Berthiaume: "They outwit, outlast and outplay."

Board of Education member Laura Berthiaume writes about the Board of Education's failure to exercise their power to oversee the school system in a letter to the editor in The Washington Post.

Maybe it's time for voters to "outwit, outlast and outplay" the incumbent Board of Education members and vote them off the island?

The Washington Post - Letter to Editor: Who really controls the Montgomery schools
By Laura V. Berthiaume
Rockville
Sunday, July 25, 2010

...In the balance of power between the board of education and the bureaucracy, the superintendent and his staff hold all the cards. They outwit, outlast and outplay. In my experience, the board actually has little to no impact on union contract negotiations: The superintendent and his staff negotiate the contracts. Even if there ever were actual board opposition, it would be met with a fierce, resolute wall of angry staff.

Given that Dr. Weast is the one who negotiated and recommended the contracts, budget and benefits over the past 10 years that are now the subject of so much complaint, is it not hypocritical to excoriate the MCEA for unrealistic salaries and benefits yet praise Dr. Weast and demand that his contract be renewed? Both The Post and the voters should consider this issue carefully this fall.