Jacobs a failure as school board member
BY World's Editorials Writers
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
3/13/13 at 7:21 AM
It's a pretty simple question to which no one can seem to get an answer: Why does Lois Jacobs want to be on the school board?
For most board members the answer is easy. Most serve because they are concerned about Tulsa public education and to make the district the best it can be for the students, teachers and administrators. It's certainly not for the money, as members serve without pay.
Jacobs has been asked the question by other school board members, parents in her district and the Tulsa World. The response is usually silence.
She has made a habit of voting no or abstaining from votes. Sometimes she seconds a motion and then votes against it. She seldom, if ever, visits schools in her district. She once was invited to join the annual Dr. Suess reading event for students but did not bother to respond.
Jacobs is in the third year of a four-year term representing Carnegie, Grissom, Grimes, Patrick Henry, Key, Marshall and McClure elementary schools, Thoreau Demonstration Academy and Memorial High School.
Most recently, Jacobs voted against sending a much-needed $39 million bond proposal to update technology in Tulsa Public Schools. Asked why, she had no comment.
Last January, Jacobs hinted through her website that she was considering seeking the Republican nomination for the District 79 House of Representatives seat, but that did not materialize. She had no comment.
Now, parents in Jacobs' school district have begun a petition urging Jacobs to resign.
Turnout in school board elections is notoriously low. For the most part, Tulsa has been lucky over the years to get high-quality, concerned candidates and members. Jacob's election was one of those times when a low turnout meant electing the wrong person to an important post.
If Jacobs does not step down, voters in the district must remember her failings if she chooses to run for re-election. If Jacobs chooses to run for another office such as the Legislature, voters in her district ought to remember her dismal performance on the school board.
Jacobs was sent to the school board to be the voice for her district and her constituents. She has failed in both. And we still don't know why she wanted to be on the school board in the first place.
Original Print Headline: Failure
