Hello, everyone!
To those who have joined this petition effort since the fall, I am glad to have you join our community. While ultimately Dr. Lucabaugh was still hired, the pressure from all of us community members has so far kept any Moms 4 Liberty type actions (as we saw him endorse in Central Bucks) away from Centennial. And don't forget that we flipped our school board in November, which is vitally important!
I have now closed this petition, so I will not accept new signatures, since the purpose of this petition is now irrelevant.
However, our efforts to promote the best education possible for all students in Centennial never stops. Here are a few actions you can take now, today, to continue to support our students.
1. TIME SENSITIVE: Tomorrow night, Tuesday January 27th, the school board will interview four candidates to fill Jane Lynch's seat after her passing. The candidates are Neal Miller, Michael Binder, Eric Baranowski, and Mary Alice Brancato. (Yes. That Mary Alice Brancato.) I personally know Neal Miller, and he would be a great addition to the school board. I know Michael Binder's family, and I'm confident he would also be a great asset to our board. I don't know Eric, so can't speak to how he would be on the board. And, well, I don't think anyone needs to guess whether I think Mary Alice should be back on the board or not. :)
However, we need folks to show up at the board meeting (7 pm, 48 Swan Way, Warminster) and speak during public comment, and share your opinions on the four candidates (or just one or two, whatever you're comfortable with). If you're not comfortable speaking in public, or if you're not able to attend tomorrow's meeting, please email all the school board directors before 5 pm tomorrow. Here's a sample script:
Dear Esteemed School Board Directors,
My name is [NAME] and I live in Region [#] / I live in [Southampton / Warminster]. I would like to express my support for [named candidate] to fill the open position on the Centennial School Board. This candidate will bring [name a couple good things you know] to our school board. Thank you for your consideration,
[NAME]
OR
Dear Esteemed School Board Directors,
My name is [NAME] and I live in Region [#] / I live in [Southampton / Warminster]. I would like to express my concern for [named candidate] to fill the open position on the Centennial School Board. This candidate will bring [name a couple bad things you know] to our school board. I do not want to see the negative energy of the last two years return to our school board, and this candidate would indeed bring it back.
Thank you for your consideration,
[NAME]
And all 8 email addresses:
crospa@centennial.org
dipakr@centennial.org
godifl@centennial.org
hartmi@centennial.org
krieka@centennial.org
maguk1@centennial.org
martch@centennial.org
sadoto@centennial.org
2. ICE. I am afraid that it is only a matter of time before ICE comes for Warminster and Southampton en masse. They have already conducted two small raids in Warminster. So today, I reached out to Indivisible Bucks to talk to them about their Rapid Response plans. If you are interested in learning more - anything from helping with food deliveries for families who don't feel safe enough to leave their house, to escorting students and their families to and from school, or driving the students to / from school, or even to become a community observer to watch ICE activity - please email them at Indivisiblebux@gmail.com. I plan to take their Rapid Response training myself.
3. And lastly - I would really like to use Gmail / Mailchimp going forward for email updates. I cannot download email addresses from Change.org (for safety reasons, which is fine). If you would like to continue to receive periodic updates on actions relating to Centennial School District advocacy, please email me at concernedcitizensofcsd@gmail.com. I will build my email list from there.
Thank you all, and here's to a bright future for our students!
-Nancy Pontius