So many meetings...so little time...

Community Forum...Board meeting...parent-teacher meetings...another Board meeting....Wow, I need to catch my breath!

BUT.... what is the desired outcome of all these meetings?

(At the risk of sounding like a current presidential candidate...)

Change...

It is as simple and as complicated as that.

We want change...

Change in direction (no more SAS, no more lowest common denominator education at the high school...etc...)

Change in leadership (no more "administrative team" being more important than competence, no more administration that ignores behavioral issues, no more incompetence, no more additional administration period (a decrease would be great...and fiscally responsible...)

Change in instruction (teachers being truly evaluated based on their abilities, not their relationship with administration....)

Change in curriculum (actually it isn't a change, but a return to the programs that used to be here and work and were stripped away...)

Change in communication (communication would be nice...even poor communication, because that would be a step up...)

Change in tactics (no more harassment and intimidation, no more "beatings will continue until morale improves" staff development, no more letting people with no experience "run" things, no more secret meetings trying to decide "what to do" about people who are not "on board"...)

Like I said, it is as easy and as complicated as that...we need change.

BUT...we also need someone to step in who will not need to waste time getting to know the system or "coming up to speed."

Just a thought: Last night we found out that Mr. Ed Sansom has applied for the interim superintendent. He certainly knows what is going on in this district, so much so in fact that he himself was a victim of Jim Robinson and Steve Kelley. He also has experience in this kind of position, so he has the qualifications. It is an interim position. We need it filled now... not have weeks or months of more continued Jim Robinson leadership (he may be gone, but nothing has changed...yet) and we need someone who knows the real issues...Maybe this is the guy for this moment, in this district, to help these kids and teachers get back to the true business of education.

Attacking the kids....

The "math mom" has been the topic of much controversy and that is understandable.... at least in Lebanon in 2008. She questioned the powers that be and pushed hard against the apathy of the administration when it came to math scores and failing grades.

The fact of the matter is that the new building policy is yet another attempt to cover up the failing grades of students. If you have them retake and retake and retake a class until they pass it and you cover up the "f"s with a "no pass" grade it does a couple of magical things...

1. It decreases the amount of "f"s the school has... (but it does not decrease the level of failure.)

2. It increases GPA...(and we thought 8 valedictorians was too many? Now we could have dozens... but is that fair to those who actually passed EVERY class they took?)

3. It makes the transcripts of LHS unreliable as sources of data.

4. It feels like "cooking the books" in yet another area.

So, anyway....

Math mom asked the questions and the answers exploded in the administrators' collective faces...

So, she moved into the forefront of the battle and found herself another victim of "the other side" which (as unfair as it should be) is the status quo for those who stand up.

However, the other blog apparently allowed Math Mom's daughter to be publicly attacked and maligned with libelous postings....

Talk about crossing the line.

Thank goodness, supposedly, some people stepped in and the posts were removed...

Mr. McUne gave us a good message at the last meeting... "let's act like big boys and girls."

I am willing to be argued with and held accountable for the accuracy of my messages, but I will not attack the children or spouses of people I disagree with... and no decent person should allow it to happen again.

So... what was that recall election all about anyway?

Okay, it would seem that the obvious to some is escaping too many people.

The recall election was about one thing to one group and a totally different thing to the other...

The CARES group (PAC members and those who ascribe to the same philosophical paradigm) initiated the recall because they knew that there were now enough board member votes to get Mr. Robinson out the door... They were afraid that their friend/leader could possibly be removed and they believed (erroneously) that they were in the majority. They hoped they could spread enough rumor and innuendo to get all of those who were not paying attention to vote against the "loose cannons" Alexander and Wineteer.

The people who actively opposed the recall (no name, because there were multiple groups who for multiple reasons were in agreement) believe that the direction of the district is wrong, the leadership is out of control and the impact on our students is detrimental.

The removal of Robinson, in and of itself, was only necessary because he refused to listen to anyone and was a roadblock to fixing the district.

