About the bell schedule...there are some districts in our area that have only 4 class periods per day. It's called "block scheduling". Here's an example:
Here you go people - Many high schools have many different ways of doing the schedule. WHO CARES.
The point of the discussion is that we are eliminating a class period for the students of East High. Why are we eliminating choices for East High Students?
Just a few years back West Aurora did the opposite of what East is doing. West Aurora had a 7 period schedule and then changed it, added time to the day, paid the teachers more, and added an 8th period.
We at East Aurora are moving backwards when many schools around the area are moving forward.
It is fine if you think that more time in class is better or for whatever reason you like the new schedule, but don't be miss-informed.
The truth is that you could do anything you wanted with the bell schedule and it still won't change the fact that the reason the schools are failing is because the community around the schools are failing.
East Aurora to issue record-keeping manual in wake of janitorial contract dispute By Kalyn Belsha April 12, 2013 2:26PM AURORA — East Aurora School District maintenance personnel who were put on administrative leave last week pending an investigation by the district involving missing paperwork and mistakes on a janitorial bid are back in the office. A maintenance supervisor and secretary are both off paid administrative leave and Director of Student Athletics and Activities Nestor Garcia, who served as the director of operations until April 2012, will be back in the office next week, School Board President Annette Johnson said Friday. A second maintenance supervisor involved in the same investigation chose to retire last week. The district’s investigation into the janitorial contract came after The Beacon-News published a story detailing a year-long battle over who would provide East Aurora with janitorial products. That dispute included accusations of tens of thousands of wasted taxpayer dollars, district personnel payoffs and preferential vendor treatment. Upon review of the janitorial contract, the district found it had made costly mistakes, such as ordering 600 cases of batteries for $22,000 instead of 600 individual batteries. The district also could not locate a 2009 contract with Aurora-based Janco Supply that gave the company the right to supply the district with paper towel, toilet paper and soap dispensers for five years. The district installed new dispensers from another supplier last year for $81,000. Johnson said the mistakes and missing paperwork were due to a “lack of procedures” and record-keeping “sloppiness.” Johnson couldn’t say much about the employees who were taken off administrative leave due to personnel confidentiality rights, but she did say that for now, the district will focus on trying to find missing paperwork and drafting formal record-keeping policies instead of pursuing individual mistakes. “We have to just put it aside,” Johnson said. “You can’t necessarily blame anybody if you don’t have it in writing. I don’t think it’s just that (maintenance) department.” Johnson said by the end of the month the district will issue a comprehensive procedural manual to all district personnel who keep records that will outline how documents should be processed and saved. District personnel who fail to follow the procedures in the new manual could be subject to termination. Johnson said she would assist the superintendent in compiling best practice accounting procedures, since she is an accountant.
Okay Annette how about bringing Bob Green back since he was wrongfully terminated. Well maybe Bob does not want to come back. He will collect his pension and money he will receive after he wins yet another lawsuit. Get ready Jerome and Annette because this seemed like a personal issue you have with Mr. Green therefore I think Bob should sue each of you individually.
Evidently more class periods means more homework for a lot of students. This article specifically mentions districts that changed from block scheduling to 7-8 periods.
The person who said their son went to Waubonsie H.S. and couldn't fit foreign language into his schedule in 2003 was because D204 was still using block scheduling. There are pros & cons to each.
One advantage to longer class periods and fewer classes is that it's good preparation for college classes. Science and language classes that include lab work are ideal in this format. Also, students can get a good headstart on their homework in a longer class period, and have access to the teacher to ask a question.
Maybe a good compromise would be for freshman & sophomores to have the 8-period schedule and upperclassmen have the 7 longer periods. I remember my own kids as teenagers having a much better ability to concentrate & stay on-task by the time they were 17 then when they started high school at age 14.
Compromise is a good thing...it can even be grEAt for our students!
11:12 thanks for posting that. Sounds like a good bill, I wish it had passed. Interesting mix on who voted yes and no. Dems & Repubs on both sides. Tom Cross chickened out and voted present -- probably knew it was a good bill, but had to vote against because a Dem proposed it. Openline's going to be in a tizzy -- they'd love the bill but probably won't want to discuss it because Kifowit voted for it.
Here's a link to the information about the IHSA organization contest today.
http://www.tourneywire.com/musicresults.htm
Aurora (East) 37.5
A school gets 75 points for a Division I rating, and 37.5 points for a Division II. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that EAHS got Division II today.
"CONGRATULATIONS Wind Ensemble on receiving a Division I rating at the IHSA Organization Contest this morning. You played (and sang) extremely hard music at a high level. Good job. You should be proud of yourselves."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There's no shame in getting Division II, but it's too bad that certain people have to LIE about it!
Will we see another bogus plaque displayed, like back in 2007??
Who really cares what a poster on this blog says it is the kids we should be concerned about not about what stupid axe you want to grind. If the bell schedule goes into effect we might not have much of band anyway. I am shure that will please some of you.
The people who post regularly on this blog can in part blame themselves that the district is failing.
Why in the world would anyone who is hard working, dedicated, innovative, or professional want to come to EA? The pay is subpar, and the attitude toward students, staff, the administration, and the Board is TOXIC.
You will continue to see excellent teachers and administrators leave this district in droves until a campaign is started to SUPPORT them. Everyone in the area knows you can't stay at EA very long if you come to work here. The toxic blog is part of the problem.
Why not look to support new ideas and innovation? Something just might work and then where would all the malcontents be?
EVERY child can learn, the important thing is INSTRUCTION. The EA community needs to make sure the students have the basics down. If an administrator or staff member does not believe that every child can learn in spite of their challenges - THEY DON'T BELONG TEACHING IN EA. Until this message is articulated and the norm - things will be difficult.
To those staff members who constantly COMPLAIN -- look at the harm you are doing to this district -- seek solutions not constant criticism.
Change is difficult - but to those who say - "But we've always done it this way" - I say --then you will get what you've always gotten -- FAILING SCHOOLS.
Let's be more positive -- the children deserve the best and the brighest and the most committed staff and administrators. Now the district needs to attract those staff and administrators and work to KEEP them. There are lots of people in this district who are working endless hours for little or no extra compensation in order to make positive changes and impact the lives of children for the better. TRY SUPPORTING THEM!!
Wow...someone congratulates our kids on their Division II rating and then when challenged posts a link to the IHSA site, and that translates as grinding an axe?
Since when is it a bad thing to politely point out the truth, when false information has been broadcast on multiple forums/sites?
If not for someone posting on this blog, who knows how many people would have believed the mistaken information spread by Facebook, word of mouth, etc.? Doesn't our community deserve the facts?
THANK YOU, 7:36 p.m. You have saved a lot of people embarrassment.
9:30 am- I like to believe the majority of the people on the blog DO support our teachers and students. Now that a certain bully has been re elected, much of the EA bashing will slow down, until she is under the negative spotlight. Then her and her pals start trying to deflect the light by talking badly about everyone and everything in D131. Tho you see many posts, I feel much of the trash talk is from a few.
It seems to me that for somebody who talks a lot of crap about doing things the right way, you are pretty lazy and cowardly about really searching for the truth. That is why you and this blog You run is, and will always be, a joke.
Why is everybody assuming that Annette Johnson is the Board president again? This is a new term; she is a candidate just like the rest of the Board members. Maybe now they can make a difference and make their voices heard among themselves and put a fair, sensible, progressive, and child-center person to lead our Board and be a strong supporter for our new Superintendent. On 5/6 we will find out who the new president will be.
I went to the meeting the administration had about the bell schedule only 16 kids showed up. It shows EA ok again. They just don't give a crap that why the students don't get know respect it is their fault.
Do we really need to spend taxpayer dollars to write a manual to tell district staff members (especially Nestor Garcia, a district administrator) that they are not to accept personal bribes from outside contractors when assigning district contracts?
Once again, our board has found a way to make sure that Central Office Administrators are not held accountable for their illegal actions. According to Annette Johnson "We have to just put it aside". What a joke. And people still debate where the problem with education is in District 131?
I'll say this again and I'll try to just give some rough numbers so as not to include benefits and I won't even mention names. A teacher can devote their life to the district and continue their education, 30 years teaching the kids and a PHD and still not break 100G. Yet our district continues to pay people wrapped up in scandal THOUSANDS more than these teachers. Misuse of district credit cards in a casino making over 120G, mismanaged B&G, no receipts, prior inappropriate relations with a teen when a PE teacher, complete incompetence at two administrative positions and still making over 100G, and of course the person the district needs the most is a ghost, never seen in the schools, lets the board president rule over him and he's pulling in 250G. This new board needs to clean house. The teachers are disgusted and I know the students are suffering. Moral would sky rocket if a few changes were made that shows you (board members) are aware of the insulting decisions that are made at the tax payers expense. I do believe the teachers have to take on the role of what is best for the community, It is obvious by the voter turnout that the residents are not informed or interested. Hopefully Strand will take charge to get the fresh voice and vision this district needs.
Hopefully, 11:11pm, from your post to God's ear. Regretfully, Johnson will not let Roberts nor her micro-managing go. I am sure Annette is telling the others "she got them elected." Truth be told, they got elected inspite of affiliation with her. I wish those others would show their concern for this community and do what is right, not what Johnson demands.
You are right April 14, 2013 at 7:48 PM they should of had policy about that and the administration should have to do a class like we do at our work about Ethics and sign a paper stating we did. The problem here is the boards have always said this is the way we have always done it.
Looks like the contest manager did NOT make a mistake...the announcement made on Saturday congratulating the Wind Ensemble for a Division 1 rating was WRONG.
They got a Division II. Or as former Community Relations Director Clayton Muhammad might say, they "won Silver".
Thanks to this blog for posting the link to the IHSA site on Saturday. Otherwise, it could have been embarrassing for certain people to have to cover their behinds and admit they didn't bother to wait till the i's were dotted and the t's crossed.
Congratulations again to our students for their performance on Saturday, and their Division II rating.
With three new board members, I seriously doubt that Annette will be re-elected president. My guess is that Ray Hull will be the next board president.
Yes, Ray is a loose cannon sometimes. But he has the most experience on the current board, and has proven himself willing to dissent instead of be a rubber stamp.
If Ray is president, look for Annette to pull a Juanita Wells and quit.
What 3 new board members? Strand won a 4 year seat, and Puryea won a 2 year seat. I agree w/ 3:42, none of the other 4 incumbents (remember Johnson has a vote, too) will vote for Hull. I also doubt that Strand or Puryea will vote for Hull. I could see the 3 of them forming a coalition to vote for Strand -- but that's just 3 votes.
How could anyone for someone who called a fellow members mother and father a looser. What credibility would those people have electing someone like that? Come on.
I have debated long and hard about posting here, going back and forth in my head wondering if people who insult and bully people anonymously on a blog deserve a response. Ultimately the truth about why the confusion on the IHSA contest needs to come out. I will not post here again as I feel that people who don't contact teachers and administrators directly but rather post anonymously on a blog don't deserve the answers they seek.
It would have been extremely easy for anybody to email me with the question, "Why are we seeing two different scores for the IHSA contest?" Instead accusations, name calling and misinformation has run rampant.
Here is what happened. After we performed Saturday, we packed up our equipment and received the original judges' sheets. The judges' sheets had the scores of 38.5 - Division I, 36 - Division I, and 35.4 - Division II. With those numbers and scores written at the bottom of the sheets, I concluded that my students had received a Division I rating. I was excited for my students and proud of them for the hard work they put in and I shared the information not only with them on the bus, but also posting on facebook so that other people would know about the success.
Later Saturday night the IHSA website showed that we had received a Division II. I contacted the Contest Manager from Rich East High School, where the event took place, but he did not get back to me until Monday. He emailed me back Monday morning and did not know why the scores were different, he said he would look into it. During 9th period today he emailed me again and said that the judge who had given us a 36, actually added his scores up incorrectly and the final tally came up to only a 35, which is a Division II. A Division I, II, and II come out to an overall Division II. That is where the mistake happened.
I have been accused of lying, being embarrassed, and trying to "cover my behind." None of that is true. The truth is that three people made a mistake on Saturday, the judge for adding wrong, the contest manager for not double checking, and myself for taking the scores at the bottom of the page for granted. I don't think that anything I did was malicious or misleading in any way.
The continuous attacks on my character, my profession, my family, and my students are outrageous. The reason you don't post your name when you attack me is because deep down you are embarrassed by your comments too, and don't want them tied to your name.
I love my job, I love music and band in particular, I love my students and are very proud of the hard work they put in preparing music, not only for this contest, but for football and basketball games, our various concerts and other events throughout the year.
The attacks that go on here, and then repeated on multiple websites, are destructive and embarrassing to say the least. Nothing positive has come out of this blog that could not have been done with a calm and reasonable face to face interaction, or even an exchange in email.
I refuse to read this anymore and will never again respond to faceless bullying over the internet. If you have a question about my program I will be happy to respond to you via email, bliska@d131.org or talk to you face to face.
I have enjoyed working with all the students who have passed through my band room, and my main goal has been to instill a life-long love of music in them. I invite you all to join us for our Concert and Symphonic Band Concert on May 1st and the Wind Ensemble Concert on May 3rd. Both concerts begin at 7:00 in Hawks Auditorium.
Brian Liska Director of Bands East Aurora High School
Annette Johnson completed her brilliant political ploy this past week. She managed to make the voters think she was truly making an effort to oversee prudent tax spending. She suspended dishonest employees and as soon as she won the election she reinstated the bums. Nice move Annette.
Mr. Liska, thanks for that explanation. It seems to be a fact of modern life that every little misstep or misunderstanding is blown out of proportion on the internet. We all make mistakes; too bad some people also make assumptions.
Maybe it's time to move away from ratings to a comments-only performance/festival. I'm reminded of this comment from a couple of months ago:
"Why do you people worry about scores so much. Why not play music to enjoy it, why not play football because you love it, why learn something just to learn it...
...Music and art don't have to be quantified and compared and evaluated every second of the day. Just enjoy it, or don't enjoy it. Have YOUR opinion of it, but you can't have an opinion until you hear it, or see it, or experience it.
Of all the things this blog should discuss the beauty of music and art created by STUDENTS WHO ARE JUST LEARNING ABOUT IT is not one of them.
I find it sadly amusing, Johnson states they are going to have a comprehensive procedural manual. Isn't that what others might call policies. She is like a little kid losing at her own game. If ya can't come out ahead and look good just change the rules.
In the end she may carry the title of president but she is only 1/7th of the vote. What happens in the district is up to the majority of the school board. It is not intended to be a dictatorship, as it appears has been the case in the recent past.
What seemed like a simple vote to approve the sale of scrap materials and a tractor, generator and other old supplies the district no longer needed turned confusing when Hull said that much of the property had already been sold by the manager of the Operations Department, Marty Feltes, in violation of district policy.
