Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Which Way Will They Sway?


Tonight - March 27th - Will be the Superintendent Review talks in the Community Room at the Middle School. The meeting takes place at 6:00pm. If you can't make the meeting, stay tuned to www.mpschangeisgood.blogspot.com for the latest information coming out of the meeting.

78 comments:

Anonymous said...

If the school board truly cares about the Marshall Public Schools, Joyce's days as Superintendent will be over soon.

Anonymous said...

The Battle Creek Enquirer online is reporting that Phillips was planning to go into her evaluation this evening asking that she will step down in 2009. That would give her two more years and she will qualify for a second Michigan retirement that Marshall will have to pay a big part of for the rest of her life, if the board allows this. I have not heard the results of the board evaluation. Hopefully she will be gone very soon!

Anonymous said...

The evaluation meeting was still going on when I drove by the Middle School around 11:35 pm. I read the BC Enquirer-online story and it sounds like JP was planning to issue one of her infamous "directives" to the board to support her staying two more years until 2009.

No one really expected her to stay beyond the five years needed for the MI retirement before she skips the state and leaves us the bill. Can we afford two more years of JPs bad leadership, controversies and scandals? The question now is, will the MPS board follow her "directive"? Or will they force her out for the good of the Marshall Schools? We will soon find out.

Anonymous said...

Two more years of Phillips would be a disaster for the Marshall schools. Imagine how vicious she would be as a lame duck with nothing to lose?

Anonymous said...

I like how JP "the Spin Doctor" tries to make it sound like she cares about the kids or the "exellent teachers" while blasting the teachers. She also made it sound like she was doing Marshall a favor by fulfilling her contract, taking time to brag as usual about herself. Again honesty went out the window as she engaged in Orwellian doublespeak ("excellent teachers" to JP are those who are quiet and subserviant to her interests, "what best for the kids" really means "what is best for Joyce"). This doublespeak stuff can be tricky! Having said that, the board still had a duty to remove her this year, preferably very soon. We cannot suffer two more years of bad leadership! We will know soon what they chose to do, the late night meeting makes me somewhat hopeful.

Anonymous said...

Well at the very least, it appears to be a very long meeting. I would think that if the board was willing to let her serve out the last two years of her contract, it would not have taken six hours to discuss. And, since she said in the Enquirer, that she and her husband were "surprised how quickly some of these (international) opportunities began to materialize" maybe she had better grab them while she can. I am sure there is a need for school administrators in Iraq.

Anonymous said...

We are still anxiously awaiting word as to what happened at the board meeting last night. There is hope because it did last so long. Two more years of Joyce would be unacceptable! She needs to be removed now so we can get a new Superintendent and start uniting and healing after all of the horrendous things that happened under JP. She has caused way too much damage, sadness and countless problems for the Marshall Schools. Change is needed now, not two years from now.

Anonymous said...

That was very arrogant of Mrs. Phillips to go to the BC Enquirer the day of her big evaluation and publicly dictate the terms of what "she wanted" as if it were going to be fact. That had to upset the school board, as it was done to supposedly put them in a tough position if they wanted to do something else. This is highly unprofessional and disrespetful towards them. Hopefully they saw through this latest stunt for what it was and decided to fire her anyway! If they do what she said they will look bad like she controls them. She even treats them badly, I hope justice was done and she is on her way out!

Anonymous said...

Everybody wants Phillips fired or replaced as soon as possible. I am also awaiting word on what happened. The long meeting is hopeful, as I hope we get a new Superintendent this summer.

Anonymous said...

Did the board try to get Phillips to resign and she refused? Maybe they tried to negotiate with her for her departure before going through the formal process of firing her? That would make sense and possibly take all night. They may still be working on the negotiations, which may include a buyout. Either way I can't imagine why anyone would want Phillips around another two years. There is a strong consensus in Marshall to get a new Superintendent this spring!

Anonymous said...

