Cleveland Schools Watchdog

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Flash - Security remains a priority for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District

Dr. Sanders, the district's CEO, announced the following security improvements at an October 12 (2007) news conference:

- Hiring and training additional security personnel.

- Locking all school doors, except for one secure entrance per school.

- Making securing funds for metal detectors at each school a priority.

- Setting up an anonymous hotline for students to report potentially dangerous situations.

Teacher Beaten During South High Gang Fight

Concerning a South High School Teacher, Mr. Cappetto, being viciously attacked:

A follow-up story from a local TV morning news program on 1/16/08 reported that some members of the melee were not students from the school. They were gang members. Somehow these trespassing thugs circumvented security and entered the school unchallenged.

Yet the CMSD boasts to the media that their schools are safe and secure.

It was also reported on the morning news show that the regular security guard who normally patrolled the particular hallway where the melee happened was not present. The reason? The security guard had recently quit his job because he had enough of the violence.

And would you believe that the CMSD boasts to the media that their schools are safe and secure?

As of yet, there have been no charges filed against those involved in the fight. None what so ever. A mere 10 day suspension was given to the students at South High who were involved. (I wonder if it was an in school suspension?)

And still the CMSD boasts that their schools are safe and secure.

Why weren't the thugs arrested?

City and school officials have been mysteriously silent.

It was also reported that Mrs. Cappetto was a bit upset that no school officials came to check up on her husband. Miraculously after the news aired her interview, CMSD officials did check up on Mr. Cappetto four days after the incident.

Check out these comments people have written - Click Here

Welcome to Free Stamp City.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

We need more money! Lessons from 2007

The Recent History Series

The Battle Cry

An Omen of Things to Come

An introduction to the Recent History series

The Master Plan – Not!

Lessons from 2001 & 2002

Renovations to the Landfill

Lessons from 2003

Lessons from 2004

Lessons from 2005

Lessons from 2006

Lessons from 2007

We need more money! Lessons from 2007

The History lessons have come to an end. We have arrived at the present.

The money Tree is almost bare and the taxpayers are once again left with new requests for money and given new promises of accountability.

School officials want voters to approve another bond issue that will be funded by the already tax strapped property owners of Cleveland. The school officials are requesting $217 million more dollars because they have carelessly spent the monies from the 2001 bond issue and will not have enough money to cover the 26 schools in the final phases of the project.

School officials are now stating that the 5 year old building and renovation project will run out of money in 2012 and at least $500 million more will be needed to complete the project. This number will be subject to change without warning. Citizens who own taxable property will have to supply millions, while the state would provide at least $300 million to make up the difference.

This proposed plan by school officials, (most of whom do not live in Cleveland nor pay property taxes in Cleveland), will add nine more years of debt to the current 28 year bond issue. Since the majority of school officials do not live in the city, they show no concern about the financial strains that will put on the taxable property owners of Cleveland.

Why should the school officials be concerned? It’s not their money.

I have to pose some questions to the taxable property owners of Cleveland:

Have you studied the lessons from recent history?

Are you prepared to take the test by casting your vote next spring?

If some of you have refrained from voting in the past, have these stories motivated you to vote next time?

Will you encourage your fellow property taxpayers to vote?

Accountability of our city and school leaders is truly in your hands! Your vote can make a difference.

Here are a few stories from 2007 to ponder.

In what sums up the recent history series, here are two fine stories from Scene Magazine.

Bait and Switch
Sanders’ Sales Job

The first is a story written by Lisa Rab entitled the “Bait and Switch”. The story speaks loud and clear about broken promises and lack of accountability. The second story was written by Pete Kotz.

Mr. Kotz reminds his readers of the same old promises made by the same old people who continually try to convince the voters of their grand visions for Cleveland.

I am glad that there are still writers out there who speak the truth. Yet, they are at times hard to hear when the main stream media uses smoke and mirrors to squelch thier efforts.

Personally, I am tired of the heavy smoke and mirrors. Aren’t you? The city seems to have an endless supply of visionaries and do-gooders who have an endless supply of ideas and experiments that will be funded by the property taxpayer. Speaking with their fancy words, they try to convince the voters to “expect great things”.

April 2007
The leaves from the money tree are falling fast. If only money actually grew on trees.
Click Here

May 2007
A cash shortage? School closings? A shrinking student population? What gives? Where did all the money go?

Try to call the CMSD and ask why their promises are being broken. If you get through and actually get an answer, you might be told that it is the taxpayers and voters fault.
Click Here

June 2007
Remember the celebration on the steps of city hall? Remember the CMSD moving up to a continuous improvement status? Just to bring things back into perspective, check out this story about the dismal graduation rate of the CMSD. Cleveland seniors fail the graduation test – just terrible. Oh the humanity!
Click Here

June 2007
Here are some assorted stories for your enjoyment.
Click Here

July 2007
Build less schools yet the CMSD says they still need more money! Accountability has become a rare commodity. But that’s OK, the promises of 2001 are ancient history. Remember those teachers from the last lesson telling us to move on already? Here are their words once again.

Teacher 1 - “It's the end of 2007 and your putting up press from 2003 to 2005!!! We've all lived it. Everyone is aware of BBB's $. There’s a new CEO can't you whine about him for a while? I mean he's going to get a complex if you don't take notice!”

Teacher 2 - “Old news, old administration. Like my example with the car, do you think that a new owner should answer for the old owner's moving violations?”

Click Here

July 2007 Continued
Business as usual. the CMSD flying by the seat of their pants again
Click Here

August 2007
But hold on, don’t lose hope, the do-gooder engineers have reinvented the wheel once again!
Click Here

Sept 2007
The teachers get to take the brunt of their management’s politics of blame. I mean someone has to be held responsible and it won’t be the management, so why not the teachers. What amazes me is that the teachers and their union allow management to push them around like this.
Click Here
Click Here
Click Here

The bond accountability Commission is still trying to get their act together. It has been 6 years but they still need more time.
Click Here

Instead of ensuring that security standard operating procedures are being followed, Dr. Sanders has decided to implement airport security in all schools to deal with the domestic terrorism that has plagued the city schools. Cleveland has been ranked this year as the 10th most dangerous city in the United States. But we are also ranked the 4th poorest city in the nation. So how will this crime ridden poor city afford the 3.3 million it will take to implement the airport security?

Give up?

The CMSD will use some 2001 bond issue money!

You know - that money the taxpayers are paying to renovate the crumbling schools. I guess the Building Accountability Commission missed that one. But that’s ok, the CMSD will just ask for more!
Click Here

So ends the history lesson series. I hope the lessons weren’t too hard.

