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Published On: Dec 11, 2003 09:22 AM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Dec 11, 2003 09:22 AM
10... 9... 8... 7...
Tomorrow is the masters defense. If I think about it I
clench up, so I'm just trying to thing about what's directly in front of me. I
finished the last draft of the paper last night (ironically, I'm sure nobody
will ever read it) and today is dedicated to assembling my overheads for the
presentation. (And planning the presentation.) Right now my mind is blank, but
I'm sure once I get rolling I'll know what to
do.
Only one thing diverts my attention today. It's a local (Ft Collins) news item but boy has it got me hopping mad. Recently the school board fired our school district's superintendent Don Unger under mysterious circumstances. Don Unger was a very successful and respected administrator who's been here since I was a kid. I would go as far as to say he was rather beloved by the community and our schools are some of the strongest in the nation. Moreover, he had just months before had his contract extended another 3 years.
Only one thing diverts my attention today. It's a local (Ft Collins) news item but boy has it got me hopping mad. Recently the school board fired our school district's superintendent Don Unger under mysterious circumstances. Don Unger was a very successful and respected administrator who's been here since I was a kid. I would go as far as to say he was rather beloved by the community and our schools are some of the strongest in the nation. Moreover, he had just months before had his contract extended another 3 years.
Tomorrow is the masters defense. If I think about it I
clench up, so I'm just trying to thing about what's directly in front of me. I
finished the last draft of the paper last night (ironically, I'm sure nobody
will ever read it) and today is dedicated to assembling my overheads for the
presentation. (And planning the presentation.) Right now my mind is blank, but
I'm sure once I get rolling I'll know what to
do.
Only one thing diverts my attention today. It's a local (Ft Collins) news item but boy has it got me hopping mad. Recently the school board fired our school district's superintendent Don Unger under mysterious circumstances. Don Unger was a very successful and respected administrator who's been here since I was a kid. I would go as far as to say he was rather beloved by the community and our schools are some of the strongest in the nation. Moreover, he had just months before had his contract extended another 3 years.
Suddenly the school board held a meeting behind closed doors (one member in protest didn't attend) and announced that Unger was fired. In exchange for 3 years' pay (the length of his contract) he had to agree not to disclose any information as to the reason for the termination. The only thing that was disclosed was that the reasons were not due to any scandal, inappropriate behavior, sex-abuse charge, or anything like that. The newspapers suggest the most likely reason is that he ruffled some feathers when he made a controversial budget-cutting decision to move some administrative staff into new job positions within the schools. Some of this can be better explained in this letter to the editor of the local paper. There's also an interesting article that explains how ingenious the timing of this action had been, since many of the board members were stepping down anyway. Here's one more article that gives a general perspective of what happened.
What pisses me the hell off is that publicly elected officials think they can make bold decisions, but use the legal system to create some global gag order so nobody knows their reasons. If this had to do with some sex-scandal where a victim wanted anonymity I would have understood, but it seems to me rather that a bunch of power mongers don't have the guts to let the public know the reasons for their actions because they fear retribution. I pay taxes that support this school system, and they think they get to do things behind closed doors? No way!
Just to make things more ridiculous, the secret meeting that the school board had that booted Unger had no minutes taken because the secretary who was supposed to take minutes worked under Unger and it was deemed a conflict of interest for her to attend. (Mom told me this part; I haven't found it in any articles yet.) So in recap: a secret yet official meeting of elected officials was held, and a superintendent with a spotless record was removed from his job, with no minutes being taken, gag contracts signed, and no evidence of wrongdoing? Does this smell anything BUT rotten?
There has been an outcry and a challenge to this conspiracy. Although there were no minutes, a judge has subpoenaed the notes of the school board, and he will rule today whether this action was legal or not. (This comes from Mom.) I've found an article that states the legal challenge comes from the newspaper--way to go! I would really like to attend this hearing today, and Mom's going to go check and see if and where it can be attended.
But first importance is getting ready for the masters defense tomorrow.
Only one thing diverts my attention today. It's a local (Ft Collins) news item but boy has it got me hopping mad. Recently the school board fired our school district's superintendent Don Unger under mysterious circumstances. Don Unger was a very successful and respected administrator who's been here since I was a kid. I would go as far as to say he was rather beloved by the community and our schools are some of the strongest in the nation. Moreover, he had just months before had his contract extended another 3 years.
Suddenly the school board held a meeting behind closed doors (one member in protest didn't attend) and announced that Unger was fired. In exchange for 3 years' pay (the length of his contract) he had to agree not to disclose any information as to the reason for the termination. The only thing that was disclosed was that the reasons were not due to any scandal, inappropriate behavior, sex-abuse charge, or anything like that. The newspapers suggest the most likely reason is that he ruffled some feathers when he made a controversial budget-cutting decision to move some administrative staff into new job positions within the schools. Some of this can be better explained in this letter to the editor of the local paper. There's also an interesting article that explains how ingenious the timing of this action had been, since many of the board members were stepping down anyway. Here's one more article that gives a general perspective of what happened.
What pisses me the hell off is that publicly elected officials think they can make bold decisions, but use the legal system to create some global gag order so nobody knows their reasons. If this had to do with some sex-scandal where a victim wanted anonymity I would have understood, but it seems to me rather that a bunch of power mongers don't have the guts to let the public know the reasons for their actions because they fear retribution. I pay taxes that support this school system, and they think they get to do things behind closed doors? No way!
Just to make things more ridiculous, the secret meeting that the school board had that booted Unger had no minutes taken because the secretary who was supposed to take minutes worked under Unger and it was deemed a conflict of interest for her to attend. (Mom told me this part; I haven't found it in any articles yet.) So in recap: a secret yet official meeting of elected officials was held, and a superintendent with a spotless record was removed from his job, with no minutes being taken, gag contracts signed, and no evidence of wrongdoing? Does this smell anything BUT rotten?
There has been an outcry and a challenge to this conspiracy. Although there were no minutes, a judge has subpoenaed the notes of the school board, and he will rule today whether this action was legal or not. (This comes from Mom.) I've found an article that states the legal challenge comes from the newspaper--way to go! I would really like to attend this hearing today, and Mom's going to go check and see if and where it can be attended.
But first importance is getting ready for the masters defense tomorrow.
Posted: Thu - December 11, 2003 at 09:17 AM