OZARK, MO — None of the three Ozark school board incumbents wants to run for re-election.
Nadda.
Zip.
Tom Bass, Shane Nelson, and Jeff Laney are up for re-election this April. But none of them will be. ‘Cause none of ’em filed to run again.
Do they know something we don’t?
Theory #1 The 3 school board members are sharp cookies.
Laney is a lawyer. He’s shrewd. Cunning. Articulate. Nelson is a former mayor, and a businessman. He’s savvy, word-wise, and polished. Bass rose from the ranks to become an executive for the largest retailer in the world. He ran for Ozark alderman and wants to be involved.
Yep, they’re sharp cookies.
They like positions of influence in the community they love.
So why don’t they run, Forrest, run!?
Because they’re sharp, and they’re savvy, they see what’s on the horizon.
In the past, it was business as usual. They could follow the status quo, get elected, feel good about serving the community, and run for re-election and do it all over again.
But those days are gone (as of a year ago). That’s when a group of concerned citizens arose from the ranks and started questioning the school board.
Questions they couldn’t answer.
Or, more specifically, weren’t ALLOWED to answer.
Like slaves in the days before the Emancipation Proclamation, Ozark school board members were hushed up by the Task Master, Dr. Chris Bauman, Ozark School District superintendent.
Because of a public outcry against tyranny and lies by administration, these three school board members perhaps began to slowly regret their status on the board.
“It’s just not worth the pressure,” one may have said to the others after a grueling session in front of the public.
“Yeah, I can live my life again without all this public scrutiny. They’re questioning everything we do, and we can only give out B.S. so long,” another replies.
“If we didn’t have Bauman and his sidekicks,” the third chimes in, “blocking us from access to answers to the questions…” his voice trails off as the others nod slowly.
The three board members make eye contact, then look away, each buried in his own thoughts.
“We know what’s going on, here. We aren’t stupid, like Sarah and Patty,” one says.
“Or Aaron,” the other two blurt simultaneously.
They are sharp cookies. They know the only thing they can do is bail… and hope they don’t get caught in the aftermath of investigation that’s coming and, indeed, is already happening.
Theory #2 The 3 school board members ARE running… SCARED, that is…
Since the concerned citizens group arose last year, concerns from others are mounting.
The district held a public Town Hall meeting October 25. The results couldn’t be more telling. District patrons questioned why administrators, who are educators, not building engineers, are fumbling through a quagmire of roof leaks, mold, and other serious issues with multiple buildings, all while trying to front that new and improved facilities are flourishing.
The board front men, Nelson and Laney, kept their guard up, but a belligerent Bauman could barely hold it together as he marched up and barked curtly in retort. His defensiveness was showing as plainly as his lack of hair.
The three are running scared. They don’t want to face the wrath that’s coming from a dissatisfied public. They don’t want to hide their legal snags with teachers who were forced out or are being currently bullied.
And they certainly don’t want to account for the millions of dollars misspent while lying to taxpayers who continue to be bled dry.
In short, they’re sick of the crap they can’t control or improve on.
A new board needs to be elected to stand up to the administration and hold them accountable. Administration is supposed to be accountable to the board, and the board is supposed to be elected to represent the parents and students, not be “yes men” and puppets for a tyrannical, deceitful administration.
They likely realize the public outcry isn’t going away.
They just want to go away, and let someone else deal with the mess.
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