The big lie…”Superintendent Patricia Chamberlain, Assistant Superintendent Diane Goncalves, and Herrick are actually employees of all seven boards of education in the region.”
This lie is now being spread again, the John Mauer’s blog, this time by the Sharon Center Board of Education Chair….I shall now school the Chair with some facts, facts she should know as being chair of The Sharon Center School Board, and a member of the “advisory” A.B.C. Here is an example of an out-right lie in Mauer’s post, that the Sharon Board Chair passes on as truth….: Here is a direct quote from the post “The board could ask the ABC committee to reopen those contracts and renegotiate the raises. But wait. They have already asked the ABC committee to do that and that committee has refused. After all, Superintendent Patricia Chamberlain, Assistant Superintendent Diane Goncalves, and Herrick are actually employees of all seven boards of education in the region. The local boards supported the raises, and the regional board does not have the authority to override that choice”. WRONG! Here is information from the 7000 series concerning the governing Region One…read it well and understand, this is the operating procedure Region One is under, no other…”The policy says on page 4, under the heading “Governing Body”:
“The governing body of the Regional School Services Center [“central office”] is the Regional School District Number 1 Board of Education (the “Regional Board”), in accordance with Section 2 of Special Act 405 of the 1959 session of the Connecticut General Assembly. The Regional Board shall receive and may act on the recommendation of the All Boards Chairs (ABC) Committee, an advisory committee to the Regional Board, in all matters affecting the Regional School Services Center.” The A.B.C simply recommends, Period. The sole governing body is, as stated in the statutes and in the 7000 series, THE REGION ONE BOARD.
Further on page 9 of the 7000 Series, this statement is made: “all obligations under state and federal employment law with respect to employment of the Superintendent of Schools shall be the responsibility of the Regional Board”, which certainly bolsters what the 7000 Series already declares in regard to the advisory capacity of the ABC Committee and clearly states what entity actually is the power which hires and fires. I’ve watched on CATV the superintendent mislead members of local boards of education about the powers of the ABC Committee. That these Board members, after all that has been learned in the last three years, do not take the time to read the series themselves as part of their due diligence to understand what the series actually states, is unbelievable. John Mauer didn’t seem to understand the laws that govern Region #1, nor other statutes that might apply when he was on this Board. His understanding appears even worse now, years later. The Sharon chair needs to do her due diligence and cease listening to whomever is giving her, at the very least, misinformation, but likely disinformation. Maybe Mrs. Yerks, who seems familiar with this series, can set her straight!