Monday, March 16, 2009
Candidates forum-It's official and on the website
Monday, March 23, 2009 from 7p.m.–9p.m. at the East Aurora School Service Center there will be an East Aurora School Board Candidates’ Forum. Voters will have the opportunity to meet each of the candidates and to submit questions to be answered during the forum. Voters can also watch the forum LIVE on the East Aurora website, www.d131.org, and access it anytime thereafter in the video vault on the website. The forum is open to the public. Seating is limited. For more info visit the above website.
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153 comments:
I bet the candidates will be speaking to an empty room.
I bet all the district admin's will be glued to the computer they are worried the free ride is over. I sure they will have a few plants to give a hard time to some of the candidates and throw fluff balls at Salinas, Wells & Gonzalez
I do think that some administration and a few others will be watching. With as many policies they have been able to break I'm sure they will want to know if they will have to start following them.
All questions that are asked should be for all candidates and not just a few and that goes for the audiences questions also.
If you want to see how a forum should go the West side has there's on their website and the questions that where asked take the time to look at it.
Were any of you who posted tonite at the school board meeting? If not to bad because some of it was very interesting especially the woman who spoke before the board. Read it in the board bits.
I spent a few hundred dollars on car repairs last week after hitting a large pothole. Today I see in the Beacon that money that was allocated to road repairs has been diverted from the roads to fund several aldermans personal agendas.
Scheketa Hart-Burns, 7th Ward illegally took $1,169 that was supposed to go to road repair and used it to pay the banquet bill at Long Island Sound for the illegal group BoysIIMen.
Additional monies were allocated to East High School to fund the schools "Gospel Fest". The first amedment of the constitution dictates a seperation of church and state and yet the high school is promoting religion with a gospel fest and using city tax dollars to fund this illegal activity.
I am now looking into my legal options to see if it is possible to be compensated for my cars damage because alderman are illegally diverting monies that were allocated for road repairs.
Again, I want to know from the prospective board members what they are going to do about all the illegal activities this district is a part of.
You're a moron.
You are so smug saying that about reading in the board bits. How do you know a lot of people just couldn't make it or for some that have gone has learned it does no good. So in short are you trying to make yourself out to be a better person by going? I think not.
It's interesting that every time you comment about the illegal things that this administration is doing on an almost daily basis, you are called a moron.
The real morons are the ones that allow their leaders to do illegal things and remain silent.
It is amazing the money that the 7th ward alderman has given to some groups on the East side. So all you other groups at East High or grade schools if you need some help with something like a banquet, camp or clothes contact the 7th ward alderman. I'm a resident there and if she can do it for some she needs to do it for all.
Speaking of our tax money being wasted, I was looking at the most recent check register on the D131 website. This check caught my eye:
Hyatt Regency--$11,221.20
That's a HOTEL BILL. For more than 11K!!
Unless Hyatt Regency is also a company that sells educational supplies or provides maintenance services, that much money for cushy hotel accommodations is beyond ridiculous.
I'm wondering why Clarence Williams got 6,500.00. It would be nice if they would put what these things are for like other districts.
I'm sure the hotel was no more than a thousand. It was the hookers that cost so much.
Williams should not be spending district money who approved this let me guess Roberts. That money needs to be for the kids not to educate admin's. What is the cost of the endless awards Clayton hands out again money not spend on the kids. This board will only become strong if the members oppose these programs and ask questions.
If Bob Mccue is so good about following procedures to the book why does he not post the minutes from the Building & Grounds. I know he does not answer e-mails but they have a secretary to take notes. Why does she not post them?
Does any of the other committes post the minutes of their meetings.
Yes, His is not updated since Oct 08.
Now that he is leaving the Board they should be updated.
8:44 a.m. mentioned a hotel bill for $11,221.20. I looked at the March check register myself, and noticed that it was for a Hyatt Regency in Washington, D.C.
When was this hotel stay?? Was this for Obama's inauguration festivities?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Did you see in today's Beacon 169 teachers were given pink slips. They also got rid of 350 students who were out of District students.
I will say all the committee minutes are like the board bits not much information but I did notice that the ones for building and grounds had nothing. Until you have a board that all members will make all committees accountable nothing will happen.
The finance committee should of caught the Hyatt Regency in Washington, D.C when they saw it and I would like to believe that someone questioned that for what is was for. Now remember if the majority of the board votes to approve this there is nothing that can be done.
The only way you can stop this is to make sure you will have a board that makes the policies that they put in place are followed and if they think that something should be questioned they should do it.
We can only hope this district looks into if someone really lives in this district. It has been said before they don't care because it brings in more money for the district but at what cost to the children that really live in this district. By the West side doing this and maybe closing a school they are cutting their cost and being able to help more students. This is a responsible district that is thinking of all the children in their district.
As you hear of other districts cutting back and knowing that hard times are coming what is our district doing. They say their are no money problems but I think they are pulling the the rug over our eyes.
Nestor Garcia made $75,519 from this district in 2005 and $104,380 in 2008. That is an average of a 12% increase in salary every year. (and that's without the extra money he has made taking money from groups using district resources and not putting the money in district coffers).
The teachers who actually do the work of any school district received between 3% and 4% raise in this district. This is just one more example of how administrative salaries are just out of control in this district.
This district definately needs to clean house starting from the top. Hopefully this will start with the election coming up next month.
I went to the Kane County ROE website to see the current credentials of our district administrators.
You can no longer view their credentials.
You can still see every other employee of the districts credentials. They have simply blocked the ability to view all central office administrator credentials.
I guess they found it embarassing to have the public know that they were not qualified or certified to do the job they were hired to do. Instead of obtaining the proper credentials or hiring highly qualified individuals, they decided to block the publics ability to view their credentials and hope people will forget that they lack the necessary skills to do their job.
I'd like to know more about that $11,000 hotel bill.
How did that expenditure benefit our students? How was that a prudent use of our tax dollars?
Nestor Garcia is a good example of the Board rubber stamping everything Roberts wants. He should have been fired but he was promoted. He spends additional money because he does not have a building in grounds background. He is put in charge of projects way over his. Mccue wanted a weak person because he wanted to be the big hero. He will be gone shortly and Nestor will be in a bigger state of confusion and spend more of the Districts money. What was his qualifications for the job. Was he a plumber, Hvac, or Electrical background. No he was a screw up and involved with a student.
Don't be stupid you moron
From what I hear Nestor was a teacher what did he teach? If he hasn't taken the right classes to hold the title he does it makes one wonder. He makes good money so he should have the degrees to back his job title up. If he doesn't like some say and McCue carried him then the district will have to hire someone to be able to handles those things so then Nestor needs to get a cut in pay.
This post asks a very good question and how did this get past the finance committee? That is a heck of a bill and when you see in the last board minutes where they voted down the candidates going to the conference the standing board members voted on to go it makes you wonder where are priorities are?
I'd like to know more about that $11,000 hotel bill.
How did that expenditure benefit our students? How was that a prudent use of our tax dollars?
March 18, 2009 8:29 AM
Nestor has his teaching certification in Physical Education (P.E.) I don't know how that makes you an expert in the building trades industry but it may explain why so many of the districts assets are falling apart.
If you are concerned about the $11,000 hotel bill maybe you should address the board. It does make one wonder what it is about.
As many districts prepare for the up coming money problems in their districts you wonder why ours would pay something like this without no accountability to the district.
It makes one wonder how a PE teacher would get a job in administration for buildings and grounds.
