Now Thompson wants to outsource the public!

Establish committees the members of which are chosen by the committee head, who is a school board member, so we know there will be great balance there, then discuss the issues, report to the board, and there will be no need for public attendance or participation at the regular board meetings.

People, you the public are being outsourced!

Channel public input away from the board meetings through these committees and that pesky public won't have to be heard.

This is a blatant attempt to excise the public from Public Schools. Once the committees get established, then a move will be made to stop public input at the meetings. Time to let this regime know enough is enough.

This sounds like a done deal, but we can't let this happen. Any suggestions as to how to stop this outrageous curtailment of free speech?

First topic for public discussion...Mr. Thompson's resume and how he was even hired in the first place.

Questions for the new sub comm.

Where did you earn your Ph.D?

What were you smoking when you thought privatization of custodians was a good idea for CCPS?

Why on earth on do you think a private company can do a better job, the EXACT same job, than taxpayer funded CCPS custodians?...And the private scabbies will turn a profit for themselves when they're done at the end of the day. Why can't you say "NO" to private firms?

What activities are performed in the many empty offices of the Admin. center? There's no chairs, no cubicles, just lots of carpet in many areas in this wasteful building?

If solar energy is so important, then why not teach it in every science classroom in CCPS then bus students out to a small track K on Marco Island with gas prices at such a high level?

Why not build a small school there...that TEACHES ALL THE SUBJECTS with solar energy mixed in?

Do we have to listen to "the way things are in Rockford speech" forever?

What is it like to fire award-winning teachers, administrators, and staff to save a few bucks?

Will you be playing golf with your new princies from Rockford this Fall? May the sub comm members join you on the green?

What was that...you don't want to play with us?

You think you'll loose, huh?

No mulligans for you either.

Start improving or leave the education green right now.

This is just a ploy to insulate him and this sorry school board from the public. There is a leadership void at the top. My sympathy goes out to those that that have to deal with this kind of crap. Looks like we will never get any real leadership.

keep the unions out because everybody thinks they are so bad and this is what you get! this IS just what you are saying. it will isolate and insulate the school board and all the dirty dealings from the public. oh yeah, i like the part where the board members will pick who is on the subcommittees. let's see, 'like this one, don't like those two, like that one, hey, what about this one Mr T, etc...'. they can have a subcommittee making all their 3am deals. kind of like gang members sending out flunkies to do the dirty work making the flunkies feel they are important. hey, but what do i know, i'm just snowbird who is up in illinois (where someone down there in naples could never get a job again).

As long as the Schools are Public, the School Board Meetings will be Public. There's not a thing Thompson can do about it. They want committees? LMAO! Bring on the committees! The School Board Meetings will always be Public!

wow, let's see, T would like to see seven on each committee.
two board members

five community members

they have received three apps. per committee already, even before this column was written

they need two more for each committee

do the math, the three apps. already in are who they want, plus the two board members, so that is five votes per committee. the last two chosen can vote their little hearts out because the T already has the votes (5 of 7) to get what he wants.

that he DID learn in Rockford (70 miles from Chicago) get it?

you people down there better fight this or stay on the turnip truck like he expects you to...

Mr. Church's pleas for giving Superintendent Thompson a chance as the new sheriff in town fall on the same ears of a community that had no voice in the choices made to fire Baker and hire him. We had no voice in searching for a good superintendent. We had no voice to counter the faction that used the parking spot/AP Course fiasco to railroad Mr. Baker. Why should we support the superintendent? He's the newby.

Superintendent Thompson, Mr. Calebrese, , Mr. Donovan, Mrs. Carroll, Mrs. Abbott, Ms. Curatolo. These six are not educators, not academically savvy, not even especially adept socially. What is their interest? Might it be the $1.2 billion pot of public gold? Might CCPS Board be a political launching pad for a new career? What is their method: deception. What is their educational decision-making based upon?

They already take extremely limited input from teachers, students, and the public at school board meetings and then ignore it at will in the name of saving money.

If education is the foundation of democracy, if Naples is one of the wealthiest communities on earth, if we do not think of schools as factories designed to produce uniform, quality-controlled robots, then saving money as the only priority is wrong.

Dropout factories? Who's dropping out? Students, teachers, secretaries, cafeteria workers, assistant principals, custodians, principals, superintendents. Why? None of us like being treated like serfs and peasants.
Superintendent Thompson wants to silence the voices of dissent: teachers face punitive actions from administrators whenever they object to the unfair practices foisted upon them in the classroom. Constant interruptions during class time; changing of assigned courses; stumbling blocks of mandatory meetings and intrusions into grading time; administrative information-gathering private talks with students during class time; school assemblies for non-academic purposes

Teachers are nearly powerless without the right to walkout/ strike/ withhold their services. Their solidarity is undermined by specious sloganism: work together as a team, be in it for the kids, be happy you’ve got any job on this plantation, quit if you don’t like it (we’ve got plenty others who will happily take your place).

