Hitting the Panic Button
By
New Richmond Yes Group member Lisa Singerhouse sent a letter this week to School Board Chairman Lester Jones asking him to share her letter with the entire Board.
The letter implores Jones and the Board to stop a search for a qualified Superintendent and just hire current High School Principal Jeff Moberg as the new Craig Hitchens. She then hints at elevating Middle School Principal Mike Ballard to replace Moberg at the High School.
Aren’t these two Hitchens’ henchmen?
Now it all makes perfect sense.
But the real point of the letter reveals she and her pals are starting to hit the panic button. The letter chastises Jones for the culture of controversy that has surrounded his tenure as Chair. No one gets along, if Board member A says the sky is blue, Board member B says he’s wrong. Leadership is clearly lacking on the Board. Instead, petty and emotional spite rule every decision.
A year’s worth of controversy, unnecessary spending on a psychotherapist, two dozen bomb threats, a phony survey, $50,000 for ATS&R, 25% over budget estimate for the portable classrooms, rigged bidding process for the portables, no land for a new referendum, postponing the referendum well into 2006, $108,000 for Hitchens buy out, $25,000 for Hitchens bonus, cutting the gifted and talented student program and on and on and on.
Looks like reality has finally sunk in. Will they lose the majority on the Board in April’s election? What would happen then?
Are Deanna Cook-Shannon and Andy Leiffort the best the Yes Group can do? How will they run and defend this Board? Could Jones have really ruined it this badly?
No related posts.
After you labeled Jeff Moberg and Mike Ballard as henchmen (dict. def.: loyal follower, person who supports a political figure chiefly out of selfish interests, member of a criminal gang)I had a hard time getting to the rest of your post.
Your listing of what happened under Hitchens’ tenure is correct, but to label Moberg and Ballard as henchmen is a little much. Are the teachers hired during Hitchens’ tenure, henchmen.
Moberg and Ballard were approved by the school board. If these gentlemen are of the same ilk as Hitchens tell me what they have done. Are they unqualified? Have they lacked the leadership and judgement necessary for their jobs? Are they incompetent because the school board is?
Let’s stop obsessing on Hitchens. He’s gone and it’s time to concentrate on getting new board members who have some common sense.
Your last questions are good ones, but quite honestly I don’t care what the YES Group does. Deanna C-S and Andy L haven’t done much for the school board. It’s time for new members and new thinking.
Moberg’s insistence that he have unanimous Board approval to be Superintendent creates a situation. that will not happen. His setting the bar so high takes him out of the picture. He has been looking else where for the past 9 months anyway.
Further thinking about this topic.
How do you feel about academic curriculum? Should it be rigorous? Challenging of the students? Make them learn something? Prepare them for the world ahead of them and the globally competitive environment?
So then, here is a suggestion for you. Ask Jeff Moberg about his comment at this week – District Education Committee Meeting on Curriculum for a second language being introduced in New Richmond. The issue has had some visibility in the New Richmond News recently. Matter of fact there is another article this week submitted by Spanish teacher Bev Beuning. A thoughtful article about the merits of the Spanish program.
Keep in mind that the New Richmond School District is one of just a handful of school Districts in Wisconsin that only provides instruction for one foreign language.
At the meeting Moberg raised every objection in the book for adding another language like French or German for example.
“Too much money”
“We”ll need to hire a new teacher”
“Not in the budget”
“Will be difficult to find substitute teachers when needed”
But the most striking comment:
“We”re already teaching more than one language. Spanish and English.”
And people want him to be Superintendent?
It is so perplexing that you, “Jack” appear to have so muchinside information seemingly available to only NR board members- or people quit close to them. Unfortunately “Jack”- your recent name change, content, and tone combine with a cross-reference of individuals attending each of the meetings and discussions you reference first hand make your anonymity a farce. There is so much irony and egocentreism in your remarks that I hardly believe the people allegedly pushing for Jeff Moberg feel threatened. They’ve gained my respect simply by continuing to refrain from the sorts of tactics you are embracing (apparently to help any candidate running against Andy Lieffort and Deanna Cook-Shannon). It seems like the men running on behalf of the anti-Yes group are realy intelligent and moral individuals; I can’t imagine they are very comfortable with this approach to helping them gain election. I’d like to see the candidates for EVERY position in the district be treated with respect and dignity. I’d also be very interested to find out what would happen if Jeff Moberg did aply for the long-term Superintendent position, and what if for whatever reason he was denied the position, and someone could trace these public defamation of character comments back to YOU… “JACK”.
Clio, You need to go re-read your crystal ball. Obtaining someone’s identity is possible, but probably lengthly and quite costly. Even then ‘defamation’ is extremely hard to prove though if you have the money and time, it also is possible. It seems to me that Jack’s just revealing what we all know already. Your not going to hear it from the paper, the school board, the ‘Yes at any cost’ group, anywhere but here.
It appears that you are no better by threatening. It also appears that your ilk are getting very nervous when the truth is known. You would rather censor it and deny someone their first amendment rights. If you want to learn about liberty you need to read more of this blog.
The edge Jack is walking on has a label: libel. My suggestion would not be to read more of this blog, but to investigate current and pending court cases where anonymous bloggers may be held accountable for the things they choose to post online. I’m also not making any threats- it really doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure Jack Bauer out- and in the long run, s/he may be making some big mistakes for her/his side. I just want the candidates on her/his side to have a fair shot in the upcoming election and s/he may be harming those chances with these attacks. Reading things like what s/he has written make people feel uncomfortable-no matter what you believe. It’s not the kind of behavior I’d want someone teaching my grandchildren. There are so many great things about the candidates on her/his side-and she’s/ he’s going to blow it for them.
You sound a lot like an elementary gym teacher who used to write to this blog and now travels around the internet posting as the Anti-BD. He used to say how the candidates from the “other” side actually sounded like they cared for the children. In the end, however, he cast his vote for the “pro-union” candidates. The edge that you walk on Clio is one of Communism/Socialism. Tell me, does the teachers union in New Richmond care about the “common” good or are they a government entitiy taking all that they can get and forget about the average citizen? That’s where you cross the line. If Jack Bauer is making you and your friends uncomfortable, then that’s too bad. There are a lot of people in Hudson that are uncomfortable as well. Three top adminstrators have now retired and two board members are not running for re-election this year. It gets mighty hot in the kitchen when the light shines too bright.