But as long as we have a Superintendent that rules the roost and a school board that doesn't make them accountable we will have this happen again and again. This Superintendent is taking us for a ride and at what cost but our children. He can go home to Joliet after he gets a good pension and never look back. I hope Jerome Roberts Superintendent of East Aurora can sleep good at night knowing how he got a good pension from East Aurora and left them without doing anything to benefit this district. He does not follow district policy and he lets a family from Elgin go to our schools taking scholarships from true East Aurora residents. I really hope Aurora University looks into this.
Nestor was a gym teacher and his wife a Pom Pom girl. That is what qualified him to run Building & Grounds. They have no minutes to the meetings posted but they have a Secretary to take notes.
Mccue tells hi were to bid every job. Mccue does have that experience however all the contracts go to the old boys network like Platt Electric, Alarm Detection, Fox Valley Sewer, Wegman Construction and so on.
Why are the minutes not posted. He was sure Mr procedure at the last two meetings. Also Salinas friends and relatives are given the temp lawn jobs for summer. I am sure they also cut Roberts lawn.
I am voting for every new candidate running for office except Fernando Chappa. That would then leave only Farum, Carlson and Weaver left of who is there now.
I checked out on ISBE the weekly Superintendent News letter and he commented on a Seminar he attended about school finances lately. Rob Grossi Treasurer of Bloom Township gave some guide lines he thought where good for districts to follow. These are only two of them that I thought are district choses to ingnore.
1. Avoid public reations land minds-while we may not be flying in on private jets and asking for a bailoout- take some time to think about how the public will perceive your actions. Example of how this district doesn't follow the above statement.
Speaking of our tax money being wasted, I was looking at the most recent check register on the D131 website. This check caught my eye:
Hyatt Regency--$11,221.20
2. Focus on your core product-the education of children-and make financial decisions based on the impact they will have on your students.
There where others that where good but I thought these hit home. As long as we have a board that lets a superintendent break policy we will keep making mistake. It is time for this board to make sure their only employee follows the rules.
There is an event listed on both the district and EHS websites for this evening that may be incorrect and/or misleading. The event is called, "Fine Arts IHSA Contest Evening".
On Saturday, March 7th some East High singers and instrumentalists participated in a clinic/festival event in Joliet. This event was NOT sponsored by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). On that same Saturday, the IHSA sponsored its official solo & ensemble contests, with students receiving rating sheets and medals (for first division performances). East High has NOT participated in the official state-sponsored solo & ensemble contest for at least the past two years, although they had proudly done so for 30+ years before the band program was "improved" a few years ago.
If the event this evening features performances by those students who participated in the Joliet festival, it has NO connection to IHSA--and it would be fraudulent to claim otherwise.
Since when has a little thing like fraud ever stopped the administrators in this district.
It's too bad the administration was either ignorant about the fact that EHS did not participate in the IHSA solo/ensemble contest, or (worse) knowingly chose to publicize tonight's performance as connected to IHSA when they knew it wasn't.
They COULD have called it something like, "Solo and Ensemble Performance Showcase", and given the students an opportunity to show their skills to an appreciative audience without pretending a connection to IHSA. But now those kids will have their names on a program that is in violation of state rules--like calling an intramural game a tournament game would be a violation.
Shame on that administration!
For clarification:
This evening @ EAHS the Advance drama class and the honors performance class will have a preview of two performances that will be taken to IHSA Contest this year......Free admission!
7pm tonight in the Auditorium
Loneliness - Selected Poems and Writings & The Crucible
4:53, thanks for the clarification.
It would be nice for the district and high school websites to include that information.
It would be nice for people to get the facts before they start insulting people. Jump to conclusions no matter if they are based on fact or not.
11:15 said the event MAY BE incorrect or misleading, and later said that IF it features students who participated in the non-IHSA event, it would be fraudulent.
"May be" and "if" are not the same as jumping to conclusions.
About that Hyatt question. Mrs.Carlson did ask questions about it. I believe she called the Hyatt about canceling the room. She found out it would cost the district just about the same amount to cancel it. Mrs. Weaver it is in his contract to go certain things, but he is to bring it before the board first which was not done apparently, at least to Mrs.Carlson and Weaver. This will be in the beginning of April for this Hyatt thing. Everyone can e-mail the board members(all) and Dr.Roberts to find out all the details. Ask for a reply from all. Remeber that the election is coming up and the ones that are on that board right now even think that have a chance of being re-elected THEY SHOULD AND WOULD REPLY! Ask for a timely response and one could mention that there is early voting and no one can go back and change their vote once it is cast. I have noticed that not once if it has been referenced if Dr.Roberts is taking anyone with him and how his travel expenses are being paid. Also, ask if the board does not approve this will Dr.Roberts be made to pay back the money. Just some suggestions, but instead of wondering on this blog, everyone really does has a chance for some kind of answer I believe. Make sure it is very plain you want an answer from all. I am not sure I have gotten some of what I posted quite right but hope it is of some help and yes, Mrs.Weaver and Mrs. Carlson is still hanging in there for us.
My question would be why would it be about the same to cancel? How did Roberts think that he could get this past the board without their approval? Is it because some of the board members think these things are just a formality? This board is not doing their job and that is to make sure the superintendent follows policy. That is one heck of a bill who else is going? I refer back to something someone posted earlier.
. Avoid public relations land minds-while we may not be flying in on private jets and asking for a bailout- take some time to think about how the public will perceive your actions.
This district keeps saying we have no money problems and if you believe that I have some land in Florida you can buy. So remember when they get around to looking at the budget for next year and they find they have to cut remember that Hyatt bill and ask what did that do to benefit our children.
Is Dr. Jerome Roberts thinking of this.
Focus on your core product-the education of children-and make financial decisions based on the impact they will have on your students.
You can read the whole list of statements from another conference on ISBE under the states superintendents weekly message.
Went to the Latino Mayoral debate. Lewis,Johnson and Salinas attended but no Fernando Chapa or Gonzalez. It is interesting that they want to be on the Board but have no time to be informed citizens. That goes for Wells and Carson also.
What these candidates should be concerned about is how they will handle this situation about Dr. Roberts using $11,000 to go to the Hyatt. That is a lot of money you could take your family for a trip oversea. It is good for them to be informed about the Mayoral race but I think they need to focus on the needs of this district. I would ask did they go to hear the candidates and how they will vote for the new Mayor or for the good of the district. Remember in this city the Mayor stays out of districts business. I will not make a judgment on any of them for going to that debate I will make a judgment on how they will handle this district business and how they will preform on their job as a school board member.
I find it interesting that a comment was made about the school board candidates going to the Mayoral debate. How about if any of the new candidates GO TO SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS? When I have been to the meetings only Lewis and Johnson has been there. What the heck, maybe the candidates had other things to do. After all it works for the board meetings.
If you can not come to Board meeting and you have no interest in your community them do not run for the Board.
Board members do need to show a interest in City government. The City has stuck D131 with large housing development and not generated and tax paying business. We get nothing but non for profits on the East side while D129, & D204 get tax generation.
9:21 p.m., that check (for $11,221.20) was to the Hyatt Regency in Washington. That would be only a hotel bill--who knows how much $ went for other expenses such as airfare, meals, taxis, etc.
Looks to me like administration is up to their usual tricks: helping themselves to many thousands of our hard-earned tax dollars for a luxury trip instead of making decisions in the best interests of our children.
I hope Dee and Rayanne will be paying close attention in the nexat three weeks because they need to fit this all in before the new Board gets in.
People need to tell their friends to get out and vote because this type of thing needs to change.