However, if anyone believes that the removal of Robinson without a complete change in what is going on is what the recall was about.....this community just wasted over a quarter of a million dollars.

There must be change...otherwise, we could have kept Robinson and saved money.

The recall was about removing Robinson only so that the district can change direction.

There is a community forum being held at the American Legion on Tuesday evening at 6:30pm. It is designed to offer an opportunity for input regarding the changes to come.

If you have ideas, or concerns, or questions...or if you just plain care about our kids, this will be a great opportunity for you to be heard.

I hope to see you all there.

Where is the line?

After hearing that another blog has decided to attack the person that they believe is doing this blog I notice there is a definite line that each "side" has drawn in the sand and whenever they walk up to it, it is okay, but the other will say, "you have crossed the line."

Therefore I will define my "line."

I believe that if there is a person or position that needs to change, alter or be eliminated, I will address that issue.

I will not attack the people who disagree with me. I post every comment (except for one that was requested that I not post it and one that a person repeated the exact same post, I believe in error). I would only not post something if it were libelous or slanderous or had inappropriate language.

I will debate the issues and I will continue to call out those who are not seeing what I consider to be the writing on the wall. The community has spoken. It is time for the teachers to speak and be heard (the ones who have been silenced). It is time for the community to be heard (the ones who have been intimidated into silence). It is time for the parents to sit down and talk with the teachers without administration present and work through some details.

I will state it here and clearly.... The current administration and several teachers have engaged in actions and processes that were designed to silence those who have now been vindicated by the recent turn of events. The voices need to be heard.

And....on another note...tying up loose ends...

1. The teacher who reported the torch is the source for the prior rumor... the administrator came back to the teacher and told them that they had spoken to the student and they were very sorry.

2. The math teacher mentioned by one of the commentors has a very bad reputation among students, and the point of the posting I made was that there is no way to judge teacher quality, nor is there any way to guarantee any kind of expertise in a subject as long as we make all of the teachers teach everything.

3. Just ask a few of the employees who have tried to speak up in the past and been punished. You will get an earful of facts, not rumor, nor innuendo.

But I digress yet again...

The original intent of this blog was to provide proof to counteract the negative (and now proven minority) view that was being pushed as the only way to go in Lebanon. I will continue to provide links and other documents when I can, but right now the conversation is more about the opinions of those involved as to what direction we should go. We can provide research that supports every single position in the community, that isn't the point. The true question is, what system or program is best for LEBANON kids?

I admit that the negativity is contagious, I have fallen into the trap as well, and while I definitely believe there is still a long way to go to get our schools back in good shape, I want to recognize the common effort that brought us all the way we have indeed traveled since the problems that prompted the votes of no confidence and the strong community reactions to what was going on.


We have made a bold choice. We now need to make sure that we don't just allow another single individual to "rule the roost," we need to have a leader who will listen to ALL sides and create conversations that make it possible for logical solutions to our problems.


I apologize in advance if anyone feels threatened or upset, because that is not my intention.


The fact of the matter is, if I could just wave a magic wand, there would be many people who are currently employed in the district who would suddenly find themselves placed in jobs elsewhere, and not in Lebanon... however... in all fairness, they should have the opportunity to improve, change and/or decide to leave on their own.


However, it would appear that many of them did not realize that the vote last week was an indictment, not just on Mr. Robinson, but on many things happening in the district.


A few of you have expressed support for the SAS and the academies, but I would wager that you are not aware of all the side effects these programs have caused.

The SAS has created special education violations, 11 year olds in High School (who then fail miserably), 14 year olds in elementary school (who also fail miserably), students who were "moved up" who have huge gaps in their curriculum and social skills, children whose home situations provide no permanance (who need to feel safe, and like they belong) being yanked, yet again, from a group that they have developed relationships with just because they got different test scores, etc.