Keep what you have learned fresh in your mind. The test is coming. There is a good possibility that the test will be given in 2008. Take your notes to the polls. Share them with your neighbors. Get the word out.

As a firefighter, I generally put fires out. But in this case, I hope the spark of my blogs catch and spread like wild fire.

I hope that you have found the recent history lessons from 2001 to 2007 informative and entertaining.

I have been posting all of these lessons on the Cleveland.com education forum. The responses have been wide ranging. Notably, the responses from the Cleveland teachers have been mostly negative. They chimed in to accuse the taxpayers who had voted "no" on school levies and bond issues of abandoning the students of Cleveland. Not one teacher stated that their administration was doing anything wrong. It was always the voters that were at fault for not wanting to support the kids. There was also feedback from others who admittedly did not live in Cleveland. These folks had plenty of ideas from the safety of their homes in their prosperous suburbs outside of the city limits of Cleveland.

Though the teachers who posted on the Cleveland.com education forum only represented a minute portion of the teacher population, their opinions spoke loud and clear that the problems of the CMSD are the fault of the taxpayers.

As the ballot issues get nearer, I will be posting more stories to stoke the fires.

The politicians, administrators and teachers have made their beds but they haven’t had to lay in them. They would rather the taxpayers lay in them. The CMSD continues to operate by the seat of their pants, and promises of accountability continue to be broken. Taxpayer monies are spent like money is going out of style.

It is up to the taxpayers to get out and outnumber those voters who do not pay property taxes when money issues are thrust upon them.

Let these leaders know you do exist and that you are unhappy with how they have been running things.

You can make the difference!

We need more money! Lessons from 2006

We need more money! Lessons from 2006

2006 was just last year!

We are almost done.

Present day is right around the corner.

History has begun to repeat itself in Free Stamp City.

A few years ago, Artemus Ward, a west side school, was renovated. It then closed in 2006 because the roof was about to cave in. The school was eventually razed with the renovations going to the landfill.
Click here

The repeating of History has now begun in earnest. Check the first two links for some familiar promises that the taxpayers are told in the past. The taxpayers are now being told to simply disregard these promises because they were made in the past. Then check the third link for the new promises; promises the taxpayers are now told to focus on.

The promises, past and current, are very similar. Cleveland’s new mayor makes a resounding commitment to better the schools. Can you believe it? The road to ruins is once more paved with more good intentions; more bricks of commitment, promises and accountability. And as with many times before, the city taxpayers are once again told to believe that these promises will be for real.
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

The good intentions continue. The road pavers are hard at work. The promises keep coming. The taxpayers are being offered the same tired old promises and commitments as before.

Some teachers on who post on the Cleveland.com education forum have actually told me to forget about what happened in the past; to get over it already. Here are some quotes concerning my recent history blogs by some Cleveland teachers:

Teacher 1 - “It's the end of 2007 and your putting up press from 2003 to 2005!!! We've all lived it. Everyone is aware of BBB's $. There’s a new CEO can't you whine about him for a while? I mean he's going to get a complex if you don't take notice!”

Teacher 2 - “Old news, old administration. Like my example with the car, do you think that a new owner should answer for the old owner's moving violations?”

What a bunch of boloney. The teachers seem to be telling us…

…Hey you Cleveland taxpayers, just forget about the past six years. That’s ancient history. History, shmistory, who cares about history. That was in the past. It’s time to move on already. This time we are for real. Trust us!
Click here

Struggle, struggle, struggle. Why is the Cleveland School Board struggling so hard to get credibility? Could it be that the board’s actions portray that they are not doing much? Luckily for the school board, they have been appointed by the Mayor who promised the voters to “Expect Great Things” when he ran for office. Never mind that it appears that they cannot get their act together.
Click here

Welcome Dr. Eugene Sanders, the new savior for the Cleveland schools. He will be given a higher salary than the last overpaid school CEO. He will be allowed to live outside of city limits so he will not have to support any of his upcoming tax issues he will thrust upon the already cash-strapped Cleveland property owners. Yes, he will definitely be the answer this time for sure.

(Later in 2007, when the school security staff was apparently not following their own standard operating procedures, a student walked past a CMSD security and started shooting, Luckily Dr. Sanders found some money to pay for airport like security installed in all of the Cleveland schools. (OK you kindergarteners, place your bags on the conveyer, take off your shoes, empty your pockets…) And where do you think he got the money from to pay for this? More on that later.)
Click here

2006 is half over and it’s still business as usual with the school board and school district officials. It looks like the blind leading the blind. No one can agree. It kind of reminds me of a three stooge’s episode.
Click here

June 2006 – There is a records request, but alas, some records are missing. What seems to be the problem with this school board? Oh well, there is nothing anyone can do about it, the Mayor is in charge and remember, the taxpayers should expect great things.
Click here

The CMSD gets audited. But the audit appears incomplete. Not enough details were given to the auditor by the CMSD. Imagine that. Remember that little word Accountability?
Click here

But hey let’s move on, it’s time to celebrate again.
Click here

More celebrations. Boy the CMSD sure likes to celebrate. Celebrating helps cover up any bad news. But don’t tell some Cleveland teachers that the celebrations are premature; they will get angry if the whole truth is brought up. The CMSD mantra is give credit where credit’s due, but please, leave the bad stuff out.

Do any of you readers remember the celebration on the city hall steps with cheerleaders when the CMSD was given the status of continuous improvement by the state department of education? You do remember don’t you? The CMSD met only 13% of its state indicators but somehow was given the grade of “Continuous Improvement”.

Oh, if only Rip Taylor were still alive to run around throwing confetti in the air! That would have been a nice touch to the city hall steps celebration.
Click here

Stay tuned for the next episode – 2007, Current Times.

We need more money! Lessons from 2005

We need more money! Lessons from 2005

"Spend, Spend, Spend" or "Hey, where did everybody go?"

Even though the schools are short of money the appointed school board decides to extend the contract of one of the highest paid school CEO’s in the country. Check out the second story from 6th and Lakeside:
Link 1

And then without warning, the BAC director quits and shuts down the BAC office in March.
Accountability has left the building.
Check out the last paragraph from the first story from 6th and Lakeside:
Link 2

Then, two months later in May of 2005, the BAC officially disbands.
Accountability is officially dead.
Check out the third story from 6th and Lakeside:
Link 3

If you remember your 2003 lessons from recent history, back in April of 2003, City and school officials have all but ignored the request for public involvement. Review this story.
Link 4

And now the public will be blamed.

