A "small group of self-selected parents"?

This morning I received an email from Mia Terziev, a fellow parent and member of what I called the "small group of self-selected parents" in my last posting who are proceeding with a petition to turn our Waldorf Inspired Program into a charter school. Mia, as you will see in our email exchange below, takes issue with me describing them as a "self-selected" group because they are "elected" by the parents as the Administrative Council (AC).

Good point but as my Intro to US Government students learn the form of democracy is not the same thing as the process of democracy. They may have been elected but what is the process by which this small group within the AC is making these decisions? Where in our bylaws is the AC authorized to turn our program into a charter and sign contracts with consultants? When did they send out the AC agenda indicating that they would vote on turning our program into a charter and sign contracts? What was the outcome of the vote? How did each AC member vote? Can I read the minutes for that meeting? When was it announced to the parents? I would like to know these things in order to better inform myself as to the merits of whether our program should go charter.

Mia apologized for my apparent misunderstanding of the process writing, "i am sorry you misunderstand." I'm sorry but I'm not sure what I do not understand about the way decisions are supposed to be made in a democratic society.

The lack of transparency in the way this "small group of self-selected parents" has been working for about a year makes me wonder about how these decisions are being made. How are we supposed to hold our "elected" representatives accountable when they operate in the dark? It is worth remembering as US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis noted "Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants."

As you may notice in the email below Mia didn't offer to send me the documents I have requested to read. I'm still waiting.

The emails follow...

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On 3/21/12 8:31 AM, robert ovetz wrote:
> Mia,
>
> Where in our bylaws does it authorize your group (or the AC) to pursue a charter, work with consultants, and sign contracts? If this was an action of the AC as you say when was the vote announced to the parent body? Can I have a copy of the agenda sent out to the parents and the minutes? When did the vote take place? What was the outcome of the vote? How did each AC member vote? When was this vote announced to us parents?
>
> I would appreciate this information to help me make an informed decision about your proposal.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Robert
>
>
> On 3/21/12 7:29 AM, Jasper Thelin & Mia Terziev wrote:
>> to remind you: the ac is not self-selected. all members of the ac have been elected by the parent council.
>> i am sorry you misunderstand.
>> from your blog:
>> "This week a small group of self-selected parents in our Lagunitas Waldorf Inspired Program..."