Watching the school board meeting? WOW! Mark Townsend is wasting our money again! He is wasting OUR money on an attorney(s) because he does not like the Board looking bad. Hey, let's have a workshop! Hey, how about you do your job and then maybe no one will look bad. Who is he to talk about accountable? He has not made a vote for accountability in over a year! Mark is NOT SERVING US WELL. I hope he can turn back around and see the light!
Here are the empty promises he made:
3/2009: From Mark’s Candidate letter:
I offer my energy and expertise to our school board, to assist in improving our curriculum and competitiveness. I look forward to partnering with the community and engaging faculty and community alike to achieve our goals. I want you to know that I always have an open door, and will take the time to understand your thoughts, opinions and concerns. We have the benefit of a strong community and I truly believe that together, this will be ‘your’ school board.
From www.Marktownsend.org:
I want to thank everyone who made this campaign possible. The voters have spoken, and you elected three reform candidates to the Oyster River Community School Board.
I want to congratulate Jocelyn O’Quinn and Henry Brackett, as my future colleagues serving our community.
I also want to acknowledge the efforts of our past board. We appreciate your service and dedication to the Oyster River Community. Thank you for your service.
Finally, I’d like to recognize everyone that made this possible. The efforts and patience of the ORPP (Tom/Jenna), the DTA (Chris/Alyson/Julie/Jerry/Warren), Seth, Megan, Trudy, Roger, Shirley, Ann, Scoob, our current school board members Kim and Jen, my fellow running mates Henry & Jocelyn, our voters and many others.
Most importantly, I like to thank my wife and daughter who have missed their husband/father during this campaign and thank them for their help in distributing flyers - standing at the polls and engaging the community to bring about this change.
I hope to serve you well over the next three years.
-Mark
Re: Your voice is needed!
Thank you all for the great information and participation.
After reading the notes of Saturday's 'retreat' (thank you Henry!) - I am stunned by the current state of the board. There appears to be a few that understand what it means to be leaders, but unfortunately their voices go unheard.
I will be filing with the ORCSD, once I return from business travel, as a candidate for seat from Madbury. We need change, change to restore public confidence - change to ensure that the school serves the community and not the other way.
I am very concerned regarding the amount of our monies making their way out of our community. The network equipment went to a Maine based company, this consultant is from Maine and I've heard mention that several other functions are carried on by Maine-based companies.
Where are our local companies? I know of several network resellers that live in the ORCSD community, I know we have lawyers and consultants - why are we going outside our community for so many services? I am eager to learn how many functions could have gone to local businesses.
I look forward to meetings with this group in the future and how we can take back our schools; for the children, for the community.
Thank you,
Mark
Mark Townsend 2009 Candidate for School Board - Madbury
News Flash to Jennifer, Mark and Jo-Ann--stand in the way of progress and you just might get run over!
Time to open your EARS and hear what people want. Jennifer of all people should know this since she was in the minority fighting for everything she now stands against. How many MORE letters and public comments will it take?
Fantastic meeting. All the fools wore their hats well last night. I wish that the progress referenced above would move a little faster but I guess I will take what I can get. Ann was a superstar putting Mark and Jennifer in their place. The only people who look bad are the SORE LOSERS! It is time to get this train back on track or else we need to blow it up and hand it to the towns.
Don't you love how Joanne Portalupi was SO EAGER to discredit what was said during public comment that she couldn't wait to jump in and start twisting people's words?
And then all that high and mighty talk from her about "a culture of respect" later in the meeting...what a load of B.S!
The only opinion Joanne cares about is her own; she doesn't even make an effort to listen to the people she (supposedly) represents.
Whoever hired our Super should be ashamed. This should have been a red flag...
Union 98 head justifies rising school costs Bangor Daily News Bangor, ME | November 28, 2002 | LIZ CHAPMAN; OF THE NEWS STAFF | Copyright
BAR HARBOR - Property taxpayers can expect increased school spending again next year, thanks to state and federal mandates that have added "tremendous" costs to budgets at all Mount Desert Island schools, Union 98 Superintendent Howard Colter said Wednesday.
