TO lose one vice-chair may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two and an honorary secretary looks like carelessness. This was the view of at least one delegate at last Saturday’s National Governors’ Council’s conference. “It’s simply not good enough,” he declared, as he moved a motion of no confidence in the chair, which was handsomely defeated by a puzzled meeting.
Those of us who are part of NGC’s email group had watched with horrified fascination over the past few weeks as increasingly acrimonious messages flashed across the ether. Those not privy to the internecine warfare being waged amongst the executive were understandably baffled. “This is my first NGC meeting,” said one poor governor, “and I feel as if I have walked in on a family feud.”
The NGC faces a steady reduction in government financial support. Its bold response to this situation has been to plan for expansion: increased membership, better services to members and a professional approach to bidding for funds. The disputes seem only to be about how, where and by whom this should be managed.
One thing all delegates agreed on is that we will be glad when all this navel-gazing is behind us and we can re-focus on education.
Joan Dalton
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