https://vimeo.com/138697244
September 8 School Committee meeting
Apparently they go by the playbook that a good defense is a strong offense. These people succeed at being offensive. They fail when it comes to what's legal, ethical and moral. These administrative and costly pranks can only help show even the most unaware citizens exactly what and who is telling the truth and who isn't. How dumb do they really think we are? How much lower will they sink?
Brazen Wrong
"Apparently they go by the playbook that a good defense is a strong offense. "
Much worse than that.
This is straight out of the McCarthyism playbook, with a Monkey Trial team of attorneys and "experts" (starting with Melrose's own "educational expert" RD).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_DQUAuNUvw
Inherit The Wind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf6fhMlxjMk
Edward R Murrow
We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men. Not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular.
This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy's methods to keep silent, or for those who approve. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of a republic to abdicate his responsibilities.
As a nation we have come into our full inheritance at a tender age. We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.
The actions of the Junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad, and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And whose fault is that? Not really his. He didn't create this situation of fear. He merely exploited it, and rather successfully. Cassius was right. "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."
Good night, and good luck.
Because fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy, and needs feeding:
“Can't you understand? That if you take a law like evolution and you make it a crime to teach it in the public schools, tomorrow you can make it a crime to teach it in the private schools? And tomorrow you may make it a crime to read about it. And soon you may ban books and newspapers. And then you may turn Catholic against Protestant, and Protestant against Protestant, and try to foist your own religion upon the mind of man. If you can do one, you can do the other. Because fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy, and needs feeding. And soon, your Honor, with banners flying and with drums beating we'll be marching backward, BACKWARD, through the glorious ages of that Sixteenth Century when bigots burned the man who dared bring enlightenment and intelligence to the human mind
-Henry Drummond, a character in Inherit The Wind”
― Jerome Lawrence
"Because fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy, and needs feeding."
Substitute "Norms" and individuals daring to ask questions.
I get a kick out of this group of incompetent fools - they had to create "norms" so they could silence one of their own - yet it didn't work. Let's face it folks - the "Peter Principle" is alive and well on the school committee and in our school management!
The Peter Principle - someone who didn't know what that was might think you were talking about your buddy Mortimer. Come to think of it, it does apply there too.
It is outrageous that those 3 attorneys, starting with Melrose's own CS, thought they could create a meeting solely to threaten CKK, insinuating all kinds of things because she talked to the press, or whatever ridiculous trumped-up thing they are floating. Ironically as a result of their outrageously bad legal advice, she was forced to file a citizen's public records request. They can't touch her. She had every right to talk about the denial of what the state had deemed a public record but which the superintendent refused to provide to her, as a citizen. Frankly, the First Amendment trumps any of their transparently aimed Norms, also, which apparently escapes those dimwit attorneys (or maybe they purposely give bad advice so that they can then spend years defending the fall-out).
Not even worth talking about the threats and garbage from RD, KT, MD, or least of all DC, since nothing any of those (or CC or JD) is even credible. Good thing CKK is NOT a "team player" with that bunch. What a toxic waste dump that committee is!
So simple....if they had fired the racist back when the incident first occurred, then none of this would has been necessary. That would have been so much easier than this disgusting debacle. And less embarrassing.
So simple....if they had fired the racist back when the incident first occurred, then none of this would has been necessary. That would have been so much easier than this disgusting debacle. And less embarrassing.
Regarding their "experts" used to scare off our only elected school committee representative, Carrie K (the other six being useless and/or causing damage to the education cause):
Atty. Thomas Nuttall: This is the guy our district would bring in when they want to get away with NOT providing students with disabilities a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).
Consultant Dorothy Presser, Field Director, Mass Association of School Committees. Expert in District governance. She's the one who comes up with schemes like the "School Committee Norms", for dictatorial school committee chairs and other politically powerful members to silence other members. The Norms are specifically designed to keep our elected school committee members who take their oath of office seriously from obtaining basic school records and reports necessary to ensure responsible spending of tax payer money. The Norms also are designed to gag those members who bring up shocking and embarrassing issues for the District, such as the out of control spending for legal fees, frequent OML violations, civil rights violations....you know..., all the stuff that goes on here in the Melrose District.
Atty. David Jenkins: Defends public schools against allegations of tort, and civil rights violations.
Atty. Robert Van Campen: Expert in scaring off complainants and victims of
civil rights violations and teacher/ administrator misconduct.
You know that you have a problem school district when you have this kind of group advising the district! I guess this current group of school committee find it easier to be litigious than to be compliant.
The saying "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" - applies in this case.
Kudos to Carrie for not showing up to this "special meeting" ambush, aka, kangaroo court. Kudos again to Carrie for asking Kristin Thorpe and Margaret Driscoll head on what the hell they thought they were doing spending thousands of dollars of taxpayer's money on the kangaroo consultants who served no purpose in furthering the education of our children, but were only there to serve Thorpe, Dolan and Driscoll's policy of bullying Carrie into not carrying out the voters' mandate of responsible school spending and ensuring the school administration follows SC goals and policies.
Likely costs to tax payer:
$250 x 4 hrs = $1000 per consultant/Attorney for initial consult, travel time, meeting prep, and meeting attendance. Multiply by three, as there were three atty/consultants. $3000.
Robert Van Campen overtime: $75 x 2 hrs =$150
Perhaps this expense should be on Dolan, Thorp and Van Campen? But most likely, the expense will be buried under... Toshiba phones.
Better yet - put the costs under "Professional Development" - talk about an oxymoron!
