From the frying pan, into the fire……remember our blog post of August 9 when our Superintendent “offered” to cut her contract by one year if the budget passed (it did not!) Well guess who is going to investigate? 3

Here is our original post……

We think this is the state statute that might have been violated at last nights BOE Meeting

AUGUST 9, 2013 BY REGIONONEREPORTER 0 COMMENTS { EDIT }

pchamstand2…key words are influence, bribery, and willfully…

Sec. 9-364a. (Formerly Sec. 9-344). Acts prohibited in elections, primaries, referenda, caucuses and conventions. Penalties.

Any person who influences or attempts to influence by force or threat the vote, or by force, threat, bribery or corrupt means, the speech, of any person in a primary, caucus, referendum convention or election; or wilfully and fraudulently suppresses or destroys any vote or ballot properly given or cast or, in counting such votes or ballots, wilfully miscounts or misrepresents the number thereof; and any presiding or other officer of a primary, caucus or convention who wilfully announces the result of a ballot or vote of such primary, caucus or convention, untruly and wrongfully, shall be guilty of a class C felony.

This is the letter I received today from The State Elections Commission (please click on it to enlarge)….

scan0007

Assistant Superintendent is back effective today (September 24) 3

Region One Report has received unofficial reports that the Assistant Superintendent is back on the job effective today (September 24). Other than an appearance in Hartford in the legal action against the Superintendent back in the end of the first week of September, the Assistant Superintendent has not been at work. One would hazard a guess it was probably a medical leave, but medical information, quite frankly, is none of our business unless released by that individual.

We love our followers and bloggers, and we love their humor! Read this, sent in to us today, it is funny, but IT IS THE TRUTH Reply

After watching the video cast of the September ABC meeting on CATV 6, as a resident taxpayer I have some comments on my visceral reaction, and some questions.  (No reply expected.)
A.  Dear Lord, what is Chamberlain’s official (statutory, legal) position vis-a-vis the ABC?  Ditto the Region One board?  Ditto each town’s B of Ed?  (And the Assn. Superintendent’s as well?  Surely she has not a shred of official standing as part of the boards.)  In the meetings, C. comports herself as if she is a full member — although she seems never to vote.  She interjects opinions unasked, and it appears to this independent viewer as if she runs the boards, not vice versa.  In a just world — and maybe by existing state/local statute — she and her No. 2 would be advisors, reporting to the boards’ members only as requested.  They would not even be seated at the board table, let alone to the right and left of the Region One  chairman.  This viewer of the incendiary Ch. 6 video casts suspects that the Super/Assn. Super occupy their elevated positions in official meetings at the acquiescence of the ruling bloc on the board.  The actual rules ought to be researched, not guessed at.  And enforced.  Surely all central office leaders are at bottom mere contracted employees of the board and report up to the board as such.
B.  In re. the Sept. ABC meeting: even if C. is an official member of any sort on the various boards, has she never heard of the concept of recusal?  In this meeting (and in prev.  board meetings) she has openly discussed aspects of her, as well as her No. 2’s, contract — unasked!  Should not the chairman of that and the other meetings otherwise have asked her to step out of the room, as is the practice in every other board meeting in corporate America?  This viewer was left gasping for air, and he spilled his wine.
C.  About a lawyer to report on aspects of the C. contract, and of her No. 2, as discussed in the same meeting: Both C. — unasked! — and I guess the current chairman of the  board (his head was turned away from your camera) — piped up, after Brian Bartram’s buy-out bombshell, that there is no need of an “outside” lawyer to be brought in to research the statutes etc. and to report; best to use the board’s current lawyer.  Well, this viewer has seen that lawyer in action on Ch. 6, esp. on the Soviet-era hearing on that poor student advisor. Peeuw. Marshall, when you get elected the first thing you might want to do is find the smartest way, way outside lawyer you can to do all the legal clarification and review, and also recommendations on clarifying or revising the so-called 7000 Series.  (The confusion on the R1 board as to whether the ABC is merely consultative or is authoritative, an important question for the board and esp. for C. and No. 2, was deeply embarrassing to this viewer.)
D.  Some animals use decoys or other ruses to throw predators off the track.  The R1 administrators and all too many board members are using technology to do the trick.  Wide area networks; iPads; computer upgrades; etc.  The bright folks who originally created all that technology for us got educations that seemed to work, although they of course did not themselves have any of that technology for their own education.  How could that be?  It was said a century ago or so that the best education in America was Johns Hopkins at one end of a log and the young person at the other.  A student stood up at one board meeting to say that at other schools the students used the iPads (and other PDAs) mostly to gossip with each other during classes.  At another meeting, a student stated that some three-quarters of current HVRHS students had petitioned to keep four admired young teachers.  All ignored — without comment — by the board.  Computers are here, and educational software is a nice supplement, but not as the be-all of education.  How do I, 77 years old, know this?  Because I have a good, seasoned crap-detector.
    Furthermore: in the non-board video casts of the administration’s staff meetings, I have been shocked by the self-serving immersion in edu-babble about state rules and the like, consultants’ b.s., roll-out if Common Core, and so on — all the very essence of a cardinal mistake in management: process over product.  I could count on the fingers of one hand, thumb not included, the in-depth discussions of students that I saw.  In short, a dearth of humanity.  The poor students!  (Meanwhile, I must have missed the discussion, as the camera rolled, of why some half of a major student group failed a class one semester last year.  Holy tumbleweed!  Not good PR, I guess.)
E.  Can someone please ask C. to stop saying “I would suggest that…” or “I would recommend that…” instead of saying “I suggest” and “I recommend”?  Uriah Heep is only a fictional character — and one that Dickens did not intend posterity to emulate.
F.  Finally, the new R1 board might want to implement the only clear, actionable recommendation of the Pingpank report: move the central-office folks out of the high school building and into a separate structure in a separate location in the region.  The expense will be well worth it; I think the voters will applaud.  (I would recommend looking in South Kent.)