“When we found ourselves in controversy the last year every time it was for either not reading, not following or not understanding policy,” Hull said, ticking off problems with district credit cards and accounting procedures. “At some point we have to decide if our policy is just a grouping of suggestions. Are we going to continue to disregard what we’re supposed to do?”
Johnson said she hadn’t heard there was a problem before the board meeting and told Hull that he should have e-mailed the board ahead of time.
The board voted to put the sale of the property on hold until it could research the issue further
The only thing Liska did was to attempt to lecture the community when the only mistake made was his own. Further, this is not an isolated incident. A couple of years ago Liska had a Division One trophy made when the group earned a Division Three. I noticed that Liska did not address the history of the same mistakes being made.
After Liska's long note to the community, we are left with a decision to be made. Does he do these things intentionally, in which case the man is unethical or does he continue to do these things unintentionally, in which case the man is incompetent? That will be a decision each person must make for themselves.
However, to come out publicly and criticize an entire community because they have noticed your "errors" definately shows a lack of character. A simple apology may have been more appropriate.
I really don’t blame Liska, the position of high school band director may be the most challenging staff position in any school district. Certainly, not for somebody right out of college. This is something that the central office administrators and board should have known when hiring for the position. Unfortunately, the administration fouled up the works so badly that no competent band director would take the position. The few that had applied, quickly withdrew their application when they were made aware of the situation. The district really had no alternative but to hire Liska. And, as always, it has been the children who suffer for the poor decisions made by administration and the board.
Is this Marty Feltes the longtime friend of Board Member Richard Leonard who sold the scrap
MORE QUESTIONS OVER POLICY
What seemed like a simple vote to approve the sale of scrap materials and a tractor, generator and other old supplies the district no longer needed turned confusing when Hull said that much of the property had already been sold by the manager of the Operations Department, Marty Feltes, in violation of district policy.
9:45 a.m., you're wrong about the band getting Division III and a plaque saying Division I. They got Division II.
And 10:50 a.m., you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned the administration & board. That's who was to blame, not Mr. Liska (who just took the job, believing the lies he was told by administration). To his credit, Mr. Liska works hard for our kids. He made an honest mistake in announcing that Division I rating. And the person who posted the link to the official site did the right thing, too. Maybe not the exact way some would have preferred, but definitely avoided the mistake from going any further.
Did anybody really believe it was going to be a good decision when they changed the hiring requirements and snuck Leonard’s lifelong buddy into the director of buildings and grounds position? As we have seen, the director of buildings and grounds position is prone to all sorts of corruption. How can the community have any faith in a director who was brought in under less than ethical circumstances?
No, 11:52, the bronze medal comment was in the Beacon after Solo & Ensemble contest in 2007, not organization contest. Clayton Muhammad listed those students who had received Division I as having "won Gold", Division II as "won Silver", and Division III as "won Bronze". When the band got Division II at organization contest Clayton's spin was that the band "took it all the way to the top".
Talk about babying our students and inflating their accomplishments out of proportion in the real world...Clayton was a master. Our district is well rid of him.
he is the same guy that wrote the article in the Beacon News when the city won that silly award from the radio show and the press release said 'in front of "several hundred" people the City received..... Several Hundred?! Not a single resident went to that event, it was all a scam. Yet when the Beacon realized that not a single person would believe "several hundred" the press release was altered to not include the lie. Why would the City hire such a guy? Isnt Aurora trying to clean up its image?
You band people need to get a grip and leave Liska alone. You really don't care about the band students either otherwise you wouldn't down grade their teacher. Mr. K's people that are still around dragging this up needs to grow up and seek mental help it is time to let go.
In the end Johnson will still have the votes to do what she wants. It was a joke last night Hull admits they all wait for her to answer all the questions and if she does they do nothing. Stella does not know whether to vote yes or no. Leonard says nothing. Hull talks in circles. What a joke.
I am not "mr. K's people". I think it is funny when Mr. L gets "treated" someone comes on here and wants to blame some long gone K supporters. Like they are the ONLY people possibly wanting to make issue with the band.
Just sounds like you are attempting the same same thing that that Clayton tried years ago, "The matter is closed".
It didn't work then, it won't work now. You can't just turn off a persons emotions.
The fact is, the administration and board made astring of terrible decisions regarding the band (and a decision that no competent administrator would ever have made). This is why. Removing a popular band director (especially when there is no apparent reason other than personal vendettas) tears apart a major part of the fabric which holds a community together. This will probably not be fully recovered from until the next band director is hired.
As is repeated here often, the children and community feel the brunt of the bad decisions made by an incompetent administration and board.
Am willing to take bets on the following vote for Board President as Annette "Ayatollah" Johnson will be elected 4-3 Turza, Gonzalez, Leonard, Johnson will vote for her. The rest will vote against. Just a preview for all upcoming votes when Johnson doesn't get her way. Showmanship at its worse Is the Ayatollah herself
But they are right the matter is closed what is done is done and treating the person they hired the way you do is wrong he did not make the choice of letting K go. You can remember things but at a point you need to move on because everyone one else has.
By Kalyn Belsha kbelsha@stmedianetwork.com April 15, 2013 9:50PM
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AURORA — At the last meeting of the East Aurora School Board before two new members take their seat and the new board elects its leaders, a Naperville resident called on two sitting board members to remove themselves from consideration for president. During public comments Monday night, Ralph Padron, whose wife is a retired East Aurora teacher, told Board President Annette Johnson, a business owner who was re-elected to the board last week by 44 votes, and Board Member Ray Hull, who heads the city of Aurora’s water and sewer department, to “excuse themselves from any consideration to become board president.” The board is slated to vote on new leaders May 6. “I believe one thing that was very damaging and irreparable was the verbal exchange between Mr. Hull and Ms. Johnson,” Padron said, referring to insults traded by the two such as “slumlord” and “loser” in a board committee meeting on Dec. 6. “A strong united board of education is much needed at this time.” Hull said he had apologized to Johnson for the incident and that he didn’t “have a desire to be the board president.” He added that it would be up to the new board to select its leaders. “If I had to be the leader of this board I would do an excellent job despite what happened on Dec. 6,” Hull said. “And if Ms. Johnson is elected president she’ll do a better job if she is held accountable by the rest of the board.” During her re-election campaign, Johnson was accused by opponents of playing too big a role in the day-to-day operations of the district. Hull added Monday night that he felt the board in many instances “has waited for Ms. Johnson’s leadership and when she didn’t say anything it meant don’t say anything.” Johnson did not say Monday night whether she planned to throw her hat in the ring for president again, but last week after she was re-elected she told The Beacon-News that she “will be continuing on as the president” and that “we’re very committed to trying to keep the board more or less the same.” More questions over policy What seemed like a simple vote to approve the sale of scrap materials and a tractor, generator and other old supplies the district no longer needed turned confusing when Hull said that much of the property had already been sold by the manager of the Operations Department, Marty Feltes, in violation of district policy. “When we found ourselves in controversy the last year every time it was for either not reading, not following or not understanding policy,” Hull said, ticking off problems with district credit cards and accounting procedures. “At some point we have to decide if our policy is just a grouping of suggestions. Are we going to continue to disregard what we’re supposed to do?” Johnson said she hadn’t heard there was a problem before the board meeting and told Hull that he should have e-mailed the board ahead of time. The board voted to put the sale of the property on hold until it could research the issue further. Board Member Mary Anne Turza said the board will get together on May 15 to review all district policies. Johnson said last week that the district is working to put together a comprehensive procedural manual, expected to be completed by the end of the month, that will govern all record keeping and accounting. The district is also in the process of installing new business software that will “force procedures” Johnson said. “We’re making a change, the records are getting cleaned up,” Johnson said. “Everyone just needs to have patience.”
"you need to move on because everyone else has"...
Looks to me like not "everyone" has moved on, seeing as how this is still being discussed 8 years later!
I agree with 7:23 p.m.--the whole nasty situation happened because of a corrupt administration & board. The current band director had absolutely nothing to do with it; he just took the job (and was probably lied to by administration at the time, who had been desperately trying to fill the position after other candidates had turned it down).
The more time goes by, the more the people responsible for bullying Mr. K have left our district. Clayton Muhammad is the most recent to leave. Soon Jerome Roberts will also be gone. As long as no one from "that era" comes back to our district (Marin Gonzalez?), we have a chance to move past it and concentrate our energy on more important concerns for our district.
12:31pm Annette's devious plots to keep the POWER she so desperately needs to have some self esteem is what really did Zach in. Ethics , Honesty have no place in Annette's arsenal of Tyranny. To her supporters (especially Stella Gonzalez) remember you are judged by the company you keep.
Disagree about Zach--he's a good pastor and does want to help our community. I probably would have voted for him without the Marin Gonzalez connection.
Another controversy surfaced per the Beacon News report today. Machinery sold without following policy and Stella Gonzalez was confused on how to vote. Does that surprise anyone NOT. 131 WILL NOT get out of the sewer until Johnson is gone PERIOD The Bully needs attention, power, and an audience to feed her ego and cover up her rejections in life. Sad State of Affairs in Aurora
What a bunch of fools you are with making the connection with Marin. Just because Zack is friends with her doesn't mean they would bring her back to the district. Did anyone ask him? Marin goes to their church should they shun her for working for the district or what has happened? Was it her that got rid of that band director everyone thinks was so great. Change is hard but it happens. We could of moved this district forward but some that thought they would bring Marin back stopped it. What corruption did he say? This district with Johnson has looked away from the corruption. May God have mercy on you.
5:49 p.m., I think that some of the "old timers" are concerned that history might repeat itself. Jerome Roberts had been principal at East High, then took a job in another district, then came back to D131. If Jerome could be brought back why not Marin? After all, she was assistant superintendent and on paper is qualified to be superintendent, and knows our district.
It's not out of the question, but I'm not that worried because the community would speak out against it and not want someone with her record of dealing with people.
Anonymous said... Tax bills are on the way. East Aurora school tax rates are up 21%. The rate is jumping to $5.96 per hundred assessed from last year's rate of $4.91 per hundred. In addition Aurora city rates are up 13%
4/16/13, 7:33 AM
It looks like another lie from Annette Johnson. She claimed the board had actually helped lower tax bills this year. Apparently not.
It is ridiculous that Jerome Roberts did not cancel school today everyone knew of this inclement weather, flooding, ligtning and thunder and torrential downpour--another display of his complete ineptitude as a leader! Lets watch our little ones walk in this and hope they are hit by lightning!
Most area school districts are open today; the one exception I'm aware of is D204 is closed. Specifically, they're closed because their buses can't get through to pick up the kids (big stretches of South Eola Rd. and 75th street are impassable because of standing water)>
School tax rates up 21% this year and Annette Johnson was bragging and emphasizing how this Board under her leadership is so effective in saving money. To bad this fact did not come out before the election. Why would someone outright lie like she does and want to believe it? POWER, EGO, FAILURES IN HER PAST !!!!!
Many roads are beginning to flood and we have schools in low lying areas that probably will see flooding. Then you take in the fact of the rain and lighting. At times it is raining so hard you can't see which can be a danger.
Well, there has been a lull in the storm for about an hour now, plenty of chance for kids to get to school. By the time school is over around 3 it's not supposed to be lightning/pouring anymore. A school building is a relatively safe place to be in severe weather.
Dr. Roberts is in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" position when it comes to cancelling school. I think he made the right call today.
Why again are we so late in posting minutes for board meetings? April 1st has long passed and still no minutes. Even though I attend meetings it is hard to remember all that was discussed.
Sure, there was a lull in the storm for students to get to school - but what about FACULTY & STAFF who need to get home? The route I took today has just been closed, and my normal & backup routes are both closed. I also just received word that my street is closed. I know we're here for the children, and I am, but adult safety is just as important.
At Cowherd, Grove Road (behind the building where all cars enter) and our driveway leading to the parking lot were flooded. A teaachers car stalled and flooded because nothing was marked and it was still dark when she got to school. Her car is probably totaled because. Both gymnasiums are flooded and all the PE equipment is probably lost. The roof is leaking in many places and areas of the building are flooded from water coming in through doorways. Many of the paths that students use to come to school were rivers and flood plains, even homes along the way were flooded.
Half the staff was not in the building at 8:00 when students were arriving, even the principal was an hour late. One of the assistant principals didn't show because of the weather.
Very simply put, if the district can not provide safe passage to and from the school and a safe, clean and supervised enviroment for the children when they enter the school, then why was the school building open?
Once again, poor decision making by our superintendent has put everybody at risk. When is this district going to hire a competent superintendent?
Annette Johnson was not just bragging about cutting tax rates, she put this information in "The Enlightener". That is the community newsletter provided by the district and is considered a district publication and uses district resources to print and distribute.
According to Illinois Law, the district and staff can not support any candidate, nor can they use public resources to support a particular candidate for any public office. They are allowed to state factual information for purposes like the referendum but that is all.
If Annette Johnson deliberately included false information in the "The Enlightener" to aid in her election campaign, she violated Illinois Law and should be held accountable.
She could, quite possibly, be removed as a board member for this violation. The community made their decision based on false information provided by Annette Johnson and District 131.
Zach Montroy (or any other concerned citizen) should be contacting the State's Attorney and reporting this violation of the law.
The district did not increase taxes this year. I checked on mine the 5.96 is a equalizer the county uses. With no truth and taxation hearing this year the taxpayers saves over 3%.
If house values in Strand and Montroy neighborhood where not so low maybe the county would not have to apply a equalization factor. Then there is Mary Lou she doesnot even pay property taxes and her landlord gets by with paying only $886 a year total. Maybe someone should complain about that.
Due to the inclement weather, all after-school activities in East Aurora School District 131 are CANCELLED for today, Thursday April 18, 2013. Staff may leave the building once students have safely been dismissed.
This also includes Kindergarten registration.
Apperently the weather is too much of a danger to hold after school activities but not for regular day activities.
If somebody got hurt today and sued the district, do you have any idea what an idiot Jerome Roberts would look like in court explaining this one? And it makes you wonder just how much that lawsuit would cost the district.
Cancellinig after school activities is what the court would consider a defacto admission that the weather was determined, even by the administration, to be a danger to the children and staff.
PLEASE......My kingdom for a competent administrator!!!!!!!
When landlords determine how much to charge for rent, they must factor in all costs, including taxes. While you may try to claim that somebody who rents doesn't pay taxes, this is not really correct. They may not pay taxes directly but taxes are included in their rent. Everybody pays taxes.
We're paying more but our taxes have been cut by 3%????? Really?????
However you do your arithmetic (and political spin), the tax payers will be paying more and the school district will be receiving more. I consider that to be a tax increase.
So is Jerome Roberts touring any of the school affected by the weather? I bet not. He can barely show up to work on a normal day. Ask his high paid secretary how often he simply does not show up. In fact give him a call and see how long it takes for him to return your call.
