On July 12, 2010 The Onondaga Central School District Board of Education was sent a written request, as follows:

1. That the 7th board position, vacated by Mrs. Lisa DeOrdio officially on June 15, 2010, be voted on rather than being appointed by the BOE. Paper ballots are an acceptable and cost effective option.

2. That the community be advised as to the timeline for filling the vacant board position. We would like to know if there is a deadline by which this seat must be filled, and if so, whether the BOE plans to meet prior to that date for public discussion.

3. That if the BOE instead exercises its prerogative to make an appointment to the vacant board seat, we request that position be filled by either: Mr. Richard Becher, II or Mr. Anthony Baleno to guarantee fair and balanced representation on the OCS BOE.

4. That the BOE policy relating to open dialog during public meetings be changed. Community members do not feel heard nor engaged as a result of one-way conversation at BOE meetings. There is little or no communication from the BOE with the community and participation by taxpayers and residents appears to fall on deaf ears. This needs to be rectified immediately. We ask that a motion be made to change the policy that disallows dialog between community members and BOE members during public meetings.

5. That unadvertised and special meetings between BOE members and district Administration, including those occurring at the District Office be immediately discontinued. These constant meetings are inappropriate and do not reflect good district stewardship. Further, we believe any decisions made during meetings that the public was not aware of should be nullified.

6. That steps are taken to ensure the Districts teaching staff is treated fairly and professionally. All retribution against teachers, even subtle, must cease immediately. This will require that the BOE take steps to develop policies that allow our educators to safely and openly communicate with the BOE about changes to schedules, resources, and grade levels. Using our childrens education as an instrument to punish teachers is unfair to both the educator and the students, and is a practice that should be stopped immediately. The Onondaga Community is as much focused on building a tenured and healthy faculty in our district as we are in guaranteeing that administration has reasonable employment contracts.

7. That the relationship the Onondaga BOE has to the superintendent of the district be corrected. It is the BOEs job to direct the superintendent, not the reverse. BOE members are expected to make information requests on behalf of this group, and any others, and administrative staff is expected to provide data to support its requests and BOE decisions, and do so in a transparent and speedy manner. We request that the BOE take steps to ensure transparency in how the district is managed.

In response, on July 19, 2010 at 5:05 p.m. the BOE president responded [email protected] by stating it has long been a practice of the Onondaga Central Board of Education that we do not respond to anonymous inquiries. I would be happy to respond to inquiries from an identified individual or group of individuals. If a response is necessary, please sign your letter.

By signing this petition you are supporting the request outlined and numbered 1-7 above. You are further requesting that the Onondaga BOE respond andn provide answers to this second written request upon receipt.