Mr. Klochack, Principal at Marshall High School, reads along as the two MHS Graduates give their speeches.We are told that the two graduates had to turn their speeches into Mr. Klochack prior to graduation - that's understandable. Obviously he was so concerned that the grads may add a word or two in, that he followed along with the copy they turned in to him. Both speeches were great - too bad he didn't pay attention to them because he was too busy reading them word for word.
Word of advice: Show respect, and you shall receive respect.
398 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 398 of 398Paul Holbrook will make an excellant replacement for Townsend!!!! LOL
Its time for a new thread on here. Maybe something like, "MPS: Is anything changing for the better?"
Or how about:
"MPS: Do we need an investigation into the past five years?"
Does it make you angry that Joyce Phillips is enjoying a $20,000 per year ADDED second Michigan retirement, from Michigan taxpayers, on top of whatever other retirements she got for her 30+ years in Indiana?
She did an awful job and should have been fired when the first few scandals came up (air conditioning and the insurance lying scandals). The board majority still in power lied and protected her for five years in return for carrying out their hidden agenda and hit list. So while our kids get shuffled around and our good teachers get laid off, those who wasted money and lavished undeserved raises on bad employees all laugh and enjoy their illicit gains.
Now Dr. Davis is enjoying some of these lavish raises and perks for himself. Will he do the right things and return them and take a freeze on what he should be earning? Or will he keep them and allow all the cuts that hurt our schools to remain?
Vic, Janice, Ali and Dan are responsible for this. Unless they do the right thing, launch an honest investigation, hold JP accountable, and at minimum have her lose her 2nd "stolen" retirement, then they deserve all of the anger and boycotts they receive for their cover up and support of JP.
I know of no excitement or enthusiasm amongst the staff because alleged "change" occurred. Now it looks like we are losing another highly talented staff member if Susan Townsend leaves. So far nothing has really changed in my view. I see now evidence that Supt. Davis will be any better. At minimum he should reverse some of the outlandish pay raises of the last few years, including his own, and restore some of the cuts. Now that could gain some respect and support!
townsend took a position with the CISD. Mr. Holbrook will be the walters principal (from what I've heard)
In response to two above, those board members you mention need to be investigated too. They are just as guilty and were responsible for all the terrible things that happened. They can never be trusted with anything like a fair and honest investigation. They did whatever they had to do to cover for Mrs. Phillips when the Michigan State police investigated her over the air conditioning scandal. Shelley Sulser told me some good stories about how the board threatened her when she was investigating scandals and backed Phillips when she threatened a lawsuit against the chronicle. There are dozens of other cases too. There should have been a recall long ago, but most community members did not know what the staff knows. If they did they would be outraged. The damage has been severe to our schools and reputation.
Hey, that's not the party line the teachers are supposed to tow.
The party line is that we are all united and we should be honored we have a new superintendent. Our board members are volunteers who only serve the best interests of our schools. Those who criticize are whiners who should be happy they have a job. Joyce Phillips worked hard, even long hours, and deserves all that she got. As Janice and Vic fumbled over themselves as they handed out raises and praises for JO, AJ, BM, CM and MW. We should be happy we had such people "fixing" the problems of the Marshall schools.
It sounds like the party line is about opposite of the truth.
More dishonest PR.
I hope they go for a bigger than $15 million bond. Things have been neglected for so long that we need about $40 mil worth of improvements and repairs. Look at MHS, it is looking quite dumpy. No wonder we keep losing students.
I hope they do not forget all of the kids whose education may be harmed by moving them abruptly to another elementary school. This needs to be reversed NOW!!!
To the above post, you are correct in that sending students to other schools (even in the same district) can and is affecting children!!! I don't feel there has been enough public out rage about this!! I have only seen 3 or 4 posts on this!!! More than 3 or 4 in the community should be upset about it!!! I know for fact that some children who were moved from one school to another will no longer be attending MPS. Since there is school of choice they are choosing to go to other schools!!!! So good 'ole MPS has lost 5 children for sure that I know of because of this!!! So 5 x 7,000 a student is 35,000. Can we afford to make poor choices and not talk with parents and consider the students and familie's wishes?? The board and Superintendent and Administrators make these decisions without larger commmunity input. I know one parent was told by an administrator that their child would have a specific teacher the following year because of the needs of that child and then they got a letter in the mail saying their child would be changing schools!!! Needless to say they will no longer be attending MPS!!!
Concerning the demographic of Marshall and test scores....understand that Marshall's demographic is changing. Think about all the white collar jobs that have been either lost due to closures or relocated. Whoever stated that Marshall scores should always be the best based on our demographic clearly doesn't know how the demographics here have changed and continue to change. Scores will drop, but it is not because teachers are not "teaching to the test" or whatever you said. Teachers do not teach to the test. Teachers teach to the curriculum as set by the state of Michigan. Go to Michigan.gov to view the benchmarks by grade and by subject. The Meap test is based on these benchmarks. Marshall teachers teach beyond the benchmarks striving for an education that is beyond just the requirement.
There's a lot of negativity about Dr. Davis and it stands to reason after getting burned by JKP and her board. I'm going to try to give the guy a chance and see if he's going to be a communicator and leader. I did see him out at the Redskin Open this past weekend, that is a step further than Joyce ever did.
The real blame is with some of our school board leaders (Potter, Darling, Webb, Stulberg). Joyce would have been nothing without their support and encouragement, not to mention coverups, of her bad behavior.
After reading about the board planning session this past week it appears they do not even know what the problems are, or choose to ignore them, so how can they ever get solved? If all they can come up with is pursue a booth at the fair, a $15 million bond and set very easy goals for the superintendent, then it looks like not much will be accomplished.
The board makes a big deal about small minor things that should be done anyway. In many of these cases we are behind other area schools including Olivet. What is being done about the cuts and shuffling of elementary students around? Are the large and undeserved pay raises for the superintendent, tech director and others going to remain in place? If they are rolled back the elementary positions could be restored. What about low staff morale and community trust? What about all the open and bleeding wounds and scandals left over from the previous superintendent and also involving most of our current school board? How about an investigation at least into how Kathy Petrich was mistreated and how it ended up costing her life?
Does the board think all is forgotten? Do they think by ignoring problems they will somehow go away?
If Dr. Davis is a good guy he will take the lead himself and start fixing these problems. If he goes along with the board majority and ignores the problems, then things will get worse and he will have to accept the blame.
There is a long list of problems in the Marshall schools. I hope they actually try to solve some of them this year.
I am giving Supt. Davis a chance but so far I am just seeing PR and fluff. I hope he familiarizes himself with the real problems and concerns of the MPS. He will have to earn the trust and respect of the staff and community. I wish him well! I hope we start seeing some positive and significant changes from the past soon.
Simply put: Start with reversing the pay increases. If this community does not see the tremendous need to recall Potter, Stulberg, Darling and possibly Webb....then Marshall gets what it deserves. I can hardly stand to read anything about MPS without total disgust....To above post - Joyce Phillips would have had NO power if the above board members had not propper her up and hid behind her devious deeds...! My heart is still broken at all the stories of 'targeting and harrassment' unduely aimed at school employees. If you only knew the truth about what Metcalf (at Joyce's direction) did to Kathy Petrich....my heart breaks for her family! All the others that endured this treatment (while enjoyed a bit better health) have moved on to much better employment. Believe me: THERE ARE BOARD MEMBERS THAT KNOW THE PETRICH STORY....PERHAPS THEY SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR DOING NOTHING TO ASSIST.
Those same board members have played a role in MPS losing or forcing out many other great people. Many excellent people do not even apply at Marshall any longer, look at the weak list of candidates we had for superintendent!
Now we are losing Susan Townsend, one of our very best, who was well known to be on their "hit list" for not supporting Phillips incompetent leadership and illegal abuse of employees. At the same time incompetent fools like Holbrook, Walbeck, MacDonald, Phillips, Jones and Klochack got raises, praises and promotions- all undeserved!
Yes Marshall, if you keep supporting these people who are ruining our schools (add Paul Beardslee too!) then you will watch your property values fall too as Marshall becomes a less desirable place to live. We all pay the price, most of all our kids!
phillips took a job at CISD, holbrook will be the replacement.