Marshall Public Schools, by state law,pays every school employees yearly retirement contribution. When a person retires the payments from the District stop. A Retirees monthly payments are then paid from the State Retirement Fund. No further $ come from Marshall Public Schools.

Anonymous said...

Last I knew the school has to pay a portion of all "current" retirees costs. The state made these changes a while back as they dump more and more state costs back onto the local school districts.

Anonymous said...

It seems obvious that Phillips is fighting for her job. She is now highly disrespectful to the Marshall School Board too. She needs to be gone soon for the benefit of the Marshall schools and the community.

Anonymous said...

As to JP's comments in the Enquirer about being "stuck looking in the rear view mirror" I just want to point out that we, the people, are stuck in the present with the aftermath of her poor management. We are "living in the now" with the poor morale, the broken promises and the threat of intimidation. Joyce will try to minimize this fact just like she minimized the survey. With the loss of good administrators, like Behrenwald, we'll see what manipulations will happen for the MHS hiring process. Will the board keep watch on that so she can't place a "hand picked" stooge in there?

Anonymous said...

The thought of two more bad years of Phillips is depressing. I hope the board does not let her get her way. I agree, that was very arrogant and rude of her to go to the press before her evaluation. She must have felt that something was up against her and she wanted to undermine it. Another example of her sleazy, sneaky and bad behavior. Oh yeah, I especially like how she praises and brags about herself all of the time (gagging).

Anonymous said...

I hope Phillips gets to start her "overseas experiences" this summer! The sooner the better! Is the school board still working on the details of her departure? Is she pressuring them to keep her job? Are their contractural issues to be resolved? Does she want a big buyout to leave? Can they just fire her for poor performance?

Anonymous said...

She sure knows how to spin and play the game according to what is best for her. Luckily no one in town buys into her bull anymore. The international arena is just waiting for her and Larry??? Well why deprive the big world her expertise any longer. We will be more than happy to send her on her way for the greater good of the world. After all, in her mind she is the greatest gift of all. Two more years of her leadership is, no matter what the spin, is a disaster for us and especially for our kids.

Anonymous said...

Supt. Phillips brought all of her problems on herself! There is no fixing her bad leadership, bad attitude, dishonesty, and bad relations with the staff and the community. She is a major liability and an embarrassment to Marshall! Keeping her around past this school year would be a big mistake. I am cautiously optimistic (since there has been no announcement so far) that the MPS board is working on her leaving one way or another. There is no other good option for Marshall!

Anonymous said...

Any news yet? Everyone I know is still hoping JP is on her way out. Adios to the world JP!

Anonymous said...

It may take a few days or weeks if the Marshall School Board is trying to force her out. Joyce is likely to fight, as she has a lot of money at stake here. She certainly does not have any honor or dignity or she would have resigned by now. I can't think of anybody that wants here to stay around any longer. EVERYBODY wants to see her gone! I hope the board has had enough, especially after she tried to embarrass them by announcing what she wants for the next two years to the Enquirer while attacking the teachers who criticise her bad performance. How much worse can she get? How much more can we tolerate?

Anonymous said...

If Joyce is NOT fired, then all of the gestures and meetings between the Marshall teachers and the school board were a waste of time. If we get a new Superintendent we can build on this progress and pass the school bonds.

Anonymous said...

The MTA has been working with the school board with the hope that we can get a new Superintendent. The last few years of divisiveness, conflict, low morale, bad decisions at the top, favoritism and lack of cooperation have hurt the Marshall Public Schools in many ways. We cannot have two more years of the same from JP. We are all hoping the board is finding a way out of this mess. JP pulled a fast one on the board by running to the newspaper announcing "her plans." I hope the plans of our school board and the needs of the schools come first and JPs plans are short-lived as she moves on, one way or another, in the very near future.

Anonymous said...

The Marshall School Board gave Joyce Phillips an undeserved 3.8 rating on a scale of 5 to justify keeping her another two years. She also received a 4.6 from her to loyalist Amy and Brian whom she solicited herself to get a score. The board praised her in most areas.