Ann Mullin, senior program officer for education for the Gund Foundation had the nerve to state:

“There was not enough public outreach and information sharing, and the public did not take the (initiative) to meet and talk about the issue”

Initiative? Hello! The public was trying! But the BAC and school board were obviously not paying attention!

Check out this story from Crain’s Cleveland Business.
Link 5

In April, there are more attendance problems at the Cleveland schools. This time it is dealing with who is riding the bus. Looks like the Cleveland schools will have to pay some money back to the state for not being completely honest. Check out the third story from 6th and Lakeside:
Link 6

June, 2005 - The money tree is withering. Time to make cuts, close schools and reorganize.
Link 7

September, 2005 - It is now reported that there may have been some small problems with the handling of taxpayer monies. Check out the second story from 6th and Lakeside:
Link 8

November, 2005 - The State takes notice of the discrepancies in school attendance. The city eventually has to pay money back to the state. Accountability across the board in the toilet.
Link 9

Stay tuned for the lessons of 2006 to present.

"We still need more money" or "The money tree has dried up"

We need more money! Lessons from 2004

We need more money! Lessons from 2004

“Keep the money coming” or “Why don’t we just lower the standards”

Even though the BAC appears to be failing, some will try to keep them afloat with more funds. The appointed school board will also put its foot down demanding accountability from the BAC. Check out these stories from 6th and Lakeside:
Link 1
Link 2

June, 2004 - It is reported that enrollment has dropped from the Cleveland schools. Perhaps the city does not have to renovate or rebuild all those schools. Sadly, in the next few years some schools that were recently renovated with bond money will be closed. Others will be razed with the renovations ending up in the landfill.
Link 3

June, 2004 – More bad news. The State Board of Education has decided that school systems cannot meet state standards for graduation. So what do you think the State’s solution will be? Do you give up?

The State will lower some standards!

The state had originally only required that students needed to reach a flunking score of 57% to pass the state graduation test. That’s it, 57%! But that was asking too much. So the state decided to lower the passing rate to an astounding score of 41% to graduate! Come on folks, when you are told that the Cleveland school system has received good news from the state that they have shown improvement, it begs the question; have they really improved or have the standards simply been lowered? Sounds like smoke and mirrors folks, smoke and mirrors.
Link 4

November, 2004 - The Cleveland schools actually have the gall to put a levy on the ballot. Amazingly, some voters have been paying attention to the fiscal mismanagement of their tax dollars. The levy is soundly defeated. Is it a surprise anyone that the levy failed? But the teachers and unions and administration will blame those living in Westpark for the defeat. You remember, those tax paying property owners who have been accused of not being willing to pay for education - From the Cleveland.com education forum, a teacher writes: It’s ironic that Westpark, where the schools are the best, is also where the least support for the schools is (as measured by willingness to pay for education).
Link 5

Perhaps if the teachers and their unions stood up to their administration; the administration that has been allowing the 2001 bond monies to be squandered; the administration that has been breaking their promises to the taxpayers; the high paid CEO of the administration that was given a bonus in excess of what some teacher make in their annual salaries, their levy attempt might have passed. But alas, this has not been the case. The teachers and their union have been silent to the mismanagement and irresponsibility of the administration; and is some cases were actually condoning their administration’s actions.

Stay tuned for our next episode:

We need more money, 2005:

“Spend, Spend, Spend” or “Hey, where did everybody go”

We need more money! Lessons from 2003

We need more money! Lessons from 2003

“It’s meeting time; where is everybody?” or “Hey! Aren't we supposed to be involved?”

2003 - It is becoming apparent that the so called bond accountability commission is failing at its job. The commission itself is not accountable. Members do not attend meetings, while others are quitting. And this is happening only two years since its formation. Luckily for the BAC, the citizens have started to forget the promises of accountability made two years ago in 2001.

April, 2003 - City and school officials have all but ignored the request for public involvement.
(Note: this will be brought up again in the 2005 lessons when school officials decide to blame the citizens for not being involved. Stay tuned.)
Link 1

Here is a link to a story chocked full of good intentions. Does anyone remember hearing anything about this story?
Link 2

June, 2003 - The BAC is almost dead. Accountability? Where did it go? How can the commission be called independent when appointed by the Mayor? Oh, the broken promises of accountability. Where are the tax payers? Where is the teacher’s union? Have they forgotten what they were promised two years ago? Oh the humanity.
Link 3

In other news, students are dropping out of school. These students have chosen not to exercise their right to an education even though the property owners are forced to renovate and build schools on their behalf.
Link 4

There are other controversies coming to light. There are some major discrepancies with attendance numbers at the Cleveland schools. The numbers are up yet the teachers can’t find the students. Oh the accountability problems keep increasing. What gives?
Link 5

August, 2003 - The mayor of Cleveland drops a bomb on the taxpayers. The school CEO will receive a hefty bonus. With two solid years of mismanagement, the CEO is awarded a $54,000 bonus.
Link 6

August, 2003 continued - The mayor steps in to get the BAC to reconvene. Reconvene? Wait a minute, when did the BAC stop functioning? Check out the third story from 6th and Lakeside:
Link 7

November, 2003 - After reconvening when nobody realized they had stopped meeting, the new members of the BAC have stated the obvious that their commission had not been doing their job. The new membership wants to take some action. Or so the citizens were led to believe.
Link 8

November, 2003 continued - Its time to hire a high paid consultant from Texas. City and school officials will pay him $5,500 a month to help run the district’s facilities rehabilitation effort. It is becoming apparent that as far as the Cleveland school administration is concerned, there seems to be an endless supply of money. Unfortunately, the citizens of Cleveland fail to ask the question – why cannot the BAC do their job? Don’t they know what they are doing? Why do we need to hire consultants?
Link 9

December, 2003 – More consulting is needed. Another consulting firm is hired at a cost of $4000 a month. Any outside observer would believe that the city must have an endless supply of money. Thank God for those property owning taxpayers. Check out the first story from 6th and Lakeside:
Link 10

Stay tuned for our next episode:

We need more money, 2004:

“Keep the money coming” or “Why don’t we just lower the standards”

The Malfunction of Dysfunction

The Malfunction of Dysfunction

Many property tax payers of Cleveland agree that there can be no denying that the CMSD has and continues to mismanage the their taxpayer money. The legitimate media has reported on the promises of accountability as well as the failure and demise of the Building Accountability Commission. The legitimate media has reported on the progress of the renovations at the schools as well as the CMSD bulldozing some schools within a couple of years of spending the monies for the renovations. And that same media will deny the recent past and endorse the CMSD’s money campaigns, allowing the CMSD to continue it’s dysfunctional ways.

