Southern York County Life

Jessie - 15 March 2010 08:34 PM

It’s not the teachers that are the problem but apparently the air quality in the West building.  That’s what we need to worry about. If toxic mold was found, a little cleaning by admin is not going to fix the problem. A reputable mold cleaning company needs to be hired. And for gods sake don’t do it while the children are there.

I would assume you are new to the forum.  This was addressed quite a bit initially.  Since July 2006, about $2.8 million has been spent in repairs to all the schools, with a good portion of that spent at SEMS-W.  It was more than “a little cleaning.” There are still some problems with humidity, but I can’t recall if that is at the East or the West building.  SESD’s Buildings & Grounds Committee meetings, which are open to the public, is where this sort of issue is discussed.

clockmaker - 14 March 2010 09:45 AM

DISH - Mrs. Maryanne Ragland (since you outed yourself on Aug. 19, 2008), I have to say that I would think you should be more cautious in your comments to a district personnel matter.  As this post is regarding the investigation into the entire Administrative team - aren’t you in that category as well, as Director of Special Education?

Furthermore, is discussing personnel matters openly one of the NINE charges in the Unfair Labor Practice being investigated by the PA Labor Board?  Again, that ULP names the entire administrative team of SESD, so you do not yet know if you are one of the violators of fair labor practices.  The May 18th hearing is not that far off!

Please know that I FULLY understand and endorse the right to freedom of speech, however, I was very concerned when I saw your posts on this thread.  Such actions could possibly bring undo attention on to you from the investigating legal firm.

This is a first for me on this forum. When I saw what Clockmaker wrote about Dish I had to go back to Aug 19, 2008 to check that out. The amazing thing is that what she said then was true and she had enough courage and guts to put her name to it. I have decided to use the name that I am using because of that post. I want all to know that I will not spend any of my time writing anything that is not only true, but so plain that it cannot be misunderstood. I have read much on this forum and I respect other opinions. It is hard for me to understand teachers that have strong opinions, but use a less than an honorable way to express themselves, and then hide behind a name. For an educator to do that in my opinion is inexcusable. I would like to believe that all who teach children should be truthful and not deceiving. I would challenge others who are bold enough to print the truth to step up to the plate and be heard. I would caution those who are slanting their posts to hurt the strong wave of academic improvement at SESD to look in the mirror and do an evaluation of your motives. When you tell the truth you can be proud of what you do and you do not have to worry about your name being out there.  Kudos to Dish

Marge - 15 March 2010 08:57 PM

Jessie - 15 March 2010 08:34 PM

It’s not the teachers that are the problem but apparently the air quality in the West building.  That’s what we need to worry about. If toxic mold was found, a little cleaning by admin is not going to fix the problem. A reputable mold cleaning company needs to be hired. And for gods sake don’t do it while the children are there.

I would assume you are new to the forum.  This was addressed quite a bit initially.  Since July 2006, about $2.8 million has been spent in repairs to all the schools, with a good portion of that spent at SEMS-W.  It was more than “a little cleaning.” There are still some problems with humidity, but I can’t recall if that is at the East or the West building.  SESD’s Buildings & Grounds Committee meetings, which are open to the public, is where this sort of issue is discussed.

Marge, you are correct, the Buildings & Grounds Committee meetings are where you get the most information.  We were at the last one and learned of the “standard leaks” throughout the district buildings, 40 inches of snow in SEMS West duct work, humidity issues in SEMS East, the KD gym floor damage, etc.  We also learned that the KD gym was built on a spring, without the proper drainage system being installed, due to lack of funds.  They had to wait 4 months for the ground to dry out just to build the gym! 
Just when you thought you had heard it all, there’s always more. 

Jessie, you are correct also.  PLEASE do not do anything with the children in the building.  Once you disturb it, spores are distributed all through the building.  Containing and proper remediation is essential.

Just because $2.8 million was spent does not mean things were done correctly and/or completley.

5coops - 16 March 2010 10:38 AM

Just because $2.8 million was spent does not mean things were done correctly and/or completley.

I agree.

http://www.ydr.com/ci_14705567

stephen - 19 March 2010 06:47 AM

http://www.ydr.com/ci_14705567

Wow! This is quite interesting. It seems the community is really angry at this board just by the comments I have read. I just don’t know what to think. Has it always been like this in the SESD community?

heh… 2004… “Intelligent Design” vs. Dover…

welcome to PA!!

Maybe they have reason to be angry at the board. Maybe not. But until everything is out in the open (which rarely ever occurs) we will never know.

Maybe if the board were more open as to what they are trying to accomplish and why they were doing this it would at least give them some credibility. I mean, if someone is doing something wrong, by all means they should be hunting. BUT if this is a personal attack then that would explain why they are being so hush hush.

You now have a board member that is the wife of the SESD Teachers Union President. It is also true that this person has a personal grudge against the Superintentant because this school board member used to be a teacher and she refused to pay the school district back for taxpayer money she got. Even thought it is a policy that a teacher has to teach for a certain length of time after they get this money. It really is like stealing from the taxpayers. This is one example that exists on the present board, but not the only one. Unless they investigate the board along with the administration, they will never get to the bottom of the problem. “ But Guess What” This board will probably not go there. That is what makes this stupid waste of the taxpayers money a true WITCH HUNT

Just Plain Truth - 27 March 2010 08:14 AM

You now have a board member that is the wife of the SESD Teachers Union President. It is also true that this person has a personal grudge against the Superintentant because this school board member used to be a teacher and she refused to pay the school district back for taxpayer money she got. Even thought it is a policy that a teacher has to teach for a certain length of time after they get this money. It really is like stealing from the taxpayers. This is one example that exists on the present board, but not the only one. Unless they investigate the board along with the administration, they will never get to the bottom of the problem. “ But Guess What” This board will probably not go there. That is what makes this stupid waste of the taxpayers money a true WITCH HUNT

Thanks for the clarification. 

Witch hunt… maybe...But let us not forget that along with this “witch hunt” the district also has 9 counts of unfair labor practice charges against them.  These charges were presented to Dr. Shank in December by the Commonwealth of PA’s Teacher’s Union.  The school board didn’t learn of these charges “officially” until Feb or March… what does Dr. Shank have to hide?  Why did a labor union bring charges against the district & the board… all inclusive and the board didn’t know about it for 3 months?  A large labor union doesn’t just bring charges against a district on a whim… they have to have some pretty daming evidence to file charges.  So yes there is a witch hunt going on… but maybe the witches need to be hunted!

where there is smoke ..... there’s fire. Sounds like something fishy is going on. Maybe the mold issue in the West building will be uncovered and dealt with also.

Labor unions don’t need evidence to file a charge - just look at the teamsters union. They just have to earn their expensive dues each year. In today’s world, you can file anything against anybody for anything. That’s why lawyers are so rich!

Perhaps the investigation should include the SB members. I just read the last minutes. Under the “comments from the board” I read the following:

“Mrs. Stauffer said dinner with a staff member from Stewartstown was a bonding experience. She had a overnight activity with female staff and 4 males made dinner.”

I don’t know who she is but this is a crazy comment to say at a business meeting. What does this have to do anything?  Are the SB members even educated to run a school district? As a parent, I am concern about the people who are making decisions that will effect my child’s education.