So, Mr. Church, et. al., the call to rally round "the leader" attempts to bury the real concerns that have brought us to this pass. Why rally round a man foisted upon us against our will and without our knowing anything about him other than that he's a West Point graduate? So far, we don't like his fear-mongering style, his team, nor his and his team's contracts.

Silencing the voice of opposition with subcommittees will not create peace. Instead of railroading Superintendent Thompson's attitudes, opinions, and beliefs onto us all, he (and his "team") need to open their ears and listen. Even the army's top officer has limited power.

I like the part about community input.
However, a small handpicked committee would just be a rubber stamp of approval for what the latest agenda is.
Nice try to look like you want public input, but this isn't it.

Education is supposed to be easy! It is supposed to be fun! This entire situation isn't!

It is supposed to be public and open instead of censorsed and filtered.

Sad!

I like the idea. Another way to educate the public and to get public input. This will not change School Board meetings. They have gotten out of hand. Community input is largely redundant and self serving at these meetings.

I'm making no excuses for this failed school board. We all know their failures. Can this be part of the solution?

No harm, no foul. I don't see the big deal about forming some committees that could improve community - school board relationship and communications.

more committee's and sub committees- JUSt WHAT WE NEED DOWN HERE- no one can agree on nothin' around the Taj and we are gonna form more committees! GOD HELP CCPS! If CCPS was a stock on the NYSE I would SHORT IT!

childe - You obviously suffer from a severe case of anger and resentment or are you just blind to the truth. Baker did himself in. Everybody knows (that's been paying attention), there was no love lost between Mr. Calabrese and Baker. In fact, Calabrese campaigned on getting rid of Baker and overwhelmingly the voters spoke.
I can assure you that there was a lot more to Baker's termination than meets the eye and any attempt to sanitize the issue is futile. The fact remains Mr Baker is gone now deal with it. Let the man enjoy his retirement.

Enter Dr Thompson. Whether you like or dislike the man, he is superintendent and has a job to do. How he got there could be debated until doomsday but would still not solve the problems of this district. Now I am not sure where you fit in the big picture but get a clue. We are faced with a serious budget crisis that is threatening this district which is expected to get worse next year. Instead of perseverating on the past lets refocus our attention on what we will do as a community to heal our school district.

We need to look at our district with a discerning eye and an attitude of unity rather than divisiveness. I believe subcommittees can work only if you and I go into them with the right attitude leaving our personal agendas aside. Let's cut the crap and be realistic here. No job in our ailing school system is safe! You are either naive or a fool to think so. Fact is, Dr Thompson made minimal cuts which is less than many other school systems in our state. I can assure you that many more could happen if this argument continues to fester. Dr Thompson will cut more of the fat if we don't wise up and accept the inevitable. I am not interested in arguing further but I felt compelled to respond to your comments since you addressed me personally. However you look at the situation or whatever your belief, I know you feel strongly about it and I commend that however, it is imperative to close the widening gap of political and social unrest associated with this district and the discord created by some on our school board. The needs of a few seem to far outweigh the needs of the masses. I leave you with this pearl of wisdom:

Let us believe neither half of the good people tell us of ourselves, nor half of the evil they say of others. - J. Petit Senn

I like the idea of more community input, but not at the expense of the open forum at board meetings.

I think I would feel better about these committees if the members weren't selected by the school board members. What's their incentive to select members of the community who have been openly critical of them?

It seems to me if you don't want to have discussions, you shouldn't call it a "meeting".

I understand what Thompson is getting at, and don't necessarily think its a bad idea. However, he has been nothing short of a PR disaster, and this poorly written article doesn't help.

And there you go. More committees to get things done. That has always worked.

If the public meetings need to go on longer than planned they should.

Public officials need to be reminded that they no longer have private lives. They don't get to come and go as they please. If a meeting runs 12 hours so be it. Just make sure you are not late for work the next day.

Or quit.

I am also a little concerned about sub committees chosen by the Board. Seems to me for the most part, that a Board member would mostly likely choose someone on the same page as themselves, what purpose would that serve. I think in the area of operations, labor management meetings might serve a better purpose. The most knowledgeable imput comes from the people doing the job, both labor and management.

