I am very concerned about some of the comments that have been posted in response to my last article.
I started this blog two years ago as an exercise of fostering a discussion about the important issues affecting our children's education, not as a platform for ad homonym attacks. I purposely let comments be anonymous because I recognize that parents, teachers, and administrators sometimes have very good reasons to not identify themselves publicly. This does not mean, however that there is free license to talk about people's personal lives, who they have lunch with or when they're getting married. I am also dismayed by the repetitive attacks commenters are making on each other.
I don't want this blog to turn into a battlefield betweeen various factions of Central Office, and I'm going to be taking a more active role in editing our comments that are not constructive.
Having said that I'm not a PR platform for the public schools. Just because a comment doesn't put a positive spin on the activities of the district and its administrators doesn't mean it's not valuable. There are very real educational issues that need to be dealt with and we have to have a frank discussion about them.
Nevertheless, one of the impediments to creating a good school system in Norwalk is the rancor that infects Central Office. The pettiness, the backbiting, the distrust of colleagues seems to permeate the organization. One may argue that it's only a couple of disgruntled people venting on this blog, but what then what do we make of the leaks to The Hour of food receipts? Collectively, they are a sign of an unhealthy environment and it's hard to see how these people can work together on the needs of our children when they're at each others throats. As she searches for the new Director position Susan Marks needs to address the problems within her Central Office staff. Denying that they exist or ignoring them won't make them go away.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
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Moina, very well put. Some how some way the poison venom must stop. It has become so unhealthy. Maybe if Dr. Marks is allowed to equip her organization the way she needs to, and without the negativity, and hopefully, the Board will stand with her, as well as her subordinate staff.
ReplyDeleteThe only way to move the district forward is a strong united team, and with what resolve she has she is trying to do it.
I hope that this blog can become a positive force and not a receptacle for nastiness, innuendos, and gripes from unhappy people. While I agree it is important to let folks vent--it has become apparent it is one nasty smear after another.
If people are so unhappy--get on another bus--not the wheels bus!
The fact is that 80% of taxes are siphoned by the BOE and 40% of that is siphoned by administration. 32% of your tax dollars toward administration. Utterly disgusting.
ReplyDeleteMoina, I respectfully disagree. I believe the public has the right to know what is really going on at central office and elsewhere. While some of the comments may go too far, many of them are factual. Opinions and facts are not necessarily palatable for some, but this is the way of our democracy
ReplyDeletetoday is. Is iit right for some of the media to deny Obama a vacation with his family? I don't think so, but people have the right to criticize publicly. Shouldn't that right be defended here? I worry when someone as intelligent and sincere as you are start to censor what is said. Please don't be coerced by those who are afraid of what might actually be the truth. Please defend what you believe in. If it is censorship, then so be it.
Moina, this is your blog to do with what you like. The public has the privilege of voicing their opinion here. You have the privilege of deciding the rules of engagement. Requiring order and civility is not censorship.
ReplyDeleteI had always hoped that this blog would be a forum for people to exchange ideas and share opinions in a respectful and professional manner. In the last few weeks I have been close to giving up on reading this blog all together. As an involved parent I hope to see more problem solving and ideas for solutions to big problems and challenges. Personally, I could care less who the Supt. lunches with.
ReplyDeleteMoina, I know it must be difficult for you to decide how to handle the problem of truth vs. rumors, but I would very much like to see a lack of censorship on your part. Please do not make a hasty decision. I am appealing with all my heart to your conscience to do the right thing and let all people speak freely. That is what we are all about, and I know I value the lack of censorship in a democracy.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to discourage the negative stuff lead by example.
ReplyDeleteDon't allow politicians to publish attack pieces against their colleagues--- especially if you're going to refuse to fact-check them.
Don't allow non-politican-politicians to publish their attack pieces either.
Think about posting an editorial comment under the UNTRUE comments.
Don't attack other reporters (like you did last week). It comes across as pretty petty.
One issue is that when people can post anonymously, then they are under the impression that they can say anything they want, true or untrue. Unfortunately, it's not true and those who post smears or rumors aren't helping the situations. Oh yeah, and for those who love to flame or troll, your ISP can be traced.
ReplyDeleteDr. Marks had not even arrived in Norwalk when the negative posts started about her.
Many of the comments on the blog seem to stem from frustration on the part of different people. And frustration is legitimate. What is not legitimate is taking it over the line. And most of us should be aware of what would be acceptable and what wouldn't be.
Mona, I hope the blog continues and allows either anonymous posting or posting under a screen name.
Having said that, I would love to hear people's thoughts on John Mosby's apparent rant about Briggs at the recent BOE meeting. I wasn't there.
to 1:08 p.m.