I am guessing you meant Susan Townsend took a job at the CISD. Holbrook was not even the first choice when the committee filling his current position was hiring. Phillips hired him anyway over better qualified applicants because his father in law is Mike Kinter and Phillips liked weak leaders she could control. He will be a poor replacement for Susan Townsend. Klochack has proven to be a poor replacement for Ron Behrenwald. Turner is not nearly as good as his predecessor either. We are going downhill.
Staff morale is very low and mistrust is very high. I think the best thing that Dr. Davis can do is to roll back some of the excessive raises that were given in the past few years. These were given for loyalty, not performance. The board dolled out too much to his position too, which makes no sense during big budget cutbacks. Rolling back these unjustified raises will send a strong and positive signal that real change is happening for the better.
I've met the new Superintendent and I have been impressed thus far. I have some of the same reservations that many on here share, but I am going to give him a chance. I had heard that he participated in the Redskin Open, that is a far-cry more than JKP did.
A friend in Athens said he is good at schmoozing the community leaders and the board. What will really count is how well he works with his own teaching and support staff. For this he got poor reviews (from what I hear) in Athens. Marshall is a far larger and mostly likely far more sophisticated staff. We will not be fooled easy. He will have to work hard, be honest, and earn the trust of the staff. JKP never even tried. We have some good board members the staff can trust like John Coulter and Bill DeSmet. He may want to listen to their advice and ignore most of the rest of the board. Some say Ali and Annette have learned from their mistakes and may be good this year too. They will have to prove it, as their support for JKP was well known. The other three are lost causes and should resign.
Let's all roll back 5 years. As I remember it all employees at MPS tried to meet with Joyce and give her some history as well as future goals. It also became VERY clear within 1 year - Joyce choose to use all that pertinent information against the groups. The consertive effort to bring the district together was a total blow up in the face for the employees at Marshall. This was the first root of distrust....then came the lying about the 'sending Robb and Tim out to the VanWormer home (which Linda Bennick was renting) to fix the air conditioner - with whatever it takes. Three employees personally witnessed Joyce give this directive....then the lying!!!! How likely do you think it is that the staff will be forthcoming, upfront and honest in an effort to once again 'assist in bringing the staff and administration together'.
Here is the funny part: Ron Behrenwald brought the HS staff together - like one big school family with one goal in mind - being the best HS staff for the betterment of the students EVER!!!
Now - someone tell me - how do you start to trust an administration all over again after being tragically burned for 5 years over and over and over and over!!!
Phillips chases Behrenwald out of the district and we get a total incompetent who lives and commutes from near Flint. Klochack has no support from staff or students at MHS because he blindly followed all of Phillips mean spirited and damaging directives. The board knows how disastrous that move has been but members like that Darling woman were too concerned with being Joycies bff that they went along and defended her superintendancy. They say that Janice was once an educator but those of us on staff for the MPS consider her a hypocrite at best. She is way to arrogant to ever admit that the past five yrs have been catastrophic to say the least. So keep smiling Janice when you want us taxpayers to trust you with a bond. We will smile while we vote no.
It sounds like Mr. Davis must choose between doing what is best for the Marshall schools or keeping Janice, Vic, Dan and Ali happy. From all indications at Athens he will do the latter and keep himself in big raises while the district sinks further. What did he do for Athens? Nothing! He just cut, cut, cut and took care of himself. How many years experience does he have as a teacher? Zero! How many years was he a Principal? Zero! Why did we hire this guy? Why was he given so much money?
The board majority clique is still stuck in the past. They are fighting battles going back to their anti-Lou, anti-Hulkow, anti-Redskin days. Now they are probably worried that their dirty deeds of the last five years may be investigated which could lead to accountability for their actions.
They have done great harm to our schools and community. They have done great harm to many wonderful staff members. They need to be investigated and held accountable.
JKP needs to be investigated and lose her undeserved 2nd retirement these same people made sure she got. Now they think they found another superintendent they can control and dictate whom to abuse next. They think they found someone who will make sure the problems and scandals of the past are covered up. They view John Coulter and Bill DeSmet with contempt as people they can co-opt and control too. Annette and Ali seem to side with them, maybe out of peer pressure. Will the people of Marshall let them "win" at the expense of the our schools? Keep up the pressure to rollback their hidden agenda. It worked in keeping Coach Hulkow around another year, Darling, Stulberg, JKP and Potter hate him and really wanted him gone. Whoever started this blog is to be thanked too. After threatening legal action against the teachers and the Chronicle, and various retribution and threats against staff for speaking out (including forcing out excellent people!), this blog surfaced to share what was really happening. I am quite sure this forced them to scale back some of the awful things they had planned and put them on the defensive.
We need big changes now! We need a return to the "excellence" that once reigned in the Marshall schools! Remember all of the great staff and programs that used to exist? How many are now gone and either not replaced or replaced with a far lesser person in charge? Is the once "excellent" Marshall schools gone forever? Do the staff who still do "excellence" have to do it on their own, often facing hostility for their efforts? Should incompetent leaders continue to be rewarded and protected for their "loyalty" to this clique?
I think they might treat John and Bill more like how they treated Sam Ramon and Bob Lyng. John and Bill are our best hope for accountability and helping lead the board away from its dark past. I wish them well and thank them for their hard work for our kids!
I have talked to both Dan Stulberg and Vic Potter several times in the last few years and my impression is they both wanted Joyce Phillips gone and they were upset about the ways things were going. They repeatedly shared with me how they were not happy with her leadership and were not renewing her contract. I know most everyone I talk to about this disagrees and thinks it was just an act. But I thought I would share it in case it is true as to how they felt. But I agree these two and Janice are highly mistrusted and disliked for their actions. We will see if they are willing to improve their relations with the teachers and parents. So far I think they are doing a poor job trying to reach out. Maybe they just do not care what anyone thinks.
Ok, then let them prove they have changed and launch an investigation in the last five years. We need the truth to come out so justice and healing can prevail. There are too many hurt people who did nothing wrong. We lost Kathy Petrich, who also did nothing wrong but stand up for our kids and schools. The custodians were quickly fired after very little thought and discussion. Now we pay for a lot of extras by a transient private company that does less and probably costs more. They were told over and over what was going on and just kept stabbing people in the back. Employees who spoke out about mismanagement and corruption were targeted, as were the MTA and the Marshall Chronicle. This was not just an accident or something done solely by Joyce Phillips. JKPs board patrons are to blame at least as much. Paul, Janice, Vic and Dan have a lot of explaining to do. If they plan to keep living in Marshall, they need to face their neighbors and formers friends everyday and know what they did wrong. The word is out, they cannot pretend all is forgotten. They can sweep problems under a rug but the dirt is still there.
Dr. Davis,
Welcome to the MPS!
If you are reading this I hope you now know that many big problems and much justifiable anger still exists.
What can you do? Build close ties to just about everyone except Potter, Darling and Stulberg. Also avoid Georgia Marsh, Paul Beardslee and Marsha Franke. Keep a close eye on JKP loyalists Klochack, Holbrook, Walbeck and MacDonald, they are not trusted and most staff feel they should be replaced.
You can trust John Coulter and Bill DeSmet. Ali and Annette are in the middle, not fully trusted or blamed. Go through and read as much of the posts of the last four years as you can on this blog. It will give you a good idea of the problems and their causes in the Marshall schools.
We need Sam Ramon and Bob Lyng back on the board. Maybe some ex staffers like Brian Burns or Dale Rosene would be good too. These would be good people for Dr. Davis should consult to learn what has happened in the Marshall schools. Maybe they and other retirees and community leaders can form an advisory panel for the Marshall Public Schools.
Is it true they are planning to undue the elementary shuffle and let all the kids stay at their original schools? If so that is great news. Next they need to look elsewhere to find a good new principal for Walters. I hope they do not move Holbrook from the middle school.
It is being worked on. Hopefully a solution will be found.
I liked the booth at the fair. Thats a small but good start. I hope the student numbers are good this year. I agree that some recent raises have been excessive. I hope that is addressed soon, that can help keep laid off staff.
