For the second night in a row my family and I, like apparently every other Sequoia Union High School District family, were woken up at 12:15 AM by a robocall reminding us that SUHSD has implemented a new registration process.
Personally, I am about ready to boycott that registration process, just to make the point that I really value a good night’s sleep.
Here’s an email I just sent to Jim Lianides, SUHSD’s recently-appointed superintendent (I’ve edited out a couple of personal paragraphs, as Jim and I know each other socially):
Jim,
I’m sorry to have to tell you that I received yet another robocall from the Sequoia Union High School District, on the subject of registration, just now (i.e., at 12:15 AM Wednesday morning, August 4th). Once again it woke up me and my family.
Jim, my apologies for being blunt here, but this is a totally unacceptable and intolerable situation. The problem should never have occurred in the first place, and it most definitely should never, ever, ever have repeated itself once it was reported. The SUHSD, besides rapidly turning itself into a laughingstock within the community it serves, is at serious risk for doing damage to its reputation that will take a long time to repair. If the District cannot do something as simple as turn off a robocalling system, then how can it be entrusted with providing the kind of education the community wants, or with our tax dollars?
I know you want to get to the bottom of this problem. But I urge you to do something simpler: turn off the darn robocalls! Avoiding any more middle-of-the-night surprises is much more important than figuring out what went wrong, at least for now. In fact, please feel free not to reply to this email for the same reason: I’d rather you assure me of an uninterrupted night’s sleep than have you spend time writing to tell me what you’re doing to solve the problem.
One last request: as I mentioned in my first email to you, my wife and I would like to have all of our phone numbers removed from the District’s robocall list. Please have someone contact me as to how I can go about doing that.
– Mark Olbert
p.s. Protocol suggests trustees not micromanage superintendents, but since I’m not on your board I feel comfortable making the following suggestion. If it were me, I would tell whichever administrator is overseeing this misguided robocalling effort that if it happens again he or she will be fired, no questions asked. I’d say that whether or not the actual calls are being made by a third-party, because accountability must remain with the District.