It is so nice to see the community pull together and voice concerns about the district.  I really think we as community members feel like the board is listening.  Does anyone else feel that there may not be a policy that is really being followed in the district????  There certainly was a consistent theme last night.

The South Eastern Tax Reform Coalition gave a Power Point presentation to the School Board last night with recommendations that will help with the Buildings & Grounds issues, if implemented.  Included in our presentation are SESD Policies that have not been followed.

You can view the presentation at http://www.setrc.net - the first announcement includes the link.

If you want to listen to the presentation, the recording is under HVAC/ROOF.  Click on WS110010.

Thank You Marge for your presentation at the SB meeting. It is obvious you took a lot of time and research to make the presentation. It was very interesting about the problems of the B and G issues and how things were done in the past.  Was the B & G Director that was employed w/the district for many years, “fired” soon after Dr. Shank took charge. Are of the invoices dated 7/1//05 that was presented at the SB meeting from his time there?  I do believe there was an issue about him being removed from his position from the public. Was he under the supervision of the past administration?  The board member who was chairman of the B and G committee the last few years is no longer a board member.  It certainly will be an interesting year......

I would like to correct a statement that I made on the post that I just made.  I meant to say “policy” dated 7/1/05 not “invoice”. Sorry.

ProudParent - 20 March 2008 10:06 AM

Thank You Marge for your presentation at the SB meeting. It is obvious you took a lot of time and research to make the presentation. It was very interesting about the problems of the B and G issues and how things were done in the past.  Was the B & G Director that was employed w/the district for many years, “fired” soon after Dr. Shank took charge. Are of the invoices dated 7/1//05 that was presented at the SB meeting from his time there?  I do believe there was an issue about him being removed from his position from the public. Was he under the supervision of the past administration?  The board member who was chairman of the B and G committee the last few years is no longer a board member.  It certainly will be an interesting year......

The former Director of B&G was let go around August 2006.  So, yes, the policies adopted on 7-1-05 were in effect while he was still at the District.  For the most part, he was under McShane.  I believe McShane was on ‘leave’ waiting for his retirement at the time the B&G Director was let go and Dr. Shank, still Asst. Superintendent, was handling the day-to-day operations of the District.

was anyone else disturbed that the audience members were allowed to verbally assault those teachers and kids?

was anyone else disturbed that the audience members were allowed to verbally assault those teachers and kids?

Say what?

While I dont care much for Students First, I can say that I do like the work that SETRC is doing.  That is an excellent presentation, and I would gladly volunteer to work with the committee.

livelaughlove - 20 March 2008 02:16 PM

was anyone else disturbed that the audience members were allowed to verbally assault those teachers and kids?

That’s been going on for a while now. I’ve seen insults towards new teachers, dept heads,admin., and sb board member attacked w/finger pointing and verbally threaten. All taken place in the last few months.

I found it quite interesting that a member in the audience asked if all SB members get background checks since everyone else that is involved in the district has to.  Any opinions on that?

mamma - 19 March 2008 07:37 PM

It is so nice to see the community pull together and voice concerns about the district.  I really think we as community members feel like the board is listening.  Does anyone else feel that there may not be a policy that is really being followed in the district????  There certainly was a consistent theme last night.

The SB president says “thank you” after people say what they want to say and then move on...just like the president did before her. Why all the sudden you think it is different? The board has always listened.  They just can not comment on most of the things that are brought before them publicly.  Unless you have conversations w/some of them that we are not aware of that makes you think that.

Who is doing this threatening, name calling, etc?

I was at the last board meeting and did not hear any name calling.  Could you be more specific?  I have been to some of the past board meetings and there was absolutely no dialogue with the community so either the board is more community friendly or there is more going on in the district for the community to be concerned about - possibly some of both.  Definately some flagrant neglect of policy following and it is nice that it is not only Students First to bring that to the board’s attention.  Upset or angry community members should not be confused with members of Students First.  Be careful about that.  SF presents statistical facts at board meetings which often has cause for concern but never has presented anything publicly other than that.  There are many concerned parents involved in the group but nothing is presented publicly without the consent of the entire group - we do not speak as individuals but as a group.  There are a lot of misconceptions about the group and I think many of them have been generated in an effort to discredit the group because the statistics are unsettling to the district leader.

My issues with Students First and thier facts are well known, and I will not get into that here.  What I find myself concerned about is the implication here that students, teachers, community members (even Students First ) are being harrassed at school board meetings.  That is unacceptable.  Can someone provide some verification of this?

JPC,
I was at the meeting and did not witness any verbal attacks.  There were some concerns raised by the tax coalition and a couple who presented that their son was verbally attacked by a district bus driver.  Maybe that is what the reference was toward.  This couple indicated the administration was dishonest with them and they were very upset.  There was also a man who was upset about the teacher turnover (not a SF member) and his son lost a teacher mid-year for the second year in a row - again very upset but in both these cases I think they have a right for concern.

JustPlainC - 20 March 2008 05:31 PM

My issues with Students First and thier facts are well known, and I will not get into that here.  What I find myself concerned about is the implication here that students, teachers, community members (even Students First ) are being harrassed at school board meetings.  That is unacceptable.  Can someone provide some verification of this?

I heard one time just a few months ago, a man did get up and point his finger at a SB member and say something like “I am watching you” in a threatening way.  It was very disturbing, and immature. I do not think he like that SB memeber very much. Some like to get loud at times and try to talk out of turn.  Dr. Shank told the public just a few meetings ago that her life has been threaten in the past.  But there are times when a person has a concern about an issue and is very respectful towards the board.  It gets very interesting at times.....