The CMSD along with some of its employees cannot and will not accept that the things that have happened in the recent past. When the property tax payers of Cleveland voted no on the 2004 tax levy, the taxpayers were accused of abandoning the children.

I have been posting my blogs hoping to remind people of the broken promises and irresponsibility of the CMSD administration. And at times my posts get deleted. I am attacked by one teacher in particular who refers to me as nothing more than a simple high school educated tax sucking city worker. (By the way, I received my high school diploma from the Cleveland public schools. Thank you teachers for helping me land my cushy, tax sucking job.)

Cleveland and its school system dwell in the world of Dysfunctional society. Here are some thoughts on Denial, Enabling and Codependency.

Denial:

Denial is a person's way of coping with a painful situation by refusing to accept it or believe it. It is a common defense mechanism used to shield and protect against something perceived as threatening. By denying the existence of a problem, a person doesn't have to deal with it or assume any responsibility for it. This is done by the mind automatically; the person is usually unaware that he/she is in denial. This is different from lying, where a person is aware of his actions but does not admit it. Someone who is in denial of his/her dependency is unable to see the logical connection between the use and the negative consequences of his/her use.

Rationalizing is a form of making excuses or justifying why something happened.
A person finds it difficult to accept facts as reality. For example, a person says the CMSD is not wasting tax dollars, yet you find the evidence. Ex: Harvey Rice Elementary was razed with all renovations and new windows ending up in the landfill. The person attempts to rationalize the waste:

Enabling:

en•abler : one that enables another to achieve an end; especially : one who enables another to persist in self-destructive behavior by providing excuses or by helping that individual avoid the consequences of such behavior

An enabler is a person who recognizes that a negative circumstance is occurring on a regular basis and yet inadvertently assists the person with the problem to persist with their detrimental behaviors.

Enabling is any action taken by a concerned person that stops or softens the effects of the harmful consequences of substance use upon the user.

Codependency:

Codependency is linked with enabling. The person who is codependent allows the user's behavior to affect him/her, is obsessed with controlling the user's behavior and enables the disease of chemical dependency to continue.

The codependent person attempts to control the user's behavior, rather than allowing the user to experience negative consequences so that he/she will stop and seek treatment on his/her own.

The denial that the CMSD is mismanaging taxpayer money works in much the same way as personal denial. The catch phrases in this instance might be: "It's not a problem here," or "We may have a small problem, but it's not as bad as in other communities," or "The taxpayers are at fault by abandoning the kids," “we have improved security by putting airport security measures in place.”

The history of recent past has been written. It is what it is and it cannot be changed, but it can be denied. The CMSD has failed the public trust. The CMSD has and continues to waste millions of dollars. The CMSD will be again coming to the voters asking to raise the taxes of the property owner.

Instead of admitting and taking responsibility for the fiscal mismanagement, excuses are given and the property tax payers of Westpark are accused of not supporting the schools and abandoning the children.

The CMSD really should really seek some counseling for its dysfunctional behavior.

Here are some comments by a teacher who posted on the Cleveland.com education forum. Do these comments speak of denial and enabling? You be the judge. (note that some of these posts have already been deleted on the Cleveland.com education forum by their moderator. I made sure that I copied the responses to my posts so I can show what was written.)

difficult situation by Cleveland Teacher:
“The first phase was, "warm, safe, and dry." that meant that schools with drafty/dysfunctional/broken windows, leaky roofs, and unsecured doors were first priority. These schools were open at the time. You can't refuse to keep children warm, safe, and dry because their school might close.” “It’s unfortunate that there was a short-term investment that had to be made that no longer benefits the district. “ “I would hardly call it fraud, waste, or abuse, however. Do you think that cutting funding MORE will fix the schools? Please explain how this works.”

try this, rick by Cleveland Teacher: This post was deleted by a cleveland.com moderator
“If you have complaints, propose solutions. Legal, practical, realistic solutions. Solutions that will improve the educational outcomes for Cleveland’s kids not punish the administration at the expense of kids.”

good info, by Cleveland Teacher:
“I don't know what the answer is, but abandoning the system (as some here have advocated) is not the answer.”

public schools are better, by Cleveland Teacher:
“It’s ironic that Westpark, where the schools are the best, is also where the least support for the schools is (as measured by willingness to pay for education).”

Attention! Attention!

Attention! Attention!

All you city workers out there whose jobs only required a high school diploma to qualify when you were first hired.

Especially you city workers who live in Westpark and especially you Cleveland firefighters;

You have been directly and indirectly been referred to as tax sucking city workers who don’t want to pay for education in Cleveland.

You have been accused of abandoning the Cleveland schools!

By casting a no vote on school levy’s you punish the Cleveland schools at the expense of the kids!

You have been accused by a smarter than you; college educated; Cleveland teacher.

The nerve of you city workers! Abandoning Cleveland's children!

These are the responses I was given by a Cleveland teacher when I blog about how the Cleveland schools carelessly wastes your property tax dollars.

With all the promises of accountability out the window; with the Bond Accountability Commission disbanding only a few years after the 2001 bond issue was passed; with schools being renovated and then demolished with all the new renovations going to the landfill; this teacher does not believe that the Cleveland school administration is wasting your money.

This teacher refuses to acknowledge that bulldozing schools a few years after your property tax dollars were spent renovating the school with new windows, doors, boilers and other expensive renovations can be called “fraud, waste, or abuse”. The teacher feels that it was unfortunate that this a short-term investment that had to be made that no longer benefits the district. The schools were open at the time and you couldn’t refuse to keep children warm, safe, and dry because their school might close. The teacher further stated that the CMSD did not have a salvage yard to stockpile building materials from closed buildings that might be useful somewhere.

(And on a side note: this teacher has admitted to not living in Cleveland, and has also admitted that he would not want to. Yet this teacher feels that more money needs to be bled from the property owning taxpayer of Cleveland. Other teachers have claimed if they had to live in Cleveland, the city would never be able to attract "good" teachers. Kind of says a lot about the quality of us city workers who do live here doesn't it?)

Yet when a news reporter exposed the waste, the CMSD was able to find storage and would now salvage those new renovations on future schools that have been targeted for bulldozing.

The highly paid highly educated Cleveland school administration has never really had a master plan. The master plan has always been in a constant state of flux. Accountability commissions have disbanded shortly after their inception and brand new accountability commissions have been formed so the CMSD administrators can promise accountability again when they try to convince you to extend paying for the 2001 bond issue that has now exhausted its funds. All the while, schools are renovated then demolished while others remain operational with their old windows and leaky roofs.

