It’s been a while. I needed a summer break so I took a month off. I guess it’s time to get back into the swing of things. I have many people ask me if the board is off for the summer. No we are not. It is business as usual for the Board of Education. No rest for the wicked, as grandma used to say.
I’ve had a lot of emails and phone calls regarding the high school dance team. It seems a much-loved coach’s job is on the chopping block so a certified employee may take over as per union contract. I only know one thing. There are many girls involved in this “club” and I hope the involvement continues. I can’t speak as to whom is the better candidate as their qualifications are not something I can compare. I thought about requesting they compete in a dance contest but this would probably be deemed unprofessional. So I will use this as a litmus test. Please realize that the board really has no say in the employment procedures. This is a duty assigned to the CEO. We can give input and opinions, but for the most part these things are a done deal before the board knows anything is happening. This has been a successful program for ten years. Built and babied by the same person. I’m always told if it aint broke don’t fix it and it seems to be a good policy to me. So like I said, this year will be a litmus test for me. I hope the district continues to have a successful program.
As usual it gets murkier. We are hiring an interim high school principal. Besides having been my high school principal and partying all weekend together at my high school reunion, he is the father in law of above mentioned 10-year dance team coach. So my vote at the Aug. 1st board meeting should come as no surprise to anyone.
But regardless of the above connections let me tell you why this interim stuff bothers me. I have always wanted people to try to save money. So I made a suggestion. We have an administrator that is retiring effective Dec. 31. We have created a temporary position for this person to fulfill the contract and employ a new guy. The new guy will cost us $75,000 plus the cost of the new position created for the old guy. (Approximately $60,000). My suggestion was to ask the old guy to stay an extra 6 months, eliminating the need for the new guy and the created position. It would cost about $60,000. And give us plenty of time to do one of two things. Either begin a search to fill the old guys position when he finishes the school year, or plan B and my favorite plan by the way: Retool the high school for 3 principals instead of 4. My main argument for this the fact that there are half as many kids there than 20 years ago but the same amount principals and double the administrators overall. That would be a savings of over $125,000 per year!! We could survive with one main principal and two unit principals serving two grades each. One unit gets even year grads and the other gets odd year grads. Woo hoo the money we could save!
But I have a feeling we'll be working on important issues such as if the board should get as raise from $80 per meeting to $125 per meeting. Thats a grand total of $1350 per member at the maximum of 30 meetings per year. So I guess the $6750 the district would save by the board not taking the raise seems substantial to some members but $75,000 and more isn't worth considering. Hmmmmm......
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23 comments:
The board raise issue is just a stunt by Therese. Election year crap. Just like talking Heath into running. No time to address the real issues just bullshit. Spend ,spend ,spend.
It sure does seem like we need more common sense on the BOE.
I agree with fallsbigdaddy. I think this board raise thing is just election year smoke and mirrors by Dunphy. If she's so fiscally responsible and self-sacrificing this year, maybe the voters will forget that she single-handedly engineered last year's raises that cost about 3x what this little ditty will save.
Any board member who wants to "walk the walk" is free to take only a portion of their compensation (or none) at any time. I haven't heard that Dunphy's paychecks are going uncashed.
And not everyone has a nanny at their beck and call.
What does having a nanny have to do with being on the board or collecting a pay check for being on the board?
Having a nanny means you can't relate to most of the people of the school system.
It also means that you don't have to scramble around to find a sitter and pay extra for one every time the board meets.
And it means what the hell go ahead and change the school times all you want ,nanny can get them to school.
The dance team is a fiasco just to line the pockets of the "coach". The original coach was her mother and now it's the daughter(also the daughter-in-law of the proposed interim principal.) The mother who started the dance team has a dance studio here in town that she and her daughter run. Girls on the dance team are required to pay her for dance lessons so they can keep up their skills. My daughter, a 2004 graduate, was on the dance team for the first 3 years of her high school career. She took lessons from another dance studio in this area, which we paid for. Then we paid the "coach" for her lessons or as she termed it, practicing at her studio for the dance team. She gave preferential treatment to the girls who took lessons from her and had no accounting for where the money we paid her went. My daughter had a falling out with her at the try-outs before her senior year and this "coach" petitioned to have her removed from the team. Mr Holland was the principal at the time and he sided with her. At our hearing, he didn't even want to hear our side. We did our best to get her removed because she is so biased toward the girls who take lessons from her that if you don't, you'll never move up on the dance team. She tried to say that the dance studio where my daughter took lessons was not reputable. And she thinks she's reputable?? The best they could do is remove her as coach and make her daughter coach. (i.e. the new interim principal's daughter in law). It's about time they clean house on that dance team. Maybe it's time to do away with it altogether.
Princess Poo Poo - You are getting your wish as more people have thrown their hat in the ring for the BOE. I am frankly a little disappointed as this serves Silver Lake since more people running will split the vote.
Heath has never impressed me and Rump was a spend, spend, spend, kind of administrator so I don't see where that's an improvement. Probably won't matter because with the vote split, Dunphy and Turney have the edge now.
