$10,000,000 Reserves; Me, first

Richland Two is getting ready to dole out $10,000,000 from the reserves to full-time and part-time employees. 

Sure hope I can get to the front of the line before they start writing checks. 

I really feel for the teachers and workerbees, but they should have gotten control of pens and mouths at the District a little faster. 

I've got my first purchase picked out.

RICHLAND 2 WILL PAY FOR THIS

Then I face a "real" problem. Where will I park it? The street in front of my residence is a public street. It won't block the street, but the HOA will go into orbit.

Did Holmes like the 2/4/2022 training?

The best part of this morning's board training workshop was when Liz Guthridge, of Connect Consulting Group LLC, explained how Motions to pull items from the Consent Agenda are to be handled.

Not quite like Teresa Holmes handled them; that's for sure. Robert's Rules of Order only got about six minutes today. It should have gotten at least an hour, maybe 1½ hours, out of the time from 9:00AM to 12:30PM.

I wonder whether Teresa "got" the message. At that previous board meeting she was wrong. She was completely wrong to dictate and dominate the board meeting where she made the huge error in not letting the Minutes get corrected.

And the trainer this morning wasn't even correct in explaining it. Did anyone catch that?

The trainer referred to removing an item in the Minutes. That isn't the procedure. First you pull the Item from the Consent Agenda. After the Consent Agenda is voted on, then the pulled Item is discussed. During that discussion, the error in the Minutes would be discussed and corrected. And then that Item (the Minutes) would be voted on.

Lindsay Agostini had made a motion to remove the Item containing the Minutes from the Consent Agenda. It may or may not have required a second; Lindsay said it didn't, and the superintendent agreed (although I don't think he knew, for sure). And then Teresa shut it down without discussion or vote.

Lashonda McFadden was correct that, if the board approved the Consent Agenda without removing that Item (the Minutes), then it would be approving the entire Consent Agenda, and the board couldn't fix it. Today those Minutes are wrong!

Lindsay and Lashonda were right. Holmes and the superintendent were wrong. Isn't the Secretary supposed to understand RONR? Why didn't McKie speak up? (Hint: she'd have to contradict Holmes and Davis.)

Supt. Davis was wrong, when he said there were two motions on the floor. There was a Motion, and there was a Secondary Motion (Lindsay's). 

The trainer this morning said that any Board Member's motion to pull an item from the Consent Agenda should be approved. Note: this approval applies to removing the Item from the Consent Agenda, not approving the Item.

Does Teresa get to eat a little Humble Pie? Will she? Will she apologize, publicly, to Lindsay. Lashonda and the board for her error?

Pamela Davis' "story" to WIS-TV

 I just watched the WIS-TV coverage of "the incident" at R2i2 on January 25 again.

Having thought carefully about the events of that night and the sequence of them, I find Pamela Davis' recitation of them less than credible. Do you think she was highly coached before that softball interview? Where do you think that interview was conducted? Any chance it was at R2i2?

While I appreciated the opportunity to tell my story, I was disappointed when both the anchor and the reporter said I tried to introduce myself "to the superintendent's wife." That implies that I knew her or knew who she was.

When I spoke to Pamela Davis, I had no idea who she was. I was shocked by her outburst. I told the first R2 security officer that I didn't know who she was. When I spoke with the female deputy in the hallway, I told her I didn't know who the woman was. When the two R2 security officers came out into the hallway while I was speaking with the deputy, I told them that I didn't know who the woman was. One of them told me it was the superintendent's wife.

A-ha!!!

If Pamela Davis felt so intimidated, afraid, targeted, why did she sit down right behind where I was standing?

Maybe Supt. Davis takes too much "office" home with him. Did he tell her about emails he received at work? Why would he reveal school business to her? Did he tell her who had sent them? Isn't that improper release of school business, especially if he felt threatened by them.

Here's the WIS-TV story:

https://www.wistv.com/2022/01/28/r2-board-chair-says-there-will-be-no-special-meeting-following-tuesdays-verbal-altercation/

And, by the way, I wasn't escorted from the room or the building. I picked up my materials from my chair. Two security officers were standing there, staring into space. I started for the doorway and said, "Are you guys going to walk out with me?"  SNAP! Wake up, guys. They followed me out. And refused to identify themselves.

And the Holmes and Manning interviews with WIS-TV? They were improperly conducted in front of R2i2, which is school property. While Holmes might chair the privilege of speaking on behalf of the school board while on school property, Manning cannot. And once she mentioned "politics", she should have been shut down. He expressed his personal opinions. And he shouldn't do that on school property, right in front of R2i2, where viewers will believe he is speaking for the Board.

