Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Video of Changed Meetings
As mentioned below, there was talk of not being able to video tape the meetings that are going to be in different buildings in the District. At the meeting last night the Board approved moving 3 future Board meetings to 3 different buildings in the District. Vic Potter & John Coulter brought up the importance of the meetings being on video. Joyce Phillips responded that - We will try our hardest to get the meetings on tape - not word for word, but real close to that statement. We just wanted to update what we know now after posting that original blog entry earlier in the week.
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77 comments:
I am absolutely against Darlene Neidlinger running for school board. I nominate Mike Rio and suggest we put him onto the quiz.
I know Mike Rio well and he would be an excellent candidate for the school board. I am not sure if the fact that he is a teacher at Harper Creek would be a problem. He also teaches for WMU. Also he is an MHS alumni and knows many staff members, including myself.
I hope the meetings do get videotaped and shown on cable access. I am sure the good doctor wants to present meetings that show only "positive" things and do not have any criticism or controversy. Since there are no board members left that are likely to ask tough questions, the people of Marshall will have to show up and ask the tough questions themselves.
I cannot express how important I feel the video taping is to Marshall. There are too many things lost in just reading the board minutes. I suggest we find someone who will show up and video tape just in case the School Board doesn't remember they expressed the importance also.
Joyce's threats of legal action have been successful in quieting many critics and discouraging people from speaking out. If you notice there are not many "letters to the editor" or people speaking up any more at board meetings. Joyce has scared the staff and community from speaking out through intimidation and threats. This has even further outraged the staff and community against her! She needs to be fired soon so we can get the Marshall schools back to normal. The situation that Joyce has created is very harmful and damaging to the Marshall schools. This situation should not be tolerated any longer! Her articles in the paper are a waste of time because "actions speak louder than words."
I would support Mike Rio for school board.
I would also support citizens such as Ian Schnaitman and Steve Sachs. To my knowledge, and history of attending board meetings, I would say that these folks are the only few who have really spoke up and had the courage to publicly do what is right. Therefore, I cannot support the other candidates but would gladly cast my vote for any of those three. Have any announced their intentions?
Ian would be an excellent choice but it's already been mentioned that he cannot run. I was told that Mike Rio will run in the election. I would vote for Steve also if he were to run but I doubt he would.
Ian would be an excellent choice but it's already been mentioned that he cannot run. I was told that Mike Rio will run in the election. I would vote for Steve also if he were to run but I doubt he would.
I called Mike Rio today and asked him if he was considering running for the school board. He said he was flattered at the interest but was not sure how that might work since he teaches at Harper Creek High School. He did not rule it out but he said he was not planning on it either.
The new poll about the bond I think is somewhat inaccurate as far as claiming our taxes will not be raised. If the current millage is set to expire and we vote for a new one to replace it, even at the same rate, in effect it is of course a tax increase. Without the new millage our taxes would be lower. I will support a bond that is reasonable when we get a new Superintendent. Until then I will not support JP with my vote!
I agree! The lack of enthusiasm is sad and it all goes back to the numerous problems at the top. Normally there would be community-wide excitement at the prospect of a significant MHS improvement. With all of the mistrust and other issues almost everyone I know is either against the bond outright or lack enthusiasm until there is new leadership at the top. Change is definately needed at the top. I predict that even this very modest bond designed to score a victory for Superintendent Phillips is in jeopardy because of the lack of trust and support in her leadership. If it fails, she should be promptly fired, if not before.
There are already numerous reasons why she should have been fired long before now! Even with two new school board members it will be difficult to reign her in. Sam and Bob ran into the problem of being "stonewalled" at the board meetings and that frustration is, perhaps, what keeps them from considering running again. As for the bond issue...we need some letters to the editor of the Chronicle and the Enquirer to remind people of the disastrous leadership at MPS. JP's reign of terror continues as we speak....good people are being hurt right now!!!! They deserve better and so do our kids.