The academies have created four deeply engrained cliques that have embedded negative stereotypes into the curriculum and the relationships. When students say things like, "we're physical kids, we don't care about graduating" or "we don't do homework in Info.." they are promoting very negative behaviors as the status quo. Teachers who are mediocre at best find themselves "the veteran teacher" with the most seniority in their academy and therefore the administrators who have no experience evaluating rely on them for advice about the curriculum. This has created a steep decline in coherence and effectiveness of instruction. The teacher in the academy with the most students enrolled in the advanced courses was one assigned to the advanced program, even if they had no experience with the course and the best teacher in the area was in the building. (e.g. Mr. Selby and Mr. Helland no longer teaching Calculus classes or Ms. Williams not teaching APLA.) How can that be what is best for kids?

Prior to the SAS and the academies there were probably about 15 to 20% of our students who were in serious need of interventions and special attention. We then changed 100% of the program to accomodate approximately 15% of the students. We have lost most of the vocational program, the alternative education program, The vast majority of the advanced program that used to exist, 50% of the athletic program, 70% of the PE, Music and Counseling programs.

How can the existence of the problem ridden academies and SAS be worth the losses?

We have administrators who play favorites with those who supported Robinson's agenda and punished those who spoke against it.

We have directors who have created more programs to justify their continued employment.

We have leadership that has allowed such chaos to rule that it is virtually impossible to have professional conversations.

What we need is a strong change of direction with very clear expectations, goals, and expected outcomes. We cannot afford to have this, "Think outside the box and do whatever you want until you are told 'no'" kind of leadership any longer.

We need to move swiftly, but with care and consideration.

Our students deserve better.

When will they learn?

One would think that those administrators and staff left behind after Mr. Robinson's flight from the district would be looking to see what happened and starting dialogs to open conversations and trying to discover the issues that they have been ignoring for years. However, behaviors have been eerily quiet and secretive.

The community has spoken by a two to one margin. The silent majority has been freed up to speak, but those in power continue to maintain the same behaviors... this is what got Mr. Robinson to the point where he ended, but these people do not have the same kind of iron clad contract that he did and in fact several of them are probationary.... you would think they would be trying to figure out how to get on the right side of the issues, rather than continuing to push their previous agendas...

When you look at some of behaviors below, it makes you wonder what else is going on.... and how will we ever get to the bottom of it all?

Spoiler alert!!!!

The following comments are rumor and innuendo, but from very reliable sources. The purpose of writing them here is to bring to light some of the issues that have been hidden behind the protection of Mr. Robinson. If you do not want to read hearsay rumors, stop reading now.

Reports from the different buildings have brought some strange rumors and curious sightings...

The head high school administrator is not the only one whose behaviors leaves much to be desired...

Apparently, Mr. Robinson and a distraught administrator were meeting in the administrator's office the other day (after his resignation). Secretaries, teachers and students were present when he came out.

Supposedly, a student turned a lighter and an aerosol can into a flaming torch at school and the new administrator of one of the LHS systems deemed him repentant and sent him on his merry way with no consequences.

Same administrator has apparently, also dealt with several serious behaviors in the same way... she has been dubbed "a walking liability." (Word to the wise, racist harassment, vandalism, intimidation and violence are things that should never be ignored and should always have a consequence.) Word has it that she also talks about the performance of staff with other staff...

According to some employees, the facilities director might also want to think about how he treats employees. Heavy handed leadership won't get far without Mr. Robinson's protection.

The special education director (who has no prior experience with Special education) has made some pretty inappropriate comments in meetings and has allowed parents to believe that teachers are the problem in circumstances where she has made the mistakes.

So where do we go from here???

And so it goes...

The people of Lebanon have been through the ringer. Mr. Robinson is gone, but the people of Reedsport say that a decade later they are still recovering from his short tenure there. What this means is that we will be feeling the effects of this administration for a long time to come.

However, we have a choice... we can choose to sit and wallow in bitter resentment over the situation, or we can take a look around and find some common ground to stand on (kids) and then find ways to agree on a course of action. There are things that we can agree upon.

