The following is the text of a speech given by Haldane sixth grade student Andrew Platt. He addressed the Board of Education at the April 26, 2011 workshop.
Members of the Board of Education. My name is Andrew Platt and I am in 6th grade at Haldane. Thank you for allowing me to talk to you tonight.
I started coming to these meetings because I had to. I am a Boy Scout with Troop 437 and I have been working on my Communications Merit Badge. One of the requirements was to attend a public meeting and report back to the troop about what the meeting was about. I came to that first meeting expecting it to be boring. To my surprise I enjoyed the meeting. I found it fascinating. It was very interesting to listen to issues about my school. I left the meeting wanting to learn more. It made me want to attend more meetings.
I come to meetings now because I want to. The meetings can be interesting. They have taught me a lot about Haldane and I have learned a lot. I have learned that there is more to school than just what happens in the class room. I have learned about sports, transportation, and the budget.
In sports I learned about the fields and about the teams. I knew that Haldane did not have enough fields but I never knew how big of a problem it was. I was happy to hear that Mr. Cunningham and the Athletic Department are working on a handbook for Haldane to use. I will be old enough to play sports for Haldane next year. It has been interesting to learn how the school decides which sports to offer and what levels of sports are offered.
In transportation you learn about the busses and the bus routes. I was surprised how much having buses cost the district. It was really interesting to learn more about the Propane bus and how the school decides what size vehicle is needed when a bus is retired.
The building inspection report that was done by Mr. and Mrs. Gunther was shocking. It bothered me to see some of the areas that need to be fixed. Some of those items were in places that I go on a daily basis. But I was also happy to see that the school is doing a good job with working on fixing the building and repairing the problems. It made me understand that there is so much more that needs to work properly and be maintained in a school then just what I see in my classroom.
The budget was hard for me to understand. I learned that every single thing we do in this school has an effect on the budget. Everything the school buys and uses has an impact on others. The school has so many needs and yet there is only so much money to spend. Hearing how Haldane had to cut so much money from the budget made me concerned that something I like or really want would have to be cut. Then I realized that everyone feels that way about what they like or what they want.
I learned that even if you don’t understand everything that is happening at a meeting, there is a way to get answers or more information.
I think more people should come to the Board of Education meetings. I was talking to some of my friends about speaking at this meeting and many of them did not know that these meetings were for everyone. They thought that only the Board Members were at these meetings. I wish more people would learn that the meetings do offer a lot if information for both the school and the community. I wish more people would come to understand all the different issues and priorities that face the school.
I feel like I can make a difference. Dr. Villanti stopped me once to ask my opinion of something that was discussed at a board meeting. It was about starting school before Labor Day. As a kid I wanted to say “no, let summer last longer” but after hearing the reasons for starting before Labor Day it made me feel Ok about when school starts.
I think that I will continue to come to board meetings when I can. I would thank all of you for listening to me tonight. I have been made to feel welcome and I thank you for that. I also want to thank you for all you do for our school.
