Watch this video please and then share and cross-post so everyone knows what we are dealing with in Region One.
At the end of the Sharon Center School Board Of Education Meeting last night, an item was (at the last-minute) added to the agenda about the All Boards Chairmen Meeting that was scheduled for today( Tuesday, September 17). You can see how uncomfortable it is that NO ONE knew about this until it was announced at the table, and then, the superintendent feebly tries to explain how the A,B,C wants to “examine” how to change a state stature on how the region is overseen by the Region One Board Of Education. It’s obvious our superintendent knew all about it as she takes over the meeting and explains what the A.B.C. meeting is about!(just like she probably explained it to the A.B.C members already. It is obvious by this set-up that the superintendent knows the score, and is trying to have the A.B.C. “save her bacon”, at the last-minute by trying to “ram thu” changes to the governance at the last-minute with the A.B.C recommending changes to a Region One board that is controlled by the superintendents “block of three”. Watch this video carefully and you will see that no one, except maybe the Principal of Sharon Center School and the Superintendent knew about this, the video does not lie. Please spread this and cross-post this message with the advice to once again defeat the budget this vote, and send a message to the A.B.C and the administration that we will NEVER allow the process to be subverted at the last possible moment. This is a matter that should be left up to a newly elected Region One Board of education in November, to negotiate with the A.B.C. AFTER the election. We should NEVER let a board with four of six members leaving try to seal the fate of a newly elected Region One Board Of Education in November. That my friends is back room, closed-door, unethical politics at its worst. Please lets show them that we value our vote in November, by defeating this budget again today and protect our vote in November. By the way, the A.B.C. meeting tonight is open to the public but, alas, WITH NO PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE AGENDA! This board wants to be entrusted with more than advisory power when they won’t even take comments from the public? Please, watch the video, it is unedited and it does not lie, this is the beginning of more huge legal bills, and policies rammed thru that will take your vote in November and render it useless. This is NO WAY TO RUN our school system.
Patricia Chamberlain has been misleading the ABC Committee regarding its powers for the last year and a half, at least. She can’t even get the total substance of the 7000 series correct as there is much more to it then just the superintendent’s evaluation. Further this Committee has NO AUTHORITY at all and I mean it especially has NO AUTHORITY to spend ANY MONEY, which means they CANNOT hire an attorney. They are a Committee of the Board – PERIOD!! They can only make recommendations to the Board, which the Board can accept or reject.
The superintendent knows the ABC Committee is a committee but she deliberately calls it a “board” as part of her campaign to bolster its “power” and make an end run around the statutory authority of the Region 1 Board of Education. She’s trying to get the committee to change the statute — even though it has no authority to do anything other than advise the Region 1 board — in writing, by the way, which it has not consistently done.
She’s doing this because she knows she has opposition on the Region 1 board and will likely have even more opposition there after November. She wants the ABC Committee to have complete control over “central office” because she can manipulate the chairs of the local boards by doing them favors — for example, by getting rid of people they don’t like or providing their schools with special services, supplies or programs. So she wants to get the ABC Committee to make a recommendation to the Region 1 board to change the statute now while she still has her trained majority (Kent, Cornwall, North Canaan and sometimes, unpredictably, Salisbury) to pass such a recommendation. It’s a desperate and pathetic move. As for hiring a lawyer, she has already consulted the board lawyer and spent public money — without any authorization from the Region 1 Board of Ed — on the 7000 Series, according to his invoices. And I know we all have immense confidence in the board attorney — the one whose legal advice didn’t prevent a lawsuit from being filed against her.
As for this being “the beginning of more huge legal bills, and policies rammed thru that will take your vote in November and render it useless,” I think the first part about the huge legal bills is true, but I don’t think it will undermine the November elections — au contraire, I think there will be some interesting and unintended consequences of these foolish actions. ~~ Gale Courey Toensing
This all started with John Obrien
“What used to be called the Regional Schools Service Center”??
No, the ABC Committee was never called the Regional Schools Service Center. The Regional Schools Service Center (RSSC) was — and still IS — the proper legal name for the administration office of the Region 1 School District. It was never — and still ISN’T — properly or legally called “central office” — that’s a name adopted by those with bureaucratic minds, as opposed to educational minds, who like to think that administration, rather than teaching and learning, are “central” to education. Before someone suggested the dumbed down name of “ABC” Committee, it was called the Regional Schools Committee or the RSC. But the powers that be thought people were too stupid to distinguish between the RSSC and the RSC so they changed the name to the embarrassing “ABC” Committee. It was always — and still IS — an advisory committee. Sheesh!
— Gale Courey Toensing
Went to vote today, poll workers were planning who is working for next months vote! Of course you know how I voted.