If you property owning tax paying city workers feel that the CMSD has wasted enough of your hard earned tax dollars, and you vote no on Dr Sanders upcoming bond issue, you will be accused of abandoning the schools and hurting the kids.

I have been posting my blogs on the Cleveland.com education forum. Here are some of the responses that this teacher wrote when replying to my blogs.

Difficult situation by Cleveland Teacher:
The first phase was, "warm, safe, and dry." That meant that schools with drafty/dysfunctional/broken windows, leaky roofs, and unsecured doors were first priority. These schools were open at the time. You can't refuse to keep children warm, safe, and dry because their school might close. Furthermore, the CMSD doesn't have a salvage yard to stockpile building materials from closed buildings that might be useful somewhere. It’s unfortunate that there was a short-term investment that had to be made that no longer benefits the district. I would hardly call it fraud, waste, or abuse, however.

Blame the BAC by Cleveland Teacher: (Deleted by Cleveland.com moderator)
They are independent of the schools, and BBB.
Are you really a firefighter? Do you really think you have the right to complain about teachers when you have a government job that requires nothing but a high school diploma and that pays you well despite the fact that you spend the majority of your time playing pool and cooking? Every firefighter I know has time for a full-time job when they're not sucking taxpayer money. You should be the last one throwing stones.

Try this, Rick by Cleveland Teacher: (Deleted by Cleveland.com moderator)
If you have complaints, propose solutions. Legal, practical, realistic solutions. Solutions that will improve the educational outcomes for Cleveland’s kids not punish the administration at the expense of kids.

Good info by Cleveland Teacher:
I agree with you that the district has done a crappy job of reaching out to the west side. All you have to do is look at the gym and rec. facility at Collinwood and then look at John Marshall. There is supposed to be a new west side high school still, I believe. But they'd better get a move on. It’s almost as if they are afraid to make a mistake, so they're waiting too long. Meanwhile, costs go up and people move out. I don't know what the answer is, but abandoning the system (as some here have advocated) is not the answer.

public schools are better by Cleveland Teacher:
Because all the kids who are escaping the schools in the other rotten neighborhoods of the city are going to the Westpark private schools. Kids from all over the city, places like Hough, kinsman, Glenville, etc. overall, however, Westpark is slipping. That’s my opinion; your experiences may be different. It’s ironic that Westpark, where the schools are the best, is also where the least support for the schools is (as measured by willingness to pay for education).

I have responded to this teacher and others who read the Cleveland.com education forum that if the teachers want to win the trust of the taxpaying property owners of Cleveland, that they should rally their union to protest the mismanagement of their administration. But alas, that post was deleted. It is evident by what has been written and deleted by the teachers speaks loudly about their beliefs that the administration is not doing any wrong by carelessly spending your tax payer money. And they have no problem demanding more from the taxable property owners of Cleveland. Here are some of my responses back to those teachers who post on the Cleveland.com education forum:

“You are not helping your cause by mocking us tax sucking firefighters. By the way there are other city workers (police, ems, water, cpp etc.) who are also just high school educated tax sucking folks. But understand that the city workers have to live in Cleveland and they pay a lion’s share of the larger property taxes in Cleveland. This will be changing soon. The mayor has even said that if the 8000 plus city workers moved out of the city, it would cripple Cleveland’s economy. And there are plenty of city workers who pay property taxes who have had enough with the fiscal mismanagement and may be moving out of the city soon. Unfortunately, there are not loads of educated young professional people with families breaking down the borders to move into this city. The city’s population has been on a steady decline.”

“If you want to get the taxpayers on your side, use your union clout to stop the mismanagement. But as long as teachers support their management’s wasteful ways, they will not get the support of the taxpayer. I and many other taxpayers in Cleveland are disgusted by the CMSD management and those who support it with their words while living outside of city limits.”

"What is unfortunate is that city and school leaders continue to fly by the seat of their pants, spending taxpayer monies without a care in the world, with no real master plan, (the master plan is in a continuous state of flux), and no accountability, and now they are crying that they need more money. Too bad! A lot of what we taxpayers gave the CMSD has been put in the landfill. If Dr. Sanders needs more money, he should grab his shovel and start digging in the landfill for it. There’s plenty there. "

“Now of course if you teachers would truly like to support your schools, you can always move into the fine city of Cleveland and live here like all other city workers have to, pay your property taxes, and then you can have a legitimate say on how your tax dollars should be spent. But I won’t hold my breath. Most idea people and do-gooders who live on the other side of the fence are the one’s paving this city’s road to ruin with their good intentions. I will tell you that I and many other taxpayers will be voting a resounding “NO” on any tax issue the CMSD throws at us. And I am doing what I can to get the word out to my fellow taxpayers.”

“And a special message to the Cleveland teachers. I am surprised how the teacher’s union has supported past measures to raise the taxes of the property owners of Cleveland. I question why the teacher’s union seemingly turns a blind eye to the broken promises and lack of accountability by the Cleveland school system management. Are the Cleveland teachers unaware that the school management is letting them down by their past practice of breaking promises? Instead of speaking out loudly against the poor handling of the 2001 bond money, another tax measure was pushed in 2004. It failed. Were the Cleveland teachers surprised that the 2004 levy was voted down? The silence of the Cleveland teacher’s union concerning the school system management’s broken promises of accountability is deafening."

"The Cleveland teacher’s union does have power to hold its management accountable. If the voters decide to vote no on the upcoming tax bond issue because they have had enough, don’t blame the voters, blame yourselves for allowing your school management to be so irresponsible with taxpayer money. But if some Cleveland teachers believe that the management has done a great job with the 2001 bond money, they are free to move into the city, pay property taxes and add a vote for the upcoming cause.”

The Spin

The Spin

A teacher who likes to spar with me on the Cleveland.com education forum tries to spin things when confronted with the truth. I can point out that schools are being razed by giving links to television news stories. I can give directions to schools that are closed, with their new windows broken. I can give you directions to places where schools have been razed. Yet this teacher will challenge me by asking if I am "providing opinion or facts". Well all I can say is if you don’t believe me, hop in your car and take a drive and see for yourself.

One of the best “spins” dealt with the Bond Accountability Commission. I posted my blog about the waste of money being spent on renovating schools and then having them razed on the Cleveland.com education forum:

I hope you readers understand why I enjoy posting on the Cleveland.com education forum. I’ve been having fun exposing the CMSD wasting tax dollars and watching as some teachers try to stand up for their administration.

Here are the responses from that posting. The teacher does his best to stick up for his administration. The conversation starts off civil enough, but ends up being a mudslinging party.

