Meanwhile, over on the West side the taxpayers are up in arms. D131 homeowners already pay some of the highest property taxes in the area, and now the district is hiring expensive LAWYER$ to defend against lawsuits by the girls Steve Orland was messing around with.
No matter how you perceive it, it's an expensive mess!
f*** this stupid blog. It's worthless and should close down immediately. the administrators of this piece of crap should not be able to show their faces in public. they should be ashamed of themselves and embarrassed by what is posted here.
8:47, maybe ALL blogs should close down & are worthless! This one is much tamer than a lot of them, and does publish comments on both sides of issues (unlike Openline, for example).
You might prefer going back to the days when there was no Internet and people had to express their opinions on the radio or in the newspaper. Too bad; we're here to stay!
Best of luck to Lisa Gawlik, the new EHS choir director! She's been teaching at Simmons the past several years and now will be working with our high school choir students. Lisa has done an outstanding job at Simmons--can't wait to see & hear our EHS choirs under her direction.
The proud tradition of excellence in the East High choirs continues under the capable leadership of Lisa Gawlik!
Here is a url from the Beacon from Letters to the Editor for Wells. While she makes some good points I believe that workers are still going to workshops to learn and they should as long as they are following the law. She used going to workshops many times on the districts dime and got a nice dinner out of them.
The cartoon is right on the mark for many things discussed here.
Which is what I see as September 24, 2012 8:47 PM comments about the blog. Let me change their words a bit for MY POV.
"the administrators of this school district should not be able to show their faces in public. they should be ashamed of themselves and embarrassed by the test scores posted on the state report card."
WOW. What a difference a few miles makes. Here's an article on the BOE President from Indian Prairie: http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/news/15364521-418/indian-prairie-board-president-named-to-state-school-board.html
A stark contrast to our bully for a board president.
I would like to know why Wilson Morales was able to keep his job when after the student incident is it because his wife is Dr. R's secretary wrong is wrong why didn't the board release him oh I forgot he was suspended for 5-days if I'm correct but still has a job!
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.
8:39 you can thank Tom Weisner and the City of Aurora Council for such high taxes and an East Aurora Board of Education that does not demand that the City take a hard line on overcrowding and try and reduce all the low income folks in the district.
The Ohio University Band did the dance to "Psy"'s video - why not the Chicken Dance to let off some steam or get warmed up. If it is good enough for Ohio University Band then why can't the band take a break during practice -- GROUCH!!! http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/09/24/14073650-ohio-university-band-takes-on-gangnam-style?lite
Except that wasn't individual students doing a dance to a wind-up plush toy--big difference.
I do like having a "Chicken Dance" theme for halftime, though. Think about it...the Tomcat could come out and eat the chicken at the end. Maybe a bit disrespectful of our mascot, but no more so than the "Nightmare Before Halftime" show a few years back.
How about some GOOD NEWS this beautiful Friday morning--this from the D131 website:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TEST SCORES ARE ON THE RISE!
Last spring our students took the annual ISAT Exams and we have great news to report: 8 of our schools showed an increase in Math AND Reading , 9 of our schools showed an increase in Math, 10 of our schools showed an increase in Reading. In addition to that, we are proud to announce that throughout the entire district, READING SCORES increased by 4% and MATH SCORES increased by 5%! Congratulations to our children, teachers, parents, administrators, board members and the entire educational community for proving that we are Making Choices For Excellence!
D131 Still ranks at the bottom 3%in the ENTIRE STATE. At this rate it will take 20 years to get to D204 level of academic success. Sweeping changes are needed and it starts at the top!
Actually, our kids' test scores are everybody's business, 11:21 a.m.
And whether the band looks & sounds good is also a concern for those of us who are alums or who have kids in the band. Like it or not, comparisons will be made between now and "back in the day".
10:38, what are you smoking. You are so stupid and you are the reason nobody like this blog. Because all you do is make stuff up to insult people. You know nothing about anything so just shut up. Your ignorance is astounding.
I thought Becker said the team would win tonight's game. It's time to put a fork in the football program at East. They could not even score a point. It's time to give the money to the band. I saw Liska with over 100 kids by himself. Becker had 11 coaches on the sidelines and twenty six kids. At least Byrant never had a staff that big. Rumor is he upset that the Board will not give him a job. Why should they he does not understand our kids and constantly bad months them in social circles. They have become his big story to his friends at Marmion. His story makes them out to be a social stereotypes.
Yes, this makes sense. Lets cancel football and give the money to the band. Lets also cancel all other sports that don't win, and also give me the money to band. While we are at it, lets take a strong look at education, and cancel every program that isn't working, and give the money to band. Why are you picking on one sport? Lets look at all the programs including education. I doubt Becker is upset that the Board won't give him a job. Becker has an NFL Pension, and his business has been successful over 25 years, and he has multiple contacts for other coaching jobs. Loud mouth Annette Johnson opened her big mouth, and promised a lot of things, gave her word, and isn't following through. Big difference between being upset about not getting a job, and being upset about people like big mouth and big head "Shrek" Annette running her mouth and promising things she now cant or wont follow through on. But hey, thats District 131 at its finest. And another thing, Becker worked hard and got coaches to volunteer, and now you say an ignorant comment that Bryant never had a staff that big? Moron. Both had the same amount of coaches, but Becker got volunteers. Also, if ACT scores dont go up this year, lets cancel education and School altogether at East, and make it the Band capital of the country. Your a joke. Also, what does ,"bad month in circles mean?" If Becker is bad mouthing anyone and anything, its because of idiots like you. The kids love him, and the only thing that probably loves you is potato chips loser.
Don't throw more money at the band, it won't make them sound or look any better. Unless you hired a few professionals to march with the kids. Meanwhile let them do what they're best at...
How about spending some money to update the district's website? 5 weeks into the school year & Mr. Stellmacher is still the EHS choir director, according to the info on the D131 and high school site.
We DESERVE and NEED current information. I plan to vote for School Board candidates who promise to address this issue!
Becker was promised nothing the District which included many administrators at the time purged unneeded positions when the State cut 12 million. If he loved the kids so much why is he walking around telling everyone he is out a here. Read the stipends for Beckers so called volunteers they got paid over $25,000 more than any other program in the District. That with his big $10,000 coaches salary comes to $1750 per point. He actually scored less points than Byrant. Leadbetter made the promises and since he did not get what he wanted he bad mouths every teacher at East, the administration of East High, and the Board of Directors. He has a few sports boosters that support him but that it. As for Football they should get rid of it and give the money to the band Liska is a popular teacher who inspires kids as did Kaisershot. Why is it the popular coach did not even have a freshman team. This would be the first time in years. Shrek equals Becker he scared all the kids away. Watch the green venom come out after the season
Football stipends at every high School in the nation have the highest payroll out of all the sports because they have the most coaches moron. Dont act like District 131 did anything special for football. Annette makes promises she cant keep.
Hull wanted his friend in and wanted Cam fired he got his way that how it works. Lewis and Hull have kids on the band and that why the band got big bucks and new instruments last year. Waldo and Simmons got new stuff as well because of Lewis's granddaughter and Kaisershot.
Then Johnson keeps her puppet Roberts dancing on a string.
Becker told Roberts as it was one day and he became toast because Roberts did not want Jefferies exposed and Tom Boatright exposed.
Story was it was 100 degrees out and Boatwright was using the track for his personal track team. Boatright trains kids from other schools like Naperville at East for free and gets paid for it. Becker complained and was told to shut up.
Tom Boatright and Hull goto the same church Main St Bapist who gets by with almost next to nothing rent every Sunday. Their rent only pays a janitor to open the building.
for this they have full use of all he audio visual equipment and auditorium. They leave as mess and every Monday two janitors are stuck cleaning. They need stage help and other services every week. This all started when Hull got on the Board.
Boatright has getting by for years. Becker never learned the politics of d131. He is too honest. Will be sorry to see him go.
The bands (plural because each middle school and the high school got money) because THIS DISTRICT REFUSES to support the band program the way it should be supported. You would freak out if you saw what kind of money is needed to run a band program the right way and then you would laugh if you saw how district 131 "supports" their band program.
Speaking of supporting the band, here's an opportunity coming up next week. The band will be holding their Buona Beef benefit day next Tuesday, October 2nd, all day. Download the flyer here:
band.d131music.org/come-and-support-band
Turn in the flyer at the counter when you order (or at the window if you drive through)--the band gets a percentage of the sale.
There is not a full time person to update the website- the high school has given that responsibiltiy to an English teacher for a small stipend. She does the best she can with the time available to her.
No more lies go unanswered. First fallacy: Edmund Jones was who I know was the best candidate for the coaching job. He was a career coach including Eastern Il ,Indiana State and East St. Louis Lincoln . Mr Jones was also a career educator with his type 75. He shared that he was an educator first and coach second and if we didn't want that then he wasn't our guy. He was clear and precise about his standards and priorities. The lie being told is that he was my friend or my guy. I met Mr Jones for the first time the day of the interview like everyone else. The truth is officer Derrick Smith of the APD know Mr. Jones and told him about the opening. The committee passed over five candidates that were educators who would impacted the student body on a daily basis. Excuse me for wanting more for the students. Because the truth is anyone coming in was going to do what the current staff and the past did ,lose at least inthe immediate. I have nothing against coach Becker . I asked him about maybe being a fulltime substitute but I didn't know at the time that teaching was not for him. Cam Leadbetter is in my mind a stand up young man. He always have treated me with respect and that respect was reciprocal . However being an Alumni and good guy should not qualify anyone to be superintendent, principal, teacher, athletic director or coach. Next lie, Tom Boatright is not a member of Main Baptist church. The church pays upwards of a 1000 dollars per Sunday. FYI , I prefer having church at 814 E. GAlena like we had for over 100 years but we cant accommodate the congregation in one service. Im going to suggest that the funds be put back into the neglected areas of the auditorium The mere fact that a worship service is taking place on the campus is a blessing financially and spiritually. For the liars I love you and there is nothing you can do about it.
Sorry I know it's slow but I just got a chance to view the YouTube videos of the "Chicken Dance" that been talked about on the blog.
WHAT THE HE** IS LISKA THINKING???
For those of you who have not seen these videos, the "Chicken Dance" is not some assignment that is being used in band class. Liska is using this as a type of humiliation and punishment for indiscretions in his class.
If the child has done something like forgotten their case or music lyre out in the band room, they are forced to go before the class individually and do the chicken dance in front of the whole band. The other students laugh and ridicule the child being punished. This has then been video recorded and posted on YouTube.
This is completely beyond any acceptable form of classroom discipline/management. Humiliation is unacceptable, video taping students and posting this publicly is against board policy without the parents written permission. This is also a complete waste of instructional time.
These are not the actions of an educational professional. I would expect this sort of behavior as a hazing incident in a college frat house.
I can't believe this is what Brian Liska is getting paid over $60,000 a year for???
12:33 a.m., I do not agree that the Chicken Dancing kids are being humiliated! From the videos I've seen, it's all in good fun. Their classmates are laughing WITH them, not AT them.
I do agree with you that it's a waste of instructional time, though. Especially considering how they sound & look at their halftime shows.
Mr. Hull, thanks for posting and giving your perspective. You are one of the better School Board members, and you'll be getting my vote this spring for sure!
"There is not a full time person to update the website- the high school has given that responsibiltiy to an English teacher for a small stipend. She does the best she can with the time available to her"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Clearly, that's NOT WORKING and they need to give the responsibility to (or hire) someone else! Our website represents D131 to the community, and we DESERVE current information. There's no excuse for having to learn who the new EHS choir director is on a BLOG because administration can't be bothered to update the website.
Annette Johnson has single handedly ruined the moral for every teacher, administrator, and staff member in District 131. Roberts has stood by and let it happen. No one in District 131 is happy at any level. You know you read this Annette, and you know its true. If not, ask around. You are a joke. Front page of the Beacon on not trusting administrators? You are the laughing stock of the state, and there is not one person who takes you seriously. You have epitomized the word bully, and the time for honoring yourself will soon come to an end.
Isn't there some kind of rule about disclosing information about job candidates present employees? It seems that this is a personel issue and should remain confidential.
If memory serves, there was someone at each school who used to get a small stipend for doing the website. Some teachers even used it as a tool for teaching students. Then D131 got the truly needed and improved website and took those duties & stipends away and hired someone to work with the PR dept as the "web master." Apparently, they went back to the old way, which was a better way to manage updates in my opinion.
OH GOD, THE CHICKEN DANCE. HOW WILL THE STUDENTS EVER RECOVER. Do you know how stupid you sound. Maybe the band room is such a safe place that students feel comfortable stepping out of their comfort zone.
September 28, 2012 10:09 AM I guess it wasn't good enough for Ohio afterall. When I went to the link you posted it said "the video has been removed by the user." They must have had 2nd thoughts how they wanted their school portrayed on the WWW. Too late, others have already reposted elsewhere :(
12:33 a.m. - you are just exaggerating, the kids are having fun! There is absolutely no humiliating going on. As always, some people on this blog just want to make things seem worse than they are, or AREN'T.
Mr Hull is correct Leadbetter was told about the Sub position or a PPA. Becker did not want those jobs they did not pay enough. The district made no promises and told him there could be a possible Foundations available. The District would hire a replacement for Brooke Young on grants. This person would work on Department of Education and title grants as well as technology grants. The new position would work with Foundations to extra monies for the district. Rebuilding sports, music, arts, and scholarships for the students would become a focus. Becker would have to apply like everyone else. In March the State of Illinois would not make the final payment of 2011/12. The payment total 4.2 million. At that point the teachers contract was still up in the air. Budget numbers had not been finalized. In July the State told the District they would only pay State aid at 89%. For d131 that was another 8 million dollar hit. The budget got adjusted with opening in administration and other positions, that while class sizes increased. The Foundations became a unneeded expense. The District now uses a consultant who is paid a percentage of the Foundation grant along with Clayton that was the best financial move. This Board all of them are financially responsible unlike Boards of the past. Go to Board meetings ask questions, call them. I did because I like Kurt and I thought he was not being treated fairly and I asked. BTW its sounds like Brooke Young should be in our prayers.
7:33 - You are correct about football programs eating up a lot of money, but I think the bigger issue is the number of coaches for that varsity football team.
There are at most - 35 kids on the team - and there are at least 10 coaches (I think maybe 11) just for that varsity team.
Why is everybody so childish that you just cant speak about the issues without insulting people?
You attack people, and you blame people, and you never find out the truth from those people. You never confront anybody about anything.
You just hide here and nobody takes your postings seriously because most of them are just ramblings and nonsense.
You know, when I have a problem with somebody, I go and talk to them about it and try to figure out if it is a misunderstanding, or maybe there is another piece to the puzzle about why they acted the way they did.
I am a teacher and I support Ms Johnson. A small majority of admintrators may not like her. They are the ones that needed to go along time ago. She is one of few that does not care about making changes. Her and Hull speak up and are transparent. Thank you
According to Raymund Hull... "I met Mr Jones for the first time the day of the interview like everyone else".
What was Raymund Hull doing at the interviews?
A board member should not have been at the interview of any employee. It sounds as though Raymund Hull was exerting influence in an inappropriate way.
It is the board (collectively) who approves or disapproves the recommendation of a commitee or administrator. How can a single board member sit in with the interviewing commitee and not make undo influences on the entire process.
This sounds like a question for the State's Attorney's Office. It sounds as though laws were broken here.
The fact that Raymund Hull is here on the blog exposing confidential employee information is also very troubling. This board is getting out of control.
I don't know how many of those 10 or 11 coaches are paid, and how many are volunteer. I work at a high school in another district. We have a total of 15 coaches (all paid stipends) and 112 players (Varsity, Sophomore, Freshman). That's a ratio of ~7 players for each coach. For a collision sport like football, that's probably a reasonable ratio, you certainly wouldn't want more than 10 per player. Other sports can obviously handle more; our cross country teams are about 20-25 runners per coach. IF EAHS has 10 or 11 paid coaches for 35 players, that's pretty high. IF.
This district has a technology department why doesn't someone on that staff do the website. It seems they are more interested in putting pictures up then informing the people about things. If you want to see a district that has a website that gives the best information to the public D300 is the one to look at. This is a very open district giving all information to the public.
Since when does a board member sit in a interview that is the Superintendents job. If you really look at how this board runs you can see they only follow laws they want and they bend some of them.
