Board of Education Member Patricia O'Neill's Civility Theme

by Frederick Stichnoth 

February 20, 2014

While there are “no easy answers,” MCPS Board member Pat O’Neill hopes that a committee, this time the cybercivility task force, “can help put civility back in society.” She believes that “even if you disagree with me, or disagree with the board, there is a civil approach to discourse.”
During her immediately prior term on the Board, as it considered parents’ access to committee (then school improvement team) participation, Pat also had the strong opinion that parents should be civil to schools – so strong, actually, that she suggested committees should not include “the PIAs, the pain in the ass people in the school….” She got quite a bit of attention for her “graphic” and “candid” (as Mike Durso puts it) treatment back at parents.
Board member Chris Barclay agreed: committees look for “team players.”
Watch the video: it’s both amusing and instructive. You can really see some differences between Board members, back then.
Pat O’Neill has been on the Board for four terms -- 15 years -- and she’s running again! Chris will hold down his seat on the Board while he runs to step up to the Council.
Marx said that historic facts and personages appear twice -- the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.
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2009 Video: http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2009/05/oneill-no-pain-in-ass-parents.html?m=1 [Minute 8:50 for Patricia O'Neill comment]

Marcus Moore, Parents, members of school board debate derogatory comment. Gazette. May 20, 2009http://ww2.gazette.net/stories/05202009/montnew180211_32530.shtml 

Daniel de Vise and Miranda S. Spivack. Parents take pride in new moniker, The Washington Post. May 21, 2009. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/20/AR2009052001900.html 

Lindsay A. Powers. MCPS form ‘cybercivility’ task force. Gazette. February 19, 2014.http://www.gazette.net/article/20140214/NEWS/140219409&template=gazette 

Obligatory memorandum. http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/meetings/agenda/2008-09/2009-0512/7.1%20Policy%20AEB.pdf 

Board minutes, pages 20 – 25 (no PIA). http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/meetings/minutes/2009/051209.min.pdf 

Summary of comments on draft Policy AEB (“respectful” and “professional”?):http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/meetings/agenda/2008-09/2009-0310/10.0%20AEB%20final%20action.pdf 

My May 18, 2009 Parents Coalition post (respectful and professional?):https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Parents_Coalition/conversations/messages/17982