Paul Holbrook is already moving his office to Walters. That is a done deal!!! Need a new thread!!! One that talks more about what is going on currently!! Are they moving elementary students back to their original buildings?? School starts in 2 weeks and we need to know what is going on!!!!!
To 4 above why do you not want Paul to move from the middle school?? Is it cause you think is is good at the middle school or because you don't care for him and don't want him at Walters???
Holbrook is viewed as a weak Phillips-loyalist lackey who was hired by JKP despite a hiring committee recommending a better candidate. He will have to do an outstanding job and work well with his staff to earn their trust and respect. This will not be easy because he has not had a reputation as being a strong and competent leader like Susan Townsend. He has big shoes to fill.
The Holbrook move will be good for the Middle School. We haven't had good leadership at MMS since before Turner and Holbrook took over. Maybe it was Phillips fault. Maybe these too can now stand up and be real leaders like Ron Behrenwald and Susan Townsend.
Supposedly the plan to minimize or eliminate the elementary student shuffle would require some teachers and classes to be much larger while others in other buildings would be smaller. Unless overall student numbers go way up, no laid off staff are coming back, And don't count on Dr. Davis rolling back his big raise or those of some other top administrators.
Supt. Davis wants some teachers to take very large classes to remedy the problem. I agree, rolling back excessive and undeserved raises so one or two teachers can be added is what should be done. Very large classes are not in the best interests of the kids. Neither is shuffling them around from school to school.
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20090825/NEWS01/308250010/Marshall+eyes+May+bond+proposal
An update on the bond proposal. Will they only ask for $15 mil? Or will they ask for more and only get $15 mil interest free from the government?
What is the most the people of Marshall will support? Is there still hostility towards the school board majority that backed Joyce Phillips and the failed policies and scandals of the last five years? Can the board earn back enough trust to pass a big bond? Will Randy Davis continue the same old policies or make a clean break to win staff and community trust?
Well Phillips left the bar so low I am hoping Davis can shine in comparison. My personal finances will not allow me to support a bond that increases my already inflated property taxes....$3,000/year and according to the lending institution - my 5 year old home is not worth what it was two years ago. Until there is a balance I cannot spend money I do not have. Maybe when this economy recovers in a year or so things will look better. A financial commitment at this time for our family is out of the question. I think a smart school board would talk about the needs and project asking for taxpayer money in 2011 - no sooner.
The board damaged the Marshall Public Schools severely when instead of firing Joyce Phillips early on during the insurance and air conditioning scandals, they circled the wagons and helped her lie and cover the mess up. Oh yes, they then gave her a 3 year contract extension and a big raise.
You can read this blog for dozens of other cases of abuse of employes, waste, incompetent leadership, bad relations, lost trust, firing the custodians, big raises for loyalists, forcing out excellent staff, and on and on. No wonder the Marshall schools are falling so far behind in many areas, losing excellent staff, and are unable to pass even a simple upgrade bond to catch up with other area schools.
Yes Phillips is gone, but she should have been held accountable. Those responsible still run the school board. I only trust Bill DeSmet and John Coulter on the school board. Marshall should do much better than the low standards and bad leaderships that have caused so much harm.
From the BC Enquirer:
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20090826/NEWS01/908260310/1002
At least some good news in cost savings and calling teachers back.
The board has a long way to go to build real trust and cooperation. There is still a lot of suspicion, anger and mistrust for good reason amongst the staff. An investigation of JKP is still needed.
Can we please drop the "investigation of Joyce Phillips" banner now and move forward. I am as angry as everyone else at what that woman did to the city of Marshall and it's school system. SHE IS GONE, THANK GOD, so please quit beating a dead horse. She is a evil person but SHE IS GONE! We need a new attitude to get us out of this mess. I do not trust some on the Board either....they have given us all reason for that, but we have to move on, not forget and forgive, but heal Marshall. We can fix things. If Joyce was going to get in trouble over all of this , it would have happened.
I agree with the above post!!!! I have enjoyed this blog and feel it has been good for people to communicate and vent thaeir frustrations, however it is time to move forward. I am tired of reading the JP posts and what to know what is going on now!!!! Not read more about the past!!
It is hard to forget what JKP did when you know very good people who lost their jobs, had their health affected, careers damaged, schools adversely affected, property values declined, and in at least one case lost their life at least in part due to what JKP did. I am quite sure that Kathy Petrich would still be teaching choir at MHS had she not been so ruthlessly and unjustly abused and tormented by JKP and her board buddies- for three years!!!
If JKP had been justly fired then we could move on. But knowing that the people who protected her, gave her undeserved raises, and made sure she gets a $20,000 per year second retirement from the Michigan taxpayers, still rule the school board. This will not go away until they are gone. I do not think anything has really changed.
We need Potter, Darling, Stulberg and Webb gone so we can heal. The truth of what happened is very very bad and involves many terrible things committed over five years. Beardslee and Varvatos were a big part of this too, as was Marsha Franke and Georgia Marsh. Have any of them spoken against Joyce Phillips or regretted in any way all of their votes and coverups on JKP's behalf? What about how they ignored (and later punished) a long list of excellent staff who tried to work with them as problems emerged? They stabbed them in the back! The staff knows this far too well!
Is there any proof any of these people have changed? I have not seen or heard any proof they are anything but proud of what they got away with! They are all arrogant and unapologetic about what they did. They gave JKP a standing ovation at her last board meeting! How sick and twisted! And people wonder why there is still so much anger and mistrust?
For what the Marshall School employees have endured it will take time to heal. The past five years have been far more than needed budget cuts. These vicious attacks have upped the clientele at Bear Creek campus...and that should not have been allowed to happen. When Vic Potter continued to run to Joyce when an employee would confide in him - that was so wrong. He was the Board President - and hence according to the school harrassment policy...should have been the trusted board member whom employees could confide in. His sharing everything he was told in confidence - was nothing but wrong. It will take time. What has been allowed to happen to Marshall Schools is like a death to many of us. It will take time to heal.
Now, instead of the board picking community individuals whom to work with - they should work with all community members.
As far as JPK - she will be given what she has earned in this lifetime...but her award will not be given by any human being. You will reap what you sow!
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090827/HSSPORTS/908270338
Good luck Coach Hulkow and the kids!
I agree it is very difficult to move forward and heal with the unrepentant Vic Potter, Janice Darling, Dan Stulberg and to a little lesser extent Ali Webb running the school board. I do not trust of these four any more, and I supported all of them when they ran for the school board. We need more change. We need to undo any damage we can undone. We need a new Principal at MHS. Maybe public apologies from these four and some humility would be a good start. Resignations would be better.
It is time to forgive and heal.
I was just as angry as everyone else. Yes, those mentioned above are guilty of many bad acts. Yes they and JKP hurt many people on purpose. NO they have not changed or repented as far as I know. Then why should we forgive and move on? One good reason is that is what Kathy Petrich would want. She was a devout Christian who I think would be the first to say to forgive those who harmed her and others.We need to show love and compassion, even to our enemies. I have heard the stories of many families who lost loved ones to terrorists and criminals say how much better they felt after they forgive those who were guilty. It does not matter if they deserve it, it is still what I think Kathy and anyone calling themselves a Christian or a good person should do. If you do not, even from a secular point-of-view, it will get in the way of your healing and moving on. Yes people lost jobs, yes many were hurt, yes our schools were harmed, yes some got big raises and undeserved jobs or promotions... life is not fair! Injustice, lies and sin are everywhere!
I think JKP, Dan, Ali, Paul, Janice, Vic and many others need to reflect on what happened and repent from the errors of their ways. The victims need to forgive and move on, pick up the pieces, and hopefully they will do better somehow someway. Justice will ultimately prevail, if not in this lifetime then in the next. None of us are perfect and many in Marshall on ALL sides helped make things worse through constant fighting, showing disrespect towards others, self centeredness and anger.
Everyone needs to think about this and what they can do to help make things better. If the board does not change then a civil recall is in order and would not be inappropriate. Or new people can run for the school board. Get involved, speak out in a civil manner, go to board meetings, share your views with letters to the editor and think about what you can do for the schools, your community, your neighbors, your family, those in need, and even your enemies.
Love and peace in Jesus Christ! :-)
Very well said! We forgive and move on because it is the best thing for us!