I think these acts by Superintendent Taymore, Mayor/SC member (really the one who makes the decisions on SC with Taymore), the lawyer, as well as all of the actively collusive SC members (like Thorpe, Driscoll, Cassatelli, Dugan and Constatine) should be liable personally and individually for lawsuits arising out of the OCR findings. Their acts were knowing and intentional. The taxpayers never authorized them to act in a discriminatory manner. If our city lawyer were actually working for the city of Melrose and its citizens, he should have immediately moved to distance the city from the actions of these people. If civil lawsuits are brought, the city lawyer should be screaming about why the city shouldn't be on the hook. Maybe the insurer's attorney will actually have a brain and cut loose all of these officials who acted intentionally. They probably haven't even notified their insurer.
Unfortunately as we saw Tuesday night the city solicitor has been part and parcel of the bad acts and has actively given very bad advice to the school administration.
Sep 9, 2015 - 10:32AM
School Committee and Super Fail at Defending Themselves
https://vimeo.com/138697244
September 8 School Committee meeting
This is an absolutely mind-boggling display.
1:16 when CKK asks if it's okay to move legal or athletic bills to other line items, Jay Piccone: "well, really, it's all just one pot...."
And this is what this administration considers competent accounting!!!
But beyond that, the bullying from the very first minutes at 6:00 clear through the full meeting, clearly and obviously targeted towards Mrs. K and only towards Mrs. K, was just astonishing and grotesque. I have already extended my comments and outrage to Mrs. K directly, and spoke to her about the need for some organized community action. I had only watched some of this. Now that I've found the stomach to watch the rest I am even more appalled. What a shameful view of how these officials behave. They are out of control. Bad enough that they have taken so many wrong actions. But this is a clear indication of a bunch of rogue officials and their incompetent rogue attorneys who need to be reined in, big time!
Looks like the current strategy is to try and bombard us with all their fake feel-good stuff for the next few weeks. Look behind the curtain though. Whether it's MCAS (this week) or Advanced Placement or their "new" teaching plan for the district (superficial rehash of Meeting the Needs of All Learners), the poor education, sloppy work product, and political agenda of those trying to convince us underline everything. They want us to believe that the "Blue Ribbon" awards and "hot" zip code are the real state of affairs. Meanwhile virtually everything being put out there is poorly written, poorly conceived, and hiding a lot of big troubles under cover of more acronyms per square inch than ever before.
The real McCoy is what is shown in these videos, venal and totally self-serving officials. It's actually shocking how ugly it is. Could barely watch, but have had to in the interest of trying to find a path through it for my kids. There is outright thuggery in the video with the 3 attorneys. What did they think they would achieve other than huge new bills to the mounting pile they are no doubt working hard to hide? All they did was hurt themselves in the end and prove that they are totally dishonorable. This isn't even good political strategy! Who is giving them this ridiculous advice???? Even while it's obvious they have no integrity, they aren't even smart enough to use a little subtlety to hide their real agendas! It's actually quite remarkable, and of course really damaging for the whole system. Hopefully some of it will end in the voting booth where we can send the message of a correctly spelled "NO"! (and that's not an acronym!)
And don't forget that Carrie Kourkomelis publicly asked K Thorp and M Driscoll point blank how much money was squandered hiring the three attorney/consultant hit squad arranged by Robert Van Campen to intimidate Carrie into backing off looking for the truth. This will be the next Public Records Law violation by the school committee chair that Melrose tax payers will be paying for in the form of attorneys bills to defend NOT releasing this piece of public information. And meanwhile, RVC, the school committee chair, certain SC members, the superintendent and the mayor are all laughing at us taxpayers because they know they have unlimited access to our pocketbooks and wallets to pay for their own legal defense. And we need an override? Really??
At one time they were indeed laughing at us, but they are not laughing any more. In fact, right now, they are very nervous. Dolan has already begun to look for a fall guy he can set up to take all the blame for these messes.
That does not mean, though, that we can expect things to change as long as these people are running things. He doesn't know any other was.
Yes, and instead of answering a direct and entirely relevant question about the budget/finances that they were in the process of reviewing, Finance Committee chair Driscoll (who hijacked this committee chairmanship from Mrs. K who was doing an excellent job) summarily shut down Mrs. K's totally appropriate question asking how much the staged witch trial was going to cost us taxpayers. There is definitely wrongdoing here. Who authorized the hiring of those three (altogether in the bag) attorneys? Surely the expenditure had to amount to a sum large enough that met even their ridiculous policy and trumped-up "norms" and that should have required a public vote for approval.
They may cynically be hoping that they can put enough feel-good fluff in the news to obscure all of this, and there is certainly enough apathy to fuel the "outrage can only last 48 hours in Melrose" thing, but the bills for all of it are coming due, in a slow and steady drip that we're all going to be feeling, no matter how much we bury our heads in the sand. The bills for this one thing have to be enormous, to say nothing of the lawsuits under way and all of the ones that will follow the findings of the federal investigations. I hope all those about to get elected and take oaths of office in January understand that they may very soon find themselves wanting to bail once the Big Bills start rolling in, with all the penalties mounting from the many areas of obvious wrongdoing.
There's no way this can all be made to go away, and the way it plays out will very possibly make history since this current scenario is on a scale that would have the protagonists winning ratings on The Practice or Good Wife. It's sick, it's got a lot of really awful characters and it's also got some real heroes fighting very hard in a very unglamorous battlefield with a backdrop of the pretentious "hot" zip code wannabe Stepford Wives and a very ordinary little burb with a typical mix of good, bad and the ugly. Since the top brass of the school committee are so good at scripting, maybe the first draft will evolve straight out of the public records that will eventually be forcibly released.
Too bad we can't have Belushi playing RD!
Yes, read & listen. This episode proves conclusively that RvC has absolutely been integral to the egregious wrong actions of the SC.