Why wait?

He , they should all be in jail if CCPS loses accredation. His incompetency knows no bounds, I can't believe Curtelo and Abbott have the gall to run again.

Exactly, why wait? Donovan and at least Abbott as well should be removed by the voters immediately since they won't do the right thing and resign. In disgrace.

Donovan is too ignorant to even know how ignorant he really is. This second warning status re accredidation falls squarely on him and his out-of-the-sunshine cohorts Abbott and Calabrese and their dark side machinations.

GED Boy thinks that this grandstanding on his part just might work to shift the blame for the board's dysfunction from himself and put it on the board as a whole. The problem is that most of us are just bright enough to see that the mayhem, calamity and the stink those three have brought upon our School District emanates directly from them. Donovan is so dim he may actually believe this ploy may work. Yeah, and Batman is real.

Just recently I read the stories of him badmouthing Curatolo in public and overheard during the Golden Gate forum and got busted for it. He knows she has always stood up to him and the railroading of this School District. Donodumb is so dim he doesn't realize that it is not smart to spit in the eye of your enemy.

Justice will prevail. One day the NDN may do or may already be doing the investigative reporting the community has called for them to do. One day the Attorney General will get involved and all the ploys and shape shifting will not keep Donovan from a deposition. And he will trip up as he has done countless times before. Remember his statment about Thompson coming down to sign his contract, um, I mean to interview?

We don't forget. Donovan, you are the varmin in the sights of all good citizens. And Justice will prevail.

Bill Poteet and his Chamber Puppets are the first posts---Cut the partisan, vicious crap and hope that all five do work together and stop manipulating the SACs team to discredit our whole District to prove that Baker was your man.

I hope that Mr. Donovan is appalled and embarassed with his behavior. This county is an embarassment. My family has been following the school board meetings since last summer, and all of you should be ashamed of yourselves!!!!! The board members were elected to do a job, and they have not succeeded at all. The expense????? The expense is our children. My child is a senior in high school, and if this board messes up accreditation in any way, there will be a lot of disappointed students!!!! My suggestion...Leave now before you mess up this district even more and don't risk any child lose scholarship money or the opportunity to get into the college of choice. You are going to have a pack of upset moms to deal with, and believe me, it would be easier to work towards accreditation.

I think Donovan needs to go ahead and resign, ASAP. (Like tomorrow). Abbott is going to lose her seat and Calobrese is too ill to return.. I expect him to resign in the near future.

Thompson is the NEXT one to go.. it is time for this community to stand up and take back our school district.

Thompso, Donovan, and ABBOTT needs to go...

I am voting for Kathy and Julie..

GED boy, spare the community and resign now - there may then be hope that our accreditation can be saved -

Why did Donovan fail to attend his deposition about the Baker matter?

This probably isn't covered in GED class, but isn't this on par with obstruction of justice?

How this guy has the arrogance to preside over the 12 grades he failed to complete himself is beyond comprehension.

Whoever elected this guy deserve what they get. I hope their kids don't get into Kollege after we lose accreditation.

ecoterror, are you for real? You are either (a) very forgetful, or (b) have that selective memory that so many older folks have. Especially when it involves people you so dislike. And the man has probably done nothing bad to you.
Donovan's depositions were cancelled by Baker's attorneys, twice, and everyone knows that. printed in the NDN, which Obviously you read or you could not blog here!!
He has a diploma, wanna see it??? They have a copy of that as well!
And he has more college than your buddy Don York,
so as my grandma used to say - "Put that in your pipe and smoke it"!!

leave now. please. do us all a favor.

you know...I have to add this this used to be a really nice place to work. I actually woke up and would be excited to go to school and teach the kids. I can't even IMAGINE what it would be like to have to get up now knowing how destoyed things have become over the past 4 years. How these five people can sit up on their chairs in front of us all is crazy. I wouldn't have the guts. I'm so sorry to the children, parents and teachers of Collier (not to mention the custodians, paraprofessionals and bus drivers). Hopefully this yoyo will step down NOW.

The headline is pretty funny. When I first read it, I had to chuckle at the vision it conjured up.

Fedup must be a relative of Donodumb. Kathy tried to get the three dunderheads to attend classes on how to work together and they refused. The only way to return functionality to this board is for the terrible three to leave and people of an IQ higher than room temperature take their place.

The Brent we know and love returns.

Donovan will no doubt keep taking his calls. Who else could he trust to promote his public "reform" without asking hard questions.

Like what was so important about firing Baker that you ignored the SAC's warnings to the board to get its act together? What kind of priorities did you have?

Ditto that FreshFace - There are many of us who are just plain sad/disgusted/disappointed where once we were happy and excited to go to work - it has become a JOB, a mere paycheck - nothing more/nothing less - I am not directly working with children and am grateful that the only ones I have to keep the charade up with are other adults who are playing the same "happy-happy" game - I've not met anyone who doesn't share the same feelings about the current state of affairs - just SAD for everyone that the EGOS of the three incompetent board members has brought us to this place.

I regret my vote for Mr. Donovan. I hope there aren't too many candidates in the race for Mrs. Abbott's seat where a split vote re-elects her.

