The Speech
3 minutes before the board – “The Camacho Standard”
[0:00 - 0:45] The Callback & The Follow-Up
Good evening. For those who don’t recognize the face, I’m the guy from last year who “half-joked” about organizing a parent-led leaf blower brigade to save the district money. I’m back, as clearly not enough progress was made.
But I want to start with a correction: I wasn’t joking. I was providing an example of the distributed, out-of-the-box coordination we need to survive this. After that meeting, I waited. One board member told me they’d be in touch to discuss suggestions. No call. No email.
I don’t doubt for a second that the people sitting behind this dais care about our kids. But something happens when you sit on that side of the table. The creativity seems to drain out, replaced by the weight of “the numbers.” You spend hours being talked at, and in the process, you’ve stopped talking with us. Wouldn’t you rather have shorter, happier meetings?
[0:45 - 1:45] The Village & The Tech
We’re told “it takes a village” to raise a child. But a village without coordination is just a crowd of people watching a fire. Since I was last here, technology has raced forward. I’m an engineer; I see what’s possible now with solo efforts that were dreams a year ago. I have far more ideas now for how to bring us into a future with more transparency, community involvement, and reduction of toil for our educators. I built parts already.
This room is filled with collective potential. We can help, but you have to let us in. Right now, your processes are outdated. You’re trying to solve a 2026 crisis with bureaucracy from the prior millennium. You’re facing a multi-million dollar hole, and your solution is to shrink-flate art class and outsource the very people who keep our most vulnerable students safe.
[1:45 - 2:30] The Personal Stake & The Whitepapers
I’m not here for a job. I’m here as a dad. My oldest son has a paraprofessional he has known for a third of his life. That isn’t a line item; that’s a foundation. My daughter is coming up next, and I’m terrified her support will be someone “extruded” through the mechanics of a corporate outsourcer who doesn’t know her name or our town.
I didn’t just bring complaints tonight. I brought – [hold them up] – whitepapers! Hard copies! These include actual proposals for Bridge Grants to save teaching hours, revenue reclamation from predatory photo vendors, community-led maintenance, and yes, a leaf blower brigade, among other things. I’d love to be told you’ve already considered every single idea in here, but frankly, I’m ready to be disappointed.
[2:30 - 3:00] The Closer: The Camacho Challenge
I’ll leave you with a cinematic reference. In the movie Idiocracy, there is a leader named President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho. Now, the movie is a comedy about a dystopia, which in places admittedly looks like a step up compared to our current reality, but President Camacho had one quality this board needs right now: He knew he didn’t have all the answers or ideas. He asked for help. He found the smartest people he could and he delegated.
I am asking this board to live up to the example set by President Camacho. You can’t do it all. We don’t expect you to. We have tools, talent, and will. So let us help. Thank you.
Delivery Notes
- The physical hand-off: When you mention the whitepapers, physically hold them up. Walk them to the Board Secretary after you speak if protocol allows; otherwise leave them on the podium.
- The Camacho line: Deliver with a straight face. The humor works best as a serious leadership critique.
- “A third of his life”: Slow down here. This is the emotional anchor point. Let it land before pivoting back to the papers.
What to Print for the Board Meeting
You won’t print everything on the site. The printed stack should be tight, high- impact, and physically holdable. Here’s the recommended assembly:
The Core Stack (print for every board member + Board Secretary)
| Order | Document | Why it’s in the stack |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Executive Summary | The one-pager that frames everything; even if they read nothing else |
| 2 | Instructional Bridge Grant | The most concrete, actionable proposal – saves art & library |
| 3 | Paraprofessional Retention Audit | The emotional and legal anchor – “a third of his life” |
| 4 | Health Insurance Transparency | The biggest dollar lever; reframes the entire deficit narrative |
| 5 | Regulatory Leverage Points | The “hard” questions they can’t wave away – banked cap, Best Practices, CAA |
| 6 | RFI Templates | The “we’re serious” closer – ready-to-file, with OPRA fallback |
The Supporting Stack (print a few copies for the podium table)
| Order | Document | Why it supports |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Open Image Project | Revenue reclamation + data sovereignty – easy to understand |
| 8 | Community Maintenance Layer | The leaf blower callback from the speech – proof of concept |
| 9 | Grant Writing Corps | Shows the community has professional capacity, not just enthusiasm |
| 10 | Open Budget & Participatory Finance | The “show don’t tell” – bring a screenshot if OpenCollective is live |
| 11 | Open Governance Pilot | The vision piece – shorter meetings, better outcomes |
Leave on the website only
- Energy & Facilities (09) – strong but less urgent for this meeting
- Cooperative Purchasing (10) – technically important, not emotionally resonant
- Student-Led Projects (12) – nice supporting example, not a lead argument
- PTA Coordination Infrastructure (15) – the board doesn’t need the platform details
- Technical design documents (16-18) – these are for the community builders, not the board
Assembly Tips
- Staple each stack – don’t hand them a pile of loose pages
- Print the Executive Summary on colored paper (light blue or cream) so it stands out as the “start here” page
- Number of copies: one per board member (usually 7-9) + one for the Board Secretary + a few extras for the podium. ~15 total stacks.
- The site URL (
schools.siliconsaga.net) should be on the Executive Summary so people can find the full site later. Write it by hand on each copy if you don’t get to update the print layout in time.
Full site: https://schools.siliconsaga.net
Give feedback to the West Orange School District: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfPpBHw2F13tZXD54vfKXXNQywjaz93KaJXdMLWG0AnE51csw/viewform