PRESS RELEASE - School Board Passes Resolution Opposing Amendment 3

The Grain Valley School Board has passed a resolution opposing Amendment 3.  Superintendent of Schools Dr. Roy Moss made this statement about the Board's action, "The Board opposes Amendment 3 because it imposes a one-size-fits-all approach that, if passed, would take away local control and place greater emphasis on standardized tests instead of on instruction and learning."

Amendment 3 is on the ballot for Missouri voters on Tuesday, November 4.

The language of the resolution passed by the Grain Valley Board of Education is listed below.

WHEREAS, Amendment 3 on the November ballot is a state mandate that shifts local control for educational decisions away from parents, teachers, administrators and school boards; and

WHEREAS, Amendment 3 is a poorly drafted and deeply flawed proposal that has many unintended consequences for teachers, administrators and school boards; and

WHEREAS, Amendment 3 would prevent school boards from hiring, promoting, compensating or dismissing teachers in accordance with board policy; and

WHEREAS, Amendment 3 would force taxpayers to pay for additional standardized tests at a time when our public schools remain significantly underfunded by the state; and

WHEREAS, Amendment 3 significantly changes teacher evaluations away from a tool to improve teacher performance;

Therefore be it RESOLVED, the Grain Valley R-5 Board of Education on this 21st day of August 2014, hereby opposes Amendment 3 on the November ballot.