This is outrageous! Almost 100 percent of the MPS staff, parents and community members would rate her below a "1" and want to see her fired or replaced somehow. Keeping her two more years will mean more scandals, controversies, low morale, mistrust, dishonesty, favoritism, bad cooperation, abuse of principals and teachers, overall incompetence, decline of "excellence," embarrassment and declining MPS school reputation.

The school bond proposals are now in serious jeopardy! This is a sad and dark day in the history of the Marshall schools as hope for a brighter future (now!) has been crushed!

Anonymous said...

I just read the same thing! I could not believe this! I feel so let down by the Marshall school board. They acted so nice and friendly toward us teachers as we explained all of the major problems caused by Joyce. We cooperated, kept things quiet, worked with them behind the scenes. Duffy gave them a kind interview and the MTA took the high road, maybe too high! Now I feel we have been screwed over big time! I feel betrayed, cheated and lied to! How could they do this? What were they thinking? This will make things much worse, morale will go lower, community support will sink further and nothing will get better! I think a recall may be the only solution. We cannot tolerate two more bad years of "the good doctor" screwing things up at the top!

Anonymous said...

This is crazy! There must be some kind of corruption going on. Who do you think started the "hit list"? It was probably handed to Joyce when she arrived and she was the pitbull hired to do the dirty work. A few board members are known to have had hidden agendas they wanted carried out. There is no other explanation why they keep supporting such a bad superintendent. She enjoys it and has expanded the list. Revenge, meanness, lies, hate, what more can we expect?

Anonymous said...

I now fear for all of those employees that stepped forward and gave Ali and Vic their proof of deceptions. Does the board not understand as soon as they turn their heads the good doctor will begin systematically targeting each of those employees. This is beyond my comprehension how we, the people and employees of Marshall, can possibly move our school district forward. I now feel perhaps it is time to find employment that does not require getting stress medications from our doctor. I loved working at MPS for all but the past 18 months or so. Please - someone on the board convince me how you do not find the superintendent responsible for all that is going on to staff members? How do you think this poor leadership and departures of awesome administrators will not affect our students. We should all pray for something to change.

Anonymous said...

Well while I was there last night prior to the meeting going into closed session. There sure weren't a ton of MTA members milling about. I realize that PT/Conferences were going on, but we had enough time to get there. I'm disappointed in my fellow union members as much as I'm disappointed in the MPS board of education.

Anonymous said...

The gloves are off! The Marshall School Board scammed the teachers, support staff, parents and students! The last six months have all been a big lie! Yes, I know a few board members may not have been too excited about keeping Joyce around for two more years of troubles, aggravation and a decline in excellence, but as a whole the board lied, scammed and conned everyone!

Now we must all unite! Any board member that supports Joyce should be shunned, boycotted and feel free to spill any dirt on them. We have all been way too nice, way too patient and way to civil! They are responsible for lies and sleazy tactics used to ruin the lives of good people and harrass and intimdate others. We were used and abused! Its as simple as that! JP should be shunned, ignored, minimize any cooperation with her, say nothing good about her or Amy or Brian. They deserve NO credit for nothing! Encourage letters to the editor, if you choose vote "No" on the school bonds to send a message (we can all vote yes later when there is a new Supt), and use all legal means to oppose JP, Brian Amy and their board supporters. Do not feel you need to be nice or smile around any of this group any longer. They all deserve harsh criticism! Last night was the last straw! Vic and his "one finger salutes" to the school employees will be tolerated no more! And yes, a board member that is quite unpopular has been arrested in the past!!!

Anonymous said...

You got to be kidding me. You got to be kidding me.

Anonymous said...

As a parent I have had Joyce Phillips lie to me on numerous occasions. When a committee was formed to hire the new Asst. Principal for the Middle School, Joyce let them choose the best candidate and then chose someone else. She likes to rub it in when she can do such things. I am sick and tired of her bad attitude, dishonesty and the way she treats so many people badly. What was the Marshall school board thinking?