If anyone has hard evidence to pursue against JKP or the board, then go for it.
I am not sure how they live with themselves either. They have dishonored themselves and their community. If they do not change I also have no problem with a recall. But just holding in anger is not healthy. They seem to dig in and get even more arrogant when this has happened. Good people would see their mistakes, admit them and then take steps to correct the wrongs. I have not seen this with any of this group. THEY have big problems and THEY have lost an enormous amount of support, goodwill and many friends in this community. THEIR integrity and reputations are the on the line and THEY are now viewed very badly. I personally have quit doing business with all of them.
From the BC Enquirer 8-29-09:
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20090829/NEWS01/908290304/1002/NEWS01/Marshall-kindergarten-numbers-up
Some good news.
Calling teachers back, keeping Coach Hulkow at least another year, growing enrollment, a small start for a turnaround. Imagine if we had good leadership the last five years how much better everything would be!
For above poster...how pathetic. Always has to be something negative doesn't it? Instead, how about...just imagine what the next 5 years will be like!
The advisor states that the school is hiring back laid off staff (4 to be exact)...how many were laid off? What happened to the teacher who spoke at the board meeting? Did she get her job back? From what I hear she was a good teacher at the alternative.
To two above, the damage of the last five years was massive and a disaster for the Marshall schools. It will have a negative impact for years to come, maybe decades. The crucial bond that was needed for $35 mil failed due mostly to bad management and a lack of trust. Scandals and corruption became the norm. Lies were told to cover things up. Much damage was done to the staff, programs and community support. It will take years to return fully to normal, if ever. Don't forget, many of those responsible are still in charge. They still control the board which means they control the schools.
Just ask around the staff if much has changed. They replaced Asst. Supt. (Curriculum Director) Metcalf with Saundra Hainline who will do triple the work (or more) for less pay. Randy Davis seems like a nice guy and since just about anyone is better than Joyce Phillips, he is certainly an improvement so far. Much bridge-building is needed to improve morale and restore community trust and support. The board needs some big changes. Until that happens not much can get better. It will be nearly impossible for Vic, Janice, Dan and Ali to sell a bond again.
Calling back teachers was good. If the board thinks all is forgotten now that JKP is gone, they are delusional. Real leaders recognize the real problems and work hard to solve them. We have many real problems to solve. Do we have real good leaders?
I still believe that once the Code of conduct for School Board members is thoroughly read everyone will see that Vic, Dan and Janice all have comitted acts that are against the Code. They are sworn in to that code. Does anyone need more information to have a recall? I think not. Who will move this forward before more harm is done or worse yet...before these individuals try to steer Dr. Davis in the wrong direction. MPS cannot afford any more bad direction from 'self serving' board members.
Why not you???
Those three are dragging the school district down. If they truly care about the Marshall schools they will resign. That is the only hope for any kind of bond passing next year.
And???
Is that a reference to the other option of a recall? That would work too and help pass the bond.
Huh???
We need to figure out how we can get the Marshall schools and this community back on track!!!
We need to have the best schools in the county! We need to pass a $35 mil plus bond to get our high school and other facilities into the 21st century. We need a strong staff and high standards of excellent. If there are board members not doing their job or getting in the way of progress, they need to be removed one way or another so we can move forward!
Do it for the kids! Do it for your own property values too!
Great idea, you start it...
Why hasn't this been thought of before??? Absolutely brilliant, don't you think???
I am from Lakeview and want to know if any of the stories I have heard about Amy Jones is true. Did she really screw up some insurance renewal and it cost the Marshall schools over $40,000? Did a former board member admit publicly at a board meeting that he was told to lie to cover it up? Was Amy fired? Did she have inappropriate relations with a building contractor in her office? How was her overall performance? If these stories are true why did she keep getting raises?
Sure, right, and I'm from Timbuctoo...
I am not sure if that is someone from Lakeview too, but the insurance scandal was very real. It was also confirmed by a Marshall Chronicle investigation (I miss Shelley Sulser who bravely looked into such topics) and Bob LYng. What made it more than just a mistake was the attempted cover up by Joyce Phillips and some board members.
While Amy was reported to be flirtatious and often dressed inappropriately for work, I doubt it was anything more than that, but rumors have persisted.
Beyond these issues I know she was widely disliked but I do not know much about her day to day performance. The stories I heard was the board wanted her, Metcalf and Phillips gone. Now they are all gone.
What should be the school bond priorities? How much would you be willing to vote for? Why do you think the last bond failed? Does having a new superintendent make it easier to pass a new MPS bond? What problems do you want to see addressed in a bond? What would be nice but not as important if funds are tight?
The science labs pool area, parking lots, track, football fields, other sports facilities, technology upgrades in all areas, the auditorium, the band and choir areas, all classrooms- and that is just at MHS! I would say MHS alone needs about $30 mil or more in upgrades.
Most of all MHS needs a new principal.
To the person from Lakeview!!! Yes Amy did have an insurance screw up!!! The policy/company changed and she forgot to cancel the old policy costing the district 40,000 dollars!!!
She did not get fired!!!! She kept getting raises!!! MPS has a crazy way of doing things!!! Rewardd the screw ups and punnish the good!!!
That is the main reason for so many problems in the Marshall schools. Some outsiders unfamiliar with what happened the last five years may think there are simply honest differences of opinion over school policies or priorities. It goes way beyond that. There has been gross mismanagement, lies and outright corruption. There has been many abuses of power. Those responsible include the majority of current school board members (Webb, Potter, Darling and Stulberg). They were all well informed about what was going on and did it anyway. They have no excuses! Read old posts here to learn about dozens of examples of what they did. The vast majority of posts are absolutely true! The staff know this all too well.
I have a bad feeling about this coming school year. Something doesn't seem to be quite right. Does anyone else feel this way? I hope I am wrong.
YIKES!!! Better watch out, it might be the Boogyman...
No she left in June, but some of the same puppet masters are still pulling the strings of the superintendent.
Get real...truth is, nothing will make you happy, will it?
Are you one of the people, or a close associate, who have been running the Marshall schools the past five years? If so, has anything changed? Are you proud of your "accomplishments"? Any defense of everything that was done that most people think was a disaster?
None of the above, but we are longtime residents, property owners and taxpayers in the city. We're tired of the continued whining, things are changing, so quit glancing in the review mirror and start looking forward to the future...period.
So you are not concerned with all of the bad things that were done or how those responsible still control the board? What changes have they made? As far as I can tell they are as arrogant and rude as ever. That is why many are suspicious you are one of them. I live in town, am a taxpayer and want better schools. I have talked to hundreds of people over the last few years and less than 1% support the group running the schools. I disagree, not much has changed. We have two board members we can trust, Coulter and DeSmet. The best thing that can be said about Randy Davis is that he is not Joyce Phillips. But he did keep her big raises and so far has allowed all of the other excessive undeserved raises for JKP loyalists to stay. Not a good start. He is also promoting Paul Holbrook to be the head Principal at Walters without interviewing others. We all know just about anyone would be a better choice for Walters. Another blunder.
And of course those are your opinions, one-sided, mostly hearsay and irrational...what ever floats your boat. If you have talked with 100's of people and only 1% support the group running the schools, then your group needs some help too. Funny, seems like a lot of disgruntled folks and yet not one (1) has come forward to run for the Board...how do you explain that? Simple, you keep asking the same people over and over again, and of course you will keep getting the same answers...
You are absolutely right! None of the criticisms or alleged "scandals" on this blog are true. JKP was a very kind and highly competent leader who did only good things for our school. Mr. Behrenwald, Kathy Petrich, Susan Townsend, Rich Hulkow and many others whiners need to be gone! The Chronicle was printing lies and the MTA were stirring up trouble with their "teacher survey." A lawsuit would have been justified against both. The teachers should be happy they have jobs! Those who left the Marshall schools or pulled their kids out, good riddance! JKP was the best thing that ever happened to the MPS. There were way too many teachers and support staff who did not want to do their jobs. Look at all the savings from privatizing the custodians? Look at all the problems that were fixed at MHS and MMS. Paul Holbrook will be a far better principle at Walters, Susan was not a team player. My gratitude to Joyce Phillips, Marsha Franke, Paul Beerdslee, Georgia Marsh, Brian Metcalf, Amy Jones, Charlie McDonald, Dave Turner, Mike Walbeck, Bryan Klochack, Janice Darling, Dan Stulberg, Ali Webb, Annette Cameau and Vic Potter. Job well done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Redhawks!!!