Colter, superintendent for 10 years, defended school spending on the island while acknowledging that taxpayers are "legitimately strapped" after years of expanding budgets.
But he said the only way to reduce spending would be to eliminate programs and services the island towns have spent years planning …
Last night was such a fiasco it is hard to decide where to begin. 1. Mark, JoAnn and Jennifer have decided their job is to protect Howard and ignore the people. 2. Howard does not support teachers when they need it the most. He has created this culture of mistrust. 3. Congrats to Ann, Krista and Jocelyn for speaking up for logic. 4. The board is wasting time on a witch hunt, I didn't really understand what the heck they were all taking about but did decide to look at the Lee minutes. Those minutes clearly state Henry was speaking as a private citizen. I am not then sure what the heck the big point is??!! I would hope town representatives continue to attend town meetings to stay informed and to inform, and as long as they are not speaking on behalf of others, quite frankly what the heck is the problem. Can board members please get back to having a real meeting and stop attacking the public and each other. I also agree with the comment above, JoAnn was on the attack an it was an inaccurate attack. The guy that spoke did not say anything negative about personnell, only about Mark. JoAnn, start really listening to what people are saying and stop focusing on how you will defend your man Howard.
Joanne needs to move on. She is too focused on her inner circle and Howard. It is too bad bc her teacher experience is helpful in the few instances that they talk about education. She actually asks real questions.
But, most of the time they are talking about anything but education and then Joanne is Howard's wingman. It is like they are playing a game of volleyball and she will only ask leading questions that make Howard and Blaine look good. Really, this is so much bigger than that and you would think she would get it.
After more than 10 years you would think she would know about things like the first amendment. She should speak to no one about common courtesy. Just because she says things in a nice voice, it does not mean it is courteous. She is no team player and no amount of workshops is going to fix that or fix a terrible Chair. Mark is now a Joanne clone.
They pretend that they are experts and that makes them look even worse because clearly they have no clue and are dishonest about it. It all comes back to bite you...chomp, chomp.
I watched a replay today, and I don't get it. They were upset because Henry went to a meeting in Lee, he lives in Lee and said he was there as a private citizen. They claimed it was because he said "we wil have an audit committee", last I looked that was known as confidence. I watched the meeting on May 19th and if Mark thinks they went into that meeting a united front knowing they were getting a yes vote, he is more clueless than previously suspected. Why is time being wasted looking for problems, creating problems and treating both the public and board members like annoyances. When will the board wake up and realize they work for all of us, are supposed to be looking out for our children, and protecting Howard is not doing either of those tasks. I say we throw them all out and start over, this is getting to be a bad reality show.
I was not able to attend or watch the meeting and was hoping to get a sense of the debate that occurred by reading these comments. Unfortunately I am left to wonder still, as most of the comments above are personal/political attacks. Do we really want this to be the tone of the discussions in our district? I would really appreciate understanding the issues for and against the budget committees rather than spending time on the social workings of the board.
You raise a very valid point. I belive the reason you see so much of the comments above have to do with the fact that much of the recent board meeting was spent with members attacking each other and the public. If you have the opportunity to watch a replay you may be able to understand the emotions in the postings above. It seems the chair is on a witch hunt, and is using district funds to try to take down those that disagree with him. With that said, there is much to be said regarding a budget committee. This proposal seems to be about an advisory budget committee. There is nothing on-line or on the agenda back up so it is very difficult to know what is in the proposal. It seemed like board member Mrs. Butts had prepared a proposal but it was not part of the agenda. I do believe they have decided to add it to the next regular board meeting, so this proposal should be in their board packet. I wonder if the powers that be could consider posting this proposal for public viewing prior to that board meeting so we can have an opportunity to know what they will discuss? Two years ago citizens proposed a budget committee. I don't know much about this except that it was changed to a study. An advisory committee, to my knowledge, has not been proposed. In other towns an advisory committee works with the board to provide a review of the budget and offer guidance to the board. The ultimate work of the budget, final decision making, is still with the board. Until we see what they are proposing, we all must wait and see. Personally, I was against the budget committee as proposed last time. I would have supported an advisory committee.