Let me tell you the story of the Region One budget and the egg( a TRUE story) 1

While getting my haircut  today (Saturday) at Hilton Hunt in Millerton this conversation actually happened between Marshall Miles and a woman from Salisbury.

 

So, Marshall, did the budget pass last week?

I answered, no, it was defeated..it seems to have taken on a life of its own.

She then replied….

The Region One Board seems to be like a restaurant that just does not listen to its customers!

I would like a bagel and hash browns please but NO eggs. The order comes, and sure enough..a bagel, and a hard-boiled egg….

I said, NO eggs.

The order went back to the kitchen, and a few minutes later came back with, you guessed it, a bagel and scrambled eggs….

Again, I sent it back to the kitchen saying NO EGGS!

A few minutes later back comes the waitress with my order….A bagel and a cheese omelette!

Sound familiar? Just call the story The Region One Board and The Egg.eggs

Someone sent this post in, and obviously, they are misinformed, maladjusted, or from another planet… 4

Here is the post that was sent in….

If the 7000 series was such a well written document why doesn’t it quote the state statutes directly, instead of vaguely paraphrasing the statutes? What it really seems like is Pat Mechare is more interested in creating one board to rule over all the towns, taking away the independent status of each town. What is in it for her? She knows that the Region One office works directly with each local board and spends and equal amount of time with each. I don’t understand her motivation but I think there is something underhanded going on with her politics.

Here is Region One Report’s reply (point by point)…..

1) If the 7000 series was such a well written document why doesn’t it quote the state statutes directly

Our reply..for brevity’s sake

2) What it really seems like is Pat Mechare is more interested in creating one board to rule over all the towns, taking away the independent status of each town.

Our reply..What an idiotic statement as each town has their OWN LOCAL Board Of Education to independently run their local schools. Nowhere in Pat’s statement is there any thing about abolishing the local boards. So obviously the person who wrote this post is in the dark..or has never voted in a local BOE election, or has never attended a LOCAL BOE meeting.

3) What is in it for her? She knows that the Region One office works directly with each local board and spends and equal amount of time with each. I don’t understand her motivation but I think there is something underhanded going on with her politics

Our reply..Whats in it for Pat and everyone else is correcting the false statements and stances from the administration, some A.B.C members, and some Region One Board members on the real status of the A.B.C. Committee.  The A.B.C is called a committee for a good reason. As a committee, it does not have the authority to spend money, it must request money from the Region One Board. It does not have the authority to implement  any program, hire, pay, without the approval of the Region One Board. The A.B.C. is strictly ADVISORY. Period.

Directly from the 2007 series:

The 7000 Series is a policy shared among the six elementary schools and the high school. The policy says on page 4, under the heading “Governing Body”: “The governing body of the Regional School Services Center [wrongly refered to as “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 Board Chairs (ABC) Committee, an advisory committee to the Regional Board, in all matters affecting the Regional School Services Center.” 

It does not get any simpler than that.

Some more “gems” from the Region One A.B.C., the Region One Chair, and the superintendent….Lets hurry up and re-decide what has been law in the Region for over 70 years… 1

Some more “gems” from the Region ion A.B.C., the Region One Chair, and the superintendent….

