Aug. 11 Mtg - Forum - Censorship

[yruohk]

[glow=red,2,300]In the General section of this Message Board, I posted a letter sent to each BOE member regarding the lack of SUFFICIENT NOTIFICATION of the Aug. 11, 2005 mtg. and the CENSORSHIP of the Plainedgeschools.org websites Community Forum. Here it is again along with a response from Thomas Dick on behalf of the entire BOE. [/glow]


Ms. Jennifer Grinberg,

I have been able to communicate with most board members regarding the issue of the Community Forum and am replying on their behalf. We, as a board and administration, have tried a myriad of techniques to increase community participation. We believe the use of emails, written correspondence and the listserv provide adequate opportunity for the community to communicate effectively. Specifically to the Community Forum, this was a trial scenario. It should be noted that other organizations that have such methods (and not all do) have large IT staffs and computing power to handle the influx of responses and to adequately screen any uncivil or inappropriate communications. The district does not have that amount of man power nor computing power to be able to screen, monitor and manage all the incoming responses. In addition, there are other facilities that adequately provide the ability to create and manage these types of forums.

"tried a myriad of techniques to increase community participation". And once these methods effectively improve participation by the community, it's shutdown, done away with or restricted if the community speaks out regarding BOE & Superintendent accountability.

"We believe the use of emails, written correspondence and the listserv provide adequate opportunity for the community to communicate effectively."Aren't these methods strictly to limit the communication of the community to directing their comments ONLY to the BOE and NOT include communicating with each other about their thoughts on BOE accountability, administrative concerns, tax dollar concerns how it's spent for the school, etc? What we had to say must have rattled some nerves, therefore, silence the truth seekers and revealer's?

As for the meeting notification, with the reduction in staff and with the summer preparations (which were delayed due to the additional budget meetings), updates were maintained by the administration staff. We posted notifications and put notifications in the local papers as mandated. Unfortunately, we did post the meeting on the website prior to the meeting.

???Why is it "unfortunate" that they did post the meeting on the website prior to the meeting? No mention of where these notifications were posted other than the "local newspapers as mandated". Not everyone gets this info from the papers. I believe there is supposed to be obvious notification not notice tucked away in obscure places.

I realize you have asked each member to reply but I have taken the time to speak with most and have asked for input from all so I hope this reply satisfies that aspect of your correspondence.

Sincerely,


Thomas R. Dick




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] [mailto:[e-mail]]
Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2005 3:05 AM
To: [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Forum & Meeting



To The BOE,



Just curious about the notification of the August 11, 2005 meeting. Where had there been advance notice given of this meeting? How was the public notified? How well was it publicized? I had no knowledge of this meeting until after the fact.



Secondly, regarding the shutting down of the Community Forum on the Plainedge Schools .org site, is there a legitimate reason to shut down a venue through which the community is able to communicate to one another? It certainly was great to put to use our expansive and expensive technology for a great cause, community interaction and involvement! The BOE and others have said the community isn't as involved as it should be and now the opportunity for that to increase has been nipped in the bud by the action of some who decided they didn't like what had been communicated.



How is it that those who have been elected to represent the people, you guys, can allow censorship of a Community Forum? That certainly is what has taken place. I'd like an answer from each as I have addressed this to each.



Thank you.....Jennifer Grinberg

[techie]

That was a nice E-mail that you got from Mr. Tom Dick.

If he is speaking on behalf of the Board, do they all realize that this forum, "WE", have the Technology, IT Professionals, Large Staff, and the Computing Power to "handle the influx of responses and to adequately screen any uncivil or inappropriate communications" and it is being done on a HOME COMPUTER!!!

Granted, there may be a chance to get some posts through that are not appropriate, but with all we have posted in the "other" Forum, nothing was inappropriate.

And Also I realize that some people out there might now want to get something past this site, but that would be EXTREMELY childish and would serve the community no good.

Sad to also note that with the money that has been spent by the Taxpayers for ALL the Technology and Equipment we can do the job from our homes at a fraction of the cost........on home DESKTOP, OLD, Computers!

[archer99]

YRUOK,

I got a good chuckle on the response that you got from Mr. Dick.

He says that with the reduction in staff and with the summer preparations(which were delayed due to the additional Budget Meetings), updates were maintained by the Administration Staff.

The reason that I started to laugh was because I had gotten a response from the Web Site Administrator as to why the forum was closed a couple of weeks ago!!
The site administrator is a student and was doing this in the SUMMER.


Nice Staff Reduction!

I had an email sent to me by him in August. That means that the same person was watching the site.

And of course, it isn't good for the community to be made aware just what questions are being asked and HOW they are being answered.


The Staff Reductions must happen very regularly because one of their E-mails said that they post the Minutes of the Board Meetings after they have been approved at the next meeting. The Minutes have not been posted since APRIL.........................................................

[justfacts]

:oTo Yruohk;

Notice in his reply the Tom Dick used again the term "scenario"? This is getting to be a popular term with the Board ~ it was also used to describe intended program cuts.

I think that the dictionary derfines this word as "a plot outline".

To bad that, when presenting something to the public, the Board doesn't describe it as a "plot outline" BEFORE the fact, instead of after!

[Go Plainedge!]