ReplyDelete"The fact is that 80% of taxes are siphoned by the BOE and 40% of that is siphoned by administration. 32% of your tax dollars toward administration. Utterly disgusting."
Respectfully - I think your percentages are a little high. Three years ago, the BOE percentage of the total Norwalk taxes was in the low sixties with the State ECS funding included. More recently, as I understand it, ECS has elected to send their "grant" funding directly to the District, bypassing the City. This change has been used by various parties to claim that the BOE was given a cut budget, which isn't actually true, since it was frozen at whatever percentage it was in the City budget. However, costs, particularly health care and pensions, continue to rise, which makes it appear to be a cut or reduction.
Off hand I don't know what percentage of the BOE budget is spent on administration, but it's important to determine what you mean by "administration". Are you talking about the actual salaries and benefits of the administrators, the number of staff in administration or the amount of dollars paid for services through administration (i.e. payroll, health insurance, pensions, filing state reports, processing student data, etc.)?
They are all distinctly different functions. the biggest cost is going to be the administration of health care benefits and pensions, which is also the most complicated regardless of what the staff salary associated with the position is. Human Resources would be right behind that in terms of cost. Legal costs also are way up there.
My point is what you may believe is excessive expenditures in the Central Office may actually be simply the cost of doing business outside of staff salaries and benefits.
Do I like the fact that over 50% of the city's budget is given to the BOE? No. Those of us who live in town and don't send our kids to NPS or don't have children are struggling to pay the taxes, particularly in this economy. But many of these expenditures on the part of Central Office were contractual obligations. Do I want it changed? Of course I do. But I'm also a realist and if you cut the staff at Central Office too severely, when a teacher submits an insurance claim, or wants a vacation check, well, take a number, get in line.
While I am so very proud of Moina for taking a stand, I go back and forth with censorship. I do not like to see people publicly ripped apart when people can hide behind anonymity. On the other hand, some people who have been handled inequitably and other people who hav been honest whistle blowers and have been handled treacherously probably feel they have no other voice and that this is their only forum. It's very sad, but is is not only in Norwalk Public Schools. It is elsewhere in the City as well. Much of it has to do w/ appointment b/w cronyism and dysfunctional people appointed.
ReplyDeleteThis goes back to Moina's point. Dr. Marks inherited this mess; we can't blame her for it, but it is past time to deal with it. It is time to deal with the principals' leadership, or lack thereof and teachers that are dead weight. There is a lot of racism this town doesn't want to deal with as it keeps bragging about its diversity and there is a lot of classism with those who can't fit in in surrounding towns and coming here and setting up their own form of hierarchy.
Stop trying to patch and cover the tree withouth healing the root or we will be having the same issues on this blog 10 years from now.
Is that progress?
General George S. Patton: “Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of the men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory.” Dr. Marks is at the helm at present. She was not appointed by cronyism or some twisted behind-the-scenes deal. She is not an alcoholic (closet or otherwise). She does not appear to be dysfunctional. She appears to be a straight-shooter and Lord knows the woman has thick skin. She will make mistakes and we will be there to make sure they are fixed, but we cannot tie her hands right now. Let us see what she can do before tying her hands.
General George S. Patton: “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.” I am willing to go to war for my own and other children because I am tired of the agendas of people who have their own interest and not theirs in mind. I am tired of the partisan politics. I am tired of high paid teachers/principals and low scores. How is the magnet school fairing? Who is being held accountable for schools on AYP that don't improve? Why are some schools protected or given more money than others even when there are no improvements?
The hardest thing is having two people who seem to try to do their due diligence butt heads. I think Sue and Steve are active with their ideas and fact checking, but you have to applaude them for their activeness and being willing to take the hits that come with being upfront with opinions. It is my hope that at the end of the day, they respect each others efforts even if they do not agree all of the time.
Moina, another option that may cut down on the some of the insane comments is to have people register before they can post to your blog, like Jackie Lightfield did on her www.yourct.com blog.
Apologies for being so long winded. I've said my piece and I can honestly tell you, that I want to be excited about the learning possibilities this school year will bring. Unfortunately, I am not, but I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised.
Believe what you want, but the politics being played at central office need to be exposed. When a superintendent ORDERS staff to support her at a BOE meeting, there's something rotten going on. When the mayor appears at a BOE meeting to.make sure a position gets passed, something is rotten. What happened to letting people think for themselves? Do you really think that staff work better when being coerced. If you want what is best for children, it would be wise not have staff feel bullied by anyone.
ReplyDeleteIf you want truth, pursue it. If you don't, hide under a rock and make believe everything is really fine. In the meantime, some mighty strong feelings of
anger have been expressed here. I guess I hit a nerve or two in what I've exposed. Your decision...truth or bury your head?
