UPDATE -- The CCT is reporting that Dr. Johnson has not agreed to the settlement. The Town is still on the hook for $465,000 but no other details are available.
From the Cape Cod Times: Sandwich to pay Johnson $500K
No surprise. But, it's too bad that winning a case doesn't actually produce any winners -- unless you count the lawyers who benefited from a four year unsupervised billing orgy!
On one side, you have the Sandwich taxpayers who have essentially been paying two Superintendents for the past three years as a direct result of the actions of four vindictive school committee members. That's money that hasn't gone towards improving education, fixing roads, fixing beaches, or maintaining buildings.
On the other side, you have a former School Superintendent with almost 40 years of experience who has become essentially unemployable. Not only did she lose her job but, once some folks realized there could be some ramifications for their actions, they really began to pile on the bullshit.
Does anybody think it is unusual that a District would ban their own School Superintendent for allegedly speaking harshly to an employee -- yet allow two other school employees directly involved with the care of children to remain employed -- despite the fact that they appeared to be so intoxicated that fellow employees had to drive them home from school?
How about a Union that not only defended both of those employees but then filed grievances and fought to get them reinstated and their records expunged? But, then again, this is the same union whose new President recently resigned because she was tired of being bullied by the old union leadership. (Who, not coincidentally, is back in control.)
One other point -- the current Superintendent made a comment about this settlement affecting funds available for students in the current year's education budget. Given that the bulk of this settlement was decried by a Judge months ago, this liability should have been fully accrued for in Fiscal 2014. In fact, given the facts of the case, I would be shocked if there has not been a reserve on the books for this payment for the past three years. This has already hit the budget -- To say this claim could also have any impact on the coming year's school budget is disingenuous at best.
Let's not start lining up those FY '15 Budget excuses yet!
14 comments:
How about all those people who are just learning about this case and focus solely on the fact that a School Committee decision in the past was overturned so therefore we should be able to overturn the recent reconfiguration decision. So instead of focusing on the fact that the overturned decision cost the town half a million dollar, they want to focus on electing more people like Crossman and Kangas who made that decision. When will this town ever learn???
Why does the insurance only pay for less than 20% of the settlement?
I hope this is at least drives more participation and awareness... especially when SC members gamble with taxpayers money.
Its hard to insure against the arrogance and stupidity of elected officials. From a Big Picture perspective, the law was clear and the committee chose to ignore it. Why should the insurance carrier cover anything for their intentional and deliberate actions? Maybe they could recover by saying they relied on legal counsel and he gave bad advice ...... If THATS the case, the Committee should be filing a claim against their attorney's malpractice carrier. I havent heard them discussing that publically yet!
And, make no mistake, any dollar paid out by the insurance carrier will be recovered from the Town through higher insurance premiums.
You are right Bob, no winners!
Bob, here is something to think about…. Despite your constant banter that MEJ was the greatest thing since the advent of the wheel and the school committee members that ousted her should be hung for treason, don’t you think her recent acts of insanity in the judicial system are proof positive that in retrospect the school committee did the right thing? After all, her actions seem more in line with a mentally imbalanced person then an “educator” or “administrator.” I’d argue that despite how much time and money was wasted during this fiasco, it has brought to the surface her true lack of understanding of reality and how much worse off this town would have been should she stayed.
Perhaps when she gets a fair deal.
She will move on when a fair compensated package has been worked out by the powers in charge of this dilemma.
What they have done to her by the actions of the four souls involved has resulted in her ability to be not paid for what she could expect to receive in income for what ever remains for her working life time. Let alone being fairly compensated for the contract she had agreed too, before the four souls decided to play a game of politics and despite.
Dr. Johnson is looking at a 3 to 4 million dollar hit as a result of this process and all they want to pay her is 500,000.
If you were in her shoes you would not accept it either.
I am not aware of the legal advice Dr. Johnson may have received from counsel regarding her appeal options or her right to bring new and separate suits.
Assuming that she can collect the slightly smaller settlement today and still bring either an appeal or a new and separate suit, I can see logic to the decision. I do not agree at all with your assessment of the legal situation or Dr. Johnson at all; but, especially in light of the legal remedies and rights that she may be preserving for herself by accepting a slightly smaller but still significant current payment.
Assuming she sues again on a related claim and collects another $500,000 or more, would you still be questioning the strategy? Isn’t the better question why would you or anyone else give up all future legal claims and remedies for just $50,000? Based on the facts as outlined here, who is thinking most clearly, rationally and logically?
Wow raises an interesting question ....
But reverse the tables. If you had taken on the battles, turned over rocks and ruffled feathers in order to accomplish the objectives of your school Committee, then been given a positive review and a contract for three more years would you be upset if the folks you had been battling with were allowed to cancel your contract without stating a reason?
How about after months of legal fighting hearing the judge say that what was done to you was illegal and that you needed to be "made whole" --- but that it was going to cost you $200,000 to get back the money that was owed to you?
How about when you've been applying for jobs but can't get in the door because you've been so thoroughly trashed with a trumped up employment claim that has a life of its own on Google.
Again ... The District will allow drunks to stay in schools ... But locks out a Superintendent who speaks harshly to an assistant? Seriously ?
Personally, I might be tempted to take the money, say "Screw it!" and move to some crazy place ... like Idaho.
Or .... I might take the money and then go after every asshole I could find personally with a defamation of character suit.
Simply put they violated the law the way handled it. Besides as far as a mental health diagnosis goes u could make a case that the kettles were calling the pot black. Linehan and kangas have never been poster girls for sanity!
Hey WOW or is it Pit Bull Kangas hiding behind those Foster Grants...IT AIN'T OVER TILL THE FAT LADY SINGS! And my apologies to MEJ, I am simply using a very old but meaningful saying. You can't destroy a persons' entire life work experience and think you are going to get off cheaply. This isn't over. This is going to keep reminding all of us that even the Judge knows how evil the Bitches of Eastwick er... Sandwich truly are. It is going to bite and hurt a lot. Stand by... don't sign off on the budget just yet. We just may need another ton of poison cherries for them to feed MEJ. And you seriously wondered why the teflon Superintendent wanted to flee to Idaho?
So trying to take a productive lesson from all of this...how do we inform the rest of the voting citizens of Sandwich of the damage done by Crossman and Kangas? Right now, you have over half of the people in this town (with kids) who are fighting not only for Crossman and Marie but to elect MORE like them who listen to the people instead of listening to those with the education and experience. There was a recent article in the CCT that focused more on Nauset and the problems in that district but it is becoming insanely clear that the common denominator for all of these districts is the fact that the K-12 school systems are overseen by a school committee that is made up of random town people with no experience in education (in most cases), personal agendas, and axes to grind.
WOW (& I'd go with it being Nancy behind the Foster Grants... comment too cogent for Marie): Are you saying we should THANK you? It makes not one tiny shred of difference whether we're happy to have MEJ gone or not. She sued... AND SHE WON. She won, because you were found to be legally in the wrong, and now the school budget will have to absorb much of the consequences. Well done, ladies. Well done.
OMG perhaps MEJ could get the ACLU to hear her case? Seems like the School administration has screwed up more than one life in town!
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