It's good to see that The Marshall Chronicle has also realized how great of a tool a blog can be! Check it out with the following link: Chronicle Advisor Blog
The most recent posting is "How would you review Dr. Joyce Phillips' leadership?"
Head on over to their blog and post away on how you think she should be reviewed?"
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26 comments:
That will be another forum to share views. Having talked to dozens of staff, parents and other concerned citizens around town these last few months, I would gage Supt. Phillips support at about 2 percent. I have never heard of such an unpopular, distrusted and disliked Superintendent keeping their job this long. The school board will have two options next week. If they keep Phillips and give her a good (grossly undeserved) job review, then they are voting for more divisiveness, problems, anger, controversy and scandals for the Marshall schools.
If however, they vote to remove or demote Phillips, they will be heroes and will find that they have very strong community and staff support to find a good Superintendent, pass the bonds and work together for many positive changes. Will the future be dark and ugly or bright and happy? We will find out soon.
The school board has only one good option, and that is to remove Dr. Phillips as the MPS Superintendent. That is the only option that will be good for the Marshall schools. There is very very strong support in Marshall for her removal. There is ample evidence to remove her without having to pay off her contract. We are sick of her meaness, lies, investigations, directives and cruelty. She cares nothing about Marshall. We will miss you Ron Behrenwald! All of her other victims are not forgotten either! Our kids deserve much better!
Don't give up on the Board. Wait until after the Tuesday 3/27 evaluation. Alot is depending on what action they take if any.
The Marshall school board have absolutely no valid reasons to keep supporting Joyce. They have everything to gain if they remove her somehow. The future of the Marshall Schools is at stake here!
If the reason the board supports joyce is due to a sound fund equity why is she receiving positive marks for that? That would fall under the Finance Director and all those employees that make sure that happens. I was not aware of joyce's input other than she runs employees off and replaces them with NO EXPERIENCE staffers - yes this is a savings of sort. So we would truly be rewarding her vindictiveness by retaining her. Uuuuummmm - so in order to get raises in Marshall all we have to do is cause harm to others...make them leave...then we would be reciprocated! What a philosophy!
Any idiot can improve the fund equity, all you have to do is make cuts that makes things worse for students (eg Joyce forcing 80 students out of classes they wanted or needed 2 weeks into the semester to save a few dollars for herself). A monkey could be Supt. of the Marshall schools and Marshall would still have top test scores (affleunt community, good teachers, etc).
What has Joyce done to make things better? Absolutely nothing! She has made many things much worse in the Marshall schools and has caused one major problem after another. She was clearly unqualified when she was hired (she never was even a building Principal!) and has only gotten worse since. There is no hope if the board keeps backing her after March 27th. Expect more problems, divisions, anger, hostility, scandals and controversies. The teachers have taken a pay cut in effect to help the Marshall schools (when your pay increase is 1.5 percent and inflation is 4 percent, it is a cost-of-living pay cut). Phillips gave herself a 9 percent pay increase per year AND is planning to use sleazy and unethical methods to get a 2nd Michigan retirement with only 5 years of service (if anyone is dumb enough to keep her 5 years). If she succeeds at that the Marshall schools will be paying her 2nd sleazy retirement for decades to come, yes we pay a big part of it each year. Enough is enough! It is time, actually has been for a long time, to replace this very bad Superintendent for the good of the Marshall schools. Dear school board, please step up and do what is best for the kids on March 27th!
I have never seen so much anger in Marshall over a Superintendent. It has even gotten much worse after the tragic events of the last few weeks.
FYI...I do think it's outrageous, but the pay raise for Joyce is 3% for 3 years in a row...that's a total of 9% HINGING ON A POSITIVE EVAL from the board. Just wanting to keep things honest (so to speak)
The chronicle reported 9 percent for each year for two years in a row. They could be wrong, but either way JP deserves to be fired! If she were a very good Superintendent I probably would not care that much if it were 3% or 9%.
I talked to several school board members in recent weeks. They admitted to hearing a lot of complaints about Joyce Phillips. I know for a fact that they have all been thoroughly informed of a long list of major problems. There is hardly anyone left in Marshall that supports keeping Phillips. There is no reason for the school board to renew her contract. There is ample reason to fire her come Monday evening. If they fail at this, things will only get much worse in the coming months.
I fear the school board will wimp out and back Joyce for another term. How awful that would be! The entire pathetic situation needs to be turned around. This can only happen with new leadership at the top.