Friends of Vic, Janice and Paul have told me that they are very confident that there will not be any significant opposition to JP because so far there have been hardly any letters to the editor or people speaking out at school board meetings since the fall. They still view the opposition as being from the teaching staff, support staff, parents groups and the "Restore Foreman" supporters. They think most everyone else in town either supports them or does not care. They did acknowledge the opposition from the MPS staff was the biggest threat, but they feel they have that neutralized through threats, fear, intimidation and threats of legal action against critics. The "Restore Foreman" supporters were betrayed as they attempted to work with the school board in the summer and fall (they largely suspended their public information of the mishandling of the case) in return for a reasonable compromise (such as the tenure charges being dropped). In this case some board leaders put up a false front that they would find a reasonable solution to the problem if everyone backed off and worked together. Then they and Joyce betrayed them and moved full-forward on the tenure charges with a very weak case at best (their star witness has been proven to be lying in this case) at great expense ($250,000+) to the district. This was done despite strong evidence that Mr. Foreman is innocent and the fact the charges had been dropped and there was no connection to the schools. At the same time they bend over backwards to cover up all of Joyce's known scandals, problems, failures and lies! Therefore the current Marshall school board and Joyce cannot and should not be trusted! They will tell people what they want to hear and then go do the opposite. They think they can get away with anything and have proven this over and over. Joyce and Amy deserve to be fired and most of the board needs to be replaced through election or recall. Ultimately the Marshall students, parents, staff and community have been betrayed and harmed by this leadership. This should not be allowed to continue to get away with this nonsense any longer!
Those of us who graduated from MHS is the last two years know full well the facts of the Foreman case and how Mr. Foreman is innocent and was falsely charged by Dr. Phillips. I am sure that Dr. Phillips also knows that Erica Hisler lied and that it was not Mr. Foreman but Erica's parents who are known to have served alcohol to minors, not just once but on many many occasions. These are the people who are friends with Dr. Phillips and the school board leaders. The good are victims while the bad get away because of who their friends are. This is not fair! I am not proud of being from Marshall because of this. I am so embarrassed for my town and the school system I grew up in. I feel very bad for all that Mr. Foreman, a great person and teacher, and his family have gone through because of Dr. Phillips. I would not vote for any bond for this Superintendent. I hope no one else does either.
Does anynone actually know how JKP's "periodic evaluation" came out? I've not seen anything in the papers nor was anything mentioned at the school board meeting. She has already begun her new reign of terror after being in somewhat of a check for a month or so. She must have gotten a green light to continue her intimidation and threats, otherwise we would have seen some negative remarks regarding her evaluation. I'm sure the statement that Vic made was through Joyce and Ali's direction. Also, I would like to see the surveys done by the MPS employees printed in the newspaper. That would certainly give the public an idea as to the confidence level of the staff in their leadership.
I wonder if anyone on the board has actually looked at the harassment policy that they've approved. Joyce violates that on a daily basis. Who does one report harassment to. Vic and Brian are out of the question, both would breech confidentiality and continued harassment would occur. I wonder if there is anyone at the state level that would be able to help us, any advice?
"Not disgruntled, just threatened"
At most Joyce may have received some minor criticism from maybe Dan or Chris. John may agree but I doubt he stood up to her. The rest of the board made sure she got a good evaluation. I think things have gone from bad to worse at the board level. I do not think they will do anything against Joyce's reign of abuse, lies and failures.
If two good candidates defeat Vic and Janice and the bond fails, that will send a powerful message to Joyce and the remaining board members. The sad fact is this will take until May for the vote and the new board members do not go on until July.
There is not much hope for a good 2007 for the Marshall schools. The great teachers and staff will do their best despite strong opposition from the top. The parents long for change too! If the "Kids First" campaign succeeds, it will still likely take over 1-2 years, just enough time for Joyce to rake in big bucks, qualify for us to pay her second (Michigan) retirement for decades to come and do far more damage to the Marshall schools. If Joyce can be demoted and forced out, we can save big $$$$ and turn things around for the better much faster! Does anyone have any ideas to turn the Marshall schools around faster?
We need to look at the top three and find away to make OUR school a better place for all. The last time I checked the majority rules. The majority has spoken and it is very clear that the leadership is not doing what is best for OUR school. If the current board is not doing what is needed to change the problems then we vote them out. We need people with commonsense and that are not easily swayed by a little southern draw. I am tired of seeing the teacher's, support staff and other "lessor admin" being bullied by the three way tag team. It is total recall time people.
JP and Amy have put into place people directly under them that always seem to be in the right place at the right time. (ie...will say exactly what Amy and JP want to be said...loyal witness...???) The corruption starts with JP, Amy and Brian but it does trickle down to 4-5 supervisory personnel that answer directly to them. This enables them to harrass at will.
