Just Another Night in Morrisville, Part III

I may need some assistance on some of the details of this part of the story, because the reconstruction I have seems to have some portions at odds with each other. SO...while some of the details of this may have to be clarified, the result is spot on.

If you remember back to the time following the revelation that the Emperor self-commissioned the $2500 Hellman building report to cover his tracks for the defeasement, it was suggested and broadly hinted at, that the Emperor was given a talking to by Counsel Kelly and the rest of the board. (Disclaimer: I was not there and those that were there are not talking. At least not to me. But if you want to, my email is listed at the top.) He was basically told, you're new and inexperienced, and you're eager to push your agenda, but this is not allowed. You can't run your own show here. You act in the name of the board only. We're covering you this time by an 8-1 vote. Go and sin no more.

Now, last night, we find out that the Emperor has been lunching with the district health care provider contact and/or other health care provider contacts (please, someone clarify!) in order to promote "competition" among the providers.

The problem is that the board did not sanction this. The Emperor also apparently casually mentioned that he was "the boss" and he wanted action taken to reduce costs to the district. (Clarification requested.)

Let me stop here and applaud the idea that the Emperor was promoting, not the way it was done. Stimulating competition and lowering costs is worthy. The Emperor has a problem with the "red tape" stuff and clearly and loudly proclaimed this for all to hear.

Captain Obvious reports that many people who have a high disdain for authority and controls have an authority and control problem of their own. Not that I'm making a correlation here, you understand.

So, that's when Robin Reithmeyer unleashed her latest load of lèse majesté and told the Emperor that this board runs on red tape.

Momentary reality check: A self professed experienced CPA with extensive contact with the US Tax Code and the IRS, as well as several municipal governments in Pennsylvania, is unaware that red tape runs the world. Um...I'm thinking, maybe...NOT!


But then, the other four board members, even Mrs. Steve "You Squandered Two Million Dollars Of Our Money" Worob began chiding him. So did Counsel Kelley. So did the audience. They had all already privately told him once not to overreach and to operate beyond his mandate. Now, the public got to watch and join in.

With last night's performance, quite a bit was lost. The openness and honesty that the Stop the Schoolers supposedly ran on, and that Bill Farrell (honestly and sincerely, I believe) mentions quite often, is revealed as nothing but hollow words, as empty as the chocolate bunnies on Easter morning when you bite their ears off. With these acts, one man has made a mockery of the eight remaining members of the board, the school administration that he holds in high disregard, the parents that he openly ignores, and yes, even the taxpayers that he is allegedly crusading for.

Don't believe me? See for yourself on the replays all next week. Watch and check back in with us here and let us know what you think. Unless the tape is mysteriously damaged or lost.

When the name "Bill Clinton" is mentioned, I'm sure the first association you made to a word was "liar". I'm not sure what one word will stick here, but for William I, Emperor of Education, I have no doubt that the single word will show itself sooner rather than later.

I believe my three minutes are up. Feel free to add as you will.

Comic Relief

An editorial view of the blind defeasement entitled "The Silence of the Lambs"

Just Another Night in Morrisville, Part II

When we last left our story, an open insurrection was beginning against the autocratic rule of the Emperor. The members of the Q in the audience were aghast at her insolence. The Emperor himself was rocked and resorted to babbling semi-coherently about school safety issues.

But before we visit this storyline, let's take a look at the delivery of the Q-gram last weekend that was discussed by several speakers. For some bizarre reason, it was disclosed that pictures are taken of the houses that receive a Q-gram. Do me a favor and leave me off the distribution list.

The shocking revelation that the class of 2008 did poorly on the mathematics section of the PSSA was not shocking. The only people that were shocked were the dilettantes who bungee in to piously shed mock public tears about our education woes and then obliviously bungee out again until the next pseudo-crisis arises.

I am as disappointed in the math score as anyone is, but the truth of the matter is that real watchers and supporters of the Morrisville school district knew this already, because they were briefed by Dr. Beth Yonson.

The percentile scores for the class of 2008 were 28% scoring proficient or higher in mathematics. In reading, it was 58%. In writing, it was 86%. We have work to do in math, but it looks like the reading and writing scores are pretty good.

There was also a speaker who did an analysis of the complete scores for the entire state. Again, while the math scores were disappointing, they were not wildly out of synch with the rest of the state.

Kudos to Robin Reithmeyer, who had the audacity to openly proclaim that the Emperor had no clothing. She laid out her case rather well (does anyone have a copy of her statement?) and had several pointed exchanges with His Highness.

Then came the insurrection. Robin pointed put that the Emperor was trying to spend money without a comprehensive plan, and that if he has allowed the original December RFP for bids to have gone out without meddling with it, the board would be reviewing the bids already, not just the process. She also properly noted that the items listed as code violations are longstanding items that are grandfathered in. She further noted that the bids will be opened next week and spending the money now without a plan was foolish.