Here are my suggestions:

1. Let's talk to retired teachers and current teachers who were here before Robinson came and discuss things that worked well that were thrown out during his tenure (advanced programs, freshman core, alternative education etc.) See if we can find some of those babies that got thrown out with the bathwater and bring them back.

2. Let's look at effective models that are out there and actually use some of the strategies for the things that we struggle with.

3. Let's bring back teacher leadership (department heads, committees that have power headed by teachers etc.) and use the expertise we have here in the classroom.

4. How about a closer relationship between the city and the schools? It seems that we should be working together to build up Lebanon!

5. We need to remember that the only key to school success is teacher buy-in. If teachers believe in what they do, they can get the kids to buy-in.

The teachers in Lebanon, for the most part, do not buy in to the loss of social development support and the Special Education violations...they do not buy in to the idea that we cannot afford PE, music and counselors at each building, but we can afford teachers who aren't in the classroom... they do not buy in to the waste of resources and teacher abilities due to the academies...they do not buy in to administration that does not back them up nor seem to be able to provide solid leadership in any area.

Let's find programs that parents can support and teachers can buy in...then we will be able to find more success than failure, more joy than fear, and more anticipation and less dread.

Responding to Comments...

1. I never said that the CARES PAC was responsible for the eggings etc.... I have always maintained that the CARES "group" (for the purposes of my blog) encompasses anyone who ascribes to the same philosophy as those that have been poisoning our community for years via their PACS.

2. The only "my way or the highway" people I have heard about in the last years are Mr. Robinson, Mr. Finch, Mr. Bogatin and a few others who actually no longer work or serve here... Mr. Wineteer and Mr. Alexander have tried for years to work with anyone who wants to head away from the direction Mr. Robinson was headed and they were shut down unilaterally by whoever was the Board chair (most recently and notably Sherrie Sprenger - another "my way or the highway" individual who is no longer here because her political aspirations were tarnished due to her involvement in Lebanon).

3. Where will we get 67 students???? well...remove the SAS and the elementary and middle school students will return AND... at the high school alone, the district document that I was shown in June of 2007 showed a loss of 450 students at the high school alone.... the academies are all but dead at this point anyway... kill them completely, bring back advanced programing and alternative ed. and to quote a famous movie "If you build it... they will come."

Vindicated...

The wait is over and the results are in...

Mr. Wineteer and Mr. Alexander will remain on the Lebanon Schools Board and Ms. Shimmin and Mr. McUne find themselves able to feel confident in their ability to represent the community as they try to work forward from the problems left in the wake of Mr. Robinson's regime.

The Lebanon community has spoken with a two to one margin in favor of supporting the current board and the direction they have chosen to move. It is time for the CARES PAC to recognize that they do not speak for the community and this recall was nothing more than a true waste of taxpayer money. Political and legal bullying needs to stop.

It is time to put down the weapons and pick up the tools to start rebuilding our schools district and the community as a whole. Who will take the first step and start the conversation?

Sixty Seven Students...

67 students.... Do you know how much money 67 students would bring to Lebanon Schools? Well, each student is worth more than $6000, so if you do the math... 67 students would bring $402,000 to the district.

It seems to me that the concerns about the cost of last night's buy-out are yet another smoke screen designed to make others look bad and create an atmosphere of fear and concern.

Along these lines, according to witnesses Mr. Fisher made a serious deviation from a prior position he had held to very strongly... he is quoted as having said that they should have "just fired him" and saved the district money.

There is no conceivable way that Mr. Fisher would have voted to do that because he supposedly believed that legally they could not do that. So, why the Hail Mary at this point? It would seem that he was making one last ditch effort to keep Mr. Robinson. If he could change direction and tactic and get two others on the board to vote to not approve the deal with Mr. Robinson, he would not have resigned and we would still be in turmoil today.