Basically it is easy tell friends not to vote for the two Fernando's
Chapa is the type to travel big on the District's pocket. While he promotes his own cause.
We also need to remember to vote against Wells
Again, I do not think he has gone on the trip yet in reference to that check. I believe this trip is coming up at the very first of April. The hotel is right though and so is the amount if I remember right.
Here is an example of a district doing what the school board polices say they should do.
School Dist. 129 Adds Residency Enforcement Tip Line
School Dist. 129 now has a residency tip line -- 630-301-5045 -- to help the district enforce residency rules.
Only children who live inside Dist. 129 boundaries are eligible to attend district schools without paying the $8,300 tuition fee. However, the district’s residency enforcement program this year discovered in its schools nearly 400 students who lived outside the district and were not paying tuition.
Those students are no longer attending district schools, but the district already has incurred a significant financial cost because it had to provide teachers, classrooms, transportation, meals and materials for these students at the beginning of the school year.
The district is asking anyone who may have information concerning non-resident students in our schools to call the tip line and provide information for our investigators.
Posted By: Nelly Argueta on Friday, March 20, 2009 - 3:33:11 PM
[Expires: Saturday, December 19, 2009 ]
How can a bill be $11,000 someone should ask Salinas & Wells at the forum if they approve of wasting the Districts money that way. They should also ask the new ones how they will approve of type of behavior.
Does anyone know anything about Carson?
Since everyone will have to write their questions on a card and give it to someone before the forum starts, I am sure they will not ask Wells and Salinas that question. E-mail them and ask them.
I do not know anything about Carson except I think he works for the City but not sure. He still gets my vote. I am not voting for Wells, Salinas or Chappa.
I would like to know specifically WHO is staying at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, running up a bill for more than eleven thousand dollars.
That has to be for more than one person.
And again, the hotel bill is just one part of it. How much are you and I paying for everything associated with that trip? And how is this huge expenditure benefiting our children?
I know expenses are questioned at the board meetings and no one seems to care, except a couple board members.
Not Salinas nor Wells.
Both have voted to allow these things and Wells has gone to Florida and other places, taking family members. Salinas gets his perks through his children being chosen for positions they do not deserve on the teams they are on. Plus getting a lot of publicity that other students deserve more.
Salinas also votes on his wife's pay increase's this is a against board policies but the old guard board members have allowed this. I have heard from a close friend Ken Maurice was concerned by some of the votes taken and did not want to ruin his reputation because he works for the city makes you wonder.
The forum will be controlled by Clayton/Masonette so we will not have a chance to find out who the candidates are.
If Clayton/Masonette do control the forum then it is up to the candidates to get their information out. Let's hope they don't make an ass of themselves since it will be on the website and CATV or maybe if they do that will be a good thing so other districts can see what we are dealing with and how this school board lets others run the district.
You all are so stupid and just repeat the same boring, ignorant crap over and over again like it's a new idea
Where not so stupid to know that a 11,000 Hyatt Hotel bill isn't right. Even if he had something in his contract that said he could go to this conference do you really think it cost this much for one person. Dr. Jerome Roberts thinks of know one put himself and what he can get out of this district. The man drives a very expensive car lives a very good life in Joliet and yet he milks what he can from this district. What really has he done to improve this district for the whole of the students?
If he really cared he would make it like other district and make sure the students that go to our schools live here in the district. Maybe if Roberts and his administrators did this we would get rid of some of the problems in this district and we could move forward. Not only would it make the district look better but it might help the east side if some knew that we look the other way as far as residency in the district. I wonder how the district where he lives follow those rules? I often wonder if he would put up with this kind of behavior from the school district he lives in?
You are absolutely right. You are not stupid.
"Dr. Jerome Roberts thinks of know one put himself"
I think that is should be
"Dr. Jerome Roberts thinks of NO one BUT himself"
Good job!
Sorry I didn't proof read.
It should of said Dr. Jerome Roberts thinks of NO one but himself and lets not for his pocketbook.
If the 11,000 is in his contract the people who voted for it are nuts. I also can not believe after he and the Board told us the kids would lose programs if the referendum were not passed they would pull this.
He probably is using this as a resume builder along with the Magnet school. He never invested in living in the community and just does not care. I believe he is waiting for the Election to see if another Board is elected that he can slip things by. If Wells, Salinas are elected along with another weak candidate like Gonzalez or Chapa he will probably stay.
From another blog.
Anonymous said...
East Aurora is a big mess and it is about worst not only has the Chapa family wrecked the township but now the school. He and Enriquez are running a Latino group of Chapa, Gonzalez and Salinas. They are trying to take over small Boards then move to something bigger.
Look at the Township with Campos. Just look at her is she qualified to run the Township.
Remember she has youth, senior services and a free rent and utilities program. The Township only exists as a big welfare program.
Who will benefit the most?
Answer the Mexicans
Who ruined District 131?
Answer the Mexicans
Get out and support Al Heriod.
Linda Chapa is using the Democrat format which is support the Minority Candidates like the Township Needam, Thomas and Hicks.
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin
3/22/09 10:25 AM
I won't be able to attend the candidate's forum this evening, because I work on Monday nights. But I'm hoping someone will ask the following question:
If an action is taken (or defended) by the School Board that turns out to be against our students' best interests, will you be willing to admit that a mistake was made, and do whatever you can to make it right?
If you didn't see this forum you need too.
I think we have some good candidates for the school board. Take the time to listen to this and tell your neighbors to do so. I'm very proud of how this has turned out.
The winners are in this forum are Lewis, Johnson, Carson and I hate to say it Chappa. Salinas and Wells where old school board not much to say. We have a chance to make this district better lets do it.
Check our the forum.
Without a doubt the Board needs Lewis and she will do well.
Actually, all spoke well about topics that they were passionate about,except Salinas.
I don't know where he was coming from.
Lewis, Johnson and Carson were the winners. If Gonzalez is a teacher that what is wrong with the education system. Salinas was the worst.
I have never heard Wells so well coached the questions were prepared by the District. Salinas does not know what he is doing.
do you really think Carson was good. That's funny. He was horrendous! Anita was great. Juanita was great. Annette was great.
They have my votes!!!!!!
Fernando Chapa was okay. Stella was okay. Fernando Salinas was less than okay
Congrats to the district for doing this and putting it online.
I thought that Carson was a breath of fresh air. He was honest in his answers and I liked that he said he needed to look into some of the things that he was not knowledgeable about. His point about doing it when the new board is seated is fantastic. On the questions he did answer he was honest and open about them. He has my vote. Wells and Salinas got there digs in about Weaver and Carlson very good without mentioning names at all. Liked the way Salinas said he has been on the board for 5 years, but he did forget to mention the facct the reason he is on now is because the old guard put him back in when we the community voted him out and the fact he received the least votes of all when he was defeated. I must admit Chappa was very good, just like a used car salesman. No sale from me though, I do not trust the man. Gonzales was certainly interesting to say the least. So Carson, Lewis, Johnson and Gonzales has my vote. Now way will I voted for Salinas, Wells and Chappa. The forum was very good. I watched their expressions and mannerisms very closely when they were speaking and this is another reason for my choices, Chappa had a habit of laughing after Mr. Carson spoke a couple of times to his answers when Carson was honest in things he would have to look into.
From other blog it is a comment to another poster:
Campos was there also,so was Juan Thomas and William "Bill" Catching. It is nice to know that Kifowit did not show up tonight but she could for the West side. I am doubly glad now that when the person who called today to see if she could depend on my vote that I told him NO!
