Saturday, February 4, 2012
Is Norwalk Sinking?
We have a weak superintendent and a 5/4 Board of Education. Lyons has stepped up to the plate. Unfortunately his 1990s curriculum ideas are not realistic for Norwalk. They conflict with the State's wishes. So why is the Board allowing him to lead? Would any of our past superintendents have allowed this to happen? Is the role of an elected Board of Education out of date? The State Department of Education has been training the Board, but they don't seem to be learning. Lyons pushes on. What is going to happen? When, if ever, will the superintendent come forward? She is not a rookie anymore. Is she even working on the budget? What of the future for our students? Is Norwalk sinking to the bottom of the ocean?
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Yes we do have a weak superintendent and we weak chairman! The only reason that Mike has stepped up to the plate is because the Mayor told him to. He is doing the mayor's bidding. That's the only way the repubs could keep control over Steve and the rest of the board of Ed.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, I don't believe Norwalk sinking. Despite the politics there are some good things that the BOE is working on behind the scenes.
Steve has done great work with policy and the budget. Artie has done great work with our Athletics dept, bringing in new ideas for revenue and from what I hear a Drivers Ed program to benefit our students. And let me mention Mike Barbis. He seems to be a bright guy and really wants to do whats right. I expect a lot to come for him soon. Forget Rosa, she does nothing but sit there and make faces and roll her eyes.
Norwalk is not sinking just treading water and with some time this new board may actually walk on water some day.
HAHA! YEAH RIGHT. THERES ONLY ONE JESUS! your in denial buddy.
DeleteMy interpretation of what you wrote is that our Republican Mayor is putting politics ahead of the best interests of our students. He knows we have a really weak superintendent, but doesn't want the Board getting rid of her because 'it would look bad for the Republicans.' He is purposely stifling one of the most honest, most intelligent and.... most likely to help students ...Board member from doing his job. What happened to promises of accountability? This is politics at its worst! This is sick!
ReplyDeleteIs it a weak superintendent? Maybe. Or entrenched administration who know the collective bargaining rules and how to maintain the status quo and manipulate the system? Maybe Hartford will put some legislative muscle into the state that has up til now, protected adults and rewarded politicians over giving our kids a decent education.
ReplyDeleteI would prefer to have a superintendent who would take on awful principals.
ReplyDeleteI would prefer to have a BoE chairman that invites public comment, doesn't insult people and is respectful.
But, for all the weaknesses at least this BoE has two members (Artie and Steve) who go out to meet the parents and who speak for them. When I look at how they ignored Marks' budget cuts and saved lots of programs last year, I had to admit that on the surface the BoE is so much more dysfuntional than ever, but underneath it all you have some members who know what they're doing.
If I had to choose, the old no-argument board that was Supt. Corda's puppet, or this argumentative snarling bunch, I think that the kids have done much better with the current Board.
It was 100% wrong for the Mayor to interfere in the Board's selection of chairman. But since when hasn't Dick Moccia been a bully who has to get his way. We all know that the best thing politically for Dick Moccia is to have Angry Jack as chairman-- he has a guy to throw bombs and a guy to blame when school problems happen.
ReplyDeleteThe good news is that the good guys aren't intimidated by him.
Agree this board is better than the Corda days and let's face it...education is a tough place with tough conversations having to take place!
ReplyDeleteWe are paying huge bucks to a superintendent who is supposed to make decisions, but who does nothing. The Republican Board members are the puppets of the mayor, and all people who are making decisions have no experience in education. They have certainly not been trained, nor are they certified to make these decisions. Does this sound absolutely crazy to anyone else?
ReplyDeleteYes, we're sinking. Grab a lifejacket - or a realtor for your home sale. I don't see how the current climate will help our children in the end. The BOE loses sight of who their "customers" are and Supt. is getting worn down (can you blame her).
ReplyDeleteSurely you are joking, 6:12 AM. The superintendent makes at least $200,000 to do the job she was paid to do. She is getting worn down? Do you think a lawyer who makes that money could go to his firm and tell them to take over for him because he is worn down? Do you think his firm would still pay him his salary? No! If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen! In this case, the firm is the BoE. Stop paying someone who isn't pulling her weight. OR advertise the job of superintendent with a job description of $200000 pay with nothing to do but attend meetings! I could do that!
ReplyDeletecould u?
