Good group, but wrong name

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Good group, but wrong name

Thursday, 25 February 2010 03:40

We have to applaud Osceola County School Board member Cindy Hartig and the board of directors of Osceola School District-Children Inc. for their efforts to help the children of our county during this very serious recession. This nonprofit is an extension of community efforts mounted to help local children in need during the Christmas holiday.
With that said, we have observed considerable controversy over this new nonprofit, which, while officially keeping its corporate name, will do business as Osceola County for the Children, according to Hartig. We agree with School Board member Jay Wheeler that the nonprofit corporation’s name is inappropriate, but also believe this whole thing has been blown out of proportion.
Officially, the current nonprofit directors include Hartig, Kinisha Nixon-Rice, Nancy Gemskie and Mary Johnson. Part of the controversy – which has been lurking below the surface – has been that Gemskie is running against Wheeler for his School Board seat in this year’s election.
While officially listed as a director, Gemskie told us last week she would not serve until after the election so that it could not be construed by anyone that she did so in order to gain any ground politically. That is the correct road to take, though there would have been nothing illegal or unethical for Gemskie to serve as director, as far as we know.
Hartig has stated that Gemskie being included as a director was a mistake and that she would be taken off official filings. That, too, is the best action to take. We just wish this nonprofit’s name had been considered a bit more thoroughly in the beginning so that it would not have become a point of contention between two School Board members.
We don’t believe that Hartig intentionally would try to mislead anyone in regard to linking the School District with the nonprofit, which has the goal of providing recreational opportunities for our youth, helping to keep them on the road to becoming good citizens.
However, we urge the nonprofit to include a disclaimer somewhere that would help clear the air on this issue. What would it hurt?
And by having this discussed at a School Board workshop should help both Wheeler and Hartig move past this issue.