The heated exchanges Monday night at the New Albany-Floyd County School Board meeting should never have happened. While The Tribune does not support all the specific original language — especially media restrictions — of the now controversial compact and code of ethics, we do support Superintendent Bruce Hibbard and the board’s actions in handling the mess.

The Tribune reported from the school board retreat earlier this year and witnessed the discussions by the board about the compact and code of ethics. It was written by the Indiana School Boards Association as a recommendation and brought to the board members by the ISBA. This state organization confirms that it is only a template from other counties and editable. The board reviewed it at the meeting and it was scheduled for presentation at the next meeting.

Accusations condemning Hibbard of looking for the board’s “rubber stamp” were rash and unfounded in accuracy, based predominantly on one unhappy board member’s statements to a Louisville newspaper reporter.

Hibbard and other board members handled the situation properly by moving to edit the compact and review the controversial sections. The superintendent’s office and school board should be a system of checks and balances. Neither should be a rubber stamp to the other.



Election season fairness

The political season is officially under way. If you still think it’s too early for political rhetoric to begin, think again — or just check your mailbox for political mailers.

In order to ensure fairness and objectivity during the height of election fever, The Tribune editorial board has chosen to alter the publication schedule of opinion column submissions by candidates for State Representative District 72 — including Ed Clere and Shane Gibson. Clere has written weekly since his election in 2008 and has provided informative columns to our readership.

In the spring, The Tribune did offer Clere’s opponent an opportunity for equal time on the page. However, we’ve amended that decision to offer the candidates an opportunity to address topics only on predetermined dates with predetermined topics. This means Clere’s weekly column reporting on the district will be on hiatus until after the Nov. 2 election. We will also offer our traditional question-and-answer feature online and in print for voters.

NOTE: Our submission deadline for election-related letters to the editor will be 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25.