Editorial: Grant for LTCC board
Bob Grant
Publisher’s note: Lake Tahoe News convened an editorial panel of seven community members to come up with this endorsement.
An educator as board member is often frowned upon. This is because it can diminish the level of checks and balances, create favoritism and be a presumed vote for the unions.
But we have not found that to be the case with Lake Tahoe Community College instructor Larry Green being on the Lake Tahoe Unified School District board. Nor do we believe it would be the case with South Tahoe High School instructor Bob Grant being on the college board.
We believe Grant is hands down the best candidate for the LTCC board seat being vacated by Molly Blann. This is the first year the college will have had district elections where the seats represent a specific geographic area and not the entire college boundary.
Grant brings many things to the table that his challenger doesn’t. One is his depth of understanding of the education arena.
LTUSD and LTCC are in a unique relationship, whose bond continues to grow stronger. This has a lot to do with the leadership of the boards and administrations. It is a partnership that needs to continue to be nurtured to ensure resources are shared and not duplicated, that the interests of locals and others are understood, and that programs complement one another where possible.
Grant has proved himself to be a leader at STHS in his capacity as an instructor. He isn’t someone who puts in the minimum number of hours and calls it a day. He has taken on tasks that go well beyond the classroom.
Most important he puts students first. While the job of a board member and a teacher are extremely different, at the end of the day what is in the best interests of students needs to come first – no matter the grade level.
We believe Grant understands the complexities and nuances of the education field to be able to step onto the board without a learning curve. This is critical as the college navigates unchartered waters of looking at potentially managing a $55 million bond or revising it, creating a baccalaureate program, resurrecting the good neighbor policy with Nevada, expanding the sports program, leasing property for student housing, and dealing with a shrinking budget.
As for Grant’s challenger, Michelle Sweeney, she doesn’t have the experience Grant does. Plus, on her resume she wrote “CA Governor appointee to TRPA Governing Board.” This is simply not true. The truth is she worked for the governor’s appointee. She was never in a position to sit at the big table to cast a single vote, and we can’t get over the fact that she misrepresented herself in this way.
Sounds like Ms. Sweeney is well on her way to becoming an accomplished politician.
What makes people trying for a slot in politics or public service falsely lay claim to something so easy to verify? Even if it was a simple error, for someone who claims to be a writer to let it slip by in a final edit is ludicrous.
Do these people actually believe all of us are that dumb and unthinking?
Based on this, I hope the grants and donations to her Non-profit foundation slide away and are repositioned where they can do more good.
Dog, isnt it time to go hibernate?
Go figure, as often as you accuse me of being stupid, you ought to be smart enough to know that dogs do not hibernate. I’ll be baying at the moon whatever the season.
It was more of a wish than a factual statement but I should know that most humor is lost on you
Actually, I have a great sense of humor. But when someone who is usually hostile toward me tries to veil an insult by saying it’s humor, well, you can probably understand that I might not get it.
A lot of people do that; insult someone and then say, ‘gosh, can’t you take a joke?’ Passive aggressive.
From what I understand Sweeney has no comparable background for this position ….
Is that right ?
Dog demonstrates a poor sense of humor.
Immediately following that they say that they have a good sense of humor.
This reminds of a scene from one of the greatest films of this generation, Zoolander. 3 male models begin bickering after one says ‘of course he has heard of styling gel, he’s a male model’ after another made a sarcastic remark about Hansel’s unkempt hair style. All of the people involved are stereotypically stupid, but it is clear at the end that the one who didn’t get the joke was the most stupid male model that day. Which is finally proved during a ‘freak gasoline fight accident’, where they light a cigarette while covered in gasoline, vaporizing all of the male models.
A model, idiot?
Dear Lake Tahoe News Community,
The resume I shared with Lake Tahoe News states that I served as a “Governmental and Public Affairs Consultant” to the “CA Governor appointee to the TRPA Governing Board”. Consistent with all entries on the shared resume the name of the client/project is listed first and the job I performed second. Examples of clients in addition to the “CA Governor Appointee” include “Lake Tahoe Crediting Program”, “Large-Cost Fire Independent Review to Congress”, “Lake Tahoe Total Maximum Daily Load”.
As a Communication Consultant I help people work together to come to decisions about policy, strategic direction and strategic investment of energy, time and money. This work involves doing thorough research, listening and working collaboratively through complex decision-making tasks.