Mr. Church (and others who never suffer from anger and resentment and blindness): talk about perseverating! GatorHater, cornandbeans, umleed, and joespizza, and radionews (not to mention the editors and reporters of the NDN) are constantly repeating insistently and redundantly their support for our new superintendent. Soon they will be joined by the new Rocks coming to CCPS. Like you, they believe in the message that the sky is falling and in the "severe budget crisis" that can only be stopped by our new man and his cuts (that eliminate 250 custodial jobs, guidance positions, cost of living raises for teachers, scores of special needs providers, and all people on the DROP program). This is what has become, "a little out of hand."

The problem is not financial. It's political.

A public school system absolutely must be responsive to the public. You people's voices that are so powerful as to determine that, "No job in our ailing school system is safe!" are a minority. Pat Carroll's job nor Superintendent Thompson's job are not so safe either! These people work for us! We pay their salaries.

I allow you and them minority rights only. Community leaders in a democracy must not be tyrants. Using fear-inspiring utterances like, "many more [cuts] could happen if this argument continues to fester" is imperious and places political expediency above morality. Your message is "silence"! "Everybody shut up now"! "The bosses get to decide everything." "We can't help seeming to be the bad guys because the state and federal financial governance are forcing us to cut, cut, cut." "You'd better shut up or you'll be fired, too." The truth is that the argument must play itself out to a resolution. We cannot stop just because some want the silence of a cemetery.

You and Superintendent Thompson are using craft and deceit to unscrupulously maintain authority.

It is not true that subcommittees will increase community input.

If the board meetings are too long, I suggest limiting the board members' comments to 3 minutes and to ask them not to repeat themselves. Invited speakers should also be under the restriction to be succinct. It's not the public comments that extend meetings--or the applause or other audience participation. It's the interminable babble by those who love to hear the sound of their own voices. There are other methods to shorten meetings than to silence the public.

CCPS needs to listen to different voices (and not respond so unreservedly to the few). Listen carefully to your own quotation from Senn's words of wisdom--Senn was a biting satirist. Things in Naples are so much better than they are in Rockford.

Don't forget to vote in November for the cash swap for the sub committee near you!

MJ Church......."more to Bakers termination than meets the eye".....why would you put a statement like that on a blog or any other forum? Has he been charged with something? Seems to most that Mr. Calabrese wanted control over Mr Baker and was not getting it to his satisfaction. Look now, the same rif has occurred with Mr Thompson. So whom was truly off base? I think it best to let Mr Baker find peace and move forward without vage attacks...he has endured enough.

What happened to Mr. Baker wasn't right. What happened with our high school AP program wasn't right. Firing or replacing guidance people who were doing essential jobs well with our neediest young people wasn't right. Forcing everyone on DROP to resign early wasn't right. Raising everyone's blood pressure and anxiety level isn't right. Singling out individual employees for political reasons and oppressing them with harassment, false charges, micro-management, and unfair manipulation isn't right. Not following just procedures in managing our human resources isn't right. Allowing verbally challenged administrators and board members to babble on about trivia during meetings while limiting intelligent public speaking isn't right. Silencing employees who want to exercise their right of free speech (and freedom of the press) isn't right. Changing the high school schedule to intentionally thwart the will of the students, parents, and teachers wasn't right. Firing 250 custodians isn't right.

What's happening in CCPS isn't right. What's been done has not improved our school system or our community in the least. "There ought to be a law" is not adequate either. What there ought to be is ethical decision-making based on justice and mercy. And there should be an effective procedure in place to eliminate leadership that doesn't do right.

GET RID OF THOMPSONl!!!!!! I'D RATHER BE TAXED THAN LIVE WITH THIS MONSTER FOR GOD KNOWS HOW MUCH LONGER!!!! HE HAS ALREADY TORN APART THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, THE ADMINISTRATION AND WHATEVER ELSE HE CAN LAY HIS HANDS ON. HE IS A WICKED, VILE PERSON (OR ANDROID) WHO NEEDS TO BE REPLACED!!!!! SO, LET'S AT IT WHEN THE NEW BOARD TAKES OVER.

Post 24......could it be

So the board members can put a group of their supporters together and present their opinions as the "public's" opinions? Here's the quote- "It was decided upon by the committee."

Spare me please!

promdate...gatorhater may not dance with you on the prom dancefloor now...but when schools here go downhill, custodial staff is privatized by scummy private firms from ANOTHER STATE,when children can barely read because of Thompson's unfocused leadership, when excellent CCPS teachers leave due to antics of this super, when Rocky princies take others administrative roles in the schools, when Thompson's bogus PhD finally comes to light, when teachers, staff, and students walk out and protest...then gator will be your prom date and even tango with you.
For now...gator is choosing Thompson's side, and he'll be joining him in hiding under his bullet proof, taxpayer funded, desk in the School board chambers.

