We know that members of the Marshall School Board frequent the blog. Let them know what you think of the final two candidates.
Bruce Burger - Morrice Area Schools Superintendent
Randy Davis - Athens Area Schools Superintendent
Dave Watson, Headmaster of Howe Military School was dropped from consideration. Thank you Mr. Watson for putting yourself out there during this process. We wish you much success in the future.
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41 comments:
Knowing our school board it was obvious if any candidate was strong and competent they did not likely have a chance. From all of the bad reports coming out of Athens, Randal Davis may be the "Joyce Phillips part 2" they are looking for. Someone who will keep the same bad policies and poor-performing loyalists around. Check out the Morrice web site. Mr. Burger may be a nice guy but there is not much evidence he comes close to the "excellence" that Marshall needs.
Expectations and standards have been lowered. Much anger still exists from past policies and coverups. All hope is gone. All of the board claims of changing are turning out to be false. If someone starts a recall it could pass easily.
My vote would go to Bruce Burger. Everything he has said in his interviews proves he is what WE need in Marshall.
HUGE mistake on behalf of Marshall School Board....Dave Watson is an amazing leader. Truly a loss for MPS.
In response to two below, didn't Joyce Phillips interview well five years ago? Then when she turned out to be a disaster our board, while knowing of the major problems, gave her an unprecedented three year contract extension. Why? To guarantee her a 2nd Michigan retirement (get five buy five=retirement number 2).
One big red flag about Mr. Burger. He is clearly older and nearing the end of his career, much like Phillips when we hired her. Why has he only gotten as far as a class C/D school in his career at this point? I would guess top candidates would be coming from larger districts. He could be ok, but I think we can do much better. Maybe we can't. Maybe I have too high of expectations. The board has lowered the bar very low the last five years for the top administrators.
BC Enquirer update 2-22-09:
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20090211/NEWS01/902110316
Mr. Burger looks like a good guy. Mr. Watson we know was a good candidate, but the board fears anyone the staff may also support. Many concerns about Mr. Davis.
To the person at 12:13pm who claims it is a red flag about Mr. Burger being an older candidate(he is only 53). If you were at the interviews last night, you would've heard his answer of how long he plans to be here. He stated he is looking for one final place to work, and he thought he had a good 12-15 years left to work.
Supposedly the Athens candidate Davis has strong support from Starr Commonwealth people who worked with him years ago. Huge red flag for those of us who actually work in the schools is that he has NEVER been a teacher or a building administrator.
Joyce Phillips also had no experience in the "trenches" and especially NO experience at the high school level and look where she has taken us. At a meet and greet yesterday Davis became quite confrontational when questioned about his lack of real experience in the schools. Apparently he feels living with his teacher wife for 20 some years and taking 400 hrs of classwork trump any real experience in the classroom or dealing with students. Haven't we learned by now that a degree, especially a Doctorate, is no substitute for true working experience. If this board, who blindly and mistakenly followed the orders of Dr. Phillips and led us to disaster, choose another "leader" who appears to be in her image we can say goodby to any real chance of rebuilding all that has been lost under her regime. Pity us all if they choose Dr. Davis.
I am outraged that Mr. Watson was not chosen to move on in the interview process. Obviously major support from teachers and parents who worked with him hurt his chances. The candidate from Athens has many red flags about his tenure at Athens. Does this board actually believe there will ever be a chance to pass the badly needed bond issue if they continue to totally and blatantly ignore the thoughts and wishes of their educational staff as they have done the last few years, and bring in a new person who appears to be just like Joyce, they might as well NEVER put up another bond for a vote. WAKE-UP SCHOOL BOARD!!!
Of the two remaining candidates Mr. Burger is clearly the best. That is precisely why the board will foolishly choose Mr. Davis.
How many times in the past five years were the best candidates passed over for lesser candidates? About 100% I would say. Just ask anyone who served on hiring committees. Look at who we hired and how poorly most (not all) are doing. Andrea Nessel is the main exception to this rule. Not sure how she got in with all her competence and what not. ;)
Don't forget Joyce Phillips is part of this process and she is out for revenge. Wait until the budget cuts come down soon.
We need a person like Bruce Burger in Marshall. No disrespect to Randy Davis. Please bring Mr. Burger here!
Knowing our school board it was obvious if any candidate was strong and competent they did not have a chance. From all of the bad reports coming out of Athens, Randal Davis may be the "Joyce Phillips part 2" they are looking for. Someone they can order to carry out dirty deeds and personal political vendettas. Someone who will lie and coverup current and past scandals. Someone who will keep the same bad policies and loyalists around.
With this board expect the worst. All hope is gone. All of their claims of changing are turning out to be a big con. If someone starts a recall it would pass easily.