Do not be fooled by Gonzalez she worked with Roberts and Lisa Morales and East. She backed the wild seminar spending of the District and offered no solutions about the Magnet School or low test scores.
Yes, Carson was good. He was not afraid to say he would need to be on the board or get more input on something before he commented on it. Salinas was a joke he hardly said anything and Wells did act like she was coached.
Only in East Aurora would you say that a person running for an elected office who said they don't know anything at all about that office was good!
Carson would be a joke in West, Naperville, Indian Prairie, Oswego or any community that cares and you know it.
There is not area of expertise except the water maintenance department for the city of Aurora.
This will become a case of the blind leading the blind.
I wasn't too pleased with any other candidate except Anita Lewis. She was great.
But let's not lower our standards during a time when we can have some great positive change on the school board. Sam Carson AKA Jethro is not the choice!
My vote on April 7 is for Anita Lewis and I suggest that be your first vote as well!
Carson did not say he didn't know anything about the office he said he would have to get more information about a couple of the questions that where asked. At least he said something Salinas just sat there with not much at all to say.
If you were impressed by anybody at this forum, you are crazy. This is a nightmare and D131 is going down with any of these people.
they pretty much were speaking to an empty room because who was publicizing it where? the district website? were there fliers sent home with students so that parents were aware? so much of what is needed is parental involvement and all the candidates seem to be on that page regardless of what anyone has to say about each of them individually. no candidate seems to feel that the parents are totally involved. and i do not know but i HIGHLY doubt any info was sent home with the students. if it was, i stand corrected and apologize. but if it wasn't then how were the parents which are also in most cases, the voters, the ones that need to hear these candidates, informed of this forum last night? it was thrown together simply because someone said, hey, why wait until next year, let's do it this year.. and knowing that the service center fits about as many people as a good sized thanksgiving it was held here. how many voters are registered to vote for this election? if the answer is over 40-50, then shame on the planners of this event for having it in such a small space so that even if the voters were aware of this event they would have to be outside. and yes, i am aware they could watch it on television live even, however again, how were they informed and i am almost hoping there was no flier because then i appear ignorant and made all of you read all this when it then has no merit.. so, apologizing in advance, if so.. but if the only way someone knew about this was the district website and some last minute word of mouthing.. then shame! also, what is the % of low income families in this district. i am not gonna pretend to know the exact number but i know it is high so how many people have both cable AND internet and knew about it to attend or knew about it to watch it? and yes, i also know that it is the candidates responsibility to inform voters as to where they are speaking.. but when mayoral forums are held like the one a little while back that all three candidates attended, there was plenty of info going around about that in all forms of media. and mayoral race i understand is a big deal.. but is it a BIGGER deal or just different? kids are just as important as city stuff because as they grow, the children of the district who WILL be affected by the school board and it's admin will be the potential leaders of the city at some point right or wrong? so it is good to read this and see how the handful of people in attendance last night will vote. big deal.
The information about the forum was in the paper. It will be rerun on tv. There was a pretty good turnout. I was very impressed when Mr.Carson told how he helped a student that was having problems. He taught the child chess. If you were not able to go last night or watch it, as it is very telling about this man. I, for one, did not know that "Jethro" knew how to play chess. Mr.Carson has my vote.
The $11,000.00 that was talked about at the last meeting is for a workshop trip that is coming up in April for the superintendant to go to. THIS TRIP IS TO SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA! He has not gone to the one that was discussed at the last meeting. But the amount IS for the Hyatt Regency in CALIFORNIA! That check that keeps being mentioned is something that already has happened!
I believe the reason this issue keeps coming up the way it does is, is to divert the real issue. This would be to sneak it past the community and not talk about it in open session like they did the one about the issue over the $26.00 for the new candidates to go to the new candidates workshop. The superintendant took it upon himself to make the arrangements for the upcoming workshop without bringing it before any of the board for approval as he was supposed to, or at least 2 of the board members are not aware of it since they were the ones that talked about it. THIS TRIP HAS NOT HAPPENED YET! Everyone still has the chance to e-mail every board member and ask for a relpy from each and everyone of them to see their position on this trip that has not happened yet. Remember that Wells and Salinas are up for re-election and you would know their stand on this issue. If they do not reply, you then have your answer and know it is business as usual.
Before the usual statements that follow after the truth has been stated:
I am neither ignorant, stupid or a moron.
this sounds racial. it is not meant to.. simply stating facts.. the majorit of the east aurora student body is latino i believe? if in fact, that is true, then i don't believe that out of that amount of latinos that the "paper" in which you are referring to i assume is the beacon. many latinos read other papers. i am sure several read the beacon as well but with a district in this much financial trouble i would hope that all papers were contacted. some do have a language barrier, others do not. but the racial statement here is not me, it is the assumption that only beacon readers get info..if someone does not speak english and they are registered to vote, or if they speak little english or if english is simply not their first language, then they are most likely reading the beacon. is the district website also available in spanish? i have not checked so don't jump me if it is.. just wondering with a student body that is like 86% latino? if someone is registered to vote, but has a language barrier, their vote is still as important as any other is it not? if they are registered, that means that they are a citizen does it not? therefore, their voices should be heard, their votes should be respected and they should be informed by additional media. i didn't mean to cause controversy but i was uninformed and wondered if anyone knew where the info was placed that went out to the community.
yes, i was also impressed by mr. carson's unselfish involvement with the student he spoke of. if he does not win this election i do hope that he continues to voulenteer his time to the kids. he seems very sincere about it and obviously did a wonderful job at helping this student!
Carson is honest and sincere. Wells was coached she never talks about issues at Board meetings. Carol Farnum is backing Wells, Salinas, Gonzalez and Chapa. People need to get behind Carson, Lewis and Johnson. When voting if you really want change give these three your vote. If two positions do not change we will continue to have more of the same. Just look how careless they are with the $11,000.
I would think that Salinas and Chappa would get the word out to their Spanish speaking community.
3:40 p.m., take a look at the check register for yourself. The check for $11,221.20 was written to "Hyatt Regency Washington". How could it have anything to do with a trip to California??
Again, I am not referring to the check I am referring to what was talked about at the meeting. The check you are referring to was not talked about at the last meeting. What was talked about was a trip that Roberts will be taking in April without the boards approval yet. Reservations have already been made at the Hyatt Regency without the boards approval. The check for that has not been written since Roberts has not gone yet.In other words, we have the right to hear about this just like we heard about the new candidates workshop that the board would not okay in the amount of $26.00. The point here is that they should be talking about the $11,000.00 that has not be approved for Roberts to go to this workshop in open session just like the $26.00 was. I do not remember the check you are talking about being brought up at the meeting. If you want to know about the check you are referring to you need to contact Jay Augustine and the whole board.
As far as that bill for the Hyatt Regency Washington you are talking about the board already hide that from everyone. If you really what to know address the board. What they are trying to pass by you next is the trip to CALIFORNIA that is coming up. Someone out there is trying to get people to talk about a trip that was already taken and not let known to the public so this one they can sneak by too. The whole board is suppose to approve these things so it makes you wonder who wrote that check without the boards approval. They should be fired. along with Lisa because I'm sure she knows what is going on. I hope with this new board whoever is elected as secretary does that themselves or finds someone other than Lisa to do that job. Lisa needs to remember that she wasn't elected to this job it was passed over to her and some of us in this community doesn't like the way she treats the board members that we elect especially since she doesn't live in the district.
Sorry the above should say I am not referring to that check. I also should have stated that the upcoming trip is in San Diego, CA.
Thank you March 24 @ 8:27PM
You are exactly right. Especially about someone out there trying to divert the attention to the trip that has already been taken.