Promdate - It would be worth every single penny to pay Thompson off and send him and his right arms packing - I'm sure there are many people out there who would donate to the cause! I'll be the first to contribute to the THOMPSON-GO-HOME fund.

Dr T: Welcome to the SUNSHINE STATE... we operate public meetings in the SUNSHINE. You might want to look up the SUNSHINE LAWS down here (you know, the ones you ignored while doing all your backdoor shenanigans to get here?).

Committee up all you want. Those who wish to be heard will still be filling out those lovely little pink slips and sidling up to the podium.

You can't stop it, no matter how much you want to. What you meant to say was not that meetings were out of control, but rather than they were out of YOUR control. Big difference.

You cannot, and will not, stop the public in this town from speaking up. You might win a few battles, El Capitan, but you will lose the war.

Thompson is the ONLY one of the ROCKFORD CLAN who has a contract (Directly) with the school board. The Chicks are employees of Thompson. So under state law... The board is responsible for the contract with THOMPSON... The Chicks have contracts but FLA. is a RIGHT TO WORK state.. so then can be terminated with or without cause. I am sure if Thompson was to be fired.. the chickies would resign shortly after.

Go McLady - great post!

who cares? After so many years of smoke and mirrors I trust nothing these people say.

Freshface we all care...if you don't, you're oblivious to the antics that joker Thompson created here.

McLady says it well, the public will speak up when they feel the School Board is headed in the WRONG direction.

In fact, since Thompson arrived...even Baker, and the geek before him, the schools here were, and still are, in great risk of failing the very customers they serve...the students.

So when students can barely read, write, and perform basic math skills, or they ALL LEAVE...with many going to the private route of the educational sector or homeschooling...

The Super will sit behind his bullet proof desk and wonder why students are leaving the system all together.

The newest elementary school in the district just earned a "B" in the FCAT...but this same school will build ten more classrooms because it is overcrowded? NOT.

The public cares FF!

Boy, I bet instructional and non-instructional staff are eager to return to work in August. Isn't this nice!!!

Re: Promdate - It would be worth every single penny to pay Thompson off and send him and his right arms packing - I'm sure there are many people out there who would donate to the cause! I'll be the first to contribute to the THOMPSON-GO-HOME fund.

#30 Posted by stupifried on July 14, 2008 at 7:44 p.m.
--------------
I agree. That is one cause I am sure many in this community would gladly donate money to fund, and it would, perhaps, bring a lot of people together.

Send Thompson packing already: He doesn't even have a valid updated application on file. Anyone else who didn't would be fired. He should be, too.

Anyone running for school board want to make that their platform? Firing Thompson for violating district procedures? That would be a sure-fire way to win a school board race, IMO.

Otherwise this district continues to be the laughing stock of the nation with this hire.

http://www.dennisthompsonresponds.blo...

http://www.labbottsaysvisitrockford.b...

http://www.dennisthompsonbackgroundqu...

Enjoy.

Re post #24 --

... lack of the incessant "cut and paste" of the links to the self-promoting and borderline-litigious blogs ...

#24 Posted by GatorHater07 on July 14, 2008 at 3:27 p.m.

-----------

BTW, when you attempt to intimidate others into not posting the URL of my sites, above, by characterizing my funny parody blogs as:

"borderline litigious"

I think you sound:

plain, plum stupid.

Just FYI.

Oh, and also -- I found your ridiculous phrase so funny I incorporated it into my blog here:

http://www.dennisthompsonresponds.blo...

Scroll down on the left to the new "Happy-Face" photo of Dennis Thompson.

(Why don't you just come right out and say no lawyer will take your lame complaint about my parody blogs?)

And thanks for the funny line!

Board memebers are paid $40K a year (1st year teachers salary). That means they need to work 196 days a year. 7.5 hours x 196 days = 1,470 hours a year. The Board meets 56 times a year. Verify that at the CCPS website http://www.collier.k12.fl.us/board/me... Let's assume that each of these meeting lasts an average of 4-6 hours. That's 220-336 hours a year in public meetings. Lets assume that a Board member (who has other full time job) spends 10 hours a week on education "research." This is not even close to their salaried 1,470 hours. do they really work 35 hours a week on Board business? How does Dr. Thompson come to the conclusion that Board meetings ought to last 1 1/2 hours? I think meetings with the public and visits to schools ought to be more frequent, justifying a 35 hour week.