Here is the proposal that I presented to board members and will be discussed at the next meeting. I handed out copies to those in the room on Wednesday.
Budget Advisory Committee The purpose of this advisory committee is advise the board in examining the budget line by line to look for cost savings measures that do not necessarily affect staffing. This committee will align with the district initiatives in that in order to meet 1.) raising proficiency levels of individual learners, and 2.) continuing to refine curriculum and instructional practices the appropriate staffing levels are needed. However, the community is largely requesting a 0% budget increase. While staffing is the largest part of our budget, we would need to examine which contracts are due for rebidding and complete that bidding process, and examine other innovative cost savings measures in other areas that would require time and resources that would potentially keep our administration from serving their other needs in the district. This is why a budget advisory committee is beneficial because it would allow us to gain the information necessary, without affecting other aspects of the district’s daily business. This proposed committee would be made up of school board member(s) and community experts in budgeting and finance. Therefore, there would be no cost in forming the committee. There may be some insignificant cost in any accounts that may need to be re-bid, however, the district would incur this cost whether or not the committee did the work or the administration did the work. The potential savings that these would produce would far outweigh any costs incurred. The benefit to the district is a budget that allows them to meet their district initiatives and potentially keep full staffing levels while still allowing for the budget reduction that its stockholders are deeming necessary. The proposed composition of the committee would be 5-7 members, made up of at least one school board member. The remaining members could be designated as such. Three community members, would be chosen by the school board, preferably one from Lee, Madbury, and Durham respectively. Three community members each nominated by the town council of Durham, and the boards of selectman from Lee and Madbury. This would allow representation from each of the three towns and their governing bodies if they choose. All members would be required to have a background or level of expertise in budgeting and/or finance to advise the board accordingly. If a recommended committee position went unfilled by a town, it could be filled with any member that the school board sees fit or remain unfilled.
Mrs.Butts, Thank you for posting this. I like that the towns will choose the representatives to send to the board. Last time the board attempted to gather volunteers it was quite the fiasco. I believe 1 board member, 4 community members......2 from Durham (larger community(, 1 from Lee, 1 from Madbury, and 1 staff member is efficient. The community members should have a strong finance background. The staff member will provide the educational perspective. My fear is that education will take a back seat, but it does appear this proposal is intended to "not affect staffing." In the past it seems staffing is the first place they look. I strongly agree that there are other areas that could be looked at. While people have lost their jobs we have paved driveways, rebuilt a TV studio, and now will be paying for moving the PEP program. All while in the worst economic conditions in years, all while staff has lost jobs, kids have lost adults who care and worse, feel many do not. The hard working teachers and staff of our district should always be the LAST item considered, after every other stone has been turned. I would like to hope an advisory committee would help to make this happen. Thank you for posting and for proposing this. My question would be, why not do this?
The only reason NOT to do it would be if you had something to hide--which is why our administrators (and the Board members who carry water for them) are so eager to prevent this proposal from ever seeing the light of day.
I don't know what really goes on down at the SAU office; I only know that people who have nothing to hide wouldn't be so desperate to avoid scrutiny.
With all the negativity that surrounds the behavior of school board we can't forget the ones still working for what they believe. Thanks to Ms. OQuinn, Ms. Wright, Ms. Butts and Mr. Brackett. Your effort to stay on focus and make positive change is appreciated. You are up against a nasty beast of a anti-change so thank you all for your determination to put our children and our schools first. Thank you for realizing this is not about you. Keep fighting the tough fight!
To rely on community members who are experts on financial/budget issues misses the point. I interpret this as you being a dues paying member of the Lee Taxpayers. This is nothing but smoke and mirrors to get the budget cut.
If you want a serious budget panel, you need to get a wide variety people regardless of their background. Let the people decide who their reps would be with no conditions.