In answer to the updated harrassment policy I keep re-reading it and it appears that any action by any employee (that does include Amy, Joyce and Brian) that prohibits an employee from doing their jobs is harrassment. The problem I do see is - You guessed it...you have to report to Brian, Vic or JP. So, yes, you are virtually putting a bullseye on your own forehead saying 'harrass me more'.
We have now, again this week, one of the kindest, warmest, most helpful and wonderful employees that have been harrassed to the point of needing help to deal with it. Doctors in this town are aware of the problem but perhaps we need to enlighten them even more.
I encourage you to look at the article in this weeks Chronicle. When will jp quit thanking the Frankes, the Board, the foundations, etc. and maybe once thank the awesome staff at MPS. Actually, if she finally did thank the employees it would not just look like more of her PR CAMPAIGN FOR A BETTERMENT FOR PHILLIPS. Do not trust speaking to Vic...ever. You should be contacting John, Dan, Ali, Chris and perhaps even Paul. In late December Vic indicated ONLY A COUPLE EMPLOYEES HAVE EVER SPOKE TO HIM REGARDING PROBLEMS WITH JP. Is that about the most hilarious thing you have heard this year?
JPs powerbase is the Frankes and the board. Who else do you expcet her to thank? Everyone else wants to see her gone!!!
Has Dr. Phillips launched any of her threatened lawsuits yet against the teachers, Steve Sachs or the Chronicle? The Marshall Public Schools may be facing one or more lawsuits this coming year due to the nasty actions of Phillips.
I just hope whoever runs for the school board works towards developing a cohesive team for our district focusing on curriculum and achievement. I guess that would mean to eliminate Dr. Phillips from the mix.
... and Brian and Amy!
If the millage failed, should Dr. Phillips be fired? Should she be fired or demoted either way? Share views why or why not?
She deserves to be fired either way. But if the millage failed that would be a big blow to her and her supporters on the school board.
What's up with MHS? Every teacher, coach and other employee I have ever talked to said that they were under attack by the Superintendent. Apparently she does not like the high school or anyone who works there. I think some new school board members are needed. We definately need a new Superintendent. The high school needs remodeling bad, but I do not know of anyone who will vote for another bond until we get some new people in charge.
Management by Intimidation. Heartless bosses do not care about their employees...but they do care about their bosses...the school board. Each and every school employees works hard for our schools and our children. The endless dumb things that Vic Potter says to back his buddy supt. joyce make it more difficult to do the jobs each MPS employee has been hired to do. They jobs they have true passions for...working with this communities children. Please get 2 canidates to run or this school system will end up in much worse condition than it is in now - which is at an ALL TIME LOW. Unless you are connected with someone working in the school system you may find yourself MISLED by the good doctor and her friend Vic. The opinions of 152 employees vs. the opinion of Vic and Joyce....Hum?????
I watched the last school board meeting on TV. Joyce and the board put on a good act as if everything was ok and there were no problems to deal with. Of course the entire community knows that there are major problems and that the Marshall Schools are being laughed at by surrounding communities because of our awful Superintendent. I do not trust the current school board enough to vote for any bond. They discussed how the wording would allude that taxes were not going up. Well if a bond is scheduled to end and a new one is voted in, then what is it called if not a tax increase? We need honesty, cooperation and good leadership!
I watched the last school board meeting too. Dr. Phillips, Amy Jones and the school board were all smiley and chummy. If this is all you knew everything would look all hunky dory. No one spoke up any complaints that I saw. Marsha Lambert did thank and praise the school board members for their service. I know she had to do this and could not select just the deserving school board members for such praise. Unless some citizens who are not MPS staffers get involved publicly (run for board, write letters to the paper, speak out at board meetings), they will succeed at ignoring and doing nothing to address the main issues and problems in our school district.
Face it, the Marshall school board cares little to nothing about the MPS staff (a few minor exceptions). Even the "good" school board members so far have not done much about JP or the other major problems in the school district. The board is well aware of community discontent and they do not care about that either. What if the bond fails because of JP? JP could care less and the board knows the bond is at risk in large part because of her. Someone said the school board is mainly interested in what JP wants and serving her needs first. The more I learn and talk to people in Marshall, the more I think this is very true.