From this Mornings Republican-American

The All Board Chairmen Committee of Region 1 will get a legal opinion on its roles and re­sponsibilities and how they relate to the Region 1 Board of Education.

When it was suggested a review of the series be put off until a new board is seat­ed after the November elec­tion, Brian D. Bartram, chairman of the Salisbury Central School Board of Ed­ucation, said that no matter what the makeup of the board, an attorney’s opinion should be obtained. (We agree with this, a full, thorough review)

Chamberlain said the issue should be resolved be­fore the election so the duties are clearly spelled out. “I think to wait is frankly foolish.” ( Rush to judgement Pat, how could you ever work with an independent board)

Jonathan Moore of Kent, chairman of the Region 1 board, said he agreed that a legal opinion is necessary “on where we stand now. It is prudent so the boards have something concrete in­stead of just guessing.” He also said he firmly believed the board’s attorney, and not an outside inde­pendent counsel, should be retained for the process. “I wouldn’t have the region’s attorney beholden to an opinion from another attorney.” (this is a STATE STATUTE, we should get an opinion from outside the region reconfirming the statute that applies not only to Region One, BUT ALL REGIONS in the state)

Chamberlain said com­ing to a determination could take months, or even years. “It’s been used as one of the battlegrounds in the budget, which is ridiculous. I think we have to trust our attorney, whatever he says.” ( Trust  “our” attorney”…..I think Pat means “her” attorney ( the “boards” attorney has been Pat’s all along, not representing the board in full, but representing the Central Office)law

Are you kidding me? A.B.C. does a drastic Flip/Flop! WE SAY NO TO BUYOUTS! Unless the A.B.C. has $750,000.00 in a hidden account. Reply

Lets highlight some quotes from the A.B.C. Meeting!!!  From a story in this mornings Republican-American

Buyout talk in Region 1
Board member wants administrative changes considered
BY RUTH EPSTEIN REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

SHARON — Rumblings about the idea of possible buyouts for Region 1 central office administrators have been heard throughout the district as the struggle to pass a budget has gone on unsuccessfully since May. For the first time the concept was voiced publicly during a meeting of the All Board Chairmen Committee Tuesday.

Meeting at Sharon Center School before the result of Tuesday’s vote was known, the committee heard Brian D. Bartram, Salisbury Central School Board of Education, broach the subject at the end of the session. He said if the budget didn’t receive approval, he would like to see the committee pursue the prospect. Saying that while he wasn’t in favor of such a move, he thought the matter should at least be studied as to what costs would be involved, how the process would work and the implementation of a replacement schedule.

The district, which covers Canaan, Cornwall, Falls Village, Kent, Salisbury and Sharon, has been in a state of turmoil with the continuous rejection of a 2013-14 spending plan for Housatonic Valley Regional High School, the Pupil Services Department and the central office. This week’s referendum saw a defeat by a vote of 203, with Salisbury the only one of the six towns to vote in favor of the $14.5 million proposal.

One of the sticking points to the budget’s passage has been the awarding of three-year contracts to the superintendent and assistant superintendent along with 2 percent raises for each of those three years.

Bartram said in talking to Business Manager Samuel Herrick, if Assistant Superintendent Diane Goncalves were to be replaced in January, there would have to be an additional $75,000 put into this year’s budget. To replace Superintendent Patricia Chamberlain, the sum of $87,000 would have to be appropriated. If such a procedure were to occur, it could be done either both at the same time or staggered.

“I’m not in favor of this, but on the sixth budget vote, we have to head in that direction,” said Bartram, adding such a step just might turn voters around. “If we have a plan in place, people may be satisfied. I

Our response:
Brian, just have the Superintendent and her assistant cut the last year off their contract (like they did last year) and the budget will FLY THRU.

Chamberlain recommended members work with their attorney because of the complex nature of the negotiations. Chamberlain made no comments on the idea of buyouts or if she would accept any proposal.

Our Response:
Uh, Pat,  A.B.C. is a committee, they have NO authority to spend money, they MUST ASK THE REGION ONE BOARD.

“Maybe we’ll get rid of some anger, which is so pervasive,” said Chairman Dolores Perotti of Canaan.

Our response to Mrs. Perotti:
Again, Mrs. Perotti is out-of-touch with the public. Watch the videos of the board meetings, there is not anger, just outrage that the A.B.C and  three members of the board and the A.B.C. Committee are so disconnected from the public.

Let me state again: NO BUYOUT! Just do what you did last year, ( drop the last year of the new contract) and then let the new board be elected, and take over. This is no time to spend $750,000.00 to buy out contracts of the lead administrators..that money is bestabsurdities spent directly on our students.