Milwaukee Mother Finds Herself Banned from School Grounds by Metzler Clone

Bad superintendents have all the same tricks in their tool box.  Bad school boards have the same soft spines.  Read this masterfully written item from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about a mother experiencing the same demeaning, insulting, untrue, marginalizing and dishonest tactics that were thrown at me by Earl Metzler and his complicit board.  Because of copyright laws, I can include only the first few paragraphs but urge you to read to the end via the link to see what comments could possibly get a mother banned from school grounds. At least Mrs. Anderson has not yet had a police report made against her, which shows that Superintendent Hansen is not ready to take on the champ.

A Brookfield mom whose comments on Muslims and mask wearing got her banned from Elmbrook Schools is suing the district

Alec Johnson

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A Brookfield resident who earlier this month made comments against masks and social distancing and who criticized Elmbrook School Board member Mushir Hassan has filed a lawsuit against the Elmbrook School District.

Heidi Anderson, whose children attend school in the district, filed the lawsuit Aug. 24 in the U.S. Eastern District Court of Wisconsin. She is being represented by attorney Brady Henderson of Cream City Law.

Anderson claims the district violated her right to freedom of speech, right to vote, rights as a parent of both minor plaintiffs, due process rights and right to equal protection.

She also alleged her First Amendment rights are being violated because the district has prohibited her from being on district property or being in any district facility without permission of Elmbrook Superintendent Mark Hansen.

Continue to article

Metzler’s Goodbye to Timberlane

 

It’s a pity that with such outstanding staff Metzler’s leadership could not bring up Timberlane’s academic standing in the state. Taxpayers and elected officials should require a link between compensation and performance in all SAUs. Superintendents should be bonused based on improvement in academics and in district cost savings.  Right now Timberlane’s administrators, like most, have no incentive to do either, but somehow Metzler walked away from Timberlane with a handsome $180,000 parting check, a $150,000 consulting contract with Hampstead and the cozy arrangement of having his wife consulting for Hampstead, too.  Metzler is also hoping the court will award him some pin money for his claim for unpaid overtime, an audacious use of the court’s time – and your tax money to defend, or pay.

This man will be remembered by many in Timberlane with bitterness and resentment. He left SAU 55 in tatters while his bespoke pockets are heavy with your dollars. Now he is off to a district that consists of one elementary school and one middle school. May the career trajectory continue. Goodbye!

NH Issues Back to School Guidelines and the SDGA Publishes a Parents’ Guide to Educational Options in Time of Covid-19

This afternoon, Governor Sununu released a guidance document for New Hampshire schools, “NH Back to School.”

I am pleased to say that a member of the School District Governance Association of NH, Tim Galitski, participated as a representative of the SDGA in the information gathering session in preparation for this document, and we thank him for his contribution.

As well, Tim prepared a parent’s guide to navigating school reopening which is available on the SDGA’s website, SDGANH.org. This document is a good summary of educational options available to parents, replete with useful links.

This blog has been inactive for nearly two years.  I hope to blog a little more actively now so please stay tuned.

All best,

Donna

Happy Independence Day

Guest Post by Arthur Green

Barbara Frietchie, by John Greenleaf Whittier (excerpt)

On that pleasant morn of early fall
When Lee marched over the mountain wall,

Over the mountains winding down,
Horse and foot, into Frederick town.

Forty flags with their crimson bars
Forty flags with their silver stars

Flapped in the morning wind: The sun
Of noon looked down, and saw not one.

Up rose old Barbara Frietchie then,
Bowed by her fourscore years and ten;

Bravest of all in Frederick town,
She took up the flag the men hauled down;

In her attic window the staff she set,
To show that one heart was loyal yet.

Up the street came the rebel tread,
Stonewall Jackson riding ahead.

Under his slouched hat, left and right
He glanced: the old flag met his sight.

“Halt!” – the dust-brown ranks stood fast.
“Fire!” – out blazed the rifle blast.