3/24 @8:27pm
As far as the check that was written without the boards approval, I for one, do not know.
I do know that they are trying to keep everyone's attention about the upcoming trip Roberts has not taken yet and the board has not approved the amount of $11,000.00 for this upcoming trip to San Diego, CA at the Hyatt Regency.
So when was the trip to Washington? And does every trip cost $11,000?
That would be more than $22,000 for just one person, for what benefit to our children?
I heard other people from the District/Board are going to San Diego. We as the public should know. Lets hope Chappa, Gonzalez and Carson can take time out of their busy schedule to attend one meeting before election then they will see how well this Board operates.
Gee--$11,000 here, $11,000 there, pretty soon we're talking about real money!
Looks to me like certain administrators have been helping themselves to our tax dollars for luxury trips. Too bad it can't be their dirty little secret anymore, now that the check register is published online.
Lewis is the clear choice.
Remember Lewis would only be the third person to look into things. Today nothing gets done because the old guard always votes 5 to 2.
In today's Beacon they have a article that the tax-payers will pay $30,000 for the Democrat mess with Campos. For East voters that have not been following this.
Fernando Chapa who is running Campos's campaign got involved in the race and made a mess of things. Just like he will make a mess of the school board. Many voters who were recovering gang members brought in by Chapa to Caucus lacked the proper certification. The Dem's counted the votes sometimes twice and the tax payers had to pay $30,000. So take note that is what you will be getting on the Board.
fernando chapa has nothing to do with campos campaign.
Call Annie Craig or Paul Greivkas to see who messed up the Township. See what thier feeling on Fernando Chapa and Linda Chapa Ladaley are.
it is now obvious to me that the person who CONTINUES to spell CHAPA incorrectly as CHAPPA is obviously a current board member. you can tell because this person says that he and gonzalez have not attended board meetings.. (who better to know that than a board member) and also refers to THIS Board. not "the" board which obviously makes it personal. is a current member of the board really continuing to be this petty and has nothing better to do with their time than be on here CONSTANTLY. goodness. direct some of that energy into all of this blah, blah about the finances will ya? see, when we say we need fresh ideas and faces on the board this makes that feel like whoa, we really do cuz you are getting stale
the objections filed by both annie and paul both contained false statements which were proven false. chapa took no one with him, much less "recovering" gang members. what is a "recovering" gang member anyway. is that like a recovering alcoholic or what is that. this isn't even proper english. the objections filed i believe are public record so you may want to check them out before you rattle on about heresay. and it was further discovered that chapa himself who was accused of not being eligible to vote at the caucus WAS in fact eligible. it was stated in the objection that he did not live in aurora because one of the objection "filers" "thought" they knew where he lived. not by looking up anything official... oh, let's not do that of course, let's file court documentation based on what we think.. and this from an atty? huh? and by the way, he didn't even vote and his credentials were checked and he did provide both ms. craig and mr g with a copy of his voters card along with a copy of his drivers license. get a life will ya. let it go.
Chapa will only be a resident of Aurora for one year come April which does make him able to run for the school board. Prior to that he lived in Batavia it is splitting hairs but because of poor paper work by his sister's stooge Arroyo Campos was allowed to sneak in. It is hard to prove but Chapa and his girl friend Campos know the truth.
The whole Chapa clan live off the tax payers now with their shell businesses
Further-more he is being backed by the old guard board members and that is reason enough not to vote for him.
What makes you think Chapa is backed by the old school board. In watching the forum I believe in things he said he didn't agree with them. He has a very strong personality. As far as if he has lived in the district or not that should of been taken care of by now to see if he is. It would be nice if more who ran lived here longer but in the short time some of them have they see what is going wrong in this district.
When Wells and Salinas talks about the board not micro managing some wouldn't if they where doing their jobs. People are talking about the same problems the district had this election as they did four years ago with the problems with the childrens books, poor environments in the schools and the waste of tax payers money. So maybe we need some new board members that will take the job of being a board member seriously and do want they where elected to do.
I have watched the replay of the forum and the part about Personal Development for the Superintendent and Administrators that they mostly talked about. It is stated that it is in the Superintendents contract that he attends some of these but do they have in their budget an amount that is suppose to be spent on these things. If there isn't there should be. It should also be posted what these are so the community members can really see that it is something for the good of the community. They also need to get a policy of who these people can take with them. The amount that has come out just recently is really a lot and with no information about how this will benefit our schools are not clear. With this last referendum we have bailout this district and just like the bailout of the banks we need to know that this isn't anything the AIG bailout. If these administrators and superintendent think that personal development is do important to their careers why don't they do some on their own. I bet they could take it off on their taxes. Remember it is their careers they are interest in why should we pay all the bill for that since they make the most money. You don't hear them talking about the teachers and their personal development.
So as far as policies the districts needs to have one that says what they will pay for these things and make it clear who they can take.
I work for a major corporation and we are going through financial problems and we don't have tax payers bailing us out. They still think professional development is important but they put a limit on what they will spend and make sure they are not paying for anyone that isn't working for the company. If you want to keep your job and when your review comes up they don't rely on what they pay for your personnel development they also look to see what you are doing for your own personnel development.
This district is in the same place we where 10 years ago so what has all this money we have spent for the superintendent and administrators got us.
When will the school board and the superintendent and administration really care for the best of our district which are our children. When will they put their agendas aside and do what is right. They talk about how money is spent and the misuse of the money but when will the talk become action. It is time to put of differences aside and get down to the real business and that is the education of our children. So as you talk about who is really a resident of the district that is running for school board maybe you should take some time to make sure the children that are going to the district live in it. How about the family that lives in Elgin that sends there children to this district. How about the policies that the superintendent keeps on breaking? How about making our schools safe for children to go to. There might be just a few that cares about these things but when you want to get serious maybe we will. How about letting go about the band director and just moving on for the best of our children.
We will be electing new board members and the only fresh breath of air is the parent that took his child our of Waldo for the good of his education. He is one of the ones that talked about change in this district and the truth of how things are going. We have a chance to make change lets hope we do it.
"How about letting go about the band director"--no, how about continuing to remind the community of disastrous decisions made by administrators, against our children's best interests?
And how about holding those administrators accountable for their disastrous decisions? Like not reelecting old-guard board members who think it's OK for administration to spend $11,000.00 for ONE hotel bill??
There wouldn't be any descussion about that hotel bill if they would budget money for those kind of things. Just like all the other budgets in the district they would only be allowed so much and maybe then they would think before the spent that much on one trip. There also need to be a policy that the district only pays for district employees.
Remember the only way to change the Board is to go out and vote. I like the fact that Dee and Rayanne bring issues to the public. However they are always out voted and the old guard goes out of their way to stop them. Carson may not know all the issues but he has common sense something lacking in Wells.
Lewis and Johnson also would be a breath of fresh air. I am sure Johnson know all about budgeting and accounting. Lewis also is up to date on all the issues and would fit well on any committee.
If two of the other three get elected they will be business as usual.
In checking around about Gonzalez she was worked with Roberts and by her own admission was given a start at East. She also had no problem with spending on District personal and would probably like a few trips herself.
Chapa would blow with the wind.
Salinas like Wells needs to go and should have never been put back on the Board in the first place.
Lets focus on two good members and get behind Carson if we want change. Hopefully them their will be no more $11,000 waste of money
I totealley aggree. Their kneeds two b sum chang on thes bourd. we neeeds tha smrtsest peepol tha east sid hass 2 ouffer.
