Discipline problem? Not in school this time, nor by schoolchildren

Dear Damon,

Please read the article by Tim Myers on the strswatch.blogspot.com blog posted by some OEA members, and not an official OEA spot.

It speaks to an incident in March when an OEA group continued to disrupt and talk loudly enough other attendees could not hear the board meeting. One person asked them to be quiet so as to hear. This indiv. was told that was what the chairs inside the room were for as stated in the article among laughs and rude behavior. The writer makes light of the request and ridicules a member with a 'librarian' attached descriptive creating a picture, I presume, for the audience.

I have had to ask Bill Leibensperger to be quiet when speakers are up so I could hear despite all being quiet for him when he spoke.

Is there a policy that states attendees can disrupt others ability to hear procedings if outside the boardroom? Is this a social gathering spot for jokes and chit chat?

If attendees have the right to hear in a quiet environment outside the board room, is a security guard possible since requests have been ignored and rudely addressed?

Please respond though I know how very silly and highschool this sounds. However, I assume we all have rights at STRS and one of those rights is to hear the meeting. I ask that persons making that impossible or difficult be removed if met with rudeness and lack of respect for others. We care not what they talk about-just elsewhere so we can hear-perhaps their nearby homebase since they are not interested in the meeting. Some of us drive long distances and have more than a block to travel to get there getting up in early hours and committed to representing their districts and delivering news back to them. This group makes that impossible.

With all we have to think about, this is beyond silly. But, after you read the letter on a site that touts facts only; not going after individuals; building STRS membership relations and respect, this article and action seem "More noise and less light (for others)" when it states it is for more light and less noise.

Thank you,
Molly J.