Parts of last night's BOS meeting make interesting viewing.
First, there was a budget discussion with the School Department. The SC Chair delivered her prepared remarks with the warmth and style of a Hostage Video. The SC's Vice Chair didn't say anything of relevance beyond uttering the phrases "work in process" and "working together" -- both which mean little when dealing with a $30 million budget -- particularly when nothing seems to be in process, and nobody seems to be working together! It was clear that neither had any concept of what was in the school budget. The Superintendent made the bulk of the presentation which seemed to boil down to maximizing the FY '12 local contribution in order to conserve cash for FY '13 -- regardless of who is running the District. The School Committee leadership didn't seem to recognize the seriousness of the FY '13 budget situation.
Later, the BOS held a surprisingly lengthy discussion on the idea of sending the School Committee a letter stating their concern about potential legal liabilities associated with their handling of the current Superintendent's contract and asking for a delay in signing any new contracts until those liabilities are resolved. It was agreed to refer the matter to Town Counsel for further discussion.
The reality is the SC is planning to anoint their new leader next week. It would have been nice if the issue was raised months ago --- or even an hour earlier when the School Committee members were actually in front of them.
UPDATE: See related CCT Article
19 comments:
So, Let me get this straight... We have four finalists for Superintendent.
1. None of them has ever been a Superintendent or has been in charge of curriculum development.
2. None of them has developed a budget, $30 million or otherwise.
3. The local horse as we can call him is currently serving in a role that directs Special Education, yet he, himself, does not have any SPED background.
4. We are going to quickly hire the best of what the search committee will 'publicly interview' yet there will be NO time for public comment since they'll be wrapped up before the next public forum.
You just can't make this stuff up.
So after a nation-wide search, secret meetings held at police headquarters, public interviews next week, on Thursday our Fab 4 will announce that Matt Bridges is the new super. Of course, they never had this planned to begin with???
Meetings at the Police HQ? You really can't make this stuff up. At parent informed me that the K-8 parents got notice that if you had a child in the school system you couldn't be on the search team. Obviously exceptions were made. I wonder what tales were told to the newbies on the committee. I wonder if anyone spoke of the HR nightmares involving one final candidate? This list of finalists shows such disrespect for the taxpayers and the community, not to mention it absolutely puts at risk the integrity of the schools system and future critical development. It is truly a crime against the people of Sandwich. "Moving on" to what I ask?
Does anybody think its a coincidence that Barnstable had far more candidates for their Supt's job -- AND most of their candidates were far more qualified than these finalists?
What education professional would want to deal with the militant union and their dopey lackeys on the school committee?
After paying an outside consultant, and having a world-wide search, we'll end up hiring an in-house guy who was a good principal, but has no budget experience, no supt experience, no PHD, no curriculum experience, and three family members on the school payroll.
Great job.
If in fact the local horse is offered the position... this will be the big "reveal"... and I hope news and media outlets pick up and report on this incredible injustice to our children and our District.
Simply put, since the local horse is employed here... there would be absolutely no risk to delaying the contract/decision... How could he possibly say "he's doing it for the kids..." if our district could be exposed to financial liability.
The only logical answer is that he is doing for himself and the folks who put him there.
I am sure the press could (and should) have a field day on that...
Additionally,as ANON 8:39 points out - he was hired to run special ed (again , lacking the experience) and the District would create another major problem needing to backfill that position... for the 3rd time in as many years...
This is not just about the union. This is most about small town politics the incompetence of 4 members of the school committee and old age political thinking. I would suspect it is also about a former superintendent and former school committee members pulling strings as well, along with obvious sneaky and blatant breaking of open meeting laws by members of the school committee that are just not up to the task of executive leadership in political office for our schools and our town. It is about people who want to go backwards not forwards. It is about stupidity!
The schools and the town deserve better candidates! We have an excellent Superintendent right now who has been treated unfairly. It would be the most prudent thing to extend her contract for even 6 months or a year so she can hold her head up and the town can truly move on. At this point moving on means being sold out by 4 people and those who are going along with them. I should add the schools lawyer to that list, but he is a lawyer and has the advantage of not holding a position of accountability to Sandwich. This School Committee does. They have lost their way big time to think we have a superintendent in this list that upholds the standards of our hopes for our kids and our town.
anon 10:15 points out the many financial disasters this house of cards will bring on no doubt. I was just told that union leaderships is exempt from unions dues and one leader who pays no dues but yields power inappropriately all over the place, was even on the search committee. One of the strongest advocates for the kids, a teacher is now silent because of a potential job that the new organization may bring to them. What in the world is going on?