After posting my building renovation blog on the education forum:

Blogger1,
It has been this way since the early 70's, and that’s why I have always voted NO since 1974.

The teacher,
Difficult situation the first phase was, "warm, safe, and dry." That meant that schools with drafty/dysfunctional/broken windows, leaky roofs, and unsecured doors were first priority. These schools were open at the time. You can't refuse to keep children warm, safe, and dry because their school might close.

Furthermore, the CMSD doesn't have a salvage yard to stockpile building materials from closed buildings that might be useful somewhere. It’s unfortunate that there was a short-term investment that had to be made that no longer benefits the district. I would hardly call it fraud, waste, or abuse, however.

If you want something to get angry about, look at where your tax money is going in Iraq. Over 2 trillion so far, with much of it missing.

RickCFD,
There is nothing difficult about it. The CMSD would not be in a difficult situation if the high paid school leadership were competent enough to have a master plan in place before they carelessly spent taxpayer monies which would ultimately end up in the landfill a few years later. There is no excuse for the mishandling of taxpayer money, none what so ever. I absolutely disagree with you. What was done (and is being done) does amount to fraud, waste, and abuse. It is fiscal mismanagement.

If you need to repair windows, doors, roofs on schools that will be closing within a few years, it does not take a PhD to know that you do not spend hundreds of thousands of taxpayer monies by installing brand new windows doors and roofs. You make what ever temporary repairs are needed to get those schools through their last few years before they close and are razed. What was done was wasteful and irresponsible. There obviously was no forethought given. There was no master plan. I guess it must be easy to spend taxpayer monies when the money is not coming out of management’s pocketbooks.

And I do not want to hear any excuses that the administration did not realize that these schools would be closed and razed within a few years. If that is the excuse, it would prove that the leadership and management are not qualified to manage the CMSD.

You state that the CMSD doesn't have a salvage yard to stockpile building materials from closed buildings that might be useful somewhere else. According to the news story, once the waste was exposed, the CMSD all of a sudden found a way to fix the obvious waste pointed out in the news investigation. And this was done with Dr. Sanders’ blessing. Was this a miracle? Or proof that the CMSD did not care what they were doing with taxpayer money?

From reading the interview from the news investigation, it was clear that salvage had never crossed Mr. Sautter’s mind. The CMSD was not in any way concerned that they were throwing away taxpayer monies until of course when the news station exposed them.

What is unfortunate is that city and school leaders continue to fly by the seat of their pants, spending taxpayer monies without a care in the world, with no real master plan, (the master plan is in a continuous state of flux), and no accountability, and now they are crying that they need more money. Too bad! A lot of what we taxpayers gave the CMSD has been put in the landfill. If Dr. Sanders needs more money, he should grab his shovel and start digging in the landfill for it. There’s plenty there.

Now of course if you teachers would truly like to support your schools, you can always move into the fine city of Cleveland and live here like all other city workers have to, pay your property taxes, and then you can have a legitimate say on how your tax dollars should be spent. But I won’t hold my breath. Most idea people and do-gooders who live on the other side of the fence are the one’s paving this city’s road to ruin with their good intentions.

I will tell you that I and many other taxpayers will be voting a resounding “NO” on any tax issue the CMSD throws at us. And I am doing what I can to get the word out to my fellow taxpayers.

The Teacher,
How about this; since you think the CMSD leadership is perpetually incompetent, why don't you come up with some practical solutions? Do you think that cutting funding MORE will fix the schools? Please explain how this works.

Blogger2,
Vouchers for everyone. Private schools have proven to be good stewards of school funds, whereas your corrupt org has PROVEN time after time to be incompetent boobs. Let the pros handle it, since your org is apparently amateurish.

RickCFD,
Because the funding from the 2001 bond issue has been mismanaged, the taxpayers should not renew the bond issue. The CMSD has thrown away too many tax dollars into the landfill.

It has become apparent to me by reading your posts that you agree with how the CMSD management spends taxpayer's monies.

From your posts you apparently believe that the taxpayer monies have not been carelessly spent.

And from your posts you apparently believe that the management of the CMSD and all of its policies are ethical and moral.

And you have also stated in your posts that you do not live in Cleveland nor do you want to. And because you do not live in Cleveland, you do not pay its property taxes. And it is apparent from your posts that I disagree with you.

The teacher is starting to lose the argument. Others begin chiming in. Time to spin:

The teacher,
Do you know who is responsible for the oversight of the construction project? It’s the state. And anecdotal evidence does not prove that the project has been mismanaged. Now, again, what practical solutions do you have to improve the schools which you claim are run by such incompetent leaders?

Blogger3, (Deleted by moderator)
OHGR is the Construction Manager. I have NEVER seen the State of Ohio monitor anything related to a construction project. That's why a CONSTRUCTION MANAGER is hired. Which State Department are you referring to? Or are you just spinning & running your mouth again?

The Teacher, (Deleted by moderator)
*Actually, the state mandates that they put together a bond accountability commission. It is an oxymoron, however, saying that you have accountability in taxpayer-funded construction projects. You know as well as anyone what a joke that is.

*(Side note: Funny, I thought it was our appointed school board that put together our Bond Accountability Commission.)

RickCFD,
Ever hear of the BAC?

April 2001 - The appointed Cleveland school board creates a Bond Accountability Commission to “ensure bond proceeds are spent appropriately.”

The board’s vote calls for the creation of the 2001 Bond Issue Accountability Commission “with the authority and the appropriate resources” to monitor:
-The development and content of the comprehensive facilities plan
-The construction, design, engineering and rehabilitation of Cleveland’s school facilities
-The expenditure of funds raised from the ballot issue
-And to regularly report its findings to the board and community

Do you remember those promises of accountability that were made to the taxpayers?

The BAC failed in their job and died. Barbara Byrd-Bennett received a $50000 bonus and then left Cleveland.

Are you really a teacher?

Do you realize when you post that you are your own worst enemy?

Blogger2, (Deleted by moderator)
Lemmy will never get it. That's why everyone should just vote NO. That's the only thing he & his corrupt union buddies will be forced to understand.

Lemmy has a beat-up 1981 Chevy Chevette, which he has been pouring $$$ into for years. It constantly breaks down, but he foolishly still wants to keep fixing it. His neighbor has a 03 Ford Taurus - very reliable, & will rent it to lemmy for a reasonable rate. But lemmy stomps his feet, says no way & heads to the parts store.
Only problem is lemmy keeps using taxpayer $$$.

