So, our current administration of North Butler boasts that they will end $100,000 plus in the unspent balance. They will attribute this to the decisions they have made and that they are being responsible to the district. Some would say they must be financial geniuses because in less than a year they got us back on the straight and narrow.
But, I feel they are no more than bullies on the playground and in time the whole district will have to lay out more money to accommodate the current decisions.
The big thing now is to prevent our young people from being bullied. There are numerous outlets to prevent children from being bullied. But, we allow our administration and board to bully the taxpayer/citizen of the district.
Examples of us as tax payers getting bullied:
1. The administration presented to the people that the only right thing to do was to close the elementary building in Greene. If we did not close the building we would then have to cut different programs from the curriculum. This is not true, a collaborative effort by some concerned taxpayers showed that there was another option. An option that the board failed to look into 2 years ago. But, if you ask the board they will blame it on the citizens and the former administration for lack of follow through.
2. At meetings, fellow board members are bullied not to speak against the agenda. How come most things are decided before the meeting? One board member tried to give time to discuss the information. He was intimidated by other members and told by the administration he would not have time to do the paperwork. Look up the form, it was not that hard to fill out and it didn’t get filled out correctly anyways.
3. Depending on who the audience is, the story changes. Numbers changed depending on who it is given to. Information that got passed out to concerned citizens was not the same as what was reported to the State.
4. When citizens wanted information, the administration whined to the board it was taking up to much of their time and costing the district too much money. This information is in an electronic format and if the district was truly transparent they would have left this information available online for people to view but they took the information down and held it hostage for payment. It’s funny that the administration did not have time to provide information to the taxpayers of the district but could spend the time we pay him for contacting legislators and senators to voice his opinion. Aren’t these two items the same thing where the administrator is getting paid by us to lobby, but people of the district lobby on their own time? Maybe our senators and legislation should shut down our administrators like he shut down concerned citizens.
5. They are in rush (bullying us) before the election to get rid of the building in Greene. Look at Charles City, they have not gotten rid of their building yet. What if the administration plan doesn’t work and there is not enough room at the building in Allison. We went through the numbers, students of the district will be overcrowded in the building. Class sizes should be divided down but they will not be able to do this in the future do to no extra class rooms. In a few years we will be asked to pass a bond to build onto buildings. Like I said in the beginning what they are saving us now will cost us tax payers in the future
6. There are issues at the school. Lunch line staff calling children little b’s. Administrators swearing at faculty in front of students. Administrators intimidating staff not to speak out or have a voice different from theirs. Telling employees they are old and they are probably going to retire so their opinion does not count. Board members stating at meetings “their kid gets straight A’s so there isn’t a problem in the district. Board members saying “board members should have kids to be on the board”, then turning around and running for election after their children have graduated. We need an administration that will address these issues and act professionally in all situations and respect all of their staff no matter their opinion.
I could go on with more examples of the way people are bullied by the administration and board but most people know what is going on they are just afraid to speak out.
My suggestion to all of this:
1. Contact your board and let them know you do not want the building sold until after the election.
2. We have some great candidates running for election. Talk with the candidates and see what they will do for the district and for the communities. GET OUT TO VOTE!
3. When the new board gets put into place work on getting rid of our current administration. The school should work hand in hand with the communities not bully us. Without a strong community we do not have a school. Get an administrator that will take the time to sit down with the people of the district.
Thanks,
Kip Bouillon
To I am not a public servant – you fit the bill for a pubic servant and caught with your pants down you use the ACT STUPID and mumble off subject BS.
Honestly, who do you think you should believe…citizens with no agenda who have spent hours and hours researching and trying to come up with solutions or the administrator and his backers that are trying to protect their jobs. If he can truly by some miracle turn the books around in less than a year, maybe they shouldn’t have been in such a rush to close a school. Why the big rush to sell the school? Why threaten teachers with dismissal for having an opinion? Why not welcome extra help instead of being rude and uncooperative?
Why do public servants use words like adhominem – answer to dirvert or bystep the issue. Like educated idiot meaning an educated person with NO common sense usually a politican or pubic servant.
I’m not a public servant and you keep proving my point every time you post.
put a voucher in the hands of the parents, let them go wherever they please, public, private, near or far. Its their money anyway, let them decide where it is spent!
Although I no longer live in the area , I’ve heard about what is happening in my hometown. I’ve read the articles, the Facebook posts and have even watched the taped school board meetings. I continue to ask myself over and over again – What is the common goal of both Greene and Allison? I would suspect it would be to continue to have the North Butler Community School District. I do agree that somewhere, somehow there were serious issues with the budget under the former administration but you need to remember that this is in the past. There is nothing one can do about it now but learn from the past mistakes and apply this learning to the future decisions being made by the new…
OMG, the school district I grew up in has gone to hell in a hand-basket. The “bullies” need to be ousted. Come on members of the community, and get out there and vote against the present administration. Get some parents in there, parents of alumni. They know what’s needed for the education of students in the district. They know the challenges their child (ren) went through, and what challenges were faced.
Maybe the community should work together with the school instead of try and undermine them
To hominien or what ever – national news says 60% of all increased school costs are attributed to administration.
If you don’t know what “ad hominem” means, you probay shouldn’t be taking part in this discussion or many at all.
Are you blaming administration or the school board? They’re two different things.
Also, the ad hominem comment was in reference to a personal attack on Kip in a now deleted comment.
Most ad hominem attacks are a sign of lesser intelligence or inability to articulate a position
I would say if the new Supt came in and got the district in the black in 1 year, that he is doing his job!
Actualy this is not a rare incident – here in Manly the school adm. has more power than the Mayor . As for transparency most of our agenda is passed at the thirsty dog saloon . Like most politics it’s not to be trusted
The problem that occurs in most schools is vandalism and hooliganism. According to the statistics over one half of all crimes associated with vandalism occurs in high schools. One writer from http://www.essaypenguins.com/write-my-research-paper wrote his research paper about the vandalism as a social problem.
I’m not happy with the school district closing down the Greene elementary school and the behavior of certain board members hasn’t been the most professional, but Supt and other admin arebt the issue here.