Everyone seems to have been concerned about the finances in the district. (Judging by the amount of groaning and squirming at the district office around this audit they are in there would appear to be cause for concern.) However, when you look at things from a broader perspective based on real numbers and data, not the fantasy spreads that the district office produces for Board meetings, things are much more simple.

How are we going to pay for the buy-out?

Sixty seven students.

Waiting....

The actions taken at last night's board meeting have created a sort of limbo in Lebanon that will last until about 8:30pm tonight.

Mr. Robinson deciding to take the money and leave was not surprising considering the mountain of questions that are starting to arise...people are asking questions and words and phrases such as "forensic audit" and "IDEA violations" etc. should send people running for the hills if even only half of the allegations made over the last few years are true.

However, last night's action is still in a void until today's vote is completed and we know whether we have a community united or divided.

Anything but a landslide on one side or the other will mean that we have a lot of hard work ahead of us. If the "yes" side wins, they will surely feel that it validates all that Jim Robinson was doing and will try to continue down that path. If the "no" side wins, they will surely feel that we need to clean house and start over with many things.

Only if the vote is so overwhelming that we can legitimately say the other side is a small but vocal minority will we be able to move in either direction with confidence. No matter which side wins... if it is close, we better start working together, or soon we will find ourselves in this same position, once again.

Apparently intimidation is not enough...

Historically, when a group in power finds itself losing ground and falling out of favor with the public there is a pattern of behavior that ensues: disinformation, intimidation of those in opposition, harassment of those in opposition and (if allowed to go that far) eventually physical attacks and destructive behaviors.

Apparently the CARES group's loss of influence over the community coupled with the strong sentiment in opposition has pushed them over the edge and they are no longer satisfied with intimidation and harassment tactics.

It has unraveled into the realm of property damage...and it is escalating.

At this point the weapon of choice is eggs.

Eggs may seem harmless enough when aimed at simple signs such as the No on the Recall signs, but when aimed at a board member's home, as they were last night, they become destructive messy goo that hardens and can cause expensive damage to paint jobs, wire screens and electrical wiring and boxes. Not to mention scaring little children who live in the home and placing the fear of what could come next into the spouses of our elected officials.

And... the force exposes the proximity of the assailants. They had to have been trespassing, which is illegal as well.

It sickens me to see the depth of the division in this community. Can't people see that they have allowed an educational philosophy to destroy a community, to pit neighbor against neighbor and friend against friend. If at any point in the last decade Mr. Robinson had genuinely cared about the community, he would have stopped everything and pulled everyone together and said, it is not worth the damage that is being done to keep forcing the issue. However, that is not what he said, what he said many years ago was, "if people don't like it, they can leave," and that has been his motto ever since.

This has gotten to the point where it is beyond ridiculous and at this point, I am half expecting some other blog to come up with a conversation about the ever honest and upright money reporting CARES group having budgeted properly and reported the egg budget to the secretary of state's office.

Listen carefully people.... Jim Robinson is not worth it.

This community is worth fighting for together, not against each other.

Oh how the rumor mill goes...

Apparently the CARES group has finally realized that their arguments so far have fallen on deaf ears and are resorting to feeding on the voters' financial fears....

The other blog is crying wolf about all of the firings people are theorizing will happen at Monday nights meeting, and then bemoaning the cost of all those firings.

Chicken Little... the sky IS NOT FALLING...

1. Jim Robinson can be fired outright for a variety of reasons and the savings from not paying his salary will pay for any legal fees.

2. Steve Kelley and Mark Finch and any other employees will probably not be fired. Whoever is placed in charge; however, could reassign duties and allow them to work to the end of their contracts and see if they are capable of making the change. (I personally would want to make sure there was a close scrutiny on their actions.)

3. And if you like irony... those teachers and classified employees who have vilified the union for years might find their jobs protected by their contracts.

4. And I repeat myself.... as students return to the district, the money will come with them.

Do not let the CARES group deceive you... they are running scared and losing ground.

Okay... we know what we don't need...

