David Taylor sent this opinion letter into Fosters Daily Democrat defending his recent petition filed against the district:
OR voters have a right to know
Oyster River Chairman Henry Brackett took 53 days — and almost a week after I filed a lawsuit — to produce public documents instead of the 5 days required by the Right-to-Know Law. Both the NH Attorney General's Office and OR Superintendent said a lawsuit is the only way under New Hampshire law to compel him to provide public documents. All the other board members complied within days. He admits in both Foster's Daily Democrat and The Union Leader that he broke the law. This is particularly hypocritical for someone who campaigned under the slogan "Accountability, Communication and Transparency, Now."
I originally made right-to-know requests because of board decisions to not hire Justin Campbell for ORHS Principal and to buy out Superintendent Howard Colter for $185,000. I wanted to know why. Hundreds of citizens, parents and students demanded explanations through public comments, letters and petitions. Instead, the board responded with vacuous statements, confidentiality clauses, minutes with missing dollar amounts, votes at the end of the fiscal year, etc. Not only did they not answer, they actively worked to hide their tracks.
See Also:
August 16, 2011 — Fosters Article: Resident to pursue suit against OR School Board: Believes there is more information he hasn't receivedAugust 14, 2011 — Fosters Opinion: OR School Board can still make it right
August 5, 2011 — Former Board Member David Taylor Sues ORCSD board
Sounds like this is him defending himself to the public for wasting their money.
ReplyDeleteIN MY PERSONAL OPINION...This is just more of Mr. Taylor's campaign to tarnish the board that he didn't get voted on to. I know it is just my opinion, but it seems crystal clear to me that he is using adult tactics to pursue a childish gripe. All the while continuing to waste the community's tax dollars so that their elected board has to defend itself from this individual(s). Because the board has made decisions that Mr. Taylor disagrees with, he has decided to take it upon himself to be the hero of the community. He's on a witch hunt. Plain and simple. Furthermore, it is my opinion that he likely has had private or "secret" conversations with members of the board that will never be public information. Hypocritical in my opinion.
He acts as if the board is maliciously trying to harm the community. This is obviously as far from the truth as possible. These are NON-PAID members of the community who have volunteered their valuable time to help better the problems that has plagued the board for some time. It's not like these people are going to profit somehow by buying out the superintendent. It's not as if they want to see the school district fail. This isn't the mob folks, these are citizens of the community with family attending the schools.
Perhaps the next thing he will want is for cameras and microphones be installed in the bathrooms of all public officials. After all...we have a Right To Know!
So you are not the least bit concerned that Henry has switched the mailing address for the Lawyer bills to his home?
ReplyDeleteRegardless of how one feels about David Taylor, perhaps we should look at WHAT he is accusing the board and Henry of, rather than WHO he is.
If the allegations are incorrect, than the board will easily be able to prove it otherwise. However they need to answer the allegations, silence speaks louder than words.
IN MY PERSONAL OPINION:
ReplyDeleteFirst of all...WHO he is has a lot to do with WHAT he is accusing the board of. Look at his record...if something doesn't go the way the Mr. Taylor wants it go, he plays the victim.
2nd...
Taylor writes:
"Henry Brackett had all the lawyer's bills sent to his home address. All of these were done so they would be hidden from public scrutiny."
I didn't realize that members of the public are waiting by the School District mailbox to see what bills are coming in. Did it ever occur to anyone that members of the board don't work full-time down at the district office? What's the difference between him receiving his mail at home, rather than having to go down to the district everyday and pulling it out of his cubby? This is petty stuff people. Petty.
Either way, the bill would have got to him anyway and no one would have seen it regardless of where it was delivered too. Perhaps Mr. Taylor would like all mail to be opened and read at all meetings. This would be great because it would add even more time onto an already long and busy schedule.
His accusations of the board of is petty as well. He got what he wanted, and now he's not satisfied so the suit will continue. As I stated before, I doubt Brackett was in a rush to appease Mr. Taylor given his past track record. He said that he had to sift through over 3500 emails since his personal account was being used. Which by the way has been normal practice of the board for years, including the time Mr. Taylor was on it.
And silence does speak louder than words, which is probably why the board hasn't bothered to make a statement since this is NON-issue.