You dont have a problem with lying on me, putting down my child and disrespecting my church but there is a problem with the truth. I did not vote for a candidate because I understood that the job was already filled. If I have broken a law the I challenge whoever is offended to press charges. If im removed so been it but not more lies got unable answered. You cant handle the truth, not my problem . Please been courageous and stop being anonymous. I told you before that I only care what's God thinks off me.. Called me my number is public
Really September 30, 2012 11:29 AM the board is financially taking care of things if you ever saw the credit card statements I think you would be amazed at how the board lets the administration break the law on how they use it and as of today they still don't have a policy about the usage of them which was required by law in 2009.
If we are so fiscally responsible why did Clayton post on FB that ALL middle school Magnet students received a MacBook Pro. I thought that program wasn't costing the taxpayers anything extra????
I don't have a MacBook Pro? Where did that money come from???
3:56, I have been on three different interview committees for positions at the High School and there has always been a Board representative on the committee.
Sounds like a question for the State's Attorney's Office? Sounds as though laws were broken here?
It sounds like you are a moron who has no idea of how things work.
According to board policy (http://www.d131.org/boardofed/Section5/section5.html), it is the responsiblity of the superintendent or his designee to recruit personnel and then make recommendations to the full board for their approval.
Nowhere in the board policies does it make mention of board members sitting in on the interview process. Apparently, the board can not even follow their own policies.
It's simple, no individual board member has the legal power to make any decisions. However, if someone like Raymund Hull is part of the interviewing process, they are having an undo influence on the process itself.
This practice should be reviewed by the board as a whole and clarified for future interviews.
Yeah call the attorney on that and get laughed out of town. Many school districts have interview committees including ours. Often we have community members sit on committees for Principals as we did for Kaisershot. In fact if it was not for Ms Lewis and other community members today we would have Steve Orland. Since that was Marin's recommendation. This is the most proactive Board in 30 years. The blog is made up of a few ax grinders and if you say the sky is blue they will tell you it orange.
This board is a joke they run the district not the Superintendent which is how it is suppose to be. They must not believe Roberts can do his job since they step in on things all the time yet they keep on renewing his contract why? A good board has a superintendent carry out their policies and make sure they are being followed. I bet the secretaries like Johnson since she lets them by snacks on the districts dime for meetings. How many of these people live in the district.
Well, looks like Queen Annette is losing her dictatorship! Dick Leonard went after her tonight and its just the beginning of things he will begin to say! A new alliance is forming between Leonard, Hull, and Turza! One more vote of Cervantes and some change will start to happen.
Congratulations to the Cowherd Cougars 6/7th Grade Football Team. They are the 2012 City of Lights Football Champions.
They have had a completely dominant, undefeated season.
In the off season Kurt Becker and the high school coaches worked with the middle school coaches and got them on board using the new high school system. It has really shown in the Cowherd Program.
I look forward to seeing how the district football programs grow and improve over the next several years.
The real Dick Leonard gets his Comcast bill paid by the District. Was given a computer and copy machine and the real story was he was not looking at the bills but pressuring David Finaly to give his friend Marty Feltes a no bid job on steam pipes. the board stopped him last month by defending Finaly and keeping him when Leonard wanted him fired. Leonard wants his own contractors friends to get jobs and none of the Board members will hear of it.
As a person who attended last nights meeting, and a person who will pay in the form of higher insurance. I am very disappointed that Mr Leonard attacked his fellow Board members. If the Board can not rely on a report prepared by a administrator then the one employee they have needs to be fired. Dr Roberts just sat with a blank look. I have attended many meeting and work for the District but live in the District. I have heard many times that Augustine and Roverts fixed the finances. The Board needs to take action on Roberts.
Leonard seems to be on a witch hunt for his fellow members. So for the person saying he formed a PAC with Turza and Hull that is a lie they all looked like they could have killed him.
That's what, 5 or 6 championships they've won at Cowherd in just the last year? What's going on there that they are having so much success? They are definately doing something right.
Dick forced maintenance staff to work with his contract friends and Annette forced the Athletic Department to hire the new secretary and Ray has a son working in the maintenance department. Just doesn't seem right!
No board member can make workers work with someone. If they are why is the union letting this happen they can do something. There are wrong things going on in this district and some board members don't act the way they should but making people work with contractors or making someone hire people is wrong and if you have proof do something about it.
9:44 am - We agree! There is talk that people at the high school are going to share how Annette forced the new Athletic Sec down their throats. She was denied during first round of interviews, but gets the job after Annette made them do a second round. Annette even forced Sheila and Cam into a meeting and threatened them. This will all come out soon. People need to speak out!!!!!!
Cam always follow the same pattern look at the way his wife was treated. She would run the consession stand while he was down in his office with his girlfriend that now works for Cams sisters son in law at Yorkville. Notice we put in no names other than Cam because he let his family down.
A recap of events that happened with Leonard and the Maintenance Department. It is funny how Cam was let go by the Board for $400 and this can happen. They need to look in their own backyards. We will file with the States Attorney if something is not done. The same as Cam was treated.
Regarding the situation of being directed by Dick Lenard to use Zacosek Plumbing and Marty Feltes, the situation unfolded as follows:
1. I reviewed Zacosek Plumbing's price for extra work and determined that it was too high. I got a competitive bid (see attached spreadsheet at bottom EHS PIPING CO) and presented it to the B & G committee members at the June meeting.
2. At the meeting Dick went off agenda and started discussing the subject of the extra work in a very aggravated manner, indicating that the competitive bidder was probably not union and probably did not use compression fittings for the copper pipe. He stated that "the competitive bidder was not a good option and the work of Tom Jungles and Marty Feltes was excellent, the kind of work the District wanted to see."
3. The following week at the Construction Progress Meeting held in the tunnel at the High School, Dick also stated "that the insulation used by the competitive bidder was probably shoddy and he wanted to use Zacosek Plumbing and Marty Feltes because of their excellent work."
My response was "considering all the things that you (Dick) point out the prices were probably not far apart when you factor in non-union, sweated fittings and poor insulation, so we will use Zacosek and Marty."
Reality is that the competitive bidder (Key Construction) is a union plumber, they use compression fittings and the insulation they use is the same as what was installed.
As a result the District paid Zacosek Plumbing $19,000 for $11,500 worth of work.
Well she needs to change it to a different one that is promoting her business and she can't do that when she is a board member. Why would you have a personal address with your business name. Remember when the one guy got elected and he was on the board for awhile and in his profile there was something about his business and they took it off because of conflict of interest. Ms. Johnson get a address that isn't associated with you business you can get a yahoo account for free.
Did anybody go to Buona Beef yesterday for the band benefit day?
I did! Bought a family meal (pound of Italian beef w/gravy, 2 long loaves of bread, pasta salad, and house salad). Spent about $25.00--so the band probably got about $5 from me.
Thanks to the person who posted the link to the flyer on this blog. Every once in awhile, I see something positive and/or useful here. Makes it worth looking at every few days or so.
In my opinion Annette Johnson is the best board president D131 has had in recent history. The big problem I have with her leadership though is that she support Dr. Roberts. He is a complete failure in the district, is absent most of the time, hardly works when he is there and does not care about the education of the children in this district. I am beginning to waiver on my support of Johnson because of her support for him. How can she support this guy? Maybe a change in the leadership on the Board would bring in a new superintendant???
State code does not allow you to just fire a administrator, that includes the Superintendent. I say ask questions and become a part of the solution not the problem. A first step was removing Augustine and Marin Gonzalez. Scores are up, the new Augustine seems to be very good and everything is moving.
It sounds like Dick Lenard needs to clean up his own back yard before he goes picking on employees of the district. Cam did the same thing but not for as much why did he get and the board get by?
As far as Hull and Johnson many other people get friends in.
It is my understanding that Ms. Johnson does own the business but she has a manager run the day to day dealings so her using that email really is a way to promote her business and is unethical she should have one if they are going to but email address out there one that isn't tied to a business. In fact at looking at a few other districts the board members use the email for board members only since no one board member can make a decision by themselves and it shows they follow that process.
Worrying about Johnson is shows how stupid and fixated you are. Me Johnson you may have a stalker on your hands it sure seems someone analysis your every move. WOW.
There is certainly not anything unethical. I know call the States Attorney and tell him that. He will lock you up for stalking her
The article in Tuesday's paper is a good account of what was said at the meeting by Leonard. Also, it appears that Jay was a scape goat-impression from what was said at the meeting.
Stalking is usually referred to when one person pursues another.
This is many people making comments about different aspects of her actions throughout the district. No one person could be aware of so many different areas of the district and what she has done or said unless it was her beloved superintendent.
Lenard was told members of maintenance to use certain friends. Leonard was a contractor himself for years. Cam got fired for the same thing. Somebody contacted the Roe and was told you can not get rid of a board member unless you prove money exchanged hands. Do you think his friends will tell. No so he gets by.
He was angry about this Monday that is why he made himself look honest
Lisa only you would say that about Wison being a good Administrator because he is your HUSBAND!!Wilson needs to work for the police since he likes playing detective instead of doing his real job!
This in todays Beacon was astounding. It's long but definately needs to be posted here:
AURORA — On the city’s East Side, the new school year kicked off with East Aurora School Board President Annette Johnson saying she had “lost trust” for some of the district’s administrators. Now, more details of the School District’s finances have begun to unravel. East Aurora Superintendent Jerome Roberts said that the district does not have “about half” of the receipts that show exactly what administrators purchased on district-provided credit cards at shops like Target, Walmart and online retailer Amazon over the past year. “To be honest, people weren’t keeping (the receipts) very much,” Roberts said Friday. Taxpayers are footing the bill for those credit card purchases. The district’s Old Second Visa Business Card statements show that in a one-year period, East Aurora administrators spent $322,733 on the charge cards. The Beacon-News acquired the bills from June 2011 to June 2012. After Johnson, an accountant, and fellow board member Richard Leonard, a former contractor, started asking questions, Roberts froze the administrators’ credit cards in August. Credit card bills that topped out at $40,718 in one month were reduced to $900, according to Roberts. But with no receipts, Roberts is asking the public to take these administrators’ word that the money was spent prudently, more than a year after some of the purchases were made. So the question arises: In these difficult financial times, was all that credit card spending necessary?
Spending One of the most puzzling of the credit card statement line items came as school let out for the summer in June 2011. The line item, purchased on a central office administrator’s card, reads: Caesars Advance Deposit Atlantic City, NJ: $135.89. Caesars in Atlantic City is a casino and hotel. According to records, a flight to Philadelphia, an hour’s drive from Atlantic City, and registration to a Philadelphia education conference were also purchased on the same administrator’s card that month. Roberts said that district administrator was out sick all of last week and had not been able to provide an explanation. The district’s finance department is not currently in possession of receipts for those charges. “(The purchase) looks funny, yes,” Roberts said. He said it was the most concerning of the charges made on the district credit cards. For that conference, the administrator charged a $409 flight on American Airlines from Chicago to Philadelphia. That same month, the same administrator used the district credit card for a plane ticket for another East Aurora employee to fly from Chicago’s Midway airport to Philadelphia, with a layover in Atlanta. That ticket, for an AirTran flight, cost the district $936. Other purchases over the year include a $1,933 bill at the Bolingbrook Golf Club for a retreat for central office administrators. Administrators spent that time to plan the school year, Roberts said, and the Bolingbrook Golf Club offered a better deal than Aurora clubs. One administrator made a $397 credit card purchase at Garden Ridge for an under-sink organizer and decorative items. Three central office administrator purchases at Home Depot, which totaled $3,488, were for heavy-duty shelving units. While Roberts said a few of the purchases may be questionable, for the most part he hasn’t come across anything in the statements the district would have refused to pay. He said all of the administrators using credit cards were coming in under their allotted budgets. “What it has done, though, is it allowed for sloppiness,” he said. Board President Johnson also complained about district bills that were paid late every month, saying that was “money thrown out the window.” Statements show that in 2011, East Aurora paid $1,603 in interest on credit cards bills that were paid late. That problem has since been fixed. A $650 upgrade made to the district’s billing system has allowed the district to pay the bills more than once a month, she said.
Common stores The credit card statements that lack receipts include those for hundreds of purchases made at Walmart, Target and Walgreens stores. When asked to explain some purchases, one building principal said a $284 charge at a Bed, Bath & Beyond store in Downers Grove in June 2011 was for a wooden office stand, a school calendar, artwork, artificial plants, books, picture frames and storage containers. An $83 charge at a TJ Maxx in Janesville, Wis., in July was for stationery, the administrator told Roberts. That administrator also made a $66 purchase at a Wisconsin Walmart, according to records. Another central office administrator, who Roberts said provided all of the receipts for purchases, listed a $350 Target bill for “incentive awards” for teachers. From June 2011 to June 2012, building principals and central office administrators made 116 purchases at online retailer Amazon, which ranged from $4.15 to $3,164. At Walmart, 68 purchases were made; at Walgreens, 20 purchases; at Jewel, 18; at Target, 12; and at Dominicks, 11. In June 2011, $42 and $70 credit card purchases were made at an Aurora Walmart; a $109 purchase was made at a Lockport Walmart; and $93, $94 and a $123 purchases were made at an Oswego Walmart. Roberts said a lot of the Walmart-type charges were administrators buying snacks for committee meetings. “Sodexo was charging us $7 for a case of water. You can get that for $3 at Sams,” Roberts said. Sodexo is the district’s food vendor. Johnson said the School District has since worked out a better deal with Sodexo. While administrators bought from stores in Aurora, Oswego and Montgomery, they also charged items at the same well-known retail stores in Lemont, Palos Park and Bolingbrook.
Receipts not reviewed Roberts said he shut off the credit cards because he was concerned about the lack of receipts. Administrators should have been turning their receipts in to the business office after purchases on credit cards were made, he said. Then, the district’s finance director, who up until this month was Jay Augustine, would review the receipts to make sure they matched up with the credit card bills. But that was not being done, Johnson said. Following the board’s probe into bills, Augustine notified Roberts on Sept. 21 that he would retire effective immediately. Augustine could not be reached for comment for this story. Twice in the week before his abrupt retirement, the School District told The Beacon-News Augustine would not respond to questions about the district’s credit card use. Roberts said he and a few other administrators kept meticulous receipts. “Professionally, nobody came to (me) and said ‘Hey, you need to keep your receipts.’ You just do,” Roberts said. Under the district’s purchase order system, all purchases must be pre-approved. The district credit card system was meant to be used for emergency purchases and travel only. “What was happening is people were using their credit cards to go out and buy because it was much more convenient than using a purchase order,” Roberts said.
Moving forward Roberts said the time to clean up the district’s financial mess is now. “No more excuses,” he said. Now, the district will require all purchases to be made through a purchase order unless the purchase cannot be made by that method. Johnson said the district is also working on putting a Procurement-Card system into place, which according to West Aurora School District spokesman Mike Chapin, many other area school districts use. A P-Card functions like a credit card, but the P-card system is a cooperative program where some school districts all use the same card through one bank on separate accounts. This allows school districts to get better rebate amounts on big-ticket purchases. Chapin said the West Aurora district received more than $13,000 in rebates last year from using the P-Card. “But the real savings to the district is in the efficiencies from processing one purchase order for the month instead of multiple (purchase orders) for each cardholder,” Chapin said. The P-card also helps avoid late fees, he said. In addition to West Aurora, the Oswego, Geneva, Batavia, St. Charles, Indian Prairie, Naperville, Sandwich and Somonauk school districts all use the Procurement-Card system, Chapin said. “Once (East Aurora) gets this P-card system in place, this all gets eliminated,” Roberts said. Johnson anticipates the School District’s 25-year-old business system software will be replaced by February. Once that happens, the public will be able to see the itemized invoices for what the School District is spending online, she said. New committee meetings between teachers and administrators will examine spending this year, too, Roberts said. Johnson, who owns a small business, said she finds some of the spending “unacceptable.” “But every school district will tell you that this is indigenous to every school district across the country,” she said.
As a teacher in this ditrict, I find this lack of accountability unbelieveable and shocking. Each building has a records secretary. As a teacher, you understand that every penny spent has to go through the records secretary and approved by the principal. Every penny must be accounted for.
How then, are we supposed to believe that the administrators didn't understand this structure? This structure is preached to the staff constantly by the administrators. We are talking about at least $160,000 spent that is completely unaccounted for.
The district, at this point should be going to the credit card companies and demanding the stores copy of every receipt. They are required to keep these records. If they can't provide the original receipts, they can't demand payment. They can then demand administrator justification for each purchase.
