Friday, March 23, 2007

Superintendents Review

Tuesday Night at 6:00. Community Room at the Middle School. Joyce's evaluation meeting. Show up and see what her "yes Joyce" friends Vic, Janice, and Dan say about her. Will Paul, John, Chris, and Ali stand up for change? Come on down and check it out. Her evaluation discussion will be held in closed session - by Joyce's request. But there will be an open session of the meeting.

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Silent bodies in large numbers will speak volumes. Be there Tuesday, 5:50 p.m. Nothing required...just be present to show support for the removal of the superintendent. If this board does nothing after all the employees have had to do to express the issues at MPS...then recall action will have to take place. We have lost Ron Behrenwald...this is enormous...this is a direct result of joyce phillips no matter what her new spin on it is! The Behrenwalds had no choice if they wanted to further a wonderful career. Congratulations to them - they will be greatly missed.

Anonymous said...

Get the word out to the entire MTA staff, support staff, friends, relatives, neighbors, concerned parents, people who want the bond to pass, etc etc. If nothing is done the board will likely back Joyce for another one or more years. That would be a disaster for the Marshall schools and community! A new Superintendent is needed now. PLEASE come out and show your support Tuesday March 27th! If you can't contact school board members with your views. Our schools, community reputation, and even real estate values are all at stake here!

Anonymous said...

The best list of qualified candidates for superintendent appears this time of year. Not in December. In December you are getting people other districts are trying to get rid of. Look how Susan Townsend and Ron Behrenwald, absolute wonderful administrators, are being snapped up by other districts because of their high qualifications and recommendations. Bring your children Tuesday night, March 27 6:00 p.m. to the community room - it is these young lives that are being directly affected by the loses mrs. phillips is causeing.

Anonymous said...

Phillips and her supporters are planning on a low turnout Tuesday night, few people speaking out publicly, and the school board following her "directive" to rubber stamp another good performance review and raise. Phillips also wants board support as she seeks vengeance on Ron, Hulk, Susan, Mr. Hanson and many others. This must be stopped! Call board members and show up on Tuesday March 27th at 6 pm! This is a crucial moment in the history of the Marshall shools. If Phillips can be fired or demoted, it would be a great victory and hope will return! If she is given a good review and raise, expect more years of scandals, lies, losing great staff and overall decline of our schools.

Anonymous said...

I am somewhat confused on one point. According to archieve articles in the BC Enquirer, Dr. Phillip's contract has already been extended through the 2008-2009 school year. That will give her 5 1/2 years in Michigan, enough for a pension. i don't see them extending her contract beyond June of 2009 at this point, and doubt if she wants to work longer than that. She will be 62 by then. The poll question says should her contract be renewed. Am I wrong, have they not already extended her contract to 2009? If that is the case, the board would have to take action to fire or at least demote her to get her out of the Superintendent's office before then. Maybe a better poll question would be "Should the School Board terminate Joyce Phillips' contract..." But that will be much tougher to do, and nothing that this board has done up to this point would indicate that they have the courage to do that.

Anonymous said...

If Joyce is fired, don't we have to buy out her contract? We should demote her and put her to work with a bucket and mop. I doubt she would stick around for that.

Anonymous said...

No, there is plenty of evidence of wrongdoing! Joyce lies and oes bad things constantly so that should be grounds enough to fire her. Joyce is out for Joyce only! She cares nothing about anyone else! Would she lie to ruin someones life? Would she block evidence to destroy a father of four? Would she care if her evil scheming actions lead to the death of an employee (it almost did this past month!). Enough is enough! Joyce has to go, and the sooner the better!

Anonymous said...

Why did Tom Duffy say such nice things about the school board and Dr. Phillips if things are so bad? Is it true? Was he threatened? Was he promised a buyout when he retires? Did the Chronicle water down his comments to avoid a legal threat from Dr. Phillips? Every staff member I talk to has nothing but bad things to say about Phillips. I do not know one person who thinks that she is good for the Marshall schools. What gives?

Anonymous said...

At least some school board members have cozied up to the staff and have been reaching out as if they truly care about the numerous problems afflicting the Marshall schools that were caused by Phillips.

If they are willing to make the big changes necessary at the top (ie fire Phillips!) for the good of the Marshall schools, then they will enjoy strong support from the staff and the community. Some cynics on the staff think it is all just an act and they will use the kind public gestures of the teachers (ie Duffy interview) against the MPS staff and in support of Mrs. Phillips. Would the school board members engage in lies and betray the teachers? If they vote to keep Phillips and give her a good review this week then we will know that every bad thing suspected about the school board is true.

On the other hand, if the board takes action to replace or force out Mrs. Phillips for the good of the Marshall schools, then we will know that they truly are good, wise and caring people. Each board member will be judged by how they vote. I hope they do the right thing on Tuesday March 27th! Come out and show your support at 6 pm (for a few minutes before they go into closed session).

Anonymous said...

If the Marshall School Board are foolish enough to support keeping Phillips against the wishes of the staff, parents and the community it will be a big ugly mess for months or years to come.

Anonymous said...