But the fact was clearly stated above. The board meetings now have requirements to showcase anything positive. It is like putting together a show getting ready for production...board meeting monday. In the past those were spontaneous highlights...now a perfect picture must be portrayed so that the portion of the community that is not directly involved can be deceived. This in hand with the chronicle articles...which on surface sound great - unless of course you have knowledge of MPS and what is really going on. Then we call it deception. It is going to be a very sad four years if Vic and Janice are not replaced on the board. This board has been crippled by lies and deception. New blood is essential to get the wheels turning again. Enough of the 'boiler/bathroom' 'roller coaster' articles. If anyone can relate to roller coaster it would be the employees that are managed by jp and her friend amy. Although in truth - there are alot more 400' drops for employees than there are wonderful anticipated climbs to the top! Makes you want to read about that darn foot surgery again...you know what I mean? I'd beg you to contact board members but I am tired of hearing how they just appease then discard what you say! TIME FOR CHANGE! PRO-ACTION IS HERE. TWO CONCERNED CITIZENS ARE GRAVELY NEEDED TO HELP THIS BOARD TURN A CORNER ON A NEW CHAPTER FOR MPS! Let's make the main thing the main thing again....Let's put kids first and make the line jumper joyce go to the end of the line...or better yet...let's evict her from the adventure park! No refunds, no returns!
Joyce was clearly unqualified when she was hired to be the Marshall schools Superintendent. It is quite evident in her methods of leadership, as someone who has never even been a building Principal. Also it was learned after the fact that her previous school district was quite eager to get rid of her so we were on the losing end of that deal. Now this bizzarre story continues with one failure or scandal after another. Dishonesty reigns while the district suffer. We cannot tolerate this much longer.
Does jp get the 9% salary increase each of the years her contract has been extended? I am very curious as employees have once again taken 1/2% (1st 6 months) 1% (2nd 6 months). With SOMEONE balancing the 06-07 budget based on 'PROJECTED STUDENT STATE AID' instead of Actual Student State Aid - meetings are starting this Friday for budget cut ideas from administrators. If the good doctor gets any kind of raise from this board this spring I believe each one OKing any kind of raise for her should be put under recall notice. It is a traveisty that anyone in this district with any elementary knowledge of what we have gone through for the past five years would have even considered giving the newcome a SALARY ADJUSTMENT. That 9% increase in salary is almost the same as a 12 month - 8 hour a day - custodial position pays in Marshall Schools. Doesn't anyone see a problem with the decisions that board made. Aside from Sam and Bob - who had enough brains to understand what our district has been going through financially. Stay tuned for those cuts that are going to be discussed tomorrow.
We need Sam and Bob back badly! Or others at least as wise, honest, caring and brave in defense of the Marshall schools! "Kids first", not "Joyce First!"?
I believe the raise was 3%, then 3% the next year and 3% the next.....that's 9% total. It's still way too much considering all the other bennies.
I thought it was 9% the first year followed by another 9% this year. I know that Joyce brought them some bogus information comparing Marshall Supt. pay much larger and better-run districts like Lakeview and Portage. She thinks she should be making about $140,000 per year! Now imagine that she was in fact honest, competent, trusted, respectedcaring and overall an excellent leader. That would still be too high! She is in fact none of these!
Also the shady retirement and other perks handed out to her by her close friends on the school board are a crime. If she stays for 5 years we will all be paying her second Michigan retirement for decades to come. How can she get a second Michigan retirement? She is getting 5 years bought for her (Why is this allowed?) so she will be vested with ten years in just five years. Who would approve such a pay package for an out-of-state lousy Superintendent? No comment!
The way Michigan finanances retirements the district they work for has to pay a big share. Yes, that's us! How can we avoid this? Fire her soon before she gets 5 years in and vested. She does not deserve a second retirement paid for by Marshall and she certainly deserves to be fired for many reasons. Let's hope the Marshall School Board wises up, as some have, and takes the actions needed to improve our schools.
Vic and Janice were major supporters in the salary adjustment and 9% pay salary increase.
I will quote May 15, 2006 Chronicle. "Phillips salary will go up 3% from $103,530 to $108,100 with an additional $5,384 service credit for a $9,954 raise in each of the next two years, subject, however, to an unsatisfactory performance review. Additionally, she will receive 7% of her salary each year into a retirement savings account, pluls cash in lieu of health benefits (about $11,892) and car allowance."
