Monday, January 10, 2011



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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sherry, Linehan, Crossman n Kangas are so concerned for saving money, plz tell us why they haven't fired the School Attorney yet? He's given bad advice not once but twice now with two lawsuits coming from his incompetance. Sherry needs to give up "well we have used him for years" thinking and seriously consider hiring new counsel. Think of all the savings in lawsuit payoffs. Minkoff's $165,000. pay off should be enough reason to fire him now! Nevermind what they will all pay to Dr. Johnson for breach of contract, defamation plus retaliation. It appears the counsel also strings along long senseless negotiations so his bank account gets fatter on our dime.
Fire him if you really wants to start some positive changes within our schools.

Anonymous said...

You two have no idea what your talking about.

The super is the one who messed the Minkoff's deal. The 2nd suit hasn't even been to the courts yet lets wait and see what happens before we blame a highly respected atty. why don't you check with the state bar ass or other atty's before you make your charges. shame on you Bob for not following your rules of the road

Anonymous said...

After the second case goes down in flames can we start blaming people?

Seems like an expensive learning curve.

Jacob White said...

The so called settlement with Minkoff is little more than one year’s severance. This is hardly a shocking result. In the much dreaded private sector severance is usual and customary. And, it’s usually somewhere between 6 and 12 months for a position compensated like Minkoff’s. So, in the real world view, this settlement is neither a problem nor a failure on anyone’s part.

Sadly, and despite many many voices suggesting better budgeting and planning, no one on the School Committee budgeted ANY money for legal settlements. Equally alarming (and stupid) no one on the School Committee is setting aside any dollars for future legal settlements.

These school committee folks don’t take or follow good advice ever. They’re egomaniacs, grandstanders, pretenders and really, really stupid. And, by stupid I mean someone who is repeatedly warned that something is risky and harmful and could be costly but they go ahead and do it anyway.

Anonymous said...

I believe the school committee voted to approve the lay off of Ms. Minkoff after they received assurance from their legal counsel that they were on solid ground. So to the third anonymous entry -- maybe the public is simply smarter than you give them credit for! As far as MEJ suit goes, wasn't it our counsel who just requested a delay on that issue? Further, when the MEJ case is resolved and we are paying her to enjoy an early retirement, can we hold our legal counsel accountable then? Yes, we do know exactly what we are talking about. And yes, as taxpayors footing this legal bill time and time again, we do get to speak our mind. Last time I looked, there's no "rule" against that!

Scrooge said...

2:12 -- you have no idea what YOU are talking about. The Committee eliminated Minkoff's position because there was no money.

Would it have been better to fire 3 teachers?

The lawyers approved the termination and the Committee voted it. The Supt didn't "mess up" anything -- She took responsibility for taking over Minkoff's duties. This settlement is still far cheaper than the original 3 year contract.

The Johnson lawsuit will, however, be because the lawyers "messed up" (as you said). Big Time $.

Anonymous said...

2:12 Are you Kangas talkin out your arse again? ALL CONTRACTS are negotiated,reviewed and approved by Atty. Nothing gets signed til he approves all clauses. Maybe he should have reviewed Minkoff's contract before advising S.C. and Dr. Johnson it was legal to let Minkoff go for budgetary reasons. Although the Sherry witch hunt team are trying to pin this one on Dr. Johnson like they do all bad things happening in the schools to make Dr. Johnson look terrible in the Emptyprise and CCInquirer Minkoff mess and Dr. Johnson's Breach of contract, defamation and retalitation suit falls squarely on Atty's competence. Time to hire new Counsel for our schools! Einsteins Insanity theory alive and well on our school

holding my breath said...

I know a way not to worry about Dr. J's suit...let her continue working as she would like to do. That would not only be less expensive, but make a great deal of sense. Has anyone heard if Laura or Sherry has taken the Superintendent up on the Secretary of Education's invitation to go to Denver? An all expense paid trip to collaborate....mmmmmm, maybe that will fix it all up! I sure hope our town does not miss out on such an honor because the SEA and the SC don't "like" her. mmmm, sounds like all the more reason for them to go, no?

Anonymous said...

Every one talks contract honoring.what about the supers contract about her not suing the sc. Thats in her contract but i guess that doen't matter