Rye School Board Up for Their Own Tenure – Forum Wednesday

Apologies – this is a double post. You can find the original on the thread about swine flu.

In the swine flu thread, there is a very valid post. The question “Why hasn’t Shine been fired?” was raised. Why indeed?

What needs to be also asked is why has Shine received nearly 70% in raises over the past 8 years? Why did he receive a nearly 14% raise last year, and why – in the midst of firings and salary freezes – did this Board allow him to take a bonus for 100 sick days that he did not take over the last four years? Yes – he will be receiving over 20,000 on top of his salary (already double the median family income in Rye)for 22 vacation days.

That meeting was a slugfest with zero leadership from the Board or the Superintendent. At issue was an email written by Shine yet he sat there and in the most ungentlemanly fashion allowed someone else to take the hit. Not once did he stand up to clarify the contents of the email.

Josh Nathan is no stranger to passive-aggressive behavior either. His repeated use of the word “stunning” was as inflammatory as Jamie Zung’s presentation. Let’s own up to some responsibility, Nathan.

None of this contentiousness would exist if the teachers had a contract or if the Board stood up to Shine and his history of spending that gives a drunken sailor a bad name.

Even more concerning is the chat amongst the board members on how irreplaceable Shine is.

Watch out: Keep the board in place and Shine will hand pick his successor. Rye won’t get some young, eager Superintendent in touch with what’s going on with education, technology, and social media. We’ll be stuck with an overpaid bureaucrat who thinks admissions to name-brand colleges that network kids into future non-existant Wall Street jobs is the high mark of a education system.

Laura Slack and Josh Nathan could be Mother Teresa and St. Francis combined but nothing will progress until there is a new board. Let’s start over and look to the future.

I agree with you mulberry.

The School Board likes Shine because he will cover their mistakes and take the hits. That is why they are so willing to throw so much money at this guy.

The same is true for the crazy contract and money Otis gave to Shew.

This is different though. Did Laura Slack say those things or not? Did Shine lie in his E-mail to Rooney or not?

Someone needs to take the fall for this and it should not be Jaime Saracino.

How much do tenured teachers cost the district? Why are kindergarten teachers more valuable than high school teachers? Why should a 27 year old be given job security for the rest of her life? Why should kindergarten parents hold the rest of the district hostage? The high school should be the centerpiece of the district — the reality is that a good or bad kindergarten teacher really doesn’t change one’s life — but a good high school teacher can.

I have been told that the Rye High School Principal, Dr. Rooney, has sent a letter to all of the teachers stating that HE recommended to the School Board that the tenure decisions for certain HS teachers be delayed and that the School Board followed his wishes in all tenure decisions. He also went on to praise Laura Slack for her integrity and for her work as a tireless advocate of kids and her social activism.

I would like to see a number of people apologize to Laura Slack for comments directed at her in the recent weeks. No person is more deserving of our gratitude and support than Laura.

Let’s see the Rooney letter to the teachers and the original letter or e-mail sent to the school board by Rooney.

Why did Shine attribute the statements to Slack?

The kindergarten teacher in question sounds like a good teacher. But the venom displayed by a few of her kindergarten parents, especially by Susan Hendler, who is now trying to get on the Board, was unnecessary and insulting. The hundreds of older students in Rye, not to mention the taxpayers, deserve the Board’s time and attention. Enough angst about kindergarten.

Can someone give a brief (and unbiased) snapshot of what this is in reference to? This is the first I am hearing about this issue.

Having watched the last Board Meeting on tv, here is a quick summary of the two issues referred to above.

A kindergarten teacher might not get tenure, leading to outrage among the kindergarteners’ parents and apparently permanent scarring to the soon-to-be first graders. (Kindergarteners stress a lot over tenure decisions.) The parents don’t like that the Board isn’t obeying them, and one parent is particularly upset she didn’t receive a thank you note for her last appearance. Now she is running for the Board, apparently on the etiquette ticket.

The second issue refers to a brief email sent by the RHS principal to the RHS math chair, marked Confidential, which the math teacher promptly sent to his union rep. In the email the principal says that the superintendent said a board member said that a math teacher or two might not deserve tenure yet. The board member denied she ever said anything of the sort, and the teacher union guy said that he didn’t trust any of them. So it looks like there is no contract coming anytime soon. Stay tuned!

Last week’s school board meeting was certainly a spectacle to behold and far more entertaining than I anticipated a school board meeting could be!
I don’t understand the tenure issue and don’t understand the anger around, but it was incredibly clear that Susan Hendler was a self-serving individual who has a whole personal agenda. I didn’t understand why she was so hung up on a kindergarten teacher that her son had this year. Interestingly enough, another of her sons had the same teacher but she didn’t mention that, nor did she bring in silly drawings or sentences from his kindergarten year. I find it’s a fascinating omission from a person who was so keen to tell us too much about her life. There’s got to be a story here I think.
Laura Slack is an incredibly devoted board member and public advocate – shame on those who attacked her through incorrect information and hearsay. I am amazed this courageous woman would even want to represent us in the future, and thank her so much for caring.
And how ignorant was Susan Hendler about Bob Zahn taking notes, yet she saw it as ‘playing on his computer’ … aaah, God bless the board if that woman gets on it as there will never be a proper debate or rational decision again!
I look forward to viewing the next board meeting!

WELL, the bell has rung,class is over….Now you can all go home and pout! As all of us(in the know) knew from the get go L.Slack is so NOT GUILTY!
Should Shine be fired,
So now we need to show proof because Dr.Rooney is now a lier!
It ends hear. You have your proof. If you want to know why Dr.Shine did what he did GO ASK HIM!
Rooney comes clean,
You are wasting your time expecting an apology from people who think they are above that!

How special of Mrs.Hendler to send her house keeper around to put the signs back up that none of us want on our lawns.

You people that have been attacking L.Slack should crawl back under that rock for which you came. If you really truly knew L.Slack you would never so much as utter such thoughts.

First, tenure is not a guarantee of employment, but rather a right to due process granted after completion of the probationary period and granted upon the recommendation of the school principal and district superintendent.

Second, the community should be educating themselves about the role of the local school board and their scope of authority. The local school board is an agent of state government and is responsible for carrying out the mandate entrusted to it by the state legislature and has no other authority; spelled out clearly in the New York Education Law.

How many of Rye’s board members have availed themselves of the training provided by state to better understand their role, responsibility and scope of authority.

In my opinion, it is beyond the scope of their authority to deny tenure recommendations of the individuals hired and paid to do so.

Also, K-5 education IS important. It also annoys me that the community keeps questioning if the members of the board have observed the classes of the teachers in question. Very clearly, members of the board are not allowed to do so and their function is to accept the recommendations of their paid administrators.

I am certain that most school board members run and serve with the best of intentions to improve their local school district. I am not convinced, however, that they understand their role and the limits of the scope of their authority.

I am also interested to know if the open meetings act is being violated in the way Rye’s local school boards, past, present, and future function.

Also, I think Mrs. Hendler’s comments about Bob Zahm were a reflection of some board members body language and behavior during the public portion of the meeting. I think the public felt frustrated by the perceived lack of interest and respect by the elected board members for their concerns. I also think the teachers have felt similar frustration with the current board.

Why allow the discussion to be deflected by tenure issues (state law – organize and change it) and irritating personality types?

Yeah, permanent tenure is stupid. So organize and fight it. But try and get some questions answered first:

Why was tenure denied this particular teacher when it is a rubber stamp for nearly every other case – no matter how inept the teacher or principal?

Why did Shine not take a stand and clear up the matter once and for all? If anyone slandered Laura Slack it was Ed Shine through his silence.

Was Dr. Rooney coerced into writing that letter? As for Laura Slack’s integrity, how many citizens do the right thing every single day and don’t get public praise?

The anger displayed by the public is an indication of a poisonous atmosphere created by Ed Shine. It’s incredible that he remains teflon even on this blog! I’ll repeat: Shine is the one who slandered Laura Slack through his silence.

And yes it is no secret that – Board members children, as well as the children of PTO heads, get special treatment.

This is the most dysfunctional system ever to come down the pike. The dysfunction will persist unless the cycle is broken. You break it by eliminating the old board members one at a time. No hard feelings – not slander – just “buh bye” until we can get a board with enough cojones to send Shine off into retirement.

Excellent point about the body language. Misinterpreted in this instance perhaps, but the public has been subjected to years of three minutes and the perfunctory “Thank you very much”. Parents who aren’t well connected have no say in their children’s education. No trust.

This dysfunctional board/administration is a train wreck! The Board has been unreceptive and rude to community members for quite some time. Mulberry and Ignorance Annoys me are correct about the body language and there was also overt hostile language when Bob Zahm called the room a “Union Shop.” It is not surprising that the teachers and parents are completely frustrated and angry.
About the email that was allegedly sent by Shine to Rooney. How could Shine sit there and no one thought to ask him to affirm or deny whether the email was sent. Laura Slack should have turned right to Shine to ask why he supposedly wrote an email referring to her. I don’t understand how he can avoid answering that basic question. Having been in this district for almost two decades, it is well known that PTO heads and Board Members have extraordinary access to the Superintendent and Principals. Do most abuse this access–hopefully not. Have some people advanced their own agendas–probably yes. Despite the letters sent by Rooney & Tuttle to “absolve the Board,” there will always remain a doubt about undue influence by a Board member. Ed Shine’s silence can be taken as verification of the alleged email’s contents. One cannot help but wonder whether Rooney & Tuttle felt they had to retract their original statements in order to protect themselves. The whole matter reeks of abuse of power, coercion and conflict of interest. Isn’t that a great thing for the reputation of Rye! Won’t that help the real estate values??

Another point to the person who suggests someone just ask Shine what was in that email.

One of the many problems here is the lack of leadership and integrity on behalf of the Board and particularly of the superintendent.

Shine gets paid more than Arne Duncan did when he was in charge of Chicago’s Schools – for that much money, he can’t think on his feet?

A lot of the anger presented at the last two Board meetings could have been deflected if (1.) Shine showed integrity and a concern for the truth (2.) Josh Nathan and Laura Slack had not responded like spinster school marms. (“I am shocked! Shocked at this behavior!”)

A moment of prophecy:
We will all be forced to enter the Shine Spin Zone when he writes his back-pedaling letter to the local paper.

You are so right, mulberry. The next obvious step will be a letter from Shine in an obvious attempt to further the cover-up. The doubt will always remain, particularly because Laura Slack was also implicated as being involved indirectly with the tenure denial of Ms. Saracino. The plot thickens. Fast forward to 2010–new members of school board facilitate a compromise between the teachers and administration so that there is shared sacrifice. This actually happened in neighboring districts-Mamaroneck, Tuckahoe and others. Can this be our future? Only if there is change in the current cast of character. Stay tuned!

Speakout – I’m with you. Let’s visualize a new board and a decent contract for the teachers.

I just returned from the board meeting where Shine pulled a weasel move. No big surprise there. He said he would address the email from two weeks ago and went on to read Dr. Rooney’s apology.

We know an email was sent from Shine to Dr. Rooney, but we still do not know if Laura Slack’s name was mentioned.

The man needs to answer a simple question but seems incapable of doing so.

In response to Mulberry’s comment, I am not trying to deflect the discussion at all. In fact, when Bob Zahm said at the end of the board meeting that the board will not be a rubber stamp for tenure recommendations, I couldn’t have disagreed more. That is EXACTLY their function.

The taxpayers of Rye should be concerned that board members were so careless. Not acting in accordance with the law leaves the issue to the courts. What taxpayer wants to be responsible for the cost potential litigation resulting from an inept school board?

What was Dr. Shine’s option? To stand up and publicly declare that board members have open access and influence in the administration of the district? He is walking a fine line as a superintendent. The burden of responsibility is upon the board members who would choose to abuse their power to influence the administration, whatever their claims of good intentions.

Also, too much of the functioning of the board is not public. Reading the public minutes, it would be IMPOSSIBLE for the board to be conducting so much business without a quorum and without public notes of their non-public meetings. Are there phone calls between four or more members? E-mails? To my knowledge, this violates the Open Meetings Act. The days of school boards functioning behind closed doors are over.

We are a progressive community and should act like one.

The question was posed, “When was the last time one of the board members observed a class or thanked a teacher?” Laura Slack answered “today” to both.

It is illegal in New York for a board member to observe classes; that is the role of the principal and administration. Her public admission of this abuse of power should have been grounds for calling for her resignation, regardless of the other allegations of undue influence and abuse of power.

Regardless if Shine read a letter from Rooney tonight or not. There is still an email from Shine that states, “Here are the concerns from Laura Slack… teacher x CAN’T TEACH and teacher y’s students don’t produce.”
So I ask you…. bottom line…
Who is lieing? Laura Slack or Ed Shine? We know Laura’s answer, that was evident last Tuesday…”I did not say those words.” So, she called Ed Shine a lier! Then I ask you, what does Ed Shine have to gain from lieing in this email?
This board abuses their power, is disrespectful to teachers and community members, crossed the line with anger and rage, and now will be wasting my tax dollars on litigation over tenure which was EARNED over the last four years. I’m glad Jaime Saracino comes from Rye, at least the tax dollars she wins in a law suit will go back to someone in this community. Not my child, like it should.

Of course all employment issues are private — that protects the reputation of the employee! And the witch hunt directed at the School Board by a group of disgruntled kindergarten parents who have whipped themselves into a frenzy is ridiculous.

Employment issues are private in THIS district to protect employees. Unfortunately, in this district it has also been used to assert undue influence. Fortunately the principal and superintendent were principled enough to forge ahead with the recommendation for tenure and the board chose to deny that recommendation. The results are evident and citizens should be disgusted at the abuse of power.

If the board is unhappy with teachers in the district they should follow the proper channels and change the system of evaluation.

This is much larger than a group of “disgruntled” kindergarten parents.

I was referring to ANY informal meeting, phone calls, or e-mails which require public notes.

However, with regard to the abuse of using Executive Session for personnel issues, it also puts the district in a vulnerable position.

Excuse me IGNORANCE YOU ARE SO ANNOYING. You personify the expression “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing”.
If you really knew anything about NYS law you’d know that school board members are required to attend the training offered by the NYS comptrollers office in order to serve as trustees.
You’d also know, instead of filling this thread with your false “information”, that a school board has a fiduciary responsibility under NYS law to NOT simply rubber stamp the administration’s decisions. As a matter of fact, in the report on the Roslyn New York schools scandal, the largest theft in public education history, the forensic auditors cited LAX OVERSIGHT by the school board as the primary contributing factor.
School employees stole over 11.2 million dollars!
And if you don’t think commiting a district to awarding tenure to a young teacher( about whom they may have reservations ) is a financial decision, you have your nose in a labor union handbook, memorizing Teacher’s Union Bullshit 101.

And by the way all you legal scholars who are experts in the law as it pertains to public meetings, the responsibilities of school boards, confidentiality, personnel issues, law suits and on and on…
Not one thing you have said tonight is factual under NYS law. Or if you do refer to a law actually on the books, you are incorrectly applying it!

It is not illegal for a school board member to observe a class. All the garbage that you are spouting about what board members may or may not do or think or say is just…garbage!
And guess what? Board members and school superintendents and department chairmen are entitled to express their opinons! There is nothing actionable here>
MAYBE THE TEACHERS IN QUESTION CAN”T TEACH? Did that ever occur to you union goons? Why do only .2 percent of tenured teachers ever lose their jobs if it’s “simply due process” ( that is more doublespeak from TEACHERS UNION HANDBOOK 101)
You goons aren’t fooling anyone. Your character assasination blew up in your face. No one on the Board meddled with tenure in the highschool despite DRAMA QUEEN Jamie Zung’s lies.

I don’t think it is a primarily financial decision. And I certainly don’t think that the board’s denial had anything to do with finance.

I thought Rye was concerned with quality of teachers;tenure is due process. You can still fire a teacher, however you must have just cause. How can a board have reservations when the principal and administrators don’t? On what grounds?

Once again, trust the administrators you hired to do their jobs. If you don’t, what happened to your fiduciary responsibility? Why are you paying them?

Training by the comptroller’s office is different from the offered training I am referring to. Why not look at the last study of 300 sitting members of local school boards and their understanding of their roles, responsibilities and authority?

The board should change policy on evaluation if the current process makes them feel they are abandoning their fiduciary responsibility in following their paid administrator’s recommendations.

And really, from the nasty tone of your post, it seems likely that you are a seated board member.

So you can practice law without a clue and spout your nonsense on this blog- 4 or 5 posts worth, but if I call you on it, I’m nasty?
Like the moniker “Ignorance annoys me” isn’t nasty?
You are talking about real people here and you’re implying , in some cases stating, that they are ignorant of, or in violation of, the law.
That is nasty, especially since this particular board is a very bright thoughtful group of people.
So if you hire someone, you are never supposed to disagree with them, or then if you disagree on occasion you should not pay them, or you’re not fulfilling your fiduciary responsibility? So firing a seasoned superintendent with a PhD is ok, in fact required, if you can’t rubber stamp his every decision? But question the tenure of a popular young local girl and that’s it! You’ve committed heresy…
No one needs to change evaluation policy if they don’t always follow the rec. of the Superintendent. A lot of time tenure decisions are made on “likeability” factors, not academic prowess. I suspect that’s the case here.

I’m Curious….. When the hell does Dr.Shine or Dr.Grille ever attend a classroom while teaching is being performed??? How do they know their teachers abilities???
My principal always walked into our classes & observed. I remember when first hearing Dr.Grille speaking in the Auditorium I had to ask someone who this woman was because she didn’t know how to properly introduce herself. Dr.Shine is a total putz & Dr.Grille is spineless.So for me their words of recommendation do not mean diddly!