Sam is quoted (in 5/15/06 Chronicle) "The board's been firm on cost neutrality" said Ramon in his objection to the raise. "We talked about leadership by example and as a board, we have to realize this is precedent setting, if we're looking at a 9% increase, I think you're going to have employees looking at the same increase."
Bob Lyng recommended only a one year. But, Janice said "the board should show its confidence in Phillips. Giving her the two years is giving her the trust that the job she's doing is the right job." said Darling, who added that paying a healthy superintendent wage makes the district look attractive to future superintendnet prospects."
Now a quote from the same 5/15/06 Chronicle from Vic: "Phillips has had two good reviews and 'we've got to treat our superintendent's right. We need to put her on the high end to show that we appreciate her."
Now, looking back does joyce's actions justify this positive treatment?
Remember: Vic and Janice and their support for probably the worst superintendent Marshall has ever had. We must find opposition to Vic and Janice before these two individuals totally vote to misappropriate anymore funds towards the PHILLIPS FIRST drive!
How the wisdom of Sam and Bob are missed!
Possibly we now know better why Sam and Bob decided not to run again. They knew they too would have to stand by the raise OK'd by the 5-2 vote in April 2006 and they were also aware of the issues being expressed by MPS staffers. The board can pretend they did not know issues existed but that is not true. Now what will they do?
I have talked to dozens of people who have brought problems to the attention of school board members. A few listened and seemed to care (Dan, John and Chris). The rest either said they were surprised that the issue existed (even if it was known they had been informed many times before), or that the issue was blown out of proportion by disgruntled employees, upset parents or Foreman supporters, or that they would consult Joyce as to how they should think on that issue (the last one is a joke, but in many ways true).
We are cursed! How sad. :-(
Maybe the curse will be lifted soon and the good doctor will go off to retirement in Hoosierland! Wouldn't that be a great blessing in 2007?
The key word in the comment further up is some board members "seemed to care". They have had plenty of time to show some leadership, they haven't and they have been told, specifically, what is going on by numerous staffers. There is no excuse at this point.
I know that the Marshall School Board is under pressure with all the current problems. I heard they are considering some changes that may include Dr. Phillips departure. I think they would prefer that she resign so they do not have to go through public efforts to fire her. We will see what happens.
Sounds too good to be true, I used to believe in Santa Claus too. Sorry for the sarcasm, but I'll believe it when I see it.
Several board members will complain all over town about Joyce but I doubt they are actually doing much about it. The board appears leaderless at this time. The 7-0 rubber stamps of anything Joyce wants is getting nauseating. There has not been any real discussion or debate in about anything since Sam and Bob left. As Bob said, that is how we know what people are thinking and share ideas, which is ok! I hope some good leaders decide to run by next week or else we only will have further decline to look forward to.
I have come to the conclusion that only those who have to work directly have or care to get any actual facts regarding the reign of terror that our board is seeming to allow. I am repulsed at the inaction following a survey done by union members. Seems the opinions of 7, out of touch, board members is discrediting the opinions of 152 on the job employees. This is nothing short of a slap in the face. I would feel different if I had not had to watch the lip service followed by NO BOARD MEMBER ENTERING MY BUILDING ASKING ANY EMPLOYEE ANY QUESTIONS. Enough of the 'no employees have spoke to me' quotes from Vic. Vic you know better. Many employees have spoke to you...then you run to jp with what you hear. That seems to be the only action other than dumb statements like "neutralizing", "just a few disgruntled employees who should be happy they have jobs", etc. If anyone thinks the morale is going to sink lower - I would have a hard time believing it can. Also, if anyone thinks it is going to get better - let's wait until April when jp gets her 9-10% raise again. FOIA that contract. Once again - LET DOWN BY AN OUT OF TOUCH BOARD - Let's just pay her more money so she knows we have confidence in her....RIGHT! And, because we HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN HER - and we work for a leader we have no confidence in - we should be paying her large amounts of money....????? why again? Because she has the board fooled with her double talk!
Joyce, quit hurting my property values. Some of us plan to stay in Marshall and not leave in the near future.
