Board Committee Reports

Both the Safety Committee and the Inspector General Recommendations Committee met on March 21, 2023.

It was my understanding the both committees would issue written statements (more complete than Minutes) of their meetings but, as of April 10th, no reports are published.

If and when they ever are published, they should be found on the District's website. Look under EXPLORE, then School Board, then COMMITTEE MINUTES, then click on the committee and meeting date that interests you.

The "Minutes" of the I.G Committee for January and February are worthless. They don't provide any information at all.

It is virtually impossible to find the names of the committee members on the District's website.

The I.G. Committee members are Trustees Washington, Porter, and Trapp.

The Safety Committee members are Trustees Nash, Scott, and McFadden, and also the Richland 2 Teacher of the Year, the Director of Safety (Marq Claxton), a RCSD deputy (Capt. Verlon Rhodes), two parents (McGee Moody and __?__), and two students.

School Safety Report (2018)

The Safety Committee of the Richland School District Two may already be aware of this Report from the Federal Commission on School Safety. It was issued on December 18, 2018, under the signatures of the Secretaries of Education, Homeland Security, Justice, and Health and Human Services.

May I urge you to save a copy as a .pdf on your computer (or, of course, you can print all 180 pages).

Here's the link:  https://www2.ed.gov/documents/school-safety/school-safety-report.pdf

This Report was transmitted to then-President Donald Trump.

You'll quickly note the red-lettered note at the top of each page that reads, "Some statements in this report do not reflect the current positions or policies of the Departments of Education, Homeland Security, Justice, or Health and Human Services." Those "current positions or policies" would be of the woke crowd in Joe Biden's cabinet.

Save this Report in its original form, before it disappears.

The Safety Committee does not have a meeting scheduled in April. Does this mean that all Richland 2 schools are now safe, as a result of the $1 Million spent on the new alert system?

Everybody is safe this week. (There is no school.)

School Choice - what is it?

What do you know about school choice?

Most reading this probably do know something about it. I suspect most readers here are parents, including teachers. 

I admit to being behind the curve. I have no children in school and no grandchildren in school. Sometimes, I am asked, "So why are you involved with the school district?"

I care about education. I prefer education to indoctrination. I believe parents make the choices for their kids, not the "government".

Watch this short video about School Choice. 

Now Reading Betsy DeVos' book, Hostages No More

I'm not sure what steered me toward Betsy DeVos' book, Hostages No More. I'm glad I listened to the nudge.

Richland Library has the book. Yes, "the" book. One copy. Next time you're at the library, look at the trash they buy 3-4-5-6 copies of. Reserve it now; I'll be returning it on April 10-11.

This book should be a must-read for parents, teachers, staff of Richland Two. But it probably won't be. There will be those who ask, "Why ever would I want to read something by or about Betsy DeVos?"

Why? Because the mind is like a parachute. It works better when it's open.

I recall my reaction to the words of the MORE Justice group in 2018, when its members asked the school board for Richland 2 to back off from the "school-to-prison" pipeline. They wanted restorative justice. The board (at that time) and the former superintendent listened. Look where we are now. 

Many teachers dislike Mrs. DeVos and her ideas. My guess is they don't really understand her background or her positions. She was not a "go along to get along" person. They hear "DeVos" and they react like they do when they hear "Trump".

Read her book. Then decide.

This morning I came across NPR's Cory Turner's 11/19/2020 hit-piece on Betsy DeVos. I'm glad I read the book first. If Turner read the book, which was published in 2022, I wonder how he would re-write his article.

Richland 2 bus drivers. Encounter this?

Do Richland 2 bus drivers encounter unruly students?

How do they handle them?

Read this FoxNews article about Cleveland-area bus driver Jackie Miller.

How long would I last, if I were a bus driver? I'd set the rules the first day. After the kids were on the bus, I'd make an announcement, sort of like the one I heard on a plane one day.

The flight attendant announced, "Listen up. This is a small plane. If we go down, you are going to need to know what I am about to say." Everyone listened!

I'd announce that students are expected to remain in their seats and quiet. Use the time to study or nap. If there is any disruption, I intended to stop the bus. If it happened a second time, I would stop the bus and call the cops.

Drivers, what kind of problems, if any, do you experience?

If you fear retaliation for speaking out, email your comments to gusphilpott@gmail.com  Your name will not be published. Your comments may be edited to prevent your identification.

Metal Detector spots gun

How stupid do you have to be to take a pistol to Richland Northeast High School? And to take it through a metal detector?

A 17-year-old male student found out on Tuesday morning, April 4th. He was charged with "bringing a weapon on school property, unlawful carry of a weapon, and possession of a pistol under 18", according to WLTX-TV.

Charge him as an adult and release his photo and name. 

Where did education break down with that kid? While we, the public, will probably never know, did school administrators at  RNE already have him on their radar?

Who will be next?

Has Richland 2 ditched the BeSMART program yet? A lot of good it has done in the past 15 months!

Is someone (important) leaving?

At the March 28, 2023 Regular board meeting, Agenda Item 5, the Consent Agenda, received considerable attention. Did the public understand why?

Had there been discussion during the Executive Session? There shouldn't have been, because that topic (the Consent Agenda) was not on the Executive Session agenda.

When it was time in public session to vote on Consent Agenda, Item 5.4 (Ratification of Personnel for the 2023-24 School Year) was removed.

This discussion begins in the meeting recording (https://livestream.com/richland2/events/10813202/videos/235603761) at 1:31:51. When Item 5 was called, Chair Agostini announced that Item 5.4 would be pulled for separate discussion.

How and when was that decided (out of public view)? Somebody should have made a motion for that to happen. Otherwise, some might think that something was going on behind the scenes that had to do with that Item. You mean, the Richland Two board do such a thing? The board that promised transparency?

The other items in the Consent Agenda were approved, and the Board returned to Item 5.4 for discussion and vote.

Trustee Porter moved to approve Employees 7 and 237. After the second, the Board approved.

Trustee Porter then moved to approve Employee 366. It wasn't clear why 366 was not included in the first Motion. The Board approved.

That splitting out was due to different trustees acknowledging a conflict of interest on those three employees.

Then Trustee Trapp moved to approve all the other employees EXCEPT #526, #542, #560, #578, and #1849. His motion was seconded and approved in a 6-0 vote.

How and when the the trustees gang up on those five employees?

Yesterday I learned who those five employees are. Four of them are senior administrative employees. 

My understanding is that at least four of them have three-year contracts. What does not ratifying these employees mean? 

Are their contracts ending and in need of renewal? If the contracts are not ending but are not ratified, what is the legal significance of that vote?

Even more importantly, why is the Board meddling in an employment decision that is fully in the hands of the superintendent? The board does, by law, get to say yea-or-nay on teacher hires, but administrative employees are hired and fired by the superintendent. I didn't hear the superintendent ask the board to make such a decision.

What did the Board learn on March 23rd during the presentation by Attorney Ashley Story about how a board functions? Did the Board weave out of its lane just five days later?