All 12 members appeared for the meeting but 2 of them used "remote participation"
Despite the Open Meeting Law complaint filed against them the night before and over the objection of former Chair Trevor Baptiste the Amherst Pelham Regional School Committee, after 11 minutes of bickering, retreated into execution session for 2.75 hours, calling it a night at 9:00 PM.
This was the third consecutive session (not counting the two that were cancelled at the last minute) the Committee has used the provision of the Open Meeting Law that allows for secret sessions.
Since contract negotiations with Superintendent Maria Geryk -- who still has two years left on her current contract -- was the only issue cited on the agenda the Committee could not discuss her long delayed evaluation, the Open Meeting Law complaint filed against them on Sunday evening or the price of pot in Colorado.
The RSC will meet again on August 9th in open session to, finally, finish up the evaluation of Superintendent Geryk and then retreat back into secret session to discuss the Open Meeting Law complaint.
Yeah, irony.
43 comments:
What happens if Trevor files an OML complaint?
The cool part is now there are more people to focus on.
The problem now is how to get rid of the people that keep secrets from the public when they are not working on national security.
Then the public schools locally can be eliminated to great benefit.
We could use the ultra current funding technique favored by the Obama followers, which are somewhat common locally. If something is important like health care we can fund it the new way that we developed as an improvement to taxes and school programs. We can simply require everyone to educate their children by law and make the parents pay or go on welfare....just like the ACA.
Private schools wont get away with this crap and you will have options. The school will know, like any business, that if they do not win you over, you will leave and so will your money.
Since the current group running the schools knows that you will accept this controversy, accept poor education and accept just about any funding increase, there is currently no incentive for change....but like the insane, folks seem to think that there is some incentive to change....or that these meetings really matter to your child's education or success.
I have never seen anyone ever give the superintendent a second thought after they were done with high school. At this point, the teachers only focus on bubble tests and you cannot even really see the difference between them (so they are not special or in competition with anything but tenure). The kids all come out with poor understanding of math, reading and the world around them. Amherst grads are literally avoided in the local job market vs. other schools. The school is there for its employees and anyone who pretends otherwise if fooling themselves and sacrificing their child.
And most of all, nothing hurts the reputation of the Amherst School System and thus the kids that go through it more than this blog. I know the intent is opposite, but that is the point, Amherst does not seem to be able to tie goals to action. Almost every program backfires as it is touted as a success. The Nile runs right through the center of town, over a hill, no less. I love reading this blog, but it is kind of like watching a train wreck, I just cannot take my eyes off it, but I am not watching something positive, I am watching a demise of a place that used to be great because of the people, now it seems all that is focused on is controlling and milking the same people because now they are just a herd.
That complicated penultimate sentence kind of grows on you--"or price of pot in Colorado" indeed.
In fact maybe it could be used to test for THC sobriety, to see how long the subject takes to recognize the syntax.
@11:36 said "nothing hurts the reputation of the Amherst School System and thus the kids that go through it more than this blog"
I couldn't agree more. This place is like an advertisement for the Chairman Mao Charter School.
"Amherst grads are literally avoided in the local job market vs. other schools"
I can see why you didn't sign your name to that post, as that statement, among your many others, was completely false.
Survey Monkey replies are sent by:
1: Smoje Signals.
2: Homing Pigeon.
3: Larry's Drone.
4: US Mail.
---OR----
5: Electronic Mail.
Yep, each and every one of those SM responses is a public document.
Is that the second it is sent, and that includes the drafts and "wrong" ones.
Yeah 11:36, well Larry Kelley is a disgruntled, karate has-been who must have received poor grades when he somehow graduated the Amherst schools because he has been on a crusade to bad mouth them ever since. Was it Leisure Services that broke your spirit Kelley or that B- you received on your "journalism" project? Mean Mr. Mustard.
And then there's your all-time #1 contributor and fan, ED, mr. extreme diarrhea mouth. He really represents the Larry Kelley existence. Without ED, there is no Larry Kelley. And without Larry Kelley there is no ED. You two were made for each other.
I
Dear haters of democracy and transparent government who commented above:
A few months from now the Attorney General's Office will rule in favor of my complaint that 1) the Regional Committee violated the Open Meeting Law when they entered executive session under an improper purpose, etc.; and 2) Regional members provided individual evaluations of the Super (expressing their individual opinions about the Super's professional competence) secretly behind closed government dooors to Chair Kent, member Appy and at least 5 non-members including the Super and her attorneys; and 3) the committee violated the Open Meeting Law when they deliberated about the professional competence of the school superintendent secretly, behind government doors "to obstruct...Committee deliberation in open session".