Actually, I think that Chappa would be the one that would not let Roberts get away with anything as much as I hate to admit it. There are some questions I would like to ask him directly, but do not know how to get in touch with him. Carson, Lewis and Johnson have my vote. I will not vote for Wells or Salinas. My decision now lies between Chappa and Gonzales.
How about, once again, the service center closing early (2 hours a day) over spring break and 30+ employees being paid for a full day. Do the math - 2 hours X 5 days = 10 hours x 30 employees = 300 hours. This also happens over xmas break. xmas break is two weeks so that's another 600 hours, for a grand total of 900 hours being paid and not worked. Many of these people being highly paid administration. The district has money for this?
Are these employees paid hourly? The reason I ask is where I work they just started cracking down on Supervisors letting employess leave early and not puttting it down on their timesheets. It has to do with Ethics and procedure. They feel that if you are suppose to work 40 hours and for some reason (like a holiday) your spervisors lets you leave early and you say you worked the whole 40hour week management considereds this lying and stealing from the company. I work for a large corporation and they have started to look into this. They have policies that upper management are suppose to follow and they do not have the right to allow someone to take off and get paid for it.
This is just another case where the Superintendent and administration are not following school policy. I can't believe that they would allow someone to put down that they worked all week when they didn't and not say anything. But of course if someone from the board would say something that would be micro managing and that isn't there job. Well here is what I have to say lets have some more of that MICRO MANAGING because it seems that Dr. Roberts and his administration think they can break policies whenever they want too. They are stealing from the taxpayers when they allow what is going on during spring break and Christmas break. But what do they care most of them don't live in the district.
Lest anyone forgets about this-remember that Salinas and Wells were on the board when the board piddled away that 20 million dollars that was in reserve before that last referendum failed. Please remeber this because their reasoning was that if that reserve was there and the community knew about it that the referendum would fail. Now, just what is it they were saying that the deficit was for this last referendum that was passed? To bad no one brought this up at the forum. Remember to vote!
I went to the forum again the District controlled the questions. I will vote for Lewis, Johnson and Carson. No one will get my third vote.
Gonzalez is a example of why kids are failing in the schools. She has been a educator for 30 years and has a hard time communicating in English. She is also backed by district admin's.
Salinas & Wells are the reason the district failed.
Chapa is probably the least harmful of the group of three bad candidates.
If you only vote for Lewis, Johnson and Carson then not vote for a third remember that might let one of the others you are for get the votes they need to get in. Even if you have to choose the worst of two evils buy not voting on the other one will only help those you don't want win get in.
You are correct but look what we have to choose from
I find it hard to believe Stella Gonzalez has such a interest in the kids. I have never seen her at a board meeting. She told Hoy newspaper she worked at National Louis however no one seems to know her and at the forum she mentioned several jobs but not National Louis. At the forum she had no suggestion for what we needed changed. However she did say she would vote for the referendum and District training is important. So I wonder who at the District put her up to running.
Chapa is also a problem because he does not seem to know why he running. If you believe rumor he wants to run for another position.
I would be interested in any thoughts
I have concerns about Gonzales and Chappa also, but this I do know. I do not want Salinas or Wells back in. If Gonzales would win, is there really anything to really worry about if certain ones want her in or your concerns about Chappa? Remember now the only old guard left will be Farum. Just remeber that if you do not cast all your votes you can in this it could get Salinas or Wellls back in. These are my thought on this.
I am sorry, you do have legitmate concerns about both Gonzales and Chappa. Posted before proof reading as I do have the same concerns, but I will decide between Gonzales and Chappa.
Yes, there are some concerns about Stella, Chapa and Salinas. But however you feel you need to vote for one of them or who knows if you don't vote for one who will get in. Stella made some good points about policies and curriculum. These are good points about what is wrong in this district. Chapa made some good points about the board all thinking alike on some things but not all going down the same path which is true. Salinas and Wells seemed to want to get some digs in about certain board members.
The comments about some not going to school board meetings is a good point but it is also important that all the candidates should know what their responsibilities are as board members. I know Anita went to the new school board forum that IASB sponsored but don't know about the others. In hearing her talk about what she learned at that some of the old board members don't follow those procedures.
In short when you vote make sure you vote for three for the four year term and on for the two.
As Salinas talked about wanting to be on the school board and giving back and I do believe he talked about accountability I wonder how he feels about Central Office giving the workers there two hours off each day next week during spring break with pay. I believe his wife works there you would think he would want to set the example for not wasting tax payers money since he is always for a referendum. I think in the district letting this happen there is an Ethic issue also. Didn't he take a Ethic Oath when he was sworn in as a board member? Remember this when going to vote because if he looks the other way in this what else is he looking away from in the misuse of taxpayers money.
He is not the only one all of the board members look past policies that the superintendent and administration looks past. Maybe as they say there are only two that try to vote to make things right and maybe we will see once we get some new members on the board and they can put aside some of their own agendas and do what they are suppose to do and make the best choices for the children. I also believe that they should also spend our tax dollars wisely and in the best interest of the taxpayers and the children.
Just remember this-vote for the 3 woman for the 4 year term for school board and the 1 man for the 2 year term for school board.
I watched the forum with the school board candidates from the districts website which was nice for the people that couldn't make it. Thank -you for doing that.
When they talked about personal development and how the district should handle it I found what Juanita Wells said interesting in that by going to these seminars they found a way to trick the voters into voting for a referendum in so many words. She said that with doing the bonds this would not make the district loose any money from the state which we will probably see how that works later. But as Annette stated there could be interest that the district might have to pay later in doing this which means we will lose money. So will the interest actually be the same amount the state would give us then we are back at square one. I have talked to people that voted for the referendum and they say they think they where tricked into thinking the district had this money and they just needed to vote on this to make it happen. She stated that they didn't want to get trickled down information they needed these seminars to learn how to fool the taxpayers into voting for a referendum. If this really what we want our administrators and school to go to these seminars to learn is how to fool the voting public? If not you know that Juanita is not the person you should vote for.
We are coming closer to the time to vote and for those that have voted early I hope you made the right choices that you can live with. For those that haven't there is still time to look at all candidates that are running for mayor, alderman and school board members of this district. Lets hope for change in this district that the people we put in charge of taking care of our children are doing the best for their education and not their own agendas. That the school board members will come together and forget their differences and do the best for this district. We have many problems in the district that they need to address and one of them are the bully of children in our schools. The right for all our children to have a good education. To make sure even though we have committees we make sure before the committees take any action they go before the school board to implement these policies first that is the Illinois School Board law not a formality. I would also like to see a new secretary for the board. I believe the one they have doesn't treat the board members that they don't like unfairly. If you ever go to a school board meeting you will see it. This person is not an elected person by the community and doesn't even live in the district and shouldn't have the right to treat them with disrespect. There is a lot of talk in the district where they live of how things are not going right in their district they should take the time to take care of their own before saying anything against anything about this district and the members of the school board. It is time for change and lets hope we can do it.
From an early voter these are my votes:
School Board- Anita Lewis, Annette Johnson, Stella Gonzales and Sam Carson.
Mayor- Richard Irvin
Alderman at Large- Guadalupe Garcia
Alderman 7th Ward- No vote cast as do not like Burns.