IgnoranceAnnoysMe – I’m in your camp completely. The rerouting of toxic conversation I was referring to should have taken place during both contentious BOE meetings and should have come from Shine or a member of the Board.

Leadership and character are at issue and neither the Board or Shine have indicated the capacity for either. But they sure can count beans and hide them in line items!

Noway – First, I am not a kindergarten parent, and do not believe in automatic tenure. So whoever posted above that this is way beyond kindergarten parents is correct.

Something is rotten in Rye and it is Ed Shine and his relationship with the Board.

Language is so interesting! You say “seasoned superintendent with a phD.” And I think “hack with old ideas, lining his personal pockets with taxpayer money at the expense of the community”. As for the PhD – it’s really an EdD which is bestowed on a person for perseverance and jumping through hoops. To get one, you do not have to be able to think or write or contribute anything new to the academic world. Try looking for Ed Shine’s dissertation. Actually, don’t you won’t find it. But Dr. Cohen, yes.

It’s kind of like those mail order degrees that let you marry people only not as dangerous.

Truthbetold – Dr. Grille isn’t the only spineless principal we pay a huge salary to. Have you met JoAnne Nardone? Her tenure was rubber stamped and she helped transform a homey elementary school into a building that looks like a hospital with accompanying upkeep and heating bills. The academic performance tanked in her first 3 years. And her tenure was rubber stamped despite the laundry list of complaints from parents.

Also – the point about open meetings is quite valid. It has been said that Board members are making private calls to the other candidates to try and talk them out of running. What’s with that?

There is a track history of the district hiding all sorts of things – test scores, line items in the budget that were never publicly vetted.

And “lost hope” you’ve hit the nail on the head squarely: Someone is lying. Is it Laura Slack or Ed Shine? It is not “time to move on” as Josh Nathan declared last night. Someone lied. Why did they lie?

Until that question is answered conjecture will rule. It’s as simple as “What did the president know and when did he know it?”

Come on, Ed with the EdD -fess up! Get the email in question on Raw Story.

Point of language:
Union goons are those who break union lines and strikes by taking the job of a union member.

Point of confusion:
Release the email. Let’s see the contents. Otherwise Laura Slack will continue to be slandered…or not. Why is Shine afraid of telling us the facts?

Did a Board member have personal preferences in terms of teachers’ positions or not?

This is not a Watergate cover-up. This is about a few parents who feel entitled and are furious their commands are not being blindly followed. So they invent laws and conspiracies to further their own personal agendas and personally and crudely attack Board members and the administration because the aforementioned parents have no idea of the facts; they just continue to fabricate imaginary conspiracies.

John Dewey –
You got it wrong. “Union goons” typically refers to the musclemen who intimidate, by public disparagement, threats of bodily harm, or by violence, anyone who disagrees with the intentions of union bosses.
Those who break union lines and strikes by taking the job of union members are known as “scabs”.

Ignorance Annoys Me – If the board is not supposed to oversee the administration and question their decisions, exactly what is their role? I always thought they were on the board to represent the taxpayer, who elected them to the post to ensure that public money was spent responsibly, and management was conducted properly. Shine and the administration report to the Board, and the Board has a sworn duty to ensure any decision he makes is agreeable to the public. They may get it wrong on occasion, but they can be replaced as necessary through the elective process. Sheesh, didn’t you ever get an education? If it was from the Rye City School District, I guess you’re a sterling example of why MORE oversight is needed! And if you want to live in a truly “progressive” neighborhood, go elsewhere, please. I don’t want Rye to “progress” – it’s fine as is.

Union Goons:
A tough hired by a company to intimidate union members or strikers; a member of a “goon squad” or private corporately paid guards.

Anyone who followed the coverage of Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday knows that.Scooter – bet you’re from that post boomer “me” generation that had history stripped from the curriculum under Reagan.

Reality TV – you’re clearly new to the discussion in this town and district.

The District “leadership” under Shine, Dan McCann, and the BOE, has been covering up stuff for years. The email is like a skin rash that indicates a serious disease. Because there is such a legacy of cover ups with Shine, it’s nearly impossible to trace the history.

Let’s repeat: The contributors to this thread are not kindergarten parents. Some of us have openly said we do not support tenure. Do you need even more remedial help in understanding the situation? Put aside any class or personality issues you have here.

If Shine and Slack are so innocent, then why the secrecy with the email? Why allow Shine to perpetuate negative speculation when it comes to Laura Slack’s intentions? Who is lying?

Ed Shine is entitled to have private conversations regarding qualitative issues raised by reviewing staff up for tenure. Any school board member can comment on a teachers ability, particularly if that teacher is being considered for a LIFE LONG contract – which is what tenure is. They can work for 25 years, and in the case of a young teacher, we could conceivably have a financial commitment for the next 30 to even 40 years.
Certainly a board with a fiduciary responsibility should intervene if they think that level of commitment to a less than stellar candidate would be a mistake.
Its their responsibility to intervene on behalf of me, the public. The school board represents me, and it must remain independent.
All this talk about “cover ups” is union rhetoric to obscure the truth. The Rye Teachers Union is trying to take over our INDEPENDENT school board composed of volunteer parents. They are running schills, who get financial support from the union and their talking points as well.
Do you know that BECAUSE THE TEACHERS UNION CHOSE TO STAY AWAY FROM LAST NIGHTS BOARD MEETING BECAUSE THEY BEHAVED SO POORLY AT THE LAST TWO, none of their decoy candidates even bothered to show up?
Steven Tuch
Chris Reppetto
Susan Hendler
Gwen Hughes
have no independent reason for running for the board. They are simply pawns of the teacher’s union. Three of the four have never even been to a school board meeting before. And Tuch has lived in Rye for all of two years…that’s it.
They are not qualified. Electing them out of personal feelings of spite, or trumped up “issues” of “what did the memo say” is short sighted and not in the best interest of TAXPAYERS and citizens of Rye.
Jaime Saracino’s intelligence is a smoke screen, a private conversation between Shine and Slack, is not unethical or illegal, and need not be disclosed despite what all you legal experts believe, and therefore is also a smoke screen.
The true issue is a UNION trying to control our school board.
It’s happened in other communities, and certainly in Urban districts. It can happen here.

John Dewey – it appears you agree you were wrong with your earlier definition of goon, that “scab” is the correct term? And the word “goon” did originally mean what you said, but companies long ago stopped hiring such bullies (sometime in the 30’s). However, it now typically refers to similar tactics employed by union leaders – which is exactly why I use the term “typically”. Ever hear of union bosses “hatting” someone? Trust me, you don’t want it to happen to you.
I learned my history before Reagan was in office. And no, I didn’t follow Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday. I am not unaware of who he is and his influence on American music, it’s just that I don’t let my politics be dictated to me by a Harvard drop-out split-tenor with a Communist history. And his popularity peaked about the time my grandparents were finishing off their mortgage.
Reagan, by the way, didn’t strip history from the curriculum, he simply exposed the lies peddled by liberals (and in the process, unleashed the greatest expansion this country – and the world – has ever seen).

I heard that Slack told Jaime Saracino 4 years ago that she would never get tenure. If true, would that be premeditation and actionable?

How come we haven’t heard about the custodian who sued the Rye School District for discrimination and recently won?

Let’s see the e-mail that Rooney sent to the teachers and the one Rooney sent to Shine. Did Shine lie?

The Rye Teachers Association did not show up at last evening’s Board meeting because the posted agenda was for a budget hearing. It was not posted that there would be a public hearing of “non-agenda” items. We respected that. It is interesting to note that when Mr. Nathan stated at the meeting that the public could speak on budget concerns, as well as any other item, there were plenty of people there to speak in favor of the Board. How did they know that they would be able to address “non-agenda” items at that meeting? What is really going on here?

Mulberry — you are apparently a disgruntled union member, but for your information I have been attending Board of Ed meetings for 13 years and don’t remotely need your assistance in explaining anything to me.
The ridiculous “legacy of cover ups” you spout about are obviously a figment of your imagination. The crude and abrasive public speakers at the two April Board meetings were both a disgrace and a disappointment. Senseless rumors about cover ups, with no facts to back up such claims, indicate that the accuser obviously has a personal ax to grind.

And here I thought the current Rye City Council had just about cornered the market on closed door intrigue, backbiting and incivility to taxpayers. This wasn’t the way it ran in my student days under Mrs. Sinnott’s leadership.

The way this string reads, I hope there’s a few police at tonight session. And a concealed weapons checkpoint.

Love all the talk about the school board but i think you all are missing the main issue in rye. what are we going to do about the pollution on hen island?

From the vitriol on both sides, id does sound like some would welcome the chance to bring weapons to the meeting, to “solve” the problem(s).
Might we all exercise a little restraint, and realize that poor examples are being set by both sides? Children are not completely ignorant to this debate, and both teachers AND parents are setting some very poor role models. This is not Yonkers or “Da Bronx”.

Scooter, you are a victim of public’s perception of the role of the school board, not the actual mandated role from the state legislature. The public may make demands of school boards, and school boards may justify their actions on the basis of implied powers, but ultimately they are State officials.

The school board’s responsibilities include policy making, developing programs, employing personnel, managing buildings, levying taxes, etc. The law defines these responsibilities, they are interpreted by the courts but OFTEN they are expanded by the local community and become common practice.

They should not be involving themselves in issues such as tenure recommendations of the administration. As one citizen pointed out at the second meeting, there are so many other important issues they should be concerned with; such as planning for growth.

Once again, I would like to ask if any members of the current board availed themselves of the training available from the New York State School Boards Association which helps them understand their role as a corporate body. Or, are boards in this community just operating on the advice of experienced board members or the superintendent?

The NYSSBA helps members understand what IS legal and what IS NOT.

I think not availing themselves of this training is negligent and leaves room for a misinterpretation of the roles, responsibilities and scope of authority of the board.

A board member should not have a personal agenda and should not be let the opinions of one parent or a friend cause them to question the administrator’s opinion. That is, in my opinion, abuse of the position.

I think the public outcry is more than just a few disgruntled parents. I guess time and the elections will tell.

Dear Poluttion Control
That you again Ray trying to hi-jack the school thread with your narrow vendetta vs Hen Island and Rye.

Oh please, this isn’t Watergate, this isn’t Arms for Hostages, this isn’t Enron or Abscam.

ABUSE OF POWER? COERCION? CONFLICT OF INTEREST?
So if your husband’s boss said something to him in a private memo and he leaked it to a fool who leaked it to another fool who made it public, you don’t think your husband’s behind would be out the door?
Dr. Shine is entitled to private communications regarding personnel. Rooney made a BIG mistake in betraying his confidence by giving it to Tuttle, and Tuttle made a bigger mistake by betraying Rooney’s misplaced trust and giving it to Jamie Zig Zag Zung – a union bomb thrower.
Dr.Shine should be mighty pissed off at both of them. He’s their boss, and if he makes them man up and tell the truth good for him!
It’s not coercion…it’s common sense.
There is no intrigue here. Private is private…people talk privately with colleagues every day in workplaces across America, public and private. No one owes any one any obligation to release anything. It’s PRIVATE and none of your business. I don’t care what it says.
It’s all just another diversion from the real issue: A labor union is trying to take over our independent School Board !!!
Wake up everybody! I don’t care if you don’t like this one or that one or you think Jamie Saracino walks on water instead of swimming in it. Too bad!
Grow up and put aside your petty grievances.
DO YOU REALLY WANT THE TEACHERS UNION NEGOTIATING A BIG FAT CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE TO PAY FOR?
Then don’t vote for Tuch, Hendler (who’s a kook to boot) or Reppetto or Hughes.
It’ll be Union v. Union at the bargaining table…THINK!

Ignorance –

Sorry, but your explanation doesn’t make sense. I don’t see how the board can be responsible for employing personnel but not have a say in tenure. And if they are responsible for levying taxes, they must be responsible for setting – and controlling – the budget. If they aren’t responsible for oversight of the administration, exactly who does Shine report to? Or is he some kind of “super-teacher”, with guaranteed lifetime employment and hefty increases in pay every year?
By the way, I agree fully that board members should not have personal agendas. Their agenda should be to maximize the return the taxpayer gets from the teachers and school admin, while minimizing taxes. This would include denying tenure to sub-standard teachers.

Hey Scooter, Thanks for having my back here.
Its clear some people don’t like Shine or Slack, but I don’t give a damn. I don’t want my taxes raised to pamper some rude self absorbed labor union members in the name of “fairness.”
The School Board is Shine’s boss.We elect them. They speak for me. I LIKE THAT!

And Susan Hendler shouldn’t be let out in public…someone have a talk with her husband.

That poor man!

The school board is Shine’s boss. Shine supervises the building principals. The building principals supervise their educators and recommend or not recommend them for tenure. It is not the board’s role to deny tenure against a principal’s recommendation.

Ask the NYSSBA; evaluation of teachers is NOT the role of the school board.

If an individual has an issue with an educator, they should take it up with the building principal.

Ethical and legal governance is the hallmark of a civilized community.

Let’s not forget, we are not talking about private industry here.

And hiding behind “fiduciary responsibility” in this instance is insulting to the community.

I’d like to clarify by individual I mean a parent, not a board member. A parent should be expressing their concerns about particular educators to the principal, not to their friend on the board.

I’m sure parents speak to principals every day all over America, but Ignorance, a school board can certainly overturn a tenure decision. NYSSBA is simply a membership organization. NY State LAW allows boards that authority and they should exercise it if they see fit.
Sorry, Ignorance, your ignorance of the law as it pertains to this has already been established.

And stop tossing out this smokescreen. The union is using this tempest in a teapot to try to hi jack our school board.
Don’t change the subject with your sh*%house lawyering.

And “community” is more union speak. You must be an RTA rep. The community is Rye, and we don’t want our taxes raised.

The saying goes “where there is smoke…there is fire.” Either Mrs. Slack or Dr. Shine is lying (or silently omitting the truth)about the contents of the email. Dr. Shine should be asked to publicly clarify the contents and intent of the email he sent to Dr. Rooney.

Dr. Rooney should be asked to publicly clarify why he did not reccomend four teachers in the high school after, supposedly, giving them good reviews.

Once again, that NY State Law allows boards authority as they see fit is a perception. In New York the State Commissioner of Education is empowered to interpret the educational laws of the State; not local board members. Courts also interpret the laws and determine proper legal definitions of the authority of school boards.

The NYSSBA is current on both the Commissioner’s interpretations and the court’s.

I am not an RTA rep, but rather a citizen interested in ethical and legal governance. I really don’t understand why your posts are so angry and personal, this is not a personal issue.

And I am aware that school boards can and do overturn tenure decisions all of the time. They are corrupt in many ways by their very nature. My point is, they should be ethical and legal.

Sorry Linus it was not me. Maybe, someone else who cares about pollution in the Sound. I would be happy to discuss the Hen Island polluters with you but not on this thread. You and I are like friends compared to what is going on here. I wouldn’t touch this one with a ten foot pole!

Scooter-

I would like to clarify that Miss Saracino was not identified as a sub-standard teacher. In fact, from the board meetings it is clear that she is a “stellar” teacher. It is my understanding that she has received excellent performance reviews and her students are well-prepared for first-grade. I hardly think there would have been such a public outcry, from parents, colleagues, and esteemed community members if this were not the case.

What’s interesting to me, in this whole thread, is that other than Mr. Floaty and a few others, noone is willing to actually sign their name to a post. Come on…if you’ve got a valid opinion, don’t be afraid to show your face!

Sorry Ray Tartaglione, I didn’t have your name in front of me when I made that last post. At least you have the b*lls to use your real name.

Apologies to Ray Tartaglione on that last post…he’s never afraid to use his real name. A real hero…

Your taxes went up exponentially over the past 12 years with Shine at the helm. And it was on stupid stuff. The Board enabled him. Don’t blame the teachers for asking for a contract which they are due. Collaboration,compromise, and any approaches that will reach something fair for all are impossible with the current Board.

These old fear tactics about unions don’t work anymore – even in provincial, outdated Rye. Some are even exhuming the caricature of an anarchist throwing a bomb. Ludicrous.

Why won’t Shine read the email and clear Laura Slack’s name? What is he hiding if there has been no conflict of interest, no meddling.

And as for hiding things, Shine is an expert at that. There are hidden margins all over the years of budgets that he has supervised. This year alone, he hid a 5.6% bonus for himself. (The Board gave him a 14% raise last year.)

The district has hidden Regents and other test scores; curriculum, teacher, and administrative failures.

I think it is outrageous that anyone would comment on taking down campaign signs!!! How does one know Mrs. Hendler’s babysitter went and put them back up? This sounds silly focusing on lawn signs! I have not met the candidates, but I have heard them on 77 and what it comes down goes beyond complaining K parents. We need to fix our teachers union and I agree that we need to eliminate the abuse of power because in the long run it has a negative effect on our children and their education. As of now it feels that Mrs. Hendler is able to look at the current situations facing our district from the angle of a professional teacher, parent and resident. She will bring to the table what is in the best interest for our kids. That is how I see now anyway.

Why would anyone even consider voting for Susan Hendler? As a member of a teacher’s union, there is no possible way for her to represent the District effectively in contract negotations as she will be directly affected through her work in Scardale by the outcome of anything in Rye. This is not a pro/anti-union comment. It is a fact. She can not objectively take part in any negotiation on behalf of the Rye City School District.