The teacher believes I am crazy to blame the BAC. The teacher is losing the argument; others are now making fun of him. Time to personally attack me:

The Teacher, (Deleted by moderator)
Blaming the BAC! They are independent of the schools, and BBB.
Are you really a firefighter? Do you really think you have the right to complain about teachers when you have a government job that requires nothing but a high school diploma and that pays you well despite the fact that you spend the majority of your time playing pool and cooking? Every firefighter I know has time for a full-time job when they're not sucking taxpayer money. You should be the last one throwing stones.

RickCFD, (Deleted by moderator)
Personal attacks, that’s the best you can do. What a shame. It is obvious why others on this forum speak so ill of you. I just found it hard to believe that an educated teacher in Cleveland could support the poor decisions of its management. I thought I made that clear that the Cleveland teachers I have met are some of the most dedicated in the profession.

If you want to get the taxpayers on your side, use your union clout to stop the mismanagement. But as long as teachers support their management’s wasteful ways, they will not get the support of the taxpayer. I and many other taxpayers in Cleveland are disgusted by the CMSD management and those who support it with their words while living outside of city limits.

I am sure that you are a dedicated teacher and do what you can to educate the students of Cleveland.

Sorry but I can’t waste anymore time with you today. I need to go to the firehouse to catch up on some pool; make sure I keep stirring the pot; and suck up more taxpayer monies.

The Teacher,
Try this, Rick, If you have complaints, propose solutions. Legal, practical, realistic solutions. Solutions that will improve the educational outcomes for Cleveland’s kids not punish the administration at the expense of kids.

RickCFD,
Giving me advice after your last remarks? You’re kidding, right? Giving advice to who you believe to be a mere high school educated, tax sucking, city worker? I’ll give you this; you do have a lot of nerve.

You really think you have me figured out. You think you personally know my educational background. You think you know what I and all other firefighters do while at their jobs. Funny, some of us simpletons can even administer drugs as paramedics. A lot of responsibility for a high school educated tax sucking city worker, you think?

Perhaps I was wrong to think that you were one of those dedicated teachers in Cleveland. Perhaps you are one of the tax spending administrators.

Big monies are being thrown into the landfill but from what you write with your college education, you seem to think that holding the administration accountable for their waste would hurt the kids. I just cannot figure out your logic. It is the administration and those who support their actions who are the ones that punish at the expense the kids. They punish the property tax payer by mismanaging their tax dollars. Sorry if I vote NO.

I have proposed some solutions; some were deleted; you did not agree with them; because you disagree, I am a tax sucking, high school educated city worker who spends the majority of his time at work loafing by playing pool and cooking.

Your insults speak clearly enough.

Sorry Mr. Teacher, but you are not helping your cause by mocking us tax sucking firefighters. By the way there are other city workers (police, ems, water, cpp etc.) who are also just high school educated tax sucking folks. But understand that the city workers have to live in Cleveland and they pay a lion’s share of the larger property taxes in Cleveland. This will be changing soon. The mayor has even said that if the 8000 plus city workers moved out of the city, it would cripple Cleveland’s economy. And there are plenty of city workers who pay property taxes who have had enough with the fiscal mismanagement and may be moving out of the city soon.

Unfortunately, there are not loads of educated young professional people with families breaking down the borders to move into this city. The city’s population has been on a steady decline.
So please, spare me your advice.

The Teacher,
Now you know how it feels.

Blogger2,
Business as usual in cesspool C-town. That's what happens when you let clowns run important projects. Keep voting NO, & tell everyone you meet to vote NO also.

The Teacher,
As if you would know. Dilbert, the expert on managing urban schools. Amazing that you haven't been hired yet to save New Orleans.

Blogger2,
It is amazing that you keep defending a system that has PROVEN to fail decade after decade. But that's what your corrupt union brainwashed you to do. Dance, puppet, dance!

Accountability of renovations and the closing of renovated schools

Renovations to the Landfill - Another lesson from recent history

After the bond issue of 2001 passed without a master plan in place, work began on some Cleveland schools.

Millions of dollars were spent on renovations. New windows were a big part of these renovations.

One window company, Jamieson Ricca Windows, on their website, takes credit for installing windows on some Cleveland schools. Unfortunately, some of these schools have been closed and others have already been razed with the new windows going to the landfill.

Here are just a few of the schools where taxpayer monies have been wasted.

Alexander Hamilton Middle School – No longer listed on the CMSD website. This school is closed and has new windows. Many have been broken due to vandalism.
You can observe this closed school for yourself. Here is the address:
3465 E 130th St

Corlett Elementary School – No longer listed on the CMSD website. This school had new windows. The building is currently being demolished. You can observe this school being demolished for yourself. Here is its address:
13013 Corlett Ave

This next school is interesting. If you actually happen to check out Alexander Hamilton Middle and Corlett Elementary, you will pass the Charles Dickens School. This school is actually located between Corlett Elementary and Alexander Hamilton Middle. It is open for business and for some reason it does not have new windows. It still has old windows. It is located at 3552 E 131st St.

Harvey Rice Elementary – Old building had new windows and was renovated. It was razed with the renovations sent to the landfill. This cost taxpayers over $700,000. The school moved into Jesse Owens Academy building. You can see a picture of this school being demolished on a television website. I have provided the web address for your convenience later in this blog.

Artemus Ward Elementary – Old building had newer windows in library wing. Building was razed due to imminent roof collapse. According to the original master plan, this school was to be closed permanantly in 2010. Now a new building being constructed.

An investigative reporter from one of Cleveland’s television news stations did a report on some of the waste. They literally caught Cleveland in the act of razing the Harvey Rice elementary school. You can read the story and see the picture and access a video where the new windows are clearly visible being destroyed.
The story aired April of 2007.

In September of 2007, the same investigative reporter found that Cleveland was again razing another school. Supposedly due to the reporter exposing this waste, the windows from this school were salvaged and installed into another the school. The monies wasted have been enormous. Monies were spent installing the windows in the first school. Then monies were spent to salvage the windows. And finally money was spent to reinstall the windows.

The investigative reporter also found other things that were new simply being sent to the landfill totaling over $600,000! And all the while the taxpayers were promised accountability.

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Then I found this piece from 2002 talking about some of the original master plan ideas. Note that some schools are listed with dates in parenthesis. The dates in parentheses are suppose to represent the earliest possible close date for these schools. To date, some of the schools have not only been closed but have already been razed. But then again, these were simply proposals from the outline of the master plan. So much for the master plan and accountability.

Link 4

Are you taxpayers of Cleveland appalled? Are you taxpayers getting angry? Do you think that these city and school leaders should be held accountable for these crimes of mishandling these tax monies?

