There, We See That Word "Authority" Again

Florida & Tampa Bay schools blog - The Gradebook


Can you believe it? Some kids figured out that there were a few reasons why teacher/student sex was something to be more than overlooked or given the secret high-fives. There has been more bending over one's back than seen at a nudie bar to sidestep this issue.

Even though one judge came right out and said:

PRO on HCPS: Ding, Lady Justice is Done: "Click Here:Judge defends probation for teacher in sex case - St. Petersburg Times:

'....He said from the bench that the victim, then 16 and borderline mentally retarded, according to prosecutors, was probably the more mature and less vulnerable of the two."

The important word for everyone to see in all of this is "authority". They are responsible for the law, also.

How Sometimes Trite Comments Obtain Stronger Content

If you have been following the case of Joel Chandler, then this case might interest you.

One article about the Venice case can be found here, with the below quote:

That guy filing suit isn't really the story | HeraldTribune.com | Sarasota Florida | Southwest Florida's Information Leader:

"'A Sunshine Law violation is a Sunshine Law violation, whether alleged by a convicted felon or a nursery school teacher.'"

You can do your own research to get up to speed, but I just couldn't help seeing the irony in someone using a nursery school teacher as it's intended representation right after we have this:

Tearful suspect in California girl's slaying appears in court - CNN.com:

"The Sunday school teacher's lip quivered and a single tear rolled down her cheek as the judge read special circumstances alleged against her -- that the murder was committed in conjunction with a kidnapping, the performance of a lewd and lascivious act upon a child, and rape by instrument."

Maybe It Is The Public Who Is Tired Of The "Untrue Statements"

Maryland Daily Record:

"SALISBURY — In her final State of the City address, Salisbury Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman warned residents of what she sees as a great danger to the city: malicious bloggers.
Tilghman said in her address Thursday that over the last five years, the presence of a small group of suspicious, mean-spirited people focused on the negative has grown, endangering the city's vitality.
Tilghman says some people are avoiding serving their city because it's not worth chancing the scorn of bloggers. But Tilghman says they need to stand up for the city........."


It seems like the establishment doesn't like the fact that technology provides a medium for differing opinions. It should be noted that "suspicious, mean-spirited people focused on the negative" may or may not be dealing with the truth to the same degree that "the establishment" may or may not be dealing with the truth. Each should be held to the same standard.

Here in the Hillsborough County Public Schools, there is a growing concern within the administration to develop some method to curb those "suspicious, mean-spirited people".

"I'm tired of hearing what a bad job we're doing," she said. "We do a great job, and people need to have more access to what we're doing."

Also, there was a message to The Gradebook to censor the public comments:
Florida & Tampa Bay schools blog - The Gradebook:

"When talking to school board members from across Florida the other day, I heard many gripes that blogs, including ours, weaken our content by allowing untrue reader comments to remain published as if they were true. They also didn't like the hateful things that many readers say."

The local Hillsborough Association of School Administrators is working on how to stifle those "suspicious, mean-spirited people" too, found here on page two, second paragraph:

"....One topic could be the current trend toward circumventing the school
district’s Grievance Procedure and how to deal with visitors to School Board meetings who attempt to malign our administrators in public. Dr. Miliziano gave a brief history of the three-part grievance procedure and its purpose.


What about the public that is tired of hearing "untrue administration comments"?

Psst - Hey - I Am Not Mentioning Any Names, But Joel Is A Troublemaker

For those who don't get the significance of how big public education is out of control, you must openly understand the significance of what is playing out on the "I Am Troublemaker Blog". You must move past the knee jerk reaction that is apparent from the outcry that has risen, and understand the vapidity of the arguments against his actions. Those who are arguing against him may have a valid reason and Mr. Chandler is on the record as recognizing those reasons, but it is fruitless to bark up a tree where there is no varmint.

I was drawn to this sequence of events because I am familiar with how the public school system abuses it's power and authority. At first glance, this was just another incident where the public school system simply ignores a nuisance on a whim.


After you read my comments below, check out this post:

A letter from Gail....

At first I was curious as to what happened to the rest of the letter. Having read enough of Mr. Chandler's writings, I assumed that there was no need for us to read the rest of the letter. Therefore, the message was already there.

I think I got it. It's like a school yard game where some kid says "I'm not mentioning any names, but Joel is a troublemaker".

Ms. McKinzie wrote a letter to "all school board employees" that clearly outlines that the Court agreed and entered a second Order that," ...... directed that Mr. Chander's name should not be used in internal communications from PCSB to its employees made under its exemption determination procedures".


If you note the date of the letter and then compare that date to the e-mail from a school employee found here:Norma’s Caper, one could easily assume that the employee e-mail was triggered by the Superintendent's letter.

If you read and paid attention to the Superintendent's letter, you can see where she actually made reference to the fact that the reason Mr. Chandler was requesting that his name not be associated with any direct communication is because the burden of determining exemptions is regulated by statute and not by the Court system.

For those who are having trouble with the significance with that statement, I would strongly point out at this point that the the burden of determining exemptions along with the system's legal responsibility to address legal public records requests are not based on Mr. Chandler's public records request. But, all of a sudden it sure appears that way.