Burger is one of the final five Cylons elsewhere....
http://www.mlive.com/northeastadvance/index.ssf/2009/02/interviews_under_way_for_cedar.html
And in 2007
http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/newsnow/2007/11/goodrich_ed_board_to_pick_fina.html
I hope we don't lose another quality person to Cedar Springs. Ron Behrenwald is the Principal of their High School after he was driven out of the Marshall Public Schools.
The question is: " Why would anyone any good want to come to Marshall with the mess the board and current superintendent are in?" And these are the people who will be picking the next superintendent!
Also we have not forgotten-yes your staff- about all of the terrible things that Joyce Phillips has done! She deserves to be fired and lose her second retirement. Ask former school board members, they alone know plenty of dirt and good reasons to fire her for. Ask the secretaries, ask Amy Jones and Brian Metcalf, as Shelley Sulser formerly of the Chronicle, ask the MTA leaders, ask Linda Bennink ... the list goes on and on.
"The good doctor" Joyce Phillips should have been fired when she threatened lawsuits against her own teachers (ask the MTA) and the Marshall Chronicle. The reasons- they were exposing the insurance scandal, the Linda Bennink/Air cond scandal, the mistreatment of Ron Behrenwald, Kathy Petrich and others, the teacher survey results giving Phillips very poor performance marks, and a few other scandals thrown in. She should also have been fired when Bob Lyng exposed how she asked the board to lie to cover up the insurance scandal (when Amy forgot to cancel a policy, costing $40,000+). The list goes on and on...
And that does not even include very poor job performance overall. A completely failed leader.
I admit to not seeing him personally, but Burger has been looking for a job for at least 18 months. He's been a finalist at least twice.
What could we see that others have not?
Both are weak candidates. I wonder why Marshall cannot do better? Could it be our school board leaders and the big mess they made "fixing" the schools? Could it be a scandal-plagued current administration?
Go figure!
Blog administrator- can you add "none of the above" to your superintendent pole? Or "start over in the spring"?
How sad how fast the enthusiasm for finding a JP replacement is quickly dissipating. Yes, we want new leadership. But we need a strong and excellent candidate to start cleaning up the mess. A weak candidate that keeps problems covered up and "plays politics" will not be much of an improvement. Many thought David Watson could be this person, but the board made sure that did not happen. Very suspicious indeed.
I give Dan Stulberg credit for trying to keep all three finalists under consideration. I was surprised and disappointed John and Annette did not back him. The others I did not expect anything more.
I did not realize the Marshall schools had so many problems.
Ask the teachers and staff how much worse things are now compared to five years ago!
I heard Marshall teachers started this blog because everything else they tried failed. After the board turned a deaf ear to their concerns, and worse allowed JP to threaten them and targeted good employees for unjust reasons, there were no other options left. Apparently one of those unjustly targeted was the choir teacher because she spoke up as a union rep. Under stress after her program was cut to pressure her out she resigned and passed away. Unbelievable! I am surprised there has not been a recall after all that has happened.
There was much enthusiasm after the not-so-great Giannunzio and Currie years that we would get a good board and a good new supt. in Dr. Phillips. There was much support and goodwill.
Now five years later they turned out even far worse than those who came before, Secrecy, bad leadership, hostility towards staff, arrogance, incompetence, coverups, scandals, lies and massive abuse of power have become the norms of "managing" the schools. There is no accountability for Dr. Phillips or those few incompetents loyal to her and the board.
I agree with those who are surprised there has been no recall of those responsible for such gross mismanagement. My guess? The town as burned out of nasty political fights and most of those who know what has happened the best work for the schools (or their spouses do) and cannot mount such a campaign without losing their jobs. Also a recall needs to be followed by a well-organized group that can move in and get things back on track. So far nobody seems willing to do this. So I guess we are all to blame and our children and community are the losers in this fiasco. Apathy and ignorance share the blame.
One board member kept going around telling everyone a few years back they were "fixing" the schools. They "fixed" them alright! What a band of fools!
Whoever is selected Superintendent will have a tough job ahead. Also with massive budget cuts coming (due to the hemorrhaging of students to other districts) it will be very stressful, if they are someone who actually cares about the schools.
I bet JP enjoys it very much as problems mount. It is obvious she cares nothing about the kids, the Marshall schools or the community. I feel only contempt!
I can imagine her smiling while axing jobs and programs. We know how terrible she has been to dozens of excellent people. We know what harm has befallen those she unjustly targeted. At least one life has been lost, while others have suffered physical, emotional and financial damage- for no good reason!
Remember the victims. Remember the lack of accountability. Remember the hypocrisy. Remember how our board encouraged this bad behavior and covered up for it.
The staff will not forget!
At some point we have to move away from the past and into the future. Just sayin'
"I second that emotion..." Why not be part of and help provide a successful solution for the future?