Township Supervisor- Al Heriaud
Township Clerk- Buzz Foley
Assessor- Davis Offutt
Highway Commissioner- Dennis Galloway
There are many questions that still loom about problems at the Township with Chapa & Campos. So Lewis, Johnson and Carson have my vote. However I could never vote for Chapa his sister recently backed Juan Thomas in the Beacon for Clerk after knowing he forged bail bond documents. Thomas was on the D129's Board and has been Fernando's mentor telling him it is a stepping stone for greater offices. Fernando's name comes up to often with promised jobs for votes. The caucus was a joke and he has personally named in the mess. The judge never looked into this his ruling has the Dem's should go back and pick a new candidate. It took the power of the vote away from people. This has never happened before. Again Fernando's name was all over it.
We do not need Board members that have a taint to them. We already have suffered long enough with Wells and Salinas. Gonzalez may not come be the best one and it is troubling that she has not attended meetings but Fernando will bring outside politics to the Board.
I watched the candidate's forum last night, and noticed that both Salinas and Wells mentioned they were against "micro-managing". If micro-managing is questioning every tiny decision & expenditure by administration, that's one thing. But questioning a single hotel bill of over $11,000.00 (probably only the tip of the iceberg in wasteful, unnecessary expenses) is not "micro-managing". It's fiscal responsibility--something we desperately need in District 131!
wow.. you people never stop with your negativity do you? it has been cleared that mr chapa DID NOT bring ANYONE to the caucus. it has been CLEARED that mr. chapa had NOTHING to do with it's organization or lack thereof. it has been CLEARED that mr. chapa himself was and is a registered voter and could have but DID NOT vote at the caucus. mr chapa has nothing to do with the campos campaign. mr. chapa has nothing to do with the thomas campaign. mr. thomas is NOT mr. chapa's mentor. i believe on any occasion that i have personally seen mr. chapa speak at that he ALWAYS mentions that his greatest mentors in his life have been his parents. why is everyone so threatened by someone who brings good direction, heartfelt honest desires for childrens future sucesses in their lives? seems to me the threat is that because he doesn't present himself as a puppet to be manipulated that some people don't want him to do anything because he has his own ideas that are NOT self serving and not serving to anyone else BUT the community as a whole. for over two weeks now someone has found something negative to say not just about mr. chapa but about other people and continue to bring so much crap into these words that really have nothing to do with anything but gossip and heresay. things are being stated that look to be fact and they are not. when people state things like "this one messed that up" they are people who you can tell did not even ATTEND the caucus so they actually could not personally even know what they are saying or not saying. they are bouncing off the words and thoughts of some other bloggers who are also bouncing off and getting fuel from other bloggers to continue to fuel this unneccessary fire. how many people have said about mr. chapa being uneligible to vote, yet somehow he has a valid voters reg card that no one has asked to see, yet he willingly provided it to anyone who even questioned it's existance after their attempt or supposed attempt to find out if it existed at whatever judicial level someone finds this out, did not return results? it is because they didn't really look, or really ask. they ASSUMED. and we all know what that leads to. can anyone actually stick to facts rather than assumptions to base their voting choices on. if you continue to go by heresay and gossip, then i feel sorry for you. go back to living your life behind your computer monitor during commercials of oprah and once in awhile get your head out of the sand or anywhere else it may be and come up for air and join the real world of facts and knowledge. it is a nice place
FYI In the online Beacon they have printed the Candidates survey. Goto news then Beacon Blog
To clarify the Chapa response. The judge in Kane County never heard the whole case. Chapa name did appear in the lawsuit. Because it was so poorly run the judge ordered the Dems make their own choice who would represent them. The caucus votes did not count so the voters lost their choice. You can ask anyone involved Chapa was one of the biggest problems and has made a mess of the Township. He organized votes along with sister Linda like it was the Daley machine.
He does support Juan Thomas in fact it is a matter or record he spoke on his behalf when Juan was charged with forgery.
The school has had enough problems and supporting Juan Thomas is like supporting Roberts.
The voters who read this blog need to be informed and all I can tell you is since he was been involved in the Township party politics have been played ask around
Why is Juanita concerned about trickle down information when that is what the school board gives us taxpayers with the way they do the board bits and how they sneak things through. If that's what we get from the board then the board can get their information that way. What has the board, superintendent and administrators learned form the seminars because this district is still functioning how they bid back in the 80's.
someones name appears in a lawsuit so they are guilty? what? kind of takes away from the entire judicial process now doesn't it? the lawsuit was not against him. the "lawsuit" which you refer to "mentioned" him amongst others in order to pile paper on top of paper to have more papers so that a judge or whomever would see all these papers and hopefully for their benefit think,wow, all these papers, i better say do over. i am not even saying that unorganized part wasn't justified. i am saying that when you "mention" someone's name in a lawsuit but the suit is not against them, let's look at what it said. it said he was ineligible to vote which turned out was not true. it said he brought upwards of 6-8 maniac diciples with him to the caucus which also was not true. it said that he was pursuading votes which also was not true. were you there? or do you just believe everything you read cuz you can't get away from your puter?
I don't know anything about this lawsuit and to bring this into this election might not be right but what we need to do in this district is to get it back on track and do the best for the children no matter who is the candidate. I did notice with Chapa that he keep on referring to the board of directors when he talked and he should of referred to it as the School Board. He did make some good statements about trying to get the board to go into the same direction but is he using this as a stepping stone to go somewhere to another position. He came across like he could end all the problems in this district and I don't think so with all the hurdles we have to go through with making this school board doing their job and not let the committees to do things before the board votes on them. I will not make my choices of who I vote for by what people say but how the candidates speak. I think if you look at the forum not once but maybe twice you will see who really has the best interest of this district in mind. Lets not vote for the one who will get you a better job in this district or who will let you keep making the same mistakes but who will get the district back on track and doing the one thing that matters and that is the education of our children. The ones that will make choices for the whole and not the few. The ones that will follow policies and not change them because they think one student is better than the other.
If you read the Beacon about how parents didn't like the idea of Ayers coming to 203 to talk read the comments many of the parents made in the comment section of that article and as we say we want to be like other districts see what these parents have to say.
yes you are right, chapa came across like he could solve all the problems and of course he can't. thank goodness though he feels as though he can. love that motivation and drive!and i dont feel he is using this as a stepping stone to go somewhere else. he is interested in this board. and who cares that he said board of directors when he meant school board? are we that into simantics when someone misspeaks but we know what they mean? we don't need to point out every little thing do we?
How long has Chapa been working at at the Aurora train station? Wonder how he got that job.
We have two good candidates and three poor ones. Lewis and Johnson knew the issues. However Chapa and Gonzalez did not have much to say. If he care about the Board he would know the issues. I will only vote for two. I know someone said well maybe that would leave votes on the table for Salinas. However you could end up Chapa and Gonzalez and not Lewis or Johnson. Chapa and Gonzalez do not have clear opinions and we are not sure how they would vote.
I was reading the Districts Check Register. I know Salinas & Wells feel this may be micro managing however why is the District paying $820 to Immigration Services under travel. Another interesting one is Mystic Cruises Chicago charged to Simmons for $1200 and Sears Tower sky deck for $268. Is Lisa and Wilson having a good time on referendum money.
But it is clear how Salinas will vote. So if the person who will not vote for Gonzales or Chapa, this leaves a chance that Salinas will get back on. I know I do not want Salinas back on the board, so that is why I had to make a choice between the other two and Gonzales was my choice. Please to do forget about Carson and Wells for the 2 year term and vote on that also. There was not question in my mind at all about this one-Carson was the choice.
