“IT’S
ABOUT
THE CHILDREN”
Well…
after the last School Board meeting
and
the firing of Superintendent Dr. Michael Jones,
we
all know that’s a lot of crap !
hierarchal
sumnuati smash through one of the
foundations
of our community.
“it
crash through the our School System
like
a tornado through a trailer park”.
of
Blue Water Area, “what the hell is going on” ?
after
the marriage. Maybe because this
marriage
was actually a shotgun wedding.
As
you recall about a year ago the School
Board
did a nation wide search to find a
replacement
for Bill Kimball.
The
list was finally narrowed to three
and
the courting began.
As is
usual in the courting process
a lot
of time, money and energy
was
being expended.
Then
suddenly, one of the three
prospects
withdrew and headed home.
It
didn’t matter because the candidate
the
good old boys had already selected
was
still interested.
Then
suddenly, the real love interest,
the
suitor that had been position to
go to
the alter has, lets say, problems
and
he is out of
headed
for leave.
After
all of this courting, by default,
Dr.
Michael Jones is the one left
setting
in the living room.
Fortunately,
Dr. Michael Jones is the perfect
suitor.
He is a strong African
with
great academic credentials, experience,
and
character.
I
found him to have that intellectual
depth
seldom found here in
I
found Dr. Jones to be a brilliant man !
His
over riding strength …he truly loves the children.
To
Dr. Jones it is all about the children.
Unfortunately,
the fire, the attraction,
the…
he’s the one I want to spend the
rest
of my life with just isn’t there.
Oh my
god, what to do ?
There
was talk of looking for more suitors,
but,
after all of the time and effort that
had
been expended could they possibility
begin
anew.
With
Dr. Jones being an extremely qualified
minority,
do we dare ?
Oh
Boy, there is nothing like a shot gun wedding.
The
School Board will say it’s not true,
but,
give me a break, what credibility do
they
have anymore.
THE
HONEY MOON
As is
the case, shot gun weddings make
for
very stressful honeymoons and
even
worst living arrangements.
Within
months a real relationship
killer
was dumped on Dr. Jones’
lap.
The
contracts
creating a $ 5 million deficit
in
the family budget.
The
had
approved contracts they could not
pay
for. It was Dr. Jones job to cut $ 5
millions
from the family budget and he
had
only months to do it.
Boy,
talk about a relationship killer !
Dr.
Jones’ overriding concern is
always
the children. If he has to make
cuts
he would make them as far from the
children
as possible.
In
other words if there are going to be cuts
he
would start not with the teachers but
in
the Big House.
OH MY
GOD, can you imagine
the
problems that caused.
THE
DIVORCE
When
there is little love in a
relationship
to begin with
and
then you throw
in a
financial crisis…well... it all
goes
to hell in a hand basket
very
quickly.
The
inside fighting, the backbiting
nastiness
the power struggle to control the
and
the vicious personal attacks
actually
started months ago.
If
you had attended the School Board
meeting
it was obvious the emotions
were
high.
The
public was demanding to know
why
was Dr. Jones fired…
The
School Board said “it’s none
of
your business”.
We do
know this: the cost of Dr. Jones
firing
will cost the School System
at
least $ 500,000 by the time
he is
paid salary and benefits and all
of
the lawyers bills.
At a
time of financial crisis, at a time
when
contract compensation issues are being
reopen
for negations and at a time
when
the School System needs intelligent,
strong
leadership our school system is headless.
THE
FALLOUT
It
also appears that Dr. Jones decided
that
it was not in his best interest to fight
for
his belief’s and our children, but, instead
to
take the hundreds of thousand of dollars
and
run.
However,
in the wake of his resignation
he
left thousands of supporters high and
dry
with no explanation of the path
he
has taken.
All
of their efforts, their support,
their
reputations and in some cases
maybe
their jobs are at risk.
Dr.
Jones also has a lot of explaining
to
do.
There
is so much wrong here that I could write
pages
and pages trying to explain it all.
The
Good Old Boy system just took out
City
Manager Tom Hukta and now
a
very talented African American, Dr. Jones.
I
have been asked if
Shaun
Groden is next ?
A
very dark cloud again hangs over
our
Community’s image. While there
are
no winners in all of this there
certainly
is a big loser…THE CHILDREN !
The
one bright spot is that, soon to be
School
Board President, Jeff Stout,
showed
the real leadership potential
the
Remember, when it comes to power and
money, it is never about the children !