1. Our first prediction is that Rick Rigley, Lisa Houk and Beth Tegtmeier will run for re-election to the D107 Board of Puppets Education.
2. Our second prediction is that the upcoming district wide newsletters sent to every household in our district will prominently feature three people: board members Rick Rigley, Lisa Houk and Beth Tegtmeier. These newsletters will not only have information on these three candidates, but their photos as well. Remember how Dr. Fredisdorf did this just days before the last election?
First you will hear about Rick Rigley and his accomplishments negotiating a new five year contract between the TAP union and the school board. What you won't hear is how Mr. Rigley treats people that disagree with him.
Next you will hear about the new communication team members: Lisa Houk (whose children have all graduated from Pleasantdale) and Beth Tegtmeier (whose children will both graduating in 2012.) These two ladies were appointed by none other than Superintendent Fredisdorf (who, from what we hear, has already been campaigning for the 2011 election*). The communication committee, formed in the spring of 2009, included board members Mark Mirabile and Karen O'Halloran. It is rather interesting that these two board members were removed from the communication committee and replaced by Houk and Tegtmeier who are up for re-election. Gotta get these names and faces out to the public, ya know!
What is even more interesting is that the school directory, which for years and years has been published by the PTA, was yanked away from the PTA this year. This directory netted the PTA approximately $1000 in advertising that was spent on various programs and activities for our kids. Fredisdorf did this because he does not want the name of a former school board candidate (a person that spent weeks doing all the advertising layouts for 2009-2001 directory) to appear on ANYTHING that goes out to district families. If he takes away the directory, the committee members' names won't appear on anything that goes home to families or in the calendar either. Pretty sneaky, huh?
3. Our final prediction is that Dr. Fredisdorf will be courting all district wide eligible voters (empty nesters, private school families, alumni and senior citizens) by hosting events like breakfasts, luncheons, coffees or teas and the keynote speakers will be none other than Rigley, Houk and Tegtmeier. He doesn't need to court the families that already go to Pleasantdale because that is already being done in every Friday packet, calendar, school directory, newsletter and school/district sponsored event there is or will be in the next seven months. You will see and hear the names Rigley, Houk and Tegtmeier over and over and over again. Fredisdorf will make certain of that!
*Tsk, tsk, tsk, be careful, because you know that is not allowed!
3 comments:
So your basic premise is that if you don't actually have children at the school you shouldn't have any feeling of responsibility to make it a better school? That the only people who care are people who have kids and more specifically kids at Pleasantdale? I think that's a short-sighted vision. Or is it just because you can't get elected??
Our basic premise is that Pleasantdale’s administration and board of puppets will do whatever and however they want to make sure that these three incumbents get re-elected; even if that means breaking the rules and spending taxpayer dollars to do it. It has been done in the past and from what we see and hear, is being done again this year.
Sad to say, but board members that don’t have any children at Pleasantdale ARE disconnected from what is going on in the schools. Residents that do not have kids at Pleasantdale are certainly not banging down the board room doors to attend meetings to make it a better school. And yes, it is true that the majority of people that care about what goes on at Pleasantdale are the PARENTS of children that currently attend.
Let us give you an example. Lisa Houk, a very nice board member with no children attending Pleasantdale, lives in a subdivision about one block from the elementary school. Do you think for one minute she has mentioned at a board meeting that the administration should get on board or involved with the Safe Routes to School program? No! She couldn’t care less about this program and the benefits it will bring to her neighborhood children. Why? Because she doesn’t have any children at Pleasantdale that will benefit from it! If she did have kids at the elementary school that wanted to walk or ride their bikes to school, you could almost bet that she would get involved with this program. Where is her responsibility to make the route to school better or safer for her neighborhood kids?
At the August and September board meetings, she sat and listened to Catherine Chang talk about how the state has cut the transportation budget by 42% and that our school will receive $161,000 LESS in funds for bus transportation this year. Do you think she bothered to ask Dr. Fredisidorf about making up the difference in funds by working toward getting sidewalks installed from her subdivision to the elementary school? This sidewalk program is to make the route to school safer for the children of Willowshire Subdivision, along with neighboring area such as Candlelight Drive, 84th Place, 85th Street, Joyce Lane and Liberty Grove. Do you think she called the mayor and asked, “What can I do to see this program through?” Of course not! She doesn’t care because she doesn’t have kids at Pleasantdale!
This grant program has been mentioned time and again at board meetings over the last two years in the open forum and NOT ONCE has she said, “Hey, let’s look into that” or “What is going on with that?”
Lisa is on the school board, but does she have any feeling of responsibility to make it a better or safer for families that want to walk or ride bikes to school in her neighborhood? You decide.
None of the board members or administrators care anything about the Safe Routes to School program. The mayor of Willow Springs has stated that no one from Pleasantdale has contacted him about the program. The Superintendent has stated that he is not interested because the program would cause the school to lose transportation money. I guess the school district chidrens's safety means nothing to them. Go ahead and ask any of the board members or administrators about the program and not one of them will be able to tell you anything about it.
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