I write frequently on my other blogs about the arrogance with ignorance within the public school system. This just may be another example. Time will tell.

Tell Me It Ain't So

There must be some mistake.

Not the part about the plot to abolish the state's Class Size Reduction. It's the part about the local administrators spending money with no accountability.

Some one help me out on this one.

Ad Watch: Teachers union touts wrong budget premise - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee:

"The deceptive plan could permanently increase class sizes, and provides no accountability to ensure local administrators spend the money in the classroom.

Politics, Business and maybe some Education

I may be losing the argument that public education is "Big business".

Maybe I could jump over to the wagon that carries the sign "Big government". The government "giveth", and the government "taketh" away.

Money talks, or maybe it is no money means shut up:


Crist vetoes cuts to teacher bonuses

No money, no bill

And the fact that a public school system is going to be required to keep the public informed is uh, uh, oh yeah, "suspension of reality" or something to that effect.

Florida bill would tackle teacher turnover:

"HB 355 would also require that Florida parents be informed of their school's turnover rate. And it would set up a new state program, the Florida Teacher Induction Initiative, to offer more support to new teachers."

The way numbers are obfuscated and massaged, we might as well play "For one million dollars, if you guess the number I have in my mind, you win."

Back in the day when I really cared and thought I could make a difference, one of the bits of information I provided to the HCPS Superintendent's Advisory Council on Special Education was all of the facts about the needs of support for new teachers and why a lot of them quit within three years. If you think it is bad for regular ed teachers, just think what it's like for SpEd teachers having to deal with those special kids and those special parents and that special paper work. No one seemed to care about the research already done, but "they" (the HCPS SACSE district people) did form a sub committee to do their own "research". They may even still have the "teacher recruitment/retention" subcommitte. Who knows.

I have been thinking. After my previous post about a Superintendent's contract, what I should have done, starting in 1990, was to have lobbied my school board to put an incentive clause in the contract about deaf/blind kids. Wished I had thought of that back then. I might not be such a malcontent now.

There Is Money In Them Thar' Contracts

Click here for EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT FOR SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY - JULY 2005 -JULY 2008

Does anyone have a copy of the current contract? I don't want to provide misinformation that may lead to anger and ugliness.


It is interesting to see how these numbers interact with each other. I bet it is more interesting to see how the professional educators interact with each other when they are in control of manipulating one side of these numbers, which of course effects the number on the other side of the equation.


Has there really been an increase in the number of minorities that are participating in TIP and Key Scholars programs? Was there a sharp increase?

Would the discussion of these numbers have any connection with the discussion found here?

Underground PR program

One way to keep the public out of the Public School System is to limit the public's understanding of the inter workings of the system.

Getting rid of bloggers is another way.



HILLSBOROUGH ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS
MARCH 2004 NEWSLETTER

"An email tree of personal home email addresses is being constructed so that politically sensitive information can be transmitted to our members without fear of transgressing on any state or local rules or regulations prohibiting such transmissions."

The Trouble Of Exposing The System

For some reason, I decided to follow the links connected to the below cited blog. After I read the opening statement, I do what I usually do with blogs of interest to me, and that is to go back and read the very first post.

It is about Joel Chandler and what happened after he made a Public Records Request. Apparently, he was following the law, and expected the School Board of Polk County to do the same.

Here is the link, and I selected a few comments that some may find interesting:


I am...


How it started:
In the beginning...

"....The meeting was conducted with all four of us present. The purpose of the meeting was to address the violations of Florida Public Records laws in my PRR from a couple of weeks earlier. I was polite but direct. I presented to Dr. McKinzie what I perceived to be a simple choice: either her staff acted out of ignorance or there was a deliberate policy of violating Florida law. She rejected both suggestions and rather emphatically stated that my experience had been an aberration and that it was non-normative. She assured me that it would not happen again."""""

***********
Almost a year later, to test the above assertion that the above event was what might be commonly called "an isolated incident", Mr. Chandler writes on his second post the next events. Which lead us to his third post:


The lawsuit...:

"Obviously, Mr. Conner acknowledges on the record that the PCSB knew that there was no basis in law for denying my request. Further, he admitted, on the record, that the only reason the PCSB did not produce the records was that they did not want me to have them.


I believe this is the “smoking gun” regarding the criminality of the actions of the PCSB and Gail McKinzie. They knowingly refused to comply with a legal request for non-exempt public records. They knowingly frustrated my efforts to see these records even though they knew I was entitled to them. Their actions were conscious and deliberate. It seems clear that with the benefit of counsel and months of planning they orchestrated a series of hurtles and roadblocks to my obtaining these non-exempt records."

Interested persons should read this blog and follow the links found in different posts.

Upcoming Advocacy Training

index: "Upcoming Advocacy Trainings
Click Here for further information.


Level One

Friday, February 20, 2009

6:00-9:00pm

USF in Tampa



Level Two Advanced Advocacy Training

Saturday and Sunday, February 21 & 22, 2009

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

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Sponsored by: Families of Kids with

Mood & Anxiety Disorders, Inc."

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