@155 nice distraction from the topic. The topic is the mess that has become of our public schools. Our school committee process, our superintendent, and her evaluations, as well as her current it seems contract negotiations. That's the topic of this blog not Ed and Larry need to co-exist or how you don't like the fact that Larry seems to have an axe to grind with the schools. If Maria didn't give him so much content he wouldn't have so much to say
My belief is that schools should be all about children. There should be excellent teachers to instruct and guide them in their learning. Building principals are there to supervise teachers, listen to parent's concerns, and ensure the efficient running of their school. Administrators in the Central Office are there to help principals, control budgets and follow educational guidelines so the whole system works well. This is certainly the way Amherst operated for many years and plenty of students received wonderful educations. Staff worked cooperatively and were able to get along with the public and each other. The school system was efficient and well-respected.
With the advent of all the political correctness and the "bending over backwards" by the school personnel, on every level, to try to accommodate all the BS..., it is quite obvious things are no longer working very well. Until all involved, calm down, take a deep breath and agree that the children matter most, none of this will come to resolution.
Good luck....this will take a real leader (and some honesty) to accomplish. Voters better think carefully about how much of this nonsense they will tolerate. It is petty and downright STUPID!!!!....but, there still is hope!
5:03: Forwards, actually...
Anon 5:03: well at least are still many great teachers and staff, and a few good administrators. I'm not sure how well everyone is getting along these days though. Many of the great teachers I know just seem more and more frustrated with what's been going on and lack of support from administrators.
Larry, it might be worthwhile to request the timecards of Team Geryk.
If they can't document 37.5 hr/week in time/pto, this is an issue for the state auditor.
When was the last time Maria was at work???
5:03: Your vision gives me hope and I share it. 6:29: Yes, there are many great school committee members, teachers, staff and administrators in our schools. I make a motion that we wish Maria well in future endeavors and adopt 5:03's vision and make it a reality in support of our many great school committee members, teachers, staff and administrators who, like us parents, are sick and tired of being sick and tired of our dysfunctional school system! Do I have a second? For extra credit, who is credited with first using the phrase, "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired"?
Let's not forget the racism that exudes in this administration. MG--may as well be hiding under her long white robe and tall pointy white cap. What she has done to the Pelham School Mother is inexcusable--unacceptable--and every single school committee member, townsperson, select board member, who have been made aware of this situation and sat and done nothing, wear the same hat! If MG is rewarded (paying out her contract and then some) for her racism, and oppression of families who speak up about the abuses their children have suffered while attending the Amherst Schools--it'll only further prove what a f'd up corrupt system the whole if it really is.;(
Be aware that some of the perceived "racism" is really "classism" which runs rampant in the Happy Valley. Many of the so called "educated" love to look down on "the common folk." Just ask any high school kid who gets their clothes at Walmart.
Anon. 7:54: Whatever your opinion is of Maria Geryk's decision to bar Aisha from the school grounds, it is really unacceptable to smear her as associated with the Ku Klux Klan, a racist terrorist organization known for vicious murders of Black people. To my knowledge, the information that led to the order has not been made public. I myself think it was a misstep to bar this young mother from the school, and that other strategies should have been tried. I believe that race could have been a factor, in the apprehension whites feel about an angry, assertive Black woman. But I am not in possession of any facts; this is based upon what I have read in the papers and elsewhere. However, I have worked in the schools for going on 2 decades (which is why I'm anonymous). I haven't seen Maria bar parents routinely. She has advisors of color who likely were part of a discussion before this decision was made. Maria herself states that she consulted the police. Is she a perfect superintendent? No, and neither has been any other super in the past. All have their strengths and weaknesses. Maria has actually paid some attention to issues of race in the schools, and funded initiatives to address this and other inequities. It is not right to slander her as a rabid racist.
I love anon 7:54's frowny face...nit wit!
You can find much better clothes at goodwill...nit wit #2
These teachers union boosters have ridden a populist wave of lawlessness, even letters to the Gazette urged violating state law,etc, all in the name of increasing taxes for salary increases to the "pretty people", basically younger couples seeking part time working mom's in teaching. What part of " Our Taxes" do these union cheerleader types folks not understand, this is just pure Uber gauche greed, not a thing to do with quality and value of education provision !These aging nineties hipster cheeses need to get the message-something is getting pretty darn RIPE-Amen !!
My blood is boiling -- 9:24 IS WORSE THAN any member of the Klan ever was!!!!
We don't know why Maria trespassed Ashia, no more than we know why the Klan lynched specific Black men (and women), but in both cases the implication is that it was "a good reason."
BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There is something called "due process" in this country -- has been ever since the Magna Carta -- and it was best summarized as "No, boys, we first give him a fair trial AND THEN we hang him."
And one other thing, penis breath: Not only were there BLACK members of the Klan, but there were WHITE VICTIMS of the Klan, particularly in New England. HINT: The Klan didn't particularly like Catholics (or Jews), and whom do you think the Catholics were??? HINT: Most Blacks were either AME or Baptist -- whom do you think the Catholics were????
