Thursday, August 4, 2016

The End Is Near



Maria Geryk is probably out as ARPS Superintendent

So yes, I've been sitting on this memo for a few hours and had no plans to publish it until Tuesday because I try not to negatively influence a story when acting as a reporter -- as opposed to a columnist.

But since the Gazette decided to go with it, thus endangering a source for illegally breaching the sanctity of an executive session, I guess I can, reluctantly, publish it:

 Click to enlarge/read

Terms are 1.5 years of pay (@$158K per year), but will probably also include unused sick days, personal days, etc, so the final price will be over $250,000.

Of course now the interesting thing is with this being splashed on the front page of the Gazette -- above the fold no less -- prior to the deal being done, Regional School Committee members could come under pressure from constituents who think the buyout is too high.

Or Maria Geryk could hear from friends or other professionals that the 1.5 year offer is too low; so either side could change their mind.

Wouldn't be the first time the Gazette was wrong.

255 comments:

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Dr. Ed said...

Instead of emailing the school committee, how about the Boston media? Globe, Herald, WBZ-TV(4), WCVB-TV(5), WHDH-TV(7), maybe even NYT.

$300.000 is a LOT of money, my guess is that the DESE and State Auditor might have to intervene were this to make the Boston media.

umASS may rule the valley, but it does not rule the state.

Anonymous said...

I was thinking there was no way I would vote for Viral for state rep but now I realize that would get her off the school committee. She can't do both, right?

Anonymous said...

Rebecca…
as a anonymous friend you should know people are already boycotting your restaurant because of your comments here
get a clue !!

Anonymous said...

You are allowed to proofread before you post. That includes Larry too.

Dr. Ed said...

Actually, I think Vera can serve on both. After all, haven't high-ranking UM Admin been on the Selectboard?









Anonymous said...

Anon: 8/6, 4:30,

Yes I've spoken with Maria many times. She is very pleasant in person but fails to make good decisions and put good policies in place. She just does not have good or extensive experience and has been unable to find high enough quality people to make up for her short comings. If she was succeeding fewer people would be leaving the district. Its just that simple.

Anonymous said...

So Larry, are we up to a new record on comments yet?

Rebecca Casa said...

AFTER THE SC NEEDS DO ITS JOB Supervise the SI not the reverse as has been happening

Rebecca Casa said...

Numerous parents at FR and Pelham trying to get assistance with bullying. Or S Amherst parents that wanted to .leave Crocker out of the school reconfiguration

Rebecca Casa said...

I like to believe people are truthful. I don't like thinking Morris lied to me bummer!

Rebecca Casa said...

Im glad for SC members that listen to the.people in their districts like Vira and Trevor. Unlike all the others thatvlisten to Appy and Maria.

Rebecca Casa said...

I don't drink it all but I would have loved to come for the celebration.

Rebecca Casa said...

Yeah I realized in 2008 that mr. Jackson has no understanding however I'm very happy that the school system now has options. And I know this is a carryover from a post from way back the reason that my daughter couldn't use the microwave in the cafeteria is because it was never cleaned it was disgustingly dirty and it was completely full of gluten which is why school and the counselor allowed her to use the staff microwave because at least the staff clean a microwave.

Rebecca Casa said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

The notion that CG planted the bloody glove was playsible. Never proved, I suppose.

Anonymous said...

Not a racist, but why impose a discipline policy that looks the other way when infractions are committed by persons of colour?

Anonymous said...

I celebrated the riddance by drinking the usual rotgut.

Anonymous said...

If I have to hear any more about your daughter and her gluten situation, I think I'll scream.

Anonymous said...

This blog shows why we stay away from Democracy and actually why there is not one anywhere. Even the founding fathers knew that most people where just downright dumb.

Thus we choose the Republic, where there is supposed to be a system where the dumb ones are weeded out of leadership.

Then we made countless leaders and gave them countless powers.

Then we realized that the smart people would not even go into government, the private sector provides so much more for those with actually skills, unless they are corrupt and they rape the system (like $21k per student budgets, really).

Those that can leaders focus on themselves, leaving those who cannot to seek even more leaders, even more resources, etc.

If government budgets are not going down, what are they doing with all the skyrocketing technology and productivity? They are pocketing it folks.

All this and in the end, the kids don't get good educations and the school will take decades of perfection to get over it's dismal overpriced reputation. It's all just a shameful funding joke....on you.

Nina Koch said...

Just heard a very interesting story about the "post-factual" age:

Fear vs Fact

I think it might have some application in local politics.

Anonymous said...

To Anon 9:39.....This is what school personnel have to deal with day after day!

Anonymous said...

Hasn't this gluten fad run its course?

Anonymous said...

To Anon 9:46 Well said! I hope others agree. Any other people who feel as we do out there? Make your voices known!!

Anonymous said...

