BEST CIRCUS AROUND!!

[techie]

Last nights meeting put Ringling Bros. and ALL Magicians to shame!!

The Circus that I speak of was the one in which our Ring Master ran. Dunninger, Houdini, Blackstone, Copperfield, MOVE OVER!!
We have the best prestidigitator here in Plainedge!
After all he can manipulate numbers, change facts,(or have his assistants change them),mis-direct you, not give you the actual full outcome of meetings, BOY, was I impressed!


He wanted 3 answers last night from the BOE on his questions, but when he was asked the first question by a BOE member of when he would have a guidline written on "Parameters" for fund raising his response was "I don't know".
I know that if I gave that response to the Director in my job, I would be in serious trouble.

The financial papers were a joke. The responses to questions from the BOE were even funnier, if not so sad.

WHY, after the large voter turnout, was the meeting held in the small office? People were coming in and walking out because they could not hear from the hallway. Was this a way to discourage the community from attending future meetings?
He could sit his butt very well in the other room.

I hope that when they went to "Executive Session" to speak about contracts, that they spoke about his!
And who is related to that new employee at Eastplain?

All I needed to see last night was the little car with the 20 clowns getting out of it and it would have proved to me that it was a "show". Too bad the only "show" I saw was done by the other half of the table other than the BOE.
I would like to say thanks to some of the BOE members for asking questions, too bad you couldn't get the answers.

And I guess the most important issue that was discussed last night still doesn't have an answer, WE HAVE TO HAVE PARAMETERS FOR BAKE SALES!!!!

[patriot2415]

Unfortunately I could not attend last night, but from what I hear from PEOPLE I TRUST, things are back to normal. No Answers, small room to discourage the community ( I'm sure we will hear there was some construction or something going on in the larger board room) shutting down the community with agenda item only discussions, total disrespect for the people in this community who worked so hard...etc..etc.etc...

Shame on the current BOE members for turning their back on the community. You have in one meeting destroyed any partnership that was developed with the community. Shame on all of you for not being our voice. You have all shown your true colors, ...You should all resign....


I will be forming a community action group. One that will monitor everything the BOE does and everything the administration does from this day forward.

We will not be held hostage in our own community, we will not go back to the way things were.


Anyone interested please email me at [e-mail] Put community action group in the subject.

.thank you....

[techie]

Phil,
don't be too hard on the BOE.
This was a time that I saw questions coming from BOE members that didn't speak before.
And yes you may have not been there last night but it was the same old crap.

There is an advantage to having the meetings in the smaller room, this way you can actually smell the Fruit displays, Cakes, Coffee, and Snacks that Mr. (Dr.) Richman has paid for out of his own pocket.

My job's meetings are BYOBS, thats Bring Your Own,... Well you all know what the BS is by NOW!!

[patriot2415]

Sorry Techie... no more free rides.

They are our voice and they aren't getting the job done..plain and simple...

[techie]

No Sorries Phil,

I agree with you 100%

[Go Plainedge!]

techie said:

Well you all know what the BS is by NOW!!

Babka and Starbucks???

Quite frankly, this doesn't surprise me. Seen it before, heard it all before about this and past BOE members.

Phil, good move for wanting to start a group.

[techie]

Hey FACTS!,

Have there been any cases before of a Community turning over a Board of Education before new elected members come in to term in order to make good decisions?
What I mean to ask is, can we as a Community overide the representatives that we put in office earlier, but have chosen to replace, before they do more harm to our kids? THE BOE has the power to cancel ANY contracts, do we have the same power for Representatives? If the Community agreed and voted in new Reps., can't we shorten the terms of the old ones?

Jus' askin"

[justfacts]

Techie and all who are concerned about the District

As to putting in a new Board early, or newly elected Board members before the terms of the old members are up - there is no authority of the community to do so. Our permitted process to invoke changes is; we select a few new Board Members at the time of the vote - and then have to wait until the new fiscal year begins in July for them to take office.

The only way a Board is "revitalized" almost instantaneously is when the Commissioner of Education sees fit to replace all Members at once - replace them with his appointees.

The hazard to us now is that a new Board President, by cooperating with the Administration, could keep community important items from coming up at meetings through their control of the Meeting Agenda. That Board President post would be filled this year by a Central Figure (CF) in the e-mail scandal - if the Administration has it's way.

We, as outsiders in our own District, have no voice in the Board's nomination and approval of a new Board President. We can only hope that there will be at least four Board Members who will go against the election of that CF ~ selecting a member that is more in line with the Community's desires and needs.

Having a community oriented Board President for the first time in several years, might reduce the harm that is being done now to the District, and the extension of that harm into the future. A future without the presence of the present inept and arrogant administration.

Ed.

Phil; As Kojak would have said: "Who loves ya' baby?" I'm with your efforts all the way. Count me in.

Techie; Brilliant coverage of the meeting and astute commentary!

[Go Plainedge!]

Ed:

The problem I see with your "Central Figure (CF)" is that three other BOE members are "Eastplainers/PTA" in addition to the CF. I hope they vote with their business head and NOT their friendship head - Especially with the email scandal surrounding the CF

[plainedgewatcher]

I was there last night.. It was a sickening display of total disregard for the community. They pick and chose what they want on the agenda so the community cannot ask any questions.

The current BOE missed it's chance to stand up and say " We are for the community". Instead they posed their rehearsed questions and bowed to the administration. I wonder how they feel today, knowing they let down the very people they said they represent...maybe from past history they really don't feel too bad........

[justfacts]

In a Nutshell!