It shivered the window, pane and sash;
It rent the banner with seam and gash.

Quick, as it fell from the broken staff
Dame Barbara snatched the silken scarf;

She leaned far out on the window-sill,
And shook it forth with a royal will.

“Shoot, if you must, this old gray head,
But spare your country’s flag,” she said.

A shade of sadness, a blush of shame,
Over the face of the leader came;

The nobler nature within him stirred
To life, at that woman’s deed and word;

“Who touches a hair of yon gray head
Dies like a dog!  March on!” he said.

All day long through Frederick street
Sounded the tread of marching feet:

All day long that free flag tossed
Over the heads of the rebel host.

Ever its torn folds rose and fell
On the loyal winds that loved it well;

And through the hill-gaps sunset light
Shone over it with a warm good night.

A Word to the Wise from Nashua

The Nashua School District (or its insurer) has to pay the former chairman of the Nashua Board of Education $60,000 as a result of a civil suit against Superintendent Mosley.  I am proud to say it was Manchester lawyer, Richard Lehmann, who got a favorable outcome on this case.

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/local-news/2019/03/20/former-boe-members-lawsuit-against-superintendent-settled-for-60000/

The next time Timberlane’s superintendent calls police on an elected or former elected official, or issues public prohibitions about visiting schools and/or SAU offices to school district elective candidates, the school board, which has always looked the other way, should think twice about their indifference.

A Giant Thanks to Jason Cipriano

Seldom does a single individual do something so offensive to the common sense of taxpayers that the whole course of history changes.  Yesterday, Timberlane School District voted resoundingly to support a citizen’s petition warrant article to explore withdrawing from SAU 55.

Under Jason Cipriano’s leadership as chairman of SAU 55’s board, the SAU board sued the Timberlane Regional School District… and won.  That court victory, which required the Timberlane board to deal with SAU 55’s budget, pushed Timberlane taxpayers over the edge.  Yes, we’ve long had an SAU board that refused to keep the superintendent in check, who lavished bonuses and lush raises on someone of little experience and debatable accomplishments, and didn’t even insist on its right and duty to hire and set salaries of SAU staff.  But a wacko board that sued the majority of its members because of a power struggle over the chairmanship of the board?  That was the last straw.

All four towns in the Timberlane district voted overwhelmingly to explore withdrawing from SAU 55 – and its board of Hampstead superintendent acolytes. Thank you, Jason, for making the decision so easy for voters.

Of course the very biggest and sincere thanks go to the lead petitioner, Stefanie Dube of Danville.  It was her stellar effort to inform the district of the behavior of the SAU board, and the options residents had to disassociate themselves from such a board by way of withdrawal, as well as gathering signatures on a petition that few, at first, believed would  succeed. Stefanie and I served on the Timberlane School Board together, and I’m proud to call this singularly determined woman a friend.

Now there will have to be a study conducted to find out the legal and financial ramifications of Timberlane leaving SAU 55 to Hampstead.  I devoutly hope Ms. Dube will be on this study committee. One thing for sure.  SAU 55 should not be hiring a new Assistant Superintendent.  And no SAU contracts should be issued for more than one year at a time.  The SAU board a long time ago lost control over SAU contracts so Timberlane’s majority on the SAU board should immediately pass a motion that no contracts are to be signed without prior board vote.

In what may be a premonition of things to come, both Sandown and Danville defeated the district’s proposed budget and its request for capital fund contributions.  Votes in the larger towns, however, carried the warrants. How much longer can a district so divided within itself continue?

Although this is far from the desire of the petitioner, Ms. Dube, and is by no means a logical consequence, I personally see this victory as the first step in ultimately liberating Sandown from Timberlane.  Readers know I have long argued for the independence of Sandown in its public education. People in Sandown will be blind with fury when they open November’s tax bill.  The inability of Sandown to manage its own tax burden and control the quality of its children’s education within a cooperative school district will become painfully apparent once again.