Historically, superintendents have often ordered staff (specifically, administrators) to support them at BOE meetings; that is nothing new. I know because I have had to do it in a couple of school districts where I have worked, and I accepted it as being a member of an administrative team. You see, we are not independent contractors. Anyone who prefers to do his/her own thing should quit the public school system and hire out as a consultant. There is also nothing new about having a mayor appear at a BOE meeting to make sure a vote goes his/her way.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the blog and your thoughtful comments, Moina. Big fan of civil discourse and the only reason my 2-3 posts have been anonymous is because my husband and I have shared a Google acct. since we set up our retirement travel blog and haven't figured out how to work around. These comments are mine alone.
ReplyDeleteSo what you are saying, 1:38, is that we should ignore the support that the superintendent got from the administrators at the last board meeting because they may or may not have supported the position. Is that correct?
ReplyDeleteTo 1:14 p.m.
ReplyDeleteWhen the mayor appears at a BOE meeting to.make sure a position gets passed, something is rotten.
I think your perceptions are a little off here. The mayor is an ex-officio of the BOE. He was present in case of a tie vote. That's the only time he gets to cast a vote. And in view of that, he probably spoke with Dr. Marks in advance to find out what he needed to know about the issue. There have been other times when there was an unexpected tie vote and someone had to go get the mayor to break the tie. There is nothing sinister or unusual about this.
As for the issue of the Superintendent telling the administrator to attend to support his/her positions, isn't that what has been done every single City budget cycle? Parents, BOE members, teachers, and administrators all turn out to talk to the BET and show their support. And that's no different from working in a major corporation. If the corporate powers that be say this is how we're gonna handle this issue, that's how it is done. If the Verizon union tells its workers that they are going to go picket someone's private home, the union members go. They may disagree with it, but they were there.
And that doesn't bother you, 3:56 PM? Just because it is done elsewhere that makes it right?
ReplyDelete3:21 - No, I am not saying that at all. I am saying that it is reasonable and appropriate for a superintendent to expect the district administrators to follow her lead when she tells that that the time for discussion has ended. This superintendent is collaborative when forming her positions on different matters, but at some point, the boss has to make the final decision, and others have to abide by it. This is no different than it is in any other effective organization, and I assume that most people want the school system to be effective.
ReplyDeleteI've lost the gist of these ongoing posts, 5:36. Let's say, whether I'm a fan of Marks or not, I have to think she wants to ensure the system is effective. I would think she knows she has to keep all her plates in the air to keep this job. She has seen what happened to Dr. Corda. At least, we would hope she is well aware of it. why would Dr. Marks risk integrity for someone she may have encountered as a friend along the way? Do you not really think she regards filling this position as crucial? Do you not think that she regards this person as the best for that position? Perhaps she was able to sell that point to board members and to the mayor. Just as all important work is done ahead of time in caucuses and via emails and premeetings, it is not unusual to have votes set before the actual count. Just look at our national government when interns field the homework and tell officials how to vote. Then they simply show up. How is Marks wrong?
ReplyDeleteIs it really that tough for posters here to keep to a topic?
ReplyDeleteOnce again we have the conspiracy crowd versus the apologists.
So many of you make outrageous assumptions. How do we know what the superintendent said to the asst. superintendent? How do we know what deal or no deal was made with the mayor? How can any one know what Susan Marks learned from Sal Corda?
If I want useless conjecture and specualtion, I'll the National Enquirer.
You know the school system is in trouble when your kid is assigned a teacher that doesn't teach at the school anymore. I hope changes come, but with all this acrimony, it's unlikley. Those with such passion and great ideas, please identify yourself, and mobilize. Im sad so many of our friends have moved or assigned their children to private education this year on account of the state of affairs.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's not a function that Blogger offers, but other blog-hosting sites require an email address and a name in order to comment. The comment can be posted anonymously, but the commenter's info is visible to the blog creator. A little more accountability - even if it's invisible to the public - might raise the level of civility around here.
ReplyDeleteThe superintendent is not equipped to handle this city. She doesn't have the necessary experience. When things start to fall apart on the outside, you will see what is obvious to those on the inside. Everyone wants to blame someone. Well, the superintendent is making the decisions, no one else. A student being assigned a teacher who is no longer in the school is the very tip of a very large iceberg.
ReplyDeleteNone of my kids know who their teachers are. Maybe if you are staff you would know, but regular parents don't know yet 10:51am.
ReplyDeleteThe assignment of that teacher is not the superintendent's fault. There is someone in place who is supposed to be responsible for that school. You know, it's getting to the point that I think some of you think all this bickering and backbiting is the norm. IT IS NOT. The Superintendent may not be equipped to handle a city where politics is a sport; however, she was brought here. Now due to much undermining, she is a mere figurehead. How can we move forward in that regard? So what are you saying? Are you saying she should be let go, waste more money on a interim superintendent or two and do another search? When will we move the system forward? This woman as THICK skin which is more than I can say for some others that have been hired or appointed. Have we allowed her to really lead in order to see what she is capable of doing?
