Dear Roundup Public School Board-
It is with great consternation that I write this letter for addressment of this Board. First- let me apologize for not addressing all of you in person, but due to work commitments, I am unable to attend tonight's meeting. As you may have read, I have continually highlighted and written public press publications about this Board and school administrations lack of transparency and apparent blatant disregard of public input, information, and appraisal of the happenings within the confines of the Roundup Public School District. I have questioned the prior mask mandates, the schools plan for continuing to educate the youth charged with this Districts care, policies, board minutes and agendas, funding, school safety when a threat was posed in November, and a host of other questions raised by the secluded happenings by this District. I don't expect this Board to continually provide information on every happening within the District, but I do expect this Board to hold the administration accountable for providing an open communication with the taxpaying public. In an email conversation with your current superintendent, Chad Sealey, I questioned this Districts policies on communication and informing the public. This query was based on the multiple platforms the Roundup Public School District chooses to communicate with, including Facebook, Twitter, and the Roundup school application. The information published is random, at best, and according to Mr. Sealey- he doesn't post "official school board items" on Facebook or Twitter, but only on "the live feed or news feed and the school app". This lack of continuity is misleading to the public, and demands they search multiple avenues to figure out what is going on. Further- prior posts have been made on the various platforms of the Boards "official" business, but seems to be haphazard in the criteria of expectations.
The pinnacle of the email is the clandestine and hushed approach by this Board of the recent superintendent search. Multiple other competent districts within the great state of Montana understand a superintendent is a prominent member of the community in which they serve and vital for continued educational growth and development, and want input and guidance from the taxpaying public. Multiple districts have hosted meet and greet events, public surveys for input, and have generally publicized the superintendent job opening, the candidates who have applied, and their attributes and skill set in which to better the District. The continued lack of transparency and common courtesy have failed the Roundup School District and the taxpayers in which you rely on. I hope the incoming superintendent has the decency to understand multiple avenues of communication, and if not, I would hope the elected board would help them to understand how vital communication is.
Thank you for your time-
Gary Van Dyke
Roundup
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