The article doesn't mention which central office administrator went to Atlantic City and charged at the casino. It only stated the the administrator was not available for questions this past week. I don't know if she was the only administrator out of town last week but Christie Aird was in Florida all week.
I know this new PO system is hurting the sports programs. It takes months for a PO to go through the processes of the district. In other words, let's say a kid needs a helmet for football, He can expect it to arrive sometime during the winter season. I guess the kids just can't participate.
It's a shame that the students suffer because administrators are irresponsible.
Annette knew about these problems 4 years ago when questions were raised about the necessity of the referendum. Once on the Board, she chose to turn a blind eye and now wants to look as if SHE discovered problems and has worked out solutions. If it wasn't for others input she'd be lost.
The spending is still taking place they just don't use the credit cards. Last month Special Ed stayed at the Holiday Inn in Orland Park. It was about 12 people for two nights. Much of this is professional development that the admins claim they need this. Most of the monies come from Tiitle and the trips are budgeted. They do not realize Title could be spent more wisely.
They also pay for snacks for the many meeting we are forced to have. Peope don't realize these meeting are early, at lunch, or after school.
Some people have abused it but the majority of charges are legitmate. The people who abuse it are Deanne Adams, Cathy Latz and Clayton. The Buildings are not guilty. As far as the board It was up to Jay Augustine.
By law the district is suppose to have a policy in place to check the credit cards and it has to be someone who doesn't have one. By law since 2009 if someone doesn't have a receipt the person who didn't have one didn't have the purchase paid for. The board dropped the ball on this they are the ones who are suppose to have a policy in place. The Board and Administration are the ones to blame for this mess and the ones that misused the money can be prosecuted.
At Simmons they do not use the Credit Card they use the students fees. Recently someone emailed he Board President and the next day they had to turn all their money in. Boy was Wilson upset no more Donut runs. Teachers need to be better watch dogs. I have learned if we complain we are being heard.
I read both articles and the Denise Crosby one puts it more in balance. Food and administrators go together. Karen Lopez since leaving Simmons has gained 50 pounds and jokes about.
The p-card system is absolutely the way to go. I work in another district and have a p-card. Every month I have to complete a reconciliation form and attach the receipts justifying any purchase I make. That is reviewed first by my supervisor, then by a specific individual in the business office. It's mind boggling that the D131 business office wasn't checking ALL receipts. That's on Augustine -- and on Roberts for not making sure it was getting done.
Central Office news is the administrator in question is Deanne Adams not Aird. Deanne is on sick leave so she claims. She knew this was going to hit and now she is taking off the next 12weeks. Sounds like someone's hà nd is in the cookie jar.
Also over 95%of the credit cards are ok lets not let a few rotten apples spoil us
No 95% are not ok. This district doesn't even know the IL Administration Code here is the URL that states the policy. By law they are no suppose to pay anything without the original receipt. Also they are to be reviewed by someone who doesn't hold a card. Dr. Roberts is it ok to buy alcohol with district's money I think not but yet you and some board members did. district employees if they go to conferences and take someone with them that person is to pay there own way. There is no limit of time that passes that these things can't be prosecuted. Here is the URL to the IL Administration Code you need to read it.
So many questions need to be asked about the financial chaos that led to the “early retirement” of the top money guy at the East Aurora School District, it’s hard to figure out where to start.
Like why the maintenance department made 800 trips in seven months to Home Depot and Menards. Or why there are discrepancies in insurance premiums that don’t match what the district was paying.
Both issues need some serious explaining, not to mention serious auditing. But I’ll start with a few easy ones about the district’s credit card use.
Like the $83 credit card charge to T.J.Maxx.
When the elementary school principal was asked about this purchase she made at the popular store that sells “Designer Brand Name Clothing and Accessories,” this was her written response: stationery for school use — school handbook and teacher memos.
Seriously? And those paper products had to be bought with a school district credit card at a T.J.Maxx? In Wisconsin? In July?
That same principal, when quizzed about a $43 charge at a Kohls in Lemont, said it was for “books and stuffed animals for the library.” Another principal spent close to $700 at Bed, Bath & Beyond in Downers Grove for items, she said, that included art work, artificial plants, books, picture frames and other decorative items for her office.
That cash-strapped East Aurora taxpayers are buying designer stationery and office decorations for a cash-strapped school district seems flat-out wrong. What makes this more disturbing is we really don’t know for sure what was purchased because many administrators didn’t bother keeping receipts from their charge card purchases.
And not just from clothing or home goods stores, either. Thousands of dollars worth of who-knows-what was charged from places like Hobby Lobby, Big Lots, Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Jewel — with thousands more spent on Amazon sites that provide few clues as to what was purchased.
However, after scanning many of these credit card purchases, one thing became crystal clear: When educators meet, they eat.
It’s a well-known fact in school districts across the country that “if you want to keep them, you feed them,” admitted East Aurora Superintendent Jerome Roberts, when asked about the thousands of dollars spent on food that not only included restaurants and pizza joints but lots of trips to Jimmy Johns and Panera Bread.
In addition to thousands of dollars spent on gifts, flowers, door prizes and a host of other “teacher incentives,” many of those charges to Targets and Super Walmarts also went to lots of calories.
“One thing I found out is that we have been holding a lot of committee meetings,” School Board President Annette Johnson explained. “And those (purchases) are for snacks for the meetings.”
Could it be some educators are taking advantage of the hand that feeds them ... and feeds them ...and feeds them?
Just asking.
It’s been well established by past headlines that handing out government-issued credit cards is a system ripe for abuse, especially when paired with a business director who didn’t demand receipts; and an antiquated software system that sorely lacked checks and balances. It’s little wonder that, when Roberts froze these administrators’ credit cards last month, the bill dropped from a one-month high of over $41,000 down to $900.
The district, embarrassed and “disturbed” by this mess, is working to revamp its computer and credit card systems, and has hired a new business director who is a CPA. Roberts and Johnson say they are also taking a hard look at how to change a culture which seemed to take advantage of sloppiness that cost taxpayers — and more importantly, the children — of this district a whole lot of money.
But there’s still questions that need to be answered, including an explanation for this line item: “Caesars Advanced Deposit in Atlantic City” for $135; as well as a $936 plane ticket to Atlanta.
We’ve all made sacrifices these past few years. We’ve tightened belts and slashed budgets. And experts predict more of the same as we continue to face huge deficits and funding issues. School districts tend to cry poor. But isn’t it the responsibility of every government employee, especially those entrusted with our kids, to spend whatever money is handed to them as wisely as possible? As if it was their own?
No Johnson it isn't indigenous of all districts some follow the law. You and the board are suppose to have a policy about credit cards and someone who doesn't hold one or a committee are suppose to look at them. Even in The Beacon they keep blaming the finance department but if they would take the time to look at The IL Administration Code they would learn how the district is suppose to handle them. Abuse has been going on for years not just this last year. Last year East St. Louis go in trouble for the same thing and other problems in the district it is time for someone to look into it. The fact that the Superintendent does't know about the credit card law since 2009 in unacceptable.
I picked up my Sunday Beacon-News this morning, and there on the FRONT PAGE was the huge headline "WHO'S IN CHARGE AT EAST AURORA?, along with photos of Caesar's Palace, Home Depot, and a luxurious restaurant dessert being paid for with an EA credit card marked "TAXPAYER".
Then, I opened up the front section and saw pages 2, 3, and 24 taken up entirely by this story. How embarrassing for a district whose administrators care so very much about "IMAGE"! Interestingly, I did NOT see Clayton Muhammad's name anywhere; evidently our illustrious publicity director can't spin this particular story to his liking.
At this point, we need to consider replacing every administrator in the district. Every administrator knew these things were happening.
Every adminitrator facilitates faculty meetings in their own building because it is economical yet attends these "Golf Club Retreats" for administrators. If I am not mistaken, every school is empty and available in the summer and is available to host these administrator meetings.
I've been to many meetings at the service center and have always been told to eat before I arrive. Apparently, food is only served when it's administrators only.
There is no excuse for any administrator to not have the receipts for purchases. Teachers are required to produce every receipt or they will not be compensated. We are told all the time this is board policy. If the administrators are not folowing board policy, they should be terminated.
I am surprised the Illinois States Attorney is not yet involved in this process. It appears as though there is a strong possibility that fraud has occured. Administrators can not be trusted or allowed to investigate themselves in this matter.
Someone mentioned that we have not heard rom Clayton Muhhamad on this matter. Considering, Clayton is frequently required to organize these administrator meetings, it does not surprise me that he is keeping a low profile.
The charge that seems very fishy to me is the charge of $397 for an under sink organizer at Garden Ridge.
I've shopped at Garden Ridge a few times. It's basically a dollar store for home goods. the most expensive items I've ever seen there are under a hundred dollars and that is for things like bar stools or furniture items. They simply don't sell items in that price range.
That one needs to be investigated further. It just doesn't add up.
"Five the district’s seven board seats will be up for a vote in the April 2013 election. Three newly elected candidates will serve four-year terms expiring in April 2017 and two candidates will serve two-year terms expiring in April 2015."
Jerome emphasized in the article all the purchases that could be explained. I'm not very concerned about those. I'm much more concerned with the more than $160,000.00 in charges that the administrators can't account for.
As others have mentioned, this has been going on for years. How much more money is unaccounted for? There has been reports of district maintenance personnel being used for personal projects at adminstrators homes. How may of those materials have been purchased on the districts credit cards?
The majority of administrators when called together about this did turn in receipts. This is the FACT. Much of the money did get spent on the schools. Amazon , Apple and other online tools go to the I Pads and Pods in the District. Conferances like PLC cost the District over $25,000 alone. This will align the Districts lesson plans and is one of the reason tests scores are going up.
I will comment about the events because it is unfair to get lumped with people that did not preform their duties. Penny Halvax would get the receipts many of the administrators did not keep copies. When she emailed everyone it has a complete shock she did not have them. A day later she went on leave after many started emailing her regarding the receipts. A day later Dr Roberts called a emergency meeting. Many had to leave schools while registration was taking place. One person was late and Dr Roberts screamed at him. That pretty much was the tone of the meeting. many had never seen that side of him. Many stated, they turned receipts. Roberts questioned Augustine who had no clue about the receipts. He stated Penny is on leave. Roberts asked don't you know, and he quietly said NO.
I blame no one else other than Jay Augustine on this. Thank god they asked him to resign. All of us believed in him. Someone stated he asked and answered all the right questions. Now to find out he did not look into anything is sad and disappointing. Have a good retirement Jay. I hope you think of us every day. Halvax needs to be prosecuted .
If memory serves, 2 of the 5 positions were appointed when people resigned. Due to the cost of holding an election the Board appoints someone to fill the position until the next election At that time the position must be filled by the voters choice.
Normal term is 4 years, since 2 positions are for 2 years it would appear those 2 positions have 1/2 of a term remaining.
I would like to see a news station pick this up also. The Beacon needs to take what they got to The States Attorney for them to get involved and The Beacon will see that Roberts and Johnsons explanations who is accountable for overlooking this is wrong. This has been going on for years but didn't think it should be looked at.
By the way Clayton is just as bad with not having receipts and there is a bar in Chicago he likes to go to on our dime.
Governor Ryan never issued a drivers license but was held accountable for what those in his charge did. Not one single receipt was produced that Blogolavich took money but he was held accountable. Superientendent Roberts is the one responsible for the situation at 131. Annette Johnson wants Roberts around around because a competent Super would not allow her to manage. She continually blames everyone except him.
Penny was Jays right hand. When the Board would question things they would meet for hours about what they should see. Many of us will testify to this. Please call the States Attorney.
Deanne Adams and Anna Groh abused the cards. Other cards had been in order the Board never seen all the cards. Charity Singh stamping Deanne's name made the credits cards surface. Charity got greedy and claimed $900 plus on mileage on list of bills to the board. Then Johnson demanded Deanne's card that what started this. Rumor is Deanne is not coming back.
Also, we did have the receipts admins turned them in all the time. Why are they missing? Oh yeah Penny. Look at the two things she handed and why insurance and credit cards . Why would jay not give the credit card bills to others in the department.
You are wrong October 8, 2012 5:05 AM Jay never had the receipts. I have FOIA credit card statements and in doing so Joan G. asked the administrators for the receipts. It is amazing that none of you know the law, the ones that didn't have them didn't keep them or they didn't want anyone to see them. Here is the URL for The IL Administration Code please all you that work for the district read it. IT WASN'T JAY'S PLACE TO KEEP THE RECEIPTS NO ONE WHO HAS A CARD IS SUPPOSE TO REVIEW THEM ALSO CARD HOLDERS ARE SUPPOSE TO SIGN A PAPER STATING THEY NO THE POLICY HAVE YOU?
d) If a school board has obtained and issued credit cards or procurement cards for the use of board members, the superintendent, or other district employees or officials to pay certain job-related expenses or to make purchases on behalf of the board or district or any student activity funds, or for purposes that would otherwise be addressed through a conventional revolving fund, then the board shall adopt a written credit card policy that at least: 1) identifies the allowable types of purchases; 2) provides for the issuing bank to block the cards’ use at unapproved merchants; 3) limits the amount a card-holder can charge in a single purchase or within a given month; 4) provides specific guidelines on purchases via telephone, fax, and the Internet; 5) indicates the consequences for unauthorized purchases; 6) requires card-holders to sign a statement affirming that they are familiar with the board’s credit card policy; 7) requires review and approval of purchases by someone other than the card-holder or user; 8) requires submission of original receipts to document purchases;
23 ILLINOIS ADMINISTRATIVE CODE 100.70 SUBTITLE A SUBCHAPTER c 9) forbids the use of a card to make purchases in a manner contrary to the requirements of Section 10-20.21 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/10-20.21]; and 10) indicates how financial or material rewards or rebates are to be accounted for and treated. (Source: Amended at 32 Ill. Reg. 16439, effective September 24, 2008)
We are supposed to believe you and the other administrators when the administrators investigate themselves in a situation that could/should land some or all of you in jail?
The States Attorney should be doing this investigation. If it is a case of sloppy accounting, those individuals should be terminated. If it is fraud/embezzlement like taking trips to Atlantic City Casinos or purchasing items for their personal use, they should be terminated and prosecuted.
Simply put, these administrators can not be trusted to investigate themselves, especially when you consider that the investigation could end in jail time for them. An outside, inpartial agency needs to be leading this investigation.
Also, why does Jerome still have his position? Is that not where the buck is supposed to stop. The schools are failing. Every department is being run haphazardly. When is the board going to hold the person in charge responsible? Enough is enough.
Why does West Aurora keep Rydland around the same reason because he has a contract. in fact they just extended his contract to 2017. BTW Roberts had all of his receipts.
Ask your building Principal she had to turn receipts into Penny Halvax. If you got the receipts and saw a problem and you claim you filed a FOIA request why did you not call the Beacon. Why because your lying.
If you filed FOIA then you must have approved of the charges. If the States Attoney is so great why is it he will not file charges against Penny in know a case was prepared.? Why no charges against Oswego for not recording excutive sessions? Why no charges on a complaint filed by DCFS against West Aurora? Why because nobody cares
As for Roberts the test scores are up biggest jump ever. To bad a wonderful superintendent trusted so many.
Trusted? Do you honestly believe Roberts knows nothing at all. If he doesn't know about all this, then he is not doing his job as the Superintendent. He does know, and does a great job of covering things up. Johnson can't be that stupid to trust him. Maybe she is. Does not make sense how Roberts will get off clean with all this.
You notice the law said the cardholder has to submit the original receipt. Nowhere does it say you have to make a copy, but it's sure a good idea because look what happened here. The finance dept. didn't have the receipts they were supposed to have, so they turn to the person who charged it and demanded a receipt. What do you do if you turned in the original receipt like you're supposed to, but the business office didn't keep it like THEY'RE supposed to?
What did Penny do? In the case with Oswego the board turned themselves in and The States Attorney did put them on probation and gave them process they have to go through and have their Attorneys at meetings.
You believe that a Superintendent that says he didn't know they where suppose to check the receipts is a good one. He should of known about the Administration code. It takes the States Attorney awhile to file charges so give it time. These administrators that have had the cards have been misusing them for years.
The test scores "appeared" to go up because the district took all the money intended for ALL the students not meeting standards and used it to push the bubble kids over the edge. (Bubble kids are those students close to passing but not quite there).
Bubble kids were given remedial classes in a very small class setting. Students who were not close to passing received no extra help.
The State came in at the beginning of the year and told the administrators to cut the crap. The money is for all students not meeting standards. It will no longer be used to artificially inflate the districts numbers.
