By Kimberly Peterson | What comes to your mind when you think of volunteers? Dedication? Commitment? Long hours? I am a volunteer. I have volunteered at Hughes Middle School for over seven years. I still volunteer there even though my last child moved on to high school a year ago. I would venture to guess that I have logged over 10,000 hours at Hughes. According to Utuak-Joe Ntuk, candidate for the Long Beach Unified School Board, the thousands of hours I have spent at Hughes were the indulgence of privileged person.
Last Monday I attended the LBCC Candidates Forum at which Mr. Ntuk told the crowd that his opponent, Megan Kerr, attended over 60 School Board meetings because she had the “privilege” to do so. He seemed dismissive of the value of volunteerism. He seemed to suggest that Ms. Kerr, like me, and like so many parents in the LBUSD who can volunteer to–coach, run clubs, raise money, write grants–are somehow less qualified or knowledgeable than a person with a 9 to 5 job.
When I volunteer at Hughes, it is to help make it the best school it can be. The fact that I have “the privilege” to volunteer does not in any way taint my efforts, the quality of my work, or my ability to create and maintain programs that serve students with excellence. The fact that I have “the privilege” to spend 12 hours a week working directly with students, does not make me less informed about the students, the school, and their needs – it makes me more so.
Mr. Ntuk is foolish to dismiss the contributions of volunteers who “have the privilege” to support our schools. Programs live and die on the efforts of volunteers who raise millions of dollars for schools each year–PTA, boosters, festivals, fundraising sales, silent auctions, grants.
Anyone running for the LBUSD school board should honor and appreciate all volunteers. I suspect that Ms. Kerr, who has attended these 60 school board meetings deserves appreciation and respect rather than distain–but I guess that’s politics.
Kimberly Peterson is a Hughes Middle School Green Team Parent Adviser
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