First, let’s be clear, there are 4 people running for 3 seats on the worst school board in the state. Anyone running for this position should have their head examined. 5 hour meetings, lawsuits, a superintendent who should never have been the superintendent, a bunch of cronies in high positions, schools in disarray, athletic sanctions, high turnover of staff, transportation issues- the list goes on.

All that said, there is Joe Lacey who has been on the school board looking to return. Don’t let him. Not that he’s a bad person, his heart is in the right place, but, let’s face it- he was totally ineffective when he was on the board, unable to sway people to his side, he was rude as hell to citizens, and lastly- he didn’t really have any agenda other than they shouldn’t have bought the palace from Reynolds and Reynolds- which he was entirely right on, but here we are 2 years into trying to get away from it- and still bleeding money on the deal.

All you have to do is watch this video to see how Joe treats a concerned parent:

He was voted out. He doesn’t need to return.

The other three candidates are all fresh faces. I’ve known all three people who are running for a while. I’ve heard them at candidates nights. All three are better than the “Slate” that ran last time- and mostly got elected. With any luck- since Harris would no longer be the sole “African American Male” which seemed to be his only qualification for being board president for life- maybe we can see a shift to someone with a functioning brain. And if you think I’m making this stuff up- watch this too-

The problem with the new candidates is they will be the minority of the board- unless any of them are smart enough and forceful enough to sway a vote or two- nothing changes.

Joe never learned that lesson. He also was in cahoots with Dr. Adil Baguirov for the last 4 years of his time on school board- and was complicit in the crime of allowing Baguirov to stay on the board despite not living in the district. Joe has to go.

The 3 other candidates, Will Smith, Dion Sampson and Gabriella Picket are all fresh faced to politics, don’t have ties to the “Culture of Corruption” (Joe works in a patronage job for the county) and have real ideas on how things could be different. Dion was often in attendance at school board meetings- for years.  They all deserve the position- you need to vote for them by a landslide, even though they have received big donations from PACs and other donors- they are on the right side of the kids and the voters.
The real question is- can they stop the insanity that has come with the rule of Libby Lolli? And bring stability back to the buildings? Turnover is epic, and the costs are higher.

I hope you’ll join me in voting for anyone but Joe Lacey on Tuesday November 5th.