I think we have pretty well covered all the reasons why Mr. Robinson and those who ascribe to his philosophy on education need to go...but what next? What needs to happen to "fix" things?

Here are a few suggestions, please feel free to weigh in!

1. We need PE everyday, Music two or three times a week and Art at least once a week K through 12.

2. We need smaller class sizes

3. We need to keep good teachers use them as models and mentors to new teachers. (Not just those who know "which side their bread is buttered on.")

4. We need counselors in every school.

5. We need people who can make decisions quickly and effectively without having to get the go ahead from the Superintendent for every little thing. We need principals who actually know what they are doing so the superintendent can allow them to do their jobs without concerns for the day to day functioning.

6. We need the SITE councils to function as parent advisory opportunities, or create parent advisory forums where they can come and express concerns. BUT, then the input needs to be addressed and if possible used.

7. We need to protect the developmental and social stages of our most vulnerable students. We need to stop dividing up student peer groups based on test scores. Stable peer support is one of the most needed aspects in a child's life right after adults who care about them.

8. We need a leader we can trust.

But Joyce, you repeate yourself....

According to Joyce Weatherly in her letter to the editor in today's Lebanon Express, "The School Board recall is about the indefensible actions and antics of Rick Alexander and Josh Wineteer. Contrary to what some people want you to believe, it has nothing to do with the current administration." http://www.lebanon-express.com/articles/2008/10/01/news/opinion/letter02.txt

The content in this letter has been repeated over and over again by Ms. Weatherly and her other CARES cronies in a manner that begs addressing....

If you take the time to peruse some of my prior blogs you will find web addresses and citations that allow you to see government website information about the illegal bargaining, civil rights violations and other "indefensible actions" of the superintendent as well as the secretary of state's webpage proof of the seven PACs created by the secret society that we refer to by the acronym CARES which encompasses all of those who have been deceived by the rhetoric of a charismatic but dangerous leader.

I have always backed up my statements and beliefs with logic and rationale that I am willing to place against the innuendo and vacant attacks made by the CARES group. Their smoke and mirrors whining "they broke rules, they broke laws, they mismanaged money...." on and on without any proof.

So I'm asking.....

WHERE is the proof to back up all of the allegations that this group consistently makes as they besmirch the reputation and good name of two public officers who have been battling against the inappropriate and unethical actions of a renegade superintendent?

1. What board policies have been violated?

2. What laws have been broken?

3. When did Mr. Wineteer and Mr. Alexander and any third board member ever have an unofficial board meeting without public knowledge?

4. Where is the check from the district funds showing an extra expense going to Sand Ridge?

Here are the answers:

1. None
2. None
3. Never
4. It does not exist.

I urge you... if you are reading this, please check the facts for yourself!

I would like to commend the article written by Larry Coonrod for today's Lebanon Express. It was fair and even handed. But you don't have to believe me, take a look for yourself.
http://www.lebanon-express.com/articles/2008/10/01/news/local/local03recall.txt

Talk is cheap.... facts are not...

It's time for the CARES group to face the facts...and stop the innuendo and lies.

Backpeddling at its best....

I am always amused at how slander, when asserted by people with a political agenda, converts into begrudging truth when the persons delivering the message are pushed for proof. Such is definitely true about the "information" that the CARES group et. al. have been spewing for years.

But let's take a look at some specific cases....

Original message - Tre Kennedy swore up and down that his business (a law firm) was a totally separate entity and had nothing to do with his personal choices and actions relative to the recall effort.

New message - Well.... the law office address being used as the address for the PAC was just an oversight.

Original message - Mr. Wineteer and Mr. Alexander had illegal "meetings" that violated public meetings laws.

New message - Well... maybe they didn't violate law, but it really makes us mad that they talk about issues that we don't like.

Original message - Mr. Wineteer and Mr. Alexander violated board policies.

New message - Well... maybe they didn't violate the policies, but they violated the "spirit" of the policies.