Regardless of the future of Sandown, dumping SAU 55 can only help Timberlane.  Thank you, Jason, for making it so evident.

(SAU 55’s board is made up of the boards of the Timberlane Regional School District and the Hampstead School District.  The SAU board’s job is to direct and give oversight over the functioning of the SAU 55 services.)

Ruling on Collins v. Timberlane

This ruling came out on Feb 26, 2019:

Collins v Timberlane order

Although the judge expressed sympathy with the arguments presented by Collins and Bealo concerning the school board’s default budget, the judge refused to issue an order to require the default budget to be changed. The Timberlane School Board prevailed, and so did voters who will now have the opportunity to vote on a default budget that is once again lower than the proposed operating budget.  Time for fiscal discipline, Dr. Metzler!

Timberlane School Board Should Require Exam Results of Prospective Teachers

From National Connection Daily <NationalConnectionDaily@nsba.bulletinmedia.com>

Report Finds More Than Half Of Elementary Teacher Candidates Fail Licensing Exam.

Education Week (2/26, Will) reports that “more than half of aspiring elementary teachers fail the most common licensing exam the first time,” according to a new analysis by the National Council on Teacher Quality, “a Washington-based think tank that advocates for more rigorous teacher preparation.” The analysis also found that “only 38 percent of black candidates and 57 percent of Hispanic candidates ever pass the most common teacher licensing test, compared to 75 percent of white candidates.” The report “pointed to research that suggests that teachers who have a higher passing score on licensing exams tend to see more student achievement gains in the classroom, especially for mathematics.” It also “recommends that state policymakers publish first-time and overall licensing test pass rates for all teacher candidates who are enrolled in a teacher-prep program.”

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DG:  If this is the case for elementary teachers, one can only fear the grimmer results for high school teachers.

FBI v KGB: Can you tell the difference?

President Trump’s longtime political ally, Roger Stone, was arrested at his home by a dozen heavily armed FBI agents in a pre-dawn raid captured on CNN.

If you did not know that this was a politically motivated arrest, you would think Mr. Stone was a dangerous drug lord from the show of force, the pre-dawn swarming of his home and the complete disregard for his dignity or presumption of innocence.

President Trump has been accused of many things, but militarizing the FBI and turning them into thugs is not among them.  Mr. Stone did not resist arrest.  Mr. Stone did nothing to warrant this insulting show of force and pre-dawn intimidation that is characteristic of Communist states. Mr. Stone’s offense, until he is proven guilty, is primarily his closeness to a president despised by Washington insiders.

That government forces can be co-opted to emulate KGB tactics in our country is a state of affairs we should all fear.  It is also something to which we should demand an end.

 

Edelblut to Speak about Future of Schooling: public invited

Preparing for the Future of Schooling In this seminar, we will discuss the future of schools – what school board members need to know about the changes (technological, demographic, economic, and political) that they will be facing, and ways to view potential problems as opportunities. Join us to hear the visions of our two speakers, to think about the future, and to ask questions and share your visions. This event is designed to benefit elected school district officials, but the public is also welcome, subject to space availability. Register here via email. SPEAKER:  Frank Edelblut Commissioner NH Department of Education SPEAKER:  Ian Underwood Former Director Ask Dr. Math Flyer attached – please share with your friends! Saturday, January 19, 2018 9:00 am – 12:00 pm Nackey Loeb School of Communications 749 East Industrial Park Drive, Manchester, NH Continental Breakfast will be available. Open to the public. Pre-registration requested at SDGAofNH@gmail.com Cash and credit card payment at the door: Members $10, Non-members $15 Space is limited.

SDGA Upcoming Events February 16 – Achieving Transparency: How the Best Districts do it. Panel includes: Bill Foote (Bedford SB), Tom Murray (former Windham SB), and Rich Girard (Manchester SB) March 16 – Relationship between Money and Results April 20 – Nuts and Bolts of Budgets. Speaker: Jorge Mesa-Tejada May 18 – Annual General Meeting Save the dates!