I will never set foot in her restaurant. Just as I have never set foot in Baku's because of the owner's obnoxious behavior.

Anonymous said...

"Many of the illiterate posts are due to technology (speech to text, auto correct) and/ or misplaced reading glasses!"

In that case, I wish the offending commenter would delay posting until the technology issues can be resolved and the reading glasses located. One cannot & should not expect readers to patiently wade through numerous rambling and incomprehensible comments, attempting to organize the original poster's thoughts into something resembling a thesis. At best, it is lazy, at worst, disrespectful. The incautious language does a disservice to the visitors attempting to engage in thoughtful dialogue, and in all cases undermines the arguments the poster is attempting to make.

Anonymous said...

Well said anon 3:16 though I am not sure about the dialogue being "thoughtful"! Sometimes garbled might be best

Anonymous said...

Maria Geryk is the failure of her own school policies. Maria and her admin hires systematically dumb down the Amherst school curriculum and drive students out of amherst district, and cause large budget deficit, which feed into a vicious cycle of further the needs to reduce the staff levels. Maria remove student disciplinary action, so that school can look better on paper. The result is that bullies are encouraged and double up. This further drives student away from district. Maria is an unqualified SI, and has damaged the school district during her years. She is handsomely rewarded near one million dollars for that. It is time to clean the house in Amherst school district and hire a new SI and new group of Admins who have the vision and abilities to lead the school into a high achievement school.

Rebecca Casa said...

Yeah it's only a fad for people that arent actually allergic to wheat..

Anonymous said...

I'll say this one more time. No one wants to be SI in Amherst. We will not get anyone with vision or the ability to lead. We will only attract the dregs of the barrel. You will all have to lie in the bed you created. We won't even be able to attract an interim SI.

Anonymous said...

Rebecca very few people have celiacs though a lot of people claim glutton allergies. Heating up your food in a dirty microwave would not affect someone with celiacs...only the mentally disturbed!

Dr. Ed said...

A new word: "Geryeked:

Means something eliminated to pay for Maria.

Example: The football team was Geryeked.

Rebecca Casa said...

Its ok. If thats the case it is what is. My Umass customers will be back in 3 weeks and they don't care about school politics. I have a really good customer base and the people I may lose I am gaining just as many by not hiding my thoughts about how unfairly our school system has been being run. I do appreciate your concern. I weighed being an anon but the reality is at some point a person of moral character needs to stand up for what is right regardless of the consequences. People already knew I was supportive of the Pelham parent. No.parent should be kept away from their childs school without due process. No.parent should have no access to the school committee. No parent should be ignored when they are trying to get help for their child like I was. I have lived here for almost 50 years the towns people that know me, that know my moral character, will still be in. The ones that don't come in because of my personal opinions and thoughts regarding respect and constotutional rights are people I am not all that interested in having as customers anyway.

Rebecca Casa said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rebecca Casa said...

A truely clean microwave like at my house wouldnt maKe her sick.

Anonymous said...

Observation for the curious ...

239 posts so far...

39 by Rebecca C
21 by Mr. Ed
11 by Larry K
5 by Nina K
5 removed by author (Larry)

Makes you wonder....

Dr. Ed said...

I'm really tired of this "good luck finding a new supt" stuff -- it's just like the "no one will ever love you" told to abused women.

TSLC is finding lots of communities being told they'll never find a new Supt -- and all of them manage to do so. There'll be applicants for the Amherst position as well.

And if there aren't, let the State run the district. Right now, I think letting the state clean up Geryk's mess would be the best option.

Anonymous said...

Rebecca 9:07...huh?...and geryk was due process!

Rebecca Casa said...

This blog isnt about Celiacs its about Maria and her contract. Im not the person to debate Celiac's with and how it effects,my daughter OR OTHER SEVERE CELIAC PEOPLE. I have been living with it for a long time now and I am well educated on the subject. A piece of breaD touching a plate before my daughters food touches the same plate will make her sick.Kitchen gloves touching anything with wheat then touching her food will make her sick. We spent two yrs going to Boston Children's hospital. Celiacs also makes one's body unable to absorb nutrients properly after exposure. Thus leading to many ither conditions like preostopenia. Dont pull the CELIAC is too rare for your daughter to have...with me. The intestional biopsy was bad enough without ppl pretending to know all about it. Try living it. The microwave was extremly dirty and completely cross contaminated with wheat.It was so dirty it was too risky to use through the old unknown food touching the container , then posdibly getting on her hands, table, utensils to risky with her sensitivoty level. Wheat to a celiac is posion to the intestines which take 5 years to recover after every exposure. The Gluten ataxia.which is a double whammy effects both the brain. . Educate yourself on cross cobtamunation. Maybe the bigger question back then was why the microwave being cleaned by the staff at the school. Reality is seoerate toaster, separate strainer, separate condiments, separate fryer at restaraunts. Is the only way to keep someone who has celiacs SAFE AND HEALTHY.