You know nancyjeanne you bring up a good point. I have heard that Barb Gunter has been asking various people to run for the BOE openings and yet I thought she was a supporter of Molly Bendum and Barry Ganslien. Doesn’t she realize that more candidates help Turney and Dunphy or is she better friends with them than she makes out?
rwblack...you are so scared you can not see the forest for the tress, I hope the rest of the Falls has clearer vision than you!!!!! Would Mrs Gunter support the person, and the person who was behind, asking her to resign? Or would any candidate for that matter. I have to question who the Silver Lake supporters are here, would it be you? Jon Turny has lost the run for school board twice, he lives in Silver Lake, as you have pointed out, with his parents. I think the tax payers of the Falls want more than that in a board member. As for Mrs Dunphy, her record speaks for it's self. And lastly, if you can find anyone in the village that supports Mrs Gunter, please step forward. Speaking of blowing smoke, go blow another.
Unfortunately, Gunter is known for not thinking before she speaks and unprofessional behavior. Her infamous "quack, quack" vote is evidence of that.
I too have heard that Gunter was at a gathering with teachers and administrators and saying that she would like to see former educators run. Her intent may not have been to help Dunphy and Turney but if Heath and Rump turn in petitions that will be exactly what she has done.
WOW. Is she that powerful? Only a genius could come up with such a plan and pull it off. No wonder she recieved the second highest votes in the last election.
I was thinking more like that ignorant and unbalanced.
princess poo poo, no she doesn't have much power. If she did she could get more done on the board. I thought that she was pretty smart and wanted to be in a position to lead the board, but with this getting more and more people to run it splits the vote and then with Silver Lake being so well organized, they can get anyone they want in.
I agree with slimey_politics, the quack comment was weird.
As far as votes, I think the only one who has not lost any support is Mrs. Patterson. I think if you held the 2005 election today, only Mrs. Patterson's position wouldn't change. If anything she gets more votes. She is the only one on the board that is consistant. I don't know much about the other candidates that ran, but I do know that I would not vote for Dunphy, Heath or Grimes if they were to run again and I am on the fence about Mrs. Gunter although I voted for her in 2005.
matt - OK I take you point. Maybe I am too cynical about any politician and it might have come out in my comments. I apologize to Mrs. Gunter about maybe secretly siding with Dunphy and Turney, but why would she stab two of her biggest supporters in Mrs. Bendum and Mr. Ganslein? She should be out there pulling for them if she wants to see change. The mathematics are this, if you have six people running for two positions and we see the apathy in the Falls that we have, and Silver Lake is organized, their candidates will get in. Pretty simple. I think that the Falls needs to put all of their support behind 2 candidates to be able to affect real change.
nancyjeanne – I do agree with you that Kellie has stuck to her guns more than any other BOE member. There is not wishy-washy or guessing with Kellie Patterson, you know where you stand and where she stands. But if to get the change she wants, Mrs. Patterson is going to have to pick 2 people to support and help. It would be good if Mrs. Gunter picks the same candidates but Kellie’s support is crucial.
rw, you need to apologize again, along with others on this blog. Again, you are running so scared you can not see the forest for the trees. How do you know who Mrs Gunter supports, have you talked to her? Have you stopped to think that this is another dishonest game played by Dunphy and Turny,(if we make it look like she is secertly supporitng us then we can pull in some of her votes). I didn't see votes split in the last election, Mrs Gunter live in Silver Lake, came in second to Ms. Patterson, and was not supported by the village. May I add she has also "stuck to her guns". Where would Ms. Patterson be today without her other than alone. Let those who want to run for school board run, and my guess is the ones with the best campaign will win.
Talk about fuzzy math.......
Kellie Patterson is a 2 faced LIAR!!! She talks out of one side of her mouth to one group and then talks out the other side to another group.....she should have auditioned for Big Brother.....It would have been a perfect fit..lie to one group...then lie to the next. Of course that group would have caught her in the lies sooner and it would be eviction for Ms. Patterson.
Hey you bunch of dumb shits! While we rip each other apart the fox runs off with the hen house.
If your all so damned concerned with who is running for the board and who you want to win then get off your ass and e-mail or call the person you support, tell them you want a yard sign when the time comes and tell them you want to sign their petition. Stop being stupid!
floraga:
Please expand on your liar liar comment. I am willing to stand behind and back up any comments I have made in any forum, public or private. I suspect that you really have no example of my speaking with a forked tongue. Just like the teacher that posted the same about me, when pressed, not willing to state what the supposed lies are.
This whole situation is bizarre to me--Barb is accused of betraying Molly & Barry, Molly isn't posting at all even to defend accusations against her by a good friend of Barb, Barry has not posted either in weeks and now all the comments from his posters are gone from his blog, Kellie has little to say either but she has defended herself. I wish somebody would just TELL THE TRUTH so we can get on with the business of doing what is best for our school district. This type of activity only spreads rumors and back-stabs others and serves no useful purpose. People get tired of 'dirty politics.' I want the TRUTH about what each candidate values and what he or she wants to accomplish for CF Schools. I don't give a hoot where they live as long as they do what is best for the entire district. How about some USEFUL and HONEST information on the blogs for once!
Taxpayer, my blob was a victim of operator error. I was changing my comment moderator and changed the wrong settings, Sorry about that.
I will have a new post up soon. Perhaps some of the answers you seek will be there.
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