no he is not a saint. the district has been in quicksand all during his reign. He needs to be fired but his girl Johnson for some reason (anyone know why???) will not fire the guy. Where are the other board members? Are they all followers? Bunch of pansies.
I'd like to say I am surprised that the Beacon ran that article but I'm never surprised by the connection between the two.
In this article Jerome stated that the district has been working on this issue for two months now. What isn't addressed is that in the original article the Beacon stated that they had used the FOIA to obtain credit card statements from June 2011 through June 2012.
In other words Jerome Roberts addressed the problem right after the Beacon began investigating the credit card issue over the summer. The Beacon requested the records, Jerome went Uh Oh we're in trouble, we better start looking like we are dealing with this.
He also stated “Without question some administrators were not (keeping receipts), and the responsibility for their actions rests on their shoulders,”
Translation: I'm the boss but I take no responsibility for what happens in the district I run.
That has to be the most pathetic statement I've ever heard from the leader of any organization. What leader publicly states that he takes no responsibility. Apparently when Jerome heard the quote "The buck stops here", he interpreted that only to mean his large salary.
This district needs a major change. It needs to start with the top.
The Beacon just seems not to get it right they took the time to write a story but it seems they still haven't gone to The States Attorney to find out how a district runs. All those charges they talked about with no receipts should not of been paid if the original was not there according to the IL Administration Code and Roberts keeps throwing it back on the ones that have it. The Board and Roberts where suppose to have a policy in place about the usage of the cards and whoever had them where suppose to sign a paper saying that they understood the policy. The Board and Superintendent did not have someone who didn't have a card look at what was spent. This has been going on for years and until The Beacon wants to do a real story and go to The States Attorney with what they have all of this is just a joke.
Something to think about: Now that Jay Augustine is gone (he who was one of the signatures on our payroll checks.). I'm curious as to what is going to happen on Monday which is payday for us. Will we have a check?
Great article by Jerome it is interesting that we are spending so much time worrying about so little money. It is also wrong to lump all administrators in with one bad employee. The Beacon will print a retraction but.it seems it was only Deanne Adams and he ret had been ok
The States Attorney is still investigating the West Side and these are two different things. It is not only Deann Adams either this has been going on for years. Some of these administrators took their spouses on trips and we paid for it which is against the law. Some of the charges that where made should be questioned. As much as they pay for eating out also and we shouldn't be paying for a golf retreat.
Does anybody really believe the results of any investigation when it is conducted by the individuals being investigated? It's a good thing self investigation is not allowed anywhere else in society. If we did, I'm sure John Wayne Gacy and Charles Manson would have been found innocent and still be wreaking havoc.
Since when is $322,000 just a small amount of money and hardly worth investigating? According to the article last week, they reviewed the receipts that had been turned in. The suspicious receipts were from pile that had been turned in. The larger concern is the more than half of the receipts that have not been turned in. The $160,000+ in spending that has not been accounted for. We are just supposed to believe them when they say "We've investigated ourselves and we've come to the conclusion that, while most of the receipts are missing, we did nothing officially wrong".
There is no trust of this administration. They have lost the ability to lead. The entire staff believes they are a pathetic joke. They must be replaced.
Roberts grew up in Chicago. Maybe he should finish up his career in CPS Schools. East Aurora has become Chicago politics. Perfect for Jerome. His article is all fluff. Hopefully the public sees this.
Yeah it is a "little" amount of money but guess what, I could use some more money for my students. LOOK WHAT THEY ARE SPENDING IT ON - SNACKS and other crap - GIVE IT TO ME.
This district doesn't fund a single program fully. They get away with as little as possible and then buy themselves snacks.
So little money? That little money averages $10,000 per admin. That is not little money to me! Also, for a man with a doctorate why does he write using the same formulated writing taught in the elementary schools? First, second, third, lastly. Work on your transitions, Doc. It seems he is incompetent in many ways.
The article Johnson put in the newspaper was not 2 months ago so what is Jerome talking about. Sounds like you got caught with pants down and now you are trying to pull them up maybe because of embarrassment? Johnson's statement in the paper should have never been published had Jerome been on top of things.
Quoted by Johnson on September 19th. “Dr. Roberts had spent a lot of time working on curriculum and he had been less focused on the operations. He can’t be in all places at all times,” Johnson said.
Dr. Roberts' letter in Beacon today hmmm....does not sound like he was on top of things 1 month ago let alone 2 months as he says.
How many families on the East Side does it take to make $322,000? Only a Board Member would post that it is a small amount of money. In fact, it is a large sum. Just wait until the holidays come around, Roberts and his crew will dress up like elves and reindeer and pass out candy instead of putting in a full day of work. More taxpayer money wasted.