I wonder if most Marshall citizens realize the damage that has been caused to the community, including property values, by the embarrassments at the top?
If they do not know, the word is spreading fast!
I keep hearing that most of the school board is losing patience, or have lost pateince, with Dr. Phillips. They are sick and tired of all the problems and controversy surrounding her leadership. Please do not give up on the school board! They are our best hope to resolve these problems in a civil manner. Keep contacting them and sharing your concerns and problems. Even Vic and Janice may come around, if they haven't already.
Vic and Janice should not feel like they are backed in a corner and despised by the community for their support for Joyce. All will be forgiven if they just hold Joyce accountable in an honest manner. Come on Vic and Janice, we need you to do, as Vic said, "Save our Schools!"
We will find out their "true colors" when Phillips spring evaluation comes out. This year they have absolutely NO EXCUSES for not knowing about the long list of scandals and problems caused by Phillips. If they fail to hold Phillips accountable again, or worse, give her any kind of a raise or good evaluation, then I say a recall would be absolutely justified for any school board member that still supports Phillips!
We will find out their "true colors" when Phillips spring evaluation comes out. This year they have absolutely NO EXCUSES for not knowing about the long list of scandals and problems caused by Phillips. If they fail to hold Phillips accountable again, or worse, give her any kind of a raise or good evaluation, then I say a recall would be absolutely justified for any school board member that still supports Phillips!
Remember - in this town you DO NOT need a justified reason for a recall!
Does anyone know why NONE of the building Principals got any raises last year? The paper said they all got 0% while Joyce got 9%. Dave Turner was promoted so he got a raise for his promotion, but the high school and all elementary Princpals, even Joyce's friend (former friend?) Linda Bennink, received nothing. In my humble opinion, all of them do a much better job than JP.
The answer is simple. The MPS budget is tight so if they were to give a normal raise to the building Principals there would not have been so much money for such a huge raise and other expensive perks for Dr. Phillips. Duh!
What's the deal with the new group that is against MHS coaches? Are there some bad coaches? Are some parents mad their kids aren't as great of athletes as they think they are? Or some combination of both?
Mostly it is parents who are mad about their kids not getting enough play time or their kids getting yelled at by the coach. But I am sure some coaches have had a few slips of the tongue too. Think Vars BB.
Is it true that Phillips did not follow through with her attempted suspension of Hulkow in the fall because a lawyer in town (DeGraw?)called her and said her methods were illegal?
Apparently, as is typical, Joyce did not properly folllow procedures. Also it was another example of doubestandards. If Joyce likes you nothing happens no matter how bad you perform or behave. If Joyce doesn't like you, look out, she will trump up anything to go after you. She is not fair or honest.
Remember this classic moment from JP:
Chronicle: Was there any danger to students (referring to the situation where several students were expelled)?
JP: No, never, you have to trust me! (source: Marshall Chronicle)
(a few months later)
Truth: The Marshall Chronicle reported that the expelled students had been driving around Marshall High School shooting a BB gun at MHS students. At least one student is known to have been shot.
Should we still trust her? If this was one slip we can understand, but these kinds of dishonest comments have been "normal" for JP.
I think it would be in the best interest of our bus students if people started asking why the new bus supervisor has not had one emergency bus evacuation drill in way over a year.
I have heard the same thing. I would suggest calling the superintendent to voice your concern regarding why our students are not going through emergency bus drills. These are very important to the students to know what to do in case of a bus emergency. My neighbors child heard their driver get in trouble this past fall, on the bus radio, for trying to do a bus evacuation drill in the parking lot of Walters - as the supervisor had not told him/her to do one. Problem is: I have also heard these drivers have been waiting to do emergency drills for 1 1/2 years but the new bus supervisor has not scheduled them. What is the law on emergency bus practices? Shouldn't these students know the procedure in case of an accident? Isn't this part of putting kids first?
What were they thinking when they built an elementary school with no safe walking route for elementary kids? Now I hear the beautiful woods by the high school will soon be destroyed for an ugly bus garage. Aren't there any other better ideas out there?
