Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Welcome 2013!


243 comments:

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Anonymous said...

I wasn't there, but heard the same and it is evident they have no clue what they are doing. If they want new schools & busing & taxing they are going to bankrupt the district. Where are we going to build these new schools? The families of this community already voted DOWN busing and new taxes??? NO WAY

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know when the Board candidate forum takes place?

Anonymous said...

If the S&M slate is raising money don't they have to disclose where it is coming from? How can we obtain that information? Then we can see who's backing them.

Anonymous said...

Busing can be a good thing and remember the students have to live a mile from the school to get a ride. In some districts if there is room a parent can pay for their child to ride. Elgin and Rockford have used busing to move students into different schools in the district that best suits them I forget what that is called but D131 has neighborhood schooling which means that the students go to the school nearest them. In the other districts they can put a student in the school that will help them learn to the best of their ability which is helping the test scores go up.

I think the board doesn't what to join the Aurora University because it will show that our students can learn and their they will get a better curriculum to learn. As a parent I think it should be up to the parents about this they have to spend the money anyway on the student the parent should have the choice. While other districts move ahead ours stays back in the 60's.

You can see who gives money to them but what does it matter they can get it from whoever wants to give. Maybe people in other districts care about our students and want the best for them and also even though they aren't in the district they want one by them that does well also.

Anonymous said...

Until Aurora has a Mayor who understands that ALL the schools in Aurora must be light years ahead of where they are now, Aurora will continue to be a cess pool.

Anonymous said...

One reason the schools have fallen so far is a lack of support (funds). Districts that support their schools tend to do better. You get what you pay for. Middle school sports were stopped in the mid 80's and it has been cut,cut, cut. Outsiders coming in trying to help is sad and they should be commended. Check the record and see how many board members were publicly against the last referendum even after a 16 year drought. Annette Johnson lived in Naperville.. Becker in Yorkville .I guess it is okay for them to come back to save the district. How has that worked out? We remember all the doors slammed in our faces in pigeon hill when trying to get support in 2008. Look in the morrow and move out of the 20th century.

Anonymous said...

They have to disclose it but not for several months. Its the same tactic as the referendum get money from the cronies that the current board is cleaning up. If theery need $4500 the stakes must be high for the teachers and maintenance people to keep their jobs. What do they think they are hiding. For ministers these people have no ethics. I hope the people at Ginger Creek and Community 4:12 take note. Its time the district gets turned over to the State. I thought Johnson was grandstanding but now I am alarmed. They need to be looked into

Anonymous said...

6:29 a.m., magnet schools are district schools just like neighborhood schools are. I don't see anything wrong with the Strands sending their kids to our magnet school; in fact it shows that they are good parents because they are choosing an option that our district offers that is best for their child's needs.

Anonymous said...

how does Cowherd win city of lights basketball and football competitions if all middle school sports were stopped in the mid 80's?

Anonymous said...

What is it with the money these people are raising. who is giving them. In the past if you wanted to run for Board you paid your own way. I will never vote for them now I am assuming these are all people who will one day want a favor. For ministers they have very questionable backgrounds If they are transparent they should disclose every dollar. Lets see if they are as honest as they tell us. This is a call out to them for accountability.

Anonymous said...

It's time investigate Strand and her ministry if she is throwing $4500 into a race for a non paying job that shows something is in it for her. My question is why is a ministry paying parent volunteers to mentor is our schools? She is also involved with Kids Hope USA. It is my understanding that you must pay the organization $5000 to join and then that church is placed in one of our schools. Nobody can join but her organization because of the cost. She has also paid Clayton to speak at events out of State. Her and Zack want o pick the next Superintenent and rumor is Marin Gonzalez is lead runner. Freinds who attended said husband Bob filled in at the fund raiser. Questions must be asked are thy more concerned about the education or growing their ministry. Please someone call the State.

Anonymous said...

What do you mean they have no ethics it is their right to get funds for running and they have to report it.

Anonymous said...

www.urbanministry.org/kirsten-strand-clayton-muhammadAudio: Kirsten Strand & Clayton Muhammad. Recent · Popular · Kirsten Strand & Clayton Muhammad: A Church-School Partnership Model: CCDA 2011 Audio ...

I did your work for you. Not everyone supports this or Clayton in the District. He has been allowed to run around for years building illegal fraternities while Roberts sleeps. Kristen's ministry is in every building. Many staff members have joined. Materials are often handed out on school time. If you want to know why money is being spent at record rates it is because she is worried that a real superintendent would not allow it. Many of us do believe Marin will be back because of the business as usual attitude. Many of us remember how it was to work under her and if this group is allowed to get elected this is our future.