Just to clarify any confusion about dates and day, the Phillips board evaluation is on Tuesday March 27th, not on Monday. Because the board often meets on Monday many thought it was on Monday. The public is welcome to attend the evaluation session, though parts of it may be closed. Call the school board members and share your questions, concerns and opinions. This is a crucial meeting that could be a turning point for the better or the worse! The community overwhelmingly is hoping for some positive outcome that will lead to new and improved leadership for our embattled Marshall Public Schools!
If Phillips had an ounce of dignity and honor she would resign. I do not know why she wants to stay in Marshall where almost everyone would like to see her gone except for the money and possibly revenge. If the board keeps backing her, as is expected, we can all look forward to at least another 1-3 bad years in the Marshall schools.
Everyone needs to tell their friends and family to show up at the 6:00pm meeting on Tuesday to support the board members who want to do the right thing. Numbers don't lie and it would also show the board that it's not "just a few disgruntled employees who don't want to do their jobs anyway" Please BE THERE!!!!
I hope the MTA steps up to the plate and gets a big turnout. If they wimp out then they will be partly to blame too. They got off to a good start in the fall with the surveys and seem to have not done much since. Now is the time to unite and go public. If not then the MTA members will have no one to blame but themselves (yes I know some have done a lot, but many more need to step forward for the good of the schools). A big staff turnout would send a very powerful message!
I have heard from a source close to Mrs. Phillips that if there is a big turnout of hostile teachers and parents at her evaluation, that she would likely resign rather than keep fighting to keep her job.
The pressure is getting to her and the school board. At least half of the school board members likely would prefer to see her replaced or step down. What happens next Tuesday at 6 pm will likely be afected by how many MPS staff, parents and community members turn out. If there is a big turnout, Phillips may step down or be forced out. If it is quiet, she will likely stay on with lukewarm board support. Please be there if you can! Tell friends, neighbors and colleagues too!
I know that some of the PCO parents are talking about attending.
The support for Joyce Phillips in Marshall is almost nonexistant. Her three years in office have been frought with numerous problems and controversies. It is time for her to go. The decision whether or not to keep her seems like a "no brainer."
concerning the post up about the Doctor resigning if there is a large turnout, I am not believing that. She is not just going to lay down. I highly doubt that she will resign, please don't get our hope up that it would be that easy to get rid of her.
I totally agree with the post above. For some reason, Dr. Phillips, who spent her entire educational career in Indiana, wanted to come to Michigan in her late 50's. She not only was a candidate for the superintendency in Marshall, but I believe at least two other Michigan districts. One was Comstock Park. This is only speculation, of course, but could the reason be that because of her age, she would only need to work in Michigan for five years in order to qualify for a second pension from the Michigan Public School Employee Retirement System? And although, her second Michigan pension may not be all that substantial; she will qualify for medical insurance for the rest of her life. She is part of a signifcant group of out-of-state superintendents who come to Michigan to take advantage of that very generous retirement option. No way will she go willing, this close to completing her five years.
Very true. She wont go down without a fight and luckily for all of us who care about our deteriorating school system it appears that there is a growing groundswell of upset people who have had enough. Finally! Too bad it has to get nasty but if the board renews her contract which means she has THREE more years to destroy our once excellent system then the next few months will be a down in the dirt battle to force her and her supporters out.
Phillips launched a war against our shools, and now we are fighting back!
It is obvious that "the evil doctor" was trying to force out all of the elementary and high school Principals--- last year! None of them got a raise- zippo! Not even Phillips' "good friend" Linda Bennink who used to live with Phillips. What kind of things would get them in trouble. Two weeks into the fall semester Phillips ordered Behrenwald to screw up the schedule of 80 MHS students to save a little money when classes get larger. Ron suggested they wait until second semester to implement such a plan so 80 students would not suffer and be kicked out of classes they needed, wanted and had been in for two weeks.
Phillips was furious! How dare he care about the students and their parents in such a manner! She had set him up to make the mean-spirited changes and to take the blame. This is typical of how Phillips treats our excellent staff that she did not hire. If Phillips is not fired this week this community will be furious and the school bonds will be dead!
Maybe Phillips was jealous over LBs interest in another Principal?
I hope that Mrs. Phillips' strange, mean, distant, cold, dishonest and overall terrible reign will come to an end this week in the Marshall schools. Bad leadership has hurt Marshall immensely.
I am soooo over hopes of Phillips doing anything positive. She is very much past even simple repair of her image. TALK IS CHEAP AND WE HAVE HEARD ALL THE TALK WE CAN STAND FROM JP. Let's move Marshall forward - there are options for the board: demote, table any action on her contract until further investigation takes place of her blatant lies, no renewal of contract OR RESCIND HER CURRENT CONTRACT!
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