Can you believe that the new CEO has announced to the citizens that the CMSD needs more money? Do you realize he is also promising accountability like the previous high paid school CEO?

There will again be a push to get those voters who do not pay property taxes to vote yes on the measure.

When the issue is finally put on the ballot, the taxpayers need to get out and take action. Hopefully the taxpayers will be a no vote. They need to send a strong message to city and school leaders that they have had enough.

The public trust has been failed miserably by city and school leaders. They have not kept their promises. What else can be said other than their actions have been most deplorable?

Only in Free Stamp City.

We need more money! Lessons from 2001 & 2002

We need more money! Lessons from 2001 & 2002

“Promises, Promises & more Promises of Accountability”

From the blog “Another lesson from recent history”, “The Master Plan of 2001 or Not”, it was pointed out that the city and school leaders lacked accountability from the beginning, but miraculously the voters passed the measure. Now it was time for the appointed school board to get down to business with school leaders to work on their promises of accountability with their Master Plan.

Even though the voters approved the bond issue, they were still very distrustful of the school leadership. Perhaps the voters should have voted no, demanding a Master Plan first if they were distrustful of the school leadership. But unfortunately, that did not happen. The voters were sold on the promises of accountability that were made and the measure passed. After the win, the appointed school board still assured the citizens that accountability would be built into the upcoming master plan.
Link 1
Link 2

It is now October of 2001, and time for a rollercoaster ride.

Hold on, here we go.

Oh no, Hold on! - With two months to go before the master plan is due, Barbara Byrd-Bennett’s has failed to act on one of her promises to let the public play a part in how the money would be spent. Also the numbers are not adding up. The independent facility assessments are not on the same page on their estimates.

Whew, that was close! - But luckily there is some good news from the State. It has raised the city’s equity rating. The State will now be offering even more money for the city to use. There should be no problem now in repairing the schools. And who knows, there may be even money left over!

Oh no, hold on! - But there are problems in putting together the final costs in the master plan. some details were overlooked like the state might not provide funds for new auditoriums and track and fields.

Oh no, hold on! - School officials begin questioning whether to renovate, or build brand new schools. No one knows how much this will cost the taxpayers of the city. The master plan is becoming more and more complicated.

Whew, that was close! - But luckily, because of the State’s significant increase in funding, the money will be there. Thank Goodness! The school board will not have to go back to the voters, everything is under control.

Oh no, hold on! - But wait, the school population is not growing. In fact it’s shrinking. Perhaps the city should rethink their plans before renovating some buildings. This is taxpayer money and it should not be wasted on a school that will be closed in the next couple of years. But no, the renovation must be done. And in a couple of years, some of the renovated schools would be closed and others slated for the wrecking ball.
Link 3

After evaluating the problems of the school buildings, city and school officials begin to realize that the monies from the 2001 bond issue might not be enough. Perhaps if these city officials had their master plan in place before putting it to the vote, they could have had a better idea on what was needed. Unfortunately, there was not time to complete that first step in accountability. Having a master plan prior to knowing how the money would be spent would “take up too much precious time” according to school officials.
Link 4

Does anyone remember the Bullwinkle show?

At the end of a Bullwinkle story, the narrator would give you the title of the next show. There were always two titles. Here is my attempt at this lesson’s title.

We need more money! Lessons from 2002

“The Master Plan stinks!” or “Hey! Speak up, we can’t hear you!”

July, 2002 - Citizens do not like the master plan. They do not trust the information being given to them. They are upset that schools in their neighborhoods may be closed. It’s too bad that city and school officials were not prepared with their master plan before going to the voters. Oh well, too bad for the voters, they should have thought about this before they hastily approved the bond issue.
Link 5

October, 2002 - Some citizens complain that the appointed school board is not being open. Communication with the community is being overlooked by the school board.
Link 6

But rest assured, the Board Accountability Commission is hard at work maintaining the public trust with the taxpayer money.

Recent History - The Master Plan of 2001, or not

Recent History - The Master Plan of 2001, or not

The year is 2001 and it is early spring in Free Stamp City. The push has begun to raise the taxes of property owners.

The Free Stamp City school CEO, school officials and city leaders have started to plead their case to the voters that they need more money. They have been allowed on the public radio stations. They also have the ear of the fantasy land newspaper, which will endorse this bond/levy issue.

The money is needed to fix up the Free Stamp City schools that school officials and city leaders have neglected to maintain. Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the high paid school CEO is banking on the citizen’s short term memory. She is hoping that the voters have forgotten how monies from previous levies were squandered. She will be making promises of accountability to the voters. She and her staff will be working diligently to make sure that the word gets out especially to those voters living under the city’s “Free Stamp” so they can vote to raise the taxes of the overtaxed property owner.

You can almost hear the Free Stamp City school officials saying:

We need the money. We foolishly spent the last money you tax payers gave us. We just don’t know where all the money has gone. But this time it will be different. Trust us. In fact to win your trust, we have a brand new slogan “It’s about kids” and we assure you that if you approve this levy/bond issue, there will be accountability this time. Trust us. We will not let you citizens down. Oh by the way, we really don’t have a clue on what we are doing, so we do not have a master plan yet to show you how the money will be spent, but trust us, we are working on it.

What? No Master Plan? What do you think of that? Ms. Byrd-Bennett and school officials think its ok to ask the voters for money without knowing how it will be spent. Ms. Byrd-Bennett promises that there will be accountability yet she and her cronies, at the very start of their campaign, are unprepared with a master plan. Something this preposterous can only happen in Free Stamp City.

You would think that there would be some safeguard built in from the state to protect the taxpayer from fraud. But unfortunately, there is none. State guidelines do not prohibit school districts from going to voters before a master plan is completed. In fact the state will be actually supporting this levy/bond issue with promises of state tax dollars if the measure passes. A large portion of the monies that will eventually be wasted on the schools, (those renovated schools that will be razed soon after with all the new windows going to the landfill), will come from state taxpayers. But most state taxpayers do not get to vote in Free Stamp City.

In essence, the voters in Free Stamp City are being sold a product on description only. The blueprints for the product have yet to be drawn up. This fits into the same bracket as those land shark realtors of the 60’s and 70’s who sold worthless swamp land or desert land. Their sales pitch was "Buy before seeing it. Trust us, it will be worth it." Now who would be that gullible to fall for a sales pitch like that?

The public trust has been violated since 2001. It is my hope that the taxable property owners come out in force to vote a resounding "NO" on this next bond issue that will be pushed on us by an even higher paid school CEO.

There is an interesting piece of journalism from 2001 from the Cleveland Catalyst web site archives which can be accessed directly by Clicking Here