How dumb can Johnson be. Why does she seem to be having so many problems in the press. Because of the community spokesperson dumbo!!!

The State needs to take over.

Anonymous said...

Clayton has run a illegal organization for years. Not surprising about him and Strand. Believe Strans kids are B2M. This falls at the feet of Roberts allowing the district to get into the transgender mess and now he is running a church what else.

Anonymous said...

The rule are you have to raise at least $3000 to file a campaign disclosure. I see they did but have provided no information. It is odd that someone would want to spend that much on a school board race it bears looking into. Something is not adding up with these two. I also see only non d131 residents on Facebook for hem. Money does buy votes but why. I also think any d131 employee giving money respects a conflict are they going to then expect Strand and Montry to get them a raise. When are they going to hold a debate I would like to see their answers. Looked at the info on Clayton troubling.

Anonymous said...

Not everybody in involved with pay to play politics. You are such an idiot. Why is it that this blog always goes to the worst case scenario and assume the worst in all people. You guys suck.

Anonymous said...

Explain why never in the history of school board races in the area are Montry and Srand putting so much money at it. Could it be there is something in it for them like operating a illegal church in the district to get members who will in turn donate to fill their pockets.

Let us not forget the other conflicts

Jackie Walters Montry paid job and benefits Zack will vote on.

Scott Strand same way.

Access to district spokes persor to promote religion.

Strand kids get scholarships from Magnet School.

Teachers get raises and changes in working conditions with State standards> Strand has stated that herself.

What Strand misses is State watch lists have forced that. They are loose cannons that need to be stopped.

Go back to Naperville

Anonymous said...

Only in this district the candidates for school board paid there own way they didn't even think of it since most people don't understand what a school board is or how important it is to have good ones that have the best interest of our children.

Other communities like Naperville, Oswego even the West Side have people give money to the runners so they can get information out how they feel about running a district. Instead of think that the employee gives them money to get a raise why don't you think it is for a better run district. So what you are implying is anyone that has a person involved in the district shouldn't give money does that mean the parents also.

Anonymous said...

Not everybody involved (on the blogs) is an idiot or sucks or is always looking for worse case.

Again! who has the most to gain by spreading untruths about the new people running for EA school board. If you have a question, 2 of the candidates have a FB page & website. I have wrote and I received a reply. Some of the people I see on the site are definitely EA residents, so I don't know what the other commentor was looking at.

If in doubt check it out. Some people rely on others faith in people's honesty. They spread untruths counting on the fact people do not check. Just like all those goofy email forwards, they have even made a commercial pointing out how gullible we are about things we read on the internet. ("he's from France, I met him on the internet...")

Blogs are like any communication....between people you chat with on the street, your coworkers and neighbors. Some you can trust and others not. I would check out things stated as facts, any where you read/hear it, before you share it, especially when you don't know the source of the information.

Anonymous said...

Whats new about Clayton promoting a religion in our schools he has always told the kids to join the Nation of Islam. .Them you have the Boys II Men thing.

Because Roberts backs him he will get by. If a new sheriff is in town maybe not. It is alarming they need $4500 to run a campaign. I was going to vote for one of them to mix it up a bit but NOWAY. It shows they are not fiscally responsible just by the way they are running.

Kim Mundt said...

Just a thought...how much more truthful and positive would the information posted on this blog be if people were required to have their name attached to their blog comments? Would people still be posting the same types of comments that are currently being posted? My guess would be 'not as much'. When people choose to hide behind the veil of anonymity, they can say whatever they want to say without having any accountability. They can post things that are untruthful and hurtful without worrying about the consequences of their words. It's too bad that we sometimes take delight in tearing others down and don't make the effort that we should to encourage one another and build each other up. Just my 2 cents worth...you are welcome to take it or leave it...your choice. We are responsible for everything we say and do, even if we don't have the courage to put our name on it.

Anonymous said...

Boys 2 men is an organization for hispanic and black young men. i doubt strands sons would qualify.

Anonymous said...

Maybe someone should actually ask the 2 candidates in question how much money they've actually raised rather than believe Annette or Anita's posts of lies. The main problem with this blog is that anyone can post whatever 'facts' they want without any accountability as to whether or not they are actually true. I know these two and I know that most of what is being posted about them is completely made up because Annette and Anita realize the community is fed up with them.