@11:42. After posting something, it probably takes at least 15 minutes for the administrator to approve the post. Post was at 10:32, meaning post was created at the LATEST 10:15. Lunches don't start that early. And that's only if the post was approved right away.
Good news is we don't have Lewis and Cervantes on the Board.
Bad News is Johnson & Stella Gonzalez are back. 40 votes separated Johnson from being totally gone, all her lies, BS, manipulation paid off. Integrity lost but will resurface in other ways. Please provide pics at Board Meetings for Stella to study before voting.
Anonymous 11;42 and 11:29 what a fool you are. What the hell are you talking about a duty free lunch--the dog drool served up in the teacher cafeteria? Or are you referring to an hour long lunch? Only the counselors and department chairs have that. So teachers shouldn't worry about their own and their student's safety? You are either a moron or haven't been out of your house in the past ten years... just saying
1:30 p.m., you are wrong about the time shown on posts. The time is when the comment was written, not when the blogmasters approved it. I know because sometimes I've posted something and it's been an hour or more before it's on the blog, and the time is when I wrote it not when it appeared.
And the lunch hour does start before 10:30 at some schools.
Mrs. Johnson stated that the FOIA requests that have come in are unbelievable. She stated that there was a meeting with Mr. Padron and several retired staff and she felt that the outcome of this meeting was favorable but the FOIA requests still continue into the office.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maybe SHE thought the outcome of the meeting was favorable...evidently the retired staff felt otherwise.
11:39 The activities DURING the school day is the primary purpose for the school existing. The AFTER school activities are called EXTRA curricular. It's not at all unusual for schools to be in session during the day and then cancel all after school activities.
While in the real world, lunch is around 12:00, District 131 is not the real world. There are lunches in District 131 that start at 9:45 AM and some that don't end until 1:30 PM.
Yes, think about that. Students have breakfast at 7:00 (at home) or from 7:00-8:00 (at school) and then have lunch at 9:45. Then they don't get to eat again until they get home (if there is food at home). If students participate in after school clubs or sports, they may not get home until 7:30 or 8:00 in the evening (later if they are part of a tournament). That means they may not eat for 10 hours or more.
We then wonder why students can't function properly? We feed them crap (Sodexo) and we feed them twice in two hours and then, not again for 10+ hours (or they eat at 7AM at home and then, not again until 1:00 in the afternoon). And then we give them a hard time if they can't pass the ISAT?
This is just another example of the brilliant leadership in District 131. This district should be sued for educational malpractice.
What a gross exaggeration of the truth 4:58. You really make it sound convincing. All of your lies and BS. Please name the school(s) that eat lunch at 9:45. The first lunch period begins at 10:48 at the high school.
The reason lunch has to begin that early is because the cafeteria is too small so we have to have multiple lunch periods.
An addition to the building is what is needed but then you would complain that your taxes are too high.
More blog BS and rantings. Please oh scholars of the blog run the schools your way and make every right decision.
april 18 454 p.m.- you have missed the boat... if it's too dangerous weather wise to be in the building after school then it would be doubly unsafe to be in the building during school when an active storm front was rattling the windows, and coming down hard and heavy. It was nearly impossible to find a venue into the place. Must have been a joy for all of those walking. Another brilliant display of leadership, concern and control from our lovely Super and his attack dog Annette.
The head of a business or even a country may not be the expert, but if there is a crisis, they show up to show their concern and to get a personal view. Roberts seeing the buildings having issues with leaks and floods would give him a perspective when B&G brings their repair and financial findings.
6:54 a.m., hindsight is 20/20, and superintendents are not psychic.
Local weather forecasts before 6:00 or so yesterday morning weren't predicting record-breaking flooding. Only one area district (204) cancelled school that early, and specifically because two roads that often have flooding problems (south Eola Rd. and 75th St.) were flooded.
Other districts closed schools early and/or cancelled after-school activities. Our district was like most public school districts in having school but cancelling later activities.
6:54 a.m., maybe you should offer your extraordinary psychic ability to the superintendent next time the weather is bad.
To Dr Roberts Assert yourself and don't Allow Annette Johnson to bully you and the Admin staff any further. Please search your conscious and stand up to her and remind her this is not her personal school district. PLEASE TAKE A STANCE
Maybe the parents in Naperville have vacation days and can watch their children and not lose money being of work, did you ever consider Roberts serves a different population and he is showing compassion for our parents.
Grow up. It doesn't take psychic ability to run a school district. It takes intelligence and organization. The superintendent should have been in communication with the head of buildings and grounds, who should have been in communication with the head custodian at each district building.
The building custodian should have done an evaluation in and around the school building and communicated any unusual or dangerous situations up the chain of command. This should have been done at regular intervals on days like yesterday.
In addition, the superintendent should have been in communication with city and county authorities and have been updated on all community concerns. This would definitely include a report from the Aurora Police Department, as well as, the Public Works Departments for the city and county. This should have also included police presence/support at major intersections and around school buildings.
If we had an organization structure as I just described, the superintendent would be able to make an informed, intelligent decision and not one that required psychic ability.
Unfortunately, we do not have highly intelligent or even competent individuals running District 131. When is the East Aurora Community going to demand better from its leaders?
Clayton update the pied piper of Aurora had the Facebook account in his name with the password now Central Office can't find him. Why hide Clayton, you trashed our computer and deleted and shredded files before you left. could the stories be true.
Now the Facebook page went down and the District does not have access to their own name.
If you want to know who's eating lunch at 9:45, you should start with the middle schools. Apparently, the district administrators dont believe that nutrition is important in a child's formative years.
It's too bad that more parents don't come and see what's happening to their children each day. I'm sure there would be more parents complaining at board meetings if they were truly informed.
Read the paragraph above More questions over pollicy. How does Johnson know she will still bbe president? Talking to the board members? What does she mean by stating "we're very committed to to trying to keep the board more or less the same after she was re-elected? This is how D131 has gotten into the mess we are in and why we are ridiculed. If Johnson is again president, then the board needs to reinstate what they did to the last president.
I cant believe school wasn't canceled today! It's snowing out. It's not safe. Poor children have to walk home in this terrible weather. Another poor decision by Roberts!!
If anyone feels it not safe or the weather to bad for the students to go to school, then keep them home. Don't blame something like this on the district. Parents have the right to make up their own mind what is in the best interest of their children.
The following is a statement from Superintendent Matthew Wendt regarding the decision to keep Oswego 308 schools open and incidents and updates throughout the day.
Oswego School District 308 made the decision to have school today at approximately 5:15a.m. The school district is advised by several outside agencies, including law enforcement and Kendall County Emergency Operations (ECOC). Although some school districts elected to close for various reasons, our decision was consistent with neighboring school districts, including West Aurora, East Aurora, Batavia, St. Charles and Naperville District 203.
At any time a parent or guardian believes it is best for a child to remain home during inclement weather, we will support that decision. Although School District 308 makes a choice to have school; parents and guardians have the final decision. Individual circumstances, feelings and opinions vary and it is imperative parents and guardians retain the final voice on matters such as attending school during inclement weather.
A decision to cancel or dismiss school for a district with over 17,700 students is significant and impacts many components of the system. A decision to cancel school is made by 5:30a.m. There was no recommendation from anyone to close the entire school district at that time. In the end, the final decision is mine to make and I accept full responsibility for the decision.
As the morning progressed, our advising agencies and personnel informed the school district some roads were rapidly declining due to flooding, and road closures soon followed. These conditions created major challenges for the school district, especially at the elementary levels. Unfortunately, the road closures caused the district to reassess routes and, in some cases, postpone bus services. The school district experienced a morning incident with an Illinois Central bus. This situation was first reported as a bus roll-over accident. The bus actually slid into a ditch and per protocol, emergency personnel were dispatched. Four students and the driver were evacuated from the bus. We are pleased to report all are safe, parents were contacted, and a second bus was dispatched to transport the students to school. Additionally, a picture was posted on Facebook and Twitter, and then provided to multiple media outlets showing a deluge of water from a storm drain located in a hallway outside the gymnasium at Oswego High School. According to high school administration, within a half hour the storm drain was recapped and the hallway was cleared of water and reopened. Lastly, an accident on Wolf Crossing occurred and blocked an access point to Southbury Elementary School. We were advised by local law enforcement the school was not accessible. Our staff worked diligently with parents and staff members to mitigate the situation. By working with our law enforcement and emergency personnel, School District 308 staff worked tirelessly to assure the safety and security of our students remained a priority. We appreciate all of the patience and cooperation during this unusual weather event.
In closing, we appreciate emails and telephone calls, and your thoughts, comments and questions are valued. Thank you for assisting us through a very challenging day. We are fortunate to be a part of an excellent school system with so much potential and promise.
Respectfully,
Dr. Matthew Wendt Superintendent, School District 308
Summer School this year is a joke. Now to apply you have to go through the longest application form of the decade, like the one you do when applying for a full time teachers job. The people who have worked summer school are usually the teachers in the school who know the students and get them thru. Now that it will start 2 weeks after school ends and last until the end of July is ridiculous. All of a sudden they want type 75 administrators, whose only job is to move things along ,serve milk and breakfast, and send in payrole. You will find it very difficult to find teachers who will work on this terrible schedule, and if you only use teachers who are certified in the areas that you require you really are going to have a hard time staffing this summer. Do not throw out the baby with the bath water. Teachers who have taught for 7, 8, and 9 years summer school, should get 1st priority,as opposed to teachers who have no connection to the school or students that they are teaching. After all you have subs who teach during the year for 3,4,5 and 9 months who don't even have degrees or interest in teaching, much least invested into the welfare of our students. Yes by all means this district needs to start covering their "you know what's" cause that's all their doing, it looks good on paper, but dont cut off your nose to spite your face. Dont take my word , you'll see when you have no one to fill all of those summer school positions. you just created the biggest headache for your self. Take that energy and fix what really needs fixing in this District. Summer School is not one of your biggest problems. Let the principals have total autonomy on this, cause we know that's what's going to happen anyway. It's just a pain, to have to jump thru stupid hoops only to end up at the same place.
It's pretty clear that the Oswego Superintendent is feeling the heat of the poor decisions he made yesterday (and all year). Bus drives off the road, flooding in the high school, Etc. He knows he screwed up and is trying to deflect the blame.
He's pretty good at it. He deflects blame by showing that Oswego wasn't the only school district open (he didn't mention the dozens of school districts that did close) and sounded just like our administration stating that the parents could have kept their children home (I guess he assumes that all parents are privy to the same information that a superintendent has).
It is not surprising though, the new Oswego Superintendent has been on the hot seat since he was hired this year. He left his last job to work in Oswego under less than ethical circumstances and ended up in a lawsuit with his previous district. It was a huge PR debacle. While scandals are normal in District 131, Oswego won't tolerate it for long.
Oswego has been second guessing the decision to hire him all year. Unlike District 131, I'm sure Oswego will be replacing their superintendent ASAP.
"Dozens" of districts closed? I think that's a stretch. My district and most of the surrounding ones was open except for a couple where the school was built very close to a river that was flooding.
How many scandals since Dist 131 have surfaced? 1 Janitorial contract 2 Admin Leave of select individuals 3 The unautorized sale of used equipment by Mary Feltes (Great recommentdation Richard Leonard) 4 Stay tuned more will surface very soon !!
First off, band is great and I love music, but we have bigger fish to fry. We have a completely inept superintendent and a board president (power monger) that are hurting our district and the future of 10,000 kids. Let's talk about band when we get positive news and positive direction. Unfortunately Johnson got back on the board. I was disappointed at voter turnout. We still have a chance at some change if we can get new leadership. I believe Strand could possibly lift the spirits of this district. I don't know for sure, but for the sake of change it could be positive. Roberts has to go. Yeah, maybe it's a stretch with the school should be closed argument, but forget that. Roberts should go for the sake of leadership. People are actually questioning why he should check out the schools after the rains. BECAUSE HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE OUR LEADER!!! Why wouldn't he go check on the schools? I've posted this before; Roberts is the superintendent of district 131 and he is rarely ever in the schools, visiting students, visiting teachers, ect. He is making over 1/4 million! Show your face. I don't care if it's a war zone, a factory, Walmart, or a school district, nothing helps build respect and morale better than seeing your leader on a regular bases and showing interest in what is happening. I know that board members don't get paid, but they should show their faces too. So the blog needs to stay away from the band bickering, and exaggerated truths, and stick to getting change in the direction this district is heading. We need a different board president, we need to get Roberts out (buy him out if we have to the gains will be greater than the loss), new superintendent, get rid of these good ole boy positions that are a waste of money (Nestor coming back was a slap in the districts face by Annette and Jerome),most of all we need to start focusing on the students!
News is Clayton had all the passwords and will not surface, the district started asking questions about Clayton who returned a trashed computer. More news to come nth is as well.
To 7:08 pm in regard to the summer school positions. I am happy the district is being professional and making everyone aware of the positions. In the past, it was "Hey, do you want to teach summer school?" Most of the teachers weren't even aware of the positions until after they were filled!
At least Oswego's Superintendent said something what have you heard from ours but he has to pass it by a board president that really doesn't have the right to run the district. We are really a sad district we let one person run it that isn't suppose to and the taxpayers pay a Superintendent $260,000.00 to do nothing. Many people state things on here that is not being done right but those that have the proof do nothing.
Johnson and Roberts served the district well. The Magnet School will start change in our district. Maybe we can use that as a positive. Johnson was not afraid to challenge status quo. Strand would be a return to the past.
I'm sorry, the magnet school is a friggin joke. Most of those kids would be average at best in surrounding districts. The kids are great, don't get me wrong, it's just that they are motivated and hard working and show some skills in math. Believe me though average or just above at best. There are just as many motivated kids at the other schools. The only problem is they're stuck in schools with unmotivated, disruptive, undisciplined kids that are difficult to deal with because teachers and administrators have their hands tied as far as discipline. The other schools are stuck with kids with no direction, no home support, no consequences, Many are two or three year repeats, and they play the system like a master chess player. Finally , after flunking a couple years and making life a living hell for the schools teachers, administrators, and most important the students they get sent to an alternative school and end up 17 year old freshman then drop out because they have no reason to stay. I got an idea help these kids succeed before they flunk the first time. Use the resources to help those kids with a disciplined yet nurturing program and put the magnet kids back with all the other kids that want to be educated. This magnet school is all i hear about. We have 10,000 kids in this failing district and Johnson wants to hang her hat on this 250 student political campaign. All she says is Magnet, Magnet, Magnet hoping all the scandals will, corruption, and embarrassments will disappear. Make real change Johnson. Your full of crap!
The reason the Magnet is a joke is because of the lottery system. If a district is going to run an elite program it should only admit the best and brightest the district has to offer. Chicago Public takes all the applications to their magnet or college prep schools and ranks the children by their grades, test scores and behavior. They then take the top students and admit them to these special programs. I have no idea how you can call a program elite if your best and brightest are not allowed to participate.