Ms. Jennifer Grinberg,

I have been able to communicate with most board members regarding the issue of the Community Forum and am replying on their behalf. We, as a board and administration, Tying themselves to the administration and not the people have tried a myriad of techniques They failed to be successful at anything decent and sensible to increase community participation. We believe the use of emails, written correspondence and the listserv provide adequate opportunity for the community to communicate effectively. These are all one sided communications with responses only directed towards Dr. RichmanSpecifically to the Community Forum, this was a trial scenario. It should be noted that other organizations that have such methods (and not all do) have large IT staffs and computing power to handle the influx of responses and to adequately screen any uncivil or inappropriate communications. Oh yes, because it takes an army to monitor a message board. Just ask the administrator of this board how many are on staff and how much it costs to operate. Let me give you a hint::::: 0 and $0The district does not have that amount of man power nor computing power to be able to screen, monitor and manage all the incoming responses. In addition, there are other facilities that adequately provide the ability to create and manage these types of forums.

As for the meeting notification, with the reduction in staff and with the summer preparations (which were delayed due to the additional budget meetings), updates were maintained by the administration staff. We posted notifications and put notifications in the local papers as mandated. Unfortunately, we did post the meeting on the website prior to the meeting. Again the board accomplishes the division and segregation of the community from any activity in the school budget by complying with the absolute bare minimum.


I realize you have asked each member to reply but I have taken the time to speak with most and have asked for input from all so I hope this reply satisfies that aspect of your correspondence. Of course he did because lately, they don't seem to be able to speak their own mind and stand up for what they truly believe in. They are afraid of criticism from their peers

Sincerely,


Thomas R. Dick




Someone should direct Mr. Dick to this website so he can become a little more educated in technology.

[justfacts]

Takebackmyschools,

A very good input that exposes the B(oard) S(tuff) that Mr. Dick - Head of the Board - presented to Yruohk about their "rational" behind eliminating what was becoming to difficult for them to handle!

Their real difficulty is that the information was going from "one-to-many" That they can't control. When it was "one-to-one" (Rich-man or Board) they could "massage the messages", as Dick did, with facts and terms that are just not true.

As the Administrator of this Board told you, it takes very little manpower, once the simple equipment and services are in place, to administer a Board of this limited nature.

For God's sake ~ it's not a nation wide effort, not even Island wide, nor County wide. Cut the carping School Board! If you can't handle these little jobs, no wonder you do so poorly on the big job you have ~ keeping school expenditures effective, controlled and in line.

The difference in cost between managing the School site, with and without the Forum on it, has to be at least as minuscule as the cost and effort that this site's administrator manages to effectively control.

After all, there is still student management of what's left on the Board (at least 90% of what was there when the Forum was there)

Oh, by the way, did Dick tell anyone what they were paying the Student who did the work? Or, how many hours and days of effort his workload has been reduced now that the Forum has been C E N S O R E D !

Gee, I guess, according to the "trials & tribulations" stated by Dick in his letter, that the savings can restore all of the prior Budget! What an important action! ;D

[archer99]

Hello TAKEBACKMYSCHOOLS,

The Board has been invited to look at this site in an E-mail I sent within the last 2 weeks. The only person that did not get it was Ms. Flanigan.

I imagine by the amount of views to the posts that we are now getting, they must be paying a little attention.

I think YRUOK has the right idea. The more noise you make, the more they want to turn you off. The only thing is that people listen to the noise.

JUSTFACTS also pointed out that the Board is also personally responsible for their actions, or lack of action.

Since I have been laughing a bit today, join me. Do a "GOOGLE" search for the President's Salary. Next contract for Mr. Richman can have us topping the rest of the country! I understand that it is harder to run a school district than a country.
I also will admit that I COULD NOT do his job,...BUT..... is he?

[yruohk]

[glow=red,2,300]COPY OF EMAIL TO MR. DICK IN RESPONSE TO HIS EMAIL TO ME WHICH IS POSTED ON THIS BOARD.[/glow]

In a message dated 8/23/2005 11:26:33 AM Eastern Standard Time, [e-mail] writes:
Specifically to the Community Forum, this was a trial scenario. It should be noted that other organizations that have such methods (and not all do) have large IT staffs and computing power to handle the influx of responses and to adequately screen any uncivil or inappropriate communications. The district does not have that amount of man power nor computing power to be able to screen, monitor and manage all the incoming responses. In addition, there are other facilities that adequately provide the ability to create and manage these types of forums.


As for the meeting notification, with the reduction in staff and with the summer preparations (which were delayed due to the additional budget meetings), updates were maintained by the administration staff.


Mr. Dick,

Thank you for a quick response.

As for the Community Forum, I suppose it was named such to enable the community to have easier access to become more actively involved which it certainly did. It wasn't the lack of manpower that caused the BOE to censor/shutdown the Forum nor was it cost nor was it inappropriate or "uncivil" content. The content in question were facts that the BOE & Richman found difficult to answer "appropriately". As for the cost, how much could that have been reduced by? Please tell us the cost involved that was a factor? Was that amount used to fund what had been cut? I really don't think so.

I'm sorry to see a BOE behaving in this manner and I'm not the only one who feels this way. Does the BOE really think this community is DUMB? To imply this by answering as you have adds insult to injury. What man power is needed to deal with one tiny portion of an entire web site that is still up and running? Did it take more manpower to "watch" the Forum or cost more? The only cost may be the jobs or positions of those who are irresponsible to the Plainedge Community of Taxpayers, Residents, Parents and Students.

I believe that a post on the Plainedgeschools.org Community Forum, before you shut it down, was by a student stating that he was the Forum Administrator. Was he cut out of the budget? Paid for or free? There's usually only one administrator of a Forum of the size of our district.

I know that you and the entire BOE have been informed of the new UNCENSORED Plainedge Message Board through an email notification. Please be sure to carefully look at the incredibly cost effective information posted there. Maybe you will take advice and use it to be more financially prudent.

plainedgechat.proboards57.com/

Jennifer Grinberg