If your only defense of Jerome Roberts is that test scores went up this year, you may want to re-evaluate your strategy. The State Board would not support you.
What you would do if they did turn in an original receipt is to make a copy when you did it that is called CYA in most companies. A copy would tell someone if they questioned it that they did what they where suppose to do but the card holders do not do this because they didn't have someone to turn it into. If you make a copy of the original most will take your word on it.
It was Jay Augustine's job to make sure all the receipts matched the cards. He has a license and oath to provide checks and balances. Then there are the District auditors what are they doing. I heard the reports are very clean. It was Jays job just like Jay over saw the maintenance department. Principals and their secretaries will testify they turned receipts into Penny. I am angry that Jay will walk off earning a pension of around $ 120,000 per year he should be charged. Look at your school code Jay was appointed Treasurer and the Superintenents designate.
Yes, Jay was the Superintendents designate. Jerome had meetings with Jay daily, and Roberts knew about the credit cards. Roberts didn't do anything about it until the Board found out. Jay notified Roberts, and watched Roberts do nothing. What did you want Jay to do, disobey orders from his supervisor. Roberts acts all surprised, and now plays dumb like he didn't know. Makes perfect sense.
They can testify but I believe there is evidence out there that those administration and secretaries did not have original receipts. Please refer to the IL Administrator code that someone has posted to see how all this works.
The reason we had issues is because we had administrators overseeing administrators.
Now we are supposed to trust that administrators are going to investigate administrators???
Administrators are essentially politicians. They are professional liars. Their primary function is to do whatever is necessary to protect themselves and the district.
It is a conflict of interest for them to investigate themselves. An outside investigator must be used in these matters. The States Attorney is the only one capable of doing what is needed here.
The board should be requesting the States Attorney come in and investigate.
I found this very interesting. As usual with the district web site, the superintendents page has not been updated this year. On Jerome Roberts 2011-2012 page, he outlines his goals for the year.
This includes:
My goals for the 2011-2012 school year are: 2. Establish and communicate an accountability system to ensure that all district resources are efficiently and productively used to support student development.
Each quarter, I will present to the Board of Education a summary of activities that have been accomplished to achieve these goals. I would also like to provide our community with the same summary by posting them on this page quarterly. (See below)
If you continue down the page, the only update was for the first quarter. It read:
Goal #2: Establish and communicate an accountability system to ensure that all district resources are efficiently and productively used to support student development The following activities are aligned with the High Impact Decision-Making initiative from the district’s strategic plan and serve as Indicators of the progress towards the accomplishment of the goal above during the first quarter of the 2009-2010 academic year. 2010 Goals • By the end of the 2010/2011 school year work with administration to produce how the expenditure relates to support student development. • Work on a system that would create outside opportunities for our students. • Work to effectively communicate test score data to the Board. • Continue to monitor Website updates. Indicators • In August met with Jay Augustine to discuss the parameters of creating such an accountability system. In September met with Jay Augustine to review initial draft of the new system. • The addition of an “Outreach Community Facilitator” position with the Community Relations department was designed to provide students with outside opportunities in the realm of scholarships. Internships and job opportunities, etc. • This was accomplished by a series of three community forums and a presentation to the board of education on the districts ISAT scores. • Met with Clayton Muhammad and Ryan Ford to discuss changes and improvements to the districts website. Also met with Lisa Morales to have board calendar posted on the website. The board calendar was posted on the website on October 10th.
It was obvious that Jerome had simply copied this crap from the previous year and hadn't even bothered to update the years. He obviously wasn't doing his job.
Test scores at the high school are in the bottom 5% in the state. They have a 50%+ drop out rate. Most of the sports programs are terrible. The buildings are in disrepair. The building and grounds department is in scandal. The accounting department is in shambles. We have many classes without an official curriculum. Classes are way overloaded with students. Some classes have begun without basic needs like text books.
One administrator resigned, all others are simply being reassigned?
How bad does it need to get before the board takes any real action???
At this point, the board should be contacting the Illinois States Attorney and the State Board of Education. One possible remedy for schools in chronic failing status is to replace the entire administration. It is time that the board exercizes this option.
The only reason not to do this would be that Johnson is afraid of losing some of her control.
You would be surprised by those auditors in fact the ones that did E. St. Louises missed it too and now that district has been taken over by the State since they didn't want to change their ways and part of why is the misuse of districts money.
On Tuesday, October 2, six educators in East Aurora School District 131 were surprised with a special visit from OfficeMax representatives and were honored as the 2012 winners of the A Day Made Better program sponsored by Office Max and Adopt-a-Classroom.
Joy Dong of Hermes Elementary School, Cari Frer of Krug Elementary School, Kate Keilty of Simmons Middle School, Susan Moshinsky of Beaupre Elementary School, and Michele Romero of Johnson Elementary School, and Katie Sidmore of Brady Elementary School were all honored for their dedication to students and for making personal sacrifices to fund additional supplies for their classrooms.
Teachers spend roughly $1,000 out of their own pockets each year to offset school budget shortfalls and ensure that their students have the necessary classroom resources for learning. OfficeMax’s A Day Made Better program, in partnership with Adopt-A-Classroom, aims to help end the need for teacher-funded classrooms.
Each year, OfficeMax and Adopt-A-Classroom work with school principals nationwide to select and recognize 1,000 deserving teachers with an A Day Made Better award and $1,000 in classroom supplies donated by OfficeMax.
Each recognized teacher receives a digital camera, swivel chair, and large box containing essential classroom supplies – a total donation valued at $1,000. To ensure the donation matches the demand for classroom supplies, OfficeMax surveyed teachers and school administrators on their greatest needs
Since 2007, OfficeMax’s A Day Made Better and Adopt-A-Classroom have funded more than 5,500 classrooms with more than $4.5 million in grants and school supplies, and helped secure funding for more than 66,000 classrooms annually through donations to Adopt-A-Classroom.
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So while our teachers fund their classrooms from their own pockets, our corrupt administrators help themselves to tax dollars for travel, dining, and entertainment.
School Board candidates, what do YOU plan to do about this??
The teachers had been given $200 per classroom this year. I say something is better than nothing. But nw the accounting department is so inept they can't function under the new accounting procedures and issue any checks
You mean to tell me a secretary was responsible for record keeping of insurance. What business does this? This is just another example that the district does not have the right people at the top looking after district business. Remember the board gets a list of bills that they are suppose to review and it looks like they really don't. A good Superintendent would be watching these things.
Who is going to ask the board why Juanita Wells going away party was paid by the district. There was alcohol on this and that is a no-no. Roberts was going to pay for the dinners but did not have enough to do it, so Johnson said to put it on the districts credit card. Lewis, Hull and many others are aware of this. Never in FOIA material counld it be found that the district was refunded for this.
Let me be clear about secretary's they are a valuable part of any business so why would a district this big not have a payroll department that handled things like Cobra and how paychecks where handled. As people leave by choice or because of downsizing there managers should give that information to the payroll department to make the changes.
This district can let administrators have golf outings or retreats, have Holiday parties at Gaslight Manor or LongIsland Sound, buy food for things, but they don't have a payroll department that takes care of payroll.
The Beacon keeps reporting these things but doesn't go to The States Attorney to see if these things are how a district should be ran. If they want to report these things they need to find out the legal aspects of them to get the whole story.
As a teacher, it is sad that we pay so much out of our pockets, and a few administrators spend profusely on unnecessary items. Denean is the one who said "No" about teachers going to conferences or stay hours after school uncompensated and yet she was spending the money. Go buy another pair of shoes, Ms. Adams.
Most of all, it is so disheartening that these FEW in administration are ruining the hard work that teachers are doing by letting their personal indiscretions be splattered all over the news. Shame on you for taking advantage of your positions while now us teachers have to clean up the mess you have smeared over our district. Shame on you.
Another complete lie Johnson hated Wells so why would she throw a party for her. Also the board and administrators have a meals allocation the number of people that attended fell well within that price range. Try to go take that one to the Beacon. Also the charges on the cards are legitimate. Adams never went to Ceasars Plaace she cancelled and the money was never spent there is a credit
Sounds like Penny is being used as a scapegoat. Since when is a secretary in charge of a department? Under this type of reasoning, I guess Lisa Morales is the next one terminated since the district is failing.
The price range is $40 for a dinner and since most of the time at those conferences there is free food afterward they don't use the districts credit card for that in fact. Since we haven't seen the receipt we don't know but buying alcohol with taxpayers money is Illegal.
There where 13 people at the dinner and the bill was 939.65 for the food, tax was 103.37 and tip 169.14. If you divide 939.65 by 13 and round it off each person dinner was $71 and policy says 40 for dinner.
10:54 I agree completely!!!! This all falls on Jerome Roberts lap and yet the Board does nothing. He should have been fired years ago. The academics at East are deplorable. They have not moved in all the years he has been superintendant. Clearly the financial situation is a mess. What good has this guy done for East Aurora? He needs to be replaced. Why the administrators, faculty and Board are not demanding this is beyond comprehension.
Why did Juantia go anyway she wasn't running for board again should board members or employees not staying at the district be able to use taxpayer monies to go on trips. She got a two night stay at a nice hotel at $498.
According to records, a flight to Philadelphia, an hour’s drive from Atlantic City, and registration to a Philadelphia education conference were also purchased on the same administrator’s card that month.
So who charged on the credit card for the hour trip?
Hull, Marin, Joan, and Lisa took their husbands or wives I seem to remember about 18 people going. They do have $75 allocation per day but I am sure some used more.
Rumor is Johnson is working on getting rid of Roberts it seems she has become very angry with him over favoring certain administrators like Augustine. Roberts always had a way of telling people what they wanted to hear no board members ever challenged him like Wells AKA Big retirement dinner. Some Board members knew what was going on but could never get to the truth. Something is about to blow up. Be careful Johnson some of the administrators are lining up against you. But on the other hand the administrators need to be careful with her. I have never seen such tension Games are being played in administration and they are very angry they dont have there credit cards or free insurance any more. Its been long over due.
No the reading the policy it is $10 for breakfast, $15 for lunch and $30 for dinner that doesn't mean they can use it all at one time and if employees brought someone with them by law they had to pay for their own. This district cries poor and they can go to an upscale restaurant and have retreats at golf clubs the only ones it hurts are the students the administration seems to take care of themselves with taxpayers money. It is no wonder this district is in a mess. We have a board that has not made policies for how the money is to be spent.
Found the policy on travel to conferences it is 500.18-R. It states for meals:
Breakfast $8.00 Lunch $12.00 and dinner $20.00 at reasonable places. So if you are going for total then that would be $40.00 not $70.00. I don't think an restaurant like Riva is reasonable for them. Also if what was said that they only paid for district employees if what you say some bought their spouses and for that dinner you state some went them the board went against their own policy.
So, we find Cathy Latz abuses credit cards. My, My, My. Better than what the little shrew usually abuses, people. Little self serving twit is mild for this reject from another district.
The point in that dinner is that Roberts was going to pay for it until getting the bill. Then Johnson said to put on credit card. The accountant who is irrate about what is going on now.
Since this dinner was put on Roberts credit card and Johnson was there then she did have a say in it. This is probably just one example of how they disregard their own policy and the IL School Code.
Between the Band and Juanita dinner it can only be one person. That is all the blog ever talks about. Funny thing is 30 people attended the dinner and Johnson is the only one to blame I never knew her and Juanita were so close
That's funny the receipt only says 13 quest. So you are admitting there was a dinner for her. The dinner things is just an example of how they don't follow policy. How can they judge others when they have broken laws.
The scaring thing would be that they hire a new one do you really think they could pick a good one they would probably hire someone from the district and those administrators have broken their own policy and The IL School Code so there wouldn't be to much of a change.
Brizzard was an arrogant bully, despised by the vast majority of CPS teachers and staff. Dr. Roberts may be inept, but compared to Brizzard (or "Serial Bully" Radakovich) he's a saint.
Meanwhile, over on the West side the taxpayers are up in arms. D131 homeowners already pay some of the highest property taxes in the area, and now the district is hiring expensive LAWYER$ to defend against lawsuits by the girls Steve Orland was messing around with.
ReplyDeleteNo matter how you perceive it, it's an expensive mess!
Here's a link to a Chicago news source:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wlsam.com/Article.asp?id=2538837&spid=
f*** this stupid blog. It's worthless and should close down immediately. the administrators of this piece of crap should not be able to show their faces in public. they should be ashamed of themselves and embarrassed by what is posted here.
ReplyDeleteget a life...weirdo
Delete8:47, maybe ALL blogs should close down & are worthless! This one is much tamer than a lot of them, and does publish comments on both sides of issues (unlike Openline, for example).
ReplyDeleteYou might prefer going back to the days when there was no Internet and people had to express their opinions on the radio or in the newspaper. Too bad; we're here to stay!
:)
At least on here you know how people feel instead of talking behind your back.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck to Lisa Gawlik, the new EHS choir director! She's been teaching at Simmons the past several years and now will be working with our high school choir students. Lisa has done an outstanding job at Simmons--can't wait to see & hear our EHS choirs under her direction.
ReplyDeleteThe proud tradition of excellence in the East High choirs continues under the capable leadership of Lisa Gawlik!
BTW, nice cartoon on the original post.
ReplyDeleteHere is a url from the Beacon from Letters to the Editor for Wells. While she makes some good points I believe that workers are still going to workshops to learn and they should as long as they are following the law. She used going to workshops many times on the districts dime and got a nice dinner out of them.
ReplyDeletehttp://beaconnews.suntimes.com/opinions/letters/15083020-474/letters-to-the-editor.html
This one has destroyed the District.
ReplyDeleteThe cartoon is right on the mark for many things discussed here.
ReplyDeleteWhich is what I see as September 24, 2012 8:47 PM comments about the blog. Let me change their words a bit for MY POV.
"the administrators of this school district should not be able to show their faces in public. they should be ashamed of themselves and embarrassed by the test scores posted on the state report card."
WOW. What a difference a few miles makes. Here's an article on the BOE President from Indian Prairie: http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/news/15364521-418/indian-prairie-board-president-named-to-state-school-board.html
ReplyDeleteA stark contrast to our bully for a board president.
I would like to know why Wilson Morales was able to keep his job when after the student incident is it because his wife is Dr. R's secretary wrong is wrong why didn't the board release him oh I forgot he was suspended for 5-days if I'm correct but still has a job!
ReplyDeleteWilson is the best Administrator in the District.
DeleteThe Home Coming Parade was nice today it was nice seeing the students having fun.
ReplyDeleteI agree, 6:43 p.m.--and I'm looking forward to the homecoming football game tomorrow night, too!
ReplyDeleteThe weather's supposed to be PERFECT, and it's always great to see my fellow EHS alums!
See you there :)
Here's a link to a discussion on the "other" blog:
ReplyDeleteopenline.blogspot.com/2012/09/wheres-money-east-aurora-school.html
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, what a good "discussion" going on. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteAnd our high school band is the best in a 25-mile radius.
ReplyDeletemake it 26....haha, geek
DeleteWouldn'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?
ReplyDeleteFor 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!
Actually, the people in theschools/ office have no controll over the website. The teacher information is updated from people in the central office.
DeleteI went to the Openline blog, and saw some "grEAt" videos of our EHS band students doing the chicken dance.
ReplyDeleteMaybe next year's show can have a Chicken Dance theme?
What a grEAt use of the band's rehearsal time...
...Or not.
8:39 you can thank Tom Weisner and the City of Aurora Council for such high taxes and an East Aurora Board of Education that does not demand that the City take a hard line on overcrowding and try and reduce all the low income folks in the district.
ReplyDeleteThe Ohio University Band did the dance to "Psy"'s video - why not the Chicken Dance to let off some steam or get warmed up. If it is good enough for Ohio University Band then why can't the band take a break during practice -- GROUCH!!! http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/09/24/14073650-ohio-university-band-takes-on-gangnam-style?lite
ReplyDeleteExcept that wasn't individual students doing a dance to a wind-up plush toy--big difference.
ReplyDeleteI do like having a "Chicken Dance" theme for halftime, though. Think about it...the Tomcat could come out and eat the chicken at the end. Maybe a bit disrespectful of our mascot, but no more so than the "Nightmare Before Halftime" show a few years back.
How about some GOOD NEWS this beautiful Friday morning--this from the D131 website:
ReplyDelete~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TEST SCORES ARE ON THE RISE!