Why can't we ask hard questions about finances, if they've picked the next superintendent, what they believe will help turn our schools around, etc to them and get answers from their mouths rather than AL and AJ (who we all know are posting the vicious lies).

Anonymous said...

Not one person running in Oswego or Naperville or West Aurora have raised money in school elections Strand and Montroy are carpet bangers that will use their positions to pay for play. Soe fiscal management if I were the current members I would use this. They have no business bring in money from Naperville. Montroy also looks like a Devil just compare pictures

Anonymous said...

Who had the fundraiser? Which school district should 131 be modeled after? Remember it must be a district where the majority of registered voters don't support the schools because they don't have kids in the system any longer. It also must have private white only clubs in order to be comparable.

Anonymous said...

I went to Zack and Kristans event and never heard one time about them wanting to help the poor children of East Aurora.

Anonymous said...

The misinformation and character assassination of Zach and Kristan is Annette Johnson. She is well aware what losing two of the current board members means for her reign of terror.

Anonymous said...

What does it matter how Cowherd wins because they will not be academically eligible at the high school. The same students playing varsity this year were good in MS also.Talent and coaching can overcome many obstacles. The kids at CPS win state titles all the time while being in the bottom 5%.

Anonymous said...

Kim Mundt you just put your finger right on the biggest problem with blogs, and why I think in the long run they do more harm than good. I don't come here to learn anything, I come here to laugh. Who knows, there may be a change. I understand that a lawsuit has either been filed or is being considered to force the Patch to provide IP and other identifying info for some libelous posts. Hope it's successful.

Anonymous said...

Looking up Zacks background he does even own his own house. The house is in the name of his wife. As everyone knows she wears the pants and electing Zack will have Jackie a district employee making all the choices on teachers. She wanted union president, got no support and this is her way of calling the shots. Zack worry about supporting your wife before you worry about 131

It is unfortunate Kristen Strands good name is mixed up with him. No doubt Jackie is using her

Anonymous said...

Check again and you'll find all races in Boys 2 Men. The vice president is white and are several others I have seen, including the Strand boys. So can we leave race out of this now?

Anonymous said...

The only reason Clayton has white kids is because he is building his own image. He has also hand picked kids from Indian Prairie to head up B2M and Marmion. It is not a organization about excellence kids from excellent families are recruited and on the surface make the organization look great. He planned a image builder at West Aurora last week to show community support. When 131 gets a real Superintendent next year Clayton will leave because that person will hold him accountable to his job. Clayton today spends his time building himself up not the district even the Facebook page for t he district is about B2M. We also need a real board to hold them accountable Unfortunitly don't expect that out of Strand her kids are B2M image builders. Let us not forget Johnson brought them back to the district so don't expect it from her either.

Anonymous said...

Talk about reign of terror. Let's not forget the trail of disfunction, embarrassment and shame this board has brought to East Aurora over the past year.

-No accountability with credit cards
-Insurance fiasco + employees stealing insurance
-Complete mismanagement of funds
-An administrator caught using district money for gambling
-Terrible test scores
-The board falling asleep on the job and passing a transgender policy which has attracted the attention of a ton of organizations, many of which are conspiring to bring a lawsuit against the district (possibly robbing millions from our kids education)
-Our school board president publicly admitting that she hates the population she serves and being completely unprofessional in public meetings
-Teachers rejecting their contract
-Our district having to endure continually shame and embarrassment because we have very questionable leadership running our district

It's time for change...

Anonymous said...

It seems we are deleting blog posts again so lets state the facts


Talk about reign of terror. Let's not forget the trail of disfunction, embarrassment and shame this board has brought to East Aurora over the past year.

-No accountability with credit cards. Fixed by this board not any other. Nobody except one employee with mileage did anything wrong. Snacks and meals all could be traced back to meetings. Other School Districts charge it to building budgets we are now doing the same.

-Insurance fiasco + employees stealing insurance. Insurance company fired for not informing board that 2010 audit was not done.
New insurance company saved 4 million. Teachers received lower premiums. Board President negotiated because of her professional background not because she was a bully. Teacher got a wellness programs and a 75% increase was headed off. Fact check with your Union
-Complete mismanagement of funds
-An administrator caught using district money for gambling. No retraction printed district got credit for trip. Trip not taken conference on technology.

