Andrea Downs, of Falls Village spoke this evening at The Region One Board Of Education Meeting during the public session. Andrea pointed out to the board that she was informed that an “administrator” of Region One said to Region One employees to vote YES on the budget..or they could loose their jobs. She asked the board to make sure that this does not happen, and IF the budget gets defeated, to just keep the current contract for administrators. The reaction from the board chair….NONE.
regiononereport.com can now confirm that over the past 36 hours reports came to us with similar information, a threat that if the budget lost, they would lose their jobs. But these people gave us the administrator’s name..CARL GROSS REGION ONE DISTRICT WIDE DIRECTOR OF PUPIL SERVICES.
If true, and right now, with what we hear tonight, and what has been told to us over the past 36 hours, we have no reason to doubt the validity of the charges. This is but another reason to stand up and say NO MORE! If the past few weeks, here is what members of the Region One School Board, the administration, and ABC have said….
1) The administrative raises are FREE they cost taxpayers nothing (FALSE)
2) The Region One Superintendent has not has a pay raise for several years (FALSE)
3) The Region One Superintendent said ”if the budget is defeated, the first place the regional board will turn to is making reductions in the high school budget. “I’m hoping we’ll resolve the issues on the contracts, what I consider unimportant issues,”
4) And now intimidation of loss of employment to employees of The Region One School District by Carl Gross, Region One District Wide Director Of Pupil Service.
Enough is enough…tell your friends and neighbors it’s time to draw a line in the sand….VOTE NO on the Region One Budget tomorrow in the referendum. We urge you to vote YES on the much-needed roof repair, and ADA projects!
I was at a friends home last night and on my way out the door I told them to make sure they get down to vote on the School budget for Region One. I also told them that I would be voting “no”, not because I think the “budget” is too high, but because I don’t agree w/ the administrators raises, ect. well, with that one of my friends, who is a Para Professional for Region one, said “What? If you vote no and the budget doesn’t pass, I could lose my job”! I then responded with “what are you talking about? You won’t lose your job! She then told me that Carl Gross (who is the Administrator in charge of para’s for Region One) told some of the para’s that if the budget was voted down that they would lose their jobs! I tried to reassure her that she would NOT lose her job if the budget was voted down, that the Union that we all belong to would protect them. I also told her that what he said was basically a threat and that was very unethical for him to say.
I feel some of the administrators for Region One are over stepping their bounds with telling people how they should vote, and to threaten them w/ losing their jobs if they vote it down. What is wrong with these people? I work for the region myself and I am totally appalled at this behavior. I WILL be voting NO on the budget and I hope they smarten up. This is OUR taxpayer money supporting the school, children, faculty, staff and oh yes, let me not forget, the ADMINISTRATORS salaries! So, please, everyone out there reading this, vote w/ your conscience, if you don’t care that they are recieving raises, annuities, extra paid days off, ect, ect, then vote yes, but if you care about our children and their education, the people that work w/ your children on a daily basis, and how this could affect their lives, then I urge you to vote NO! Make them make the cuts where they should be….in their own paychecks…Not ours as taxpayers and employees of Region One.
Another tactic that will go unnoticed. As for the letter of apology on behalf of Marie Wilbur this should not happen if it is not voted yes by all board members. This grievance by Ms. Wilbur should have been billed to workman’s comp if the claim had merit. Why didn’t the board lawyer pick up on this and save the taxpayers $4500+. If this was a real emergency and for the safety of Ms. Wilbur why was 911 not used or was this also part of the plan to discredit Ms. Toensing? One really should wonder. Maybe this all started with Aeron Watsons emails discrediting Ms. Toensing, which led to the letters from Central office praising the Superintedent to the ABC committee’s letters,to the grievance by Ms Wilbur.
An interesting summation, this. Just to let you all know, my grievance was denied by the Board. What I am now asking for goes directly to the Board and not through the Union. I am asking that Ms. Toensing apologize to me for calling me a liar when I said that I did not receive her supposed emails. That she apologize to me for threatening my job by saying “I should do my job since the taxpayers pay my salary”. How someone is able to publicly call someone a liar and not be brought to task for it is beyond me. Do you all think this woman is infallible? That she could have possibly not truly sent those emails to me to begin with? That she is using me as a scapegoat in her fight with Central Office? I have worked in this region for 14 years. I do a VERY good job and have never been insulted by anyone to the extent that I have by Ms. Toensing. She was “shamed” and should be “ashamed” for her actions. What really bothers me is that there are others in this region who actually believe her! Some ask why this issue keeps being perpetuated. I am doing this because because no one has the right to denigrate another person in this manner and she continues to do so in meeting after meeting and news article after news article. I would like to suggest that in future she say “no comment”. I believe that any one of you would do the same to defend and protect your good name and your employment. Marshall, I have known you since we were teenagers. Do you really think that I am capable of the type of thing that Ms. Toensing has accused me of? (I also address that question to any of your other readers who might know me and believe this lie.) If so, then I guess I never really knew you to be the type of person I thought you were and you certainly don’t know me at all. Just to clarify, if a motion is passed by majority vote in a meeting then whatever the motion entails should most certainly be acted on. But, I will say that the letter of apology has no merit to me if it is not signed my Ms. Toensing who used her role as a board member to publicly defame my character. This is the last public statement I will make in regard to this matter. If Ms. Toensing continues to bring this issue up in the papers and at her “meetings” she and her supporters should know that I am no longer listening and I no longer care. I will continue to do my job to the very best of my ability regardless. Thank you.
Marie..I have known you for years, and you are an honorable, good person, and friend, not only to me, but the community. And I admire you, and everyone who works in the Central Office and our school system under this administration. No, I do not think you are capable of this. Do I think that other people in the central office administration are, unfortunately, yes. Keep your head high, and right will out in the end.
OMG!!!!!!! Move on. Why hasn’t Aeron Watson apologized to Ms. Toensing? Can a letter from the board be sent on behalf of the board if only three members are willing to sign it? Doing this just seems to be ridiculous. Doing this just shows the dysfunction. Get the facts and then vote. None of this obstaining. If you are on the board then be a true board member. The representation from several towns is not up to par. We deserve better.
Funny how “Marie” wrote this during work hours, especially considering this site is blocked by the school’s proxy server. Hmmmmm…… Something is not right here.
The Superintendent also has asked students to vote yes for the budget today. I’m sorry but since when did my education and that of all my classmates’ education become a political battle field? Education should be dominant in any school setting…NOT POLITICS!
How did the superintendent ask students to vote yes? Was it an announcement over the public address system? Was it at an assembly? Did she actually tell you to vote “yes” or did she just tell students to vote? Make sure you you don’t violate any school rules about using the internet during school hours when you respond to this! 🙂
— Gale Courey Toensing
Here are some thoughts about anger from wise people. My favorite is the last one, but I don’t know who said it.
Always write angry letters to your enemies. Never mail them. – James Fallows
An angry man [or woman] opens his mouth and shuts his eyes. — Cato
Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct understanding. – Mahatma Gandhi
Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools. – Albert Einstein
Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind. – Robert Green Ingersoll
Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. — Anonymous
— Gale Courey Toensing
The Superintendent asked some students to spread the word around to vote yes.
Just to set the record straight, this site was briefly blocked at the high school. It is not anymore.
I have an Ipad and am allowed a 15 minute break and half hour for lunch per day by contract. I’ll use my free time the way I wish. And, I’m not angry, I’m fed up. Thank you.