Original message - Mr. Wineteer and Mr. Alexander diverted funds from our kids to go to the charter school.

New message - Well... it is too bad that the charter school has had to give up their high school and has lost enrollment and millions of dollars due to the contract that the board majority worked out with them at no additional cost to the district.

Inflammatory language is used when people want to make a point.

People have used it at times when they feel passionate about the issues.

However, it is only acceptable as a debate tool if everyone has the opportunity to debate the issues from their perspective without fear of retaliation and attack.

When a small group uses not only inflammatory language, but also lies and negative innuendo, to manipulate a town's political and social well-being without allowing for a fair debate, it is unethical, pure and simple.

Double take on the arguments in the recall....

Awhile back, former board member and Jim Robinson supporter Warren Beeson wrote a guest editorial to the Lebanon Express about the recall efforts expounding the rationale behind it. I have reporduced the list here with some editorial changes [in boxed parenthesis] indicating the way many people believe would be a more honest interpretation of the situation

€ [Jim Robinson] has a long-term pattern of rash and irresponsible actions that violate School Board policies, violate contracts, are potential conflicts of interest, and bring potential financial penalties to the district.

€ Alexander & Wineteer have consistently placed their personal agendas [of honest leadership and fairness to those who work in the district schools, including the charter school, with and for our communities kids] above the interests of the district regarding Sandridge Charter School and PIE; such as [discussing an] increase funding to Sandridge when all other district schools are facing budget cuts [and then making the necessary changes so that there would not be a negative financial impact and voting on that revised contract.]

€ [Jim Robinson] has acted in reckless disregard of legal advice and/or refused to obtain legal counsel, such as by [violating bargaining laws, violating civil rights of employees, exposing students and staff to asbestos, violating federal special ed and testing laws] (in fact, [working in coordination with] the School District's attorney [without the input of the board.]

€ Alexander and Wineteer have consistently made last-minute changes to board meeting agendas in order to spring surprise proposals on the other board members, the administration, and the interested public [Because Chair Sherrie Sprenger refused to put items they requested on the agenda].

€ [Jim Robinson] has cost the district thousands of dollars in unnecessary legal expenses with hasty, ill-considered, reckless, and irresponsible actions. [The majority of the Board was not]violating the superintendent's contract by putting him on administrative leave, [however, reversing the decision due to harassment] is one example [of the undue pressure brought against the public servants trying to do what is best for students].

€ They have [tried to stop] numerous administrative and personnel actions [that wer expensivew and detrimental to the district and have been unable to stop Jim Robinson's] violations of board policy and existing contracts, leaving the district subject to litigation; for example, by [illegal] negotiations [with employees and they have tried to work out a fair] contract renewal with PIE outside the established process [since Jim Robinson refused to treat the Sand Ridge group appropriately and ignored the desire of the board in the negotiations].

€ [Jim Robinson's] agenda of [chaos] prevents the community from moving forward to achieve better educational opportunities for all Lebanon students.These actions (and their potential future decisions) have serious legal and financial consequences for which Lebanon residents will pay the price.


It is up to the citizens of Lebanon to decide which version is more accurate...

Reponding to this and that...

I am glad to offer a forum for debate... I will also (as Dennis stated) retract when wrong and fix when necessary...however, to date, I do not feel any content here requires either action since the arguments coming forward are full of the same rhetoric that Mr. Robinson has been feeding the community for years...

First, Dennis, I place you in the same category as your mother for one reason, and one reason only.... both of you "attack" (my choice of word) people you have not had conversations with. I know both of you and am in fact on a first name basis with both of you and have found this fact to be true. That is why I was disappointed to see your webpage following the same sort of hearsay model as your mother's writings.

Second.... the money that comes from the government CAN, I repeat, CAN be used to purchase classroom teachers if the district will guarantee small class sizes. Mr. Robinson refuses to do that, so therefore, the commentor is correct... in that case, using the money to purchase teachers would be illegal.

