Dear Editor,

The late Martin Luther King Jr., in the midst of turmoil in the Civil Rights movement, made a speech that began, “I have a dream.” As a member of the Glasgow Board of Education, I, too, “have a dream.” My dream is that all children in Glasgow Independent Schools will have access to the best opportunity for education in the state of Kentucky, one that would rival any in the nation.

One might ask if that is possible in light of recent stories which have been written about Glasgow schools. I am here to tell you that it is not only possible, it is going to happen. Why? It will happen because we believe it can. We have students who can and do achieve great things in every arena, both academic and non-academic. We have a community of people who value education and are supportive of our schools. We have dedicated administrators, faculty and support personnel. And, yes, we have a board of education dedicated to the students of Glasgow Independent Schools.

I, along with the other members of the board, our superintendent, and the entire Learning Team of Glasgow Independent Schools have continued to work diligently for our students, in spite of the recent controversies, which have certainly diverted attention away from our mission. For the past seven months, we have worked extremely hard to make it possible for one element of the above mentioned dream to be realized. We have definite facility needs in our district. Glasgow High School has a history of being one of the premier high schools in the state, and continues to be so. A state-of-the-art facility will be a welcome component to what already makes it great. This has been a dream for many years, but now we have the resources to make it a reality. The additional nickel we now have in our building fund, thanks to a supportive community, will make that possible.

Last April, the board appointed a committee of citizens to look at our facility needs and help guide us in making decisions about funding sources to meet those needs. I had the privilege of chairing that group, and I want to publicly thank those individuals for their time and effort in helping us achieve our dream. While the committee did not specifically recommend that we try to pass a recallable nickel, they recognized the need, and gave us the courage to try, even in difficult economic times, to move ahead with our plan to meet our facility needs. I want to assure our community that we will spend their dollars wisely and efficiently. Now that our building fund is adequate, we can begin to address our needs and plan for sustainability in the future.

Yes, I have a dream. As we work in the next few months to plan for what Glasgow schools will look like five years from now, 10 years from now, even 100 years from now, I invite the community to dream along with us. Share your ideas with us. We welcome your input.

Personally, as a former science teacher, I would like for our high school to be a math/science magnet school with the facilities to support that concept. However, I cannot forget to support the humanities and the many talented students we have who excel in the visual and performing arts. Our souls must be fed as well as our minds. In addition, we cannot forget the role athletics play in the development of young women and young men, as we provide equal access for all. Every area is vital to the overall development of potential our students have.

Changing demographics in our community provide another set of challenges to meet the needs of all students who enter our doors. Every student deserves the best education we can provide for them.

A daunting task lies before us, but the future of our community depends on how we meet these challenges. It is easy for an institution steeped in “tradition” to become static. My dream is for Glasgow schools to be dynamic as we meet the needs of our students in the 21st century. The thing that makes a system great is the striving. Are we perfect? No. Do we make mistakes? Yes, we are human. Will we strive to meet the challenges we face and become better?

From my view, the answer is an unequivocal yes. My grandchildren, your children and grandchildren, all the children deserve no less.

Elaine Richardson

Member, Glasgow Board of Education

Thanks given to volunteers for help

Many thanks for all the wonderful people involved in the Botts Walker Benefit Horse Show & Auction. There were so many volunteers who worked tirelessly the night of the show. Everyone who ran the concessions, the auction, the roping and the pleasure show did a fantastic job!