You are correct though about the district doing a poor job with children with discipline problems. The biggest issue is that all the other students see that we do nothing with these problem children. Eventually, they begin to exhibit the same behaviors.
The teachers and administrators know who the problem children are. There needs to be a program for these children. The alternative school just doesn't have enough spots open for the number of challenged students we have.
I know at the middle school level, there are only ten spots open for each school. That is less than one tenth of one percent of the schools population (basically three kids per grade level).
We are just not providing the services needed for children with challenges and ending up with greater numbers of students needing extra services because borderline students continue to be influenced by antisocial behaviors.
As always, the students suffer for the poor decisions made by the board and superintendent. They are too busy worrying about toilet paper and patronage jobs.
The community has no input to the financial decisions in District 131, that's all Annette Johnson. Under her watch, class sizes have gone through the roof. This has significantly increased discipline problems but nothing has been done about it except to manipulate the data to appear that discipline has remained the same.
It's pretty simple, you can't teach if the classroom is out of control. The more discipline problems in the classroom, the less learning that is done. all this builds over the years.
One thing I've learned about education, we must pay at some point. Children who grow up without the skills necessary to assimilate into society will be a burden on that society for decades to come. They will become a burden on the welfare, unemployment and prison systems. Cutting education never solves issues, it creates larger issues. Unfortunately, some people can't see more than five minutes in front of them.
I think the community would be up to paying for things if the Superintendent and board brought it to their attention. I would rather pay for services for the students than to pay a administrators phone bills, athletic memberships and golf retreats.
preview of the vote next week for President of the Board Johnson is elected Turza, Gonzalez, Leonard (dont' they have a conscious) and of course Johnson vote for continued tyrancy. Hull, Strand, and Mary Lou vote elsewhere. Any other opinions All us teachers would vote against Johnson being re-elected UNAMINOUSLY !!!!
10:31 Yes the East lottery system was a disaster. They did not do their research on how the successful magnets in the state do this. But it stems from a Board and administration that does not have the qualifications and experience putting such a program together. I have always thought that the Magnent program was just smoke and mirror game to use taxpayers funds to buy yet another building to alleviate overcrowding. The schools and city are doing nothing to address this issue. At some point the declining home values in Aurora, the negative economic development anywhere on the near east side (really all of Aurora), and taxpayers who are at their limit on what they can afford will cause a collapse of the system. The schools are Aurora's downfall and there is a mayor, city council and school boards/administration that just cannot seem to even begin to fix the problems. Maybe we should use East's lottery system to elect our new leaders. Could the results be any worse?
Starting at 9:30 a.m. at East High School, our visual and performing arts students will be singing, playing instruments, acting, and participating in art displays. Come support the arts in our district!
It's a shame the district doesn't pay the teachers for all the time and expense they put into the Fine Arts Festival. The teachers spend up to 50 hours or more getting ready for the Fine Arts Festival. Many of the supplies (particularly the art supplies) are not reimbursed. This comes out of the teachers pockets. The teachers then spend their Saturday at the high school instead of with their own families.
All this dedication to our students and community is done without any compensation whatsoever. What support do the fine arts people receive? None.
Hundreds, if not thousands of community members come out that day. Everyone is there except the administrators and board members. The only one there last year (for a while) was Christie Aird.
No board member or administrator even bothers to send out an e-mail thanking the staff members for all their hard work.
It's a shame that the festival wasn't held before the election. At least then, Annette Johnson and Jerome Roberts would have been there campaigning (Sorry, communicating with the staff).
The district was afraid of 'brain drain' from the other schools if the top students were to leave them and go to a special school. Like the Magnet. The teachers and administrators in those schools would then look even worse when Illinois Report Card Data came out. Another huge blunder by East is that it will not make the Magnet School a stand alone school as its testing scores will be pushed back to each magnets students original 'home' school. So there will be no official data that can be published. What they just did not get is this is exactly what East Aurora needed. It needs a school that shines academically with bright kids. It has NONE. Now they will have yet again anoher mediocre school, but will not have the exposure and data that savy home buyers and families with children look for. Put this one up with the voting down of busing (only district in the entire state), the refusal to annex what is now the Fox Valley Mall and now is home to one of the richest school districts in the state. This is what happens when you elect people with no education, experience and vision.
8:11 you must be new to the district. I don't see anybody with a memory voting for any referenda in the forseeable future. We've approved the past couple referenda and haven't seen results from those, no way we're giving any more money to the schools until things get better.
Wasn't it the whole board that voted to give the teachers the raise? If not it should be a board consist of seven members that vote not on president. It is also the Superintendents job to negotiate contracts. If this board can't do the one thing that The IL School Code says is a boards most important job then they need to go.
The Strands send their sons to the magnet school...nothing "funny" about that, 8:21 a.m.! That's called GOOD PARENTING, to evaluate the options and select what's best for their kids. One reason I voted for Kirsten Strand is because she's a parent (as I am), doing her best to raise good kids.
No I am not Annette I voted against Strand because of her attitude. Do as I say not as I do. She also will not disclose her campaign finances and she is a conflict because of her husband. I have reviewed her disclosure and find it very questionable as do others.
Maybe Ray Hull needs to worry about the flooding instead of posting to the blog. I heard the City department he manages was responsible for many mistakes that lead to flooding in many neighborhoods.
8:21 AM You clearly do not know what you are saying in this forum. I am glad she won at the elections and I hope she is able to bring the much needed change this district needs. Also, it surprises me that no one has commented on how there are more people leaving the high school. I sense even more drastic changes ocurring at the secondary level.
BTW Annette (you do write regularly) I find it appalling that you are not LEADING all Board indivuals in disclosing the info in question. You must be confused with your definition of leading and bullying.
Shame on Strand and her attitude for helping her community. That damn Ray....he probably had something to do with that 40 days and nights of rain, too.
All these accusations sound like someone fearful of being challenged, so they are attempting to discredit well respected community members.
To April 20th 5:01 I dont know where you teach, but summer school apps are and have been posted in our work room every April, for all to see. Unless you never go to the teachers work room, or your administrators have never put them out they have been visable always. Yes it is good that they have been posted on the web site, so I hope you filled out the app. and that you get the job, there will be plenty: Special Ed, Esl, Special-ed, bi-lingual, Special- Ed, ESL, bi-lingual, and on, and, on...Hope you have those endorsements, you will always have a job in this district. Oh, We need 2 math teachers and 2 reading teachers. LOL!
6:32pm Does that mean "Integrity" is defined as you don't owe anyone any money? Unbelievable how you Annette Johnson want to justify her conduct and unethical methods in her retaining the power/ego trip. By the way "How would she know anything about parenting" Bullying and control she is second to none.
12:55pm Annette: you really need to stop bashing Ray Hull and look yourself in the mirror. Very "classless" comment again. Your degradation of others who oppose you is just another sign of what a wicked and heartless person you are.
Beginning at 9:30 a.m. at EAHS, come see and hear our talented, hard-working students! Visual art exhibits, drama, band, and choir from grade school through high school.
Support our students. YOU'LL enjoy it, and THEY deserve it!
Do you know who else deserves your support? The teachers who work all year long with the communities children to put on such wonderful performances. Unfortunately our district does not support these talented people. Just this week, the elementary music teachers learned that the district will only pay them half the stipend they have received in the past.
The district apparently snuck in a slash mark between the words Band and Choir in the new teachers contract. It now looks like “Band/Choir”. According to our new Director of Activities, Nestor Garcia, this slash mark allows the district to split the meager stipend between the two positions. So, the teachers who were making about two dollars an hour last year for their hard work will now be receiving half that amount.
I guess the district has to find ways to cut the budget to be able to pay Nestor his $130,000 a year. If you’ll notice, this was not shared with the music teachers at the beginning of the year but rather after all the work has been done. It could be worse though, they could be the high school football coaches who have not been paid at all.
Does anybody still wonder why the district can not get or retain quality teachers and coaches? This district is a joke. Once again our children suffer for the poor decisions made by our incompetent and corrupt leaders.
Wow, 11:12 a.m.--if that's true it definitely is NOT in students' best interests! Maybe those of us parents who will be at the Fine Arts Festival tomorrow can speak to administrators (if indeed any are in attendance), or take pictures and show them to the school board.
The next School Board meeting is in May. This issue would be a good one to bring up to the board BEFORE the board president is elected!
It almost looks like administration is trying to sabotage the band and choir programs throughout our district, by halving the stipends at the lower levels and taking away students' options for an elective at the H.S. with the proposed six-period day.
Not saying this is on purpose, but doesn't really matter if the effect is the same.
About the bell schedule...there are some districts in our area that have only 4 class periods per day. It's called "block scheduling". Here's an example:
ReplyDeletebhs.bps101.net/bell-schedule
Here you go people - Many high schools have many different ways of doing the schedule. WHO CARES.
ReplyDeleteThe point of the discussion is that we are eliminating a class period for the students of East High. Why are we eliminating choices for East High Students?
Just a few years back West Aurora did the opposite of what East is doing. West Aurora had a 7 period schedule and then changed it, added time to the day, paid the teachers more, and added an 8th period.
We at East Aurora are moving backwards when many schools around the area are moving forward.
It is fine if you think that more time in class is better or for whatever reason you like the new schedule, but don't be miss-informed.
The truth is that you could do anything you wanted with the bell schedule and it still won't change the fact that the reason the schools are failing is because the community around the schools are failing.
MORE EXCUSES FROM ANNETTE JOHNSON
ReplyDeleteEast Aurora to issue record-keeping manual in wake of janitorial contract dispute
By Kalyn Belsha April 12, 2013 2:26PM
AURORA — East Aurora School District maintenance personnel who were put on administrative leave last week pending an investigation by the district involving missing paperwork and mistakes on a janitorial bid are back in the office.
A maintenance supervisor and secretary are both off paid administrative leave and Director of Student Athletics and Activities Nestor Garcia, who served as the director of operations until April 2012, will be back in the office next week, School Board President Annette Johnson said Friday.
A second maintenance supervisor involved in the same investigation chose to retire last week.
The district’s investigation into the janitorial contract came after The Beacon-News published a story detailing a year-long battle over who would provide East Aurora with janitorial products. That dispute included accusations of tens of thousands of wasted taxpayer dollars, district personnel payoffs and preferential vendor treatment.
Upon review of the janitorial contract, the district found it had made costly mistakes, such as ordering 600 cases of batteries for $22,000 instead of 600 individual batteries.
The district also could not locate a 2009 contract with Aurora-based Janco Supply that gave the company the right to supply the district with paper towel, toilet paper and soap dispensers for five years. The district installed new dispensers from another supplier last year for $81,000.
Johnson said the mistakes and missing paperwork were due to a “lack of procedures” and record-keeping “sloppiness.”
Johnson couldn’t say much about the employees who were taken off administrative leave due to personnel confidentiality rights, but she did say that for now, the district will focus on trying to find missing paperwork and drafting formal record-keeping policies instead of pursuing individual mistakes.
“We have to just put it aside,” Johnson said. “You can’t necessarily blame anybody if you don’t have it in writing. I don’t think it’s just that (maintenance) department.”
Johnson said by the end of the month the district will issue a comprehensive procedural manual to all district personnel who keep records that will outline how documents should be processed and saved.
District personnel who fail to follow the procedures in the new manual could be subject to termination.
Johnson said she would assist the superintendent in compiling best practice accounting procedures, since she is an accountant.
Okay Annette how about bringing Bob Green back since he was wrongfully terminated. Well maybe Bob does not want to come back. He will collect his pension and money he will receive after he wins yet another lawsuit. Get ready Jerome and Annette because this seemed like a personal issue you have with Mr. Green therefore I think Bob should sue each of you individually.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130412/news/704129653/?interstitial=1
ReplyDeleteHuh, Check out how our local elected official voted on this...
And here's Central Catholic's bell schedule. They have a modified block schedule:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.auroracentral.com/apps/bell_schedules/
From the Beacon, a couple of months ago:
ReplyDeletebeaconnews.suntimes.com/news/17231253-418/schedule-changes-lead-to-more-homework-complaints-in-some-fox-valley-schools.html
Evidently more class periods means more homework for a lot of students. This article specifically mentions districts that changed from block scheduling to 7-8 periods.
The person who said their son went to Waubonsie H.S. and couldn't fit foreign language into his schedule in 2003 was because D204 was still using block scheduling. There are pros & cons to each.
One advantage to longer class periods and fewer classes is that it's good preparation for college classes. Science and language classes that include lab work are ideal in this format. Also, students can get a good headstart on their homework in a longer class period, and have access to the teacher to ask a question.
ReplyDeleteMaybe a good compromise would be for freshman & sophomores to have the 8-period schedule and upperclassmen have the 7 longer periods. I remember my own kids as teenagers having a much better ability to concentrate & stay on-task by the time they were 17 then when they started high school at age 14.
Compromise is a good thing...it can even be grEAt for our students!
I would love to know how you are going to run two different schedules at the same time.
ReplyDelete11:12 thanks for posting that. Sounds like a good bill, I wish it had passed. Interesting mix on who voted yes and no. Dems & Repubs on both sides. Tom Cross chickened out and voted present -- probably knew it was a good bill, but had to vote against because a Dem proposed it. Openline's going to be in a tizzy -- they'd love the bill but probably won't want to discuss it because Kifowit voted for it.
ReplyDelete2:16 p.m., the freshman building has its own bell schedule and it works out pretty well.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to our Wind Ensemble for participating in organization contest today. They received a Division II for their performance.
ReplyDeleteThe freshman are not on their own bell schedule they are on the same bell schedule as the rest of the school.
ReplyDeleteI am 99.99999999 percent sure that the freshmen center does NOT have it's own bell schedule
ReplyDeleteCrap. I totally misread 7:24's comment. My bad.
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get your information 7:21
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to the information about the IHSA organization contest today.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tourneywire.com/musicresults.htm
Aurora (East) 37.5
A school gets 75 points for a Division I rating, and 37.5 points for a Division II. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that EAHS got Division II today.
:)
From the EAHS Band Facebook page:
ReplyDelete"CONGRATULATIONS Wind Ensemble on receiving a Division I rating at the IHSA Organization Contest this morning. You played (and sang) extremely hard music at a high level. Good job. You should be proud of yourselves."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There's no shame in getting Division II, but it's too bad that certain people have to LIE about it!
Will we see another bogus plaque displayed, like back in 2007??
Saw this on a different Facebook page:
ReplyDeleteEast Aurora High School Band
5 hours ago
CONGRATULATIONS Wind Ensemble on receiving a Division I rating at the IHSA Organization Contest this morning.
Hmmmmm, it seems to me like a lot of people are jumping to conclusions without asking any questions.
ReplyDeleteInteresting in a post that says "Ask more questions before jumping to conclusions"
Division II. Its on the IHSA Website.