Last spring our students took the annual ISAT Exams and we have great news to report: 8 of our schools showed an increase in Math AND Reading , 9 of our schools showed an increase in Math, 10 of our schools showed an increase in Reading. In addition to that, we are proud to announce that throughout the entire district, READING SCORES increased by 4% and MATH SCORES increased by 5%! Congratulations to our children, teachers, parents, administrators, board members and the entire educational community for proving that we are Making Choices For Excellence!
D131 Still ranks at the bottom 3%in the ENTIRE STATE. At this rate it will take 20 years to get to D204 level of academic success. Sweeping changes are needed and it starts at the top!
ReplyDeleteYou people are way too focused on stuff that is NON of your business and that you know nothing about.
ReplyDeleteActually, our kids' test scores are everybody's business, 11:21 a.m.
ReplyDeleteAnd whether the band looks & sounds good is also a concern for those of us who are alums or who have kids in the band. Like it or not, comparisons will be made between now and "back in the day".
Hey, I LIKE the Chicken Dance!
ReplyDelete:)
10:38, what are you smoking. You are so stupid and you are the reason nobody like this blog. Because all you do is make stuff up to insult people. You know nothing about anything so just shut up. Your ignorance is astounding.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, you being fat is astounding. Loser.
DeleteI don't see where 10:38 a.m. made up anything. The videos are on display for anyone to see, off the Openline Blog link.
ReplyDeleteI thought Becker said the team would win tonight's game. It's time to put a fork in the football program at East. They could not even score a point. It's time to give the money to the band. I saw Liska with over 100 kids by himself. Becker had 11 coaches on the sidelines and twenty six kids. At least Byrant never had a staff that big. Rumor is he upset that the Board will not give him a job.
ReplyDeleteWhy should they he does not understand our kids and constantly bad months them in social circles. They have become his big story to his friends at Marmion. His story makes them out to be a social stereotypes.
Yes, this makes sense. Lets cancel football and give the money to the band. Lets also cancel all other sports that don't win, and also give me the money to band. While we are at it, lets take a strong look at education, and cancel every program that isn't working, and give the money to band. Why are you picking on one sport? Lets look at all the programs including education. I doubt Becker is upset that the Board won't give him a job. Becker has an NFL Pension, and his business has been successful over 25 years, and he has multiple contacts for other coaching jobs. Loud mouth Annette Johnson opened her big mouth, and promised a lot of things, gave her word, and isn't following through. Big difference between being upset about not getting a job, and being upset about people like big mouth and big head "Shrek" Annette running her mouth and promising things she now cant or wont follow through on. But hey, thats District 131 at its finest. And another thing, Becker worked hard and got coaches to volunteer, and now you say an ignorant comment that Bryant never had a staff that big? Moron. Both had the same amount of coaches, but Becker got volunteers. Also, if ACT scores dont go up this year, lets cancel education and School altogether at East, and make it the Band capital of the country. Your a joke. Also, what does ,"bad month in circles mean?" If Becker is bad mouthing anyone and anything, its because of idiots like you. The kids love him, and the only thing that probably loves you is potato chips loser.
DeleteLoser, weirdo....sounds like the kids are back in blogtown. ......Get out of the kitchen. ;o)
ReplyDeleteLiska had at least 140 kids by himself.
ReplyDeleteDon't throw more money at the band, it won't make them sound or look any better. Unless you hired a few professionals to march with the kids. Meanwhile let them do what they're best at...
ReplyDelete...The Chicken Dance.
How about spending some money to update the district's website? 5 weeks into the school year & Mr. Stellmacher is still the EHS choir director, according to the info on the D131 and high school site.
ReplyDeleteWe DESERVE and NEED current information. I plan to vote for School Board candidates who promise to address this issue!
Becker was promised nothing the District which included many administrators at the time purged unneeded positions when the State cut 12 million.
ReplyDeleteIf he loved the kids so much why is he walking around telling everyone he is out a here. Read the stipends for Beckers so called volunteers they got paid over $25,000 more than any other program in the District. That with his big $10,000 coaches salary comes to $1750 per point. He actually scored less points than Byrant.
Leadbetter made the promises and since he did not get what he wanted he bad mouths every teacher at East, the administration of East High, and the Board of Directors.
He has a few sports boosters that support him but that it.
As for Football they should get rid of it and give the money to the band Liska is a popular teacher who inspires kids as did Kaisershot.
Why is it the popular coach did not even have a freshman team. This would be the first time in years. Shrek equals Becker he scared all the kids away. Watch the green venom come out after the season
Football stipends at every high School in the nation have the highest payroll out of all the sports because they have the most coaches moron. Dont act like District 131 did anything special for football. Annette makes promises she cant keep.
DeleteKaisershot never did the chicken dance!
Delete2:19 you are such a moron. Just shut up about what you don't know about. Which basically means, shut up.
ReplyDeleteHull wanted his friend in and wanted Cam fired he got his way that how it works. Lewis and Hull have kids on the band and that why the band got big bucks and new instruments last year. Waldo and Simmons got new stuff as well because of Lewis's granddaughter and Kaisershot.
ReplyDeleteThen Johnson keeps her puppet Roberts dancing on a string.
Becker told Roberts as it was one day and he became toast because Roberts did not want Jefferies exposed and Tom Boatright exposed.
The way it is
Story was it was 100 degrees out and Boatwright was using the track for his personal track team. Boatright trains kids from other schools like Naperville at East for free and gets paid for it. Becker complained and was told to shut up.
ReplyDeleteTom Boatright and Hull goto the same church Main St Bapist who gets by with almost next to nothing rent every Sunday. Their rent only pays a janitor to open the building.
for this they have full use of all he audio visual equipment and auditorium. They leave as mess and every Monday two janitors are stuck cleaning. They need stage help and other services every week. This all started when Hull got on the Board.
Boatright has getting by for years. Becker never learned the politics of d131. He is too honest. Will be sorry to see him go.
The bands (plural because each middle school and the high school got money) because THIS DISTRICT REFUSES to support the band program the way it should be supported. You would freak out if you saw what kind of money is needed to run a band program the right way and then you would laugh if you saw how district 131 "supports" their band program.
ReplyDeleteFINALLY 4:05 said something that is actually true.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of supporting the band, here's an opportunity coming up next week. The band will be holding their Buona Beef benefit day next Tuesday, October 2nd, all day. Download the flyer here:
ReplyDeleteband.d131music.org/come-and-support-band
Turn in the flyer at the counter when you order (or at the window if you drive through)--the band gets a percentage of the sale.
Good food and help our band kids--grEAt idea!
Do you have to do the Chicken Dance to get into Buona Beef?
DeleteThere is not a full time person to update the website- the high school has given that responsibiltiy to an English teacher for a small stipend. She does the best she can with the time available to her.
ReplyDeleteNo more lies go unanswered.
ReplyDeleteFirst fallacy: Edmund Jones was who I know was the best candidate for the coaching job. He was a career coach including Eastern Il ,Indiana State and East St. Louis Lincoln . Mr Jones was also a career educator with his type 75. He shared that he was an educator first and coach second and if we didn't want that then he wasn't our guy. He was clear and precise about his standards and priorities. The lie being told is that he was my friend or my guy. I met Mr Jones for the first time the day of the interview like everyone else. The truth is officer Derrick Smith of the APD know Mr. Jones and told him about the opening.
The committee passed over five candidates that were educators who would impacted the student body on a daily basis. Excuse me for wanting more for the students. Because the truth is anyone coming in was going to do what the current staff and the past did ,lose at least inthe immediate.
I have nothing against coach Becker . I asked him about maybe being a fulltime substitute but I didn't know at the time that teaching was not for him.
Cam Leadbetter is in my mind a stand up young man. He always have treated me with respect and that respect was reciprocal . However being an Alumni and good guy should not qualify anyone to be superintendent, principal, teacher, athletic director or coach.
Next lie, Tom Boatright is not a member of Main Baptist church. The church pays upwards of a 1000 dollars per Sunday. FYI , I prefer having church at 814 E. GAlena like we had for over 100 years but we cant accommodate the congregation in one service. Im going to suggest that the funds be put back into the neglected areas of the auditorium The mere fact that a worship service is taking place on the campus is a blessing financially and spiritually.
For the liars I love you and there is nothing you can do about it.
Sorry I know it's slow but I just got a chance to view the YouTube videos of the "Chicken Dance" that been talked about on the blog.
ReplyDeleteWHAT THE HE** IS LISKA THINKING???
For those of you who have not seen these videos, the "Chicken Dance" is not some assignment that is being used in band class. Liska is using this as a type of humiliation and punishment for indiscretions in his class.
If the child has done something like forgotten their case or music lyre out in the band room, they are forced to go before the class individually and do the chicken dance in front of the whole band. The other students laugh and ridicule the child being punished. This has then been video recorded and posted on YouTube.
This is completely beyond any acceptable form of classroom discipline/management. Humiliation is unacceptable, video taping students and posting this publicly is against board policy without the parents written permission. This is also a complete waste of instructional time.
These are not the actions of an educational professional. I would expect this sort of behavior as a hazing incident in a college frat house.
I can't believe this is what Brian Liska is getting paid over $60,000 a year for???
12:33 a.m., I do not agree that the Chicken Dancing kids are being humiliated! From the videos I've seen, it's all in good fun. Their classmates are laughing WITH them, not AT them.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that it's a waste of instructional time, though. Especially considering how they sound & look at their halftime shows.
Mr. Hull, thanks for posting and giving your perspective. You are one of the better School Board members, and you'll be getting my vote this spring for sure!
ReplyDelete9:48 p.m. said:
ReplyDelete"There is not a full time person to update the website- the high school has given that responsibiltiy to an English teacher for a small stipend. She does the best she can with the time available to her"
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Clearly, that's NOT WORKING and they need to give the responsibility to (or hire) someone else! Our website represents D131 to the community, and we DESERVE current information. There's no excuse for having to learn who the new EHS choir director is on a BLOG because administration can't be bothered to update the website.
Annette Johnson has single handedly ruined the moral for every teacher, administrator, and staff member in District 131. Roberts has stood by and let it happen. No one in District 131 is happy at any level. You know you read this Annette, and you know its true. If not, ask around. You are a joke. Front page of the Beacon on not trusting administrators? You are the laughing stock of the state, and there is not one person who takes you seriously. You have epitomized the word bully, and the time for honoring yourself will soon come to an end.
DeleteIsn't there some kind of rule about disclosing information about job candidates present employees? It seems that this is a personel issue and should remain confidential.
ReplyDeleteIf memory serves, there was someone at each school who used to get a small stipend for doing the website. Some teachers even used it as a tool for teaching students. Then D131 got the truly needed and improved website and took those duties & stipends away and hired someone to work with the PR dept as the "web master." Apparently, they went back to the old way, which was a better way to manage updates in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteSo what does the web guy do? or was he let go?
12:33 - You need to calm down because you are using words that you don't understand.
ReplyDeleteOH GOD, THE CHICKEN DANCE. HOW WILL THE STUDENTS EVER RECOVER. Do you know how stupid you sound. Maybe the band room is such a safe place that students feel comfortable stepping out of their comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteSeptember 28, 2012 10:09 AM
ReplyDeleteI guess it wasn't good enough for Ohio afterall. When I went to the link you posted it said "the video has been removed by the user." They must have had 2nd thoughts how they wanted their school portrayed on the WWW.
Too late, others have already reposted elsewhere :(
12:33 a.m. - you are just exaggerating, the kids are having fun! There is absolutely no humiliating going on. As always, some people on this blog just want to make things seem worse than they are, or AREN'T.
ReplyDeleteMr Hull is correct Leadbetter was told about the Sub position or a PPA.
ReplyDeleteBecker did not want those jobs they did not pay enough. The district made no promises and told him there could be a possible Foundations available. The District would hire a replacement for Brooke Young on grants. This person would work on Department of Education and title grants as well as technology grants. The new position would work with Foundations to extra monies for the district. Rebuilding sports, music, arts, and scholarships for the students would become a focus. Becker would have to apply like everyone else.
In March the State of Illinois would not make the final payment of 2011/12. The payment total 4.2 million. At that point the teachers contract was still up in the air. Budget numbers had not been finalized. In July the State told the District they would only pay State aid at 89%. For d131 that was another 8 million dollar hit. The budget got adjusted with opening in administration and other positions, that while class sizes increased. The Foundations became a unneeded expense. The District now uses a consultant who is paid a percentage of the Foundation grant along with Clayton that was the best financial move.
This Board all of them are financially responsible unlike Boards of the past.
Go to Board meetings ask questions, call them. I did because I like Kurt and I thought he was not being treated fairly and I asked.
BTW its sounds like Brooke Young should be in our prayers.
7:33 - You are correct about football programs eating up a lot of money, but I think the bigger issue is the number of coaches for that varsity football team.
ReplyDeleteThere are at most - 35 kids on the team - and there are at least 10 coaches (I think maybe 11) just for that varsity team.
That is CRAZY.
Why is everybody so childish that you just cant speak about the issues without insulting people?
ReplyDeleteYou attack people, and you blame people, and you never find out the truth from those people. You never confront anybody about anything.
You just hide here and nobody takes your postings seriously because most of them are just ramblings and nonsense.
You know, when I have a problem with somebody, I go and talk to them about it and try to figure out if it is a misunderstanding, or maybe there is another piece to the puzzle about why they acted the way they did.
Makes sense because you are on the blog hypocrite.
DeleteI am a teacher and I support Ms Johnson. A small majority of admintrators may not like her. They are the ones that needed to go along time ago. She is one of few that does not care about making changes. Her and Hull speak up and are transparent. Thank you
ReplyDeleteAccording to Raymund Hull...
ReplyDelete"I met Mr Jones for the first time the day of the interview like everyone else".
What was Raymund Hull doing at the interviews?
A board member should not have been at the interview of any employee. It sounds as though Raymund Hull was exerting influence in an inappropriate way.
It is the board (collectively) who approves or disapproves the recommendation of a commitee or administrator. How can a single board member sit in with the interviewing commitee and not make undo influences on the entire process.
This sounds like a question for the State's Attorney's Office. It sounds as though laws were broken here.
The fact that Raymund Hull is here on the blog exposing confidential employee information is also very troubling. This board is getting out of control.
I don't know how many of those 10 or 11 coaches are paid, and how many are volunteer. I work at a high school in another district. We have a total of 15 coaches (all paid stipends) and 112 players (Varsity, Sophomore, Freshman). That's a ratio of ~7 players for each coach. For a collision sport like football, that's probably a reasonable ratio, you certainly wouldn't want more than 10 per player. Other sports can obviously handle more; our cross country teams are about 20-25 runners per coach. IF EAHS has 10 or 11 paid coaches for 35 players, that's pretty high. IF.
ReplyDeleteBut 3:11 - I wasn't insulting people - Unlike you.
ReplyDeleteThis district has a technology department why doesn't someone on that staff do the website. It seems they are more interested in putting pictures up then informing the people about things. If you want to see a district that has a website that gives the best information to the public D300 is the one to look at. This is a very open district giving all information to the public.
ReplyDeleteSince when does a board member sit in a interview that is the Superintendents job. If you really look at how this board runs you can see they only follow laws they want and they bend some of them.
You dont have a problem with lying on me, putting down my child and disrespecting my church but there is a problem with the truth. I did not vote for a candidate because I understood that the job was already filled. If I have broken a law the I challenge whoever is offended to press charges. If im removed so been it but not more lies got unable answered. You cant handle the truth, not my problem . Please been courageous and stop being anonymous. I told you before that I only care what's God thinks off me.. Called me my number is public
ReplyDeleteReally September 30, 2012 11:29 AM the board is financially taking care of things if you ever saw the credit card statements I think you would be amazed at how the board lets the administration break the law on how they use it and as of today they still don't have a policy about the usage of them which was required by law in 2009.
ReplyDeleteIf we are so fiscally responsible why did Clayton post on FB that ALL middle school Magnet students received a MacBook Pro. I thought that program wasn't costing the taxpayers anything extra????
ReplyDeleteI don't have a MacBook Pro? Where did that money come from???
3:56,
ReplyDeleteI have been on three different interview committees for positions at the High School and there has always been a Board representative on the committee.
Sounds like a question for the State's Attorney's Office? Sounds as though laws were broken here?
It sounds like you are a moron who has no idea of how things work.
http://www.d131.org/newsDetail.asp?id=2092&guid=
ReplyDeleteofficially from EA website, I am not surprised by this wasteful misuse of district funds.
According to board policy (http://www.d131.org/boardofed/Section5/section5.html), it is the responsiblity of the superintendent or his designee to recruit personnel and then make recommendations to the full board for their approval.