Anonymous said...

Was the school board smokin crack last night? Why in the world would they vote to keep the worst Superintendent in the history of the Marshall Schools? On the rare occasion she is around students all she does is scowl and scare small children. Oh yeah, she talks trash about the Principals behind their backs too. She likes to brag about herself too! A real class act! ;-)

Anonymous said...

Hey - 4 posts above. Let's not forget about mike walbeck - who hasn't figured out how to do his job after two years but is favored by the top three. Vis - do you know how mike bad mouths you behind your back to his employees? He was the only administrator, besides amy and brian sitting in front of joyce at her evaluation. This is the transportation supervisor who can't seem to be at the bus garage long enough to even run any bus emergency evacuations in the past two years (his whole employement) Oooops...when word got onto this blog site about him not letting the drivers do bus evacuations within two weeks guess what they found in their mail boxes? A bus evacuation documentation form with his memo saying "run one before spring break". How awful that we need this blog site that badly to protect the safety of our students. Mike Walbeck spends over half of his day downtown brown nosing. Doesn't he know how ridiculous he looked sitting there smiling for the board members - especially when behind their backs he slanders them. (Vic) Isn't he the person joyce gave acclomades to last summer at a board meeting because he was elected in the huge town of Tekonsha to the school board...but then he decided the job was too big for him and resigned after 3 months. Why didn't the good doctor tell us about that at one of HER BOARD MEETINGS. Puppets on strings. Amy and Brian - of course you gave the good doctor a 5 on the evaluation how else would you get your pay raises for your mess ups, cover ups and incompetencies? Or did we forget these people in this post are the ones that got money from the undoctor. I will give you a rear view vision joyce - that's what you do to behaviors that resemble stalking - you must keep your eye behind your back for your own safety. Those sitting there in support truly have displayed reasons daily why they can not be trusted by 300 other employees.

Anonymous said...

The true supporters and employees of the Marshall Public Schools will not forget or forgive those who, when they could have turned things around for the better, decided instead to support Joyce and make things much worse. We have many dark and ugly days ahead. The worst has happened and now we know the true colors of the Marshall School Board, and they are not pretty. As a community, we have not only been let down, we have been lied to and deceived beyond compare by those who should be serving in the best interests of the schools.

Anonymous said...

Where I can sign for a recall? I can't describe how schocked, angry and upset I am at my own school board right now! And to think that we trusted you. Joyce will be carrying out her revenge while the board is sitting back laughing at us fools for being so cooperative. Duffy's interview was a huge mistake. We should do nothing else to cooperate with the school board except to do our jobs as well as we can for the kids and the community. Joyce and the board deserve no credit for any successes in the Marshall schools. They are the problem not the solution.

Anonymous said...

How could the school board support Dr. J after all that has happened?

Anonymous said...

Good is bad and Bad is good. How did we let this philosphy come into our little town?

Anonymous said...

Let's do what this administration practices. Ask Mike Walbeck - he is the one that says joyce manages by DIVIDE AND CONCUR. More people can play that game if needed. Possibly our board members and joyce are not aware of the things some of their little chosen ones say to others about them. Heads up people - there could be real division coming!

Anonymous said...

Amy Jones personally cannot stand Joyce! If Joyce had been fired, Amy would be celebrating.

Anonymous said...

The school board members will have a lot of explaining to do during the coming months. Ok board, if Phillips must stay because you could not agree on a better options then the least you can do is keep her away from hiring, most major school decisions, evaluations, the kids, the angry staff, investigations, the bond meetings, angry citizens, MHS, Walters, Hughes and the angry parents. Actually a nice office in Indiana or at her house in Coldwater would suffice. Phillips could use training in "Character Education," are there any two-year courses available in other states?

Anonymous said...

