We now have a School District task force on bullying. Well, the committee doesn’t have to look for a bad example of a bully. We have one sitting on our School Board, Steve Gourley.
A Classic Example
This community finds itself in the midst of a classic example of the atmosphere in which a brazen bully thrives.
When good people stand by and watch bullying happen, thinking “Hey, this isn’t right — why doesn’t somebody do something?” they are wrongly waiting for someone else to act. And so the bullying goes on and on.
How can we tell our kids to step up and intervene in a bullying situation when our School Board members sit by?
They are letting one of their own members abuse his office as a “bully pulpit.”
Is Mr. Gourley speaking for the Board?
Is Mr. Gourley doing Board business?
Or is he just conducting a personal vendetta?
Silence Is Not Repudiation
Each Board member’s continued silence makes it appear he and she are condoning Mr. Gourley’s gross actions. If this Board does not act, it will be setting a new and lower standard for what is acceptable in public decorum by a member.
R-e-s-p-e-c-t
I once wrote Mr. Gourley that I would continue to show him the respect his public office deserves, regardless of whether he personally deserves it.
Enough is enough.
Calling Them as I See Them
Mr. Gourley is acting no better than the playground bully whom he says tormented him in school. The once bullied has become a bully himself.
The Board needs to reprimand Mr. Gourley for his past verbal attacks on a School District employee with a vote of censure.
The Board needs to take Mr. Gourley to task and tell him this is not the way for a member to behave in public. They need to draw the line. Now.
Mr. Laase may be contacted at gmlaase@aol.com