Also.... the TOSA issue... take three... They can only help some, and there is no guarantee that those who need it will get it.... while smaller class size would help everyone.

And, just a tag.... there are some teachers out there who have cushy positions and favorite classes and programs because they have supported Mr. Robinson and the district programs, even though they are considered by many of their peers as inappropriate choices for those classes and programs due to their lesser educational skills than some peers who have "rocked the boat" and are now being retaliated against in the district's attempts to get them to be quiet or resign or retire.

Fear and Retaliation in Lebanon #2

Well, the Jim Robinson supporters are in fine form yet again...

AK Dugan (potentially yellow journalism's newest convert) and her son Dennis continue to feed the fear of the uninformed citizens of Lebanon with the newest attacks on those who are fighting against this recall.

They are trying to make the good citizens of Lebanon believe several things about those that are against the recall...

1. It is organized...
2. It is expensive...
3. Mr. Wineteer and Mr. Alexander have "received monies" that should be reported.
4. and supposedly...the actions are illegal.

As I see it, there are a few minor details they have ignored...
1. There are many different kinds of signs and messages out there.... Some are obviously stenciled and others are obviously hand painted. Some have one tone, some have another.

2. It is amusing that the "yes" side seems to believe that every thing has to be store bought or professionally manufactured. Apparently, a lot of people on the NO Recall side appear to have talents (such as painting) and left over items (such as paint and wood) that the other side does not possess.

Let's figure the cost of one the signs.....

-old sign from previous election..... free
-paint left over from your trim.... free
-nails left over from you last project.... free
-friends to help you put it in your yard.... free

Telling the world that you are against the tyranny of a small group of special interest people..... PRICELESS.

3. Unless we are going to say that Senators Obama and McCain should report the monies received from the citizens of Lebanon for the signs that we have placed here in our yards, there is no way you can blame elected officials for the free speech of individuals.

4. There is nothing to indicate that these people have done anything illegal; however, can anyone tell me... is placing personal message signs for elections on city and county land illegal? If so, then the "yes" people have crossed the line...

Overall...

It seems to me that these other people might just be jealous that their opposition does not have to create multiple PACs to shelter their secret society, pay signature gathers, shell out money for mailings, coerce people to support them nor threaten anyone to garner votes.

What the many individual citizens on the NO on the recall side are doing doesn't have to be against the law.... however, people usually accuse others of things that they themselves do... so maybe there is a subliminal message to be had here.

Can we afford more teachers?

I enjoy a good debate and some of the comments here have encouraged some great discussions. The most recent comment talks about the value of the TOSAs (Teachers on Special Assignment) and affirms that the community would support another bond if it were for teachers...

There are not enough TOSAs to make a serious impact on the district....they can only help so many, and the commentor was correct, there are many teachers who do need the help, but unless administration identifies that fact and requires it, most of those who "need it most" will never ask for it.

In my opinion, we could add more teaching staff easily with current funds (even considering the 2.9 million dollar deficeit we have incurred under Mr. Robinson's leadership - which I state as a fact because the loss of students and the loss of money have a statistically significant correlation...) if Mr. Robinson were willing to re-allocate funds away from administration and new programs (on top of old programs) and toward the hiring of more teachers.

But, I hear you protesting, he did cut us by 1 whole administrator at the high school!

You need to go back further in the memory of the district to see the real change. We used to have 6 directors district-wide. The assistant Superintendent had 1 full time secretary. The high school had 1 principal and 2 vice principals (cheaper than "administrators") and 1 half time Activities Director/ half time vice principal.

If you go back even further... we had close to ninety teachers at the high school alone...(now 64 more or less)...we had PE and Music in EVERY elementary school. We had middle school sports. We had an alternative high school here in Lebanon.

What we have lost is almost unfathomable... and yet... we continue to take from the buildings and add to the district office and its new programs...and the fact is that this community will not support a new bond as long as Mr. Robinson is managing the money and the allocation of funds.