Now if the school board can keep Phillips, the very least they can do is to start undoing some "wrongs" and bring back Mr. Foreman. Phillips faulty and one-sided investigation yielded information that was easily proven false. After Phillips blocked evidence and pushed the phony charges in the newspapers, the phony charges were dropped and the case fell apart. Embarrassed and angered, Phillips used nasty tactics and a huge amount of MPS money (political payback?) to go after Mr. Foreman and to attempt to ruin his career and life with known false allegations. His case was meant to be an example that anyone can be destroyed for any reason. Please quit torturing the poor guy and his family! He is a great teacher, a father of four and he does not deserve the awful treatment he has received from Phillips! Everyone please keep him in your prayers!

Anonymous said...

Phillips does not care if the accusations were false, heck I am sure she knows that better than Hallacy who dropped the charges (something he rarely does, which tells you how weak the case was!). Tenure charges were filed to make an example out of Mr. Foreman. She was looking for someone and he was an easy target because at least one school board member had a grudge against him. After it backfired and the truth came out she launched a smear campaign and ran for cover behind the school board. Her sleazy motives and methods had been exposed on a web site. Hundreds, maybe thousands, came out publicly to support Mr. Foreman in various ways. She has tried to sweep this under a rug and move it to a tenure judge appointed by Engler who stacks the deck heavily against the teacher if the school pays a large sum of money for the tenure trial. This is clearly unfair and unjust! The people and teachers of Marshall have not forgotten or forgiven Phillips for this huge injustice she is committing right now.

Anonymous said...

The "spin doctor" has done many bad things to many good people. We are now losing Ron Behrenwald because of her. Do the board members think we can just sit back and take this for two more years and just smile and pretend it is not happening? Do they think we have short memories and don't remember all the awful things that have happened during the last few years? We are to forget all the lies that have been said? What are THEY going to do to reach out to us? What are THEY going to do to make us think that we were not just screwed over again this week? What are THEY going to do to undo at least some of the harm they are STILL causing good people for no good reason? What are THEY doing to stop the hemorrage of "excellence" from our staff? What are THEY going to do to rebuild real trust and cooperation?

We are waiting for THE BOARD's reply!

Anonymous said...

The Board said (in a very nervous and rapid voice):

Joyce says shes gonna leave in 2 years, we gave her a 3.8, less than Amy and Brian gave her and we are not saying anything else but she worked hard on something and thanks... where outa here for spring break! Don't call us..... no comment! ;-)

Anonymous said...

What a pathetic performance by the Marshall School Board this week. Have a late meeting, rubber stamp Joyce for another two years AFTER she went to the Enquirer announcing what she would do on her terms, and then announcing as everyone leaves for spring break how wonderful they think Joyce is and how they weren't as kind to her as Amy and Brian were. And that is supposed to make us respect them and run out and vote for their school bond? Why did they ignore the 98% who want Joyce gone?

Anonymous said...

What I am hearing is this: The Board would like her gone but we, the district, can't afford to pay the buy out. Hog Wash! If we can afford to pay her another $11,000 then there must be money somewhere. Or are all of her dirty deeds like the foreman unjust case being taken from the employee benefit fund. Perhaps if the 5 board members that voted in favor of locking this district into a 3 year contract with phillips would have thought that one out we wouldn't even be in this pickle! Especially when the other groups at Marshall have been told the district will not lock any unions into more than 1 year contracts due to financial strains. I personally feel joyce phillips is the financial strain here at MPS. Let's move her out so others can enjoy some positive benefits from their employer!

Anonymous said...

Maybe we should set up donation jars around town and buy out her contract. I'll donate the first $100. Any takers?

Anonymous said...

I am in too. $100 is small price to pay. With her gone I will gladly vote yes on the bond.

Anonymous said...