You really need to vote for three for the four year term and one for the two. Look at the forum again and see which one of the three you don't like will maybe be the best fit. I believe Gonzalez might be more for the administration but she had good ideas on curriculum. Chapa has just come on to the back to the district and you wonder what his motives are. You see signs for him and except for the survey he did for the Beacon you can't be sure about him and his motives. He seems to think he be the one to come on the board and take charge but remember when the vote the majority rules. Why all of a sudden does he think he should be on the board. Salinas is just a yes man he has had many chances to change the district. Remember he voted to vote for a new contract for the superintendent before his contract was up. Why did they think if new members where voted in the superintendent wouldn't get such a sweet deal with new members. As far as if you don't vote how do you know that those in the district that don't want change will get people in the low housing community to vote for the three you don't want and knock Lewis, Johnson and Carson out? The way you are voting could be bad if you really want the ones that will make change. You sound more like someone that wants things to keep being the way they are.
I hope that when the new members are voted in and they pick the president, vice president and secretary that the new secretary picks someone else than Lisa. We need someone new that will not show their contempt of new board members. There have been two times where she didn't give all the names of the candidates to the paper and then when someone said something about it she didn't get in touch with the paper to make the correction. You can even see sometimes at the board meetings her feelings of the members that don't vote how the old guard likes. Some of the old guard lets her show disrespect to certain board members which isn't right since she isn't a voting member of the district. As a voting member of the district I don't care how she feels since she has no say in these things but she really needs to go. In these days of video taping and voice recording we really don't need a non resident disrespecting board members. At least lets get someone who can do more than board bits and give the community what is really said and not what she thinks should be in the minutes. If a board member says that they want what they say are in the minutes they should be. A good example is when a old member of the board spoke and they let that person go longer than the 10 minutes she made sure that was in the board minutes but not sometimes when someone else talked and she just did a small sample of what someone said. It is time for change with the whole board.
Maybe if the district did like Oswego we would have better board bits.
We are becoming even more transparent and going green in the process! In an effort to be more open to the public, Oswego Community Unit School District's Board of Education will no longer produce paper copies of the Board of Education meeting agendas. Our new Board e-governance system, BoardDocs, offers many features that allow the district to become more open and transparent with the public and provide for greater accountability. The public will be able to visit this site to electronically
Since the district is looking into teaching children online maybe they should go a step futher with the board and try this BoardDocs?
Yes the cost to D129 was $2000 on Board Docs. Why can't the Board handle the Secretary Duties. I heard Wells wants to be President. Hopefully she will lose.
If this board can ok spending the money they let the superintendent and administration spend for these so called seminars then they can spend $2000 for the BoardDocs so we the community don't get trickled down information.
I find it interesting that both Wells and Salinas mentioned that they were against micro-managing. The opposite of micro-managing is rubber-stamping (in this district, blindly approving every decision made by a corrupt administration).
I'd much rather see micro-managing than rubber-stamping in District 131--we need change on our School Board, and we need it now!
Just remember to vote for the 3 woman for the 4 year term and the 1man for the 2 year term.
Please read the part on Fernando Chapa If he gets on the board will he pull this. The gang members at the Township were from the Insame Dueces.
THe following is an endorsement letter for Al Heriaud I sent in to the Beacon last Sunday;
I’m disgusted …too!
Support Al Heriaud for Aurora Township Supervisor
I must be honest, I have possibly met Al and Christina two or three times and spoke maybe five minutes in total with them. So my position is not because I believe Al is the best person for the position of Aurora Township Supervisor, but arises from the means by which Christina became the Democrat’s candidate and how I believe it reflects upon what she represents.
My family and I were present at the fiasco known as the Aurora Township Democratic Caucus. I have spoken to numerous other participants, have reviewed the depositions taken from the suits arising out of it, and have been informed of the fraudulent documents presented at the hearings. It is true that politics is local- and so is corruption, unethical behavior, racism, and a total disregard for the needs of the local citizens. So I stand with State Rep Linda Chapa-Lavia in her recent letter concerning political ethics- I AM DISGUSTED … with the nomination of Christina Campos.
Some of the key events of the evening, night, and morning of the caucus and following events that deeply disturb me are;
- Fernando Chapa (candidate for east side school board and close friend of Christina Campos) in coordination with Christina (and others) brought in active gang members to support through intimidation and their votes the candidacy of Christina Campos. What does this say about their positions on crime and gangs? What does this say about their base being build on criminals? How does this reflect on their judgment?
- Through the seven hours of the caucus there were numerous rules violated and bent (the nomination was finally thrown out in court) and votes all revolving around the nomination for Township Supervisor. The final vote was tied and broken by the chairman with the statement “ We need more Hispanics on the slate!” Gravel dropped, Christina elected. My belief is that we need experienced, hard working, ethical candidates, irregardless of their race, religion, or ethnicity. Christina had appreciably less knowledge and experience than any of the other candidates and as shown by her tactics - lower ethics. The shenanigans at the caucus were orchestrated with the only goal of electing someone because of their race. I’m Caucasian; does this mean that I should only vote for whites- NO! Should I vote for Christina Campos just because she is Hispanic-NO! I supported Obama because he was the best candidate. I supported State Rep Chapa-Lavia because she was the best candidate; but I will not support and will actively oppose a candidacy based on racism!
- After the caucus suits were filed because of the numerous rule violations. A number of the documents turned in as part of the proceedings seemed to have been developed after the fact or forged (the democratic chairman has since resigned and said documents turned over to the states attorney). The same power brokers stuffed the electors for the court demanded revote for Township Supervisor where Campos’ nomination was there-by re-affirmed. It seems to me that Campos’ backers overrode the law, ethics, and fair play to establish her as candidate. I cannot support any candidacy that is so marred.
All this also speaks poorly about some of the local Democratic power brokers. Such behavior disenfranchises more citizens than any law or action by either party. In a time when this nation seems to be making major strides to put racism behind us, in a time where our state has a putrid reek because of the politicians self-serving behavior, the local power brokers have chosen to exhibit the worse of it.
As for those who might question my being a “loyal” Democrat for not supporting the ticket or at least remaining silent- I suppose you are correct. If being a “loyal” member of one party or another means I must be dumb and mute, abandon my principles, or put a political party’s interest above that of the citizens, then call me what you may.
Regards,
Daniel G Hites
4/3/09 7:31 PM
I just hope that everyone realizes that Linda Chapa-LaVia is a part of all this mess also.
If you didn't early vote don't forget to vote tomorrow.
and attend the board meeting tonight @ 7pm.
Curiously Ms. Wells and Mrs. Farnum were not present at tonights board meeting. Strabge for a candidate with an election tomorrow. It is because they aren't back from California yet, jsut like Dr. Roberts?
Remember this when entering the voting booths tomorrow.
As far as Gonzales goes, even if she is on the side of adminstration, she will be out voted if both Salinas and Wells are voted out. How much fun would it be to watch the shoe on someone else's foot for a change?
Carson, Lewis, Johnson, and Gonzales.
4 new faces, new policies, policy enforment, new secretary, new superintendent?
This will be my dream tonight!!!!
It is interesting Wells is enjoying one last vacation at the tax payers expense. Hopefully, she will lose and we get at least two new faces on the Board. My vote will be for Lewis Johnson, Carson and Gonzalez. Gonzalez may not be the brightest bulb but Chapa is pay to play politics.
I don't know how this election will turn out but I say good luck to Sam, Annette, Stella and Anita.
From what I hear Carol, Juanita and Roberts are in California on the districts dime lets hope they bring something back to better the district.
Even with new board members we don't know how things will turn out but lets hope they take the time to sort all the problems out because we have so many.
Here are the final totals
Johnson 2502
Lewis 2325
Gonzalez 1864
Chapa 1777
Salinas 1362
Wells 2264
Carson 1564
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