Worst Training I've Ever Observed

I succeeded in wasting the entire morning watching the training that was set up for the Richland 2 school board.

It was absolutely the WORST training that I have ever observed!

The trainer had watched some of the videos of board meetings. She had to have seen the chaos. THAT is what should have been addressed.

She did not spend enough time on Robert's Rules of Order.

The trainer was a "nice" person. She'll be invited back. Nothing was said about whether she will become the Parliamentarian for board meetings and how she will perform that duty. Maybe she won't be.

It's too bad that the District didn't hire a really strong, forceful trainer to come in and bang some heads. That is what was needed. Man or woman. My first thought was that a man should have conducted the training. Then I realized that at least three of the female board members would have gotten their feelings hurt.

I have known some strong female trainers. They would have read the Rules of the Road to the board about the things that it is doing wrong and must change.

This was a Powder Puff training. The District bought a book review, instead of a training.

Mail Delivery 2/3/2022 - Nothing from Richland 2

Did Richland 2 decide it had made a big mistake by issuing me a verbal Trespass Warning at the board meeting on January 25, 2022?

Is that why it hasn't followed up with a written Trespass Notice?

Did Marq Claxton actually just issue a verbal warning last Thursday and order me off the property for that one night only?

The District had time to put out a couple of media releases, and Teresa Holmes and James Manning had time to jump on their soapboxes in front of R2i2 on Friday. I'm so glad they did that. Their words were aired on WIS-TV and are recorded for replay and future use. 

I emailed the superintendent that night (Jan. 25)  at 11:44PM. In that email, I wrote, in part,

"Claxton made a huge error by not asking me what happened. He apparently took your wife's word (only) about what happened. 

"I urge you to direct Claxton NOT to issue a Trespass Notice without a complete investigation, Including talking with me and telling me exactly what Mrs. Davis said."

Apparently, the superintendent accepted my suggestion and has told Claxton to delay sending me any written Notice. Claxton has not contacted me.

Claxton is a former NYPD officer. He ought to know general law-enforcement policy. Before you make a decision, you interview the people involved; especially in a petty situation like a school board hearing.

Of course, what happened after Pamela Davis yelled at me is not so petty. According to media reports she uttered profanities at a 14-year-old high school student who was there to address the school board that evening.

That should have resulted in her expulsion from the meeting, a Trespass Notice to her, and an investigation by Richland Two officials. The superintendent would have to recuse himself as her husband and as a participant that evening.

Boardroom lay-out

Come to the February 8th board meeting in person.

Attending in-person means the board has to see you.

Look carefully at the lay-out of the board room. Notice how much of the room is taken up with the "social-distancing" of the board desks from the corner behind the superintendent toward the audience.

Then count the desks and floor area taken up by staff. Ask yourself: "Why is the staff placed between the board and the audience?"

Then there is the social-distancing for the audience. Do you feel like you are out in the Back Forty?

If staff were placed elsewhere (for example, in an adjacent room with video or not even there!), more members of the public could be accommodated. Would 60-100 community members and parents attend?

Why does the superintendent get the King's position in the corner? The entire board should face the audience. 

Trustee Scott called attention to the superintendent's place of honor. That's where the board chair should be - in the corner, on the angle where she can easily see (and hear) every trustee, so that she can call on them promptly (and then stop talking while they talk).

Got an opinion on this? Send an email to the full board, asking them to change their own seating and to remove the staff from its position as a barrier to the board. Before or after you send that email, post a comment below.

Incompetence? Intention? Insult?

Which is it?

Richland 2 school district has still failed to provide anything in writing to me about Marq Claxton's verbal trespass warning on Tuesday, January 25.

Even a student who is disciplined in Richland 2 and gets kicked out of school gets something in writing, explaining his rights. You know, something like "You have the right to appeal this suspension from school."

Of course, a lot of difference it makes to the suspended student, who is kicked out of school for 5-10 days and then gets an appeal hearing, after he has unwillingly endured his suspension. And if the appeal is successful and the suspension is reversed? 

Too bad! He already missed the 5-10 days of school and suffered the embarrassment and humiliation of the suspension.

Is the rule at Richland 2 "Guilty Until Proven Innocent"?

What is the real reason that Richland 2 has not promptly delivered any written Trespass Notice?

Is it part of a nefarious plan of retaliation and retribution for speaking out about what is so wrong with how board meetings are being conducted?

Is it part of a design, hoping that I'll feel intimidated, afraid, targeted? 

Sorry, Richland 2. It's not working.