Anyone who reads this entire blog (old posts and all) will learn about many reasons and facts to fire Joyce Phillips. As people get new information and facts, please do keep sharing them. This blog has become kind of a "Joyce Watch" in addition to sharing school infomration. We have made it much harder for her to cover up all the bad things she does. The truth is her biggest enemy! The board knows they do not have to buy her out, all they have to do is fire her for lying. They can use the videos of past board meetings for evidence. Last June's board meeting where she boldly lies about the high school hiring process and Bob Lyng calls her on it should be enough. Bob also exposes how Joyce had asked the board members to lie and cover up the insurance scandal. That is plenty of hard evidence to fire her NOW. The school board can still do this any day they choose to do so!.

Anonymous said...

I hope the next time we hire a Superintendent (soon?) we take our time, do our homework and hire a good quality candidate. I think experience as a Principal should be a main prerequisite. I would be careful about hiring out-of-state, it is harder to know what you are getting. We need to be very cautious that we do not get someone again that another district is trying hard to get rid of. We were burned bad when we hired Phillips, now it looks like we could be stuck with her for two more years.

Anonymous said...

I have one question for the school board: Why didn't you fired Dr. Joyce Phillips?

She has to cause you endless aggravation, embarrassment, problems, headaches and anger-- as she does the rest of the MPS staff. Is it over the cost of buying her out? Hasn't she done enough to deserve being fired without buying her out? Is it because she has a few rich friends that back her? Do you need a new staff survey to confirm (again) what we all know?

Anonymous said...

Questions from a teacher said...

>>>>Why didn't you fired Dr. Joyce Phillips?<<<<

Obviously not an English teacher?

Anonymous said...

Does the 9 percent pay increase and the contract extension until 2009 for Supt. Phillips that were foolishly voted on LAST year, automatically go into effect this year? Will the school board consider any changes in light of the many problems and lower performance evaluation marks this year? What about budget concerns and ongoing scandals?

Mr. Behrenwald, you will be missed greatly! You are an example of "excellence" in the Marshall schools. Too bad there is no excellence above you. I don't blame you for leaving after being treated so badly by Joyce Phillips and her supporters these past few years.

Anonymous said...

Yes, the raise and contract extension should be automatic from last year. Joyce should get another 9 percent raise, despite a relatively poor performance review (anything under a 4.8 from this board is bad).

Against all common sense that is what they did, most likely planning for the s**t hitting the fan this year. This was definately a "Joyce First" action by "Joyce First" supporters. A very sleazy vote and plan that may need to be investigated.

Anonymous said...

The word around town is that the school board felt they had to keep Joyce around two more years because it would have cost them about $250,000 to buy out her contract. Well that is not happy news. I hope at least they keep her on a very tight leash util some better option comes up.

Anonymous said...

Probably something they should have thought about last April 2006 when they were signing a three year contract. Like Sam said at that time....won't the other employee groups want the same type of percentage increase? How about a contract that does not expire in 12 months? When a district is not financially plateaus above average why would the school baord even consider anything more than a one year contract. Talk about crying over spilled milk while phillips is laughing!

Anonymous said...

It is obvious that when Vic, Janice, Paul and Dan engineered a "sweetheart deal" contract for Joyce in 2006 (big pay increase, big extension) there was some quid pro quo going on. These four are the ones rumored behind the one or more hidden agendas. They certainly were getting something in return. Is an independent investigation needed? Something smells rotten in Marshall.

Anonymous said...

There is likely much truth to this assertion. I am not sure if this group is still enthusiastic about Joyce. She has become an embarrassment to them and the school district. It would not surprise me if they would not mind seeing her gone now too. If she did carry out their alleged hit list, she did it like a bull in a china shop leaving a mess of problems behind her.

Anonymous said...

Is it true that part of JP's contract includes buying her a year of service credit with MPSERS for each year she works here? At a salary of $107,000 a year, that cost is $13,375 per year. The arguement that it would "cost too much to buy her out" seems weak. If her contract is "bought out" I don't think they can buy the service credit.(You can't buy more years of service in Michigan than you actually earn.)There is a savings of $25,000 right there. So the choice is keep her,(pay more than $150,000 a year for her services and let her do even more damage) or pay what amounts to about 1.2% of the budget to get rid of her.

Anonymous said...