ReplyDeleteGood point, 9:22 p.m.
ReplyDeleteSo here's one more question:
Is it a grEAt idea to publicly announce a Division I rating before it has been officially confirmed and/or awarded by IHSA?
I'm thinking the answer is...
...NO.
Who really cares what a poster on this blog says it is the kids we should be concerned about not about what stupid axe you want to grind. If the bell schedule goes into effect we might not have much of band anyway. I am shure that will please some of you.
ReplyDeleteThe people who post regularly on this blog can in part blame themselves that the district is failing.
ReplyDeleteWhy in the world would anyone who is hard working, dedicated, innovative, or professional want to come to EA? The pay is subpar, and the attitude toward students, staff, the administration, and the Board is TOXIC.
You will continue to see excellent teachers and administrators leave this district in droves until a campaign is started to SUPPORT them. Everyone in the area knows you can't stay at EA very long if you come to work here. The toxic blog is part of the problem.
Why not look to support new ideas and innovation? Something just might work and then where would all the malcontents be?
EVERY child can learn, the important thing is INSTRUCTION. The EA community needs to make sure the students have the basics down. If an administrator or staff member does not believe that every child can learn in spite of their challenges - THEY DON'T BELONG TEACHING IN EA. Until this message is articulated and the norm - things will be difficult.
To those staff members who constantly COMPLAIN -- look at the harm you are doing to this district -- seek solutions not constant criticism.
Change is difficult - but to those who say - "But we've always done it this way" - I say --then you will get what you've always gotten -- FAILING SCHOOLS.
Let's be more positive -- the children deserve the best and the brighest and the most committed staff and administrators. Now the district needs to attract those staff and administrators and work to KEEP them. There are lots of people in this district who are working endless hours for little or no extra compensation in order to make positive changes and impact the lives of children for the better. TRY SUPPORTING THEM!!
Wow...someone congratulates our kids on their Division II rating and then when challenged posts a link to the IHSA site, and that translates as grinding an axe?
ReplyDeleteSince when is it a bad thing to politely point out the truth, when false information has been broadcast on multiple forums/sites?
If not for someone posting on this blog, who knows how many people would have believed the mistaken information spread by Facebook, word of mouth, etc.? Doesn't our community deserve the facts?
THANK YOU, 7:36 p.m. You have saved a lot of people embarrassment.
How do you know the mistaken information is on Facebook, maybe the contest manager made a mistake.
ReplyDeleteWho has contacted Mr. Liska to find out?
The problem is nothing done here is polite.
ReplyDeleteThe polite thing to do, is to contact the band director and point out the misinformation.
Why this blog does is try to defame, humiliate, and and bully people without ever checking their facts.
Lets start the healing. The voters spoke and it is time to support the board, administration and teachers.
ReplyDelete9:30 am- I like to believe the majority of the people on the blog DO support our teachers and students. Now that a certain bully has been re elected, much of the EA bashing will slow down, until she is under the negative spotlight. Then her and her pals start trying to deflect the light by talking badly about everyone and everything in D131. Tho you see many posts, I feel much of the trash talk is from a few.
ReplyDelete"maybe the contest manager made a mistake"
ReplyDeleteYes, that's possible. That's why it's a good idea to WAIT until a rating is official before announcing it to the (virtual) world.
And I don't see how posting a link to the truth can "defame, humiliate, and bully" anyone.
3:07 you should give Mr. Liska your contact info so he can check with you before doing anything.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, what did Mr. Liska say when you contacted him about the discrepancy in the ratings.
Actually, Mr. Liska should have done the contacting; he should have double-checked with IHSA before announcing the band got Division I.
ReplyDeleteSo you contacted him?
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that for somebody who talks a lot of crap about doing things the right way, you are pretty lazy and cowardly about really searching for the truth. That is why you and this blog You run is, and will always be, a joke.
ReplyDeleteWhen you can't dispute the truth, you can always try to attack the whistleblower.
ReplyDeleteDenial, distraction...
...repeated, inverted, ad libitum.
Tomorrow night's School Board meeting would be an ideal time to ask questions and express concerns about the new bell schedule.
ReplyDeleteI don't see an attack. I see someone asking questions before jumping to conclusions.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't see anyone being lazy or cowardly.
ReplyDeleteSo who's going to tomorrow night's School Board meeting to ASK QUESTIONS about the proposed bell schedule??
ReplyDeleteWhy is everybody assuming that Annette Johnson is the Board president again? This is a new term; she is a candidate just like the rest of the Board members. Maybe now they can make a difference and make their voices heard among themselves and put a fair, sensible, progressive, and child-center person to lead our Board and be a strong supporter for our new Superintendent. On 5/6 we will find out who the new president will be.
ReplyDeleteLiam's is too busy humiliating his kids on YouTube doing the chicken dance.
ReplyDeleteI went to the meeting the administration had about the bell schedule only 16 kids showed up. It shows EA ok again. They just don't give a crap that why the students don't get know respect it is their fault.
ReplyDeleteLiam?
ReplyDeleteLiam Neeson?
Interesting point but I don't see what it has to do with anything.
5:50 - Your post is sooooo illiterate that it doesn't even make a bit of sense.
ReplyDeleteSorry about that but somehow the I-phones auto spelling correction turned Liska into Liam's.
ReplyDeleteDo we really need to spend taxpayer dollars to write a manual to tell district staff members (especially Nestor Garcia, a district administrator) that they are not to accept personal bribes from outside contractors when assigning district contracts?
ReplyDeleteOnce again, our board has found a way to make sure that Central Office Administrators are not held accountable for their illegal actions. According to Annette Johnson "We have to just put it aside". What a joke. And people still debate where the problem with education is in District 131?
I'll say this again and I'll try to just give some rough numbers so as not to include benefits and I won't even mention names. A teacher can devote their life to the district and continue their education, 30 years teaching the kids and a PHD and still not break 100G. Yet our district continues to pay people wrapped up in scandal THOUSANDS more than these teachers. Misuse of district credit cards in a casino making over 120G, mismanaged B&G, no receipts, prior inappropriate relations with a teen when a PE teacher, complete incompetence at two administrative positions and still making over 100G, and of course the person the district needs the most is a ghost, never seen in the schools, lets the board president rule over him and he's pulling in 250G. This new board needs to clean house. The teachers are disgusted and I know the students are suffering. Moral would sky rocket if a few changes were made that shows you (board members) are aware of the insulting decisions that are made at the tax payers expense. I do believe the teachers have to take on the role of what is best for the community, It is obvious by the voter turnout that the residents are not informed or interested. Hopefully Strand will take charge to get the fresh voice and vision this district needs.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, 11:11pm, from your post to God's ear. Regretfully, Johnson will not let Roberts nor her micro-managing go.
ReplyDeleteI am sure Annette is telling the others "she got them elected." Truth be told, they got elected inspite of affiliation with her. I wish those others would show their concern for this community and do what is right, not what Johnson demands.
You are right April 14, 2013 at 7:48 PM they should of had policy about that and the administration should have to do a class like we do at our work about Ethics and sign a paper stating we did. The problem here is the boards have always said this is the way we have always done it.
ReplyDeleteSchool Board meeting tonight at 7 p.m.
ReplyDeleteWho plans to speak up about the proposed bell schedule?
Looks like the contest manager did NOT make a mistake...the announcement made on Saturday congratulating the Wind Ensemble for a Division 1 rating was WRONG.
ReplyDeleteThey got a Division II. Or as former Community Relations Director Clayton Muhammad might say, they "won Silver".
Thanks to this blog for posting the link to the IHSA site on Saturday. Otherwise, it could have been embarrassing for certain people to have to cover their behinds and admit they didn't bother to wait till the i's were dotted and the t's crossed.
Congratulations again to our students for their performance on Saturday, and their Division II rating.
Division II is nothing to be ashamed about.
ReplyDeleteClaiming to get a Division I when you got Division II is, at the least, awkward.
;)
With three new board members, I seriously doubt that Annette will be re-elected president. My guess is that Ray Hull will be the next board president.
ReplyDeleteYes, Ray is a loose cannon sometimes. But he has the most experience on the current board, and has proven himself willing to dissent instead of be a rubber stamp.
If Ray is president, look for Annette to pull a Juanita Wells and quit.
Stella, Truza and Leonard will never vote for Ray.
ReplyDeleteWhat 3 new board members? Strand won a 4 year seat, and Puryea won a 2 year seat. I agree w/ 3:42, none of the other 4 incumbents (remember Johnson has a vote, too) will vote for Hull. I also doubt that Strand or Puryea will vote for Hull. I could see the 3 of them forming a coalition to vote for Strand -- but that's just 3 votes.
ReplyDeleteTo: April 15, 2013 at 3:23 PM
ReplyDeleteThere are only two new board members, not three.
3:42pm And how do you know NEVER
ReplyDeleteHow could anyone for someone who called a fellow members mother and father a looser. What credibility would those people have electing someone like that? Come on.
ReplyDeleteI have debated long and hard about posting here, going back and forth in my head wondering if people who insult and bully people anonymously on a blog deserve a response. Ultimately the truth about why the confusion on the IHSA contest needs to come out. I will not post here again as I feel that people who don't contact teachers and administrators directly but rather post anonymously on a blog don't deserve the answers they seek.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been extremely easy for anybody to email me with the question, "Why are we seeing two different scores for the IHSA contest?" Instead accusations, name calling and misinformation has run rampant.
Here is what happened. After we performed Saturday, we packed up our equipment and received the original judges' sheets. The judges' sheets had the scores of 38.5 - Division I, 36 - Division I, and 35.4 - Division II. With those numbers and scores written at the bottom of the sheets, I concluded that my students had received a Division I rating. I was excited for my students and proud of them for the hard work they put in and I shared the information not only with them on the bus, but also posting on facebook so that other people would know about the success.
Later Saturday night the IHSA website showed that we had received a Division II. I contacted the Contest Manager from Rich East High School, where the event took place, but he did not get back to me until Monday. He emailed me back Monday morning and did not know why the scores were different, he said he would look into it. During 9th period today he emailed me again and said that the judge who had given us a 36, actually added his scores up incorrectly and the final tally came up to only a 35, which is a Division II. A Division I, II, and II come out to an overall Division II. That is where the mistake happened.
I have been accused of lying, being embarrassed, and trying to "cover my behind." None of that is true. The truth is that three people made a mistake on Saturday, the judge for adding wrong, the contest manager for not double checking, and myself for taking the scores at the bottom of the page for granted. I don't think that anything I did was malicious or misleading in any way.
The continuous attacks on my character, my profession, my family, and my students are outrageous. The reason you don't post your name when you attack me is because deep down you are embarrassed by your comments too, and don't want them tied to your name.
I love my job, I love music and band in particular, I love my students and are very proud of the hard work they put in preparing music, not only for this contest, but for football and basketball games, our various concerts and other events throughout the year.
The attacks that go on here, and then repeated on multiple websites, are destructive and embarrassing to say the least. Nothing positive has come out of this blog that could not have been done with a calm and reasonable face to face interaction, or even an exchange in email.
I refuse to read this anymore and will never again respond to faceless bullying over the internet. If you have a question about my program I will be happy to respond to you via email, bliska@d131.org or talk to you face to face.
I have enjoyed working with all the students who have passed through my band room, and my main goal has been to instill a life-long love of music in them. I invite you all to join us for our Concert and Symphonic Band Concert on May 1st and the Wind Ensemble Concert on May 3rd. Both concerts begin at 7:00 in Hawks Auditorium.
Brian Liska
Director of Bands
East Aurora High School
Division II.
DeleteAnnette Johnson completed her brilliant political ploy this past week. She managed to make the voters think she was truly making an effort to oversee prudent tax spending. She suspended dishonest employees and as soon as she won the election she reinstated the bums. Nice move Annette.
ReplyDeleteMr. Liska, thanks for that explanation. It seems to be a fact of modern life that every little misstep or misunderstanding is blown out of proportion on the internet. We all make mistakes; too bad some people also make assumptions.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's time to move away from ratings to a comments-only performance/festival. I'm reminded of this comment from a couple of months ago:
"Why do you people worry about scores so much. Why not play music to enjoy it, why not play football because you love it, why learn something just to learn it...
...Music and art don't have to be quantified and compared and evaluated every second of the day. Just enjoy it, or don't enjoy it. Have YOUR opinion of it, but you can't have an opinion until you hear it, or see it, or experience it.
Of all the things this blog should discuss the beauty of music and art created by STUDENTS WHO ARE JUST LEARNING ABOUT IT is not one of them.
What have you created lately to be judged?"
Something to think about!
Any discussion of the proposed bell schedule at tonight's School Board meeting??
ReplyDeleteGood job Brian keep up the good work
ReplyDeleteOooooo...in the words of our students, Mr. Liska just TREATED you all!
ReplyDeleteFrom this morning's Beacon-News:
ReplyDeletebeaconnews.suntimes.com/news/19510733-418/naperville-resident-calls-on-two-east-aurora-school-board-members-not-to-run-for-president.html
I find it sadly amusing, Johnson states they are going to have a comprehensive procedural manual. Isn't that what others might call policies.
ReplyDeleteShe is like a little kid losing at her own game. If ya can't come out ahead and look good just change the rules.
In the end she may carry the title of president but she is only 1/7th of the vote. What happens in the district is up to the majority of the school board. It is not intended to be a dictatorship, as it appears has been the case in the recent past.
Beacon News April 16th
ReplyDeleteMORE QUESTIONS OVER POLICY
What seemed like a simple vote to approve the sale of scrap materials and a tractor, generator and other old supplies the district no longer needed turned confusing when Hull said that much of the property had already been sold by the manager of the Operations Department, Marty Feltes, in violation of district policy.
“When we found ourselves in controversy the last year every time it was for either not reading, not following or not understanding policy,” Hull said, ticking off problems with district credit cards and accounting procedures. “At some point we have to decide if our policy is just a grouping of suggestions. Are we going to continue to disregard what we’re supposed to do?”
Johnson said she hadn’t heard there was a problem before the board meeting and told Hull that he should have e-mailed the board ahead of time.
The board voted to put the sale of the property on hold until it could research the issue further
8:31AM
ReplyDeleteVERY WELL SAID
Truth is surfacing in many an area
The biggest reason why this district is facing all of this is because of mediocrity and idiots.
ReplyDeleteTo: April 16, 2013 at 7:43 AM
ReplyDelete"Treated"?
The only thing Liska did was to attempt to lecture the community when the only mistake made was his own. Further, this is not an isolated incident. A couple of years ago Liska had a Division One trophy made when the group earned a Division Three. I noticed that Liska did not address the history of the same mistakes being made.
After Liska's long note to the community, we are left with a decision to be made. Does he do these things intentionally, in which case the man is unethical or does he continue to do these things unintentionally, in which case the man is incompetent? That will be a decision each person must make for themselves.