Regarding all the "pork fat," in the Oyster River School District, School board members should be advised: "Anybody who thinks that getting a communication from a voter in your district is spam - that guy is pork. Roast pork unless he changes his point of view." (Dick Morris)
To the other teacher in the district. I said nothing about a red flag. I do agree, state and federal mandates are out of control. These unfunded mandates have taken control of curriculum as well as forced districts to spend in pre-determined areas. However, how is it that other districts manage this? Why does our district spend so much on technology, yet cut a 5th grade teacher as well as a long time ecology school program? Why this year were positions cut, yet improvements were made to a TV studio? Why is it the district keeps throwing technology at us, but continues to cut teacher training? It is this lack of vision and balance in spending that I am concerned with. As a teacher in this district I am sure you hear the chatter, and I am sure you understand what I am talking about. We can cry about the unfunded mandates, but we need a leader that knows how to manage and plan. Sadly, I believe that leader is not Howard. Since Howard arrived at our district the morale and the level of trust has declined. We need support, we need people to see how great our school is, and Howard seems to only care about protectionism and witch hunts.
I don't recall any of this mistrust and such negative attitudes when we had Tom Carroll as superintendent. I have been watching the school board meeting for years and it has never been to this degree of negativity and mistrust.
TURNCOAT TOWSEND!
ReplyDeleteWatching the school board meeting? WOW! Mark Townsend is wasting our money again! He is wasting OUR money on an attorney(s) because he does not like the Board looking bad. Hey, let's have a workshop! Hey, how about you do your job and then maybe no one will look bad. Who is he to talk about accountable? He has not made a vote for accountability in over a year! Mark is NOT SERVING US WELL. I hope he can turn back around and see the light!
Here are the empty promises he made:
3/2009:
From Mark’s Candidate letter:
I offer my energy and expertise to our school board, to assist in improving our curriculum and competitiveness. I look forward to partnering with the community and engaging faculty and community alike to achieve our goals. I want you to know that I always have an open door, and will take the time to understand your thoughts, opinions and concerns. We have the benefit of a strong community and I truly believe that together, this will be ‘your’ school
board.
From www.Marktownsend.org:
I want to thank everyone who made this campaign possible. The voters have spoken, and you elected three reform candidates to the Oyster River Community School Board.
I want to congratulate Jocelyn O’Quinn and Henry Brackett, as my future colleagues serving our community.
I also want to acknowledge the efforts of our past board.
We appreciate your service and dedication to the Oyster River Community. Thank you for your service.
Finally, I’d like to recognize everyone that made this possible. The efforts and patience of the ORPP (Tom/Jenna), the DTA (Chris/Alyson/Julie/Jerry/Warren), Seth, Megan, Trudy, Roger, Shirley, Ann, Scoob, our current school board members Kim and Jen, my fellow running mates Henry & Jocelyn, our voters and many others.
Most importantly, I like to thank my wife and daughter who have missed their husband/father during this campaign and thank them for their help in distributing flyers - standing at the polls and engaging the community to bring about this change.
I hope to serve you well over the next three years.
-Mark
Re: Your voice is needed!
Thank you all for the great information and participation.
After reading the notes of Saturday's 'retreat' (thank you Henry!) - I am stunned by the current state of the board. There appears to be a few that understand what it means to be leaders, but unfortunately their voices go unheard.
I will be filing with the ORCSD, once I return from business travel, as a candidate for seat from Madbury. We need change, change to restore public confidence - change to ensure that the school serves the community and not the other way.
I am very concerned regarding the amount of our monies making their way out of our community. The network equipment went to a Maine based company, this consultant is from Maine and I've heard mention that several other functions are carried on by Maine-based companies.
Where are our local companies? I know of several network resellers that live in the ORCSD community, I know we have lawyers and consultants - why are we going outside our community for so many services? I am eager to learn how many functions could have gone to local businesses.
I look forward to meetings with this group in the future and how we can take back our schools; for the children, for the community.