I am beside myself with this entire mess. Prior to jp coming to Marshall no one could have EVER convinced me a MPS school board would appear like this one. Totally disregard ALL the evidence and information regarding lies, deceit and harrassment of employees. (yes even with a harrassment policy in place...guess no one wants to report jp's harrassment to Vic) (like that would get you anywhere) Marshall School board has once again helped outlying districts appear more appealing to 'school of choice' families. There are huge dollars involved in school of choice students - how about a school board fixing the superintendent problem so Marshall's problems will disappear - and guess what - we will instantly return to the excellence in education system we have been for decades (surprised aren't you - thought jp was the reason for excellence in marshall....lol) Let's keep the main thing the main thing...and return to the Pre-Joyce days of Putting Kids First!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey, we need MHS teachers to sign up to have lunch with Supt. Joyce Phillips. Come on, you can enjoy the wit and wisdom of "Dr. J" as you dine with her and enjoy her company. You can enjoy stories of Hoosierland, entertaining board members at Coldwater Lake, school board shenanigans, how to get a job you are clearly unqualified for, what its like to get a big undeserved raise-hint- duping the school board, the fun of investigating people, how to effectively force people out, getting what you want and not caring about the consequences, the pleasure of ruining people's careers, getting false stories into the newspapers (what a hoot!), and loads of other humorous stories from central office (Josh and Amy, Metcalf's safari, etc). Hurry up, see SH before the other two seats fill up! Bring flowers!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like fun! ;-)

Who thought of this brilliant idea? Will Vic and Janice be joining us? Should we bring letters of resignation with us?

Anonymous said...

Evidently in the process of trying to get the top three (who I think lunch at Schuler's) to understand the new food service director does not cook...it is now a thaw, warm and serve food service program (where Kay used to actually cook things)the teacher's committe invited, on a whim, jp to lunch at the MHS on a couple different days. How naive are we though? Nothing is going to change in the food service program as - they have joined a more affordable consortium, there is no longer the enormous amount of outside catering that Kay did to supplement and carry the school lunch program. The new food service supervisor, very nice lady, is letting amy, brian and joyce micromanage the food service program. That is just how it works with each newly filled administrative position.

Lunch with Joyce: Not in this lifetime! I have been in the MHS hallway with her and no one else around twice in the past week and she does not even feel the necessity to say hello. Yes, she very much knows who I am as I have negioated contracts for our union since she has been here! If she is going to bless me with shunning and ignoring why would I go to anyplace in the district to meet with her. If she can not even speak to me as MPS employee/supt. - I think we call it being snubbed! This is a recurring action of choice by jp - turn her nose up and walk by.

Anonymous said...

Joyce please resign and go to your overseas "opportunity" and we will all be much better off! I can't imagine that it is fun for you to work where you are clearly not wanted. How does it feel to be reapping what you have sown for three years?

Anonymous said...

The whole town is hoping that Joyce resigns or is fired soon!

Anonymous said...

She has a heart as cold as ice, she probably enjoys all the criticism and anger. I never met someone that was as difficult to get along with as her. She has no people skills at all, or at least no sincere and honest people skills. She is as phony as a $3 bill.

Anonymous said...

Give her some credit, she sure has done a great job making Lou Giannunzio look like a great Superintendent who is missed far more now than the day he retired. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Very correct. She has helped us remember how nice it was in Marshall before she became superintendent. Clearly - the international market should not be deprived of her outstanding lack of people skills. I would love to plan a Bon Voyage party for her. In fact, can we start saving boxes for her to pack up yet? I have NEVER in my life been treated, nor watched people be lied to and treated, as poorly as she does. OOOOOPPPPSSSS - with the exception of Amy Jones - 'kinda like queen like princess'!

Anonymous said...

