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School Superintendents to Get Training on Open Records Laws

Wow...did you read in this morning's, Democrat "Boston Globe", that hundreds of Mass school superintendent's are going to training classes this summer on the Open Records Law in Mass. Why you ask?

A university professor from Utah sent letters to Mass school supers asking for information on the pay of teachers for a study on salary differences between men and women. He got so few responses that he informed the Secretary of State and given that this issue was supposedly addressed in some additional legislation, needless to say, the Secretary of State was so upset, that he is requiring hundreds of local superintendents participate in additional training on these Open Records laws!

I hope that our own Ms. Taymore is among those who will be participating in this training because she needs it - she personally stonewalled many information requests by Kourkoumelis, former school committee person, when she was on the committee - and has done so to many of us requesting records and school documents - including from myself.

This is what you get with a corrupt school system which is more concerned with stonewalling the release of information than shedding light on their activities.

Re: School Superintendents to Get Training on Open Records Laws

The whole administration in Melrose is about stonewalling, whether it's the schools with their frequent scandals or the water/sewer debacle that keeps on tormenting the citizens with incompetent and illegal management and using the hired hacks to keep information from the public and even the elected officials. This seems to be the Dolan philosophy of government. They need to be severely humbled with a large authority coming down on them like a ton of bricks (legal consequences), though that will no doubt be costly to us taxpayers. Even when the US Office of Civil Rights came down on the city, there was not an ounce of contrition and just more stonewalling and whitewashing. What is amazing is not that these two-bit jerks are abusing their authority but rather that the citizens haven't thrown them out of office. Sooner or later it will happen because these types here are so out of control. One of these days some little thing will trip them up and their hold on power will vanish in clouds of litigation and maybe worse. Some already have their eye constantly on the rear-view mirror because they know they've been very bad and they know they could get caught. But just like with the override that Dolan swore he had in the bag and then was "shocked" to see it go down in flames, these types make sure to prop up their enormous and insecure egos with people who only tell them what they want to hear. So they are eventually caught completely off-guard in their supreme arrogance, and that's when they'll go down, and they'll go down in a pack because they're all in it together. The lucky cowards will manage to slink away from the sinking ship, but one way or another there will eventually be consequences for their hubris.

Re: School Superintendents to Get Training on Open Records Laws

MFD
Wow...did you read in this morning's, Democrat "Boston Globe", that hundreds of Mass school superintendent's are going to training classes this summer on the Open Records Law in Mass.


Yes MFD. I heard that they will be using past violations involving our superintendent, city solicitor, and current/former school committee chair to demonstrate to attendees what a flagrant violation looks like. [:)s]

Re: School Superintendents to Get Training on Open Records Laws

"they will be using past violations involving our superintendent, city solicitor, and current/former school committee chair to demonstrate to attendees what a flagrant violation looks like."

There are already law and education websites around the country pointing to Melrose as THE example of what happens with an abuse of power. Our arrogant and incompetent administrators/officials are cited as examples of the worst such abusers. The first OCR case is cited as an example of some of the most obvious and flagrant kinds of abuse. The many OML violations and continued disgusting attitude of MOST (yes most) of Melrose officials when it comes to government transparency are cited statewide and even nationally as examples of the most shameful kinds of abuses.

Perhaps these websites should also take a microphone around the city to interview all those go-along-to-get-along officials and citizens who support them, as examples of how things can get so bad in what is supposed to be a civilized community.

How the superintendent (or her asst supers) or city solicitor (with his catastrophically incompetent "opinions" and indiscrete, outrageously wrong public statements), many other school/city officials, or many of the elected officials could still be in their positions is beyond the belief of many who see clearly that they should have been run out on rails long ago.

Having heard first-hand from state officials how these vile and incompetent Melrose officials are viewed for their very obvious failures and character flaws, it's truly stunning to see the complacency of so many locals. One way or another, though, the hubris of this administration will face increasingly severe consequences.

Re: School Superintendents to Get Training on Open Records Laws

please provide links to these websites. tried to find them,and cannot. thanks

Re: School Superintendents to Get Training on Open Records Laws

crickets.......

Re: School Superintendents to Get Training on Open Records Laws

???
please provide links to these websites. tried to find them,and cannot. thanks
I searched & couldn't find anything beyond the civil rights violations media reports & CKKs request for documents.
If you have anything, please link.

Re: School Superintendents to Get Training on Open Records Laws

There are postings in attorney sites (closed to public), Sunshine Law advocacy sites (you'll have to do your own hunting, but there are numerous references to melrose as examples of what no one should be doing), and governmental sites (where you can find the OCR Findings, etc.).

Re: School Superintendents to Get Training on Open Records Laws

Do some research and you will find sham 58E filings (Harassment Prevention Order Requests) against children as well as parents shortly after they have filed a complaint of educator misconduct. There were some filed in Essex District Court over the last several years, and certainly others filed in other local district courts. How curious that these 58E requests are all denied by the presiding local judge or magistrate after quickly figuring out they were filed by district personnel as an intimidation a tactic.

You could also file a public records request with the police department asking for all police reports recorded by the school resource officer called in by district teachers and administrators against children and parents. You would be shocked at how easy it is to file a false police report against a parent or even a child who has just filed an educator misconduct complaint. This is by far the favored intimidation tactic, as the city solicitor and superintendent condone and even promote this behavior as part of the overall strategy to intimidate parents who have filed complaints. Should we be alarmed that public law enforcement and legal resources funded by the taxpayers are being used to bully and intimidate are friends and neighbors who have legitimate complaints with the school district? I would yes YES.

Re: School Superintendents to Get Training on Open Records Laws

Esquire
There are postings in attorney sites (closed to public), Sunshine Law advocacy sites (you'll have to do your own hunting, but there are numerous references to melrose as examples of what no one should be doing), and governmental sites (where you can find the OCR Findings, etc.).

Westlaw & Lexis or something else? Citizens have access at the court law libraries.

I can search for the Sunshine Law advocates since Melrose would create a good (bad) template.