Ozark Schools Support Team To Hold Meetings

 

 

The recently formed Ozark Schools Support Team (OSST) is planning a town hall meeting on two dates in August.

According to Jody Pena, the meeting is to “stimulate a grassroots effort of citizens and parents to become aware of actions by the Ozark School District, and how citizens can make a positive change.”

The two-pronged meeting will be on Thursday, August 17 from 5:30 to 7 p.m., and on Saturday, August 19, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Both meetings will be at the Ozark Public Library, 1005 N. 4th Ave., and the same information will be shared.

Christian County Library, Ozark branch

 

According to one member, the informational meeting is designed to make parents aware that the governing system in place in the Ozark School District is such that parents have little say and no power to effect positive change.

 According to their homepage, OSST :

“We cherish a strong bond with school board members, school administrators, teachers, parents, taxpayers, and all patrons of the school district who share this belief. We stand ready to support any and all who understand that the purpose of education is to develop graduates who can think critically and enter the world ready, able, and willing to explore new solutions to both arising and age-old issues. 

To that end, communities everywhere elect representatives from the district to govern the local public education structure. The word govern is not used lightly here. The school board is the government of the school. The board does not answer to educators or administrators; it answers only to you. Nor does it answer to the Missouri School Board Association or the Missouri Education Roundtable; it answers only to you. Outside a very few State laws that must be adhered to with respect to reporting, it does not even answer to DESE; it answers only to you. You elect this board, you monitor this board, and you demand that this board answer to you. OSST exists to support a board that supports the elective, representative, democratic form of governance and to bring a board that strays from those principles back to that form of governance.”

In April, three new board members were elected to the Ozark School Board. Issues such as transparency and accountability, and personnel retention were part of what drove the election of the new board members. 

Dr. Lori Wilson

A reflection of the high turn-over of personnel, the current interim superintendent, Dr. Lori Wilson, also serves as the Chief Financial Officer, School Treasurer and School Board Treasurer.

 OSST plans to inform parents of some of the current issues with the school district, and expects to come up with a way forward to improving the situation for students, staff, and taxpayers. One member said, “The public needs to be informed of what happens behind their back.”

A flyer will be forthcoming with more information in the next week.

OSST is on FaceBook and Youtube, as well as their website (currently under construction). You can reach OSST via email at: OSST65721@gmail.com.