A school board member told me recently that he had wished that Joyce would have announced her retirement for this year. The board didn't want to "abandon" Joyce at this time as it would have "cost too much" to buy her out. Apparently they felt they had no choice but to keep Joyce around until Joyce decides to go. He did say that if Joyce would have wanted a contract extension that the board would have said "no." It is bad news Joyce is still Superintendent for up to two more years. Too bad the board did not listen to Sam and Bob last year and give her a one year contract based on performance. Then we would not be in the mess we are in now. Also we may have been lucky enough to keep Ron Behrenwald at MHS. What a sad year it has been.

Anonymous said...

I feel this board has allowed this district to get to the state of affairs it is now in. They cannot try to say they were unaware. Vic knew when he bought those flowers the evening the surveys were delivered that he was on the wrong side of the fence. Unfortunately, the small amount of activity on the parts of the board to try to salvage this district is too little, too late. I will say, John and Ali would be exempt from this criticism as they were not on the board when it voted 5-2 to give a three year to her in 06. Something substantial must be done before I will vote for Phase I. When joyce is gone, and amy is put on notice ' or the employee improvement plan ' or gone also - then I will gladly vote to move this district forward. Not until then! With them staying it is like feeding a dead horse! Amy will probably forget to do her job again - which will again cost this district monetarily dearly. If that does not happen I am sure joyce will find something other than her great salary package that she can lavish the funds onto herself.

Do you know that when her secretary is gone - she has a sign on the door to go across the hallway to the business office - while you can see her sitting in her office. Can this woman do anything for herself?

Anonymous said...

The bond has passed, will Amy and Josh be "working" together again? ;-)

Anonymous said...

Yes, but in the MHS admin offices this time. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Expect more drama from central office!

Anonymous said...

Perhaps Amy has established some ethics by now and will not be running a campaign of flamboyancy - flirting and chasing after the work crew at MHS. I hope they will be allowed to do what they have been trained to do - in their skilled trades - and do not have to have Amy tell them how to do their jobs each day. Do you think she will have to hold the key to their tool cribs so it is in responsible hands?

Anonymous said...

Yeah right! Amy is not competent for her job. She does not have the experience required. For her buddy joyce to say...'amy works such long hours' Oh well. If she could get to work before 10 or 11 am she wouldn't have to stay until 8 pm. There are business office hours 8-5 - why is she allowed to go take naps during the day? Why is she allowed to be late for meetings all the time? Why not find someone with incredible experience in the financial field and get some new ideas on budgets and spending? Maybe the problem isn't all joyce. Maybe the inexperience of the finance operations director would be a good place to start. You can replace the supt. and still have alot of problems if the finance director doesn't have some years of experience to bring to the position. How did she get her job. What did Curry see when he hired her at 30 years old?

Anonymous said...

Curry saw a then-cute blond and she was likely much younger than 30, maybe more like 25. She may have been eyecandy around central office. As far as longer hours goes, those meetings with Josh seem to always drag late into the night. Will Josh be back for the new building projects? My guess is yes! ;-)

Anonymous said...

Why does jones have to be out on the site trying to direct work. It appears she needs to get to work, on time, (amy that is 8 am not 10-11 am), you can't keep telling the board how you are working all weekend, staying late, unless you let them know that is TOTALLY BY YOUR CHOICE. Other Business Managers worked late hours - when needed - but they came to work when the business office opened...8 am. You know, to be available to the public, in the public school system office, while posted hours. There are people in positions that are paid to be on the work site - gathering information, directing the work force....didn't know we have to pay the big bucks for someone to be out there that seems to have no clue what they are doing....while, obviously, they let their own work slide!

Anonymous said...

Now, now - how can she micro manage for the good doctor if she stays in the business office doing budget work?

Anonymous said...

Hey, Amy can come and go as she likes! Heck, Metcalf took most of last year off, with full pay and tuition paid, to get his PhD. There is NO ACCOUNTABILITY at the top in central office. JP runs a very loose ship and let Metcalf and Jones and Walbeck do as they please, as long as they please her with their loyalty. Just ask the support staff who work at MMS. They can tell you so many stories about how bad the MPS management truly is.