Annette is an Accountant. She just caught this now. Both Annette and Roberts knew about the money and now they are saying they are fixing this. Why is this acceptable for them but not for people like Penny?
Yes other districts do take the time to make sure administrators are not using money for their own benefit. In fact as stated in one of the first articles many have gone to an PO Card which you can see in their list of bills what is spent.
Again the IL Administration Codes requires all district that use credit cards have a policy in place about the use of credit cards what is acceptable and what isn't. This district doesn't and that is on the board. Then the same code says that the person or committee looking at them can not be a card holder and the if they don't have original receipts that are to be paid. These are also part of the IL School Code. These also state and also the board policy that if employees bring someone with them on trips, dinners or conference they have to pay their own way. Not true here. Also there is no time limit on when the States Attorney go back and find fraud with these cards.
We have three people doing all the posting Rayanne, Bev and Pat. This District is like all others . The only difference is d131 is more transparent. Example d129 pays their Superintendent $ 2500 per month for travel and meals. They do not run things through a credit card. They are now using the same purchase order system all other districts are and getting food for teachers committee through the food service vendor not credit cards.
Gee, Roberts says new standards of accountability are being put into place. Why weren't these standards in place to start with? When you don't hold people accountable to start with they will abuse their positions.
D131 is the only one stupid enough to turn themselves in. The article states it represents .03% of the entire budget and you would have to assume none of it was put to good use. In special Ed we have to pay emergency situations for the kids. Many of the administrators, teachers, support staff and secretaries who come to work and do whats best for kids take exception to the story. Thank Dr Roberts for your comments today.
Why is Johnson supporting this guy? This is the big question that needs an answer. There is something goin going on behind the scenes that the public is not aware of...Yet!
Yeah what is going on is a Stem School with a really big announcement coming out very soon. It will become the best school in the area. Give credit to Johnson and Roberts on this one and see in two weeks what is really going on.
I fully support the east board and annette johnson. she needs to distance herself from roberts though. I agree that his track record is pretty bad. East would be soooooo much better with the current board and a different superintendant.
Here is an article on STEM Schools lets see how they work it remember the Magnet School was suppose to help with this but only students that could walk to the school or get a ride could go and that would be the same here. It is a good idea but where are they getting the school. In this article the kids work at a business headquarters.
Is Johnson the only one on the board doing anything because that is all that is said is Johnson not the other members. I thought a board worked as a whole and the President was just the person who brought it all together.
Example d129 pays their Superintendent $ 2500 per month for travel and meals. How did you find this out October 14, 2012 3:27 PM if they aren't transparent you would either know someone on the inside or it was FOIA so then they are being transparent. Does he use that money every month? I'm sure if Roberts did travel to Springfield to lobby about money they where taking away no one would mind. I know he has made trips to Springfield about changes to policy and money they have cut how many times has Roberts done this?
In fact the card member services used to be under the board of education in the list of bills now you have to look for it and this is what it is under.
CARDMEMBER SERVICE 10-00-2410-00-699-00 GEN BLDG MISC CLEARING ACCOUNT AMOUNT DUE 32000957JUL 94479 16,571.28 ** 178647 ** CHECK AMOUNT....: $16,571.28
Well all new admin positions at least at the high school had a board member interviewing and asking questions. Some of those questions made no sense what so ever and had nothing to do with the position. I felt it was odd to have board members doing the interviews. It would be interesting to see if those interviews were done so illegally.
I have also interviewed in other districts and I have never had a board member on a committee. I do not think it is a board member's place to be on an interviewing committee. That's the job of the administrators running the schools. Now if it's an issue of trusting those administrators to hire a good candidate, then maybe the board needs to re-evaluate that. But I don't think it's their job to sit on an interviewing committee.
I went to my first board meeting last tonight. My child was one of many kids being presented a certificate. Some were for academics and some were for sports. Clayton did a nice presentation for the kids.
However, I was surprised by Dr. Roberts and the board. They were very disconnected from the event. Two board members didn't show up for the meeting and the people who were there, were doing other things. Some were on their computers or on their phones. The only time they seemed to participate was when Clayton said "picture time". Then, they stood up, smiled and then went back to whatever they were doing.
When the awards were done, they basically told everyone they could leave and they started the board meeting. It just seemed as though the kids were the last thing any of them were concerned about. It appeared very disrespectful and disgraceful to me.