Thank you,
Mark
Mark Townsend
2009 Candidate for School Board - Madbury
Mark Townsend promised "change" and yet we get more of the same.
ReplyDeleteSound like anyone else we know?
http://www.marktownsend.org/Blog/2EBFB5FB-5B74-4455-8DDF-2497B64B3F03.html
Well, he did shave his beard...
ReplyDeleteAnybody care to venture a guess as to what Mark is doing when he bows his head for several moments during discussions?
ReplyDeleteI think he's napping.
If I had to lead that group, I'd be PRAYING!
ReplyDeleteNews Flash to Jennifer, Mark and Jo-Ann--stand in the way of progress and you just might get run over!
ReplyDeleteTime to open your EARS and hear what people want. Jennifer of all people should know this since she was in the minority fighting for everything she now stands against. How many MORE letters and public comments will it take?
Fantastic meeting. All the fools wore their hats well last night. I wish that the progress referenced above would move a little faster but I guess I will take what I can get. Ann was a superstar putting Mark and Jennifer in their place. The only people who look bad are the SORE LOSERS! It is time to get this train back on track or else we need to blow it up and hand it to the towns.
ReplyDeleteDon't you love how Joanne Portalupi was SO EAGER to discredit what was said during public comment that she couldn't wait to jump in and start twisting people's words?
ReplyDeleteAnd then all that high and mighty talk from her about "a culture of respect" later in the meeting...what a load of B.S!
The only opinion Joanne cares about is her own; she doesn't even make an effort to listen to the people she (supposedly) represents.
Whoever hired our Super should be ashamed. This should have been a red flag...
ReplyDeleteUnion 98 head justifies rising school costs
Bangor Daily News Bangor, ME | November 28, 2002 | LIZ CHAPMAN; OF THE NEWS STAFF | Copyright
BAR HARBOR - Property taxpayers can expect increased school spending again next year, thanks to state and federal mandates that have added "tremendous" costs to budgets at all Mount Desert Island schools, Union 98 Superintendent Howard Colter said Wednesday.
Colter, superintendent for 10 years, defended school spending on the island while acknowledging that taxpayers are "legitimately strapped" after years of expanding budgets.
But he said the only way to reduce spending would be to eliminate programs and services the island towns have spent years planning …
Last night was such a fiasco it is hard to decide where to begin.
ReplyDelete1. Mark, JoAnn and Jennifer have decided their job is to protect Howard and ignore the people.
2. Howard does not support teachers when they need it the most. He has created this culture of mistrust.
3. Congrats to Ann, Krista and Jocelyn for speaking up for logic.
4. The board is wasting time on a witch hunt, I didn't really understand what the heck they were all taking about but did decide to look at the Lee minutes. Those minutes clearly state Henry was speaking as a private citizen. I am not then sure what the heck the big point is??!!
I would hope town representatives continue to attend town meetings to stay informed and to inform, and as long as they are not speaking on behalf of others, quite frankly what the heck is the problem.
Can board members please get back to having a real meeting and stop attacking the public and each other.
I also agree with the comment above, JoAnn was on the attack an it was an inaccurate attack. The guy that spoke did not say anything negative about personnell, only about Mark.
JoAnn, start really listening to what people are saying and stop focusing on how you will defend your man Howard.
Joanne needs to move on. She is too focused on her inner circle and Howard. It is too bad bc her teacher experience is helpful in the few instances that they talk about education. She actually asks real questions.
ReplyDeleteBut, most of the time they are talking about anything but education and then Joanne is Howard's wingman. It is like they are playing a game of volleyball and she will only ask leading questions that make Howard and Blaine look good. Really, this is so much bigger than that and you would think she would get it.
After more than 10 years you would think she would know about things like the first amendment. She should speak to no one about common courtesy. Just because she says things in a nice voice, it does not mean it is courteous. She is no team player and no amount of workshops is going to fix that or fix a terrible Chair. Mark is now a Joanne clone.
They pretend that they are experts and that makes them look even worse because clearly they have no clue and are dishonest about it. It all comes back to bite you...chomp, chomp.