ReplyDeleteLisa D.R., I hear you loud and clear. My gosh when we get staus quo folk, we get all ostensible dash and splash only to find we've been hoodwinked. When we get strong people who have strong minds, we want to strong arm them. I don't get it.
I don't want to take my out of Norwalk because I think we are in the verge, but I'm giving it one more sememster. Can't allow a system to hold the children hostage as they fight with egos over turf.
To the poster complaining about the assignment of their child's teacher, let me respond. Vacancies were created by retirement or the creation of new class sections due to enrollment. NPS teachers who requested transfers last spring have a right to an interview for any of these spots. It really isn't anyone's fault, but is a provision of the collective bargaining agreement. Perhaps your child's school only found out days ago.
ReplyDeleteThe same teacher could have resigned, taken a maternity leave, or another allowable leave. It has nothing to do with the state of affairs in the system. It is sad that you feel this way. I am sure your child will have an even better year.
To 5:35 p.m. regarding And that doesn't bother you, 3:56 PM? Just because it is done elsewhere that makes it right?
ReplyDeleteYou are, of course, 5:35 p.m., free to tell your employer to stuff it if you are required to attend a meeting, or walk a picket line. Just have your resume in hand.
And the straw man of "if others are doing it, does that make it right?" argument is immaterial. Whether or not it bothers me is immaterial, I'm self employed.
As for being requested/ordered/or expected to show up at a meeting for support, once again, you are free not to attend. However, it's a well accepted fact that to every action, there is an equal corresponding reaction. You may want to count the cost before you decide to pass on attending the next BET budget meeting in support of the school budget. As for me, well, we don't have anyone attending the District, so I don't have a dog in the fight.
If you check Roberts Rules of Order, you will find that ex-officio members are often designated as the tie breaking votes. And believe it or not, I have actually been present when an ex-officio member broke a tie by voting against the Chair's wishes. Apparently, the system works and has worked for some time.
@6.27, each school is responsible for sending out its own teacher assignment letters. We got ours last Thursday. I ran into a teacher early last week and she said they'd been signed and popped into envelopes before the teachers left in June. Of course, if your school had a lot of teacher turnover, they may have had to redo a bunch of letters.
ReplyDeleteMoina- you're a reporter, so can you tell us why the former Dir. of Elem Ed position was elimninated has been WORKING IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE FOR ALL OF JULY and PART OF AUGUST.
ReplyDeleteIf the CO has her and the Grants Specialist is there as a consultant how can any complain that the CO is understaffed.
Well you're at it Moina, riddle me this---- how many votes has Supt Marks lost? Seems to me that she has four solid votes for anything she wants plus a swing vote or two. RIGHT?????
@confused norwalk parent? why do you care what offices employees are working in and during which months? does it keep you up at night?
ReplyDelete7:12 AM is angry that someone should question her extra hours? The answer to the question asked is that the superintendent approves summer overtime hours. Not a surprise that the pet gets all those extra hours in a time of. Budget crunch. May the hours were used so that she could pack up her office.
ReplyDelete7:12 A.M aks a shameful question. This is the type of snide comment that makes us wonder who is blogging here.
ReplyDeleteIt does matter because it's my taxes they are using for salaries.
It does matter because it's my kids' schools that get shafted when the CO does what it wants.
so funny how you keep referring to this woman as the pet. just out of curiosity, are you jealous? why do you care who is working during the summer? if you have issues why do you come vent and trash talk people on the internet, why not go to them in person or speak to the sup if there are issues that are obviousy botherin you? oh ad i doubt it take the amnt of time that the1st comment said to pack an office, but since it is affecting your well-being you should of helped pack.
ReplyDeleteoh and i believe i was asking a question to the person who wrote the 1st comment. appearenty whoever you are you like getting involved or speaking for people. hmmm...speaking for people, i doubt that is nothing new ehhhh?
ReplyDelete@norwalk parent, if you wonder who is blogging, take a vote at c.o i will be more than willing to bet 1 month pay, almost all of either principals, or c.o will raise a hand. this is where our taxes are going to. adults who conduct themselves in this type of manner.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy and cowardly to bash people when hiding under "Anonymous".
ReplyDeleteMoina, you should find a way to disable the Anonymous option forcing people to reveal their identities. Then civility will return.
You provide a great service and it's a shame idiots spoil this for everyone. You deserve better.
Moina, excellent column above. Glad you wrote it.
ReplyDelete