We dragged ourselves down to the service center at their request, the least they could have done is participate and act as though they gave a damn. I understand that they were probably getting ready for the meeting but I feel they should have prepared beforehand and should have been part of the student celebrations.
This board is very active, I do know other boards that do this. Typically they interview for Asst. Superintendents but I understand d131 has so many incompetent administrators starting with Roberts the level of management may need to be different.
I attended the meeting last night and noticed the Beacon taking a lot of pictures sounds like something major will break. Rumor in central office Roberts is stepping down and someone tipped the Beacon the Board was going to ask for that. It looks like that will not happen he was reminding us of his one great accomplishment the Magnet School.
October 15, 2012 8:07 PM -I feel you are exactly correct on this. Too many on this Board have over stepped their duties. Delegate to the proper admin. If that admin cannot handle the job to the Boards satisfaction, then they need to take it up with their one employee...Roberts!
They have not overstepped they should have paid more attendition. I do not have a problem with them interviewing they should know what kind of employees they are getting. However, Roberts needs to go. I know he has a contract but he needs to go
Wouldn't it be nice if the people in the high school office whose salaries we PAY FOR did their jobs and updated the EHS website information?
For example, the contact information for faculty & staff. Mr. Stellmacher is still listed as the choir director, more than a month into the new school year. No mention at all on the website of Ms. Gawlik, the new director. If it weren't for this blog, most of us wouldn't know who the current director is without asking our kids.
C'mon, D131--we deserve better!
The high school office can not directly change or post ANYTHING on the school website. Ryan Ford at the SSC is in charge of those changes. Clayton Muhammad can make changes. Clayton's secretary can make changes.
With the current board in place, East Aurora is not going to have a good reputation among schools. Ironically, this is something that Annette Johnson emphasized at the first Red & Black assembly she attended as Board president.
Time to get rid of them all--- Do the district a favor!
244 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 244 of 244no he is not a saint. the district has been in quicksand all during his reign. He needs to be fired but his girl Johnson for some reason (anyone know why???) will not fire the guy. Where are the other board members? Are they all followers? Bunch of pansies.
New article in the Beacon:
beaconnews.suntimes.com/news/15718879-418/roberts-easts-financial-tide-was-already-turning.html
BS - Such waste.
I'd like to say I am surprised that the Beacon ran that article but I'm never surprised by the connection between the two.
In this article Jerome stated that the district has been working on this issue for two months now. What isn't addressed is that in the original article the Beacon stated that they had used the FOIA to obtain credit card statements from June 2011 through June 2012.
In other words Jerome Roberts addressed the problem right after the Beacon began investigating the credit card issue over the summer. The Beacon requested the records, Jerome went Uh Oh we're in trouble, we better start looking like we are dealing with this.
He also stated “Without question some administrators were not (keeping receipts), and the responsibility for their actions rests on their shoulders,”
Translation: I'm the boss but I take no responsibility for what happens in the district I run.
That has to be the most pathetic statement I've ever heard from the leader of any organization. What leader publicly states that he takes no responsibility. Apparently when Jerome heard the quote "The buck stops here", he interpreted that only to mean his large salary.
This district needs a major change. It needs to start with the top.
beaconnews.suntimes.com/news/15699963-418/letter-from-east-superintendent-jerome-roberts.html
The Beacon just seems not to get it right they took the time to write a story but it seems they still haven't gone to The States Attorney to find out how a district runs. All those charges they talked about with no receipts should not of been paid if the original was not there according to the IL Administration Code and Roberts keeps throwing it back on the ones that have it. The Board and Roberts where suppose to have a policy in place about the usage of the cards and whoever had them where suppose to sign a paper saying that they understood the policy. The Board and Superintendent did not have someone who didn't have a card look at what was spent. This has been going on for years and until The Beacon wants to do a real story and go to The States Attorney with what they have all of this is just a joke.
Something to think about:
Now that Jay Augustine is gone (he who was one of the signatures on our payroll checks.). I'm curious as to what is going to happen on Monday which is payday for us. Will we have a check?
The States Attorney will not do anything about Orland and the Wetst Aurora Board so what do you expect.
Great article by Jerome it is interesting that we are spending so much time worrying about so little money. It is also wrong to lump all administrators in with one bad employee. The Beacon will print a retraction but.it seems it was only Deanne Adams and he ret had been ok
I would imagine the new Jay will sign what is her name
The States Attorney is still investigating the West Side and these are two different things. It is not only Deann Adams either this has been going on for years. Some of these administrators took their spouses on trips and we paid for it which is against the law. Some of the charges that where made should be questioned. As much as they pay for eating out also and we shouldn't be paying for a golf retreat.