Excuse me, “ignoranceannoys”, but exactly what was it that made it clear that Ms. Saracino is a stellar teacher? What has been said in public is a set of testimonials from parents of children who have been in her classroom, under her care. There has been very, very little spoken about her professional peformance. Caring for her kids, coaching them, etc. is all well and good, but that does not make for stellar performance. If I remember the comments made by the speakers, they included something that said Saracino’s kids did no better or worse than kindergartners from other Midland teachers. Hardly stellar. Just keeping up is more like it.

Ignorance –

Your faith in our state government is very touching, but I’d rather have a strong local board willing to ignore state law if such laws restrict them from taking proper actions to ensure the Rye taxpayer is treated fairly. The only time those idiots up in Albany stop screwing the taxpayer is when they’re screwing call girls. You really want to place your full faith and trust in these morons?

bunny,
I know because I witnessed it! And after witnessing Hendler’s stellar performance last night we won’t have to worry much longer! No Way anyone is stupid enough to vote for this FREAK. As the cameras rolled all night she sat there with her smut face rolling her eyes at her competitors every time they spoke. WHO let this Woman out of the cage?
She couldn’t be more self serving and disrespectful. Hand picked by the RTA & it showed all night. And for Mr.Repetto,also hand picked by the RTA, no experience & brings nothing to the table. Mr.Tuch,hand picked by the RTA, all about money because he’s got it. WOOPDIE DOOO!!!
There is nothing wrong with the education level in Rye. I’m with you Scooter,(scary) “IF IT AIN’T BROKE DON’T FIX IT”

First, there are myths that need to dispelled immediately. Steve Tuch and Chris Repetto ARE NOT RTA CANDIDATES! Neither were recruited by the RTA. They are running because they believe they can help heal this dysfunctional situation. TruthBeTold is not being truthful–do some factchecking please.

Moreover, if our goal is to help mend relationships, it is not helpful to call someone a FREAK. Please refrain from your tirades and stick to the facts that matter. New faces on the Board will bring something to the table. They will bring a desire to facilitate a respectful dialogue. Until all parties feel respected, there will not be any settlement.

The RTA contract impasse is about a lot more than money. It is about respect and the lack thereof. I truly believe collaboration is possible, as other districts have been succesful in mutual sacrifice(Mamaroneck, Harrison, etc.)when there was a feeling of mutual respect. This is sorely lacking here and not only because of the RTA’s revelation of the Shine email (Dr. Shine- why don’t you just reveal the contents and then clear Ms. Slack’s name if that is true?).

Disrespect has been going on for a long time. Nathan may profess to having improved communications and may take credit for the revised math program, but that only happened after community members were persistent and pushed for this Board to form the math committee.

Mr. Nathan and Ms. Slack refused to accept any responsibility for the breakdown in communication that has occured. In fact, Mr. Nathan actually believe communications have IMPROVED during the past 6 year. I have been to many board meeting and served on committees and I know that communications have NOT IMPROVED, but have actually deteriorated.

We need to mend these relationships and move on. Please consider voting for Tuch/Repetto and maybe Hughes since they are are willing to listen and work with all stakeholders.

TruthBeTold, I also do not support the candidates you mentioned, but I do respect the time they’re putting into their campaigns. In particular, Hendler would be a disaster on multiple levels – divisive, conflicts of interest, etc. but at least she’s trying to run. That said, her answers last night were terrible. Save money by adding full day kindergarten because NYS will pay for it? Clearly she has no idea about how NYS funding works, that funding is NEVER 100%, usually less than 25% and when it comes to special education services more like 6%.

Chris Repetto is trying, seems well spoken, but he has no real understanding of what’s happening. His Journal News comment that the District is “under taxed” reflects his being out of touch with reality. His comments at the League of Women Voters session that Rye is in the top quartile of administration costs says he doesn’t differentiate between NYS and Westchester county. He really doesn’t know what’s going on.

Sorry, Speakout1, but you write of the need for respect and mutual sacrifice, then go on to talk about current board members only. Is it too much to ask that the RTA also show some respect and shared sacrifice? From what I saw of the last board meeting, the RTA representatives made our town look pathetic. The board gave them more respect than they deserved.

After reading the postings, I just wanted to clarify a few quick inaccurate statements. I am not an RTA candidate. I was recruited to run for the board by someone in Rye who has done a lot of work for the board, who I have served with on committees and who, like me, is fiscally conservative. Not sure what “all about money because he’s got it” means, but I don’t want taxes to go up. I’ve recently sat down with a fellow member of the finance/budget committee to discuss ways to cut the budget. Not grow it.

Unfortunately, I could not attend last night’s event because I am in Boston. But, I will be speaking at The Osborne next Tuesday night. Please come so you can hear what I really stand for.

Thank you.

Scooter,
The point I was trying to make was that the two incumbents were asked whether they were satisfied with the state of relationships between Board, community, and teachers and they both said they thought the Board was communicating well and the only issue causing a problem was about finances regarding the RTA original requests. I believe that the Board is definitely to be held responsible for their part in the impasse and they should not act as if it is only the RTA’s fault. Moreover, several of the teachers who spoke at the Board meetings on 4/14 and 4/28 were articulate and non-combative (Jane Johnson, Harriet Sessa, Kristen Warner, etc.).

As I left the school last night, I actually heard Nathan mutter that he wishes he had a stop sign which is what was used during the debate when the speakers’ time ran out. Is that considered good communication? I don’t think so. As V.P. last year and now President of the Board, he has demonstrated verbal and non-verbal hostility to many people, not only teachers. Last year he said he thought the community member should be charged for the time that was wasted when this senior citizen took the time to address the Board. Do you now understand why I feel that the Board has not set a tone of respect? There is plenty of room for improvement and new faces might be able to make improvements.

Also, the administrative costs that Repetto referred to are real. Shine had a 14.9% increase in ’08 and this year will receive a payout for unused vacation days, of which he accrued 100. This Board negotiated his contract. They also hired Kathie Ryan at an increase of 30% over the past business officer ($180,000 vs. $129,000). These costs all need examination. Repetto is on the right track when looking for “fat.”

So, Her (Hendler)snobby expressions of disrespect towards her competitors every time they spoke was ok? When asked why she didn’t attend the previous evenings budget meeting she replied(w/her snobby grin): “could not attend for personal reasons”. That’s a copout & a very cheap answer!!!
If she is so concerned she should have been present!
At least Mr.Repetto had the dignity to label his personal reason(parenting) for not attending.
Mr.Tuch,
If you don’t want taxes to go up then maybe you should state which side of the fence of the contract negotiations you will be siding on. No one thinks that the RTA should be without a contract… But let’s get real!!!

From what she was saying the other night it sounds to me that Mrs. Hendler has some special needs children. Perhaps she scoured school districts seeing which one would best fit their needs and the best way to get them certified by the school district and have them pay the $85,000 tuition. A run at the school board may help. Sound familiar?

When are we going to get some clarification and a look at the e-mails from Shine to Rooney and Rooney to the teachers? Was Shine lying?

I have been reading this thread for several days, and am amazed at the lack of civility. I have been a Rye resident for 28 years, and cannot remember a school board more divisive than this one. Part of the problem, in my opinion, is that there is an “us vs. them” mentality being exhibited by both school board members and members of the RTA when discussing the contract negotiations. As a result we have inflamed passions and not surprisingly an impasse, which MUST be resolved. In my opinion, the only way to break the impasse is to bring new blood to the table–and that applies to both the school board and RTA. I can only control the school board side, so I am inclined to vote for new candidates rather than continuing the terms of current board members who haven’t been able to resolve this critical issue. It’s simply time for a change. Also in my opinion, while I thought most of the new candidates presented themselves well last night, I am particularly impressed by Mr. Schmitt and Ms. Hughes. I welcome hearing the views of others.

George Smith–I share your feelings about the need for some new faces to try and change the dialogue. Ms. Hughes had some interesting new ideas, Mr. Repetto and Mr.Schmitt had good thoughts about long-term financial planning and prioritizing, as well as Repetto’s desire to streamline administrative costs. Mrs. Hendler brings the perspective of another district; however, I feel she may be a bit too controversial and may have a difficult time remaining calm. I do appreciate the fact that she challenged the status quo, though, but I will probably not vote for her. I got a chance to meet with Steve Tuch last week and I feel that he “gets it” and is overall the best candidate. I did not know any of the 5 new candidates prior to this time and I feel that the best thing to do so that one is comfortable endorsing a candidate is to reach out by email or phone and set up a time to meet them or chat over the phone. They’re receptive and will listen. It’s too bad Mr. Tuch was not present at the debate because he has a fresh take on things. There is another debate at the Osborn Home next Monday, I believe and Mr. Tuch will be there.

Speakout1 – Admin costs are definitely worth investigating, but don’t forget the total cost of education in Rye is significantly lower (average, per pupil) than almost every single one of Rye’s peer districts. Paying more for the current business official than the previous one probably reflects the skills / abilities of the new vs old.

Bringing new blood to the table that has a vested interest in a teacher contract settlement at a higher rate than has been on offer may lead to a deal being achieved — but will it be one the community can afford? The increase this year is barely acceptable to many of our neighbors. A contract with 5-7% average increases in salaries is going to lead to a minimum of 4% budget increases and higher tax rate increases.

I agree that there is no room for the rudeness and lack of civility shown on this blog. Similar, the way in which the RTA and a particular Board candidate has gone after individuals is inappropriate. The most effective comments made to date about the contract or tenure etc are from the reasonable comments made by people like Bill Ackerman and Cheryl Flood and some of the parents. But setting up any individual (be they teacher or board member or just plain tax payer) is wrong. Electing someone to the Board who behaves that way is rewardind bullying and is certainly not a formula for positive change.

George Smith – Bravo. Yes – new blood on both sides. Even the most well-intentioned Board member or RTA head needs to step aside in order to get healthy negotiations going.

The cultural pendulum needs to swing wide in either direction before a middle ground can be found. I am old enough to remember when the Sierra Club seemed like a bunch of wackos, when their approach to environmental stewardship has proven to be quite sound.

Given that perspective, let’s take a new look at Ms. Hendler’s “in your face” approach. When one goes to speak in front of the board, one (used to) encounter the gatekeeper with a clipboard who grilled you on what you were going to say. Occasionally she’d make some kind of innuendo implying that the district administration had been gossiping about you.

Then there is the three minute time limit with the perfunctory “Thank you very much.”

Citizens have always been made to feel as if they were scraping and bowing to make a petition before royalty. No New England town meeting here!

So, when Ms. Hendler says she’s adding on a bunch of minutes, to a board that historically been hostile to seniors, telling citizens that they should literally shut up, it’s a bit of a speaking truth to power moment. Irritating? Of course! Prophetic moments are always uncomfortable.

No one is condoning this behavior, but it does have a history and the board does not come out very well here. They behave as if the citizens should scrape and bow before lords and dukes. The Dukes of Hazard look classy next to this crowd – stop sign indeed! – even if Shine runs the district like Boss Hogg.

Also – I’m surprised the friends of Laura Slack have not asked her to demand that Shine read the email and clear her name. Friends don’t let friends get slandered.

Speakout1, thank you for the information on Mr. Tuch. I did think that his opening and closing statements were thoughtful, and would have liked to hear more from him.

Doubting Thomas, my premise is that new blood on both sides would lead to an improved negotiating environment that would result in a compromise. I agree that this community cannot afford tax rate increases at the rates we have seen over the last few years.

In response to Doubting Thomas’ question…I seem to remember the evaluation process being explained at the second board meeting. From what I remember, meeting the expectations in your performance evaluations is stellar in this district. I believe it was said that very few teachers ever rate higher than that, and I think we can all agree that we have some great teachers.

Additionally, comments from one or two observations from Dr. Cohen were also what I would call stellar.

And why are we discounting parents overwhelming support of this teacher? I was very moved by the parent testimonials, as well as her colleagues and Mrs. Flood. Isn’t this type of commitment and caring in a teacher something that should be rewarded in this district?

Shouldn’t that show of support count more than one parent’s access to a board member?

Also, my comments on this thread have been premised with everyone’s understanding that NO REASON has ever been given to Miss Saracino as to why she has been denied tenure.

This was stated at the second meeting with no response from the board other than, “We take tenure seriously”.

I believe there is a legal time frame during which they MUST provide reasons.

Do we really want a board who gets personally involved in administrative issues, denies tenure without cause, misses the time frame for providing a reason and leaves the district open for a law suit?

I wish they would focus on long-term strategic issues that are very real. I agree with the citizen who is stunned that children attend class in portables in Rye, NY? Where is the planning?

New blood on both sides sounds like a wonderful idea. Unfortunately, that’s not the way unions work. They have paid professionals who’s sole task is to win concessions, whether it takes months or years. They don’t give a damn about practicing civility or being nice – in fact, they relish adding rancor to the debate, because it serves to alienate management from the workers. They are willing to hold out for months or years to achieve their goals.
Proposing that the Board of Education get new members to promote change is the first step in surrendering to the union. The current board has shown a backbone that has long been missing, and they should be encouraged by all taxpayers to hold the line.

Ignorance –

Do you think that children would learn faster and better if they’re surrounded by bricks and mortar, rather than plywood and plexiglass? Or do you think that Rye should spend millions to build temples, so that poorer taxpayers could then take civic pride as they drove past their children’s temporary educational sites in their 1974 Chrysler K-car held together with wire and tape? (It would be all that many could afford).
Quite frankly, I wouldn’t care one bit if the entire school system were conducted in quonset huts or even campaign tents, as long as teachers did their job in educating their charges.

1. SPEAKEASY1 and MULBERRY are disgruntled women who have never gotten over the Milton Gym boondoggle. They are stuck, permanently, and are incapable of reason ever since. Their anger blinds them to the point they make such statements as …the fear of unions…
GOOGLE the phrase “teachers union takeover of school board” and you will see articles from newspapers all over the country…current articles. If the RTA teachers union takes over our school board our taxes will go WAY UP. It is a fact and not a scare tactic. MULBERRY and SPEAKOUT1 know this, they are not stupid women, but they are burning to punish this board so much that they’d pay the higher taxes for a chance at revenge.
They reference the board …for twelve years…NONE of the current board members were on the board 12 years ago or even 8 or 7 years ago. These women are harboring grudges from over a decade ago and must be seen in this context.

Ignorance is a union flack who says the Education Commissioner interprets laws among other numerous legal misstatements.
The COURTS in the United States have this supreme function.
She has posted 8 or 9 times now and every post has errors. She’s hoping by repeatedly ignoring the issue of the RTA (teachers union) running candidates for our board, that they’ll slip it past Rye Voters May 19.
Steven Tuch has lived in Rye only two years. He has no idea what we taxpayers went through with years of double digit tax increases.
He skipped the league of Women Voters debate…they said it was his anniversary – read a statement but avoided questions.
He skipped the Journal News debate – and avoided questions. He skipped the school board budget hearing. He never attended a school board meeting prior to a month ago when he (independent of the teacher’s union?) decided to run.
He is on the Finance committee but has missed ALMOST HALF THE MEETINGS. I don’t think he should jump to the head of the line. There are more experienced candidates who have lived in Rye longer and better represent the taxpayers.

Susan Hendler…well just look at her on TV…YIKES!!! and she is eye rolling smirking and twitchy. She also has never been involved in Rye at all and never attended a Board meeting.

No one has ever seen Gwen Hughes before – a retired RTA member.

And Chris Repetto seems like a nice enough guy but he said at the Journal News that our taxes are TOO LOW. He’s also never attended a board meeting before.

All these “candidates” appeared out of the blue right after the Union said in the newspaper that they are looking to run candidates. Hmmmm…I suppose it could be a coincidence, yeah, right.

TUCH HENDLER REPETTO AND HUGHES have all shown minimal or no interest or involvement in our district until the RTA was looking for someone to hand them a big fat raise. Do the teachers “deserve” a contract? Sure they do, and no one but the teachers is to blame for them not having a contract. They want too much money. All these other “issues” are intentional smokescreens.

At Tuesday’s Board meeting Mrs Sinnett said that she called Josh Nathan to ask him to make an exception to allow her to speak at the public session although it was just a budget hearing. I had called the district office earlier to inquire if I could speak and was told that the board would only be hearing comments on the budget. Many of you here who are praising the integrity of the present board, please tell me why it seems that only the friends of Laura Slack showed up to speak at that session, and not with budget concerns, but rather with praise (albeit well deserved)for her. The Board also allowed person after person to electioneer for Laura and Josh. I believe that this is not allowed at a school board meeting.

Nowaynohow-

I believe my post said the Commissioner is empowered to interpret the laws. Does the Commissioner not promulgate regulations based on Education Law?

And in the next sentence I said and also through the courts. I would like to see a court case where a school board denied tenure against the recommendation of the superintendent with absolutely no reason given, within the legal time frame or otherwise, and see the verdict.

I think if the current board had focused on their duties expressly mandated by the state, perhaps they would have been more successful.

I guess the current board has increased the standard for tenure in the district. I wonder how they are going to attract all those really “stellar” teachers to a community where the teachers are working without a contract.

The person who mentioned my name in her post is misinformed and I find her manner of writing oddly hostile. This is not a 12 yr. grudge, rather it is a matter of looking at the track record of incumbents vs. newer candidates who deserve the right to run for school board. Nowaynohow has consistenly used fear tactics about the new candidates saying they are RTA people who will only raise our taxes. If these people explained why they are running, why is it not possible that they are actually concerned about Rye and want to help diffuse the tension. Other towns have had compromises by the Admin. and teachers and I have an optimistic (maybe cockeyed!) view that Rye can accomplish this is civlity and respect are somehow restored. The blogger nowaynohow is rude and doesn’t know my history and should not be referring to situations to which she knows nothing about. I am no longer interested in participating in this blog.

