Letter to the Editor: Open Letter to Clay School Board on ESE Investigation

Recently allegations were made that cast in doubt the integrity of how students were enrolled in the Exceptional Student Education program in Clay Schools. Though an independent investigation on this matter is almost complete, at the November School Board meeting it was proposed that still further investigation is needed.

In the last election, the voters were very clear that they want a new day in Clay education. The old regime that dominated Clay Schools was swept away at the ballot box, this means we all want our schools to move forward rather than revisit the past. If the ESE process is suspect, the obvious course of action is to reevaluate it, retrain personnel and put administrative safeguards in place to fix any problems, and when confidence in the process is restored, get to work on the next item of business.

Further investigation – if necessary – will only make the issue drag on and will likely further damage the reputation of Clay Schools. Further investigation will also cause added taxpayer expense and is likely to consume large amounts of School Board, administrative and teacher time that could be put to better use. Most importantly, further investigation will in no way improve our schools.

Let us all focus on the future of Clay Schools.

Travis Christensen

Lake Asbury