However, to come out publicly and criticize an entire community because they have noticed your "errors" definately shows a lack of character. A simple apology may have been more appropriate.
Oooooo........in the words of a blogger......you just caused Liska to be "treated" .....again.
ReplyDeleteI really don’t blame Liska, the position of high school band director may be the most challenging staff position in any school district. Certainly, not for somebody right out of college. This is something that the central office administrators and board should have known when hiring for the position. Unfortunately, the administration fouled up the works so badly that no competent band director would take the position. The few that had applied, quickly withdrew their application when they were made aware of the situation. The district really had no alternative but to hire Liska. And, as always, it has been the children who suffer for the poor decisions made by administration and the board.
ReplyDeleteIs this Marty Feltes the longtime friend of Board Member Richard Leonard who sold the scrap
ReplyDeleteMORE QUESTIONS OVER POLICY
What seemed like a simple vote to approve the sale of scrap materials and a tractor, generator and other old supplies the district no longer needed turned confusing when Hull said that much of the property had already been sold by the manager of the Operations Department, Marty Feltes, in violation of district policy.
9:45 a.m., you're wrong about the band getting Division III and a plaque saying Division I. They got Division II.
ReplyDeleteAnd 10:50 a.m., you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned the administration & board. That's who was to blame, not Mr. Liska (who just took the job, believing the lies he was told by administration). To his credit, Mr. Liska works hard for our kids. He made an honest mistake in announcing that Division I rating. And the person who posted the link to the official site did the right thing, too. Maybe not the exact way some would have preferred, but definitely avoided the mistake from going any further.
Did anybody really believe it was going to be a good decision when they changed the hiring requirements and snuck Leonard’s lifelong buddy into the director of buildings and grounds position? As we have seen, the director of buildings and grounds position is prone to all sorts of corruption. How can the community have any faith in a director who was brought in under less than ethical circumstances?
ReplyDeleteTo: April 16, 2013 at 11:11 AM
ReplyDeleteYou are incorrect. They received a Division III and Clayton reported that they had received a bronze medal. I guess he considered that political spin.
No, 11:52, the bronze medal comment was in the Beacon after Solo & Ensemble contest in 2007, not organization contest. Clayton Muhammad listed those students who had received Division I as having "won Gold", Division II as "won Silver", and Division III as "won Bronze". When the band got Division II at organization contest Clayton's spin was that the band "took it all the way to the top".
ReplyDeleteTalk about babying our students and inflating their accomplishments out of proportion in the real world...Clayton was a master. Our district is well rid of him.
he is the same guy that wrote the article in the Beacon News when the city won that silly award from the radio show and the press release said 'in front of "several hundred" people the City received..... Several Hundred?! Not a single resident went to that event, it was all a scam. Yet when the Beacon realized that not a single person would believe "several hundred" the press release was altered to not include the lie. Why would the City hire such a guy? Isnt Aurora trying to clean up its image?
ReplyDeleteYou band people need to get a grip and leave Liska alone. You really don't care about the band students either otherwise you wouldn't down grade their teacher. Mr. K's people that are still around dragging this up needs to grow up and seek mental help it is time to let go.
ReplyDeleteIn the end Johnson will still have the votes to do what she wants. It was a joke last night Hull admits they all wait for her to answer all the questions and if she does they do nothing. Stella does not know whether to vote yes or no. Leonard says nothing. Hull talks in circles. What a joke.
ReplyDeleteI am not "mr. K's people". I think it is funny when Mr. L gets "treated" someone comes on here and wants to blame some long gone K supporters. Like they are the ONLY people possibly wanting to make issue with the band.
ReplyDeleteTo: April 16, 2013 at 2:07 PM
ReplyDeleteYou state "it is time to let go."
Just sounds like you are attempting the same same thing that that Clayton tried years ago, "The matter is closed".
It didn't work then, it won't work now. You can't just turn off a persons emotions.
The fact is, the administration and board made astring of terrible decisions regarding the band (and a decision that no competent administrator would ever have made). This is why. Removing a popular band director (especially when there is no apparent reason other than personal vendettas) tears apart a major part of the fabric which holds a community together. This will probably not be fully recovered from until the next band director is hired.
As is repeated here often, the children and community feel the brunt of the bad decisions made by an incompetent administration and board.
Am willing to take bets on the following vote for Board President
ReplyDeleteas Annette "Ayatollah" Johnson will be elected 4-3 Turza, Gonzalez, Leonard, Johnson will vote for her. The rest will vote against. Just a preview for all upcoming votes when Johnson doesn't get her way. Showmanship at its worse Is the Ayatollah herself
But they are right the matter is closed what is done is done and treating the person they hired the way you do is wrong he did not make the choice of letting K go. You can remember things but at a point you need to move on because everyone one else has.
ReplyDeleteHuh, Easts facebook page is gone as of yesterday.
ReplyDeleteBy Kalyn Belsha kbelsha@stmedianetwork.com April 15, 2013 9:50PM
ReplyDelete0
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AURORA — At the last meeting of the East Aurora School Board before two new members take their seat and the new board elects its leaders, a Naperville resident called on two sitting board members to remove themselves from consideration for president.
During public comments Monday night, Ralph Padron, whose wife is a retired East Aurora teacher, told Board President Annette Johnson, a business owner who was re-elected to the board last week by 44 votes, and Board Member Ray Hull, who heads the city of Aurora’s water and sewer department, to “excuse themselves from any consideration to become board president.” The board is slated to vote on new leaders May 6.
“I believe one thing that was very damaging and irreparable was the verbal exchange between Mr. Hull and Ms. Johnson,” Padron said, referring to insults traded by the two such as “slumlord” and “loser” in a board committee meeting on Dec. 6. “A strong united board of education is much needed at this time.”
Hull said he had apologized to Johnson for the incident and that he didn’t “have a desire to be the board president.” He added that it would be up to the new board to select its leaders.
“If I had to be the leader of this board I would do an excellent job despite what happened on Dec. 6,” Hull said. “And if Ms. Johnson is elected president she’ll do a better job if she is held accountable by the rest of the board.”
During her re-election campaign, Johnson was accused by opponents of playing too big a role in the day-to-day operations of the district. Hull added Monday night that he felt the board in many instances “has waited for Ms. Johnson’s leadership and when she didn’t say anything it meant don’t say anything.”
Johnson did not say Monday night whether she planned to throw her hat in the ring for president again, but last week after she was re-elected she told The Beacon-News that she “will be continuing on as the president” and that “we’re very committed to trying to keep the board more or less the same.”
More questions over policy
What seemed like a simple vote to approve the sale of scrap materials and a tractor, generator and other old supplies the district no longer needed turned confusing when Hull said that much of the property had already been sold by the manager of the Operations Department, Marty Feltes, in violation of district policy.
“When we found ourselves in controversy the last year every time it was for either not reading, not following or not understanding policy,” Hull said, ticking off problems with district credit cards and accounting procedures. “At some point we have to decide if our policy is just a grouping of suggestions. Are we going to continue to disregard what we’re supposed to do?”
Johnson said she hadn’t heard there was a problem before the board meeting and told Hull that he should have e-mailed the board ahead of time.
The board voted to put the sale of the property on hold until it could research the issue further.
Board Member Mary Anne Turza said the board will get together on May 15 to review all district policies. Johnson said last week that the district is working to put together a comprehensive procedural manual, expected to be completed by the end of the month, that will govern all record keeping and accounting. The district is also in the process of installing new business software that will “force procedures” Johnson said.
“We’re making a change, the records are getting cleaned up,” Johnson said. “Everyone just needs to have patience.”
8:24 a.m. says:
ReplyDelete"you need to move on because everyone else has"...
Looks to me like not "everyone" has moved on, seeing as how this is still being discussed 8 years later!
I agree with 7:23 p.m.--the whole nasty situation happened because of a corrupt administration & board. The current band director had absolutely nothing to do with it; he just took the job (and was probably lied to by administration at the time, who had been desperately trying to fill the position after other candidates had turned it down).
The more time goes by, the more the people responsible for bullying Mr. K have left our district. Clayton Muhammad is the most recent to leave. Soon Jerome Roberts will also be gone. As long as no one from "that era" comes back to our district (Marin Gonzalez?), we have a chance to move past it and concentrate our energy on more important concerns for our district.
Speaking of Marin Gonzalez, Annette Johnson should send her some flowers and/or a thank you note.
ReplyDeleteThe Montroys' friendship with Marin probably cost Zach the election.
12:31pm
ReplyDeleteAnnette's devious plots to keep the POWER she so desperately needs to have some self esteem is what really did Zach in. Ethics , Honesty have no place in Annette's arsenal of Tyranny. To her supporters (especially Stella Gonzalez) remember you are judged by the company you keep.
Zack got what he deserved corruption, lies,cover-ups, a wife that does nothing to protect children. A victory for the workers bees GO EAAAAAAA.
ReplyDeleteMaybe now Jackie and Zack will move. BTW, it the company they keep
Disagree about Zach--he's a good pastor and does want to help our community. I probably would have voted for him without the Marin Gonzalez connection.
ReplyDeleteAnother controversy surfaced per the Beacon News report today. Machinery sold without following policy and Stella Gonzalez was confused on how to vote. Does that surprise anyone NOT. 131 WILL NOT get out of the sewer until Johnson is gone PERIOD The Bully needs attention, power, and an audience to feed her ego and cover up her rejections in life. Sad State of Affairs in Aurora
ReplyDeleteWhat a bunch of fools you are with making the connection with Marin. Just because Zack is friends with her doesn't mean they would bring her back to the district. Did anyone ask him? Marin goes to their church should they shun her for working for the district or what has happened? Was it her that got rid of that band director everyone thinks was so great. Change is hard but it happens. We could of moved this district forward but some that thought they would bring Marin back stopped it. What corruption did he say? This district with Johnson has looked away from the corruption. May God have mercy on you.
ReplyDelete5:49 p.m., I think that some of the "old timers" are concerned that history might repeat itself. Jerome Roberts had been principal at East High, then took a job in another district, then came back to D131. If Jerome could be brought back why not Marin? After all, she was assistant superintendent and on paper is qualified to be superintendent, and knows our district.
ReplyDeleteIt's not out of the question, but I'm not that worried because the community would speak out against it and not want someone with her record of dealing with people.
From the Openline blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8854980&postID=1940416599236357627
From Openline Blog
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
Tax bills are on the way. East Aurora school tax rates are up 21%. The rate is jumping to $5.96 per hundred assessed from last year's rate of $4.91 per hundred. In addition Aurora city rates are up 13%
4/16/13, 7:33 AM
It looks like another lie from Annette Johnson. She claimed the board had actually helped lower tax bills this year. Apparently not.
Don't forget Johnson got her fired so that would never happen.
ReplyDeleteIt is ridiculous that Jerome Roberts did not cancel school today everyone knew of this inclement weather, flooding, ligtning and thunder and torrential downpour--another display of his complete ineptitude as a leader! Lets watch our little ones walk in this and hope they are hit by lightning!
ReplyDeleteIf you didn't think it was safe for your child to go to school u should've called them in.
DeleteMost area school districts are open today; the one exception I'm aware of is D204 is closed. Specifically, they're closed because their buses can't get through to pick up the kids (big stretches of South Eola Rd. and 75th street are impassable because of standing water)>
ReplyDelete7:06 am I hope you meant to say not hit by lightning. I am sure it was a type error but you are right school should have been cancelled.
ReplyDeleteSchool tax rates up 21% this year and Annette Johnson was bragging and emphasizing how this Board under her leadership is so effective in saving money. To bad this fact did not come out before the election. Why would someone outright lie like she does and want to believe it? POWER, EGO, FAILURES IN HER PAST !!!!!
ReplyDeleteMany roads are beginning to flood and we have schools in low lying areas that probably will see flooding. Then you take in the fact of the rain and lighting. At times it is raining so hard you can't see which can be a danger.
ReplyDeleteWell, there has been a lull in the storm for about an hour now, plenty of chance for kids to get to school. By the time school is over around 3 it's not supposed to be lightning/pouring anymore. A school building is a relatively safe place to be in severe weather.
ReplyDeleteDr. Roberts is in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" position when it comes to cancelling school. I think he made the right call today.
Roberts also did not cancel school during the most recent winter storm. Yet every other district in the area did. He is inept.
ReplyDeleteIf in fact East taxes go up I suggest we all hold the Board accountable. Why did not the challengers use this in their campaign?
Why again are we so late in posting minutes for board meetings? April 1st has long passed and still no minutes. Even though I attend meetings it is hard to remember all that was discussed.
ReplyDeleteSure, there was a lull in the storm for students to get to school - but what about FACULTY & STAFF who need to get home? The route I took today has just been closed, and my normal & backup routes are both closed. I also just received word that my street is closed. I know we're here for the children, and I am, but adult safety is just as important.
ReplyDeleteOnly three faculty members got in a wreck. No big deal.
DeleteAt Cowherd, Grove Road (behind the building where all cars enter) and our driveway leading to the parking lot were flooded. A teaachers car stalled and flooded because nothing was marked and it was still dark when she got to school. Her car is probably totaled because. Both gymnasiums are flooded and all the PE equipment is probably lost. The roof is leaking in many places and areas of the building are flooded from water coming in through doorways. Many of the paths that students use to come to school were rivers and flood plains, even homes along the way were flooded.
ReplyDeleteHalf the staff was not in the building at 8:00 when students were arriving, even the principal was an hour late. One of the assistant principals didn't show because of the weather.
Very simply put, if the district can not provide safe passage to and from the school and a safe, clean and supervised enviroment for the children when they enter the school, then why was the school building open?
Once again, poor decision making by our superintendent has put everybody at risk. When is this district going to hire a competent superintendent?
Annette Johnson was not just bragging about cutting tax rates, she put this information in "The Enlightener". That is the community newsletter provided by the district and is considered a district publication and uses district resources to print and distribute.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Illinois Law, the district and staff can not support any candidate, nor can they use public resources to support a particular candidate for any public office. They are allowed to state factual information for purposes like the referendum but that is all.
If Annette Johnson deliberately included false information in the "The Enlightener" to aid in her election campaign, she violated Illinois Law and should be held accountable.
She could, quite possibly, be removed as a board member for this violation. The community made their decision based on false information provided by Annette Johnson and District 131.
Zach Montroy (or any other concerned citizen) should be contacting the State's Attorney and reporting this violation of the law.
10:13 a.m., a better question might be "when will our district join the 21st century and put board meetings online?"
ReplyDeleteThe candidate's forum was broadcast online, so we definitely have the technology. Adam Harding, are you listening??
The district did not increase taxes this year. I checked on mine the 5.96 is a equalizer the county uses. With no truth and taxation hearing this year the taxpayers saves over 3%.
ReplyDeleteIf house values in Strand and Montroy neighborhood where not so low maybe the county would not have to apply a equalization factor. Then there is Mary Lou she doesnot even pay property taxes and her landlord gets by with paying only $886 a year total. Maybe someone should complain about that.