Its amazing how some teachers get tenured and some don’t. Jaime is an EXCELLENT teacher. There are teachers in the Rye City School district that have tenure and quite honestly I don’t know where they received their education! Maybe from a Cracker Jack Box. So, again, I ask if your not liked by the board you don’t get tenured? What gets me is when these people are up for election or re-election they will be my best friend. Susan Hendler and many other parents, friends, co-workers believe in Jaime like myself. People even wrote letters to the board to support Jamie. After attending the meetings the people on the board are just plain rude. One is on the computer supposely “taking notes”, then cleaning his “files” . The others are looking around “pretending” to be of interest. Remember we voted for you and its up to US the people of Rye to get you out. So, you should be listening to the people of Rye and reading the letters that support Jamie. How does it look when a young women who is the product of Rye her very own community where she went to school and now is teaching doesn’t give her a job. We all can’t afford private schools hell some of us can’t afford to live in Rye but we do it for the sake of our CHILDRENS EDUCATION!! I know some of the board memebers have children that go the Rye schools and my question is why did you want to get involve? I am thinking its a power trip. We have our rights to our own opinions but I think when it comes down it its a personal issue. Which is very sad because Jaime is a highly qualified teacher and the Board is very stupid for letting a teacher like her go..

Ignorance- sorry, you’re not an attorney. We’ve established that.

“within the legal time frame?” you blew it again. The legal time frame hasn’t passed. The clock is still ticking and Jamie Saracino still has her job.

You blew it again, Ignorance. Keep your day job. You’ll never make it in law school.

AND lGat, Jean Sinnott DID speak the other night. She is a respected member of our community, but no friend of Laura Slack and Josh Nathan. Mrs. Sinnott has been highly critical of this board in the past, as has Martin Gerson and Bertrand deFrondeville.
All three esteemed members of the greater Rye community felt a need to attend to speak out against the vulgar & coarse behavior of the teachers union and a few parents at the last two board meetings.
They have all lived in Rye over thirty years, if not decades longer, and all three publicly stated they have never seen such shameful behavior, by the teachers union – not the board!
All three perennial critics of the school board have this year STRONGLY endorsed Nathan Slack and Schmitt ( the only independent new candidate) because with a combined wisdom of over 200 years, they know well the danger of letting mob rule prevail in Rye.
No TEACHERS UNION CANDIDATES ON RYE’S SCHOOL BOARD.
Everything else is only a union created smokescreen.

Nowaynohow-set aside your anger and fears for a while and you might be able to think and read more clearly. I said that Mrs Sinnott spoke AT the board meeting. I too respect her very much and am angered that the board refuses to start their meetings by saluting the flag.You haven’t addressed the issue of why the board changed the agenda to allow people to speak on non-agenda items at a budget hearing. This is something that they have rarely if ever done. They also allowed people to electioneer on school property. Also a no-no. How convenient for them.

I believe that the candidates really think they can improve the schools and district. But I also believe that a couple of them (Hendler and Hughes) are incredibly conflicted because of their employment. They should not be elected because it is impossible for them to be objectively involved in labor discussions.

Ms. Hughes, while retired, continues to appropriately benefit from her service to the district. But there is a reason employees of the district are not allowed to be on the school board. The same strictures should probably explicitly apply to retired staff.

Mrs. Hendler is even more conflicted than Ms. Hughes because she currently teaches, albeit in a different district. While she does not receive money from Rye school district, any contract settlment achieved in Rye could directly affect settlements her employer makes with her bargaining unit. This is not about whether she’d be a good board member or not. This is about a fundamental conflict of interest. Neither Hendler nor Hughes should be permitted to serve on the school board.

I think most in Rye were concerned about the lack of a contract, but probably somewhat indifferent; not really holding the board responsible, not overly empathetic to the teachers until……

they attended a board meeting. By the second meeting the public filled, Cady, Egan and Kim were attentive and respectful. Their poise always indicates this.

Slack, Nathan, Fox and Zahm’s arrogance and indifference were palpable, not only to the public in attendance, but to the public who subsequently watched on T.V.

Nowaynohow, if you want to convince yourself that the new candidates are RTA plants no one can stop you. The buzz around town since those airings has NOT been about the RTA’s behavior but the shocking behavior of some board members.

George Smith,
Mr.Schmitt,in my opinion is the only new candidate well deserving of the job. Well spoken,had all of his ducks in order all night,unlike Hughes & Hendler was not stuck on the contract issues. I said this before & I’ll say it again NO Teachers Union member should run because of conflict of interest.
Doubting Thomas,
I agree 100%. I posted that exact statement. The 1st thing all the teachers unions say when their contract negotiations come up is;I want what they have……what a merry go round!
I for one am sick of seeing Hendler’s political signs polluting my neighborhood. I hope the garbage men don’t take them out of the pails in the morning.

Wait….if and when the RTA get’s a valid contract will they stop wearing those silly black RTA shirts to school and making a mute political statement to all the school age voters? Uhmm?

I just heard from a neighbor who was at the meeting tonight, that candidates are stealing one anothers lawn signs. I must say that is dirty politics-and for the board of education! What msg. are we sending to our children? Just want to reply to an older post, regarding teacher unions-each teachers union is separate so RTA and Scarsdale (?) do not work together. What is going on with Shine and Slack? Dirty campaign? Keeping secrets, parading posse of friends around like a high school popularity contest?

Bunny, what meeting was that? I was not aware of a lawn sign meeting tonight. There was a debate last night, but what meeting was tonight?

And which teachers union does not follow the lead of the NYSUT or UFT?

Ignorance, the fact that you are a teacher IS scary. The union said it hopes to run candidates, preferably teachers – then out of the blue four names pop up – two of whom are teachers. hmmmm.
They have never attended, or shown any interest in, Board meetings or the district budget before the RTA’s announcement. BUT THEY ARE NOT RTA CANDIDATES?

Yeah , right.

And speakeasy1, you are certainly hostile and have an ax to grind. You say I am hostile because I have the temerity to disagree with you. That is too bad.
Please don’t participate if you can only attack the board and the superintendent.
I want an independent school board. Many people agree with me –
because they’re not fixated on revenge.
The Milton Gym is already constructed.

Stealing each other’s signs? Someone besides Ms. Hendersen has felt the need put up signs? Sounds like a conspiracy theory.

Excuse me. Susan Hendler. Not Hendersen.

hey nowaynohow,

i am confused and upset with the dirty politics going on with this election process. is it even worth voting?

whether i agree with the candidates positions or not, i believe that everyone should have the chance to campaign without their efforts being compromised.

i am not saying anymore if i agree with mrs. hendler’s positions but it is confirmed that someone has taken down all her signs along midland avenue area and along theo. fremd avenue. in some cases they are ripping down the signs and leaving the posts up. to date this has not been happening to any other candidate?

truthbetold what part did you have in this act of dirty politics? if you are sick of it, then don’t look at it! this is a terrible msg. to send children…shame on whoever is doing this…how can anyone go and vote in this election!!

First, I am not a teacher nor an attorney, as nowaynohow has pointed out continuously.

If I did invest in law school I would probably end up as a silly public defender or practicing environmental law. My character and ethics prevent my from practicing in a self-serving area such as Securities Litigation or Corporate Governance.

I do find the misogyny on this thread very disturbing.

Please dear public, do not educate yourselves about legal and ethical governance; it offends lawyers in the community.

Mark Twain once wrote, “First, God created idiots, but that was just for practice. Next, He created School Boards”.

And that inspired caring, concerned citizens to run for the school board against “bright, thoughtful” people.

That last sentence made no sense, I am in a dither. What I meant was, it offends lawyers that inspired and caring citizens would run against the current school board incumbents.

I am appalled at the behavior on this blog. Have you forgotten that teachers have far more education than most of us? All have a master’s degree and most have additional graduate credits. You speak, on this blog, as if they are servants rather than the professionals that they are? Would you ever think of offering your doctor or lawyer less money?
Since when is your child not worth EVRYTHING you have? You can’t simply have both excellent schools and the lowest taxes. Nothing in life is free, excellent education is no exception.
I’ll call it like it is… there are obviously BOE members writing on here. Angry ones, guilty ones and scared ones. It is no wonder it is time for fresh blood on this board.

Lost Hope,
Since when is involving the children in your fight for a new contract professional??? Since when is Speeding in the school zones professional??? Since when is mocking parents in an email & stupid enough to send it to that same parent professional??? Since when is misplacing 5 year olds TWICE in two weeks professional???
The only thing teachers seem to be educated in is teaching….Questionable @ best!!! ie;J.Saracino.
Bunny,
Now you are worried that we are sending the wrong message to our children? PLEASE!!!! You were not worried as you paraded around with contract buttons on your chest! You were not worried when you paraded around with your black RTA shirts! You were not worried when you didn’t participate with the kids on Halloween! You were not worried when you decided not to fully prepare the children for 6th grade!
BTW- MY KID HELPED ME TAKE THE SIGNS DOWN!!!
My kid doesn’t appreciate the way he/she is being treated either!!!
And for the record I am not on the BOE, I am a parent who is sick of the self serving teachers whining!!!
GOOD MORNING CLASS!!!

TruthBeTold,

I am not a teacher!!! But thank you for your honesty about taking down the signs. I find your behavior simply disgusting. You are the one who is self serving!!!

NoWaynohow – funny – I don’t believe I mentioned the Milton Gym repeatedly in my post. I have posted repeatedly about (1.) administration salaries (2.) Board arrogance (4.) the knowledge that budgets have hidden items in them (5.) the fact that the administration has played a shell game with student test scores on a number of occasions, (6.) rubber stamped tenure for incompetents, and a few other things…(now about that email – what’s in it?)Maybe once I posted about the PTO using mob rule and misrepresenting facts to build Milton School a second gymnasium and hold up math curriculum improvement. As for my gender, I didn’t know my posts had a feminine ring to them. There is a site where you can put language in and it will tell you the writer’s gender. Last time, I tried it, I was a guy.

Ah..remember Rue Paul? Divine?

Seems to me this is a track record that bears exposure and correction.

I don’t think disgruntled is the appropriate adjective here. “Righteously outraged” is an expression more to the point.

However, with the rants, internet “yelling” coming from you, hebephrenic works as an adjective for your posts. Taken your meds today?

noway – I just reread your post after a cup of coffee.

Here’s what I hear you saying:
Be afraid of unions.
Be afraid of people who disagree with you.
Criticize what you don’t understand.
Mock people who disagree with you.
Call them names and fabricate intentions and even persona.
Be afraid of change.
Be afraid…be very afraid.

I find it very interesting when someone is put in their place they shut up in a hurry!
You find my behavior simply disgusting?? What…no comment on the behavior(100% FACT) I just posted about our wonderful highly educated teachers!!!
PLEASE…SPARE ME!!!
I’M CURIOUS…. What is going to happen when the hand picked RTA candidates get swatted down??? OOOH LA LA!!!

Appalled at the behavior on this blog? What about the behavior of those “professionals” with “far more education than most of us”? Venting anger and disgust on a private blog is a very different matter than going on public TV and holding a circus, mocking and deriding individuals who are voluntarily serving on the board to ensure taxpayers are not fleeced by outrageous union demands.
Teachers are, in fact, serving the public by educating our youth. So yes, they are servants, not high priestesses in the Temple of Youthful Education. But they are well compensated for serving us, and if they don’t care to continue employment in the RCSD, they have every right to resign. God knows there’s plenty of unemployed PhD’s, JDs, LLDs and MBAs to take their place immediately – and would bring real-world experience to boot!
The teachers want a “fair” wage? Get over it, they’re lucky they have a job with great benefits and very little risk. If life were fair, they’d contribute at least 50% to their benefits, like the rest of us. And they wouldn’t be given tenure, either.
The attitude of Lost Hope seems to be that we have to hand over everything we own to the union to be assured of getting the best education. Either the writer is terribly naive, or (more likely) is trying to shame the voting public into acquiescing to the demands of the board, lest the parents be considered unloving. Sorry, but pissing away my wealth today to enrich a self-serving union will not provide for a brighter tomorrow for my child.

Truthbetold – or nowaynohow (is there a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on?) – perhaps no one feels they’ve been put in their place. Perhaps you have way too much time on your hands and whoever you’re writing to is at work. Or caring for children.

Oooh la la – sounds French to me!

Nothing of value worth commenting upon here, this morning. But I did learn a new word
“hebephrenic”. Learning is always a good way to start the day.

But it sure would be nice to have a debate / discussion about concrete issues as opposed to political posturing from all sides.

No one has yet answered the question as to why the board changed the agenda of Tuesday’s budget hearing to allow an open forum on non-agenda items and how coincidental it was that Laura Slack’s fan club was there to laude her. Why did the board allow electioneering at a public board meeting? Why was it not stopped?

well, it certainly has been entertaining reading all the free flowing nastiness! I’d just like to put my two cents in regarding Dr. Grille and Laura Slack. I have found Dr. Grille to be a very effective principal, as well as a very warm and caring person. When we have had any issues, large or small, she is always there to listen and help. As far as Laura Slack goes, I challenge anyone to walk a day in her shoes! She’s done a hell of a lot more for the schools and the kids over the years than just serving on the BOE.
I’m am not on any PTO exec board, I’m not a BOE member or a teacher. I am a parent who lives in Rye primarily for the school system and I’d just like to show my support for these two women, both of whom I know and respect.

mmmom,
Right on target with Laura Slack!
Not the case w/Dr.Grille. A warm & caring person doesn’t qualify you for leadership!
Tunya,
No jekyl/hyde here.
Not french, just a figure of speech.
You are so right…. PLENTY of time on my hands.
Scooter,
Luv the post…..continuously agreeing w/you worries me.

Warm and caring, however, is a quality that should be requisite in an elementary school principal! As far as leadership goes, we’ll have to agree to disagree. In our family’s experience, Dr. Grille is quite a capable leader and she has earned our respect over the years.

Truth be Told,
No I have not been put in my place. I personally have better things to do than be berated by you. I really hope your wife is not on the other side of this anger. At first, reading your entries concerned me greatly, but now I understand you have no idea what are you talking about! You do not have your facts right at all. It is very obvious where and who you get your facts from.
Spend five minutes with Jaime Saracino or Angela Grille or Ed Shine and get the story right. Why are you so angry? Did any of these things directly involve you or your child? Perhaps, maybe you went to the BOE to complain. Maybe that’s why there is poor decision making going on.
Don’t bother to respond, this will be the last time I address you.

Okay, so how about we give the candidates a chance to speak for themselves? Post questions for individual candidates and ask them to respond by themselves. It might be nice to see something in unfiltered writing. My questions follow – please excuse the length:
Mr. Repetto – You told the Journal News that Rye is under-taxed. Do you still believe that? And if so, what do you say to those of our neighbors who have to leave Rye because they can no longer afford the property taxes? Won’t their departure fundamentally change part of what makes Rye such a great place?
Ms. Hughes – As a retired teacher whose benefits might be affected by the pending contract, would you be willing to recuse yourself from negotiations and voting on any potential contract with the RTA?
Ms. Hendler – As an employee of the Scarsdale schools, your employment contract can be influenced by any settlement in Rye – witness the arbitrator’s reference to neighboring settlement as a basis for recommending a higher agreement than that offered by the Board. Would you also be willing to recuse yourself from negotiations and voting on any potential contract with the RTA?
Mr. Tuch – You have extremely limited exposure to School Board meetings and, while a member of the finance committee, appear to have had limited participation. What will you do to make the 10-20 hours per week available to actively participate in school board governance? Can you commit to missing no more than 1 or 2 meetings per school year?
Mr. Schmitt – What exposure do you have to personnel evaluation and management responsibilities? Have you had direct experience with evaluating the performance of employees? Setting performance objectives? Providing coaching to improve performance?
Mr. Nathan – You and your Board have been accused of arrogance, poor communications, and rude treatment of the public. Independent of whether all Rye residents feel this way, what would you commit to doing to redressing these concerns in the future?
Ms. Slack – The Board has been accused of micro managing and ignoring the recommendations of the district’s paid experts. What is your understanding of the Board’s governance responsibilities? Why do you believe it is appropriate for the Board to alter or reject administrator’s recommendations as opposed to accepting them as made?

I have heard and read much praise for the fiscal restraint of the current Board–and the evidence is the current budget being proposed. So, here’s my question. What was the rate of tax increase for the 2+ years before that? If my recollection is correct, it well exceeded the rate of inflation. So, how effective has this Board really been in controlling costs?

Mr. Smith, that is a good question. I don’t know but I will find out. If I recall this current Board has been bringing the tax increases down from the double digit increases that so many of us abhorred in the earlier part of this decade. Because they are heading in the right direction, more responsive to community, lower taxes, more scrutiny before awarding tenure, I think we should stick with them.
Mr. Tuch has been having private, backroom conversations all over town, including with one at least of the ladies on this blog. But Mr. Tuch has yet to face the public.
His schedule leads me to think he’s more concerned with avenging a real or imagined grievance at one elementary school, than committing the time necessary to oversee our schools effectively.
I am a taxpayer. I want my school board to be citizen volunteers beholden to me, not active or retired teachers union members. Nor do I want a few angry parents from Midland, they say 50…OUT OF almost 9000 voters in Rye, to let their personal agenda provoke them to climb in bed with the teachers union to punish our independent board for their decisions.
I don’t see where the misogyny is here, but maybe I’m not sensitive to that. I am sensitive to a UNION running their own slate for my school board. So I’m afraid of change? That’s a change we taxpayers don’t need.
All the rest is innuendo.