Does anybody really believe the results of any investigation when it is conducted by the individuals being investigated? It's a good thing self investigation is not allowed anywhere else in society. If we did, I'm sure John Wayne Gacy and Charles Manson would have been found innocent and still be wreaking havoc.
Since when is $322,000 just a small amount of money and hardly worth investigating? According to the article last week, they reviewed the receipts that had been turned in. The suspicious receipts were from pile that had been turned in. The larger concern is the more than half of the receipts that have not been turned in. The $160,000+ in spending that has not been accounted for. We are just supposed to believe them when they say "We've investigated ourselves and we've come to the conclusion that, while most of the receipts are missing, we did nothing officially wrong".
There is no trust of this administration. They have lost the ability to lead. The entire staff believes they are a pathetic joke. They must be replaced.
Roberts grew up in Chicago. Maybe he should finish up his career in CPS Schools. East Aurora has become Chicago politics. Perfect for Jerome. His article is all fluff. Hopefully the public sees this.
No we will not. We are getting paid with Hollywood Casino chips. You have to cash them out at the Casino.
We need Mark Cuban!
Yeah it is a "little" amount of money but guess what, I could use some more money for my students. LOOK WHAT THEY ARE SPENDING IT ON - SNACKS and other crap - GIVE IT TO ME.
This district doesn't fund a single program fully. They get away with as little as possible and then buy themselves snacks.
So little money? That little money averages $10,000 per admin. That is not little money to me! Also, for a man with a doctorate why does he write using the same formulated writing taught in the elementary schools? First, second, third, lastly. Work on your transitions, Doc. It seems he is incompetent in many ways.
The article Johnson put in the newspaper was not 2 months ago so what is Jerome talking about. Sounds like you got caught with pants down and now you are trying to pull them up maybe because of embarrassment? Johnson's statement in the paper should have never been published had Jerome been on top of things.
Quoted by Johnson on September 19th.
“Dr. Roberts had spent a lot of time working on curriculum and he had been less focused on the operations. He can’t be in all places at all times,” Johnson said.
Dr. Roberts' letter in Beacon today hmmm....does not sound like he was on top of things 1 month ago let alone 2 months as he says.
How many families on the East Side does it take to make $322,000? Only a Board Member would post that it is a small amount of money. In fact, it is a large sum. Just wait until the holidays come around, Roberts and his crew will dress up like elves and reindeer and pass out candy instead of putting in a full day of work. More taxpayer money wasted.
Annette is an Accountant. She just caught this now. Both Annette and Roberts knew about the money and now they are saying they are fixing this. Why is this acceptable for them but not for people like Penny?
Do you not think the other districts are doing the same they should waste their time on more important things like education
Yes other districts do take the time to make sure administrators are not using money for their own benefit. In fact as stated in one of the first articles many have gone to an PO Card which you can see in their list of bills what is spent.
Again the IL Administration Codes requires all district that use credit cards have a policy in place about the use of credit cards what is acceptable and what isn't. This district doesn't and that is on the board. Then the same code says that the person or committee looking at them can not be a card holder and the if they don't have original receipts that are to be paid. These are also part of the IL School Code. These also state and also the board policy that if employees bring someone with them on trips, dinners or conference they have to pay their own way. Not true here. Also there is no time limit on when the States Attorney go back and find fraud with these cards.
We have three people doing all the posting Rayanne, Bev and Pat. This District is like all others . The only difference is d131 is more transparent. Example d129 pays their Superintendent $ 2500 per month for travel and meals. They do not run things through a credit card. They are now using the same purchase order system all other districts are and getting food for teachers committee through the food service vendor not credit cards.
Gee, Roberts says new standards of accountability are being put into place. Why weren't these standards in place to start with? When you don't hold people accountable to start with they will abuse their positions.
D131 is the only one stupid enough to turn themselves in. The article states it represents .03% of the entire budget and you would have to assume none of it was put to good use. In special Ed we have to pay emergency situations for the kids. Many of the administrators, teachers, support staff and secretaries who come to work and do whats best for kids take exception to the story. Thank Dr Roberts for your comments today.
I hear the football team took another pounding why not scrap the program
why is jerome roberts still employed by D131?
Why is Johnson supporting this guy? This is the big question that needs an answer. There is something goin going on behind the scenes that the public is not aware of...Yet!
Yeah what is going on is a Stem School with a really big announcement coming out very soon. It will become the best school in the area. Give credit to Johnson and Roberts on this one and see in two weeks what is really going on.