Couldn't have said it any better!!!
Encore...Please, an Encore...
To Arrogant Poster: All is not well at MPS. From your own words I determine you had strong ties with JKP with a very short vision of your own. You also sound like a very narrow minded individual who lacks the kahuna's to address real issues. Why put frosting on a burnt cake...(Joyce)? It will not make it edible. If you do not possess the intelligience to address real issues and only want to address your fairy tale 'rose colored glasses' vision....then perhaps you would look more intelligent not posting at all. A bond for MPS will not pass based on your 'let's pretend now that JKP healthy for our school district....otherwise....our continued support of her will make us look foolish!!!!! TOO LATE....YOU DO!
Sounds like another staff "Hissy Fit". As usual you're wearing your blinders again...
I'm just a citizen. Phillips was a managerial disaster. Even if I give you that some staff changes had to be made, the cost of doing what she did, the way she did it will haunt the district for years.
We lost students and good people in the process of getting rid of anyone you believe was slacking.
If the board can throw hissy fits then everyone else can too. Right?
If you think the board members are working against the schools, then start a recall.
The bond that failed last time will only fail again. Maybe a much smaller bond can squeak through, but I doubt it.
Mr. Behrenwald is in a better place now and Susan Townsend will be soon.
It is a lie that the insurance screw cost the district $40,000! The actual amount is something like $39, 934. So quit telling lies!
Did the board cover for JKP during the air conditioning scandal? You betcha, as Sarah Palin would say. That's what friends are for!
Is the Chronicle better now since all they print is fluff about the schools?
Is it killing DS, VP, JD, GM, MF and PB that Rich Hulkow got to stick around another year, thanks to a public outcry, and they did not get to fire him as planned last spring?
Do the new custodians do as much or as good as those they replaced? It doesn't matter, the board could care less.
Is Dr. Davis the bold selfless leader we need? Or simply the leader we got, for better or worse?
Does anyone care that there is a big problem with apathy in this community? Probably not.
Have a great school year, as long as it does not cost too much.
Marshall school politics can be surreal, tragic, comical, ironic and metaphorical all at the same time.
That's not good. Maybe normality would be nice.
Think positive, isn't it nice how the CISD keeps getting excellent new staff like Dan Luciani and Susan Townsend?
Lets not view this as a loss to Marshall. We pick up new people too like Athens former superintendent.
Goody for us!
I don't so much mind that the Board (most of them) followed Joyce blindly into now the worst 5 year history in the books for this district....but what I really do mind is the fact these community members were elected to work for the betterment of our community school. When parents, administrators and staff members went to certain board members to confide in them with an issue - some (Vic, Janice, Paul and Dan) seemed to think it was appropriate to run directly to Joyce with all they had been told - while ensuring confidence would be kept. This is and was wrong!!! As elected officials they should know how to keep a confidence. A mountain of problems could have been side stepped except for this handful of board members who seemed to want to throw gas on fires they were elected to put out - not feed! TO SPEAK TO SOMEONE - ELECTED TO SERVE - IN CONFIDENCE! Hum???? How about that Code of Conduct for School Board members in Michigan....?
They did not follow JKP blindly, they gave her the orders and let her take the rap. Do you really think they are that stupid and naive?
I think it was a bit of both. I think they gave orders or directives to JKP, but I think JKP mislead them too. JKP did not know or care who most of the staff were or what they did! So she followed orders of who to harass or force out. But she lead the board astray too and the board had to step in to cover for her many mistakes and a number of embarrassing scandalous situations.
I think the school board has come around at least somewhat form the dark days of a few years ago. They did supposedly pressure Metcalf, Jones and to a lesser extent Phillips out. They just approved Saundra Hainline to replace Metcalf, and she had been an MTA leader and vocal critic of them in the past. Also after seeing Bill DeSmet trounce Georgia Marsh I think they got the message that public support for their "political group" had declined significantly. Its too late for the custodians, Mr. Behrenwald, Kathy Petrich and many others. But at least things are a little better now.
Its nice to read something positive. I think we have some very good board members in Annette Campau, Bill DeSmet, John Coulter and Ali Webb. I know they mean well and work hard, even if you do not agree with them about everything. If you have a concern, even for teachers, I think you can trust any of these four.
But I am very sad about Dale Rosene retiring. Godspeed Dale and thanks for doing a great job in the Marshall schools!
I have actually seen some positive things about Dr. Davis. One being, he tells people to "Call me Randy" That was something that always reddened JKP's wattle. He is actually talking to people. I'm not on the bus yet, but I'm willing to give him a chance. I hope I'm not disappointed, I couldn't stand another shellacking right now.
From the Enquirer:
Six year old walks away from school, undetected, and the parents are not interested in bringing her back to Hughes. That sends a great message, way to go staff!
I hate the fact that the first grade at Hughes is "team taught". One of the two teachers there needs to be removed from the classroom. I requested a particular teacher for my daughter but am unfortunately stuck with her being exposed to both. These kids are crammed into one classroom for part of the day and part of the day they are stuck in the cafeteria trying to learn math from a teacher on a microphone. Tom Hansen please do something!! THis is not working and I am tempted to take my kids out of Hughes!
Staff's answer will be that they need the 'wooden box' back.
I was fairly impressed with how Dr. Davis has handled this incident. He is not blaming anyone, and is taking responsibility to make necessary changes to prevent anything like this from ever occurring again.
He took responsibility before staff could blame him and the Board for staff's blunder.
As a Marshall teacher I do not mind at all when the Superintendent and the school board go after the bad staff members. They are an embarrassment to us too! We were angered by JKP because she went after many good and excellent staff members while ignoring or rewarding some of the bad staff members. If we work together we can get it right!
Now is the time to get it right, the staff member responsible for this fiasco needs to be fired, period. There is absolutely NO excuse for this! None...
To the poster on the team taught 1st grade at Hughes: The whole team taught 1st grade is a mess!!! Parents need to band together and and present a united front and put an end to it. Tom Hanson will not do this on hs own, as he lets them do whatever they want. I have heard from others that reading scores are down for the students who were team taught last year. For some students they may do ok, but for others they are just getting lost!!!!! How can students learn in less than ideal classroom conditions?? They can't!! For students who have some difficulties like ADD/ADHD it is a disaster!!!
I have heard that the childs class was back in session after lunch and she was never missed. Imagine the liability MPS was exposed too by the teacher in charge of that child...a reprimand is not enough!
It is nice to focus on the real problems of the Marshall schools. They were often overlooked the last five years as our school leaders mostly pursued the wrong people for the wrong reasons. They also covered for the wrong people for the wrong reasons.
I would love to know the time the child was found!!!! If it was in fact after the class was back in session it would be important to know!!!!! I mean when you have a classroom with almost 50 kids it would be easy to miss 1 or 2 of them!!!!! That is part of the problem with having so many students in one classroom!!!!! What happened to counting students after every transition??? You go to gym, count the kids when you get there, go to recess count the kids when they come back in!!! That is common sense!!!!
Team teaching done right may be good. Team teaching where a good teacher is expected to carry a weak or bad teacher is not good. Hughes school needs some changes. We have many good ideas and great staff in the MPS. But we also have some bad staff and bad ideas in place too. Which reminds me, when are we going to get a good Principal for MHS?
If in fact the class was back in session and the child was not even missed, then both of those teachers need to be fired and replaced with competent ones!!!
But team teaching for every single subject??? With almost 50 kids in the classroom?? Where I have heard team teaching works the best is bringing in another teacher to help teach the class and to work with some students during the lesson who are having trouble with some of the concepts or who need adjusted assignments. Not when you bring in the other teachers whole class into the mix as well!!!
The teachers involved should be dismissed!
We totally agree with the above posting. We cannot afford to have staff with anything less than excellent work habits in our schools. Thank you Marshall Police for finding that little girl.
