Thursday, March 21, 2013

Truth

When people don't have a platform to stand on, they begin to tell lies and spread rumors...珍妮弗

Seek out the truth.

Truth allows you to live with integrity. Everything you do and say shows the world who you really are. Let it be the truth. ~ Oprah Winfrey
Posted by Admin. at 3/21/2013 11:56:00 AM

2 comments:

An informed tax payer said...

For the record:
I hear that there are a lot of rumors going around during this election. I want to set some of them straight. I want to start out by stating that I have been attending school board meetings for many years. I have seen Mark Mirable (and the others on this board) spend countless (thankless) hours doing what he felt was for the good and welfare of the entire student base. I must however tell you many times I have questioned his lack of integrity while voting on many issues. I will list some of the more troublesome issues.
Let’s go back about five years when Mark, and the current board (6 to 1) voted to give Meg Pokorny a three year retirement contract in which she received a 6% (the most allowed by the state) increase each year. They also gave Kim Frieslinger only a two year (6%) contract (they did not want both top administrators to retire at the same time). Most of you probably do not know that Kim retired and it cost the tax payers $130,000, due to early retirement penalties that would have been avoided had she stayed on another year. And guess what, Meg is still here, and she is one of the highest paid Principals (per student) in the state! She makes over $25,000 more per year than Matt Vandecar, she has an assistant principal, and she has many less students & teachers!
Approximately four years ago, Mark and the board (6 to 1 vote) condoned Mark Fredisdorf’s refusal to allow a first grader back into the school after visiting family in Mexico on spring break, until she received a H1N1 test. The child was not symptomatic and this test was not recommended by a physician. The family went to the school and asked for reimbursement for the test (which was over $1,100) and the board refused to pay. It is important to add that many other children went to Mexico at the same time (even a board member’s children) and none were required the same testing.
A couple of years ago, Mark Mirable and the others on the current board (5 to 2 vote) approved the Superintendents hiring & payment of a private investigator and legal fees (which was approximately $15,000) to remove three children from the district stating that they violated residency requirements. The children did not violate the residency requirements but were in fact homeless due to a flooded home. Mark Mirable stated that it was important to send a message to all district residents that Pleasantdale takes the residency requirement seriously! I think it was a horrific way to treat a neighbor in a time of need!

April 6, 2013 at 7:49 AM
More from the informed tax payer said...

This past year Mark Mirable specifically stated that he would not support allowing an eighth grader to participate in school sports nor cross the stage with her graduating class, because she did not attend school on a full-time basis. The child has attended Pleasantdale since pre-school and has recently been home schooled for two classes, so that she could pursue her dream of being a professional skater and receive private ice-skating lessons.
At the March BOE meeting, Mark Mirable made a motion to the board to approve the removal and replacement of the Elementary School roof (this passed with a 5 to 2 vote). In the recommendation was a noise partition for the chiller unit. This partition will cost the tax payers close to $50,000! Apparently one resident complained (10 residents were surveyed and replied) about the noise on the current chiller. Seriously, I wonder if this neighbor knows that his complaint just cost the students 100 lap tops!
And last but not least, this current board (5 to 2 vote) approved a four year retirement contract for Mark Fredisdorf. For the record, the BOE’s main responsibility is for the hiring and management of the Superintendent. How do you manage someone that has a contract that automatically renews (with built in raises)? Per the number of students & teachers under his tutelage, Mark Fredisdorf is the highest paid Superintendent in this state! This board just gave him a golden parachute.
The above statements are true and can be verified by searching old meeting minutes. We must focus on the future, but I feel that it is important to have insight into the past! I am afraid that if Mark Mirable wins this election it will be much of the same old thing. He is campaigning that we have the lowest tax rate in LTHS district. This is true, but he doesn’t take it a step further and tell the tax payers that we pay the most per student. Our tax rate is low because we cover a larger area (more commercial property & homes to tax).
How many other facts proclaimed by Mark & Mike are only half truths? I think that the tax payers deserve to know the whole story. I think that it is time for a change! Don’t you?

April 6, 2013 at 7:50 AM

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