An alternate look at news, views, opinions, stories, and information on the administration of The Region One School District in Connecticut, and when you post, you do NOT have to fill in your email or name…
So, I noticed today that two of my election signs were missing! This after a day in which I received a ripped up mailer with no return address!
Well, not one to let this go unnoticed, out in search of my signs did I go. And, I found one removed and placed flat on the ground about 20 feet from where it was set up, so I talked to the homeowner again, and went and re-set the sign.
On the other side of town the sign was just GONE! Well, again, I am not one to take this lightly! So I called the D.O.T. (Department Of Transportation).
I asked if they had a sign of mine, and I was told yes! They thought it was to close to state property even though I had the landowners permission. I then asked if anyone had filed a complaint, and if so, was the complainant Jeff Lloyd? And guess what? The response was “yes, how did you know that?”!! No answer needed for that question.
I researched to see if Mr. Lloyd had ever filed a complaint before…the answer came back, no.
So why this year? Well, the only answer I have is for you to CONNECT THE DOTS….
I wonder who in Salisbury would be so foolish to waste money and time to tear up a mailer and send it back to me?! The answer? Someone who supports the status quo. Pass this along and get out the vote so we can begin anew!
Friends, supporters..spread the word….hiding 8.3 percent pay raises from the A.B.C and the public before a budget vote is NO WAY TO RUN A PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM! Secret meetings must stop, transparency must return! This school system is NOT the private playground for the Chair of the Board of Ed, the Superintendent or Assistant Superintendent. It’s not the raise, it’s the fact it was HIDDEN until after the budget vote. Once again, what they do not realize is that if its spending that directly helps students, its fine. The Status Quo is not acceptable. Spread the word, I need your vote, your friends and neighbors vote. We are so close, let’s get over the hill!
At the most recent A.B.C. Meeting in Cornwall it was revealed that a new contract was negotiated by former Region One Board Chair Phil Hart of Cornwall, with the knowledge of current Board Chair Jonathan Moore of Kent that resulted in an average raise for the new administrative contract (the principal and assistant principal at the high school, the director of pupil services and the supervisor of special education) of 8.3%!
Now, mind you, spending money on a principal and assistant principal that are great leaders IS a great investment into the education of our children. The problem here is that the former and current chair of the Region One Board of Education kept these numbers hidden from not only the current board members, but from the A.B.C. as well until the meeting in Cornwall. For months we have heard the former and current board chair demand that any “shared service” goes first to the A.B.C. and then the A.B.C. passes on its advice to the Region One Board. WIth the director of pupil services and the supervisor of special education included in these raises that is exactly what should have happened according to Hart and Moore’s constant pleading to the board and public.
Well it did NOT happen, and at the meeting in Cornwall according to a story in the Litchfield County Times, “the ABC Committee members expressed mild pique that they had not been made aware of the agreement before it was accepted by the Region 1 school board at its October meeting.” A video of this meeting can be viewed at the following link.
These figures were kept from public knowledge by both Moore and Hart with the blessing of the Superintendent. Why did Moore, Hart and the superintendent keep these figures from the board, the A.B.C. and the public? How about the fact that they were concealing those numbers until AFTER the last budget vote. It seems that the “million dollar expense” each year now for 6 positions, and the fact that fiscal news for some district towns like Canaan, which sends the largest number of students to the high school can expect to see tuition fees rise by another $171,000 next year, and the dollar figure in Sharon will also be up. Do you really think that North Canaan would have voted YES on the Region One budget last vote with this information? Do you really think that Sharon’s vote would have been as close as it was?
Yes, we NEED to invest in educators! But NO we do not need a board that is not honest and open with the public! Those numbers should have been put on the table, shown to the A.B.C., shown to the Region One Board, and shown to not only the public, but to the area towns Boards Of Finance as well BEFORE the last budget vote. When will the public finally say to the current board chair, the former board chair, and the superintendent that enough is enough?
Well, it’s now time for taxpayers to say to the board and the superintendent, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
…Miles initially denounced the CPB ombudsman for weighing in “on prevailing issues you know nothing about,” but later decided to follow Kaplan’s advice after talking with him on the phone. “He and I did something that doesn’t happen in Washington,” Miles said, referring to his conversation with Kaplan. “We met in the middle ground and I’m happy about that.”….
….The code was drafted by local pubcasting leaders in 2011–12 through a CPB-backed project to update the field’s editorial standards and assist stations in defining their own ethical guidelines. Its recommendations were intended to be voluntary and adopted by local licensees at their discretion……
Salisbury voters…this is why THE STATUS QUO IS NOT ACCEPTABLE
Hefty Pay Hikes in Region 1’s New Contract for Four Administrators
FALLS VILLAGE—Region 1 School District business manager Sam Herrick reported Tuesday night to the ABC [All Board Chairs] Committee on the new three-year contract for four administrators—the principal and assistant principal at the high school, the director of pupil services and the supervisor of special education—that will bring hefty pay hikes.
When combined with the salaries for the superintendent of schools and assistant superintendent of schools, whose new three-year contract was negotiated this spring, the total cost for the district will reach about $1 million a year for six employees in a district of just under 1,700 students.
Update (10/18/2013): the CPB reports that Marshall Miles has resigned from his position “pending the outcome of the November school board election in which he is a candidate.”
Terry: I don’t see the “thin cover” here. The CPB requested that Miles quit his board post at Tri-State, and to his great credit he did so. This removes the obviously bad precedent of a public radio official running for and holding public office. I didn’t expect that he would cease exerting influence at WHDD, and maybe that’s a good thing, given that at least one of individuals who complained about him to the CPB took Donald Trump’s moronic Birther arguments seriously.
Update (10/18/2013): the CPB reports that Marshall Miles has resigned from his position “pending the outcome of the November school board election in which he is a candidate.”
http://www.cpb.org/ombudsman/display.php?id=165