There are still a lot of bad ideas, bad leaders and problems left over from the mismanagement of the marshall schools during the last five years- across the board!
We are not nearly as good as we used to be! Many of the best of the best have retired, left or were forced out. Their lesser replacements now run the show.
I must be fair, the mismanagement goes back to Bob "take the money and run" Currie and his mentor Lou G. Lou was a little better than what we had the last five years, but not much better.
Hey, in the 1970s Marshall Middle School was a model for the nation that was often visited by schools from around the country. Those days are long gone.
If you do read this, Dr. Davis, the correct remedy for the Hughes School dilemma would be:
1. Dismiss the teachers involved.
2. This issue will NOT happen again.
What about the 6 year old's role in this? I could not imagine just walking away from school when I was six. Is there something wrong with this kid? Did something unusual occur? What is this kid's home life like?
Let's wait for an investigation before we rush to judgement.
if i heard correct i thought the mother said the little girl forgot her lunch bag. That may have played a big role in what the child was thinking and how she reacted. Why is it that every time something happens and yes accidents and different occurances do happen it is always thinking home life is bad. I raised 4 children, i raised them to have respect for other humans and property. They were taught right from wrong and yes they haven't always been the perfect child most parents think they raise they have made their mistakes as only human but does that mean that their home life was bad and i did not raise them properly NO! They also knew that we are not amoung the high society rich group in town either so whatever they did they would be punished for and not been given favoritism like so many do and that is what makes kids like they are today they can do what they want and know their name will save them from trouble it isnt that they weren't raised right from wrong they know what is right and wrong just don't have to think of how they will live their life, they know whatever happens they will not be in trouble for it.
You are right, nobody should rush to judgement about the school or the kid's family because the kid wandered away, which is very easy to do. Also kids may not return to class for many reasons after lunch that may be unknown to a teacher. They are not always informed when parents suddenly pick them up or maybe a speech therapist or school nurse needs to see them.
You can't blame a six (6) year old for this, no matter what the reason. The teachers were in control of that child while at school and deserve to be punished if found to be derelict. If the class had resumed after lunch and the child was not missed, then this deserves more than a slap on the wrist and they need to accept the consequences!
A six year old should know that it is not ok to sneak away from school. I did, I turned 6 in the 1st grade and knew very well not to leave school without permission. The teachers and school staff do need to be investigated to see what happened and what can be done to prevent this. The 6 year old was clearly in the wrong and needs to be held accountable too.
Not at all surprised that you would place blame on the six year old first, rather than accept the possibility of the teachers being derelict. If an independent investigation shows that the teachers are at fault, then more than just changes for future prevention would be warranted.
Then the school should be made into a prison with security guards and fences to prevent a kid from sneaking out? Kids can leave easily at any school. At MHS they do it all the time. The parent should be first and foremost mad at their kid for leaving school without permission. That is how my parents would have responded. Yes, a normal 6 year old should know better. If the kid has disabilities then they should be monitored more closely.
My guess is that there is something wrong with the kid. But the school does not get off the hook that easily. I think far stricter rules are in order and if there are not enough staff due to budget cuts maybe no outdoor recess.
I am also against the "fire the teacher" and "sue the schools" mentality. We need a return to personal responsibility. I think a 6 year old should know not to sneak out of school. The kid should be suspended for skipping.
So lets do a recap of the above...when there is bad communication and misunderstanding with regard to the installation of a window air conditioner, or anything else that goes wrong in the district, we should scream for the heads of the Superintendent and Board. When a child disappears from the teaching staff at school, then we should blame the student...a six year old.
Let's fire all of them and take away JKPs second retirement too!
What about all the students who leave MHS each day? What about those selling drugs and nothing is done about it?
So much for "Kids First". Time to shut this blog down!
Some of us need to ask ourselves if we were in a public meeting with all of the teachers and the parents of the child present, would we say these things? If the answer is no, stop typing them.
Also, we seem to have arrived at a place in our society where we believe all things can be foreseen. When something happens it's never without fault. Somebody must pay. Too much CSI.
Good grief.
We assume that you accidentally omitted Administration and the Board from the first paragraph above.
In front of God and everybody, as they say.
kids leaving happens at the high school on a daily basis. i know some who had skipped and hung out in the football field, went back in for lunch and left again to the football field until the end of the day and caught the bus home. now that tells no one cares who is there and who isn't, it is just 1 less kids in the school they have to see during the day.
All of the above are problems. Now we need to focus on solutions. Marshall for too long have looked the other way or pretended some of these problems do not exist. If we care about the kids then the staff, parents and community need to come together and trust each other. We have had at least five years of no trust, no respect and therefore no real teamwork and no honest discussion of problems, just phony PR. This must change.
Are the Marshall Public Schools best days behind us or are they ahead of us?
Why does so much seem much better 20-30 years ago?
With the exception of the drug problem, which may have been worse then.
There was good and bad then and good and bad now. But now there is a feeling the entire community is in decline. The apathy is much worse.
drugs are bad now just no one cares and looks the other way. if things were paid more attention to instead of thinking not in this town and sweep under the rug people would just find out how bad things are. if your parent sleeps with a married officer they can do what they want it is ok, oops did i say that, yes it is true even be unlicensed and involved in an accident with no insurance and slap on the wrist and told no license until 21 but things were fixed, vehicle is being fixed due to insurance fraud, no citations given. i think it is time everyone opens their eyes to just how bad things are.
Hey, this is Marshall we do not have those problems. But let us know if any "lowlife" kids have drugs and they will be busted. If they are well connected don't even bother reporting them. Bob DuBis and Ron Behrenwald tried fairly enforcing the rules at MHS and both were run out of town.
Come on out and support Redhawk football! This could be Coach Hulkow's last season. We have a great team and we need to show our school pride.
They should beat Lakeview easily!
What should be in the next school bond besides pool repairs?
Isn't it true that one of the first grade teachers at Hughes is on maternity leave? Then, perhaps it was a substitute teacher that didn't catch the child leaving? Just a thought.
Was the Walters Principal job ever posted? If not then why was a normal hiring process not instituted? Is Mr. Holbrook the best person for the job? Half of our elementary kids go to Walters, this is a crucial position to fill.
The normal Marshall Public Schools hiring process was instituted, it is a form of nepotism...not what you know, but who you know... and nothing new.
I'd just like to say that I think the board change in leadership is a good thing. Ali is a breath of fresh air. She is a smart and well-spoken lady who moves the meeting and business along. She is a good balance with Randy. I don't think anyone on this blog has a crystal ball which would tell whether the community would support a $15m or a $30m dollar bond. I can say I am impressed at what our community has done to support our kids and school. The soccer field is moving ahead, the track project is moving forward and so is the pool. We have new Social Studies text books, our teachers have a contract and teachers were called back. Enrollment is back up. We have a lot to celebrate. Perhaps the real sign of success is that our community continues to work together for the common good and for improvement. The girl who walked away from the lunch room supervisors was unharmed. We will always have learning moments but THANK GOD this turned out well. Despite the fact my child would never have walked away from school at 6 much less 12, this girl's family and our school got a wake up call about some important conversation we need to have with all of our kids. These are kids not zoo animals. Nothing is perfect but the fresh wind of change is in the air. Perhpas we need to see a new thread about things that people view as positive...please!!!
Has anyone been told of the cleaning schedule (given by GRBS) for the High School? Class rooms are scheduled to be cleaned ONCE A WEEK! If you do the math about 28 students per class x 4 classes per day x 5 days that is about 560 bodies a week! How safe is this for the students AND families? What about the spread of flu, H1N1, and all other comunicable diseases? Parents of students should be outraged at this health risk!
The fact is our own custodians did far more than our school board claimed they did. When they were fired the new company started by doing about half of what our custodians actually did (at best) and then proceeded to bill the district for any "extras" which means the rest of what they are supposed to be doing. We saved nothing and it cost us the bond. The board was well informed about these facts before they voted but they proceeded anyway. My guess is they wanted a short term gain to pay off raises and the huge legal fees Phillips and the board ran up, not to mention the $40,000 insurance loss. A builder friend told me that if the bond had passed last year we would have gotten a massive bang for our bucks in this economy! The bond loss can easily cost us millions in the long run. What happened to those responsible for these bad decisions? Big raises of course! Now we are supposed to celebrate?
