Obviously, the position of school board chairwoman will involve a learning curve, but Hardin's instincts seem good. She is rightly appalled that roughly half of students who start first grade in the district don't graduate as seniors from the district. Hardin welcomes the participation of local parents and business leaders in our schools. She criticizes accepting federal grant money that requires taking teachers out of the classroom. If local charter schools can successfully educate low-income children from single-parent homes, she correctly notes, other schools should be able to do the same.
Hardin sees systemic failure in the scandal at Douglass High School, where a state audit found up to four of five seniors weren't on track to graduate: “I don't know how anyone could not have understood this was happening.” On the other hand, incumbent board Chairwoman Angela Monson's response to the audit was to declare, “We did not fail our students.”
Hardin's background, her passion and her energy make her the best candidate for the job. In the Feb. 12 election, The Oklahoman endorses Lynne Hardin.