ReplyDeleteNowhere in the board policies does it make mention of board members sitting in on the interview process. Apparently, the board can not even follow their own policies.
It's simple, no individual board member has the legal power to make any decisions. However, if someone like Raymund Hull is part of the interviewing process, they are having an undo influence on the process itself.
This practice should be reviewed by the board as a whole and clarified for future interviews.
I have interviewed at another District and a Board Member was on the committee. I shows the D131 Board is involved.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good thing.
Also many support staff, teachers and secretaries are campaigning for Johnson on their off time as well as the other Board Members.
I say four more years and get the broom out for the lousy administrators they are posting against the Board not he teachers.
The employees of the District can't vote in he lection they do ot live here
ReplyDeleteYeah call the attorney on that and get laughed out of town. Many school districts have interview committees including ours. Often we have community members sit on committees for Principals as we did for Kaisershot. In fact if it was not for Ms Lewis and other community members today we would have Steve Orland. Since that was Marin's recommendation.
ReplyDeleteThis is the most proactive Board in 30 years. The blog is made up of a few ax grinders and if you say the sky is blue they will tell you it orange.
This board is a joke they run the district not the Superintendent which is how it is suppose to be. They must not believe Roberts can do his job since they step in on things all the time yet they keep on renewing his contract why? A good board has a superintendent carry out their policies and make sure they are being followed. I bet the secretaries like Johnson since she lets them by snacks on the districts dime for meetings. How many of these people live in the district.
ReplyDeleteWell, looks like Queen Annette is losing her dictatorship! Dick Leonard went after her tonight and its just the beginning of things he will begin to say! A new alliance is forming between Leonard, Hull, and Turza! One more vote of Cervantes and some change will start to happen.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to the Cowherd Cougars 6/7th Grade Football Team. They are the 2012 City of Lights Football Champions.
ReplyDeleteThey have had a completely dominant, undefeated season.
In the off season Kurt Becker and the high school coaches worked with the middle school coaches and got them on board using the new high school system. It has really shown in the Cowherd Program.
I look forward to seeing how the district football programs grow and improve over the next several years.
The real Dick Leonard gets his Comcast bill paid by the District. Was given a computer and copy machine and the real story was he was not looking at the bills but pressuring David Finaly to give his friend Marty Feltes a no bid job on steam pipes. the board stopped him last month by defending Finaly and keeping him when Leonard wanted him fired. Leonard wants his own contractors friends to get jobs and none of the Board members will hear of it.
ReplyDeleteAs a person who attended last nights meeting, and a person who will pay in the form of higher insurance. I am very disappointed that Mr Leonard attacked his fellow Board members. If the Board can not rely on a report prepared by a administrator then the one employee they have needs to be fired. Dr Roberts just sat with a blank look. I have attended many meeting and work for the District but live in the District. I have heard many times that Augustine and Roverts fixed the finances. The Board needs to take action on Roberts.
ReplyDeleteLeonard seems to be on a witch hunt for his fellow members. So for the person saying he formed a PAC with Turza and Hull that is a lie they all looked like they could have killed him.
October 1, 2012 9:10 PM
ReplyDeleteWhere is Turza's pal Stella's vote?
That's what, 5 or 6 championships they've won at Cowherd in just the last year? What's going on there that they are having so much success? They are definately doing something right.
ReplyDeleteKeep it up and Congrats Cowherd!!!
Here's a link to a lively discussion on the Openline blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8854980&postID=9216066230543930540
And so it begins.
ReplyDeleteAnd so WHAT begins, 8:00 a.m.?
ReplyDeleteHow come Johnson has her business email address on the website for her contact shouldn't she use her personal one?
ReplyDeleteIt's obvious that Annette Johnson is some of these anonymous comments.
ReplyDeleteSounds like some employees want Leonard brought up on charges that he is forcing maintenance staff to work with his contractor friends.
ReplyDeleteThe maintenance staff is tied of being made to look like crooks. Does not sound like the Board can keep their own house in order.
We the employees should not pay for their mistakes.
Dick forced maintenance staff to work with his contract friends and Annette forced the Athletic Department to hire the new secretary and Ray has a son working in the maintenance department. Just doesn't seem right!
ReplyDeleteJust a reminder--
ReplyDeleteToday is the Buona Benefit Day for EHS Band. You MUST have a flyer (download here):
band.d131music.org/come-and-support-band
GrEAt food, and help our deserving band kids!!
No board member can make workers work with someone. If they are why is the union letting this happen they can do something. There are wrong things going on in this district and some board members don't act the way they should but making people work with contractors or making someone hire people is wrong and if you have proof do something about it.
ReplyDelete9:44 am - We agree! There is talk that people at the high school are going to share how Annette forced the new Athletic Sec down their throats. She was denied during first round of interviews, but gets the job after Annette made them do a second round. Annette even forced Sheila and Cam into a meeting and threatened them. This will all come out soon. People need to speak out!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJohnson owns her own company that is her personnel address.
ReplyDeleteAll lies
ReplyDeleteCam always follow the same pattern look at the way his wife was treated. She would run the consession stand while he was down in his office with his girlfriend that now works for Cams sisters son in law at Yorkville. Notice we put in no names other than Cam because he let his family down.
ReplyDeleteA recap of events that happened with Leonard and the Maintenance Department. It is funny how Cam was let go by the Board for $400 and this can happen. They need to look in their own backyards. We will file with the States Attorney if something is not done. The same as Cam was treated.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the situation of being directed by Dick Lenard to use Zacosek Plumbing and Marty Feltes, the situation unfolded as follows:
1. I reviewed Zacosek Plumbing's price for extra work and determined that it was too high. I got a competitive bid (see attached spreadsheet at bottom EHS PIPING CO) and presented it to the B & G committee members at the June meeting.
2. At the meeting Dick went off agenda and started discussing the subject of the extra work in a very aggravated manner, indicating that the competitive bidder was probably not union and probably did not use compression fittings for the copper pipe. He stated that "the competitive bidder was not a good option and the work of Tom Jungles and Marty Feltes was excellent, the kind of work the District wanted to see."
3. The following week at the Construction Progress Meeting held in the tunnel at the High School, Dick also stated "that the insulation used by the competitive bidder was probably shoddy and he wanted to use Zacosek Plumbing and Marty Feltes because of their excellent work."
My response was "considering all the things that you (Dick) point out the prices were probably not far apart when you factor in non-union, sweated fittings and poor insulation, so we will use Zacosek and Marty."
Reality is that the competitive bidder (Key Construction) is a union plumber, they use compression fittings and the insulation they use is the same as what was installed.
As a result the District paid Zacosek Plumbing $19,000 for $11,500 worth of work.
Well she needs to change it to a different one that is promoting her business and she can't do that when she is a board member. Why would you have a personal address with your business name. Remember when the one guy got elected and he was on the board for awhile and in his profile there was something about his business and they took it off because of conflict of interest. Ms. Johnson get a address that isn't associated with you business you can get a yahoo account for free.
ReplyDeleteDid anybody go to Buona Beef yesterday for the band benefit day?
ReplyDeleteI did! Bought a family meal (pound of Italian beef w/gravy, 2 long loaves of bread, pasta salad, and house salad). Spent about $25.00--so the band probably got about $5 from me.
GrEAt idea--good food, worthy cause.
Thanks to the person who posted the link to the flyer on this blog. Every once in awhile, I see something positive and/or useful here. Makes it worth looking at every few days or so.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion Annette Johnson is the best board president D131 has had in recent history. The big problem I have with her leadership though is that she support Dr. Roberts. He is a complete failure in the district, is absent most of the time, hardly works when he is there and does not care about the education of the children in this district. I am beginning to waiver on my support of Johnson because of her support for him. How can she support this guy? Maybe a change in the leadership on the Board would bring in a new superintendant???
ReplyDeleteState code does not allow you to just fire a administrator, that includes the Superintendent. I say ask questions and become a part of the solution not the problem. A first step was removing Augustine and Marin Gonzalez. Scores are up, the new Augustine seems to be very good and everything is moving.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like Dick Lenard needs to clean up his own back yard before he goes picking on employees of the district. Cam did the same thing but not for as much why did he get and the board get by?
ReplyDeleteAs far as Hull and Johnson many other people get friends in.
It is my understanding that Ms. Johnson does own the business but she has a manager run the day to day dealings so her using that email really is a way to promote her business and is unethical she should have one if they are going to but email address out there one that isn't tied to a business. In fact at looking at a few other districts the board members use the email for board members only since no one board member can make a decision by themselves and it shows they follow that process.
ReplyDeleteWorrying about Johnson is shows how stupid and fixated you are. Me Johnson you may have a stalker on your hands it sure seems someone analysis your every move. WOW.
ReplyDeleteThere is certainly not anything unethical. I know call the States Attorney and tell him that. He will lock you up for stalking her
The article in Tuesday's paper is a good account of what was said at the meeting by Leonard. Also, it appears that Jay was a scape goat-impression from what was said at the meeting.
ReplyDeleteStalking is usually referred to when one person pursues another.
ReplyDeleteThis is many people making comments about different aspects of her actions throughout the district. No one person could be aware of so many different areas of the district and what she has done or said unless it was her beloved superintendent.
Lenard was told members of maintenance to use certain friends. Leonard was a contractor himself for years. Cam got fired for the same thing. Somebody contacted the Roe and was told you can not get rid of a board member unless you prove money exchanged hands. Do you think his friends will tell. No so he gets by.
ReplyDeleteHe was angry about this Monday that is why he made himself look honest
Lisa only you would say that about Wison being a good Administrator because he is your HUSBAND!!Wilson needs to work for the police since he likes playing detective instead of doing his real job!
ReplyDeleteThis in todays Beacon was astounding. It's long but definately needs to be posted here:
ReplyDeleteAURORA — On the city’s East Side, the new school year kicked off with East Aurora School Board President Annette Johnson saying she had “lost trust” for some of the district’s administrators.
Now, more details of the School District’s finances have begun to unravel. East Aurora Superintendent Jerome Roberts said that the district does not have “about half” of the receipts that show exactly what administrators purchased on district-provided credit cards at shops like Target, Walmart and online retailer Amazon over the past year.
“To be honest, people weren’t keeping (the receipts) very much,” Roberts said Friday.
Taxpayers are footing the bill for those credit card purchases.
The district’s Old Second Visa Business Card statements show that in a one-year period, East Aurora administrators spent $322,733 on the charge cards. The Beacon-News acquired the bills from June 2011 to June 2012.
After Johnson, an accountant, and fellow board member Richard Leonard, a former contractor, started asking questions, Roberts froze the administrators’ credit cards in August. Credit card bills that topped out at $40,718 in one month were reduced to $900, according to Roberts.
But with no receipts, Roberts is asking the public to take these administrators’ word that the money was spent prudently, more than a year after some of the purchases were made.
So the question arises: In these difficult financial times, was all that credit card spending necessary?
Spending
ReplyDeleteOne of the most puzzling of the credit card statement line items came as school let out for the summer in June 2011.
The line item, purchased on a central office administrator’s card, reads: Caesars Advance Deposit Atlantic City, NJ: $135.89.
Caesars in Atlantic City is a casino and hotel. According to records, a flight to Philadelphia, an hour’s drive from Atlantic City, and registration to a Philadelphia education conference were also purchased on the same administrator’s card that month.
Roberts said that district administrator was out sick all of last week and had not been able to provide an explanation. The district’s finance department is not currently in possession of receipts for those charges.
“(The purchase) looks funny, yes,” Roberts said. He said it was the most concerning of the charges made on the district credit cards.
For that conference, the administrator charged a $409 flight on American Airlines from Chicago to Philadelphia. That same month, the same administrator used the district credit card for a plane ticket for another East Aurora employee to fly from Chicago’s Midway airport to Philadelphia, with a layover in Atlanta. That ticket, for an AirTran flight, cost the district $936.
Other purchases over the year include a $1,933 bill at the Bolingbrook Golf Club for a retreat for central office administrators. Administrators spent that time to plan the school year, Roberts said, and the Bolingbrook Golf Club offered a better deal than Aurora clubs.
One administrator made a $397 credit card purchase at Garden Ridge for an under-sink organizer and decorative items. Three central office administrator purchases at Home Depot, which totaled $3,488, were for heavy-duty shelving units.
While Roberts said a few of the purchases may be questionable, for the most part he hasn’t come across anything in the statements the district would have refused to pay. He said all of the administrators using credit cards were coming in under their allotted budgets.
“What it has done, though, is it allowed for sloppiness,” he said.
Board President Johnson also complained about district bills that were paid late every month, saying that was “money thrown out the window.”
Statements show that in 2011, East Aurora paid $1,603 in interest on credit cards bills that were paid late.
That problem has since been fixed. A $650 upgrade made to the district’s billing system has allowed the district to pay the bills more than once a month, she said.
Common stores
ReplyDeleteThe credit card statements that lack receipts include those for hundreds of purchases made at Walmart, Target and Walgreens stores.
When asked to explain some purchases, one building principal said a $284 charge at a Bed, Bath & Beyond store in Downers Grove in June 2011 was for a wooden office stand, a school calendar, artwork, artificial plants, books, picture frames and storage containers.
An $83 charge at a TJ Maxx in Janesville, Wis., in July was for stationery, the administrator told Roberts. That administrator also made a $66 purchase at a Wisconsin Walmart, according to records.
Another central office administrator, who Roberts said provided all of the receipts for purchases, listed a $350 Target bill for “incentive awards” for teachers.
From June 2011 to June 2012, building principals and central office administrators made 116 purchases at online retailer Amazon, which ranged from $4.15 to $3,164.
At Walmart, 68 purchases were made; at Walgreens, 20 purchases; at Jewel, 18; at Target, 12; and at Dominicks, 11.
In June 2011, $42 and $70 credit card purchases were made at an Aurora Walmart; a $109 purchase was made at a Lockport Walmart; and $93, $94 and a $123 purchases were made at an Oswego Walmart.
Roberts said a lot of the Walmart-type charges were administrators buying snacks for committee meetings.
“Sodexo was charging us $7 for a case of water. You can get that for $3 at Sams,” Roberts said. Sodexo is the district’s food vendor.
Johnson said the School District has since worked out a better deal with Sodexo.
While administrators bought from stores in Aurora, Oswego and Montgomery, they also charged items at the same well-known retail stores in Lemont, Palos Park and Bolingbrook.
Receipts
ReplyDeletenot reviewed
Roberts said he shut off the credit cards because he was concerned about the lack of receipts.
Administrators should have been turning their receipts in to the business office after purchases on credit cards were made, he said. Then, the district’s finance director, who up until this month was Jay Augustine, would review the receipts to make sure they matched up with the credit card bills.
But that was not being done, Johnson said.
Following the board’s probe into bills, Augustine notified Roberts on Sept. 21 that he would retire effective immediately. Augustine could not be reached for comment for this story. Twice in the week before his abrupt retirement, the School District told The Beacon-News Augustine would not respond to questions about the district’s credit card use.
Roberts said he and a few other administrators kept meticulous receipts.
“Professionally, nobody came to (me) and said ‘Hey, you need to keep your receipts.’ You just do,” Roberts said.
Under the district’s purchase order system, all purchases must be pre-approved. The district credit card system was meant to be used for emergency purchases and travel only.
“What was happening is people were using their credit cards to go out and buy because it was much more convenient than using a purchase order,” Roberts said.
Moving forward
ReplyDeleteRoberts said the time to clean up the district’s financial mess is now.
“No more excuses,” he said.
Now, the district will require all purchases to be made through a purchase order unless the purchase cannot be made by that method.
Johnson said the district is also working on putting a Procurement-Card system into place, which according to West Aurora School District spokesman Mike Chapin, many other area school districts use.
A P-Card functions like a credit card, but the P-card system is a cooperative program where some school districts all use the same card through one bank on separate accounts. This allows school districts to get better rebate amounts on big-ticket purchases.
Chapin said the West Aurora district received more than $13,000 in rebates last year from using the P-Card.
“But the real savings to the district is in the efficiencies from processing one purchase order for the month instead of multiple (purchase orders) for each cardholder,” Chapin said.
The P-card also helps avoid late fees, he said.
In addition to West Aurora, the Oswego, Geneva, Batavia, St. Charles, Indian Prairie, Naperville, Sandwich and Somonauk school districts all use the Procurement-Card system, Chapin said.
“Once (East Aurora) gets this P-card system in place, this all gets eliminated,” Roberts said.
