. In a speech this month Dr. Sebring stated we had just over 1,500 graduates in 2004. We served more than 3,200 four years earlier. So I remain focused on the hard data and what that data means to our community.}

^{One of the ways you can stay current on these, and other important issues with the district, is to listen to 1040-WHO each Friday from 6-7 p.m. when I discuss them on Deace in the Afternoon.}

<sup>In closing, I want to make sure the parents and taxpayers of this district understand one thing about me that will never change, whether we're just one month into my term or towards the end of it: I am passionate about education. 

Sometimes that passion is mistaken for other more negative things, but I want you to know as a parent and/or taxpayer that my passion for education is what drives me as a school board member to make sure the public’s money is being spent responsibly, that our teachers' time isn't being wasted and they're getting the resources they need to do their jobs, that your school board operates with transparency, and that our kids learn the necessary skills to become productive adults in the working world and our neighborhoods. 

Education opened up a lot of doors for me, and I want to see it open up doors for our kids, too. 

My Christian faith provided me the forgiveness and grace necessary to put my sometimes troubled past behind me, but education was the vehicle that gave me the skills necessary to overcome it. That's why I'm honest and forthright about who I am, and why I am so passionate about education. I’ve had struggles in life, still do, and have had my own personal demons to conquer as all of us do.</sup>

<sup>It's also why I want to encourage you to listen to something from our website called The Hard Way. You can download it here: http://www.box.net/shared/vjt9zyvb6r. It's my personal testimony about who I am and what drives me; the good, the bad, and the ugly.  And my life, as there always is with all of us, has had more than its share of the bad and the ugly.  Nobody's perfect, least of all me.  However, there's been a lot of good, too, and education has played a major role in that as well. 

So I would like to invite you to listen to The Hard Way.  Perhaps you've heard things about me, or only heard me on the radio, and are wondering why I do what I do and say what I say.  The Hard Way will bluntly answer those questions, and hopefully help us to get to know each other better, too.</sup> 

^{If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions please feel free to contact me at my home at 280-8092 or at my office at 471-5092 or my cell phone at 770-1218. You can also email me at jon_narcisse@yahoo.com. If you’re unable to attend school board meetings but are interested in what’s discussed at them, feel free to listen to the audio you’ll find at www.jonnarcisse.com. That’s where we archive all of the audio we record of public school board meetings or workshops.}

^{Thanks for your time and please remember I am listening.}

^{Jonathan R. Narcisse}