Then Joyce Phillips and those who backed her 100% on the board these last 5 years should not be held accountable- even if they engaged in bad, illegal or unethical actions?
Should Mrs. Phillips be allowed to retire with an expensive 2nd Michigan retirement, paid for by Marshall taxpayers, after all of the horrible things she has done?
We are not talking minor issues here or honest differences of opinion. If you are not on the MPS staff, ask around. Justice needs to be pursued. Mrs. Phillips and her board supporters need to be held accountable for gross abuse of power and incompetent leadership!
It will take a lot of positive changes and healing to move forward. But letting those guilty off the hook will not allow us to move forward in the best possible or most positive way. Justice should not be abandoned for expediency. Otherwise how will our children learn right from wrong, or how there are consequences for bad behavior?
There needs to be consequences and accountability before there can be true healing and peace in the Marshall schools.
Lots of skeletons in those closets. You can be sure the board and JP will make sure whoever is hired is someone they control.
"Otherwise how will our children learn right from wrong, or how there are consequences for bad behavior?"
Well, apparently not from you. Really hope you are not a teacher in Marshall, because your mind isn't and will never be open to teaching the values and understanding needed by current students so that they are ready and able to succeed in society. If you weren't able to do anything during the Dr. J tenure, then you will not be able to do anything now or in the future, so take a deep breath...and then stifle.
You are right! The kids need to learn that life is not fair. Some people are unjustly treated while others get away with all kinds of stuff. If you have power, money or both. You are held to far lower standards.
Good point! This is the real world. We have unrealistic expectations of the superintendent and the school board. Reading in the paper how excited they got over some cliche answers from the candidates reminds me how out of touch our board members are. I am not saying their responses were bad, but any teacher would expect such responses and they are no big deal.
I do not expect the board to be experts in all areas of education but I do expect them to make a good faith effort to work with the teaching staff and do their best to learn what goes on and why? They have not done this very well, if at all. Joyce Phillips turned out to be arrogant, self-serving and of limited competence in managing the school district. She made many mistakes and made no attempt to improve or work effectively with the staff. She failed, period! She was not always honest and did her best to cover her mistakes. Many think she had even worse intentions, I do not know. Nobody feels she truly carried about the Marshall schools in any way, probably not even the board thinks anything good about her any longer.
What next? If we are lucky the next superintendent will be an improvement. Probably not great, but probably not worse. Expectations do need to be lowered. The Marshall schools do not have the reputation they once had. Enrollment and budgets are in decline. Many of the best teachers have retired or moved on. We have lost about 2,000 jobs in Marshall the last few years. It may be a long time until things get better.
As best you can everyone who cares should get involved. I agree, drop trying to hold Joyce accountable- it is not going to happen. Those who support her and protect her dominate the board and have very wealthy supporters backing her. That is simply the reality of this tragic situation.
Maybe, just maybe, things will get a little better next year. The victims will not be helped in this matter, they are out of luck. Life goes on. Life is not fair. Things are bleak and the sky is still very cloudy. At least try to find a superintendent who has been a building Principal and knows how to effectively work with the staff. That should at least be a bare minimum standard.
BRUCE BURGER IS WHO WE NEED IN MARSHALL!!! He passed a bond at his last school after the school had numerous failed attempts! When I talked to someone from Morrice -- They absolutely love him thier and believe that he has their school headed in the right direction. They were really sad to hear that he is a finalist here but in the same aspect happy that he is improving himself by taking on bigger challenges. We need him here!
I believe of the two candidates, Bruce Burger is the one to lead Marshall. He has lead Morrice School District through a consolidation attempt and has passed a bond issue, something we need in Marshall!
Nobody really cares anymore who runs the Marshall schools. With schools of choice there are better options elsewhere in the area. Look at the carloads heading to Olivet, Harper Creek and Lakeview. Last one out turn out the lights.
Nobody really cares anymore who runs the Marshall schools. With schools of choice there are better options elsewhere in the area. Look at the carloads heading to Olivet, Harper Creek and Lakeview. Last one out turn out the lights.
I gave up on this school board a long time ago. I told one board member when he was whining about the bond not passing...and I said "possibly you should have addressed the Phillips issues" - he exploded. And said: "well if Marshall taxpayers don't want to support a bond then they won't get anything". I explained - after his tyrant....I would never call with concerns again. I have not called! After at least exposing 5 different horrific situations - AND NOTHING WAS DONE!. I do fear this board is looking for a new supt. they can dupe! Like Philly duped them!
The board is equally responsible for all of the bad that has happened. At least Darling, Potter, Beardslee, and Stulberg were key players in the planning, implementation and coverups of all the bad things that have happened. You don't think JP wrote up her "hit list" all by herself, do you? Some other key players (Marsha H. married into big money now-F) are behind this mess too.
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