Johnson anticipates the School District’s 25-year-old business system software will be replaced by February. Once that happens, the public will be able to see the itemized invoices for what the School District is spending online, she said.
New committee meetings between teachers and administrators will examine spending this year, too, Roberts said.
Johnson, who owns a small business, said she finds some of the spending “unacceptable.”
“But every school district will tell you that this is indigenous to every school district across the country,” she said.
As a teacher in this ditrict, I find this lack of accountability unbelieveable and shocking. Each building has a records secretary. As a teacher, you understand that every penny spent has to go through the records secretary and approved by the principal. Every penny must be accounted for.
ReplyDeleteHow then, are we supposed to believe that the administrators didn't understand this structure? This structure is preached to the staff constantly by the administrators. We are talking about at least $160,000 spent that is completely unaccounted for.
The district, at this point should be going to the credit card companies and demanding the stores copy of every receipt. They are required to keep these records. If they can't provide the original receipts, they can't demand payment. They can then demand administrator justification for each purchase.
The article doesn't mention which central office administrator went to Atlantic City and charged at the casino. It only stated the the administrator was not available for questions this past week. I don't know if she was the only administrator out of town last week but Christie Aird was in Florida all week.
I know this new PO system is hurting the sports programs. It takes months for a PO to go through the processes of the district. In other words, let's say a kid needs a helmet for football, He can expect it to arrive sometime during the winter season. I guess the kids just can't participate.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that the students suffer because administrators are irresponsible.
I'm glad this blog is above the law, posting material that is copyrighted.
ReplyDeleteAnnette knew about these problems 4 years ago when questions were raised about the necessity of the referendum. Once on the Board, she chose to turn a blind eye and now wants to look as if SHE discovered problems and has worked out solutions. If it wasn't for others input she'd be lost.
ReplyDeleteThe spending is still taking place they just don't use the credit cards. Last month Special Ed stayed at the Holiday Inn in Orland Park. It was about 12 people for two nights. Much of this is professional development that the admins claim they need this. Most of the monies come from Tiitle and the trips are budgeted. They do not realize Title could be spent more wisely.
ReplyDeleteThey also pay for snacks for the many meeting we are forced to have. Peope don't realize these meeting are early, at lunch, or after school.
Some people have abused it but the majority of charges are legitmate. The people who abuse it are Deanne Adams, Cathy Latz and Clayton. The Buildings are not guilty. As far as the board It was up to Jay Augustine.
By law the district is suppose to have a policy in place to check the credit cards and it has to be someone who doesn't have one. By law since 2009 if someone doesn't have a receipt the person who didn't have one didn't have the purchase paid for. The board dropped the ball on this they are the ones who are suppose to have a policy in place. The Board and Administration are the ones to blame for this mess and the ones that misused the money can be prosecuted.
ReplyDeleteAt Simmons they do not use the Credit Card they use the students fees. Recently someone emailed he Board President and the next day they had to turn all their money in. Boy was Wilson upset no more Donut runs. Teachers need to be better watch dogs. I have learned if we complain we are being heard.
ReplyDeleteI read both articles and the Denise Crosby one puts it more in balance. Food and administrators go together. Karen Lopez since leaving Simmons has gained 50 pounds and jokes about.
The p-card system is absolutely the way to go. I work in another district and have a p-card. Every month I have to complete a reconciliation form and attach the receipts justifying any purchase I make. That is reviewed first by my supervisor, then by a specific individual in the business office. It's mind boggling that the D131 business office wasn't checking ALL receipts. That's on Augustine -- and on Roberts for not making sure it was getting done.
ReplyDeleteCentral Office news is the administrator in question is Deanne Adams not Aird. Deanne is on sick leave so she claims. She knew this was going to hit and now she is taking off the next 12weeks. Sounds like someone's hà nd is in the cookie jar.
ReplyDeleteAlso over 95%of the credit cards are ok lets not let a few rotten apples spoil us
Problem with 131 is they stopped the cards but they are just after it a different way.
ReplyDeleteNo 95% are not ok. This district doesn't even know the IL Administration Code here is the URL that states the policy. By law they are no suppose to pay anything without the original receipt. Also they are to be reviewed by someone who doesn't hold a card. Dr. Roberts is it ok to buy alcohol with district's money I think not but yet you and some board members did. district employees if they go to conferences and take someone with them that person is to pay there own way. There is no limit of time that passes that these things can't be prosecuted. Here is the URL to the IL Administration Code you need to read it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.isbe.state.il.us/rules/archive/pdfs/100ARK.pdf
So many questions need to be asked about the financial chaos that led to the “early retirement” of the top money guy at the East Aurora School District, it’s hard to figure out where to start.
ReplyDeleteLike why the maintenance department made 800 trips in seven months to Home Depot and Menards. Or why there are discrepancies in insurance premiums that don’t match what the district was paying.
Both issues need some serious explaining, not to mention serious auditing. But I’ll start with a few easy ones about the district’s credit card use.
Like the $83 credit card charge to T.J.Maxx.
When the elementary school principal was asked about this purchase she made at the popular store that sells “Designer Brand Name Clothing and Accessories,” this was her written response: stationery for school use — school handbook and teacher memos.
Seriously? And those paper products had to be bought with a school district credit card at a T.J.Maxx? In Wisconsin? In July?
Just asking.
Just asking.
ReplyDeleteThat same principal, when quizzed about a $43 charge at a Kohls in Lemont, said it was for “books and stuffed animals for the library.” Another principal spent close to $700 at Bed, Bath & Beyond in Downers Grove for items, she said, that included art work, artificial plants, books, picture frames and other decorative items for her office.
That cash-strapped East Aurora taxpayers are buying designer stationery and office decorations for a cash-strapped school district seems flat-out wrong. What makes this more disturbing is we really don’t know for sure what was purchased because many administrators didn’t bother keeping receipts from their charge card purchases.
And not just from clothing or home goods stores, either. Thousands of dollars worth of who-knows-what was charged from places like Hobby Lobby, Big Lots, Best Buy, Target, Walmart, Jewel — with thousands more spent on Amazon sites that provide few clues as to what was purchased.
However, after scanning many of these credit card purchases, one thing became crystal clear: When educators meet, they eat.
It’s a well-known fact in school districts across the country that “if you want to keep them, you feed them,” admitted East Aurora Superintendent Jerome Roberts, when asked about the thousands of dollars spent on food that not only included restaurants and pizza joints but lots of trips to Jimmy Johns and Panera Bread.
In addition to thousands of dollars spent on gifts, flowers, door prizes and a host of other “teacher incentives,” many of those charges to Targets and Super Walmarts also went to lots of calories.
“One thing I found out is that we have been holding a lot of committee meetings,” School Board President Annette Johnson explained. “And those (purchases) are for snacks for the meetings.”
Could it be some educators are taking advantage of the hand that feeds them ... and feeds them ...and feeds them?
Just asking.
It’s been well established by past headlines that handing out government-issued credit cards is a system ripe for abuse, especially when paired with a business director who didn’t demand receipts; and an antiquated software system that sorely lacked checks and balances. It’s little wonder that, when Roberts froze these administrators’ credit cards last month, the bill dropped from a one-month high of over $41,000 down to $900.
The district, embarrassed and “disturbed” by this mess, is working to revamp its computer and credit card systems, and has hired a new business director who is a CPA. Roberts and Johnson say they are also taking a hard look at how to change a culture which seemed to take advantage of sloppiness that cost taxpayers — and more importantly, the children — of this district a whole lot of money.
But there’s still questions that need to be answered, including an explanation for this line item: “Caesars Advanced Deposit in Atlantic City” for $135; as well as a $936 plane ticket to Atlanta.
We’ve all made sacrifices these past few years. We’ve tightened belts and slashed budgets. And experts predict more of the same as we continue to face huge deficits and funding issues. School districts tend to cry poor. But isn’t it the responsibility of every government employee, especially those entrusted with our kids, to spend whatever money is handed to them as wisely as possible? As if it was their own?
Just asking.
And I hope plenty more taxpayers do the same.
No Johnson it isn't indigenous of all districts some follow the law. You and the board are suppose to have a policy about credit cards and someone who doesn't hold one or a committee are suppose to look at them. Even in The Beacon they keep blaming the finance department but if they would take the time to look at The IL Administration Code they would learn how the district is suppose to handle them. Abuse has been going on for years not just this last year. Last year East St. Louis go in trouble for the same thing and other problems in the district it is time for someone to look into it. The fact that the Superintendent does't know about the credit card law since 2009 in unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteI picked up my Sunday Beacon-News this morning, and there on the FRONT PAGE was the huge headline "WHO'S IN CHARGE AT EAST AURORA?, along with photos of Caesar's Palace, Home Depot, and a luxurious restaurant dessert being paid for with an EA credit card marked "TAXPAYER".
ReplyDeleteThen, I opened up the front section and saw pages 2, 3, and 24 taken up entirely by this story. How embarrassing for a district whose administrators care so very much about "IMAGE"! Interestingly, I did NOT see Clayton Muhammad's name anywhere; evidently our illustrious publicity director can't spin this particular story to his liking.
At this point, we need to consider replacing every administrator in the district. Every administrator knew these things were happening.
ReplyDeleteEvery adminitrator facilitates faculty meetings in their own building because it is economical yet attends these "Golf Club Retreats" for administrators. If I am not mistaken, every school is empty and available in the summer and is available to host these administrator meetings.
I've been to many meetings at the service center and have always been told to eat before I arrive. Apparently, food is only served when it's administrators only.
There is no excuse for any administrator to not have the receipts for purchases. Teachers are required to produce every receipt or they will not be compensated. We are told all the time this is board policy. If the administrators are not folowing board policy, they should be terminated.
I am surprised the Illinois States Attorney is not yet involved in this process. It appears as though there is a strong possibility that fraud has occured. Administrators can not be trusted or allowed to investigate themselves in this matter.
Someone mentioned that we have not heard rom Clayton Muhhamad on this matter. Considering, Clayton is frequently required to organize these administrator meetings, it does not surprise me that he is keeping a low profile.
The charge that seems very fishy to me is the charge of $397 for an under sink organizer at Garden Ridge.
ReplyDeleteI've shopped at Garden Ridge a few times. It's basically a dollar store for home goods. the most expensive items I've ever seen there are under a hundred dollars and that is for things like bar stools or furniture items. They simply don't sell items in that price range.
That one needs to be investigated further. It just doesn't add up.
Also in today's Beacon:
ReplyDelete"Five the district’s seven board seats will be up for a vote in the April 2013 election. Three newly elected candidates will serve four-year terms expiring in April 2017 and two candidates will serve two-year terms expiring in April 2015."
Why are 5 Board members up for election?
Jerome emphasized in the article all the purchases that could be explained. I'm not very concerned about those. I'm much more concerned with the more than $160,000.00 in charges that the administrators can't account for.
ReplyDeleteAs others have mentioned, this has been going on for years. How much more money is unaccounted for? There has been reports of district maintenance personnel being used for personal projects at adminstrators homes. How may of those materials have been purchased on the districts credit cards?
The majority of administrators when called together about this did turn in receipts. This is the FACT. Much of the money did get spent on the schools. Amazon , Apple and other online tools go to the I Pads and Pods in the District. Conferances like PLC cost the District over $25,000 alone. This will align the Districts lesson plans and is one of the reason tests scores are going up.
ReplyDeleteI will comment about the events because it is unfair to get lumped with people that did not preform their duties. Penny Halvax would get the receipts many of the administrators did not keep copies. When she emailed everyone it has a complete shock she did not have them. A day later she went on leave after many started emailing her regarding the receipts.
A day later Dr Roberts called a emergency meeting. Many had to leave schools while registration was taking place. One person was late and Dr Roberts screamed at him. That pretty much was the tone of the meeting. many had never seen that side of him. Many stated, they turned receipts. Roberts questioned Augustine who had no clue about the receipts. He stated Penny is on leave.
Roberts asked don't you know, and he quietly said NO.
I blame no one else other than Jay Augustine on this. Thank god they asked him to resign. All of us believed in him. Someone stated he asked and answered all the right questions. Now to find out he did not look into anything is sad and disappointing. Have a good retirement Jay. I hope you think of us every day. Halvax needs to be prosecuted .
If memory serves, 2 of the 5 positions were appointed when people resigned. Due to the cost of holding an election the Board appoints someone to fill the position until the next election At that time the position must be filled by the voters choice.
ReplyDeleteNormal term is 4 years, since 2 positions are for 2 years it would appear those 2 positions have 1/2 of a term remaining.
I would like to see a news station pick this up also. The Beacon needs to take what they got to The States Attorney for them to get involved and The Beacon will see that Roberts and Johnsons explanations who is accountable for overlooking this is wrong. This has been going on for years but didn't think it should be looked at.
ReplyDeleteBy the way Clayton is just as bad with not having receipts and there is a bar in Chicago he likes to go to on our dime.
Governor Ryan never issued a drivers license but was held accountable for what those in his charge did. Not one single receipt was produced that Blogolavich took money but he was held accountable. Superientendent Roberts is the one responsible for the situation at 131. Annette Johnson wants Roberts around around because a competent Super would not allow her to manage. She continually blames everyone except him.
ReplyDeletePenny was Jays right hand. When the Board would question things they would meet for hours about what they should see. Many of us will testify to this. Please call the States Attorney.
ReplyDeleteDeanne Adams and Anna Groh abused the cards. Other cards had been in order the Board never seen all the cards. Charity Singh stamping Deanne's name made the credits cards surface. Charity got greedy and claimed $900 plus on mileage on list of bills to the board. Then Johnson demanded Deanne's card that what started this. Rumor is Deanne is not coming back.
Also, we did have the receipts admins turned them in all the time. Why are they missing? Oh yeah Penny. Look at the two things she handed and why insurance and credit cards . Why would jay not give the credit card bills to others in the department.
You are wrong October 8, 2012 5:05 AM Jay never had the receipts. I have FOIA credit card statements and in doing so Joan G. asked the administrators for the receipts. It is amazing that none of you know the law, the ones that didn't have them didn't keep them or they didn't want anyone to see them. Here is the URL for The IL Administration Code please all you that work for the district read it. IT WASN'T JAY'S PLACE TO KEEP THE RECEIPTS NO ONE WHO HAS A CARD IS SUPPOSE TO REVIEW THEM ALSO CARD HOLDERS ARE SUPPOSE TO SIGN A PAPER STATING THEY NO THE POLICY HAVE YOU?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.isbe.state.il.us/rules/archive/pdfs/100ARK.pdf
d) If a school board has obtained and issued credit cards or procurement cards for the use of board members, the superintendent, or other district employees or officials to pay certain job-related expenses or to make purchases on behalf of the board or district or any student activity funds, or for purposes that would otherwise be addressed through a conventional revolving fund, then the board shall adopt a written credit card policy that at least:
ReplyDelete1) identifies the allowable types of purchases;
2) provides for the issuing bank to block the cards’ use at unapproved merchants;
3) limits the amount a card-holder can charge in a single purchase or within a given month;
4) provides specific guidelines on purchases via telephone, fax, and the Internet;
5) indicates the consequences for unauthorized purchases;
6) requires card-holders to sign a statement affirming that they are familiar with the board’s credit card policy;
7) requires review and approval of purchases by someone other than the card-holder or user;
8) requires submission of original receipts to document purchases;
23 ILLINOIS ADMINISTRATIVE CODE 100.70
ReplyDeleteSUBTITLE A SUBCHAPTER c
9) forbids the use of a card to make purchases in a manner contrary to the requirements of Section 10-20.21 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5/10-20.21]; and
10) indicates how financial or material rewards or rebates are to be accounted for and treated.
(Source: Amended at 32 Ill. Reg. 16439, effective September 24, 2008)
To: October 8, 2012 5:05 AM
ReplyDeleteWe are supposed to believe you and the other administrators when the administrators investigate themselves in a situation that could/should land some or all of you in jail?
The States Attorney should be doing this investigation. If it is a case of sloppy accounting, those individuals should be terminated. If it is fraud/embezzlement like taking trips to Atlantic City Casinos or purchasing items for their personal use, they should be terminated and prosecuted.
Simply put, these administrators can not be trusted to investigate themselves, especially when you consider that the investigation could end in jail time for them. An outside, inpartial agency needs to be leading this investigation.
Also, why does Jerome still have his position? Is that not where the buck is supposed to stop. The schools are failing. Every department is being run haphazardly. When is the board going to hold the person in charge responsible? Enough is enough.