Adam Harding has his head to far up the administrators and boards rectums to hear anything important.
ReplyDelete@10:32, 10:52. Shouldn't you be teaching instead of reading/posting on this blog? Just saying.
ReplyDeleteThis in from Adam Harding:
ReplyDeleteEMERGENCY NOTICE
Due to the inclement weather, all after-school activities in East Aurora School District 131 are CANCELLED for today, Thursday April 18, 2013. Staff may leave the building once students have safely been dismissed.
This also includes Kindergarten registration.
Apperently the weather is too much of a danger to hold after school activities but not for regular day activities.
If somebody got hurt today and sued the district, do you have any idea what an idiot Jerome Roberts would look like in court explaining this one? And it makes you wonder just how much that lawsuit would cost the district.
Cancellinig after school activities is what the court would consider a defacto admission that the weather was determined, even by the administration, to be a danger to the children and staff.
PLEASE......My kingdom for a competent administrator!!!!!!!
To: April 18, 2013 at 11:29 AM
ReplyDeleteMaybe the teacher is on their duty free lunch. Just saying.
When landlords determine how much to charge for rent, they must factor in all costs, including taxes. While you may try to claim that somebody who rents doesn't pay taxes, this is not really correct. They may not pay taxes directly but taxes are included in their rent. Everybody pays taxes.
ReplyDeleteTo: April 18, 2013 at 11:27 AM
ReplyDeleteMaybe you should be a politician.
We're paying more but our taxes have been cut by 3%????? Really?????
However you do your arithmetic (and political spin), the tax payers will be paying more and the school district will be receiving more. I consider that to be a tax increase.
So is Jerome Roberts touring any of the school affected by the weather? I bet not. He can barely show up to work on a normal day. Ask his high paid secretary how often he simply does not show up. In fact give him a call and see how long it takes for him to return your call.
ReplyDeleteWhy should Roberts tour the District? Is he a Weatherman?
Delete@11:42. After posting something, it probably takes at least 15 minutes for the administrator to approve the post. Post was at 10:32, meaning post was created at the LATEST 10:15. Lunches don't start that early. And that's only if the post was approved right away.
ReplyDeleteAnybody care to comment on the most recent Beacon News article
ReplyDeletegood news bad news for the board
ReplyDeleteGood news is we don't have Lewis and Cervantes on the Board.
Bad News is Johnson & Stella Gonzalez are back. 40 votes separated Johnson from being totally gone, all her lies, BS, manipulation paid off. Integrity lost but will resurface in other ways. Please provide pics at Board Meetings for Stella to study before voting.
Anonymous 11;42 and 11:29 what a fool you are. What the hell are you talking about a duty free lunch--the dog drool served up in the teacher cafeteria? Or are you referring to an hour long lunch? Only the counselors and department chairs have that. So teachers shouldn't worry about their own and their student's safety? You are either a moron or haven't been out of your house in the past ten years... just saying
ReplyDelete1:30 p.m., you are wrong about the time shown on posts. The time is when the comment was written, not when the blogmasters approved it. I know because sometimes I've posted something and it's been an hour or more before it's on the blog, and the time is when I wrote it not when it appeared.
ReplyDeleteAnd the lunch hour does start before 10:30 at some schools.
April 1st minutes are now posted.
ReplyDeleteFrom Annette Johnson's remarks:
Mrs. Johnson stated that the
FOIA requests that have come in are unbelievable. She stated that there was a meeting with Mr.
Padron and several retired staff and she felt that the outcome of this meeting was favorable but the FOIA requests still continue into the office.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maybe SHE thought the outcome of the meeting was favorable...evidently the retired staff felt otherwise.
11:39 The activities DURING the school day is the primary purpose for the school existing. The AFTER school activities are called EXTRA curricular. It's not at all unusual for schools to be in session during the day and then cancel all after school activities.
ReplyDeleteTo: April 18, 2013 at 1:30 PM
ReplyDeleteWhile in the real world, lunch is around 12:00, District 131 is not the real world. There are lunches in District 131 that start at 9:45 AM and some that don't end until 1:30 PM.
Yes, think about that. Students have breakfast at 7:00 (at home) or from 7:00-8:00 (at school) and then have lunch at 9:45. Then they don't get to eat again until they get home (if there is food at home). If students participate in after school clubs or sports, they may not get home until 7:30 or 8:00 in the evening (later if they are part of a tournament). That means they may not eat for 10 hours or more.
We then wonder why students can't function properly? We feed them crap (Sodexo) and we feed them twice in two hours and then, not again for 10+ hours (or they eat at 7AM at home and then, not again until 1:00 in the afternoon). And then we give them a hard time if they can't pass the ISAT?
This is just another example of the brilliant leadership in District 131. This district should be sued for educational malpractice.
What a gross exaggeration of the truth 4:58. You really make it sound convincing. All of your lies and BS. Please name the school(s) that eat lunch at 9:45. The first lunch period begins at 10:48 at the high school.
ReplyDeleteThe reason lunch has to begin that early is because the cafeteria is too small so we have to have multiple lunch periods.
An addition to the building is what is needed but then you would complain that your taxes are too high.
More blog BS and rantings. Please oh scholars of the blog run the schools your way and make every right decision.
Maybe it's time you go to work for another district.
ReplyDeleteapril 18 454 p.m.- you have missed the boat... if it's too dangerous weather wise to be in the building after school then it would be doubly unsafe to be in the building during school when an active storm front was rattling the windows, and coming down hard and heavy. It was nearly impossible to find a venue into the place. Must have been a joy for all of those walking. Another brilliant display of leadership, concern and control from our lovely Super and his attack dog Annette.
ReplyDeleteThe head of a business or even a country may not be the expert, but if there is a crisis, they show up to show their concern and to get a personal view. Roberts seeing the buildings having issues with leaks and floods would give him a perspective when B&G brings their repair and financial findings.
ReplyDelete6:54 a.m., hindsight is 20/20, and superintendents are not psychic.
ReplyDeleteLocal weather forecasts before 6:00 or so yesterday morning weren't predicting record-breaking flooding. Only one area district (204) cancelled school that early, and specifically because two roads that often have flooding problems (south Eola Rd. and 75th St.) were flooded.
Other districts closed schools early and/or cancelled after-school activities. Our district was like most public school districts in having school but cancelling later activities.
6:54 a.m., maybe you should offer your extraordinary psychic ability to the superintendent next time the weather is bad.
To Dr Roberts
ReplyDeleteAssert yourself and don't Allow Annette Johnson to bully you and the Admin staff any further. Please search your conscious and stand up to her and remind her this is not her personal school district. PLEASE TAKE A STANCE
Maybe the parents in Naperville have vacation days and can watch their children and not lose money being of work, did you ever consider Roberts serves a different population and he is showing compassion for our parents.
ReplyDeleteRay you should be out taking care of flooding instead of writing on the blog.
ReplyDeleteJackie Montroy get off Facebook and the blog and do your job.
ReplyDeleteTo: April 19, 2013 at 7:56 AM
ReplyDeleteGrow up. It doesn't take psychic ability to run a school district. It takes intelligence and organization. The superintendent should have been in communication with the head of buildings and grounds, who should have been in communication with the head custodian at each district building.
The building custodian should have done an evaluation in and around the school building and communicated any unusual or dangerous situations up the chain of command. This should have been done at regular intervals on days like yesterday.
In addition, the superintendent should have been in communication with city and county authorities and have been updated on all community concerns. This would definitely include a report from the Aurora Police Department, as well as, the Public Works Departments for the city and county. This should have also included police presence/support at major intersections and around school buildings.
If we had an organization structure as I just described, the superintendent would be able to make an informed, intelligent decision and not one that required psychic ability.
Unfortunately, we do not have highly intelligent or even competent individuals running District 131. When is the East Aurora Community going to demand better from its leaders?
Clayton update the pied piper of Aurora had the Facebook account in his name with the password now Central Office can't find him. Why hide Clayton, you trashed our computer and deleted and shredded files before you left. could the stories be true.
ReplyDeleteNow the Facebook page went down and the District does not have access to their own name.
To: April 18, 2013 at 9:55 PM
ReplyDeleteIf you want to know who's eating lunch at 9:45, you should start with the middle schools. Apparently, the district administrators dont believe that nutrition is important in a child's formative years.
It's too bad that more parents don't come and see what's happening to their children each day. I'm sure there would be more parents complaining at board meetings if they were truly informed.
Read the paragraph above More questions over pollicy. How does Johnson know she will still bbe president? Talking to the board members? What does she mean by stating "we're very committed to to trying to keep the board more or less the same after she was re-elected? This is how D131 has gotten into the mess we are in and why we are ridiculed. If Johnson is again president, then the board needs to reinstate what they did to the last president.
ReplyDeleteI cant believe school wasn't canceled today! It's snowing out. It's not safe. Poor children have to walk home in this terrible weather. Another poor decision by Roberts!!
ReplyDeleteTo April 18th 9:55pm. Cowherd Middle School's 1st lunch is at 9:45 am. last lunch ends at 1:30pm. If you dont believe it come to CMS.
ReplyDeletebeaconnews.suntimes.com/19588940-417/east-aurora-students-critical-of-proposed-bell-schedule.html
ReplyDeleteIf anyone feels it not safe or the weather to bad for the students to go to school, then keep them home. Don't blame something like this on the district. Parents have the right to make up their own mind what is in the best interest of their children.
ReplyDeleteThis is from Montgomery Patch:
ReplyDeleteThe following is a statement from Superintendent Matthew Wendt regarding the decision to keep Oswego 308 schools open and incidents and updates throughout the day.
Oswego School District 308 made the decision to have school today at approximately 5:15a.m. The school district is advised by several outside agencies, including law enforcement and Kendall County Emergency Operations (ECOC). Although some school districts elected to close for various reasons, our decision was consistent with neighboring school districts, including West Aurora, East Aurora, Batavia, St. Charles and Naperville District 203.
At any time a parent or guardian believes it is best for a child to remain home during inclement weather, we will support that decision. Although School District 308 makes a choice to have school; parents and guardians have the final decision. Individual circumstances, feelings and opinions vary and it is imperative parents and guardians retain the final voice on matters such as attending school during inclement weather.
A decision to cancel or dismiss school for a district with over 17,700 students is significant and impacts many components of the system. A decision to cancel school is made by 5:30a.m. There was no recommendation from anyone to close the entire school district at that time. In the end, the final decision is mine to make and I accept full responsibility for the decision.
As the morning progressed, our advising agencies and personnel informed the school district some roads were rapidly declining due to flooding, and road closures soon followed. These conditions created major challenges for the school district, especially at the elementary levels. Unfortunately, the road closures caused the district to reassess routes and, in some cases, postpone bus services.
The school district experienced a morning incident with an Illinois Central bus. This situation was first reported as a bus roll-over accident. The bus actually slid into a ditch and per protocol, emergency personnel were dispatched. Four students and the driver were evacuated from the bus. We are pleased to report all are safe, parents were contacted, and a second bus was dispatched to transport the students to school.
Additionally, a picture was posted on Facebook and Twitter, and then provided to multiple media outlets showing a deluge of water from a storm drain located in a hallway outside the gymnasium at Oswego High School. According to high school administration, within a half hour the storm drain was recapped and the hallway was cleared of water and reopened.
Lastly, an accident on Wolf Crossing occurred and blocked an access point to Southbury Elementary School. We were advised by local law enforcement the school was not accessible. Our staff worked diligently with parents and staff members to mitigate the situation. By working with our law enforcement and emergency personnel, School District 308 staff worked tirelessly to assure the safety and security of our students remained a priority. We appreciate all of the patience and cooperation during this unusual weather event.
In closing, we appreciate emails and telephone calls, and your thoughts, comments and questions are valued. Thank you for assisting us through a very challenging day. We are fortunate to be a part of an excellent school system with so much potential and promise.
Respectfully,
Dr. Matthew Wendt
Superintendent, School District 308
Summer School this year is a joke. Now to apply you have to go through the longest application form of the decade, like the one you do when applying for a full time teachers job. The people who have worked summer school are usually the teachers in the school who know the students and get them thru. Now that it will start 2 weeks after school ends and last until the end of July is ridiculous. All of a sudden they want type 75 administrators, whose only job is to move things along ,serve milk and breakfast, and send in payrole. You will find it very difficult to find teachers who will work on this terrible schedule, and if you only use teachers who are certified in the areas that you require you really are going to have a hard time staffing this summer. Do not throw out the baby with the bath water. Teachers who have taught for 7, 8, and 9 years summer school, should get 1st priority,as opposed to teachers who have no connection to the school or students that they are teaching. After all you have subs who teach during the year for 3,4,5 and 9 months who don't even have degrees or interest in teaching, much least invested into the welfare of our students. Yes by all means this district needs to start covering their "you know what's" cause that's all their doing, it looks good on paper, but dont cut off your nose to spite your face. Dont take my word , you'll see when you have no one to fill all of those summer school positions. you just created the biggest headache for your self. Take that energy and fix what really needs fixing in this District. Summer School is not one of your biggest problems. Let the principals have total autonomy on this, cause we know that's what's going to happen anyway. It's just a pain, to have to jump thru stupid hoops only to end up at the same place.
ReplyDeleteTo: April 19, 2013 at 7:03 PM
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty clear that the Oswego Superintendent is feeling the heat of the poor decisions he made yesterday (and all year). Bus drives off the road, flooding in the high school, Etc. He knows he screwed up and is trying to deflect the blame.
He's pretty good at it. He deflects blame by showing that Oswego wasn't the only school district open (he didn't mention the dozens of school districts that did close) and sounded just like our administration stating that the parents could have kept their children home (I guess he assumes that all parents are privy to the same information that a superintendent has).
It is not surprising though, the new Oswego Superintendent has been on the hot seat since he was hired this year. He left his last job to work in Oswego under less than ethical circumstances and ended up in a lawsuit with his previous district. It was a huge PR debacle. While scandals are normal in District 131, Oswego won't tolerate it for long.
Oswego has been second guessing the decision to hire him all year. Unlike District 131, I'm sure Oswego will be replacing their superintendent ASAP.
"Dozens" of districts closed? I think that's a stretch. My district and most of the surrounding ones was open except for a couple where the school was built very close to a river that was flooding.
ReplyDeleteHow many scandals since Dist 131 have surfaced? 1 Janitorial contract 2 Admin Leave of select individuals 3 The unautorized sale of used equipment by Mary Feltes (Great recommentdation Richard Leonard)
ReplyDelete4 Stay tuned more will surface very soon !!