I watched the meeting where the RTA was falsely told there would be no public comment during the meeting. I then watched all those PTA moms coming up to speak. I thought I was watching an episode of the Stepford Wives.

Mr. Smith,

Good question.

I don’t have the rate of tax increase data on hand immediately. But as my memory serves, the increase is about 6 to 8 percent over 10 years or more. So if you add the 1 per cent or so this year, and amortize it out over the past decade, you’ll find prudence has not been a primary factor when it comes to budget.

Stepford Wives –
It’s not the Stepford aspect of these women that is frightening, it’s the abuse of the School Board meeting for personal campaigning that is inappropriate.

If it is true that Jamie Zung was misled by Josh Nathan about the nature of public presentations that evening, the problem runs even deeper than the email sent from Dr. Shine to Dr. Rooney.

The BOE meetings are a the only opportunity citizens have to speak with those who supervise the education system. Not an opportunistic moment for current Board members to campaign. If I were one of the other candidates, I’d seek legal redress for such an abuse of position.

Which does make one wonder: is there a pattern of abuse of position when it comes to the school board? Laura Slack asked those people to show up that evening, turning what is a public forum into a personal…is there even a word for this kind of thing? Who rearranges public hearings to stroke their own ego?

Anyone who decided not to go to a school board meeting because they thought that they would not be allowed to speak must not have attended many board meetings. As with city council, the community is allowed so speak on whatever topic it likes. It is the agenda which causes the timing of some comments to be moved to when they are discussed. Regardless, do the posters to this blog not find it incredibly interesting that only one non-board candidate chose to attend a meeting on the budget? Makes me concerned that only one non-board candidate really cares. Yes, a little inflammatory, but I’ve about had my fill of the self righteousness of many of the RTA and its supporters.

Dear nowaynohow, I believe you lost some credibility when you stated that you’re driving around town having your children pull up lawn signs. If there are vandalism episodes in the future, we’ll look up your kids. In the meantime, we’ll simply ignore your posts.

Lost Hope,
Could not think of a better post name for you!!!
Don’t remember posting my marital status! I am not angry…I’m actually enjoying this! I’m going to enjoy it even more through the voters! I get my facts through my experiences! I only side with facts and not w/someones personal agenda! I’ve had my share of Shine/Grille….I could only wish it were contained to 5 min.
FTR…. I never went to the BOE, that was my mistake!!!
If I had and pushed as hard as I am capable of that/those Teachers would be without more than tenure!!! You people don’t have a GOD DAMN CLUE!!!!

Also “for the record” – facts from the latest budget (available online) –
Tax rate increase for the past few years:
Prop (’09-’10) 1.71%
’08-’09 5.74%
’07-’08 4.99%
’06-’07 5.98%
’05-’06 5.15%
’04-’05 6.08%
’03-’04 11.59%
’02-’01 10.81%.

If I do the math correctly, Nathan joined the board in ’03-’04 meaning the last double digit increase was not his budget. And, while the other increases have been above the cost of inflation, they’ve been lower than peer districts. And maybe the teacher’s contract is an attempt to bring the future increases closer to inflation.

How ironic while all the RTA supporters arguing for sympathy on here that The Rye Record print an article on teachers/administration salaries.
The article says the avg. RTA Salary is worth $113,00 w/benifits. What it should say is; the avg. teachers get paid an avg salary of 113,000 w/benifits
Yup… AFTER being reminded of the cold hard facts I’m actually wiping my tears!!! While the whole City was up in arms about the whole Shew affair and Shew getting paid 200,000 per, Putz Shine flys under the radar @ 277,400!!! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE SHITTN ME!!!!????????
WHAT in the WORLD makes this character WORTH that kind of SCRATCH???

Hey Truth, my kids are getting blamed for your kids pulling up lawn signs. Mulberry just said she’d come looking for my kids if there are further acts of vandalism.
Cool it, Mr. Hyde!
And Scooter, I gotta meet you, guy. You have flair!
Finally Doubting, thanks for the numbers for Mr. Smith. I thought this board was heading in the right direction tax wise but I didn’t have that information. And you make a good point. Why complain on the one hand about tax increases above the rate of inflation, then turn around and rag on Josh Nathan on the other. It seems he’s holding the line on salaries in contract negotiations.
When people say the teachers being without a contract is the reason for all the tension in Rye, all I can say is, no one is stopping them from signing a new contract, and they get their raise just for breathing even if they don’t. So who’s causing the tension?
And it’s a bad example for the kids? Who do you suppose told the little kids?

I have intentionally avoided this toxic blog for awhile, but decided to check it out. Wow–I expressed my support for a new regime and am accused of having an ax to grind? My issues are about communication, respect and working together as a community to do what is best in a time of economic crisis. The incumbents would not even acknowledge (during the LWV debate) that there is a problem with communication. That alone is enough to question their fitness to remain on the Board.

It is incredibly disturbing to read about someone taking his/her child to tear down a candidates’ yard signs (illegal, by the way). It is also disturbing to hear of a candidate asking friends to bring prepared statements to a Board meeting when others had asked ahead of time and been told that comments had to pertain to the budget only. There is a law that prohibits electioneering in school buildings and this may be a clear violation (I am not a lawyer, but I do know what is ethically wrong, at least!).

Stepford Wives, LGat, Laslo Toth, bunny,mulberry and Lost Hope all seem as unhappy as I am about the deterioration of this blog and the ugliness that has sprung from it. Any candidate that believes there are no communication problems and that they have actually improved communication is clearly not in touch which in my view confirms their inability to hear other people’s points of view. Read and listen to each candidates’ statements and choose the person who will reach out and mend fences. Take a page out of the national election and vote for someone with integrity, intelligence and good manners!

Doesn’t anyone in this community think it is a bit odd that during the board meeting where the e-mail from Dr. Shine to Dr. Rooney was presented, that not one board member asked Dr. Shine if he had in fact written it? I would think that would have been Mr. Nathan’s first question. Somebody on that end certainly has some answering to do. Do you honestly believe that Dr. Shine would have implicated someone without reason? If he did, that should be found out as well.
To those of you out there that believe that teachers get raises just by breathing, get your facts straight. Some of the faculty receive step raises early on in their careers, and MANY teachers have past that point in their career. Step increases are based on furthering their education and I believe longevity with the district. That is what makes a faculty like the one in Rye so seasoned and remarkable. Furthermore, when teachers further their education they fund it themselves.
For those out their that feel that this PROFESSION is over paid, underworked, and easy, this is my advice to you. Please encourage your children to go into teaching. The last time I checked there were no locks on the education facilities that trained our young people to become these dedicated PROFESSIONALS.

Well Truth… YOU have elected a board of education that pays Ed Shine 265,000 plus 50,000 insurance. This by the way is up 14% from last year.
You just blew your credibility. Others please vote for sense on May 19th. There needs to be a change in Rye.

I blew my credibility? That’s pretty funny! Don’t you worry CPA…we will be voting for sense on May 19th!
Hey Mary Jones, how much does the avg. Kindergarten teacher make? Better yet how much does Heidi L. make?
nowaynohow,
My remark was sarcasm. Anyone who actually puts that into reality is an IDIOT! And if Mulberry has a problem with it and believes our children are doing this she/he is more than welcome to come knocking.
Speakout1,
BTW- Pulling up those pathetic eyesores is no more illegal than them being there! Did that woman get permits for those signs. Any sidewalk sign in the City of Rye is ILLEGAL!!! I think the Bldg. Dept. & the RPD should do their job as they did with the woman with her Obama sign.
Maybe we should bring Mr.Shew back for one last phone call!!!

Innuendo and false assertions continue to permeate this blog.
All teachers, until they’ve been with the district 15 years get automatic adjustments every single year. That is how the contract works. After their 15th year, teachers get seniority payments which also adjust periodically per contract. In addition, all teachers get whatever cost of living adjustment has been agreed in the contract. As of now, roughly 2/3rds of teachers have been with the district less than 15 years. So you decide how many are getting increases under the expired contract. But it is more than just “some teachers”. Note that I am not arguing for or against teacher salaries. They work hard. They carry a tremendous amount of responsibility in caring for our children every day. And they really do care for our children. How could they be around them every single day for a school year and not do so.
Speakout1, I agree that we should vote for “someone with integrity, intelligence, and good manners”. But based on the definition of good manners (sorry to almost pull a Bill Clinton, here), my understanding of who should be elected is probably different from yours as I would certainly eliminate at least one of the non-board candidates based on their manners. I would add to your list the ability to participate in contract negotiations without a conflict of interest – a requirement which would eliminate two of the non-board member candidates

DoubtingThomas,
I am not familiar with the specifics of the Rye Teachers contract but I imagine it to be similiar to our peer districts of Bronxville, Scarsdale, Byram Hills, etc. Step increments are based on experience and education. All districts have them and they encourage the faculty to further their education. It is the way the system is set up. All teachers have a masters, some have a masters plus additional credits, and some have multiple master’s degrees. They rightfully are compensated for that. Service increments are added to salary usually every five or so years after fifteen years of service. Glad to see that you recognize the job that they do each and everyday. Rye does have many newer faculty and so I imagine that 2/3rds are receiving the step increments. That is a trend that is cyclical in nature.
Truthbetold
I don’t know how much the average kindergarten teacher makes, many are new so probably not too much. I also don’t know Heidi L’s salary but if it is on the higher end then she must have quite a bit of education. The administration just doesn’t assign you a salary based on nothing. Is it a kindergarten teachers salary that is eating at you in particular? The certification that teachers receive for elementary school teaching includes kindergarten. They receive the same education as a third or fifth grade teacher and in my opinion it is one of the most important and fundamental years of any child’s education.
Most people on this blog do not value teachers as professionals. They look at teachers as servants. I would love to see the unemployed step into our teachers shoes. Maybe then they would value the job that the faculty in the Rye City School District does each and everyday.
Still haven’t heard anyone comment about why Mr. Nathan did not ask our Superintendent to comment on the e-mail in question. Somebody is covering up for something that has gone down.

Mary Jones,
No doubt there is some type of cover up here. That seems to be the trend in Rye. My point about Heidi is exactly that….. she knows how to exploit the system. If you keep bringing your level of education to higher & higher standards sooner or later you become over qualified & over paid for that position. With such a high degree of education sounds like a waste of talent for a kindergarten teacher. FTR- I am not one who views teachers or any profession for that matter as servants. I personally do not see how any one with morals could even think that. I agree as most that there needs to be a contract. We need to be honest here… not greedy.
As for Mr.Nathan or any one in his type position(Otis & the clan)…. there always needs to be honesty & integrity at these levels. It’s a crying shame what Rye has turned into.
This whole entire debacle has been poorly handled from the very beginning. The RTA is far from innocent in all of this.

Mary Jones,
No doubt there is some type of cover up here. That seems to be the trend in Rye. My point about Heidi is exactly that….. she knows how to exploit the system. If you keep bringing your level of education to higher & higher standards sooner or later you become over qualified & over paid for that position. With such a high degree of education sounds like a waste of talent for a kindergarten teacher. FTR- I am not one who views teachers or any profession for that matter as servants. I personally do not see how any one with morals could even think that. I agree as most that there needs to be a contract. We need to be honest here… not greedy.
As for Mr.Nathan or any one in his type position(Otis & the clan)…. there always needs to be honesty & integrity at these levels. It’s a crying shame what Rye has turned into.
This whole entire debacle has been poorly handled from the very beginning. The RTA is far from innocent in all of this.

Truthbetold: The lawn signs to which you refer as “pathetic eyesores” are actually absolutely legal in Rye. During the election, the ACLU intervened and the City of Rye was told that the signs are legal freedom of speech. I don’t believe that you would be this vindictive about something and would involve your children in such an act of disrespect. All the candidates deserve to be given their fair chance to campaign. Unfortunately, the non-incumbents are now at a disadvantage due to the parade of Slack/Nathan supporters who showed up unscheduled at a Board of Ed. meeting and campaigned on school property. Now that is something that may actually be illegal.

Mary Jones: Yes, Shine needs to clear up why the email that Doug Tuttle gave to Dr. Rooney had the statements about said teachers attributed to Laura Slack. The article in today’s Sound Shore leaves some doubt about what was really in the email. If there was no involvement by Ms. Slack, it should be simple for Shine to read the actual email, particularly if he taking responsibility (along with Rooney).

CPA Away: You are correct. Truthbetold is supporting the Board that gave Shine a contract with a 14% raise in ’08 and a payout of vacation days this year. Who can accrue 100 vacation days? It doesn’t make sense to suppport this Board if you don’t like Shine’s compensation–they were responsible for agreeing to it.

If change does not occur, our city will become more of a train wreck than it already is today. New faces are the only way to solve this impasse.

Speakout,
I take nor took part in the disappearance of any signs. Just because I disagree with it doesn’t make me guilty of it. The remark about doing it with my kid was pure sarcasm in making a point and to get a rise out of the idiots who were dumb enough to think I would stoop to such a low level. Yes,everyone deserves a fair shot as much as we are all entitled to our opinion. When the non-incumbents lose this election you can point the finger to the RTA’S own ignorance and greed. First they run an ad to lobby for candidates,then we have two pop up with direct conflict of interests(present & retired teachers). Thank You for correcting me on the eyesores posted all over the place. Was not aware of this change…nonetheless they are not welcome in my neighborhood-or don’t we have that right??? Speaking of campaigning on school property….. forgot to mention the small fact of the teachers picketing on back to school nights. Wasn’t that just grand!!!
The RTA lost the votes and the confidence of the parents when they involved our children.
IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT!

Okay, has anyone who believes that there’s a cover up about confidential e-mails that were inappropriately released (no complaints about the administrators and staff who did that on this board, I note) actually listened to what Dr. Shine said Tuesday night? I don’t have the exact words, but the key points were:

+ The email Dr. Zung read was written by me [Dr. Shine].
+ The words and implications in it were mine and not Mrs. Slack’s.

Seems pretty clear to me. Also doesn’t seem like a cover up and certainly doesn’t seem like anything inappropriate happened (feedback from Superintendent to Principals is expected) OTHER than that at least one teacher broke an explicitly stated confidentiality statement and a second one chose to use the broken confidence to attempt to ruin the reptuation of a sitting board member. All the snarky coments on this blog pale in comparison to that behavior.

Truthbetold: the lawn signs are legal in your neighborhood, so just deal with it. That’s freedom of speech in a democratic country. The candidates are not the teachers! Having teachers wear their shirts, etc. should not be directly connected to campaigning on behalf of particular candidates. Mr. Tuch has repeatedly stated on this blog and in his opening statement which was read at the LWV debate that he was not recruited nor did he receive funding from the RTA. Why is there any confusion? He is running, as are some of the other non-incumbents because they became disenchanted with the poor discourse. The union in Rye is not going to disappear. We are a school district that employes unionized teachers. We compete with other districts that employ unionized teachers and try to recruit the best and brightest. I would like to know why any prospective employee would want to work in a hostile environment like this one. Isn’t the best tactic to work to solve the contract dispute with respect? This isn’t a vote for a union or a vote against a union. I think the whole situation has become muddied.

I was at the meeting with the e-mail….what was said by Dr. Zung was as follows: In an e-mail dated Jan. 22nd from Dr. Shine to Dr. Rooney, in reference to tenure, here are the current issues from Laura Slack……it then goes on to state negative things about each teacher. This is after Dr. Zung quotes directly from the teachers evaluations, which were written by Rooney and were exemplary.
The e-mail was written by Dr. Shine to Dr. Rooney. What was absolutely inferred was that Mrs. Slack had definate feelings regarding the teachers in question. If they are still televising the April 28th meeting you should watch it. Dr. Zung says more then once that they are Dr. Shines words regarding Laura Slack. Not Dr. Zung’s. That is what amazes me. Why did no one on the BOE directly ask Dr. Shine? Mr. Tuttle did decide to let the e-mail out because he had been told by the principal that those teachers were on their way to tenure. This past weeks meeting all Shine says is that those were his words….I guess when he was composing his thoughts before writing the e-mail he just picked Mrs. Slack out of the thin air. Somebody is not telling the truth. All Nathan did was ignore the issue by saying because it wasn’t from Laura Slack directly that it didn’t matter. Why doesn’t this matter? It should matter to everyone in the community.

Truthbetold…your comment about Heidi is EXACTLY what I meant about people not valuing teachers. You get to decide how much education is appropriate and how much is a waste? There have been teachers who have their Phd’s teaching the sixth grade. I guess that was a waste as well? You must not value what teachers do or how they are educated if you think it is a waste. Education evolves over years. Do you think that kindergarten is the same now as it was ten, fifteen or twenty years ago? The state standards are different and what is expected of our kindergartners now is far different then when we went to kindergarten. Bravo to Heidi for continuing her education during the changing times and growing as a teacher. She does pay for her education and advancement and it does impact our children.

If Teachers are educated professionals, which I believe many, but not all, are, they should not be paid according to 19th century labor laws designed to protect workers in sweatshops.
Young adults with Masters degrees, making over 100,000 a year, do not need the protection of a labor union.
That being said, this is not pro-union v anti-union. That is another distraction –
like this silly “cover-up”.