What's going on as anon 10:15 wants to know is that the teacher who was "one of the strongest advocates for the kids" who is now silent was always first and foremost in it for themself( wont't reveal gender), not " the kids". Now silent to begin buttering up the next regime. You know who flees sinking ships!
For almost a year we have watched horrified and confused as two new elected officials set in motion a series of events that made our heads spin. And why you ask? Does anyone really remember? Oh that's right we weren't really told why.
Citizen after citizen asked them to reconsider. Teacher after teacher pleaded with them. A group of citizens meet hours upon hours to try and find a constructive way to encourage reconciliation and reason. Teachers and parents worked together to advocate for the children and the town. But to know avail. The clique stood firm with obvious support behind the scenes from others. And as the school year began we watched School Committee meeting after School Committee meeting that proved to everyone there was something horribly wrong with this committee, it's motives, and it's priorities. Intimidation in the schools and elsewhere geared up. against teachers supportive of Dr. Johnson and her work geared up. Teachers and parents started to become afraid to speak up. Something was very wrong.
Now here we are a year down the road and before us a list of final candidates for the important job of Superintendent. And we have the same tactics the power group used to justify their irrational behavior last spring, being used by them to get what they want. The process they put into place and manipulated is their justification for proceeding with what is so obviously a bad decision, given how close we are to an election that could change the balance of power again. What's worse is they, who have based all their arrogant actions on the mantra "we have to do what is best for the children," proceed in a way that is not best for the children. They want the town to hire someone who is not as qualified as the superintendent working for us right now.
So a personality conflict will result in a rash action that the next school committee might rationally reverse. Someone asked me today if it would be fiscally responsible, should the majority of the school committee change in May, to fire the superintendent about to be hired through this corrupt process we are at the end of. I wonder if it is fiscally responsible not to. An appeal by Dr. Johnson could take years. Morale will continue to suffer and we will be without the benefit of Dr. Johnson's skills, skills that have moved the district forward in spite of tremendous cuts to the school budget during her tenure. There will be added salaries to account for bringing people on board to provide the management and academic skills none of the final candidates have. There will the continued rise in out of school assessment costs to the town as families loose faith in the school system, it goes backwards in services Dr. Johnson initiated and manages, and students exit our district for public schools elsewhere, It is likely a low credentialed superintendent will inspire little faith in families here and those who might think of moving here. Property values will continue to fall. The economics of the town will be effected.
This is a dangerous game a handful of people are playing. I actually wonder if the ultimate plan is to do everything possible to send the majority of the town's population back across the bridge so the power players of the small town can have their past back. A past that will turn Sandwich into what I wonder? From what I can tell this game is about those who want to go backwards, those who want power, those who want a man calling the shots, and those who should never have had power to begin with. But for me it is most about a town filled with good people, most of which are still trying to get some respect from the "that's the way it's always been" crowd, who are the heart and soul of this place by just being here. Dear people of Sandwich, we have been had big time.
21 Applicants and the four final candidates with no experience as Superintendents is an indication of what many feared. That given the controversy surrounding the School Committee and the continued poor poor decisions made this year by the committee, no good applicants have stepped forward.
In Barnstable, their final candidates recently for School Superintendent did not have one person who did not have actual experience as a school superintendent. This is completely disrespectful to the kids, the families, all the citizens. This is completely disrespectful to the taxpayers. As someone said today. It has been a "bag job" from the beginning. The only thing now that can be done is to go as public as any of those willing to do so can to expose this shame and disgrace.
Today as I traversed the town, every person was sick about what is happening but obviously no one really knows what can be done. In the schools I'm told many think it is a "done deal." Some want this backwards dishonest manipulation to play out so "we can move on." I'm sure they were encouraged by the idiotic editorial in the Cape Cod Times this morning devoting a couple of paragraphs to attempting to play God for a community hurting and being cheated each day by this School Committee.
But most people I know realize what a travesty it is. The Cape Cod Times obviously doesn't care about the lives this decision will obviously destroy or the community that will have an extremely difficult time recovering from it's impact.
How can the people who have claimed for a year to care about the high standards they want for our schools approve this list of applicants?
