A letter to Region One from a former Housy Student rep to the Region One Board Reply

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As a former student rep to the board of ed, I believe it is time that I enter this conversation. It is becoming quite tiresome listening to the opinions of community members who have not attended the school in 25+ years, and seem relatively disconnected from the ACTUAL issues. During my service on the board, I found it shocking that the BOE members rarely questioned anything brought forward to the board. In fact, there was only one board member (at the time) that ever questioned a single thing brought forth. In my eyes, the members of the board were responsible for questioning and discussing issues brought before them. I graduated with a sense that the administration ran the school without checks and balances, and any student of history knows that unchecked power perpetuates abuses. Now, with that said, no matter how despicable the administration is (though “pathetic” may be a more appropriate word), that is not the issue at hand and we as a community have allowed it to become the main focus. We are currently punishing the teachers who work incredibly hard, because they care about the students. Furthermore, we are punishing the students who are devoted to learning, growing, and extracurricular experiences. I do not support the proposed budget, because I do not believe it is in the best interests of the students. When I graduated I was proud to have been a Housatonic student. I felt successful and I saw my peers as successful. I no longer feel that way about the school. I am embarrassed when I hear about large percentages of freshmen classes failing. I am embarrassed when I hear athletic teams are no longer competitive. Most importantly, I am heartbroken when I talk to my favorite teachers and I can feel a discouragement that was certainly not present while I attended. Decreasing the budget does not solve a single on of these problems, and neither does complaining about the administration. It is time that we as a community put our most precious resource first and take care of the teachers and students that resource serves, not the entitled circus running it.

So, Sharon’s First Selectman just does not get it…surprised? NOT! 2

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So, Sharon’s First Selectman just does not get it…surprised? NOT! Read his email back to Kent’s First Selectman Bruce Adams about a possible letter regarding the Region One Budget where Mr. Loucks blames WHDD for the budget defeat…..

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On Jul 24, 2013, at 8:43 AM, Robert Loucks <robert_l@sharon-ct.org> wrote:
Yes, It’s time to let the Administrators run our Schools and not the local radio station and etc. Bob

A letter from Fran Besmer of Kent passed along to The Region One Report 1

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Fran Besmer

August 1, 2013

Pick your cliché: The definition of insanity (or stupidity) is to do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome; If you’re in a hole, stop digging. Or, What part of NO do you not understand? The 4th Referendum which voters in Region One have rejected since May 7th was defeated July 23rd by the widest margin yet.

The tables have turned on the so-called experts; voters do not trust them and are determined to teach them a lesson, or several lessons: in humility, in analyzing the responses, and in responding to clear and convincing evidence.

Representative democracy, in the persons of the Regional Board of Education and the All Boards Committee, has failed; taxpayers are resorting to time-honored participatory democracy. If they are insulted again by having to vote on self-serving contracts, ledger tweaks, or no change at all in numbers over $14 million on the ballot, they will continue to send the budget back to the drawing board. Steady habits.

Don’t the administrators and their supporters see how self-defeating their intransigence is? Public scrutiny has prompted unprofessional scandal. The business manager and HVRHS Principal have largely escaped the public’s wrath, but it can’t be easy for them to do their jobs properly in a hostile climate.

A lofty mission statement about Core Values is in danger of turning travesty into tragedy.

Prospective parents are already seeking alternative school options for their children. Students who should be learning critical thinking skills and socially responsible behavior see authority figures clutching their perks and hectoring their critics. How can the school district and Region One Board of Education begin to restore its reputation?

Here are some suggestions for ways to get to YES on the Region One budget:

– Claw back (void) the three year contracts and annual pay raises for the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent; offer a one-year extension of the current contract;

– Offer severance packages (one year leave of absence with pay at 2012-13 levels) to the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent;

– Request the State Board of Education or CABE to appoint Interim administrators and an Inspector General to review the Pingpank report in light of the 4-time rejection situation; issue findings in the form of a Consent Decree;

– Use funds from state restructuring grants and savings from 2013-2016 administrative contracts;

– Join a rally of students, parents, teachers, alumni/alumnae, and taxpayers at HVRHS on Thursday, August 8th at 5pm (before the next Regional Board meeting).

Fran Besmer

Region 1 letter signed by 5 of the 6 First Selectmen (Part Deux) Reply

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Here is the letter circulated by Curtis Rand, on an idea originated in a email from Bruce Adams, signed by, once again 5 of the 6 First Selectmen(woman) in our area.

Once again, it offers no real direction to our volunteer board of education  to communicate with one another, and the administration. Once again it  talks about common ground, it asks that in order for the system to move forward, we urge the Region 1 Board and Administration work together in a flexible way with public input, and then,  it asks that  the residents “might” support the budget in the next referendum in the “spirit” of cooperation.

 

Please read the attached letter. The main questions we at The Region One Report have is the following:

1) residents “might” support the budget in the next referendum in the “spirit” of cooperation.

Residents have been willing to cooperate, it is the board and the administration that have not budged on inch. A Board and administration that ignored three public hearings, not one, not two, but three public hearings that all said loud and clear..its not the money, it’s the administrative contracts.  For the public to cooperate, we need to feel that we are listened to, alas, neither the majority of the board, or the administration is listening. You can NOT have cooperation when one side refuses to listen.

2)   in order for the system to move forward, we urge the Region 1 Board and Administration work together in a flexible way with public input.

In four budget votes, in four budget information workshops the Region 1 Board majority and the administration have refused to do so. Lets see if at the budget workshop on Thursday August 8th, if they (the board and administration) will move forward and work together in a flexible way with public input, and put forth a budget that represents even a fraction of what the public asks.

The ball is CLEARLY in their court, now, lets see if they want sellet2167 sellet1166to play ball, or take their ball and go home again.