Why does West Aurora keep Rydland around the same reason because he has a contract. in fact they just extended his contract to 2017. BTW Roberts had all of his receipts.
ReplyDeleteAsk your building Principal she had to turn receipts into Penny Halvax. If you got the receipts and saw a problem and you claim you filed a FOIA request why did you not call the Beacon. Why because your lying.
ReplyDeletethe cores went up 9% something working must mean Roberts was working on that and trusted Jay.
ReplyDeleteNo because the Beacon already started their story. At the end they might have but not until then.
ReplyDeleteIf you filed FOIA then you must have approved of the charges. If the States Attoney is so great why is it he will not file charges against Penny in know a case was prepared.? Why no charges against Oswego for not recording excutive sessions? Why no charges on a complaint filed by DCFS against West Aurora? Why because nobody cares
ReplyDeleteAs for Roberts the test scores are up biggest jump ever. To bad a wonderful superintendent trusted so many.
Trusted? Do you honestly believe Roberts knows nothing at all. If he doesn't know about all this, then he is not doing his job as the Superintendent. He does know, and does a great job of covering things up. Johnson can't be that stupid to trust him. Maybe she is. Does not make sense how Roberts will get off clean with all this.
DeleteYou notice the law said the cardholder has to submit the original receipt. Nowhere does it say you have to make a copy, but it's sure a good idea because look what happened here. The finance dept. didn't have the receipts they were supposed to have, so they turn to the person who charged it and demanded a receipt. What do you do if you turned in the original receipt like you're supposed to, but the business office didn't keep it like THEY'RE supposed to?
ReplyDeleteWhat did Penny do? In the case with Oswego the board turned themselves in and The States Attorney did put them on probation and gave them process they have to go through and have their Attorneys at meetings.
ReplyDeleteYou believe that a Superintendent that says he didn't know they where suppose to check the receipts is a good one. He should of known about the Administration code. It takes the States Attorney awhile to file charges so give it time. These administrators that have had the cards have been misusing them for years.
The test scores "appeared" to go up because the district took all the money intended for ALL the students not meeting standards and used it to push the bubble kids over the edge. (Bubble kids are those students close to passing but not quite there).
ReplyDeleteBubble kids were given remedial classes in a very small class setting. Students who were not close to passing received no extra help.
The State came in at the beginning of the year and told the administrators to cut the crap. The money is for all students not meeting standards. It will no longer be used to artificially inflate the districts numbers.
If your only defense of Jerome Roberts is that test scores went up this year, you may want to re-evaluate your strategy. The State Board would not support you.
What you would do if they did turn in an original receipt is to make a copy when you did it that is called CYA in most companies. A copy would tell someone if they questioned it that they did what they where suppose to do but the card holders do not do this because they didn't have someone to turn it into. If you make a copy of the original most will take your word on it.
ReplyDeleteOctober 8, 2012 9:57 AM &
ReplyDeleteOctober 8, 2012 5:42 PM
Bah da bing & Bingo!
It was Jay Augustine's job to make sure all the receipts matched the cards. He has a license and oath to provide checks and balances. Then there are the District auditors what are they doing. I heard the reports are very clean. It was Jays job just like Jay over saw the maintenance department. Principals and their secretaries will testify they turned receipts into Penny. I am angry that Jay will walk off earning a pension of around $ 120,000 per year he should be charged. Look at your school code Jay was appointed Treasurer and the Superintenents designate.
ReplyDeleteYes, Jay was the Superintendents designate. Jerome had meetings with Jay daily, and Roberts knew about the credit cards. Roberts didn't do anything about it until the Board found out. Jay notified Roberts, and watched Roberts do nothing. What did you want Jay to do, disobey orders from his supervisor. Roberts acts all surprised, and now plays dumb like he didn't know. Makes perfect sense.
DeleteThey can testify but I believe there is evidence out there that those administration and secretaries did not have original receipts. Please refer to the IL Administrator code that someone has posted to see how all this works.
ReplyDeleteThe reason we had issues is because we had administrators overseeing administrators.
ReplyDeleteNow we are supposed to trust that administrators are going to investigate administrators???
Administrators are essentially politicians. They are professional liars. Their primary function is to do whatever is necessary to protect themselves and the district.
It is a conflict of interest for them to investigate themselves. An outside investigator must be used in these matters. The States Attorney is the only one capable of doing what is needed here.
The board should be requesting the States Attorney come in and investigate.
I found this very interesting. As usual with the district web site, the superintendents page has not been updated this year. On Jerome Roberts 2011-2012 page, he outlines his goals for the year.
ReplyDeleteThis includes:
My goals for the 2011-2012 school year are:
2. Establish and communicate an accountability system to ensure that all district resources are efficiently and productively used to support student development.
Each quarter, I will present to the Board of Education a summary of activities that have been accomplished to achieve these goals. I would also like to provide our community with the same summary by posting them on this page quarterly. (See below)
If you continue down the page, the only update was for the first quarter. It read:
Goal #2: Establish and communicate an accountability system to ensure that all district resources are efficiently
and productively used to support student development
The following activities are aligned with the High Impact Decision-Making initiative from the district’s strategic plan and serve as Indicators of the progress towards the accomplishment of the goal above during the first quarter of the 2009-2010 academic year.
2010 Goals
• By the end of the 2010/2011 school year work with administration to produce how the expenditure relates to support student development.
• Work on a system that would create outside opportunities for our students.
• Work to effectively communicate test score data to the Board.
• Continue to monitor Website updates.
Indicators
• In August met with Jay Augustine to discuss the parameters of creating such an accountability system. In September met with Jay Augustine to review initial draft of the new system.
• The addition of an “Outreach Community Facilitator” position with the Community Relations department was designed to provide students with outside opportunities in the realm of scholarships. Internships and job opportunities, etc.
• This was accomplished by a series of three community forums and a presentation to the board of education on the districts ISAT scores.
• Met with Clayton Muhammad and Ryan Ford to discuss changes and improvements to the districts website. Also met with Lisa Morales to have board calendar posted on the website. The board calendar was posted on the website on October 10th.
It was obvious that Jerome had simply copied this crap from the previous year and hadn't even bothered to update the years. He obviously wasn't doing his job.
Test scores at the high school are in the bottom 5% in the state. They have a 50%+ drop out rate. Most of the sports programs are terrible. The buildings are in disrepair. The building and grounds department is in scandal. The accounting department is in shambles. We have many classes without an official curriculum. Classes are way overloaded with students. Some classes have begun without basic needs like text books.
ReplyDeleteOne administrator resigned, all others are simply being reassigned?
How bad does it need to get before the board takes any real action???
At this point, the board should be contacting the Illinois States Attorney and the State Board of Education. One possible remedy for schools in chronic failing status is to replace the entire administration. It is time that the board exercizes this option.
The only reason not to do this would be that Johnson is afraid of losing some of her control.
there needs to be an ivestigation into why Johnson supports Roberts. There is something more going on here I just cant figure it out-Yet!
ReplyDeleteGood luck proving that when the District used the number one school auditing company from Chicago and they had been paid to check.
ReplyDeleteYou would be surprised by those auditors in fact the ones that did E. St. Louises missed it too and now that district has been taken over by the State since they didn't want to change their ways and part of why is the misuse of districts money.
ReplyDeleteSaw this on the district website:
ReplyDeleteOn Tuesday, October 2, six educators in East Aurora School District 131 were surprised with a special visit from OfficeMax representatives and were honored as the 2012 winners of the A Day Made Better program sponsored by Office Max and Adopt-a-Classroom.
Joy Dong of Hermes Elementary School, Cari Frer of Krug Elementary School, Kate Keilty of Simmons Middle School, Susan Moshinsky of Beaupre Elementary School, and Michele Romero of Johnson Elementary School, and Katie Sidmore of Brady Elementary School were all honored for their dedication to students and for making personal sacrifices to fund additional supplies for their classrooms.
Teachers spend roughly $1,000 out of their own pockets each year to offset school budget shortfalls and ensure that their students have the necessary classroom resources for learning. OfficeMax’s A Day Made Better program, in partnership with Adopt-A-Classroom, aims to help end the need for teacher-funded classrooms.
Each year, OfficeMax and Adopt-A-Classroom work with school principals nationwide to select and recognize 1,000 deserving teachers with an A Day Made Better award and $1,000 in classroom supplies donated by OfficeMax.
Each recognized teacher receives a digital camera, swivel chair, and large box containing essential classroom supplies – a total donation valued at $1,000. To ensure the donation matches the demand for classroom supplies, OfficeMax surveyed teachers and school administrators on their greatest needs
Since 2007, OfficeMax’s A Day Made Better and Adopt-A-Classroom have funded more than 5,500 classrooms with more than $4.5 million in grants and school supplies, and helped secure funding for more than 66,000 classrooms annually through donations to Adopt-A-Classroom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So while our teachers fund their classrooms from their own pockets, our corrupt administrators help themselves to tax dollars for travel, dining, and entertainment.
School Board candidates, what do YOU plan to do about this??
The teachers had been given $200 per classroom this year. I say something is better than nothing. But nw the accounting department is so inept they can't function under the new accounting procedures and issue any checks
ReplyDeleteJust saw this on the Beacon website:
ReplyDeletebeaconnews.suntimes.com/news/15661287-418/east-aurora-fires-insurance-coordinator.html
You mean to tell me a secretary was responsible for record keeping of insurance. What business does this? This is just another example that the district does not have the right people at the top looking after district business. Remember the board gets a list of bills that they are suppose to review and it looks like they really don't. A good Superintendent would be watching these things.
ReplyDeleteWho is going to ask the board why Juanita Wells going away party was paid by the district. There was alcohol on this and that is a no-no. Roberts was going to pay for the dinners but did not have enough to do it, so Johnson said to put it on the districts credit card. Lewis, Hull and many others are aware of this. Never in FOIA material counld it be found that the district was refunded for this.
ReplyDeleteLet me be clear about secretary's they are a valuable part of any business so why would a district this big not have a payroll department that handled things like Cobra and how paychecks where handled. As people leave by choice or because of downsizing there managers should give that information to the payroll department to make the changes.
ReplyDeleteThis district can let administrators have golf outings or retreats, have Holiday parties at Gaslight Manor or LongIsland Sound, buy food for things, but they don't have a payroll department that takes care of payroll.
The Beacon keeps reporting these things but doesn't go to The States Attorney to see if these things are how a district should be ran. If they want to report these things they need to find out the legal aspects of them to get the whole story.
WHAT ABOUT THE MILLIONS IN OUR B ANK ACCOUNTS,IS IT STILL THERE ? AN INPARTIAL AGENICY NEEDS TO APPOINT AN AUDITOR TO INVESTIGATION NOW.
ReplyDeleteWill Roberts have to answer to anyone?
DeleteAs a teacher, it is sad that we pay so much out of our pockets, and a few administrators spend profusely on unnecessary items. Denean is the one who said "No" about teachers going to conferences or stay hours after school uncompensated and yet she was spending the money. Go buy another pair of shoes, Ms. Adams.
ReplyDeleteMost of all, it is so disheartening that these FEW in administration are ruining the hard work that teachers are doing by letting their personal indiscretions be splattered all over the news. Shame on you for taking advantage of your positions while now us teachers have to clean up the mess you have smeared over our district. Shame on you.
Another complete lie Johnson hated Wells so why would she throw a party for her. Also the board and administrators have a meals allocation the number of people that attended fell well within that price range. Try to go take that one to the Beacon.
ReplyDeleteAlso the charges on the cards are legitimate. Adams never went to Ceasars Plaace she cancelled and the money was never spent there is a credit
Sounds like Penny is being used as a scapegoat. Since when is a secretary in charge of a department? Under this type of reasoning, I guess Lisa Morales is the next one terminated since the district is failing.
ReplyDeleteWake up board. It's time to clean house.
Penny never charged herself for insurance she is a cheat. Jay was reasonable for watching her why was he allowed to retire
ReplyDeleteThe price range is $40 for a dinner and since most of the time at those conferences there is free food afterward they don't use the districts credit card for that in fact. Since we haven't seen the receipt we don't know but buying alcohol with taxpayers money is Illegal.
ReplyDeleteThere where 13 people at the dinner and the bill was 939.65 for the food, tax was 103.37 and tip 169.14. If you divide 939.65 by 13 and round it off each person dinner was $71 and policy says 40 for dinner.
ReplyDelete10:54 I agree completely!!!! This all falls on Jerome Roberts lap and yet the Board does nothing. He should have been fired years ago. The academics at East are deplorable. They have not moved in all the years he has been superintendant. Clearly the financial situation is a mess. What good has this guy done for East Aurora? He needs to be replaced. Why the administrators, faculty and Board are not demanding this is beyond comprehension.
ReplyDeleteWhy did Juantia go anyway she wasn't running for board again should board members or employees not staying at the district be able to use taxpayer monies to go on trips. She got a two night stay at a nice hotel at $498.
ReplyDeleteAccording to records, a flight to Philadelphia, an hour’s drive from Atlantic City, and registration to a Philadelphia education conference were also purchased on the same administrator’s card that month.
So who charged on the credit card for the hour trip?
The dinner for those mentioned that was such a large amount was at the Riva @ Navy Pier.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to eat for $40. there.
http://www.rivanavypier.com/menu-dinner.html
Hull, Marin, Joan, and Lisa took their husbands or wives I seem to remember about 18 people going. They do have $75 allocation per day but I am sure some used more.
ReplyDeleteRumor is Johnson is working on getting rid of Roberts it seems she has become very angry with him over favoring certain administrators like Augustine. Roberts always had a way of telling people what they wanted to hear no board members ever challenged him like Wells AKA Big retirement dinner. Some Board members knew what was going on but could never get to the truth. Something is about to blow up. Be careful Johnson some of the administrators are lining up against you.
ReplyDeleteBut on the other hand the administrators need to be careful with her.
I have never seen such tension Games are being played in administration and they are very angry they dont have there credit cards or free insurance any more. Its been long over due.
Then they shouldn't have eat there by policy only $40.00 is allotted for dinners.
ReplyDeleteNo the reading the policy it is $10 for breakfast, $15 for lunch and $30 for dinner that doesn't mean they can use it all at one time and if employees brought someone with them by law they had to pay for their own. This district cries poor and they can go to an upscale restaurant and have retreats at golf clubs the only ones it hurts are the students the administration seems to take care of themselves with taxpayers money. It is no wonder this district is in a mess. We have a board that has not made policies for how the money is to be spent.
ReplyDeleteFound the policy on travel to conferences it is 500.18-R. It states for meals:
ReplyDeleteBreakfast $8.00 Lunch $12.00 and dinner $20.00 at reasonable places. So if you are going for total then that would be $40.00 not $70.00. I don't think an restaurant like Riva is reasonable for them. Also if what was said that they only paid for district employees if what you say some bought their spouses and for that dinner you state some went them the board went against their own policy.
So, we find Cathy Latz abuses credit cards. My, My, My. Better than what the little shrew usually abuses, people. Little self serving twit is mild for this reject from another district.
ReplyDeleteThe point in that dinner is that Roberts was going to pay for it until getting the bill. Then Johnson said to put on credit card. The accountant who is irrate about what is going on now.
ReplyDeleteWhere you there to hear Johnson say this. It sounds like the stalker again
ReplyDeleteThe only thing stalking Johnson is Bigfoot or Jabba the Hut.
DeleteSince this dinner was put on Roberts credit card and Johnson was there then she did have a say in it. This is probably just one example of how they disregard their own policy and the IL School Code.
ReplyDeleteBetween the Band and Juanita dinner it can only be one person. That is all the blog ever talks about. Funny thing is 30 people attended the dinner and Johnson is the only one to blame I never knew her and Juanita were so close
ReplyDeleteThat's funny the receipt only says 13 quest. So you are admitting there was a dinner for her. The dinner things is just an example of how they don't follow policy. How can they judge others when they have broken laws.
ReplyDeleteWhy is Roberts still employed by D131?
ReplyDeleteChicago Public announced that they were getting rid of their superintendent Brizzard today.
ReplyDeleteWhen is the District 131 Board going to get smart and do the same to our inept superintendent?
The scaring thing would be that they hire a new one do you really think they could pick a good one they would probably hire someone from the district and those administrators have broken their own policy and The IL School Code so there wouldn't be to much of a change.
ReplyDeleteBrizzard was an arrogant bully, despised by the vast majority of CPS teachers and staff. Dr. Roberts may be inept, but compared to Brizzard (or "Serial Bully" Radakovich) he's a saint.
ReplyDelete