Does anyone seem to be concerned that the BOS was not only interfering with the SC. That a selectman lied to the voters as to the cost to the town on the Ast super court case. Which was recommended by the current Super and ok'd by the former SC. The same selectman advocated working together and than after the SC left proceeded to knife them in the back.
I think the selectman in question didn't want to do to the School Committee what they have consistently done to Dr. Johnson and cause them any public discomfort. It was very clear that the selectmen's concern was financial. They never spoke disrespectfully of the SC and handled the discussion with professionalism.
The Truth Maker would add if any one is sticking a knife in any ones back it is the union led school board members, who have as of yet not justified the actual reason they all took to the course they took. That alone is reason to question the motivation of this vinticative contrivance.
Keep in mind the present lawer for the schools is the one who provided the legal council to this process. It was this school lawer that did not do due dilligance of the law and should be the one held responsiable for the final desicion.
Now if you only had stated what the two leaderless board members stated, perhaps you did not hear what the two who once again, needed to be promted byDR> Johnson as to the reason they were even up there for.
They would be completly lost if they had to rely upon any knowledge about what was being addressed.
They also expoused about working together, talking more . They had all year to do just that and finally a bulb was turned on and they showed up before the Selectmen to talk about the budget.{ only after being directed to do so from a vote at the last school committee meeting by the full committee.]
Talk about who is lying to who 6;54 am
Get your facts right before you decide to play the Truth Maker
I agree with the BOS -- I also agree that I wish they had done this sooner.
The SC is elected to run the schools, the BOS is elected to run the Town -- if the SC is going to present additional liabilities to the Town, the BOS has every right to at least voice their concern.
The longer this drama plays on, the more apparent the ulterior motives have become.
I would also question the PhD on one of the others. AND, a quick google of another candidate shows that he has applied to, and been rejected by, several other school systems -- including the one he is currently working in.
Hardly a stellar line-up.
But, given what they read about Sandwich lately, why would any decent Supt. (or teacher) want to come here anyway?
I hope the BOS follows through with the discussion of increased scrutiny of the SC -- they apparently need it !
I have not followed what the salary was the SC was offering a new Superintendent. I imagine it is lower.
Can anyone imagine that towns such as Wellesley or Newton would settle for such a mediocre crop of Superintendent candidates? Sandwich cannot aspire to be an educational leader for the Cape, region, or state with the current SC and its evident lack of vision. Not one of the folks who are a finalist are an educational leader or visionary. Thanks to the current SC we will get to live with the mediocrity that currently reigns. Anyone who wants their child to go to a school system that prides itself on successful outcomes, challenging the status quo, and moving forward will have to send their kids out of the district or move to a town that cares about such things.
It is apparently too late to recall the current SC, but folks please pay attention and make sure that the members are acting in the best interests of our town. If you do not believe they are, it is your responsibility to say something, to do something or to vote someone in who can take charge. It is laughable that Sherry Marshall would even want to run again, or that she would have any support in light of her last year on the board, but people are cattle. They'll recognize her name, they'll believe the negative hype and vote. The union will surely request a bullet vote. Hey, we never thought Kangas would win..but lookie there
When all is said and done as I think about this fiasco the school committee has put the town through, one thing stands out. Dr. Johnson may have her faults but she has done nothing to deserve the horrible way she has been treated due to these ignorant women who gained power in May and their ignorant band. Their win in this alone will set Sandwich back and maybe for good. It is entirely out of everyone's hands because we live in a Democracy and they won fair and square.
This year I hope at least the tables turn on that school committee, but Sandwich may never recover from this overt act. I wonder how many houses will go on the market this week? But folks like some townie teachers who throw their weight around, probably want that, they want things to stay the same, with power determined by who you know and how long you have lived in town. I think they hate everyone who comes unless they go along with the stupid culture, keep their mouths shut about the negatives and just play along. Sadly even those who stand up often fade as they get into survival mode. How many parents have I heard say to me with heavy hearts (one just this week) that the happiest day in their lives was getting their children out of the High School. There truly should be a sign at the boarder, anyone expecting human respect such as you find in more modern communities be warned, not found here.
Of course Sandwich is not unique. But It is where I live. The answer to the apathy question this blog champions is simple. The apathy is growing and will probably continue to grow. Might isn't right all the times as we all know. Might can create ignorance and negative cultures people move away from. Poor leadership with thoughtless reasoning creates dysfunction. And let's be honest. Sadly I finally believe this, not many people really care. We don't really live in community any longer. We live for ourselves and touch base with others when we have to.
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