Events in last night's meeting have reverberated on this Forum like few meetings before have reverberated!

They indicated what is lacking in the control and direction that the assembled Board takes with regard to these public hearings. The end result is more of a division between the Board and the residents of the District.

Since the whole purpose of such a meeting is to have the public sit and become aware of the deliberations that the Board makes on the behalf of the public - there was just cause to have halted the meeting in the little room - and resumed it in the larger meeting room! Where all could see and hear what was going on.

It would have required control and command from just one Board member to make that happen! The Board lacks such a member. Truly, they behaved like sheep and followed the guidance of the administration.

Additionally, there was an incident where, after diligent questioning by some members of the Board, that the administration revealed that the information supplied in the Board package was outdated and in error.

The Board expressed chagrin at this - - - -but no leader on the Board rose to correct the situation by saying: "Your telling us that you have in your package the latest and truest figures? Well then, we'll wait while you go to the office and make multiple copies of the correct information for us - so that this meeting can continue with its intended purpose! And don't ever again give us defective Board packages or you are out of here!"

This would have been an ideal break point for such a Board leader to have the meeting switched to the main meeting room so all attending residents could see and hear the rest of the meeting when it resumed!

Then, it seems, the Board listened to the plans the administration has for the District - rather than telling the Administrator the plans that they have for the District. Talk about the shoe being on the wrong foot! Some of the information about those plans, and some of the information about reports on other topics - definitely had an incorrect "Spin" put on the facts - they were distortions of reality.

Several warped pieces of misinformation were presented to the Board as truth. Clearly, the Board needs inputs from somewhere else which will correct the administration's heavily colored misinformation before they give the green light to some of the Administrations plans.

The Board should develop as strong a mistrust of the information given to them by the administration - as the community has developed a mistrust of information from that source.

When will a leader of the Board stand up and at least switch the meeting to a more appropriate room?

When will a leader stand up and put an end to the administration supplying wrong and ever changing printed material about District finances? This wrong information was not presented by accident - it took effort to prepare! Certainly this doesn't belong in a Board package - it makes them look like mindless jackasses! Whoever was responsible should be let go from the District.

Ed.

[irishman]

Old Irish saying:

When a fox is hiding among the chickens it is best to get an expert to thoroughly check the flock before you lock them up for the night!

The expert in this case had better be an Attorney familiar with School Finances, Reserve Funds, and with a name that doesn't rhyme with Rich Man.

Here's the Fox hiding among the chickens:

General Municipal Law.
Article 2 - GENERAL MUNICIPAL FINANCES
6-P - Employee benefit accrued liability reserve fund.

[thewildrover]

justfacts said:

In a Nutshell!


When will a leader of the Board stand up and at least switch the meeting to a more appropriate room?

When will a leader stand up and put an end to the administration supplying wrong and ever changing printed material about District finances?
Ed.

One more hypothetical: When will a leader stand up and allow members of the community to speak at the end of the meeting?

There was time allotted for “agenda only” topics to be discussed. No time for “Non-agenda” items.

Even though EVERY BOE member and administrator knew that there would be no occasion to speak at all at tonight’s meeting due to “retirement ceremonies”.

A community member was left standing, unable to publicly ask his question, to the amusement of the BOE president and Dr. Richman, who seemed to have something caught in his throat.

Not one BOE member had the courage of their convictions to speak up, and allow the man to state his piece, even though they knew that there would be no occasion for the community to address them again until July.

Disappointing, not surprising.

Regarding emailgate:

This is JMHO, based on conversations with the principal’s involved, independent individuals and my experience in such things.

Someone in the district administration had to have, in fact, physically and purposely re-route email from one persons address to another. That’s where the possibility of criminality lies.

The BOE member that, IMO, inadvertently received another’s e-mail was an un-witting participant in this public disgrace. Based on the information I have been able to ascertain, I find her account plausible.

FP, minimally an “aggrieved party”, is in the possession of a huge ax in which to grind with the administration. It was emails addressed to him that were re-directed, again in MHO, purposely.

How did this happen, why was this done?

This Administrations attempt at an answer was sorrowful.

Nor do they react to the communities desire for a clarified response.

If there were nothing to secrete, why not stop the obfuscation, present a reasonable explanation and thereby stop this distraction.

Instead, they exacerbate the interested parties opinion that they are stonewalling, by not allowing folks to speak “off agenda” at the only meeting this month that would provide an opportunity to speak.

Again, how did this happen, why was this done?

Absent a reasonable, plausible explanation by the Administration, a competent, complete and independent investigation would be the only avenue to pursue that could answer these questions.

Patriot, I will stand shoulder to shoulder with you my bro.

[Go Plainedge!]

Wild:

To add......

Why wouldn't someone want to publicly come forward and explain the situation to "clear" their name IF they were innocent? I know if I was NOT guilty of something I was being accused of and it tarnished my reputation in the community, I would make every effort to clear it up.

No one has done so. This leads me to believe there could be more to the story. They're all hoping the situation disappears.

Perhaps I'm being too judgmental, but for someone to receive that many emails and NOT say anything to anyone speaks volumes about the situation....imo.....not to mention the person that ordered the BCC!

This whole thing wreaks of intentional eavesdropping and there is too much of a cover-up going on.

[concerned]

I didn't attend the meeting but I do have a couple questions:

1. Is there any truth to Dr. Richman not being the superintendent? The reasons don't concern me as much as I'm wondering if what the neighbors are discussing is true....he's leaving?!

2. What exactly happened at last week's board meeting? Did anyone take minutes?

Concerned