BOE Meeting at 7pm, Elm School Tonight 1/27; The Real Status of HMS and Other District Program Changes Continues to Slowly Drip Out, If At All

(Taken from Wikipedia dripping faucet images)

As we reviewed the agenda (Click to open meeting agenda.) we were shocked to see a lack of detail, yet again, on the status of district changes and the ongoing repairs that are occurring at HMS. Since the last BOE emergency meeting, there was a contradiction from Dr. Schuster regarding the possible return start date for HMS students and other concerns that we hope the board will raise this evening. The BOE parents and community members might also want to consider the following important issues:

1. Why were teachers told last Thursday 1/23 that HMS would not reopen until Monday Feb 3 and parents not told simultaneously? Shouldn’t Schuster communicate the same information to parents as she does teachers?
2. How much more mold was actually discovered and where?
3. Why is there no mention of the additional costs that the district will incur as a result of this additional mold remediation work? No advance statements of additional costs have been mentioned. Will this be given as a surprise tactic at tonight’s meeting?
4. We continue to see a lack of updates by Schuster and her administrators who have   been sitting silently for weeks while children and teachers struggle with automatic math acceleration. Why are there no updates?
5. How are middle school students who have “opted in” performing in math this year? How are the new programs of Reading Fundamentals, Writer’s Workshop and Words Their Way working for students and teachers? Where are the presentations Kevin Russell and Dawn Benaitis should be making regarding student performance?
6. What is the status of our Special Education students who, according to MAP and ISAT test results, are not performing in acceptable ranges? Why isn’t Kurt Schneider presenting updates?

Our administrators are being paid way too much to sit idly in front of computer screens, surfing the Internet or reading during board meetings. We have not seen updates in months all the while there are serious issues, as we have documented previously, concerning curriculum and student performance. Mark our words: Schuster will try to use her spin and downplay the time lines and amount of mold discovered at HMS while expecting very little from her administrators. Heck, we wouldn't be surprised if shel tries to “celebrate” herself and the assistant superintendents, even though it was mainly due to the hard work exhibited by Principal Pena, Martha Hendrickson, Rocky May, Gary Frisch, Doug Eccarius and Board Member Clarin that allowed students to begin their split schedule at CHMS. Were it not for these individuals, there is no telling what HMS students and families would be contending with at this point.

Bottom line: like our home faucets continue a slow drip to offset freezing in this extreme weather, so too does the information Schuster chooses to communicate continue to be watered down, scrubbed, and cleansed.

Drip, drip, drip…the lack of accountability continues….