GSIS and Ma On Shan

[Dragon]

less confused

I think happyhour has raised some very important points. Throughout this controversy it seems, the board has been attacked ,
for valid reasons or not, as an anonymous group, whose capabilities outside this dispute, are difficult to judge. Worse yet, what qualifications are the new board members to bring into the management of the school, other than possibly having "won" this difficult battle ? As there seems to be one consensus despite all differences in this discussion that, GSIS has been so far the very best international school in Hong Kong and everyones' aim in this discussion is, to keep it this way..what is the risk to replace an anonymous group, that obviously has had significant success in the past and possibly committed some errors, with a new anonymous (except maybe Mrs Jebsen) group with no proven track record at all ??
Going back to the basic issue, as to what's best for our kids and not who is to blame for the unfortunate experiences of the past months, I am reluctant to consider this risk as worthwhile taking.

 

[Alexander]

I think happyhour has raised some very important points. Throughout this controversy it seems, the board has been attacked ,
for valid reasons or not, as an anonymous group, whose capabilities outside this dispute, are difficult to judge. Worse yet, what qualifications are the new board members to bring into the management of the school, other than possibly having "won" this difficult battle ? As there seems to be one consensus despite all differences in this discussion that, GSIS has been so far the very best international school in Hong Kong and everyones' aim in this discussion is, to keep it this way..what is the risk to replace an anonymous group, that obviously has had significant success in the past and possibly committed some errors, with a new anonymous (except maybe Mrs Jebsen) group with no proven track record at all ??
Going back to the basic issue, as to what's best for our kids and not who is to blame for the unfortunate experiences of the past months, I am reluctant to consider this risk as worthwhile taking.

I see the logic in what you say and agree.

 

[NewHorizon]

BTW, does the board chairman have to be a German national? What about board members? What are the rules?

 

[happyhour]

Sorry, just one more point. I appreciate that it's unpleasant to work alongside someone you hate or dislike. Perhaps that's the reason why the new candidates want to go in as a group to replace the entire board. However, we also need to consider the chance of success. Of course, from the new candidates' point of view, getting everybody into the board will definitely be miles better than having only 1 or 2 of them in. But the other side of the coin is that having only 1 or 2 of them in will infinitely be better than getting nobody in. Don't denigrate the effect of only one outsider on the board. He can tell us a lot about what's going on during the board meetings. The board members will definitely not be so arrogrant and unresponsive as they know they are no longer working behind closed doors.

 

[happyhour]

As far as I can see, Article 47 says that any member who is fluent in written and spoken German is eligible for election as a director. Article 63 says that the meeting of the board shall as rule be conducted in German.

BTW, does the board chairman have to be a German national? What about board members? What are the rules?

 

[zeus1]

All board members must speak and write german. All board meetings are held in german. Happy Hour is right the hole board not be replaced in one go. That not work. We need to replace parts. candidates of course they would need to introduce themselves and speak of what they do and what they achieve. No one gets job with out being interviewed or explaining themselves so why would that happen here. It could also be a good time for the board to explain themselves. Also the EGM is to have a vote on each individual member of the board not the whole in one go so we will have a choice on who stays and who goes. Our chance for positive change!

 

[genome]

The way that I see things is that this has moved on from MOS yes or no. This is about having the right people in the right place to take the school forward. My two cents worth below.

From what I can tell the EGM will allow us to vote on if we want to keep each member of the board individually. So it is not one vote to remove everyone. We have a choice. Re knowing the candidates, to cover happy hours concerns and agreeing with Zeus1, I am sure they will be sending out their CV and achievements so we will be able to make an educated choice on who we want. I do not think that the board should just say "our record is enough for us to stay". They should also in my opinion explain why they should stay and what skills they have to take the school forward and provide parents with their CV and achievements just like the new candidates.

Yes they have run the school over the years and yes they have done good things but this is about running a school in a crisis situation and communicating in a crisis situation which is something they failed at miserably with MOS. We are looking at embarking on the most ambitious and expensive building project that the school has ever undertaken which is going to be full of crisis situations in that a project of this size does not happen with out them.

I for one want to be 110% sure that the people that are running with it are the right people for the job. This project is not just building another classroom it is about building the school of the future and it has to be done right in that the downside is a near depletion of school funds and an average less than adequate school for our children.

We have a choice and hopefully the EGM give us this choice.

 

[Alexander]

Is any poster here seeking to get on the board? or already on the board?

Also, I just heard from an insider that the lady who secured the new school site does not even have a child affected! She only wanted to help!

 

[NewHorizon]

As far as I can see, Article 47 says that any member who is fluent in written and spoken German is eligible for election as a director. Article 63 says that the meeting of the board shall as rule be conducted in German.

So there is no local Chinese on the board?
And all non-German speakers are out?

 

[NewHorizon]

Is any poster here seeking to get on the board? or already on the board?

Also, I just heard from an insider that the lady who secured the new school site does not even have a child affected! She only wanted to help!

You mean all her children have graduated?