Just went to Facebook, couldn't find the D131 page. Anybody know what's going on?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeletewhat happened to "Continue the Change 131" which Stella Gonzalez started. that is gone also is it a coincidence
First off, band is great and I love music, but we have bigger fish to fry. We have a completely inept superintendent and a board president (power monger) that are hurting our district and the future of 10,000 kids. Let's talk about band when we get positive news and positive direction. Unfortunately Johnson got back on the board. I was disappointed at voter turnout. We still have a chance at some change if we can get new leadership. I believe Strand could possibly lift the spirits of this district. I don't know for sure, but for the sake of change it could be positive. Roberts has to go. Yeah, maybe it's a stretch with the school should be closed argument, but forget that. Roberts should go for the sake of leadership. People are actually questioning why he should check out the schools after the rains. BECAUSE HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE OUR LEADER!!! Why wouldn't he go check on the schools? I've posted this before; Roberts is the superintendent of district 131 and he is rarely ever in the schools, visiting students, visiting teachers, ect. He is making over 1/4 million! Show your face. I don't care if it's a war zone, a factory, Walmart, or a school district, nothing helps build respect and morale better than seeing your leader on a regular bases and showing interest in what is happening. I know that board members don't get paid, but they should show their faces too. So the blog needs to stay away from the band bickering, and exaggerated truths, and stick to getting change in the direction this district is heading. We need a different board president, we need to get Roberts out (buy him out if we have to the gains will be greater than the loss), new superintendent, get rid of these good ole boy positions that are a waste of money (Nestor coming back was a slap in the districts face by Annette and Jerome),most of all we need to start focusing on the students!
ReplyDeleteNews is Clayton had all the passwords and will not surface, the district started asking questions about Clayton who returned a trashed computer. More news to come nth is as well.
ReplyDeleteTo 7:08 pm in regard to the summer school positions. I am happy the district is being professional and making everyone aware of the positions. In the past, it was "Hey, do you want to teach summer school?" Most of the teachers weren't even aware of the positions until after they were filled!
ReplyDeleteAt least Oswego's Superintendent said something what have you heard from ours but he has to pass it by a board president that really doesn't have the right to run the district. We are really a sad district we let one person run it that isn't suppose to and the taxpayers pay a Superintendent $260,000.00 to do nothing. Many people state things on here that is not being done right but those that have the proof do nothing.
ReplyDeleteJohnson and Roberts served the district well. The Magnet School will start change in our district. Maybe we can use that as a positive. Johnson was not afraid to challenge status quo. Strand would be a return to the past.
ReplyDeleteOk then where are the test results from the magnet School? If its so successful then where are the scores? Huh.
ReplyDeleteApril 20th 9;53 p.m. hmm....this smells like Johnson....just saying
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, the magnet school is a friggin joke. Most of those kids would be average at best in surrounding districts. The kids are great, don't get me wrong, it's just that they are motivated and hard working and show some skills in math. Believe me though average or just above at best. There are just as many motivated kids at the other schools. The only problem is they're stuck in schools with unmotivated, disruptive, undisciplined kids that are difficult to deal with because teachers and administrators have their hands tied as far as discipline. The other schools are stuck with kids with no direction, no home support, no consequences, Many are two or three year repeats, and they play the system like a master chess player. Finally , after flunking a couple years and making life a living hell for the schools teachers, administrators, and most important the students they get sent to an alternative school and end up 17 year old freshman then drop out because they have no reason to stay. I got an idea help these kids succeed before they flunk the first time. Use the resources to help those kids with a disciplined yet nurturing program and put the magnet kids back with all the other kids that want to be educated. This magnet school is all i hear about. We have 10,000 kids in this failing district and Johnson wants to hang her hat on this 250 student political campaign. All she says is Magnet, Magnet, Magnet hoping all the scandals will, corruption, and embarrassments will disappear. Make real change Johnson. Your full of crap!
ReplyDeleteTo:April 22, 2013 at 8:16 PM
ReplyDeleteThe reason the Magnet is a joke is because of the lottery system. If a district is going to run an elite program it should only admit the best and brightest the district has to offer. Chicago Public takes all the applications to their magnet or college prep schools and ranks the children by their grades, test scores and behavior. They then take the top students and admit them to these special programs. I have no idea how you can call a program elite if your best and brightest are not allowed to participate.
You are correct though about the district doing a poor job with children with discipline problems. The biggest issue is that all the other students see that we do nothing with these problem children. Eventually, they begin to exhibit the same behaviors.
The teachers and administrators know who the problem children are. There needs to be a program for these children. The alternative school just doesn't have enough spots open for the number of challenged students we have.
I know at the middle school level, there are only ten spots open for each school. That is less than one tenth of one percent of the schools population (basically three kids per grade level).
We are just not providing the services needed for children with challenges and ending up with greater numbers of students needing extra services because borderline students continue to be influenced by antisocial behaviors.
As always, the students suffer for the poor decisions made by the board and superintendent. They are too busy worrying about toilet paper and patronage jobs.
We are not providing those services because the COMMUNITY REFUSES to PAY FOR THEM.
ReplyDeleteThe community has no input to the financial decisions in District 131, that's all Annette Johnson. Under her watch, class sizes have gone through the roof. This has significantly increased discipline problems but nothing has been done about it except to manipulate the data to appear that discipline has remained the same.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty simple, you can't teach if the classroom is out of control. The more discipline problems in the classroom, the less learning that is done. all this builds over the years.
One thing I've learned about education, we must pay at some point. Children who grow up without the skills necessary to assimilate into society will be a burden on that society for decades to come. They will become a burden on the welfare, unemployment and prison systems. Cutting education never solves issues, it creates larger issues. Unfortunately, some people can't see more than five minutes in front of them.
I think the community would be up to paying for things if the Superintendent and board brought it to their attention. I would rather pay for services for the students than to pay a administrators phone bills, athletic memberships and golf retreats.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeletepreview of the vote next week for President of the Board
Johnson is elected Turza, Gonzalez, Leonard (dont' they have a conscious) and of course Johnson vote for continued tyrancy.
Hull, Strand, and Mary Lou vote elsewhere. Any other opinions All us teachers would vote against Johnson being re-elected UNAMINOUSLY !!!!
10:31 Yes the East lottery system was a disaster. They did not do their research on how the successful magnets in the state do this. But it stems from a Board and administration that does not have the qualifications and experience putting such a program together. I have always thought that the Magnent program was just smoke and mirror game to use taxpayers funds to buy yet another building to alleviate overcrowding. The schools and city are doing nothing to address this issue. At some point the declining home values in Aurora, the negative economic development anywhere on the near east side (really all of Aurora), and taxpayers who are at their limit on what they can afford will cause a collapse of the system. The schools are Aurora's downfall and there is a mayor, city council and school boards/administration that just cannot seem to even begin to fix the problems. Maybe we should use East's lottery system to elect our new leaders. Could the results be any worse?
ReplyDeleteWhen good, high achieving students are not able to participate in a program like that the system has failed them. Period.
ReplyDeleteComing up this Saturday, April 27th:
ReplyDeleteThe District 131 Fine Arts Festival!
Starting at 9:30 a.m. at East High School, our visual and performing arts students will be singing, playing instruments, acting, and participating in art displays. Come support the arts in our district!
Johnson should be elected she gave the teachers the biggest raises in years. strand husband should kiss her you know what
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame the district doesn't pay the teachers for all the time and expense they put into the Fine Arts Festival. The teachers spend up to 50 hours or more getting ready for the Fine Arts Festival. Many of the supplies (particularly the art supplies) are not reimbursed. This comes out of the teachers pockets. The teachers then spend their Saturday at the high school instead of with their own families.
ReplyDeleteAll this dedication to our students and community is done without any compensation whatsoever. What support do the fine arts people receive? None.
Hundreds, if not thousands of community members come out that day. Everyone is there except the administrators and board members. The only one there last year (for a while) was Christie Aird.
No board member or administrator even bothers to send out an e-mail thanking the staff members for all their hard work.
It's a shame that the festival wasn't held before the election. At least then, Annette Johnson and Jerome Roberts would have been there campaigning (Sorry, communicating with the staff).
The district was afraid of 'brain drain' from the other schools if the top students were to leave them and go to a special school. Like the Magnet. The teachers and administrators in those schools would then look even worse when Illinois Report Card Data came out. Another huge blunder by East is that it will not make the Magnet School a stand alone school as its testing scores will be pushed back to each magnets students original 'home' school. So there will be no official data that can be published. What they just did not get is this is exactly what East Aurora needed. It needs a school that shines academically with bright kids. It has NONE. Now they will have yet again anoher mediocre school, but will not have the exposure and data that savy home buyers and families with children look for. Put this one up with the voting down of busing (only district in the entire state), the refusal to annex what is now the Fox Valley Mall and now is home to one of the richest school districts in the state. This is what happens when you elect people with no education, experience and vision.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of busing:
ReplyDeletebeaconnews.suntimes.com/19666124-417/bus-fees-proposed-as-way-to-cut-funding-gap-in-west-aurora.html
8:11 you must be new to the district. I don't see anybody with a memory voting for any referenda in the forseeable future. We've approved the past couple referenda and haven't seen results from those, no way we're giving any more money to the schools until things get better.
ReplyDeleteJackie Montroy should start doing her job instead of trying to upset teachers and spend time on the blog.
ReplyDeleteWasn't it the whole board that voted to give the teachers the raise? If not it should be a board consist of seven members that vote not on president. It is also the Superintendents job to negotiate contracts. If this board can't do the one thing that The IL School Code says is a boards most important job then they need to go.
ReplyDeleteFunny Strand only sends her sons to the Magnet School. the word for Strand is Do as I say not as I do.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete8:21 am You must be an Annette supporter HOWEVER lets remember this was done by LOTTERY !!! Please respond
The Strands send their sons to the magnet school...nothing "funny" about that, 8:21 a.m.! That's called GOOD PARENTING, to evaluate the options and select what's best for their kids. One reason I voted for Kirsten Strand is because she's a parent (as I am), doing her best to raise good kids.
ReplyDeleteNo I am not Annette I voted against Strand because of her attitude. Do as I say not as I do. She also will not disclose her campaign finances and she is a conflict because of her husband. I have reviewed her disclosure and find it very questionable as do others.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Ray Hull needs to worry about the flooding instead of posting to the blog. I heard the City department he manages was responsible for many mistakes that lead to flooding in many neighborhoods.
ReplyDelete8:21 AM
ReplyDeleteYou clearly do not know what you are saying in this forum. I am glad she won at the elections and I hope she is able to bring the much needed change this district needs. Also, it surprises me that no one has commented on how there are more people leaving the high school. I sense even more drastic changes ocurring at the secondary level.
2:14 p.m., I voted against Annette because of HER attitude.
ReplyDeleteAnd about disclosures...Annette hasn't made hers available either.
ReplyDeleteBTW Annette (you do write regularly) I find it appalling that you are not LEADING all Board indivuals in disclosing the info in question. You must be confused with your definition of leading and bullying.
Shame on Strand and her attitude for helping her community.
ReplyDeleteThat damn Ray....he probably had something to do with that 40 days and nights of rain, too.
All these accusations sound like someone fearful of being challenged, so they are attempting to discredit well respected community members.
Maybe Annette did not spend $3000 by election law and funded her own campaign because she owes no one nothing that Intregiry.
ReplyDeleteTo April 20th 5:01 I dont know where you teach, but summer school apps are and have been posted in our work room every April, for all to see. Unless you never go to the teachers work room, or your administrators have never put them out they have been visable always. Yes it is good that they have been posted on the web site, so I hope you filled out the app. and that you get the job, there will be plenty: Special Ed, Esl, Special-ed, bi-lingual, Special- Ed, ESL, bi-lingual, and on, and, on...Hope you have those endorsements, you will always have a job in this district. Oh, We need 2 math teachers and 2 reading teachers. LOL!
ReplyDelete6:32pm Does that mean "Integrity" is defined as you don't owe anyone any money? Unbelievable how you Annette Johnson want to justify her conduct and unethical methods in her retaining the power/ego trip. By the way "How would she know anything about parenting" Bullying and control she is second to none.
ReplyDeleteRay go back to cleaning the sewers instead of spending city time on the blog
ReplyDelete10:37 a.m., why don't YOU get back to work instead of playing guess-who's-on-the-blog.
ReplyDeleteJust saw this in the Beacon:
ReplyDeletebeaconnews.suntimes.com/19700414-417/aurora-called-a-model-in-educational-collaboration.html
12:55pm Annette: you really need to stop bashing Ray Hull and look yourself in the mirror. Very "classless" comment again. Your degradation of others who oppose you is just another sign of what a wicked and heartless person you are.
ReplyDelete2:03 p.m., I don't see anything wicked, heartless, or degrading about saying someone should get to work and stop playing guessing games.
ReplyDeleteAnd if I'm classless, then you're clueless...
...because I am NOT Annette.
--12:55 p.m.
12:55pm Whatever
ReplyDelete...and Jerome Roberts continues to be employed by the taxpayers of D131.
ReplyDeleteTOMORROW--
ReplyDeleteThe District 131 Fine Arts Festival!
Beginning at 9:30 a.m. at EAHS, come see and hear our talented, hard-working students! Visual art exhibits, drama, band, and choir from grade school through high school.
Support our students. YOU'LL enjoy it, and THEY deserve it!
:)
Do you know who else deserves your support? The teachers who work all year long with the communities children to put on such wonderful performances. Unfortunately our district does not support these talented people. Just this week, the elementary music teachers learned that the district will only pay them half the stipend they have received in the past.
ReplyDeleteThe district apparently snuck in a slash mark between the words Band and Choir in the new teachers contract. It now looks like “Band/Choir”. According to our new Director of Activities, Nestor Garcia, this slash mark allows the district to split the meager stipend between the two positions. So, the teachers who were making about two dollars an hour last year for their hard work will now be receiving half that amount.
I guess the district has to find ways to cut the budget to be able to pay Nestor his $130,000 a year. If you’ll notice, this was not shared with the music teachers at the beginning of the year but rather after all the work has been done. It could be worse though, they could be the high school football coaches who have not been paid at all.
Does anybody still wonder why the district can not get or retain quality teachers and coaches? This district is a joke. Once again our children suffer for the poor decisions made by our incompetent and corrupt leaders.
Wow, 11:12 a.m.--if that's true it definitely is NOT in students' best interests! Maybe those of us parents who will be at the Fine Arts Festival tomorrow can speak to administrators (if indeed any are in attendance), or take pictures and show them to the school board.
ReplyDeleteThe next School Board meeting is in May. This issue would be a good one to bring up to the board BEFORE the board president is elected!
beaconnews.suntimes.com/news/19721012-418/many-ideas-but-no-clear-path-to-boosting-east-aurora-parent-involvement.html
ReplyDeleteIt almost looks like administration is trying to sabotage the band and choir programs throughout our district, by halving the stipends at the lower levels and taking away students' options for an elective at the H.S. with the proposed six-period day.
ReplyDeleteNot saying this is on purpose, but doesn't really matter if the effect is the same.