DeleteActually, no. Ethically, I would not be able to accept money for not doing anything. The Board would have to find someone who is making the circuit on the list of superintendent candidates offered by headhunters. They are the pros at doing nothing.
DeleteIs Norwalk sinking??? No, it has ALREADY sunk!
ReplyDeleteWhy do the folks who support Supt. Marks never acknowledge that some good BoE members are also getting worn down.
ReplyDeleteYou think it is easy for Mr. Kassimis. This man has a heart of gold but has to serve with an ineffective chairman and the underchairman (Mike Lyons).
You think it is easy for Rosa Murray- she still doesn't trust Colarossi (old feud over the Naramake principal fight), can't work with Lyons or Barbis, has the Chairman's ear but knows she can't rely on him to deliver on anything.
I think what we need is to get Artie in as Chairman with Rosa as Vice- let's see if honest to goodness non-partisan leadership can turn things around.
Which, if any, Board member has actually been involved on a daily basis in running a school district? To sit and make judgements without first hand knowledge, IMHO, well, they must have magic powers. It is difficult to support any member who has never spent a nominal amount of hours witnessing the district in action. Please, just one member, take some time to spend at least one day - in ANY department, school or classroom- and then pass judgement on the "sinking ship". So many hard working individuals read this ugly blather and continue to hold up a positive attitude, knowing all the time they may be the next seaman to walk the plank. The ship may be sinking, but not from the lousy crew. It's sinking because of the volley of cannon balls labeled "misinformed opinion".
ReplyDeleteI think that the BoE has a sinking feeling because the superintendent and the Chairman are nothing but dead weight.
ReplyDeleteYou have Sue Haynie and the giant chip on her shoulder, Mike Lyons and all his ideas from the 1990's and Mike Barbis and his colossal ego. That's an awful lot of weight for any body to carry.
Let me break with the tradition of this thread and praise two members.
ReplyDeleteI don't always agree with him, but I think that Artie is working hard (helping out with the tech dept. and with athletics). I give Steve C. alot of credit too for his work on policy and on the budget. These two guys might be Republicans but I think that they care enough about kids and families to earn some respect.
WHAT ABOUT THE TEACHERS??
ReplyDeleteHow can we be sunk if our teachers get lots of praise from the State and from the GE group?
The Board of Ed is a necessary evil. Someone has to make sure that our money isn't spent by drunken sailors.
ReplyDeleteWe survived Board of Ed members who used their positions to get jobs or to get their kids out of trouble. We survived people who were pompous blowhards and quitters.
We survived Boards who rubberstamped anything the superintendent wanted and others that just said "NO" (but never came up with an original alternate idea).
Are you people really telling me that we're worse off with the t-shirt general, the mayor's boy puppet master, the curriculum expert who never graduated from college, Perry Mason, a reverend, Susie Sunshine, Madame Scowl and the Conspiracy Queen?
Would you be more likely to find them racing with Penelope Pitstop, Dick Dastardly and Mutley? You bet. But as long as we keep them on the Board of Ed, we know that the streets will be safer on Tuesday nights.
I have to agree with the last few posters. It is hard to imagine how we voters assembled this odd group together on the Board of Education. It is harder to imagine who they've done the good work that they've done. At times they remind me of the Yankees under Billy Martin.
ReplyDeleteWe are on the Titanic, but the captain isn't going down with the ship. She has supporters who tossed her the only lifejacket.
ReplyDeleteI for one, am interested on how we are going to start cutting the budget based on the recent news from the Finance Director - it appears that the BOE will only get 3.5%, a bit better than last year and yet not enough for what is said 'status quo'. So, off to work the BOE goes, or so we hope - a 6.8% (something like that) was approved and now only half seems to be given to us by the City - what now. Is this the time for layoffs, salary freeze, better retirement packages - or perhaps eliminating positions, such as A/Ps in elementary and Middle Schools. The real talk begins now...by the way, what ever happened to the 'Budget committee'. Let the noise begin. Oh and before you trash me on the %'s I noted above, you seriously did not believe that the city was going to give the BOE its full operating budget request of 6.+%...so matter what % the city throws out - it definately was not going to be the full request. If the board believed that...they need to be de-throwned from this seat and let someone else take over that it more realistic with today's educational financial crisis.
ReplyDeleteNEWSFLASH. NORWALK HAS BEEN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN, AND THE B.O.E SUNK THEMSELVES, BY DROWNING EACH OTHER.
ReplyDelete