But we are told that Queen Maria trespassed Ashia -- and my response is FUCK GERYK!!!! And no, Kurt, I don't mean in a sexual sense -- I mean in an incarceration sense...
Larry if I had to look at your mug at every meeting I'd run to executive session too. Just sayin
I did shave prior to the meeting (at my daughters request).
Ed, go away. You don't live in Massachusetts, and your vile posts are truly disturbing.
How ironic is it that someone uses Walmart to justify the poor, working class argument when Walmart treats its poor, working class employees worse than most other employers. Hello? I get your point, that classism is a problem, but in case you didn't notice, this is America's problem. Now, of course,Amherst is in America, so one can logically say it is a problem in Amherst, but wake up and smell the heartless free enterprise capitalism that Walmart exercises in treating its employees like crap.
And why would one sentence their children to such a terrible education as the amherst schools provide if one is so smart to have all the answers? Why not simply send your little angels to schools that rank high in education?
Oh, that's right, the Amherst schools do rank high in education, as they have for decades.
But you people are the same ones who will be attacking the next superintendent, no matter who it is, just like you were the ones who have attacked all of the superintendents, right Larry?
Larry attacks people for his living. He doesn't work, speaking of lazy, government riding welfare cases, so he has lots of time to make stuff up and write "if it bleeds it leads" headlines.
And oh eddie, is your thyroid misbehaving again? You know mommy wants you to take care of yourself. Are you still overeating? Just click your together and repeat after me, "there's no place like Bridgewater State hospital, there's no place like Bridgewater State hospital." That's a good boy.
I am Anon 9:24. Larry, how is it ok to give Ed's rageful invective against me, and of course, also Maria, space here? I identified myself as a school employee. I may work with the children of many people on this blog, including yourself - would you find his language appropriate face-to-face? Thoughtful disagreement, expressions of strong feelings - fine. This can be done within the bounds of civil discourse. Ed's comments rise to a level of verbal assault. I'm anonymous, but rantings like this actually make me fear for Maria's safety.
Anon 9:27 you make Eddie look like a saint!
Michael thank you so much for standing up and having and doing the right thing. Thank you or even noticing and not having your head in the sand like so many people in this town do and it's frustrating to me because I have been trying to create awareness since March acting a little crazy maybe being a little over-the-top just to try to get people to open their eyes so I just wanted to say thank you 100 times
Hence my name because I am well I'm sick and tired which is why I pick my screen name although people love to yell at me and tell me I'm crazy and tell me that they're sick of listening to me do you know what they're so reading the blog so maybe it'll sink in their head that things are not right
Very concerned about buying her out and how much it's going to cost our students Kama our teachers, are materials to teach our students it's disgusting
Anonymous Dr. Ed said...
Larry, it might be worthwhile to request the timecards of Team Geryk.
If they can't document 37.5 hr/week in time/pto, this is an issue for the state auditor.
When was the last time Maria was at work???
and ed when was the last time you worked.....you need to mind your own business no you don't have 3 jobs you just write nasty things about how you have been wronged ....and how you are right and no one else is......please either be civil , get the psychiatric help you so desperately need or leave amherst alone......
Ed, perhaps a job would cure your mental illness? Works wonders.
Kudos to Larry for publishing nit wit 9:27. Free Specht lives!
So now saying that Maria Geryk should be incarcerated is a threat ov violence?
Does anyone know what the word means? Or implies?
And some things should not be discussed civilly.
MY ISSUE IS HOW AISHA HIZA IS BEING DEFAMED.
Other than the fact that I am stupid enough to actually believe the social justice stuff, how does that possibly reflect on me?
Ed, perhaps a job would cure your mental illness?
In this city (DC), it's far more likely to be a cause than cure.
Not that I would ever confuse vitriol for compassion.
Why does the School Committee need to go into Executive Session to discuss the OML complaint?? Isn't that more than a little ironic?
Ed you know you don't live in dc....what is wrong with you?
They werent discussing that . I think its about contracts and ending contracts
Oh, really. Then I guess I don't have to pay the DC taxes then.
Perhaps you'll pay them for me?
And why is it your business where I am?
Remember, GIVE ME WHAT I WANY AND I WILL GO AWAY.
Ed we just want to help you get better.
Then I guess I don't have to pay the DC taxes then.
NO EDDIE BOY YOU DON'T BECAUSE YOU DO NOT LIVE THERE....
YOU DON'T WORK....
ED YOU ARE A SICK MAN....I HOPE YOU WILL SEEK OUT PSYCHIATRIC CARE......
GIVE ME WHAT I WANY AND I WILL GO AWAY.
PLEASE TELL US WHAT WE WILL HELP YOU GET IT...HAVE YOU TOLD YOUR THERAPIST ABIOUT YOUR DELUSIONS?
Ed...we invested so much in your education...what happened?
MARIA'S GONE!!!!
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