Monday, March 13, 2023

Whom Do You Believe?

How many times have you been lied to? By one or a few media sources? When do you begin to question what you are hearing?

This PragerU video, by podcaster Tim Pool, is worth five minutes of your time.

He has great advice for deciding what, and whom, to believe.

Click on this link for a quick five-minute lesson.

https://www.prageru.com/video/lying-liars?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_6369329

Sunday, March 12, 2023

Attend March 14 and speak up

The next school board meeting is March 14. That's this Tuesday. A good time to arrive at R2i2 is 6:20PM.

The board will go into executive session shortly after 4:00PM.You can watch that from home or office or on your smart phone. View at https://livestream.com/richland2/events/10797768

Parents, community members, teachers, staff and students: show up in person and plan to speak up during Public Participation. BUT you must sign up in advance to speak. 

To sign up electronically, go to www.Richland2.org. Then click on EXPLORE; then on School Board; then on PUBLIC PARTICIPATION; then on the green button under the fourth paragraph. 

Or click here.

You can register to speak in person at the meeting before 6:15PM.

Remember, you do not have to avoid mentioning any board member or school district employee by name. Board Policy BEDH only prohibits any expression of personal complaints about an employee or board member; it does not prohibit your mentioning them by name.

Prediction - 6-7-hour board meeting

Take a look at the agenda for the March 14th board meeting. I predict a six-hour meeting; maybe longer. You'll find it here.

The executive session is scheduled to start at 4:00PM. There are seven items listed, including a discussion "of Employment Matter Regarding Hiring of Superintendent".

The Regular Session starts at 6:30PM. Just look at the length of that portion of the agenda!

The Board is set to vote on four revisions to Board Policies.

Previous comments have included board member complaints about the delays in hiring teachers. Can you spot what is wrong with this proposed change to Board Policy BDD?

The superintendent will recommend all administrative candidates for approval by the board. The board authorizes the superintendent to execute the preliminary employment of certified teachers on a temporary basis, subject to final approval by the board. The board further authorizes the superintendent to execute the employment of all other candidates on the board’s behalf.

Is a clerk or a secretary considered an "administrative candidate"? Or are Administrators (whoever they are) those candidates to be approved by the Board?

Why in the world is the Board involved in hiring certified teachers? That's the superintendent's job. Why is the Board meddling in that part of the hiring process? No wonder there is delay. And what teacher will accept employment on a temporary basis, subject to the board's blessing?

Then look at the proposed revision to Board Policy DBJ. Why is the Board meddling with budget transfers of $25,000? How does a typo ("vandilism") slip into a proposed revision?

I remember a typo in a sign on an office display in the lobby of the Sears headquarters, where I worked from 1996-2002. The glaring typo appeared on four of the five signs. When I finished laughing, I said, somewhat loudly, "This is what happens when you ask too few people to do too much work in too short a time." 

Who can get across to this Board what the role of a Trustee is?

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Members of two R2 Committees

The Richland 2 school board chair created two committees of the board. I haven't found anywhere on the District's website where the committee members are listed, so here they are.

Safety Committee *
Angela Nash, chair
Lashonda McFadden
Monica Scott

Inspector General (I.G.) Recommendations Committee
Tamika Washington, chair
Niki Porter
Joe Trapp

If you wish to communicate with any of the Committee members, you can find their contact information of the District's page for Board Members.

* It appears that persons have been identified to represent segments of the Richland 2 community on the Safety Committee and that they are now part of that Committee. I'm inquiring who those persons are.

3/14/23 Board Meeting: 4:00PM/6:30PM

The next Regular Meeting of the Richland 2 school board will be Tuesday, March 14, 2023.

Note the special starting time for the Executive Session: 4:00PM.

The Regular Meeting will re-convene at 6:30PM.

The Agenda has not yet been published. What's up with a 2½-hour Executive Session?

The Agenda must be published by Monday, March 13, 4:00PM, but it will likely be available online at the end of the day today (Thursday (3/9)) or Friday (3/10).

March 10 Board Meeting - Planning Session

The Richland 2 Board of Trustees will hold a Strategic Planning Work Session tomorrow, Friday, March 10, 2023, at 9:00AM.

How will you know about this?

It is announced on the School Board's "Agenda" page on the District's website. That's down several clicks into the website. A place where you might not easily find to look for upcoming meetings.

Where is it not published?

It is not on the listing of Upcoming Events on the District's homepage.

It is not on the page of upcoming livestreamed meetings on livestream.com/richland2.

Has this public meeting of the Board been properly announced ("noticed"), in according with FOIA and Open Meetings laws? The Agenda fails to disclose the location of this meeting.

Many will guess, perhaps correctly, that it is at R2i2. But the Notice needs to disclose the location.

How long will the meeting last? No ending time is included in the agenda. Will the meeting be conducted expeditiously? Will "Parkinson's Law" prevail?

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Safety Committee Meeting - March 21

 A meeting of the Safety Committee of the Richland 2 School Board has been posted for Tuesday, March 21, 2023, at 6:00PM. Watch the R2 website for the location, which will likely be R2i2.

The posting was found under the School Board category on the District's website. From the homepage, click on EXPLORE (top right), then click on School Board, then click on COMMITTEE MEETINGS.

On the right side of that webpage, see the green button for COMMITTEE MINUTES.

The Safety Committee hasn't met yet, so there are no Minutes to be posted.

The IG Recommendations Committee met on January 18 and February 21, but no Minutes are posted. 

Each Committee has three Board Members on it. But who are they? Why aren't their names on the District's website?

[Edited 3/9/23 8:50AM - this meeting now appears on the District's homepage.]