-Terrible test scores
Test scores improved under this Superintendent more than the last two superintendents and more under this board. Fact Check State
-The board falling asleep on the job and passing a transgender policy which has attracted the attention of a ton of organizations, many of which are conspiring to bring a lawsuit against the district (possibly robbing millions from our kids education)
Aird misrepresented facts Montroy and Strand spoke up for her. Fact Check District Lawyers, cabinet members since they received the same advice. Did not cost anything issue over.

-Our school board president publicly admitting that she hates the population she serves and being completely unprofessional in public meetings.
Check with the students she mentors and see if they feel the same or the countless students she speaks to on how to make it in the business world. She believes in the kids and does not paint them as victims.

-Teachers rejecting their contract

Check with Union on who fixed the contract and got them 24% in raises
more than any other board. Gave the teachers empowerment committees. Fact Union

-Our district having to endure continually shame and embarrassment because we have very questionable leadership running our district
Board hired over 200 teachers and opened new buildings to reduce overcrowding. Dr Roberts never laid anyone off while facing big financial problems left from his predecessor

It's time to keep the changes. Looking forward to the debates the truth will come out

Anonymous said...

PS_ You should check your facts...Too bad most of that isn't true. Let's hope the reign of terror (Annette) is over come April.

Anonymous said...

The only reason they corrected the credit cards is that The Beacon reported on it. What about all the charges that you can tell where personal and since when is lunch for one a working lunch? How about all the charges that they didn't have receipts by law the one who didn't have the original did not get them paid or should have to pay them back.

Anonymous said...

Annette Johnson is the best Board Pesident to come and serve East in a long long time. I and many of my friends are very thankful she is on the Board and making so many needed changes.

Anonymous said...

If there are non-hispanic and non-black members, it is new. From B2M website "...After that meeting, Clayton Muhammad, who was then the Vice-President of the Quad County Urban League, stepped up to the challenge. He thought that if there were 12 young Black and Latino men who focused on their differences to cause death, what would happen if 12 young Black and Latino men would come together to focus on what they had in common, build a bond of brotherhood, redefine manhood, and shatter stereotypes in the process? ""

Anonymous said...

You are such an idiot - Just because something starts as 12 Black and Latino men doesn't mean it can't morph into something new.

It obviously isn't 12 kids anymore either, or does it have to be 12 because it started as 12?

Why are you so ignorant? The community is about 80% hispanic, 15% black and about 5% white - OF COURSE THE MAJORITY OF THE GROUP IS GOING TO BE BLACK AND HISPANIC.

Just stop it already and shut your stupid mouths.

Anonymous said...

Just because someone doesn't know how to respond without name calling doesn't mean they can't morph into something new.

Maybe they will learn to take their own advice. "Just stop it already" and hush.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for following my post with something stupid and without substance. It just means that my post is truthful and you have no follow up to refute it.

Anonymous said...

How unbelievably outrageous! The comment was a basic copy of yours, so I suppose yours & mine are both without substance.....blah, blah and whatever else you said.

Anonymous said...

I love that the Naperville school district is thrown around for us to live up to without any backbone behind it..we were just in a staff meeting where we were told that we needed to be more like Naperville..seriously!
Have you looked first at your demographics, what you are providing your teachers, pd--being offered, parent involvement, resources, teacher motivators, leaders in our district, and curriculum being offered. I absolutely love my job, but comparing us to naperville is a slap in the face...what about looking in our district and instead of making a whole new model reflect on what could be done better--ex. money, resources, teacher training, sped programs, clsss size, "gifted" programs, time in classroom, tech needs, classroom necessities--like is that heat working, student involvement...I think many of us feel like we are working hard and being spread very thin....I feel like admin is disconnected from the classroom as well as the teachers.
We would all love to be the number one school district, but we also need to consider if our schools/community/classrooms/funding/leadership are set up to accommodate this..Instead of sending yet another survey to us..come teach my class for a couple weeks..then ask me why we aren't living up to Naperville standards..better yet admin..why don't you get out of your hole in the wall office and start advocating for d131 students by being visible in the classroom, supporting the teachers and giving back to staff...take naperville out of the equation and focus on d131...that is unless you are planning on working in 204...then by all means leave and let us who see the bigger picture put d131 front and center to make change here where it would actually matter..204 is a great district, but it is not mine and I refuse to compare apples and oranges..
I choose instead to be proactive in my classroom and work with what I have...which is not much, but I believe my students can change and are..I am not sure about admin though...time to look in the mirror d131 admin..and stop blaming your staff that 204 is higher up then us....

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