I fully support the east board and annette johnson. she needs to distance herself from roberts though. I agree that his track record is pretty bad. East would be soooooo much better with the current board and a different superintendant.
Here is an article on STEM Schools lets see how they work it remember the Magnet School was suppose to help with this but only students that could walk to the school or get a ride could go and that would be the same here. It is a good idea but where are they getting the school. In this article the kids work at a business headquarters.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2011/09/stem-focused_schools_on_rise_a.html
Is Johnson the only one on the board doing anything because that is all that is said is Johnson not the other members. I thought a board worked as a whole and the President was just the person who brought it all together.
Example d129 pays their Superintendent $ 2500 per month for travel and meals. How did you find this out October 14, 2012 3:27 PM if they aren't transparent you would either know someone on the inside or it was FOIA so then they are being transparent. Does he use that money every month? I'm sure if Roberts did travel to Springfield to lobby about money they where taking away no one would mind. I know he has made trips to Springfield about changes to policy and money they have cut how many times has Roberts done this?
In fact the card member services used to be under the board of education in the list of bills now you have to look for it and this is what it is under.
CARDMEMBER SERVICE
10-00-2410-00-699-00 GEN BLDG MISC CLEARING ACCOUNT AMOUNT DUE 32000957JUL 94479 16,571.28
** 178647 ** CHECK AMOUNT....: $16,571.28
Well all new admin positions at least at the high school had a board member interviewing and asking questions. Some of those questions made no sense what so ever and had nothing to do with the position. I felt it was odd to have board members doing the interviews. It would be interesting to see if those interviews were done so illegally.
I have also interviewed in other districts and I have never had a board member on a committee. I do not think it is a board member's place to be on an interviewing committee. That's the job of the administrators running the schools. Now if it's an issue of trusting those administrators to hire a good candidate, then maybe the board needs to re-evaluate that. But I don't think it's their job to sit on an interviewing committee.
Scrap Choir. They were bad under Nadel and they are still terrible.
How many more conclusions can we draw from lies and hearsay?
Which one are you?
I went to my first board meeting last tonight. My child was one of many kids being presented a certificate. Some were for academics and some were for sports. Clayton did a nice presentation for the kids.
However, I was surprised by Dr. Roberts and the board. They were very disconnected from the event. Two board members didn't show up for the meeting and the people who were there, were doing other things. Some were on their computers or on their phones. The only time they seemed to participate was when Clayton said "picture time". Then, they stood up, smiled and then went back to whatever they were doing.
When the awards were done, they basically told everyone they could leave and they started the board meeting. It just seemed as though the kids were the last thing any of them were concerned about. It appeared very disrespectful and disgraceful to me.
We dragged ourselves down to the service center at their request, the least they could have done is participate and act as though they gave a damn. I understand that they were probably getting ready for the meeting but I feel they should have prepared beforehand and should have been part of the student celebrations.
This board is very active, I do know other boards that do this. Typically they interview for Asst. Superintendents but I understand d131 has so many incompetent administrators starting with Roberts the level of management may need to be different.
I attended the meeting last night and noticed the Beacon taking a lot of pictures sounds like something major will break. Rumor in central office Roberts is stepping down and someone tipped the Beacon the Board was going to ask for that.
It looks like that will not happen he was reminding us of his one great accomplishment the Magnet School.
October 15, 2012 8:07 PM -I feel you are exactly correct on this. Too many on this Board have over stepped their duties. Delegate to the proper admin. If that admin cannot handle the job to the Boards satisfaction, then they need to take it up with their one employee...Roberts!
They have not overstepped they should have paid more attendition. I do not have a problem with them interviewing they should know what kind of employees they are getting. However, Roberts needs to go. I know he has a contract but he needs to go
I think the Beacon was over the and seemed to have all the Board members nervous. The student board member is a really good
Wouldn't it be nice if the people in the high school office whose salaries we PAY FOR did their jobs and updated the EHS website information?
For example, the contact information for faculty & staff. Mr. Stellmacher is still listed as the choir director, more than a month into the new school year. No mention at all on the website of Ms. Gawlik, the new director. If it weren't for this blog, most of us wouldn't know who the current director is without asking our kids.
C'mon, D131--we deserve better!
The high school office can not directly change or post ANYTHING on the school website. Ryan Ford at the SSC is in charge of those changes. Clayton Muhammad can make changes. Clayton's secretary can make changes.
September 28, 2012 7:51 AM
With the current board in place, East Aurora is not going to have a good reputation among schools. Ironically, this is something that Annette Johnson emphasized at the first Red & Black assembly she attended as Board president.
Time to get rid of them all--- Do the district a favor!
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