I have a bad feeling that the Marshall school board have been working secretly with Phillips, at least a few of them, as they put on a big show that they are listening and care. If they are telling the truth and truly have listened and do care, then Phillips days are numbered and few. If they have not been upfront and honest about their methods and motives, then the teachers and parents will have been used in a devious plot to keep Phillips. We will know their true intentions and level of trustworthiness very soon.

Anonymous said...

Fact: Dr. Phillips is a huge liability and embarrassment to the Marshall schools. Do we want one or more years of the same?

Anonymous said...

With pending $34 per student cuts in state aid, and upcoming union contracts being told 'no money for raises' - how financially sound would any school board appear if they were to give any raise to an already overpaid superintendent. Especially one that is so undeserving. It is not like phillips is comparable to Dr. Janice Brown of Kalamazoo and has helped to do great things for the district. I still feel school districts should give equal raises...if there is money to give everyone 1% than EVERYONE IN THAT DISTRICT SHOULD GET THE SAME 1%. I am very confused why it would ever be any other way. This is how it was in Marshall for years....?!?!?!?! Has our board been living somewhere else other than Marshall?

Anonymous said...

Anything short of removing Phillips tonight (Tues 3-27-07) will be a major betrayal of everyone who truly cares about the Marshall schools. Now if they want to give a raise to a new incoming Superintendent that is very good and well-qualified, that would be ok. Now is a good time to start searching for a good Superintendent. Last time we hired in the winter and look how bad that turned out.

Anonymous said...

Why would the MSB even consider keeping Phillips? With all of the controversy you would think it was a no-brainer to replace her. She is widely disliked all over Marshall (to put it politely). I see no good options but to start searching for a new Superintendent-- NOW!

Anonymous said...

The key word here is "No Brainer." Apparently a lack of brains caused them to keep backing her! Now if they could have only found their brains, or more specifically some "common sense"! Or is there something more sinister in the works?

Anonymous said...

We need a recall now! Then fire Joyce!

Anonymous said...

Let's face it, most of Marshall simply does not care! Look at the poor quality of leaders we have on the school board or for that matter running the MTA. "Excellence" has been thrown out the window. Good people have been burned out or have given up. Let's be honest, Marshall is in serious decline and the Marshall Schools leadership is leading the way. They must be nuts if they think we should vote for another round of school bonds. We are still paying for the big projects from 5-7 years ago. It would help if we felt like we could trust the school board. Obviously after their vote to keep supporting Sup. Phillips, we cannot.

Anonymous said...

Shock and anger! How could they give a good review to Dr. Philips? We have had nothing but one disaster or crisis after another for as long as I can remember.

Anonymous said...

It makes no sense whatsoever.

Anonymous said...

The school board has thrown "excellence" right out the window when they decided to keep Dr. Phillips. From here on in please drop all references to "excellence" in all school literature, handouts, the web site and speeches about the Marshall schools. If excellence does not exist at the top, it should not be falsey promoted as if it applies to all levels.

Anonymous said...

I agree "The rich tradition of excellence" is a joke! It should be replaced with "A rich tradition of incompetence, negligence, and a lack of intelligence."

Anonymous said...

The board created their own 'he--' on this one. They can either buy her out or bite the bullet and hope with all hopes that she behaves for the next 2 years. They are the only ones responsible for this problem as they are the ones that gave her a 3 year contract last april 2006. Bob and Sam opposed it - they were truly on the mark - they understand what was going on- probably because they were the only two on the board at that time that could be trusted by employees to speak with about mounting issues of joyces bad management. Instead of MPS being able to move forward we must now tread water to live through the problem they haphazzardly stuffed down the throats of this community. It was not responsible for them to give her a 3 year contract especially when all other groups were/are being told 'the board is only able to give your association a one year contract at this time due to budget constraints'. I am now believing the budget constraints really are 'jps contract!

Anonymous said...

The budget constraints also include the huge JP wages, benefits perks and expenses. The huge wage and benefits of the useless asst. Sup. Metcalf, the insurance screwups and other mistakes of Amy, the ridiculous and unjust Mr. Foreman's tenure charges (quit making this innocent man's life a living hell for sleazy political coverup!) and now the costs of being stuck with JP two more years at great expense in morale, respect and support.

Anonymous said...

I am still angry how after the tenure vote Phllips immediately brought Ken Leche and Mr. Foreman into her adjoining office to present the tenure charges, signed by all 7 Marshall School Board members. From the time of their vote until when she did this there was no time or evidence these charges were signed. The Marshall school board, probably under Phillips directive, signed the tenure charges BEFORE Mr. Foreman had a chance to defend himself and before they voted. Is this criminal? Were Mr. Foreman's rights violated? YES! Did Phillips do this to further humiliate Mr. Foreman and the teachers of Marshall? Yes, of course! This turned me against Sup.Phillips and the school board 100 percent! It proved all of the allegations of cover up, sleaze, unfairness and dishonesty to be true. I was there, I saw it, there was no chance for the charges to be signed after the vote. Does this deserve a recall? I think so! An investigation? Yes. I lawsuit by Mr. Foreman? I hope so!!!

