Uniforms Part III

The follow quotes are taken directly from the September 12, 2007 Governing Board Meeting audio recordings in order to point out the contradictory statements being made by Governing Board President Charles Otterman. If you would like to listen to the entire audio from the September 12 Board meeting, please visit the audio page. The discussion that took place is very informative and provides an eye-opening prospective.

Charles Otterman (audio mark 32:05) states, "You cannot reach the state of the mind of a Board Member or a Superintendent from a discussion at a Board retreat...intentions are gonna be read into conversations and discussions. The way we vote is what matters. That’s what you look at, how we vote... What we vote is what we stand on and that’s our position."

NOTE: Charles Otterman does not want his comments to be taken as intentions. This would allow Mr. Otterman to say anything he wants without being held accountable. Charles Otterman, Bridget Otterman and Christine Pritchard also voted against the formation of a committee made up of parents and teachers to gather community data and formulate a final decision regarding uniforms in Dysart schools. Therefore, that vote tells us their position on the issue.

Charles Otterman (audio mark 39:28) states, "Whatever you think of me, I took an oath in office. My oath of office is to fulfill my duties as a Governing Board Member impartially. Impartially is the operative word that means unbiased. That means, at that point I don’t go to public. It’s not a public issue. My oath of office is my integrity. It’s not open to public debate, public policy. I’m a representative democracy...once the attorney made this an ethical dilemma for me as a Board Member, telling me your oath is to have practices and policies in compliance, that’s the oath I took ladies and gentlemen. Now when I found out that that oath, that that practice and implementation was not correct, I had an oath in my humble opinion, I had a oath of duty to do something about it quickly to get into compliance. I didn’t create the problem. I didn’t do the problem. I found the problem and I did get a legal opinion and Don Peters did say that. We’ve got the letter (from attorney). That’s what drove this. This lawsuit and all this was never a, this board member it was never in my mind. It never was a consideration. My consideration was my oath of office. That’s the most important thing to me and that’s not open to public opinion. It’s not open for you to tell me about my oath of office. I swore, Charles Otterman, I didn’t say me and the rest of you swear to uphold the duties, Charles Otterman swore to uphold the duty. That’s what we’re not understanding about this. So you better believe I had a sense of urgency because that’s my integrity on the line. As a Board Member."

NOTE: First, Mr. Otterman and the Board couldn't do anything quickly to get into compliance. Mr. Otterman states this very clearly on August 11. It wasn't the responsibility of the Governing Board to make a decision about uniforms on August 11. Now he states that he did have to do something quickly. Mr. Otterman also states that the lawsuit was never in his mind. Yet, according to the August 11 transcript, he mentions the potential for a lawsuit due to the uniform issue. It was obviously on his mind on August 11.

Charles Otterman (audio mark 43:40) states, "I have an oath of office that I respect. My oath of office is to make sure our governing board policy which is our covenant with the people, as it’s written, not make believe, not what if, not what we wish...We needed to do something. I didn’t have a problem with somebody writing a policy. You could have wrote a policy, anybody, you know what? If I would have had a problem I would have wrote a policy. I wouldn’t be having this discussion with you Bill (Lipscomb). I would have wrote a policy and had it at that Board meeting if I had a problem."

NOTE: We know that Charles Otterman had a problem with the uniform practice and policy, yet he hasn't written a policy and has no intention of writing a policy. When Mr. Lipscomb made a motion to have a committee of parents and teachers write a policy, Mr. Otterman voted against it. If Mr. Otterman is so concerned with enforcing Board policy, then perhaps he should consider Board Policy BBA which states "The Board shall act as the general agent of the state of Arizona in carrying out the will of the people of this District in the matter of public education.". Does Mr. Otterman only care about policies that fit his own personal agenda?

Charles Otterman (audio mark 1:01:50) states, "There are two ways that I know things philosophically. One is empirical data, the other. ideas from the rational world...So the question becomes what kind of knowledge can I gain from ideas. Personal preference is not a rational world idea to me. What I would suggest...I didn’t, never said I don’t like uniforms...We can’t just base a decision this big on what some people like.

NOTE: Mr. Otterman doesn't consider the thoughts and opinions from parents (their personal preference for uniforms) to be rational. This is what Mr. Otterman thinks of anyone who disagrees with him. Mr. Otterman clearly says he "never said I don't like uniforms". Yet later on the audio recording from September 12, when all Board Members were specifically asked if they like uniforms, Charles Otterman said "no", "they de-humanize children". It appears Mr. Otterman can't make up his mind.

Charles Otterman (audio mark 1:24:05) states, "The policy does not state parental preference. It states we will gather data. We’ve got to follow policy people. I will follow and respect policy because that’s what’s been ratified."

NOTE: As has already been pointed out, Governing Board Policy BBA states "The Board shall act as the general agent of the state of Arizona in carrying out the will of the people of this District in the matter of public education.". But Mr. Otterman states that this policy is trumped by state law only after he acknowledges that he wasn't even aware this policy existed.

Charles Otterman (audio mark 1:47:00) states, "Two things trump board policy BBA, state law and my oath. The will of the people can’t will me to break state law. The will of the people cannot will me to break my oath of office. So, the will of the people is what we’re here for but also it’s a representative democracy and when I see discrepancies and inconsistencies, it’s my job to bring that to the forefront and to do something about it. But I want to make it clear, it’s not just we follow the will of the people , you know that’s not reasonable. It’s reasonable to follow the will of the people as long as we’re in compliance with my oath, as long as I’m in compliance with state law. That trumps (Board Policy) BBA. The other thing is, I did talk about bringing back a policy that I had written where I gave the power back to the schools...I do not listen to antidotal stories in decision making. I can sit here and tell you hundreds and hundreds of horror stories where uniforms de-humanize children in the classroom. I’ve watched it and I can share those stories with all of you if you want to sit down and talk about them...I’ve lost students because of uniforms. That’s why I think this needs to be in strategic planning, it needs to be an initiative, new century learner because it’s not a parents preference."

Charles Otterman (audio mark 2:19:00) states, "Just for one clarification for input. I hear input over the telephone, meeting people in public. I get letters, I get emails, I get all kinds of input. This (board meetings) is one place I get input. It get lots of input on this. I heard a lot of different things."

NOTE: He doesn't mention all the input he received from angry parents on August 22. That's because those parents disagree with him and he considers that input irrational.