I watched a replay today, and I don't get it.
ReplyDeleteThey were upset because Henry went to a meeting in Lee, he lives in Lee and said he was there as a private citizen. They claimed it was because he said "we wil have an audit committee", last I looked that was known as confidence.
I watched the meeting on May 19th and if Mark thinks they went into that meeting a united front knowing they were getting a yes vote, he is more clueless than previously suspected.
Why is time being wasted looking for problems, creating problems and treating both the public and board members like annoyances.
When will the board wake up and realize they work for all of us, are supposed to be looking out for our children, and protecting Howard is not doing either of those tasks.
I say we throw them all out and start over, this is getting to be a bad reality show.
I was not able to attend or watch the meeting and was hoping to get a sense of the debate that occurred by reading these comments. Unfortunately I am left to wonder still, as most of the comments above are personal/political attacks. Do we really want this to be the tone of the discussions in our district? I would really appreciate understanding the issues for and against the budget committees rather than spending time on the social workings of the board.
ReplyDeleteYou raise a very valid point. I belive the reason you see so much of the comments above have to do with the fact that much of the recent board meeting was spent with members attacking each other and the public. If you have the opportunity to watch a replay you may be able to understand the emotions in the postings above.
ReplyDeleteIt seems the chair is on a witch hunt, and is using district funds to try to take down those that disagree with him.
With that said, there is much to be said regarding a budget committee.
This proposal seems to be about an advisory budget committee. There is nothing on-line or on the agenda back up so it is very difficult to know what is in the proposal. It seemed like board member Mrs. Butts had prepared a proposal but it was not part of the agenda. I do believe they have decided to add it to the next regular board meeting, so this proposal should be in their board packet. I wonder if the powers that be could consider posting this proposal for public viewing prior to that board meeting so we can have an opportunity to know what they will discuss?
Two years ago citizens proposed a budget committee. I don't know much about this except that it was changed to a study. An advisory committee, to my knowledge, has not been proposed.
In other towns an advisory committee works with the board to provide a review of the budget and offer guidance to the board. The ultimate work of the budget, final decision making, is still with the board.
Until we see what they are proposing, we all must wait and see.
Personally, I was against the budget committee as proposed last time. I would have supported an advisory committee.
Here is the proposal that I presented to board members and will be discussed at the next meeting. I handed out copies to those in the room on Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteBudget Advisory Committee
The purpose of this advisory committee is advise the board in examining the budget line by line to look for cost savings measures that do not necessarily affect staffing. This committee will align with the district initiatives in that in order to meet 1.) raising proficiency levels of individual learners, and 2.) continuing to refine curriculum and instructional practices the appropriate staffing levels are needed. However, the community is largely requesting a 0% budget increase. While staffing is the largest part of our budget, we would need to examine which contracts are due for rebidding and complete that bidding process, and examine other innovative cost savings measures in other areas that would require time and resources that would potentially keep our administration from serving their other needs in the district. This is why a budget advisory committee is beneficial because it would allow us to gain the information necessary, without affecting other aspects of the district’s daily business.
This proposed committee would be made up of school board member(s) and community experts in budgeting and finance. Therefore, there would be no cost in forming the committee. There may be some insignificant cost in any accounts that may need to be re-bid, however, the district would incur this cost whether or not the committee did the work or the administration did the work. The potential savings that these would produce would far outweigh any costs incurred.
The benefit to the district is a budget that allows them to meet their district initiatives and potentially keep full staffing levels while still allowing for the budget reduction that its stockholders are deeming necessary.
The proposed composition of the committee would be 5-7 members, made up of at least one school board member. The remaining members could be designated as such. Three community members, would be chosen by the school board, preferably one from Lee, Madbury, and Durham respectively. Three community members each nominated by the town council of Durham, and the boards of selectman from Lee and Madbury. This would allow representation from each of the three towns and their governing bodies if they choose. All members would be required to have a background or level of expertise in budgeting and/or finance to advise the board accordingly. If a recommended committee position went unfilled by a town, it could be filled with any member that the school board sees fit or remain unfilled.