Mrs. Van Dolsen is correct that our teachers are unionized. That is unfortunate but true. We can’t do anything about that.
However, we voters of Rye can say in a strong united voice on MAY 19, THAT WE DON”T WANT OUR SCHOOL BOARD UNIONIZED AS WELL.
That is democracy…we can cast our vote for the incumbents and an independent, citizen led school board.

Laura Slack has every right to comment on teachers and to share her comments with Dr. Shine. He has the duty to share them with Dr. Rooney and Rooney can then choose to act on them or not. So why are they all trying to hide something? Why did it take Dr. Shine a week to come up with an explanation for the email? Why didn’t anyone ask him about it at the Board meeting? Why would Dr. Rooney not recommend his teachers for tenure after having written them such glowing evaluations? Obviously he was influenced by the “email.” Why would Mr. Tuttle approach the Board that evening to support Dr. Zung? It was only after he did that Mr. Nathan asked to see the email. Why didn’t they then ask Dr. Shine? It’s all a coverup. Exactly what can be expected from a Board who a week later would allow their friends to campaign for them at a Board meeting. Surely they knew that this was contrary to their own Board policy of not allowing electioneering on school grounds. Why were they allowed to speak on non-agenda items at a budget hearing? Too many questions. Too few answers.

Mary Jones – You are right in y our references to what Jamie Zung quoted from a confidential e-mail written by Dr. Shine to the HS principal. What you conveniently omit is that at the very next board meeting, Dr. Shine read a statement in which he stated the two items I mentioned previously; e.g.,
+ The email Dr. Zung read was written by me [Dr. Shine].
+ The words and implications in it were mine and not Mrs. Slack’s.
Assert it as many times as you want, but there was clearly no cover-up, no foul-play other than that demonstrated by the teachers who broke confidentiality. I respect Mr. Tuttle, Dr. Rooney, and Dr. Shine for acknowledging their ownership of the mistakes they made. I believe that if there is any remaining business, it is for Dr. Zung to apologize for his attempt at character assassination. Fortunately, truth will out. And in this instance, I believe it has been made clear to the Rye residents that the attempted slander was just that – slander. That seems to me to be a sign of desperation.
I hope that post the election, both sides will be able to re resume serious negotiations. The union recognizing that Rye can not afford the same kind of contracts agreed in the past. The board recognizing that coming to an agreement will take work and active interaction.

LGAT – Have you not read the widely available letter from Dr. Rooney to the HS teachers in which he states plainly and clearly that the board did not interfere with the tenure recommendation process? If not, I encourage you to do so. If you have read it and continue with your assertions, than I would humbly suggest that you are intentionally ignoring the facts for a personal or political objective.

Wow Noway,
It is clear that teachers do need to be protected by a labor union. Otherwise, obviously all it takes is one parent or one board member to not like you and you are GONE! Sounds familiar…doesn’t it?
I was at Tuesday’s BOE love fest and all Dr. Shine confirmed is that SOMEONE is STILL LYING!
Also, I would hardly say that the RTA hand picked Tuch from the boards finance committee. Seems like that would be a conflict of interest for them.
To correct you, the teachers marched on the sidewalks on back to school night, which is town property (I asked them that night).
Truth,
You seem to dislike Midland teachers. Anyone else on your list beside kindergarten? If I am correct, it is left to the principals discretion to make grade level changes. These professionals educated your children, why do you hate them so much?

Ms.Jones,
You can twist it any damn way you please. Exploiting(loop holes)the system doesn’t cut it in my book.
BTW- We pay for her education and advancement!
FTR- I do value teaching,I’m just not as stupid as you would like me to be. I do not think I decide how much education is appropriate and how much is a waste.
S. Van Dolsen,
The signs,legal or not are not welcome in our neighborhood and we are dealing with it. Thanks for the advice….not needed! Make no mistake I am not confused…I know the difference between the candidate and the teacher. The problem is the candidates are working for the teachers. I do not care what money man Tuch said… none of us are falling for this nonsense. FTR- NO one ever said that any of the candidates received funding from the RTA….. come in from left field!!! If this environment is so hostile then why don’t you/they go get a job in DA BRONX??? If you teach for the love of teaching then money shouldn’t matter!!! So why teach here??? Get Out! Go find the Greener Grass!
We all get it and agree…. you need a contract…..so go ahead and sign on the dotted line already!!!
“Isn’t the best tactic to work to solve the contract dispute with respect”?

CPA,
Luv to burn some midnight oil!
Hate is a very strong word and I do not condone it! Obviously I have had my share with Midland. There is not much good said about Osborn OR Milton either. My disagreements surpass the kindergarten teachers and elementary. I do not hate anyone-it is the facts that eat me up! I am very fond of most of the Teachers.
Principals Discretion??? That’s scary!!!

These are not Principals….more like puppets!

The signs are “not welcome in your neighborhood,” so maybe you should move out of the USA which has a constitution that entitles everyone to freedom of speech. Incidently, why aren’t you using your real name? You are happy to speak freely here on this blog, but haven’t taken ownership of your comments.

About the RTA funding, a member of this community told me that the candidates were taking RTA money. I did not come out of left field with that. And…why don’t you call Steven Tuch and ask him about your assumption about his supposed connection with the RTA. Constantly misrepresenting someone doesn’t make it true.

I, for one, think your statement about teaching in the Bronx is disgusting. For 18 years I had children in Milton, RMS and RHS and I am grateful for those who had such a positive influence on my children. I would be proud of my children if they chose this profession and would hope they would be treated with respect. If one of them worked in the Bronx, I would also believe they deserve respect. You obviously are the one with an ax to grind–you hate the teachers, Dr. Grille, Dr. Shine…. quite sad.

doubting Thomas….I didn’t ignore your stated facts. I asked you why would Shine have put her name in the e-mail? Do you think the day he wrote it he was just thinking of her out of the blue? And then all of a sudden after the e-mail is exposed they are only his words? That is very naive of you.
Truth be told….there are no words for you. Heidi or any other teacher in any district make a choice on what to use their salary for. They chose to go back to school. You don’t pay for that. And that education is brought back into the classroom and shared with the children. Remember they do work for their money. Maybe you should go back to school being as this job is so over paid and easy and make a go of it. Maybe your attitude would change then.

This blog is so dense, & it’s been a busy work week for me, so forgive me if I’m covering issues that have already been posted.

The BOE is elected to serve the community. It is a thankless job, and the community is appreciative. We do know that BOE kids get treated differently than other children. Sad but true.

However, if a BOE member uses his or her position to intentionally seek special favors for his or her child, that is an abuse of power and that BOE member needs to resign or be voted off the island.

Rye still has no idea what was in the email. It’s inconceivable to imagine that Jamie Zung would have brought up the email if it didn’t exist with a reference to Laura Slack influencing teacher positions via Ed Shine. Was the presentation a tad rabid? Sure – but this is not about style over substance.

Second, the way this was handled was not directly, by reading the email.The BOE meeting was misdirected to become a rally for Laura Slack. What getting honored by the Rye Youth Council has to do with the issue shall remain a mystery.

PTO heads were saying “Vote for Slack”. The PTO is supposed to be politically neutral. Anyone who wants to get the national picture on this, go to the national PTO site and join the forums. Post some questions about inappropriate behavior of the PTO organization and you will see outrage at the way Rye’s PTO has engaged in the political process.

But back to topic:
The irony here is that Laura Slack tried to get her name cleared by employing the exact same tactics that she was accused of employing in the email.

Isn’t it time this was handled in a transparent manner?

Second point:
For the first time in many years there are more candidates for the BOE than there are seats. Rejoice, Rye! That’s a democratic process.

Yet there is a faction that correlates the timing of the announcement that the RTA is looking for candidates with this new group of citizens desire to run for BOE slots. They come to the false conclusion that the fresh candidates are somehow RTA “tools”.

As Tina Fey would say “What the what?” This faction is demeaning democracy. Are they implying that no one is to run for office if the timing seems suspiciously coincidental?

Speaking of timing – there was this national election in 2008. Lots of people who had previously never worked on campaigns got deeply involved. There was a bit of a legacy there, and those who got placed in positions of leadership encouraged the entire nation to do things like get involved, run for office, talk to constituents in public forums. Even if it’s sharing a cup of coffee at a local cafe, just to hear their views.

Isn’t this special! Sound Familiar?

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009905100332

Suspicious….Yes! Coincidental…Ya right…and I’m Smokey the Bear!
I love the way you people throw that word Hate out there. Please go back and show me where I have ever used that word. With all this wind knocking down those signs I sure hope I don’t get blamed for it!!
Van Dolsen,
There are reasons for not using your true identity…. you would be one of them!

Mulberry – I, too, appreciate having more candidates than open seats because I want choice. But I think youre rejoicing is unnecesary as last year was the first election in a while where there were NOT more candidates than open seats. For some strange reason, Rye residents seem to enjoy taking on the challenge of running for and then serving on the board.

If you or anyone else thinks there’s been a cover up, then file a FOIL (Mr. de Frondeville can explain to you how to do that) for whatever documents you think have been hidden. Last I checked, Dr. Zung read the e-mail in the board meeting without interruption – so there’s nothing hidden on that front.

But frankly, this entire discussion begins to feel a tad like the Republicans going after Bill Clinton for mistakes in his personal life when they couldn’t win elections based on content. Let’s focus on real issues – student achievement.

To all the miserable Moms on this blog……
Happy Mothers Day!! Let Your Hair Down and Chill Out!

Sincerely,

Doubting Thomas- How did Mr. Tuttle’s and Dr. Rooney’s letters make their way around Rye the very weekend after the Friday that they were shared with the faculty at Rye High School? Who let them out? I bet Dr. Rooney sent them to Dr. Shine, he to the Board, and the Board let them out. I am sure that Dr. Shine told Dr. Rooney to take care of this “situation” and he did so by “convincing” Mr. Tuttle to write the letter he did. Mr. Tuttle would not have gotten up at the Board meeting and said that the day before the email Dr. Rooney said that he was recommending his teachers for tenure and after the email he changed his mind if this were not true. The email from Dr. Shine clearly states HERE ARE THE CURRENT CONCERNS FROM LAURA SLACK. Why would Dr. Shine say that if it weren’t true? Why did it take him a week to come up with an explanation? Mrs. Slack said over and over that she did not say those things, that she would never say those things….why did Dr. Shine say she did? You can’t be that naive?
How about their allowing their friends to campaign at the next Board meeting? Improper and illegal.

Shine sure looked like he was shell shocked during the entire exchange – don’t know how closely you watched him. Things would have been a lot simpler (but this conspiracy nonsense would probably still be kicking around – look at the JFK stores years later) if he’d just spoken up then. But you know what? If you feel so strongly that there’s something amiss then call the guy or better yet, call him out in public at the next board meeting. While that will, unfortunately, be on the day of the election, if the problem you believe exists is real, it would be better to get it out then than not at all.

Oh, and LGat, the letters were sent out to the HS staff that week and were therefore deemed to be public documents and so distributed to the parent organizations. Something wrong with getting important information out quickly to the community? After all, killing rumors dead is impossible, but keeping a lid on them is important to enabling sane, productive debate.

Come on people. . . They had to save their jobs and reputations. Why do people want to protect this corrupt board? Get new people in there! Get carole her position back and jaime her tenure. Both are deserving! Sneaky dishonest people are not deserving of a seat on my kids boe!

Come on people. . . They had to save their jobs and reputations. Why do people want to protect this corrupt board? Get new people in there! Get carole her position back and jaime her tenure. Both are deserving! Sneaky dishonest people are not deserving of a seat on my kids boe!

Telling the truth to their co-workers “saved their reputations”? How? Tuttle did a huge climb down in his letter – although he didn’t say that what he did was wrong, just that he felt he did it the wrong way. Rooney also said he didn’t do anything wrong, but that he made the decision about recommending or not his HS teacher’s for tenure.

Doubting Thomas- no problem with distributing the letters to the PTO’s. However, they are supposed to be impartial. They are not. They meet with the superintendent, principals and board members but they are not permitted to meet with the RTA. Dr. Shine’s rules!

Truthbetold – sadly, that comment about Ms. Van Dolsen is part and parcel of the whole culture of innuendo spread around by viral emails. Once again, whatever microbe of credibility you may have had is no longer.

Doubting Thomas – is student “achievement” the real issue? I disagree. The field of education is growing – not in terms of budget, mind you! – and has grown a lot over the past 15 years. Rye’s focus on a sliver of measurement of achievement is what has kept the District in a backwater.

The future is an important issue, maybe the most important issue. Another concept important to add to the discussion is sustainability. Until this year, the budget – ratcheted up by special interests and hype – was not sustainable. The buildings in the district are maintained in an unsustainable manner. Labor is as much a resource as money and energy. You want a sustainable relationship with your teachers. In fact, that’s all you really need.

If there are any teachers reading this, I recommend last week’s New Yorker article on Steve Barr and the charter school project in Los Angeles. If you all want to branch off and start a charter school, sans Board, sans Shine, get to teach with the values that are important to you, I’d bet there would be enough families in this district to follow.

We can dream…can’t we?

If there has been an abuse of power by Board members, that is an important issue. If people are hounding those in charge for the truth and the truth is not forthcoming, that doesn’t make it a witch hunt.

Why are citizens forced into filing form after form after form to squeeze and honest answer out of the RCSD administration? Doesn’t that fact alone indicate something is rotten here?

People who are unfamiliar with Doug Tuttle should know that he is a man of character. Mr. Tuttle exemplifies that the measure of a man is what he does when no one is watching. When students are shuttled through the system like so many beads on an abacus, Doug Tuttle will take the time to reach out to kids with promise who may not do well on “achievement” tests.

The fact that the letter came from him is significant.

Mulberry,
I do not know why you and any others would think I am interested in your opinions on my credibility! Just where would credibility in your eyes take me?
Ms.Van Dolsen and a few others have done nothing but twist my words into something much different.Why in the world would I want to associate my name with words like “hate”! I make a few jokes about taking signs down & lay out some facts and all of a sudden the world is coming to an end!!! You people really need to lighten up and realize no matter what is said here it will not change the facts. The votes will tell the story. Why don’t you take a vacation and come back on the 20th?

I could only imagine what will be said after you and the rest of the RTA supporters do not get your way. OMG!

If you go through this blog chronologically, you’ll see the conversation really begins to degrade at a certain point. “Hateful” might be too strong a word, but hostile and negative are appropriate here.

What can one say about someone who wishes all the Miserable Mothers a happy mothers’ day, when I’m guessing most of us too delight in the gift of a beautiful Sunday.

Here are some selections from Truthbetold’s posts. Because I don’t have a choice of font’s do not confuse her words with some of my commentary.

I could only imagine what will be said after you and the rest of the RTA supporters do not get your way. OMG!

Implying that those of us who are concerned about the sustainability of teacher-community relationships are single minded, unable to collaborate. There was also this:
I’M CURIOUS…. What is going to happen when the hand picked RTA candidates get swatted down??? OOOH LA LA!!!

And this:
You people that have been attacking L.Slack should crawl back under that rock for which you came. If you really truly knew L.Slack you would never so much as utter such thoughts.

No one is attacking Laura Slack, people are questioning the sequence of events.

Name calling: No Way anyone is stupid enough to vote for this FREAK.

Innuendo and fabrication:
Hand picked by the RTA & it showed all night. And for Mr.Repetto,also hand picked by the RTA, no experience & brings nothing to the table. Mr.Tuch,hand picked by the RTA, all about money because he’s got it. WOOPDIE DOOO!!!

SPEAKEASY1 and MULBERRY are disgruntled women who have never gotten over the Milton Gym boondoggle. They are stuck, permanently, and are incapable of reason ever since. Their anger blinds them to the point they make such statements as …the fear of unions…

Ignorance is a union flack who says the Education Commissioner interprets laws among other numerous legal misstatements.

Asking people who don’t agree to just go away: Why don’t you take a vacation and come back on the 20th?

On Steven Tuch meeting with constituents in public places to discuss issues: Mr. Tuch has been having private, backroom conversations all over town, including with one at least of the ladies on this blog.

Conjecture and more fabrication with hostile language:
Nor do I want a few angry parents from Midland, they say 50…OUT OF almost 9000 voters in Rye, to let their personal agenda provoke them to climb in bed with the teachers union to punish our independent board for their decisions.

BTW- Pulling up those pathetic eyesores is no more illegal than them being there! Did that woman get permits for those signs. Any sidewalk sign in the City of Rye is ILLEGAL!!!

And this rather baffling reference to Halloween: You were not worried when you didn’t participate with the kids on Halloween! You were not worried when you decided not to fully prepare the children for 6th grade! BTW- MY KID HELPED ME TAKE THE SIGNS DOWN!!!

Imagining herself the sheriff of the blog: I find it very interesting when someone is put in their place they shut up in a hurry.

Mulberry, I’m LMAO!!!
I’ll give you negative, it would take alot more than words from some unknown to make me hostile.
I called all the woman on here miserable because that is the way they come off. It is no different than you reading into me as hostile. I sincerely meant A HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!! Take a vacation translates into “lighten up”. I was corrected on the sign law( which is a law in rye) and thanked the woman on here for doing so.It is allowed only for political signs which I was not aware of. The remark about my kid helping me take down the signs was sarcasm which I’ve already said so. FTR- HALF OF WHAT YOU HAVE JUST QUOTED ME ON ARE NOT MY POSTS. It’s okay,I forgive you!
Also FTR- I apologize for offending anyone, most(not all) of what I have written was me just having fun. All kiddn aside you people REALLY need to lighten up.
BTW….. I’M STILL LMAO!!!