.So it appears no one cares that none of the Marshall bus routes have had emergency evacuation drills in nearly two years because the new supervisor has not bothered to schedule them. In the past there have been at least 3 a school year. This is just another grave issue of safety that has been neglected. Kinda like that bus I see each morning running, door open, parked illegal beside Fred's gas station...and no driver on the bus. This has been brought to the attention to the bus supervisor by at least 5 people that I am aware of - but nothing. What are we waiting for - a bus jacking here in Marshall? I don't understand - if when you bring things like this to the attention of the people in charge and nothing looks like it is happening what are we thinking. I am glad my children are not bus kids.
Who do you think you are complaining of such things? Dr. J is way to busy with more important things and cannot be bothered with kids safety! She is busy preparing a new board report showing how the Superintendent of the Bloomfield Hills schools makes more than she does and she needs a big raise. Then she needs the board to give her a big raise while trying to force out as many so called "competent" staff as possible. Those smart, caring and hard working people can be such a pain sometime. Then she will be hard at work updating her "hit list" for the coming year. How about all of those scandals covered up? Thanks again to our school board leaders who protect her. She could give a hoot if the bond passes, as long as her raises go through. The second "Marshall" retirement will be nice. How much will that take out of future school budgets for no good reason into the future? Hundreds of thousands? Do the board realize what they have approved if she stays five years and gets paid for the next 30? Most likely, no! She has ordered Vic and Janice and other supporters to give her another good performance review (no matter how bad her performance is!)and to help her blast all critics. And of course she has to call whoever is supposed to write her weekly column to get a copy to make sure it in no way reflects what she really does or the truth of true intentions. Now if a miracle occured and she were removed before she can get five years in, that would save hundreds of thousands for "the kids."
Amen to above...that would bring renewed meaning to "Kids First"...actually it will probably give a real boost to the already decades of 'Marshall - Excellence in Education'. I feel absolutely sick when I think of all the issues that have been taken to board members and they can only do this --- say --- 'we are looking into it..working on it, etc.' Well it looks like by the time they actually do anything positive for the schools it will be far to late.
Has there been even one vote since July (after Sam and Bob left) where there was any real debate or disagreement? Has there been even one vote since July that was not a 7-0 rubber stamp for JP?
I've watched every school board meeting for the past number of years and there has been only 1 or 2 times in which there were any no votes on any issue. One had to do with Ali and her not being able to attend a scheduled meeting which the others wanted to change. Other than that, I can't remember any others. If someone can verify that for me, I'd appreciate it. It is actually very pathetic. By the way...thanks Joyce for running off the best principal in Marshall Public Schools. Ron, we will surely miss you.
Joyce has been trying to get rid of Ron since she arrived. Why? Because he is an excellent Principal that did not blindly carry out her moronic directives? He is a far better qualified administrator than Joyce (who was never even a Principal!). Look at her supporters on the school board and see if you can figure out which one(s) wanted a personal vendetta carried out (some just foolishly follow anything dumb thing Joyce says). Yes, that is what is happening. A sort of hit list existed the day Joyce arrived. Joyce enthusiastically expanded it. A "hidden" agenda is also being carried out by some board members out for revenge. Not all of them of course, but there are a few from their old anti-Redskin and anti-Lou days that lust for revenge. This must be stopped before they cause further damage to the Marshall schools. They have already caused an enormous amount of problems, scandals and embarrassments already.
They are on a power trip and use Joyce, or vice versa, to go after anyone they do not like for any lame reason. It appears that Joyce and the school board are on a power trip to fire or intimidate as many people as possible in their efforts for supreme control. They are clueless about real educational reforms and improvements. The board members avoid contact and discussion of real school issues and problems. It is all about politics and appearance. These are the worst kinds of motives and reasons for making crucial decisions. At the same time real issues and problems get worse as they are swept under a rug. Many good people are persecuted while fools are rewarded handsomely.
When Bob Lyng spoke out at his last school board meeting that there were major problems not being addressed, including the board acting as if they work for Phillips and not the other way around, I thought a pro-Phillips board member was going to jump over the table and attack him. Not literally of course, but if looks could kill.... maybe three or four of them would have. Apparently they were angry because they must think they do work for Phillips!
Maybe they were angry because Bob was exposing some of the lies and deceipt that had been going on. We know the board majority tried to cover up all the mess and board members were asked to lie about the insurance scandal to protect Dr. Phillips.
I am sick of phony politics, lies, meaness, corruption, harrassment and overall bad leadership. Wake up school board!!! We need you to take action and do something right!!!
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