With the work (or lack there of) they do now they are at 1/5 of the work at best the REAL CUSTODIANS DID !!!!!
Enquirer 09/22/2009
Athens schools get $100K worth of good news. Franklin credited former Superintendent Randy Davis, who now heads Marshall Public Schools, with smart financial planning.
Have faith all ye that whine...
What sacrifices did Randy Davis make at Athens? Absolutely none, he always looked out for number one-himeself! It is the staff that made all of the sacrifices. The "news" from Athens is pure whitewash of the truth. It must have been timed to head off the real truth of bad leadership and a fast declining school district he left in a mess. Good luck Marshall, you will need it!
Any updates in the investigation regarding why staff/teachers were not aware a six year old student left Hughes School without being noticed. It appears that this one is being swept under the rug...what corrections are being made so that it won't happen again? What disciplinary action has been take against those involved? We, the people of Marshall, have a right to know...
From above...
"I'd just like to say that I think the board change in leadership is a good thing. Ali is a breath of fresh air. She is a smart and well-spoken lady who moves the meeting and business along."
Are you talking about a different Ali Webb than the one that has been on the board the last three years? The one I know was a huge part of JKP's 7-0 rubber stamp board that backed all of the bad and foolish things she pushed and was opposed to those who spoke out over bad leadership, scandals and bad policies. The Ali of the last three years used her "communications expertise" to spin phony PR for JKP while things went very bad. Also this same Ali ignored the staff who trusted her and tried to work with her for real change, accountability and improvement. I see no changes from the previous administration other than some superficial PR moves. I wish it weren't so. The only two board members I can trust and respect is John Coulter and Bill DeSmet. The rest are part of the problems and need to be replaced. Randy Davis was the weakest candidate they interviewed. He has never been a teacher or a Principal. Marshall deserves and should have a much better superintendent. Where is accountability? Where is "excellence"? What is really going on? I and many others would certainly like to know!
How is it that Dr. Davis used an accounting system that couldn't properly report budget status? Why did the auditors have to find the correct balance?
The scoop from sources in Athens is the opposite of what the paper said. Apparently the finances are a mess and there may be much more money missing. What was found was the minimum that should have been found. There should be more. Where is it? The teachers have so far paid the price and bore the sacrifices. What class B school district that is supposed to pursue "excellence" would hire a class D superintendent who has almost no experience in education (never a teacher or principal)? Why were clearly better qualified candidates passed over? What's wrong with this picture?
For previous poster:
Do your sources have the scoop on the investigation regarding why staff/teachers were not aware a six year old student left Hughes School without being noticed. It appears that this one is being swept under the rug...what corrections are being made so that it won't happen again? What disciplinary action has been take against the staff/teachers that were involved?
Apparently that happened during lunch so fire the part-time near minimum wage lunch/playground supervisor. That will show 'em!
Is that the "communications expert" trying to divert attention from the real issues again? You seem to want to cover everything up unless it can get a teacher fired. Are you on the board by any chance?
If the Marshall schools keeps making blunders they could eventually go the way of Athens and Albion. I would never had thought that two decades ago. But the Marshall schools have fallen behind in many areas and needs to get its act together. The community will generously support good leaders who are fair and honest with everyone. I hope we get such leaders in the future. John and Bill can't turn the board around alone. Losing Susan Townsend was a big loss. At least we saved Coach Hulkow for another year.
Hey, that's all supposed to be swept under the carpet! Quit lifting up the carpet! What about the missing 6 year old? Punish those terrible teachers.
Thanks for revisiting this subject...there have been no updates since the initial media coverage. Is the 6 year old still enrolled at Hughes School? Did the parents pull her out of Marshall Public Schools? Was the class back in session prior to the Marshall Police Department finding the six year old student walking down Old 27? If so, then wouldn't or shouldn't the teacher have performed a roll call of his/her class, thus discovering a student was missing?
Tom Hanson is the Principal and is responsible so fire him and any teachers on duty that day anywhere in the building. Then he is close to Linda Bennink so you may as well fire her too. Then Supt. Davis is responsible also for Hughes school and it happened on his watch so he should be fired too. What about video surveillance cameras? Fire the Tech Director too! Would that be enough firings or do we need more?
It is my understanding that the parent of this 6 year old asked many questions and received pat answers like: "Well we have ____ number of kids to keep track of, this was an isolated incident, etc...." Yes - this child was so upset by being reprimanded the previous day because she ate her whole lunch and not just her snack at snack time - that the next day she basically freaked out when she realized she had forgotten her lunch while outside on snack break...she then went back out to find her lunch....got scared when it was gone...thought she would be in trouble again....started walking toward the fountain...an adult saw her and tried to speak to her only scaring her further so she began to run. Once at the fountain area she decided she better just head for home (Stuart Lake area) and was finally found by Marshall's finest...
Yes - this child's parents got the 'sweep this under the rug' verbage from Hughes and Supt. Office and have now, in the best interest of their own child's well being - entered her into school at the Academy.
This does happen. Parents do speak up. Parents do get upset with the treatment of their personal issues. This does like most things in Marshall get frosted over hoping no one really pays attention....and YES WE DO LOSE STUDENTS TO THE MARSHALL ACADEMY.
Once again - the leadership at MPS is causing a lose of student enrollment - sometimes just one student at a time! Poor little one should never have been that scared over 'lunch rules' to leave the school property. Where is the nurturing....Oh that's right....Joyce Phillips made sure all nurturing employees were eliminated before she left! Wow - look what happens when you turn a school district into a business instead of a 'village raising children'.
Joyce was a nurturer. She nurtured Brian Metcalf while he sat in his office working on his PhD for two years full time while making $100,000 plus the MPS paid ALL of his tuition! She nurtured the administrators she hired who were not the first pick or best qualified recommended by the hiring committees. She nurtured Charlie MacDonald who despite not doing much recovered a whopping 40% pay raise. She nurtured Bryan Klochack who is a giant leap backwards at MHS. She nurtured Amy Jones with a nice raise and protection no matter how poorly she did her job or how much money was lost ($40,000+) in the insurance scandal. She nurtured the schools lawyers who made hundreds of thousands while she was in office .
So who says Joyce is not a nurturer. And Vic and the board nurtured Joyce with flowers and raises despite those nasty teachers complaining about how incompetent she was at managing the district. Those silly teachers, what do they know about education! And if parents want to send their kids to the wacky Marshall Academy, then good luck! They are run even worse!!! How many "Headmasters" left in scandal? What eccentric local dentist (who homeschools his own kids) runs it like his personal fiefdom with no accountability as a for profit business?
So the staff/teacher of that six year old should not be held accountable? If you are less than proficient in your profession, then you should expect and accept the consequences.
Shoulda,coulda, woulda. None of you would stand still for the second guessing expressed here.
If you have a problem with the administration spell it out.
Don't conjure up this gossipy criticism.
Carry on.
Do you have any idea how much was brought to Ali, Dan, Vic, Janice and Paul during the last five years? Guess what was accomplished? Nothing, nada. Unless you count retribution and backstabbing. If anything they purposely did the opposite of what was best, probably out of spite. That includes the many concerns and questions about Randy Davis's experience, background and performance at Athens. I think all the criticism and questions lead them to hire the candidate that seemed least qualified. If you followed this blog all summer you will see how this played out.
They are so predictable. What has changed? Swap Randy for Joyce, not much change there. Elect Bill DeSmet, one man can't do much. Add John coming around to the problems and we have another Sam and Bob at best. Again, they cannot change anything, the others rule the board. Lots of PR, no substance or real change. JKP was not held accountable and is now enjoying a 2nd Michigan retirement from Michigan taxpayers because of this group. Should a teacher at Hughes school be fired? I have no idea of the details of what happened. I doubt the board does or cares either. Randy Davis is responsible too, if you get right down to it. What about the controversial raises given recently to top JKP loyalists? Who cares, let the community pay for the track, soccer field, pool, etc while raises are given to the superintendent and undeserving JKP loyalists.
And you wonder why there is still so much anger!
