The other night, we had a big debate about whether or not teachers should be allowed to deprive students of recess as a punishment. The administration originally wanted to make it forbidden. The revised policy said that they "should not" do it. I ended up making a motion to remove the language, and ultimately, we simply removed the word recess from the policy. It was a 6-3 split vote.

I was able to prevail in the discussion, but 3 of the board members dissented. It was not a party line vote. I am excited about this, not because I prevailed, but because the Board functioned properly.

We discussed the issue in an open forum. Opininons, facts, and conjecture were tossed about in a healthy debate. In the end, philosophical differences created a split decision. This is GREAT! It shows how government can and should function.

I sure wish it was the exception and not the rule.