Anonymous said...

I agree, here is my take on these events... Everyone please document anything any school members said to you related to the Mr. Foreman case. If any of them said things like "We know stuff you don't know" or "If you only knew what we knew" or anything else related to the case, it may be needed for a future lawsuit against Phillips and the school Board. That was all a part of a smear campaign (there is NO new information, it was all made up- if anything all new evidence favors Mr. Foreman).

Is this legal, ethical, moral? Remember that the tenure charges last August were signed BEFORE the school board voted to pursue them. This was done to humiliate the entire MPS staff and to rub in that the rules do not apply to Joyce Phillips and that the school board will do whatever she says, including violating the rights of an excellent employee to make an example!

The evidence is rock solid that this occurred, Ken Leche will confirm. Right after the vote Joyce immediately escorted Mr. Leche and Mr. Foreman to her office. She had nothing with her and when they arrived moments later the signed charges were already on her desk. Many witnesses were there, including myself, and discussed this afterwards. No one saw anyone sign anything right after the vote or carry anything next door. Why did Joyce do this? To humiliate Mr. Foreman, to show massive disrespect for rules and fairness, to rub in her power over the school board and overall as a huge display of disrespect to the people of Marshall (over 100 parents, citizens and staff were present to support Mr. Foreman)!

Now does the school board should have some idea why the staff, parents and community are so angry and upset at Joyce Phillips and the school board's decision to keep her! Everything will keep getting worse! We will not forget! The board can undo these actions any day they so choose. If they choose to do something positive, it needs to be done very soon. We are waiting!

Anonymous said...

WOW, is this true? That is very very bad! How can the Superintendent get away with such bad behavior with the cooperation of the school board? Why would they agree to sign the tenure charges before the vote? Does the school board hate Mr. Foreman and the teachers that much? Mr. Foreman is one of the nicest and most well-liked teachers at MHS.

Anonymous said...

It is normal for Joyce Phillips to feel that she is "above the law," that she can get away with just about anything, and she has acted very arrogantly toward all staff and most parents and other citizens.

She feels that she is in charge and the Marshall School Board and that they will do as she says, as has happened for three years now (Sam and Bob were two exceptions that questioned and criticized her bad behavior). She considered Mr. Foreman "guilty until proven innocent" and then when he was proven innocent, she blocked evidence and used any unethical or dishonest means she could to push the very expensive tenure charges. The outrageous behavior of the school board to sign the charges before the vote, surely at the behest of JP, is inexcusable and a gross violations of Mr. Foreman's rights.

Phillips has bent and broken the rules to go after other employees and to harrass good people like Mr. Behrenwald, Mrs. Townsend, Mr. Hanson. Mr. Voight and Mr. Hulkow. She has been on a sick and ugly power trip for three years that could not have happened without supporters on the school board. She certainly could not have get away with such bad behavior without the support of Paul, Vic, Janice and possibly other school board members that knew exactly what she was doing. Why do they support her to do all of these terrible things against their own MPS staff, parents and community?

Anonymous said...

The thought of Phillips coming up to MHS to have lunch with the staff is a joke. The MHS staff all strongly dislike her for all of the terrible things she has done. I cannot think of anything she can do short of announcing that Mr. Behrenwald is staying or Mr. Foreman is returning to make us modify our opinions.

Anonymous said...

The school board would be wise to keep JP away from MHS in every way. The hiring committee for MHS should include a mix of MHS teachers, maybe 1 or 2 parents, a trusted board member (John, Chris, Ali), and maybe Andrea and/or an elementary Principal. Whoever they select the school board should tell Joyce to approve without a hassle. This will allow for the best choice to get the job and for that new person to remain as untainted as possible from Joyce.

As far as JP coming up to MHS for lunch, maybe in July would be a good time.

Anonymous said...

They should keep Phillips away from the Marshall Public Schools.

Anonymous said...

I believe phillips was asked to lunch at the MHS so she could understand why there have been so many complaints about the school lunches since Kay Davis retired. The problem is the new supervisor does not cook, bake or make anything. Kay cooked like everyone's grandma. Now everything is frozen, thawed and warmed. The thought of having to see jp let alone lunch with her after knowing the damage she has caused the high school by her petty messed up games - there would have to be something much more important than school lunches. I can get lunch anywhere - the school lunch program is far less important than my well being. Lunch with Joyce - Yeah Right! Games and lunches do not go together.

Anonymous said...

I have a friend who was on the committee that interviewed and selected a candidate to be the new food service director (or whatever the tittle is). Of course they chose an excellent candidate that Joyce Phillips did NOT hire. She had to choose someone else, as is typical of her contempt towards all staff and parents. The volunteers on the committee were furious that a lesser choice was hired. Again Joyce Phillips is more concerned with petty politics and loyalty rather than hiring the best candidate. Now if anyone is still out there wondering why there is so much anger at Joyce and the board, you have another example to add to the dozens already reported on this web site. Its all true, Joyce is very bad for Marshall!

Anonymous said...

Vote "NO" on the school bond. It will send a strong message to the school board. We need to fix what's broken first, and that is the Superintendent.