Very sad news about Pam Wingerter: http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20090924/NEWS01/309240013/One+dead+in+Coldwater+Twp.+crash
So what time was it when the little girl was doscovered?? Still would like to know the answer to that question!!! And sheis not the first or last to go to the academy becuase of treatment from MPS administrators!! I keep seeing people singing Susan Townsend's praises but she needed to go!!
Enrollment is up. Our Supt was up front and called the press to report about the girl at Hughes. Susan Townsend was costing our district thousands just like Bryan...she's gone and it's saving us big bucks. Nothing is perfect. Lyng and Ramon were rude, mean spirited and the board we have are much better. Thanks to them for all the free time they donate. I can't stand the garbage some people on here fling.
I hardly see anyone at meetings. I call Board members when I have questions, and they have been responsive and helpful. I'm sure that some of haven't ever had a converstaion with some of them. I notice that most of the people who write offer nothing helpful...people who claim to have our communty's best interest at heart fling the mud and live in the past. Let's stop wasting time about past boards and past Supts and past wrongs. Time to move forward.
I think Sam Ramon and Bob Lyng are both fine and dedicated men who served the Marshall schools very well! I did not always agree with them but they were always open and honest about anything I asked them about. They both volunteered at many school events and helped where needed. This posting above sounds like a press release from the current board leaders. At least now we know what they honestly think.
"Let's stop wasting time about past boards and past Supts and past wrongs. Time to move forward."
First of all most of the "past board" are on this current board.
Second, if you or someone you knew was a victim and are still suffering from the harm and injustice committed by JKP and the board majority, or deceased (yes, this happened!) from it, or lost their job in an unjust way, then you might just feel differently. Also these people have families who are suffering very much as well.
Show a little compassion. Better yet, speak up for an investigation and for fairness and justice to prevail.
Do it for the kids and as an example to the kids!
For the above poster:
Please stop posting all of that rehashed crap! Your posts are beyond boring.
Amen!!!
"Please stop posting all of that rehashed crap! Your posts are beyond boring."
Joyce, is that you! Or most likely one of our board members. Its nice to know you care so much about the people of Marshall. Are your actions haunting you? You can try to bury the truth but it will keep coming back one way or another. Everyone on the staff knows what happens. Much of the community knows what happens. Former and current board members have confirmed this. Witnesses have confirmed this. It cannot easily be forgotten and it will not go away. You can't change history. You can't easily rewrite it either when so many know the truth. Why are you so bothered by all of this? Were you a part of it?
OMG, we saw you downtown, you were the one walking down Michigan Avenue sucking on lemons. No wonder you have such a sour look on your face and negative outlook all of the time.
Don't try to reason with the pro Phillips/Vic/Dan/Janice/Paul B/Ali W. crowd. They do not care what you think. If you work for the schools they will only make your life miserable or have you removed somehow. Kathy Petrich tried and they made her life hell. When that did not work and she bravely kept speaking up and trying to work with them, they cut her job from full-time and moved her to the alternative school part time. She finally couldn't take it any more despite her love of Marshall and the choir program she lead. She finally got another job and resigned. But it was too late, the damage was done. She passed away a few days later. While she had some medical issues her friends know the unjust persecution and stress caused by these people played a huge role in her untimely passing. That is just one example of someone who tried to work with the board and the superintendent and what happened.
Many others, including myself, found out the hard way what a waste it was to even attempt to reason or work with such ego-driven fools on a wreckless powertrip. Give up unless you plan to start a recall. Randy Davis is a weak inexperienced leader who was hired to be a puppet. In many ways JKP was too. Who else would hire either of them? RD got out one step ahead of possibly getting booted out by Athens. Maybe a nice guy, but a poor leader. He will look out for himself and the board, he will not risk his $112,000 yr plus perks to do the right thing. Just ignore it when these fools jump on here with their rude sarcasm, or most like one or two fools, as only a very few support them (or even more likely, are them). They are trying to sweep things under the rug. They are claiming credit for good things done by the staff and the community for the schools. We know the staff, parents and community do good things. We just need leaders who work with us to keep moving forward. Trust only Bill and John on the board. Annette is nice but is used by the others. Ali lost respect when she refused to listen to wise advice and supported JKP and the rest of the fools on the board. Good riddance to have Paul Beardslee gone. Yes, there has been some improvement. Maybe RD would not be so bad if he had a better board to take orders from. They are surely celebrating Susan Townsend's departure. They were angered by community (and this blog) outrage when they tried to force out Rich Hulkow in a sneaky move last spring. Only a recall will solve this problem. Until then things will be troubled at the top and problems and injustice will persist.
Fortunately there are not many of them left. Even the ones on the board are trying to distance themselves from their own past. I bet they are bothered by their conscience. I was one of those shocked by their actions. I still do not understand why they did what they did? They all should have known better. Groupthink, fear and anger lead to many bad decisions. I will defend them as much as I think Joyce Phillips did play a big role in leading them astray, as did Amy Jones.
I was as big of a critic as the next person, but since there has been no recall it is time to give them one more chance and give RD a chance too. Maybe just maybe we can all unite to pass a bond that is needed badly. MHS is falling apart, an embarrassment. Yes it was neglected and much money has been squandered on everything from excessive raises to legal bills to insurance mistakes. Well Marshall you had your chance to deal with this and most did nothing. There is a big price for apathy. Now you are being asked to donate to the track and other needs. We need to pass a bond too or we will start declining like Athens and Albion. Next, big cuts to state aid. We have syphoned off billions for 2nd rate charter schools. Who would have thought it would hurt our schools so much.
Maybe if Marshall had done the right thing by students and parents we wouldn't be losing students to charter schools!!!!
Giannunzio screwed up by ignoring parents and the needs of the elementary schools and MMS. That allowed for an eccentric local dentist to set up a personal business known as Marshall Academy.
Some are still ignoring parents and the needs of students!!! That is why MPS continues to lose kids to Marshall Academy!!! Maybe if every kid counted in MPS they would not feel a need to go else where!!
Get out and talk with board members yourselves. I have talked to several of them and was quite surprised with what they had to say in private. There was no love for Joyce Phillips and they are glad she is gone. They said they would have replaced her sooner but feared a lawsuit. They know the way they fired the custodians and THEN went for a bond was a big mistake. They are also quite pleased that Amy Jones and Bryan Metcalf is gone and a former critic Saundra Hainline is in the curriculum job once held by Metcalf (though paying less now, not good for Saundra). They know Randy Davis lacks crucial experience but feel he is good and getting along with people. They hope he helps unite the staff and builds community support. They were not as hostile about Coach Hulkow as I think they once were. Neither are they as keen on Holbrook, Turner and Klochack as many think. They had positive things to say about the staff. They admitted many mistakes. I think most of them are sincere about wanting change.
I guess we will know more from their actions than their words.
I think it will be hard to sell any bond in this economy, especially after the custodians were fired and so many other terrible things happened. Gaining trust and support in mostly the same board members will not be easy.
How will the Marshall schools do if the state cuts $218 or so per student?
One answer- More cuts!
Good thing the teachers got a raise this year! They better be prepared next year...I can't believe that in this economy they beleive they still should get raises while the rest of us lose jobs and benefits. Would the cry baby teachers please get real?
All this trash talk about whose been done wrong at any point in the past is not helpful. People, it is time to move on. Life is not perfect...custodians, administrators or Superintendents that don't want to do their jobs should have been forced to leave or contracts not renewed. I've heard enough on here about people who behaved badly but are poster children for being treated badly. Guess what? What comes around goes around!!! Enough handouts, get rid of the lazy lot who feels entitled and hire people who will do right by our schools, our kids and our community. There are plenty of good people without jobs who will do right by MPS.
I agree with you Vic, Janice, Dan and Ali!!!
Don't forget Paul.
Replace Klochack.
Fire the teachers Fire the teachers Fire the teachers Fire the teachers Fire the teachers Fire the teachers Fire the teachers Fire the teachersFire the teachers Fire the teachers Fire the teachers Fire the teachers Fire the teachers Fire the teachers Fire the teachers Fire the teachers Fire the teachers Fire the teachers Fire the teachers Fire the teachers
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This sucks!
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