FISH OUT OF WATER ROT FROM THE HEAD DOWN Certain people should never be trusted with power. Power should be used for the public good, by honorable, competent and honest persons. Some very qualified and competent candidates have filed for the open seats in Novembers election. A few of the candidates look like they may be qualified for interim superintendent. Something like this, however, would require the independent thinking on behalf of the constituents they were elected to represent and serve. If a new majority be formed and decide to immediately go into executive session to review the appointed position of superintendent. In executive session, they could consider hiring a competent, actively practicing lawyer who can serve them with the best interests of the community and the school district in mind, avoid driving them ever deeper into the public relations nightmare they currently seem hellbent on worsening with every reach out they make to the media while avoiding/ignoring the basic questions and concerns expressed at public board meetings; an attorney who will place a priority on treating felony child molestation and rape victims with consideration and respect and not only acting as a pit bull with a several hundred dollar hourly billable rate time card to fill. Once they acquire new counsel, this new majority could, if they decide, possibly consider terminating any relationship with a law firm who apparently has no issue representing both a school board and their appointed superintendent and administrators despite glaring conflicting interests between the two. In executive session they could take immediate steps to begin damage control and restoring community trust and confidence, explore what settlement may be available through the schools liability insurer and begin focusing on implementing objective means by which every situation could be judged on its merits, and not by who is involved and who they may know. They could decide to clean house and install a superintendent who will not wait 2+ years before being bothered enough to finally send a bizarre and meaningless message that while it at least acknowledged the crimes that have happened under his watch, is like most everything else these past two years, disgraceful. Is there anything written in that message that could not have been issued with a week of Jan 2011 rape, or within a week of the first Curtis victims coming forward? More empty and meaningless words is not what is needed. How about some actions? You have an administrator who assures Curtis that they do not believe the victims who came forward and who looked forward to his return as soon as it all got worked out. Victims who were bullied and isolated for having the courage to come forward, the matter is made known to administration and the response is to the effect that LPS was helpless because it could not make students be friendly toward others, even if they said the had been victimized. A principal who goes to the home of a single mother at night to berate her for having the audacity to challenge the ruling class, who apologizes in the hallway to her in front of others and then contacts the media later that night to again attack her. And an assistant principal, who has so much baggage, does not deserve to be anywhere near our children ever again in a capacity where he can use the power of his office for his own means. But who goes to the media to accuse a special needs victims family of lying, and inferring that the child was only raped three times, despite even the defendant confessing to more than that. So Interim appointed superintendent OMara, makes this new few days and weeks count, and take the five sentences it has taken you years to put to paper and stop wasting the time of this community. Every week you remain in office or that you allow your superintendents to continue to get paid by these district taxpayers is money in your collective pocket and a few more dollars in your pension packages. These weeks are major chunks of the educational opportunity these children have. The children who have been scarred for life under your watch, and the children who will never, not ever, not in a million years ever come to you or your administration for a matter involve their trust or confidence must have some impact on the conscience you carry. Resign. When year was the last weekly administrative meetings between school principals and the superintendent? What written policies are in place to ensure the administrators at every school provided written weekly reports to the superintendent? What written policies are in place to ensure the school board receives regular and comprehensive reports on all matters of relevance for the community, who is supposed to be represented by these elected school board members? How many other incidents have been screened by assistant principal Bill Barker so he then is the wall that decides whether or not something gets treated objectively and fairly, according to the law? The opening paragraph of the police report prepared by Det. Jay Olejniczak of the BCSD begins with contact between the police and Barker, and is left with Barker advising that he will follow up if he decides the matter warrants law enforcement involvement. Then NOTHING. The report then references the family making contact with the police, and the police openly an investigation directly as a result of this contact. Flash forward three and 1/2 years, and Barker goes to the media to accuse the same family of lying, and making the obscene statement implying the incident (to use OMaras word. Mike? It was and is a rape. There were eight charged rapes over 2+ years. Read the defendants own confession to the police and his plea before the Court before you make any further embarrassing messages. You might also want to remind Barker that the company line is you all cannot comment out of respect for the students/familys privacy. By going to the media and making up his own version of these rapes, which minimized this even more than the defendant himself did, he clearly violated what you want the public to believe is your policy. Should someone like Bill Barker be making judgment calls on anything that involves a child and serious thought or judgment? Maybe Barker might be the appropriate person to sit in judgment of the vast number of other Barkers on the LPS payroll, but even you have to admit his sister would probably be more competent doing something like this. None of this matters to you or your enabling board, because if it did, Barker and Williams would have been fired; you would have resigned. Has there ever before been an administrator who said a special needs student under their watch had only been raped three times, and kept their job? You, this board -all class acts. Its been said before that a fish rots from the head down. The integrity, honesty and trust of LPS leaders have been rotting for months. The best thing facing the new majority on this school board should the electorate evaluate the qualifications of the candidates, meet the candidates and compare them to the history accumulated by Gary Foltz and his fellow enablers is they will not have to re-write many policies, procedures or protocols. Your legacy will be an almost completely clean slate by which the new majority can create objective, fair and transparent policies, procedures, protocols, manuals, job descriptions, chains of command mean of regular and reliable communication by which the treatment of all students will be equal, fair and honest. Shane McNeill, Woodland
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 17:48:39 +0000
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