Doubting Thomas: When you compare the Slack thing to Bill Clinton and say we should focus on student achievement, I can’t help but think that your comment reflects a deeper problem. If we as a school district/community value student achievement as our utmost goal, does that mean it is more important than integrity or cooperation? Rye is focused on test scores, AP’s, rankings and metrics. Many students are high achievers by these measures. However, I would argue that many parents and citizens would agree that the more important thing the school district/community should emphasize is whether we are teaching our children to be accepting of others, open-minded and honest. Have the incumbents done their best as trustees to inculcate these values? Have the incumbents succeeded in bringing the community together to solve our issues? Have all parties felt respected? Has the Board validated the feelings of those who are not “inside” the system? The voters can judge whether these goals have been met.

This is the saddest thing I have ever read—no wonder we are in such a terrible state. I have no time to look up who was responsible for taking down signs, but shame on you specifically. We are all so lucky to live in such a beautiful town. Yes, many mistakes have been made on all sides. Let’s move forward as a community to mend this rift, get a contract for our hard working teachers, praise the board for its volunteer efforts and most of all –MOVE FORWARD FOR OUR CHILDREN! ….not afraid to sign my name

I watched to May 5th board meeting on TV today. I cannot believe what I was watching! The board accused the teachers of “staging a circus” at the meeting on the 28th but allowed electioneering to proceed against their own policies on May 5th?
May I remind you, I do not recall the RTA, or any community member ever saying that Laura Slack didn’t deserve the accolades for her dedication to Rye and all the committees she chairs on. She certainly does do many things for the community of Rye and for that we are grateful.
However, the fact is that the RTA provided some solid evidence that there is some wrong doing on this board of education. Whether or not she directly said it, Shine said it… or Mickey Mouse said it… that email screams some guilt! May 5th’s actions by the community which “rallied the troops” in support of Laura and Josh screams guilt and I hope that the members of this community see through this sly tactic.
What’s next? Tomorrow the RTA settles on a contract? Carole Andreson gets her position back? And Jaime Saracino gets tenure?
Wow, perfect timing to be re-elected. Interesting. Very interesting.
Please vote for your child’s future on May 19th!

Ms.Gardner,
This blog as all blogs is about opinions. Who really cares what opinion belongs to who? Cudos to you for posting your name with your opinion.Personally could care less!
FTR- No one is taking down signs. You people really need to get a grip!
IT WAS A JOKE!!! GET OVER IT AND MOVE ON ALREADY!!!
The sign thing started when a person changed their mind about supporting S.Hendler and took the sign off their lawn. S.Hendler did not appreciate it and thought she had the right to voice so through a phone call as if this person didn’t have the right to change their mind. She also had the odascity to send her housekeeper around to replace it without permission. What S.Hendler and all her supporters should be concerned with is why this person changed her mind.mmmmmm Could it be the first time she publicly spoke!!!
If S.Hendler were any kind of stand up candidate,person,and she was so concerned about it,she should have went to this person’s house and not made a phone call or send her housekeeper over to do her dirty work.
OMG….I CAN NOT WAIT FOR THIS ELECTION TO BE OVER!!!!

Susan – my comment about focus on student achievement had nothing to do with testing. While some measure is necessary, the most important thing is that we develop children who are able to learn throughout their lives, who have positive self images, who are able to make good decisions, and who have strong values. Much of the latter points have to come from the home and looking around Rye – at parental support for drinking, parental belief that their kids could never do anything wrong, giving of elaborate trips and gifts that many adults would dream about, etc – that’s going to be a real reach for many of our neighbor spoiler parents.
That said, the schools do have to provide role models. That means firing personnel for inappropriate relations with students, firing personnel who come to work drunk, etc as well as rewarding those who do outstanding work. So please, spare me the implication that my comment means positive test results at any cost. That was not my comment and not my intent. It was a negative you read into something you could not find another way to refute.
And yes, I believe that the current Board has done a heck of a lot more to instill good values than the irrational, manipulative, defamatory words and actions of some of our neighbors and some of the RTA representatives.

CPA,
The only way the RTA gets a contract is by putting their greed aside. The only way J.Saracino gets tenure is by earning it.
Carole Andreson was my Math Teacher in H.S. and she was awesome. My favorite teacher of all. I do not know enough to comment on what happened to her but as a Teacher & Mentor she was spot on!!

I’m not to sure what greed you are talking about? All the information online in the Fact Finders report (which we pay for in our taxes)indicates that the RTA is in fact not asking for anything more than what respectable, comparitive districts have agreed to. Working under an expired contract with no increase for 3 years is hardly greedy. I do believe teachers have families to feed as we all do.
I am also under the assumption that J. Saracino did in fact earn her tenure over the past 4 dedicated years to Midland school, and 5 prior years to the community at RPNS. Her principal is charged with making that very determination, and that was overlooked. I also believe there were no clear reasons as to why this was overlooked?
Carole’s position is going to be filled with someone else. Why remove someone who has a flawless track record, just to hire someone new to do the same position? Also, why put someone back in the classroom after so many years with out being professionaly developed in that area. Her expertise has since changed from math to technology.
I think these are reasonable questions to be asking ourselves?

CPA,
I won’t say too much here,do not want a pissing match. I agree there needs to be a contract. Where and when will the comparitives end for contracts?
Not a big fan of J.Saracino’s principal so I will leave it @ that!
Like I said… Carole Andreson was spot on as a teacher,and a person. If what you are saying is true it does not make sense. There has to be something we are not being told.

Doubting Thomas,
Well Said. Exactly why we shouldn’t post our identities.
They just love to twist shit around!

I agree with the others that the comments here have taken a disturbingly angry, hateful turn.

TruthBeTold, “you people” is typically an inflammatory phrase. Can’t we agree to disagree without being disagreeable? Civility is a wonderful thing.

To Doubting Thomas, I believe, a board member may evaluate a teacher at the teacher’s request. Otherwise, it is illegal for a board member to give their opinion to an administrator. The administrator is responsible for the evaluation of teachers.

Whether in their perceived “best interest” of the community or not; it is illegal.

I am confident that the community will get out and vote for some new members; members who take ethical and legal governance seriously. I hope the new members will take their position seriously and avail themselves of training provided by the State to educate themselves about their role, responsibility and scope of authority.

A community should be concerned that the board does not test their implied power by abusing it; rather use their powers expressly granted by the state the way they were intended.

And for the record, I think Dr. Grille is an excellent administrator. She manages a staff and faculty for the largest elementary school; almost three times the size of the others.

As with any management position, more experience in a position correlates directly to greater success.

As far as her knowledge and experience in early childhood/elementary education, find someone in the same league!

I am amazed at how unfairly critical people are. I wonder if you are judged by the same standard of perfection that you hold others to?

And yes, CPA away, Miss Saracino DID earn her tenure. Apparently the BOE members are rewriting what the state requirements are and abusing their positions.

Mr. Nathan is calling it “good governance” not micromanagement. I beg to differ.

Ignorance, welcome back to the party (although I’m not sure you ever really left this board). Your opening comment about it being illegal for board members to directly assess a teacher’s performance is very interesting. The only person I know who has publicly suggested that board members visit a class to assess a teacher’s performance is – wait for it – Susan Hendler in her second round of public board bashing. But have no fear, I wouldn’t deign to think that someone like a board member or a parent could reasonably assess the performance of a teacher. Following your logic, I guess parents’ comments on the quality of their kids’ teachers should be disregarded in the tenure making process. Oops. That might undermine your basis for challenging the board’s legally mandated evaluation of all tenure recommendations.
Regarding Dr. Grille running the largest school in Rye, I note that you said that in terms of staff size. A better measure is the number of students in the school as that should be the principal’s primary focus, right? Osborn has about 580, Midland has about 555, and Milton has about 370 students. So, in terms of the “largest” elementary school implying having the best management skills, I think that there’s probably a toss-up between Osborn and Midland. Setting that aside, absolute size is an awful measure as there’s the small factor of the nature of the students and their parents. A smaller student body might require more skill to lead than a larger student body given special education requirements, foreign / native language skills, culture, etc. While not being critical of any of the elementary school principals, I think you’ve made a leap too far in praising Dr. Grille as the best of the elementary school administrators.
As to your final point about Miss Saracino having earned her tenure, that is incorrect. Her performance to-date earns her the right to be recommended and reviewed for tenure which is awarded based on assessment her of performance against guidelines by the administrators and the board (regardless of how much that fact galls some). You would be correct to say that parents and some administrators have recommended her for tenure, but going any further is purely your opinion (very much welcome here) as opposed to an objective statement of fact.

Doubting Thomas
I may have been misinformed on enrollment; I stand corrected. BTW, that information is not easily accessible.

I do think that the administrators are the most qualified in the teaching-learning process, school finance, and schools as organizations. However, I do agree that parental support shows satisfaction and support of an administrator’s choices.

Once again, I disagree with you on the implied powers of a board of education. If boards exercised their implied powers, they could re-institute corporal punishment based on those powers and leave it to the courts; that is not a wise or ethical choice.

The probationary period is somewhat up to discretion; the administrator recommends tenure. In this case, a separate evaluation by the Assistant Superintendent was on record as well as the Superintendent’s recommendation.

And once again, philosophically, tenure is a guarantee of due process; earned after the probationary period.

If there is a legitimate issue with Miss Saracino, I am sure the board would have been more than comfortable responding to her (legal) request for reasons. Did they respond within the requisite seven day period?

Are the reasons sound? If Miss Saracino sues the district will the taxpayers pay for the abuse of power by the current school board?

What is happening? Only the board knows…..

And as far as Dr. Grille, I am not comparing her to the principals at the other schools; my understanding is that they are all competent.

My point is that she is well-respected in the Northeast and the country in her field.

And, once again, the board may set evaluation policy. They may not, however, deny tenure to someone based on the CURRENT evaluation process.

I believe that Laura Slack implicated herself at the second board meeting stating that she observed a class that day.

Board members, or their spouses, should not have such access to the schools.

Check with the NYSSBA for the ruling from the Commissioner on that.

Baseless – are you the same person as Ignorance? I get using different avatars to add emphasis to your message, but it may incorrectly imply a larger number of people espousing a particular point of view.
Yes, finding the elementary school data was painful – on the new web site managed / structured by the district’s staff. But it is there.
I won’t engage in your BaselessClaims re Laura Slack and district authority. If you or anyone in the community (teacher or resident) really believe(s) that the law has been violated by the board or a board member, you owe it to us all to avail yourself of the legal processes available. I’m sure the RTA would support you in your efforts. But last time I checked, observing classes is a right (as opposed to receipt of tenure) granted to all residents of the community.

Oh my goodness gracious. That was a mistake; I posted on another thread with a catchy moniker. My apologies.

My bad on enrollment; misperception as a parent in the community. It certainly not nice, nor good manners to point out my deficiency in finding the information as easily as yourself.

I am not the victim of the board’s abuse of power and have no case to bring to the courts.

I’m pretty certain being a member of the community does not give you the right to observe classes at a public school. I learned that the difficult way when I transferred to this community and was a private school parent unaccustomed to public school.

What did I do? Educated myself about public schools and school boards; I highly recommend it.

Oops again. I beg your pardon.

More importantly, my guess is whatever the state mandate is, it would be ultimately governed by the teacher’s union contract; which I do not have access to.

LINKS I LIKE:
The Improper Use of Executive Session
http://www.aasa.org/publications/saarticledetail.cfm?ItemNumber=2523

Legal Implications of School District E-Mail
haatp://www.aasa.org/pulbications/saarticledetail.cfm?ItemNumber-11391

Information I like:

How Knowledgeable are New York State School Board Members About Their Role, Responsibilities, and Scope of Authority?

If you dare:

New York State Education Law, Section 1709; Powers and duties of boards of education.

Ya know, I appreciate the implication that I was gloating over my ability to find enrollment data, but I did say it was tough to find, not that I was better because I found it. My complaint is with the set up of the web site so pardon me for agreeing with you that it was difficult to find.

In terms of interesting links, you may want to poke around a bit more because the one you’ve shared does not show the full set of school board responsibilities and rights. There’s at least one “chapter” on tenure which can’t be found at your link.
But, to make it easier for all of us, the administration published a summary of the tenure review process that can be found at the following url. Sorry that it’s so long.

http://middle-school-po.ryecityschools.rms.schoolfusion.us/modules/locker/files/group_files.phtml?parent=3639589&gid=808281&sessionid=82576fd683af07f888d26d5d527ebd82

Ignorance annoys me,baseless claims,
I’m not sure where you heard that all the principals are competent.
We must travel in different gossip circles. My opinions do not come from some chat room. As I have pointed out on several occasions here….. IT IS FROM EXPERIENCE!! I was brought up in what you call the “largest elementary school” and I am here to tell you that neither Dr.Grille or any of the other principals could hold a candle to the Principals of my era!
There is really not much left to say but…. we shall see on the 20th.

TruthBeTold-I am glad you used the term gossip circles because they are just that! And that’s how the present board is run. Unfortunately it’s human nature to complain about the negative and very rarely praise the positive. So if a child doesn’t study, if a child is in an advanced class because his friends are or his parents want him there and he doesn’t do well, it’s always the teacher’s or the principal’s or the school’s fault. If a child plays three sports, goes away for every vacation, and spends little time studying; if he has a sense of entitlement that he needs to do little work but deserves a great grade and doesn’t get one, it’s always someone else’s fault. If a child doesn’t like a teacher, that teacher is a “bad teacher.” It’s never the child’s fault. If a parent has no time for their child other than to give them money and gifts; if the family never has dinner together; if the parent has no time to moniter their child’s school work or sit with them to help with homework; if a parent hires a tutor to help their child because their child does no work in school or because the parent won’t make their child do their work at home, it’s never the parent’s or the child’s fault. It’s the teacher’s or the school’s or the principal’s. These are the parents in the gossip circles. These are the parents who speak to the board. These are the parents for whom the board speaks. These are the parents that end up speaking for all the rest of us. Those of us who talk to our kids about what they are doing in school, those of us who make sure our families get together for dinner, those of us who monitor our kid’s school work, behavior, and friends, those of us who know that our kids need to work for and earn their grades, those of us who know that we are accountable for our kids and they are accountable for their actions and achievements, we don’t have time for these gossip circles. We don’t complain to the board, they are not our friends. We don’t show up at board meetings to praise a board member after the superintendent specifically says in an email”These are the current concerns of Laura Slack” and her cover is blown. How obvious is this cover up? The superintendent states in writing one week that “These are the current concerns of Laura Slack” and the next week states that the words and intent were all his. These are the people that are running our schools. It’s time that we take them back.

Ay Caramba! So many comments, it’s like trying to figure out which kid brought the lice to school! I’d like to make some sense in all this. Can anyone answer the following:
Tenure – What is the typical period of time a teacher must wait before being granted tenure, and what is the pass/fail rate on tenure? If it’s higher than 90%, why bother going through the charade? Why not just inform newly hired teachers that they have a job for life?
School Board – Is there any website or document that outlines or defines the role of the school board, and who the school board reports to? Has any teacher (both RCSD and non-RCSD) ever ran for school board, and has there ever been a sitting board member who was from the teacher’s union?
Contract – How long was the longest period where teachers went without a contract, and how was the impasse resolved? Did any teachers lose their homes or die of starvation while they were working without a contract?
If we get answers to these questions, better choices on Tuesday might result.
I’m not too freaked out about Slack attending a class, or the passing of an e-mail. Errors are made by all of us every day, and to “fire” someone for an error is to guarantee a revolving door of unqualified board members every year.

Did Ignorance really write “most importantly…”?

Now I will agree, that is her style of writing, as she does toss around legal opinions with little regard for the facts in a bombastic fashion. But the correct term, which should be known by someone so annoyed by ignorance, is “most important”. Importantly describes an action,important a noun.

I find it annoying when someone who purports to know the law, states two, if not three, times that it is illegal for a school board member to observe a teacher. Maybe in North Korea or the former USSR, but not in America.

And Ignorance, who is not fooling anyone with her attempt to act as if she is just a supportive parent,
is providing links to web sites that do not support her “legal theories” anyway.

And another expert misspelled comparative. We all hit the wrong key. I do all the time. But if you think you are schooling those of us on this blog with your posts, excuse the pun, then it might benefit to check your facts, as well as your spelling and grammar.
Ignorance, FWIW, Thomas just ate your lunch.

Nowaynohow,
In retrospect, I would have chosen BlatantAbuseofPowerbyBOEAnnoysMe or IDoNotWantMeddlingMembers.

I should have provided the link to Section 3012 of the New York State Education law which specifically covers tenure. The Amendment from last year is interesting also.

You are showing both your age and your legal stripes. The use of “more importantly” was the subject of hot debate in the Eighties. Although many still disagree with its usage, many dictionaries agree that usage is grammatically correct as an adverbial phrase; such as in an assertion. I do know that it is STRICTLY forbidden in Legal Writing.

I really would have chosen a different Post name had I known I would be held to such a high standard.

Once again, I have children enrolled in the Rye City School District. I am very pleased with the experiences I have had with the teachers and the administration.

Perhaps I am dense, but what did you mean that Thomas at my lunch?

Scooter,

I am not being cheeky, but do the answers to any of those questions have to do with the current situation?

I am glad I live in a country where I can read and interpret statutes myself. They really are very straightforward, as are the court cases.

As I’ve said before, I would love to see a court decision of similar circumstances where the school board’s denial was upheld by the court.

I would also love to see where authorization is given to school board members to observe classes other than at the invitation of the teacher.

As far as the high school situation, I like Dr. Rooney, but it certainly seems that something is funny about his public explanation.