Rebecca Casa said...

Celiacs isnt an allergy... It is a disease.

Rebecca Casa said...

Your right sone of these people are truely clueless and csn be really mean. Thanks for your positive post of encoragement at the beginning of this thread. Whatever happened to agreeing to disagree and moving on.

Anonymous said...

I commend Rebe for not hiding behind an anon. I have read through her posts and she has not posted anything radical. She has had the guts to postvhercposition which she clearly states is maKe her stay and work or let her go with nothing. She has called out the SC for doing what their towns people want them to do. Rebe told everyone to email whatever theirvside was pro/ con etc.
The fact that Marias husband Kurt with other close Maria supporters(Appy) have made a,habit ruining people /manipulating the situation and trying to make people look crazy is disgusting and part of why we need a change. So Rebecca your anon friend is probably Kurt, trying to intimidate you. I knowvtiu and your family and watched as your family struggled with your eldest daughters sickness, selling of your husband's family business, while you worked gard to help the disadvataged emotionally/ behaviorally challenged kids of Holyoke Alt school. If you can handle those kids Kurt will be a piece of cake. He is petty and bored. Being from here and living here are two different things. Always remember that. From here has sorecial Advantages.

Rebecca Casa said...

I like to make Larry money

Rebecca Casa said...

Cyr vs ritland schoool district. The person that places the ban cant be the due process person. It has,to be someelse else a cording the parameters of that case. Although we will all find out soon enough since the hiza lawsuit has begun officially

Anonymous said...

Rebecca, Aisha and Larry love the spot light. It is very sad to see how needy all three of you are and how very misguided. I feel sorry for all of you.

Anonymous said...

Rebecca people are upset when kids multitude of problems costs our school system big bucks. People are there to educate and not to diagnos. Well I guess that is not true anymore. Funny how these problems run in families...and I don't mean a hereditary problem but different problems. Why can't your daughter have her lunch from home that doesn't need to be heated? Why? Why is that everyone's problem? Why?

Katrina van Pelt said...

6:50 so by your estimation only "perfect kids" deserve to be educated? if not, what are the exceptions, and how do you group the "problems" w/out stigmatizing kids?

Anonymous said...

Katrina did I say perfect? Just pack a cold lunch! I have never seen so many kids with problems. Year after year...it's almost like there is a whole industry built around this. Oh yah...there is! Parents are stymatizing their own kids! It's a former of Munchausen by Proxy!

Anonymous said...

Anon Aug 8 11:57 and 12:01 and the person that called out boycotting Sunset Grill. Are people really boycotting businesses that advertise on this site? Peter Vickery, Chamber of Commerce, et. al. ? Really?

Katrina van Pelt said...

10:24 you didn't have to say the word perfect, but everything else you are saying implies just that.....these are not "problems" these are very real conditions affecting very real people. empathy and compassion can go a long way to diffusing judgement.

Anonymous said...

I didn't really expect a real answer from you katrina. Someday the gravy train will dry up!

Anonymous said...

@650 MY kids are out of the system.. MY daughter is out of the system.. Ask the FED lunch program why the school system is required to meet guidelines..regarding diets not me. Not me.. I could have been a reall terrible person and reported the school to the fed lunch program and had all the fed money pulled.. I didn't. I didn't even require them to feed my daughter in 2008. I took all that on myself after I asked for help and was ignored which was my point.. that I was ignored even with medical documentation. I am not a person that expects anything. Everything we have we earned and worked hard for. I am not going over all the details of my 23 yr olds sickness anymore. There is plenty of info on the web. And if this is Kurt have a great time on Sweden I guess I am donating all the pencils from the second grade classroom to make that happen for your family send me a postcard.
Rebecca

Anonymous said...

@ 1202 .. Hey Kurt I am looking for a pizza person if your interested in a job. Didn't you learn anything by the last 3 months.. Now that your wife will no longer be the topic of any blogs mayeb it would be better if you moved on to. Advice: Make sure you go to Sweden and spend some of that money before you have to give it to AISHA! Since we know most of the obnoxious mean comments are you why don't you get some guts, come out of the closet and post under your name.
Rebecca

Anonymous said...

Rebecca...you ARE a taker. You are a taker of people's time and energy. The nagging of parents with children on one spectrum or another. Where were all these special children when I was a kid? Yes Billy couldn't stay in his seat and I couldn't stay awake during math. I had teachers who knew how to deal with students and wasn't afraid of them (carolyn). Now huge numbers are in need of such special attention that it will bust the system!

Katrina van Pelt said...

11:31 you know what busts the system? 300K payouts to people who quit after being called out on their incompetence

Anonymous said...

Katrina I agree....Maria has just robbed a bank...our bank!

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