My understanding is that the Emperor melted down quite like the Wicked Witch of the West when Dorothy doused her. He babbled about fires in the school and how the children were in danger.

Isn't it curious how these same items existed last year and candidate Hellmann didn't want them addressed, and now that he's holding on to personal responsibility for it, he's the Mother Theresa of repairs?

The $200,000 in repairs only covered the high school, not the two elementary schools. These schools are even worse off than the high school.

Speaking of the elementary schools, The Emperor arranged for his buddies to do another study, this time at the elementary schools. This time, he even managed to mention it to the board before the study started.

Both of these items failed to be approved, by a 3-3 tie, with Hellmann, Worob and Farrell wanting to plunge along without a plan, and Reithmeyer, Kemp, and Frankenfield wanting a comprehensive plan. **NOTE ADDED: I should mention that Bill Farrell has a deep and genuine interest in the safety of the schools and the students, and I believe that he is more interested in safe schools "right now" so that our kids are safe.**

On another note, I don't understand all of this, so if someone has the info, please share, but apparently Hellmann has a serious personal issue with the banking institution holding the district's money. A move out of here was not approved as well.

Then came the revelation that Billy-Boy stuck his hand in the cookie jar. Again.

More to come.

Just Another Night in Morrisville, Part I

A line like that conjures up a quiet, placid, gentle evening. Bird call, dog bark, cat meow, and cricket chirp, all combining to create their symphony of the night. Well, just like Dr. Johnny Fever transitioning the formerly quiet music station into WKRP by dragging the needle across the LP (kids, ask your fossilized parents to explain what I just said), let's take a look at last night's school board business meeting where the fun and laughs were non-stop.

Thank you to everyone who dropped me a line with their take on last night's meeting. There was a general agreement on one thing: What is the Emperor thinking?

First, let's start off with the rumor that the defeasement cost $2 million dollars. I can categorically report that information is 100% completely false. It was actually about $2.4 million. No one knew about it except the Emperor until it was all over. The public and even a few of the board members pleaded for judicious deliberations at the January 23 meeting, but the defeasement express plowed onward. We now know the true cost. Between the previous feasibility studies and the current debt retirement costs, Morrisville is now the proud possessor of a $5 million dollar sports complex in the rear of the high school. The only good thing this did was provide a closure for the "squandering" squawkers to cease their pseudo-frugal spending chant. No matter what the Gibson board spent as an entity on studies and analyses, the Hellmann board, single handedly, spent more.

A second, and slightly more bizarre note to the defeasement, is that the Emperor will not "dumb down" a defeasement cost presentation for the board or the public. It's too complicated for us mere non-CPA mortals to comprehend. However, he will invite us to feast at the right hand of power and trek to his office where he will personally lead us through the magical mystery money tour and show us his spreadsheet. There's something about that that sounds vaguely unsettling in a sidewalk flasher type of way...

The new board secretary, Marlys Mihok, was not in attendance last night. Also missing in action are the minutes from the January 2 special meeting; the January 9 agenda meeting; the January 30 special meeting; and the February 13 agenda meeting. So now the Morrisville School District will pay for someone else to do her job. This is in addition to the stipend that she receives for not doing it and is keeping, despite past board practice of donating it back to the financially strapped community. It figures. One of the few times that I want the Emperor to exercise his financial fix-it magic pixie dust, he's asleep on the job, voting to allow Marlys to continue piling up missing minutes faster than a state work crew on a coffee break.

Then, it got interesting. With reliable toadies Mihok, Angry Al and Gloria Heater not in attendance, the first cracks in the Emperor's invincibility aura appeared.

The Emperor was ready to deny tenure to a dedicated and caring teacher if it involved a raise for her. Even if it did (and it does not, until next school year), that's a very petty attitude, but perfectly consistent for the Emperor. Congrats to our MHS vocals teacher who gained tenure last evening.

The Hellmann Building Report, formerly known as the defeasement fig leaf, was used as the rock solid cornerstone for an emergency safety repairs resolution to spend an open ended amount of money (only some $200,000 was identified, the rest was "to be determined"). At first the Emperor wanted to table the motion because his vote counting skills showed three storm troopers missing from the front lines. When the board refused to table, the Emperor became passionate about spending the money because the "professional engineers" identified these issues. Very passionate. Extremely passionate. So passionate that one has to wonder what might be in it for him.

This is not a swipe at the engineering firm. They are a well respected company with a long track record of success. But we have noted the lapses in the report, including that it is, by the candid admission of the firm, incomplete. What did you expect for $2500? A full report complete with Power Point slides?

So then, a voice of reason started to speak. It was persistent, clear, and unambiguous. Robin Reithmeyer wanted to know enough information so that she could make up her own mind, rather than relying on royal pronouncements of whim to guide her vote. She even mentioned an email that the Emperor had sent to her instructing her to keep quiet and just cooperate.

The plot thickens. More later.