Mrs.Butts, Thank you for posting this.
ReplyDeleteI like that the towns will choose the representatives to send to the board. Last time the board attempted to gather volunteers it was quite the fiasco.
I believe 1 board member, 4 community members......2 from Durham (larger community(, 1 from Lee, 1 from Madbury, and 1 staff member is efficient. The community members should have a strong finance background. The staff member will provide the educational perspective.
My fear is that education will take a back seat, but it does appear this proposal is intended to "not affect staffing."
In the past it seems staffing is the first place they look. I strongly agree that there are other areas that could be looked at.
While people have lost their jobs we have paved driveways, rebuilt a TV studio, and now will be paying for moving the PEP program. All while in the worst economic conditions in years, all while staff has lost jobs, kids have lost adults who care and worse, feel many do not.
The hard working teachers and staff of our district should always be the LAST item considered, after every other stone has been turned. I would like to hope an advisory committee would help to make this happen.
Thank you for posting and for proposing this.
My question would be, why not do this?
The only reason NOT to do it would be if you had something to hide--which is why our administrators (and the Board members who carry water for them) are so eager to prevent this proposal from ever seeing the light of day.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what really goes on down at the SAU office; I only know that people who have nothing to hide wouldn't be so desperate to avoid scrutiny.
With all the negativity that surrounds the behavior of school board we can't forget the ones still working for what they believe. Thanks to Ms. OQuinn, Ms. Wright, Ms. Butts and Mr. Brackett. Your effort to stay on focus and make positive change is appreciated. You are up against a nasty beast of a anti-change so thank you all for your determination to put our children and our schools first. Thank you for realizing this is not about you. Keep fighting the tough fight!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Ms. OQuinn, Ms. Wright, Ms. Butts and Mr. Brackett. You seem to be the board members who have the school district's best interests in mind.
ReplyDeleteTo "I Teach"
ReplyDeleteWhy is that a red flag? He stated that budget increases were because of state and federal mandates. It wasn't out of control spending.
Seems that it isn't Howard that is full of s**t.
As a teacher in the district, I like Howard. He does support us in the classroom and cares deeply for the children we teach.
Ms. Butts:
ReplyDeleteYou proposal is seriously flawed.
To rely on community members who are experts on financial/budget issues misses the point. I interpret this as you being a dues paying member of the Lee Taxpayers. This is nothing but smoke and mirrors to get the budget cut.
If you want a serious budget panel, you need to get a wide variety people regardless of their background. Let the people decide who their reps would be with no conditions.
I agree with "I Teach." "Colter has created a culture of mistrust."
ReplyDeleteRegarding all the "pork fat," in the Oyster River School District, School board members should be advised:
ReplyDelete"Anybody who thinks that getting a communication from a voter in your district is spam - that guy is pork. Roast pork unless he changes his point of view." (Dick Morris)
To the other teacher in the district. I said nothing about a red flag. I do agree, state and federal mandates are out of control. These unfunded mandates have taken control of curriculum as well as forced districts to spend in pre-determined areas. However, how is it that other districts manage this? Why does our district spend so much on technology, yet cut a 5th grade teacher as well as a long time ecology school program? Why this year were positions cut, yet improvements were made to a TV studio?
ReplyDeleteWhy is it the district keeps throwing technology at us, but continues to cut teacher training?
It is this lack of vision and balance in spending that I am concerned with. As a teacher in this district I am sure you hear the chatter, and I am sure you understand what I am talking about. We can cry about the unfunded mandates, but we need a leader that knows how to manage and plan. Sadly, I believe that leader is not Howard. Since Howard arrived at our district the morale and the level of trust has declined. We need support, we need people to see how great our school is, and Howard seems to only care about protectionism and witch hunts.
I don't recall any of this mistrust and such negative attitudes when we had Tom Carroll as superintendent. I have been watching the school board meeting for years and it has never been to this degree of negativity and mistrust.
ReplyDelete