It seems the board inserted themselves before he even made a recommendation.

I also know Mr. Tuttle to be a person of outstanding character. It seems he was concerned, as Department Head, with the meddling of the school board members.

I do respect the profession of teaching more than I respect the profession of law.

Why are fiscal responsibility AND ethical and legal governance mutually exclusive? Can we expect excellent communication to the community from the board; not just improved?

And lastly, will the new candidates avail themselves of the training provided by the NYSSBA for new board members?

I respect our teachers and administrators. With good governance, not micromanagement, we could maintain our excellent district. I prefer board members without a history of meddling or personal agendas.

Ignorance – my questions are intended to shed some light on the discussion. Regarding tenure, if the failure to obtain tenure is less than 10%, it really is a rubber-stamping exercise. If this is the case, I’m thrilled the Board of Education is asserting their authority to stop the pointless exercise and starting to control our long-term expenses.
If the tenure success rate is less than 60%, it would tell me that teachers would have to perform until they at least acheive tenure. And if it is less than 60% (which I doubt), I would also expect that teacher’s performance would deteriorate once they achieved it.
Knowing if any teachers have served on the school board would be helpful. It seems we all can agree our schools are excellent – or at least were excellent in the not-to-distant past. If we got there without help of teachers or union members on the board, it tells us something.
The length of time for a lack of contract might put the current feud in a new light, and might give us some ideas on how to resolve the current impasse. The teachers are all screaming about how unfair the existing contract is, but I haven’t seen any starving or homeless teachers.
Lastly, if you prefer board members without a history of meddling or personal agendas, you’re terribly naive – every single person willing to serve on the board brings a personal agenda, by definition. Each voter should determine which of the personal agendas best parallels their own interests.

Dr. Shine’s email to Dr. Rooney clearly stated: here are the current concerns of Laura Slack. Dr. Shine chose to attribute his statements to her. A week later he stated that they were his words and sentiments. Either he tried to set her up, he has Alzheimer’s, or he’s lying. Laura Slack denied making those comments so either she’s lying or indirectly calling Dr. Shine a liar. A week later the agenda of the board meeting was changed to allow Laura Slack’s friends to come to praise her. The board is blaming all this on the failed contract negotiations. Wake up everybody! They are trying to misdirect us. You can’t honestly believe that Dr. Shine and Laura Slack are innocent. It’s far too obvious.

Tenure – The typical period of time a teacher must wait before being granted tenure is 3 years if they have not recevied tenure in the state before and 2 years if they have.
I don’t know the %. However, if a teacher is not deserving of tenure then I do believe they need to be given an improvement plan.
K-12 teacher tenure means that, if a board of education wants to dismiss a teacher and deprive that teacher of his or her livelihood, the board of education has to have a performance-related reason for doing so, and has to be able to prove that the teacher is unfit.
Without tenure, good teachers would lose their jobs because the director of schools wants to hire his cousin or because the teacher is an “outsider” in the community. This happens all the time.

School Board – Here is a pretty good website: http://www.regents.nysed.gov/about/statement_governance.html
I know that a teacher current teacher cannot sit on the board of where they work. I don’t recall there ever being a retired teacher or another NYSUT member on the board in Rye. I do know of other districts that have had teachers on the board.

Contract – From what I understand this is the longest period where RTA teachers went without a contract. Typically the fact finders report is a non-bias document both parties ageree on.

Did any teachers lose their homes or die of starvation while they were working without a contract? This question is disgusting. Who are you to judge how someone provides for their family?

The email, the reaction of board members and the fact that the board broke their own policies allowing electioneering does show me that there is some abusive power going on. Yes, errors are made by all of us every day, I agree with you. However, covering them up is worse than making the error.

Bravo Lgat and lost hope….yeah that comment was really obnoxious. I guess you must have to be homeless or starving to be treated fairly and get a contract. Lgat, your thoughts about who is covering up are exactly what I cannot understand that more people aren’t seeing. When you put something in writing, you are usually very cautious and thoughtful about your words. I guess after a week you are just allowed to change your mind and what you meant and that is completely acceptable. I thought most of the community would see right through this…shameful.

How’s that song go….. Mrs.Jones,Mrs.Jones,Mrs.Jones,
Maybe the community doesn’t see it from where your standing. Just maybe we look at the bigger picture and choose to pick our battles and not bite our nose to spite our face.
Cover ups,lies,he said,she said….”whatever”! Yup… those poor teachers-they are treated so poorly. If my boss treated me unfairly and it was brought to the level of this I would quit & go work where the grass is greener.
Lost Hope,
truly a profound name,
So you say this is the longest period the RTA has gone without a contract…. do they play a part in this or is it all everyone elses fault?
Here’s an idea….. why don’t all you whiners go sit out in front of Hendler’s house and keep her safe from some disgruntled 11 yr.old!!!

I appreciate your explanations Scooter. Here’s my question. If the administrators are effective, then they will be screening/hiring excellent candidates for probationary positions. It would then seem to me that the percentage of those teachers recommended for tenure would be the important piece of information.

I believe the trust in the principal is the reason the process is designed the way it is by the State.

It would be in the best interest of the principal, and therefore the district, to hire candidates who will perform satisfactorily and collaborate with their grade-level team.

Isn’t that why the district hires principals and administrators to perform this function; including the evaluation of teachers?

I’m still confused as to why the board would need to be anything more than a rubber stamp.

Boy, what a pile has developed today. In particular, the continuing assertions that the Board has broken the law. IF you believe that is true AND you can prove it, take it to court. That would be the best service you could provide to the students, Rye City residents, and the district’s employees. But if you can’t (and I don’t believe you can because it hasn’t happened), then quit spreading noise that does not help a rational debate.
LGAT – Regarding Dr. Shine’s e-mail. If I remember the tape correctly, Dr. Shine’s e-mail was sent in January, not immediately before the RTA attempted set up and slander Laura Slack. Shine took ownership of the comments and said that they were NOT Laura Slack’s. If a direct statement from the admitted author of the e-mail is not enough for you, then confront him directly and quit wasting all of our time with your repeated assertions of malfeasance. Repeating your opinion multiple times will not make it true. It IS annoying and time wasting, but it does not alter any facts. If you insist on persisting with your apparently false assertion, at least provide some facts as opposed to innuendo to give your opinion a modicum of credibility.
Scooter – Re tenure stats, wouldn’t it be helpful to ask the district to publish a report about the number of teacher’s hired in each of the last 10 years, the number that made received tenure, the number who left before they would be considered for tenure, by school? This would seem to be a pretty simple request to make in the board’s next meeting.
Also, re school board responsibilities, hunting around for something else today, I came across a board policy that delineates their responsibilities. It is policy number 2110, entitled “School Board Powers and Duties” and can be found at:
http://ryecityschools.schoolfusion.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/496886/File/Policies/2000s/2110%20School%20Board%20Powers%20and%20Duties.pdf?sessionid=a0ce0e692d3adb93d4b5b72ff158f2e6
I was unable to find anything specific to tenure in the policies section of the site. There is another policy (number 330, entitled Evaluation of Professional Staff) which points to the RTA contract and so I guess that’s where rules related to tenure in Rye may be defined. But I did not find a copy of the contract on the web site.

It’s so interesting how people are coming out of the cracks in the sidewalk feeling the need to defend people re-running for the board. Is someone guilty of something?

Maybe Mrs. Slack was just Dr. Shine’s BOE member of the week. Maybe he inserts members names whenever he wants and takes them out when people question why they are in the e-mail. Yeah, that sounds like a better explanation then the truth.

Gee, CPA AWAY and Ms. Jones, and here I thought providing facts as opposed to the fact-free assertions of conspiracy and malfeasance might allow a real discussion to take place. You know, one in which we each helped the other learn what was what as opposed to trying to body-slam the other into submission. My mistake. Luckily, I don’t submit to bullying very easily.

I have a contact at the Westchester-Putnam School Boards Assn. and have been exchanging phone messages for two days. I will ask her the critical questions about school board governance that are mentioned above and get back to the blog when I have answers. I’m sure there are protocols for observing classes, overriding administrative recommendations for tenure, allowing electioneering in a board meeting held in a school building, etc.

doubting Thomas…not sure where you get your “facts” but the people that I know that have read the e-mail say otherwise about it’s contents. Until the contents are made public and the parties involved take the responsibility for their words, nothing will get accomplished.

It seems a certain imcumbant wasn’t only involoved in HS tenure. A letter from a Midland parent is circulating town, and it seems to have linked the Midland’s teacher’s situation to everything else going on.
How is this incumbant so knowledgeable of all these teachers and their work? How is it that a teachers livelyhood can be swiped out from beneath them by the BOE, when (from what understand) they have earned their place in the RSCD?
As I have stated before, and the union president has also stated, the BOE cannot make decisions based on one or even several parents a teacher has. That is abusive power.
The plot thickens.

Finally…someone is starting to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

The only thing that is thickening is the thinking represented by some of the posts on this board. There is no plot. There is no conspiracy. The facts are clear. The author of the “smoking gun” as well as the breaker of confidentiality have all taken responsibility for their mistakes. So, keep throwing stuff up. Maybe you’ll get lucky and some ugly lie will actually stick.

I give you an A for effort. You keep repeating that there is no “plot”. Some people see things differently. Some people have heard very unethical things. Some people question how an e-mail from the top administrator could amazingly lose credibility after a week. Some of the community sees through all of it.

Sure would be helpful if the unethical things that were heard by “some people” could be written down so that there was a chance at [in]validating them. But wait a minute, invalidation doesn’t seem to work with “some people” as witness the retractions / corrections that have been written down and publicly communicated by Dr. Shine, Mr. Tuttle, and Dr. Rooney. But in the end, it probably doesn’t really matter because “some people” will always look for conspiracies because they feel oppressed, can’t seem to get their agenda agreed, or just plain dissatisfied, but can not find an effective way to address their dissatisfaction.

Sure would be helpful if the unethical things that were heard by “some people” could be written down so that there was a chance at [in]validating them. But wait a minute, invalidation doesn’t seem to work with “some people” as witness the retractions / corrections that have been written down and publicly communicated by Dr. Shine, Mr. Tuttle, and Dr. Rooney. But in the end, it probably doesn’t really matter because “some people” will always look for conspiracies because they feel oppressed, can’t seem to get their agenda agreed, or just plain dissatisfied, but can not find an effective way to address their dissatisfaction.

If it weren’t true, why didn’t Dr. Shine immediately address the issue? Could he have needed a bit of time to fix the mess that they just got handed? He had his moment….oh no, he had a week. He also said after a week that they were only his words and gave no explanation as to why he included her name. I’d love to hear your theory on that. You certainly have a lot to say regarding other things…..comment directly on why he included her name if she had nothing to do with the matter.

I’m not even going to try to second guess Dr. Shine. He’s the only one who can answer your conspiracy theories because the only answer lies between his ears. Continued insistence that an issue exists without asking him directly is irresponsible.

Release the tapes! Oh I’m sorry, that was Watergate.

You do know folks that Dr. Shine has no legal and ethical obligation to tell you anything said in his private conversations with the board, principals or teachers. Those conversations are private. That means none of your stuck on stupid business.
I hope informed people ARE discussing whether certain teachers can actually teach BEFORE they get their lifetime job commitment. And all those glowing recommendations from principals aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. Not all of Rye’s teachers are “wonderful” or “stellar” or all that. Yet they all get tenure.
And once they get tenure they can get drunk with 15 year old girls and keep their teaching jobs.
So someone needs to be taking a hard look at tenure, that’s for sure.

Can’t wait for Wednesday morning to come! Another 48 hours of this shit from the CPA’s, Jones’s & Van Dolsen’s of the world and I might just jump!!! BRB- I need to go puke!
VOTE SSN!!!

DT…he was asked. It is his extremely well scripted answer with holes in it that I and others question.

BLAH! BLAH! BLAH!!!!!!!!

TruthBeTold…your comments say so much about you. Ethics don’t matter at all anymore to most on this blog.

Reading through the pages here, it, it seems that those supporting “SSN” are hair trigger and judgmental to say the least. There’s no room for healthy disagreement and discussion, just invective. I wouldn’t want to be in that club.

It also seems that there is validation of secrecy – it’s Dr. Shine’s “right” to hold meetings behind closed doors without any ethical obligation to make them public. As a retiree with kids who could have used some support from the top down, I wish I could have had a “private meeting” or two or three or four. If I had school-age children again, I would use this as a precedent. I’d contact Dr. Shine about every specific tiny concern when it came to my kids’ teachers. Make an appointment. Get his personal email address. Tell them the Board of Education sent you.

Seems to me: When it comes to taxes and fiscal responsibility our taxes have gone up a lot without a thought to the future. No saving for a rainy day. Who ignores teachers’ contracts over other items on the agenda? Isn’t it like making sure you have the money for your ConEd bill before you buy a new TV? So – current Board on budget over time: Fail.

Communication. How could Josh Nathan say communication is good when he himself attacked Martin Gerson and was overheard asking for a stop sign at Board meetings? How could Laura Slack say communications are in good order when the latest meeting was a personal pity party for herself? The greatest concern is the fact that the Board took our tax dollars to hire a mediator and meet with the teachers and did not show up. Current Board on communication: Fail.

Mary Jones – I’m with you on Dr. Shine delaying an answer to the email that was read email. Someone earlier posted that it was not gentlemanly. But if I were in Laura Slack’s position, and someone read that email, I wouldn’t jump up and say “I never wrote that email.” That was kind of obvious. I would stand up and say “I never said those words! Dr. Shine – why did you send that to Dr. Rooney? Answer!” This is what’s puzzling. It’s not what happened in that one instance – it’s what happened over time. Who encouraged an atmosphere of “special favors for special people”? That kind of elitism gets me really mad.

Yes – someone does need to take a hard look at tenure. But it’s been said on this blog tenure is a state issue. It’s not going to be solved with this vote. Tenure reform is so important, it should not be left up to one parent’s problem with a teacher and his or her child. That’s not tenure reform, that’s borderline bullying. My kids suffered under horrible tenured teachers. They were protected by horrible tenured principals. There was racism to boot. Nothing we could do about it.

One thing my years has taught me is things change. I worry that the current Board and their work with Dr. Shine, is not forward thinking or flexible enough to meet the challenges ahead of us. I’m looking for flexibility, vision, sense of humor, humility, and listening skills from my candidates.

Wow, it is really sad and pathetic how this blog has gotten so corrupt over the past couple of weeks.
Let’s not lose sight of the bottom line here.
The current board has had their fingers in business that they shouldn’t.

They denied tenure (against the Superintendent’s recommendation) to a teacher who earned it. Whether or not you agree, or disagree. By the methods of the current evaluation process and then some, she deserved the tenure.

Then the board breaks the law and doesn’t give her reasons in the legal time frame. Does she even have her reason now?

Next, they removed a teacher from a technology position in which she too excelled. They are putting her back into the classroom after 20 years, just to hire someone less experienced to do the job. Why?

Then, there is evidence, whether you believe it or not, that suggests a board member was involved in the decision making of HS teachers also not getting their tenure.

Ironically, there was a break in Board Policy to allow electioneering to support that board member (which screams guilt).

Then, Dr. Shine takes the bullet and says that these were not the board members words, they were his. So, why did he lie in the email? He probably didn’t people!

Now, a Midland parent points out that new candidates haven’t voted in school elections before making them less deserving of a change at making a difference.
BTW the same parent throws her incumbent best friend under the bus by tying her to the first tenure incident in her eloquent email circulating the town, thank you for that information.

Let’s not forget the low morale of the teachers. Can’t see why they should be happy? Economy is in bad shape, they haven’t settled a contract on time, ever! In fact not once has anyone on here had any empathy for those teachers whose spouse might have lost their jobs, houses etc. According to the bloggers on here, it doesn’t matter because teachers are servants and can starve for all you care.

Bottom Line… there is mistrust, disrespect, lack of communication, dirty politics, and abusive power going on with what is in place right now.

It is time for a change! The time is now!

Change is coming! Cody will be replaced with Schmitt and the union will have to accept the fact that they aren’t entitled to more pay, less work, more benefits.
Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow, it’ll soon be here!

Seems the board took the easy way out and gave Saracino another year probationary.
Wow, not good enough to get tenure after 4 years, but good enough to teach in Rye another year?
Looks like no other way to cover up the personal agenda of those who turned down the recommendation of her administrators.
Kendal Egan made it clear that she had no part of that decision!
Good for her!

It’s sad that the Board kept claiming that teachers wouldn’t lose their jobs prior to the election and now it’s clear that Andreason will lose her job, which forces a younger Math teacher out of a job.

Also, Pat Boyer is out of a club-the same brave mother who raises money for soldiers in Iraq. Why?

Now the admin has made it public that they are further cutting clubs and sports….a fact they left out AGAIN before the election.

I guess you get what you pay for in Rye. Since most of you who post of this blog don’t have children, you don’t really care what happens to the schools, just what happens to your bank account. Too bad for the rest of us who moved here for great teachers. Oh well. Guess once property values go down, people will carea gain

RyeBread,
How insightful of you to point out that most of us don’t have children. How would you know that since most do not sign their name?
I don’t have a “bank account”,which by the way was a sad statement, and I care waht happens as everyone does,again a sad assumption. I didn’t move here….. I WAS BORN HERE!
“I guess you get what you pay for in rye”……
THIS GOES BOTH WAYS!!!
ANY CHANCE YOU CAN STATE YOUR NAME NEXT TIME????
SOME ONE GIVE CPA A BOX OF KLEENEX!