Is there a PTA council, or isn't there?
Though the Maryland PTA has made the Baltimore City Council of PTAs an inactive organization, the council's president, Eric White, is acting as though nothing has changed. He was at yesterday's City Council education committee briefing on back-to-school preparations, and he introduced himself as PTA Council president when he spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting. The mayor's office also invited him to be on a school board interviewing panel as though he were still the president of an active parent group.
The Maryland PTA says White is not supposed to be acting as though the PTA Council is still operational. But will it use its authority to stop him? Will school PTAs continue paying their council dues?
Conveniently, the PTA Council office at North Avenue just so happens to be in the wing being converted into a new alternative school. Office space aside, will the school board continue giving White a slot when organized parent and employee groups speak at its meetings?
This promises to be an interesting saga to follow as the new school year approaches.
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Comments
There are days when I love Sara more than ice cream - this might be one of them.
What I love most is that this organization's space is now where an actual school, yes, with kids and teachers and where those kids presumably have, well, wait for it, PARENTS! I would love nothing more than for Eric to continue to work from that space so that he might actually have to interact with those same parents. What a delicious irony that might be - having to face the people he is SUPPOSED to be representing and from a school that is not only at North Ave., but also is for some of the toughest kids in the system. It's almost too good to be true. PINCH ME!
Posted by: Interesting Observations | August 5, 2008 4:57 PM
This guy is a loose canon and needs to be stopped. Somehow he now believes that he can violate policies because the mayor gave him authority to be involved in choosing school board members.
Posted by: emjay | August 6, 2008 10:03 PM
Eric White never did anything for the schools or the PTA. the few schools that had active PTA's knew to send their money to MD PTA. The council of PTA was a joke and I do not know why he was allowed to have this bogus position. With what the Mayor is going through, Eric White is the last person who she needs to have around.
Posted by: Calamity | August 12, 2008 12:05 AM