Donovan talks about the Board being unprofessional, he sat in the audience at Golden Gate Candidates Forum and was saying some abusive things out loud about Mrs Curatola. It was outrageous and without dignity. If you are on here,....you know what you were saying. Look in the mirror, you reap what you sow

Mr Donovan goes a good job saving lives, that is known, however, he is in over his head with the Board. If you think you should step down, you need to. Lost your effectiveness....direction, integrity. Just mentioning professionalism and then observing your actions and hearing from your lips.......sorry....we don't buy it anymore

I agree BlueTongue. That's exactly what I thought when I read the headline. I'm sure Brent intended it to be taken that way. lmao :)

Steve needs to turn in his resignation now. Linda needs to drop out of the race. Callabrese needs to turn in his resignation. Maybe then we will have a fighting chance of establishing trust with the Board and the community.

When will the NDN present an article on what exactly is at stake when a district loses it accreditation status? The community will be most surprised at the direct implications this would cause graduating seniors. I am not sure the Board members understand what is at stake when accreditation is revoked.

What's with the ad hominem attacks (GEDBoy)? Let's stick to the issues...

I think Donovan should resign now, in response to public opinion.

I am collecting and posting on a site all the NDN Letters to the Editor critical of Thompson and the board -- and I must admit: it often makes for fascinating reading:

http://dennisthompsonresponds.blogspo...

Steve Donovan ,

Please resign now, If you could talk the rest of the board & Thompson in doing so also, That would be awesome!
If you really care about our schools, Please do the right thing. Leave, PLEASE!

The saddest part of the accreditation issue is that even if the Board resigns, new members will face the backlash of Thompson's hiring. In the past, school employees may have disagreed with the district's decisions but would eventually accept them because they were made with stakeholder input (think block scheduling's implementation years ago <with input> and the furor caused by Baker's 7 period schedule <without input> ). We are due to go back to 7 periods in 09-10 and this may be a fiscal necessity, but HS teachers will not accept this willingly and, like the custodial issue and any other mandate that comes down the pike, it is wiewed with distrust and an eye on ulterior motives no matter the intrinsic value. Watch for the heavy hand when the school year begins.

Donovan, quit!!!! Take Abbott with you. You have ruined the school system with the help of your cohorts Abbott and Calabrese!!! And, on your way out, take Thompson with you. He was a disgrace to Rockford, and now he's trying to ruin our school system. I bet we could buy him off, if we took up a collection, and did to him what Abbott, Donovan and Calabrese did to Superintendent Baker, who by the way, is probably laughing all the way to the bank. On second thought, I doubt he would find this fiasco very amusing. He was a DECENT man, unlike Thompson. And then Thompson can take his two dixie chicks with him, and the administration can begin to clean up the mess they have all made!!!! Let's get the ball rolling. We know how to rid ourselves of Abbott, and Donovon will resign without his snake-in-the-grass cohort. Calabrese will resign due to poor health and stress on his heart. Curatolo, with her experience, and Caroll with her experience, can help shape a new, cohesive, intelligent board (with our help!)

promdate, clearly, Donovan is running scared. He is creating a saveface backdoor to run through when the fire gets too hot. Watch his facial expressions whenever Curatola starts asking serious questions. He also whispers and murmers to Abbott as well. No...its you Mr Donovan, not the others. So what if Curatola asks questions. You know that she has the mosr qualifications of all on the board. Sit back, listen and learn something. I agree, Baker was a decent man who now must be looking at this mess with very mixed emotions.

The man will NEVER resign- typical politician rhetoric/talk. When it comes time for the rubber to meet the road he will sit tight until he is VOTED out!

Bio......you are right, it maybe just a bluff. His tactics are basic. He will be voted out, just by the employees of the district. He and Abbott are apparently against the employees.

Donovan is a much better man than any of you are. He at least is wanting to save the district by acting nice with the board, not like Curatolo who publicly stated that he was NOT INTERESTED in getting along. If we loose the accreditation it will be because SHE did not want to play nice. I have noticed that there were 4 members that spoke quite nicely to each other at meetings, Kathy was the problem, she needs to leave NOW!!!
Donovan has 2 more years, Calabrese will resign and I doubt Linda will win. So then we have Pat, Steve, Rick and probably not Sprague - my bet is on Paterno.

OH PLEASE!!!!!! read the blogs......you can't save him

"Donovan is a much better man than any of you are" Steve give it up. Its typical you or your supporters would make a blanket statement like that, you really do believe you are all that.

Acting nice? what does this mean? You might say please go along with us in what we want. Its no wonder Curatola was not included in the 3a.m. phone calls you three had with each other.

Mr Donovan, you fail to realize just how big and strong the employee voter block is. You have shown your contempt and lack of concern. Yours and Mrs Abbott's mantra, "Its all about the students", is all one has to hear. The students are the districts #1 priority, no arguement there. However, neither the Administration nor the Board spent ant time looking ernestly at ways to keep from privatization moves etc. You want to privatize everyone. You seem to have no idea what that will mean to those employees, Oh thats right GCA will hire all of them and a few more they say. You ! Mr Donovan, could be privatized,loose your pension, be offered unaffordable healthcare, and if you are a senior employee, see a real wage cut in comparision to what the private company will pay you for your years in service. What other avenues did you explore? NONE, gung ho to privatization.

You also standby while Dr Thompson brings his friends here from Rockford. I guess you agree that we do not have current educators capable of "moving up" within the district. No, at least Curatola asks questions and doesn't go along for the ride. Say what you will, I can sit and listen to the Board meetings and know that at least one member is questioning, thinking, exploring and will hold to her beliefs, even if it differs with you, Abbott and Dr Thompson.

I don't mind people supporting Curatolo but not the other incumbents.... I do mind, however, the self-righteousness of these people, pretending that she shares no responsibility for the divisiveness and bickering of the board. A vote for her is a vote to continue the harmful, partisan divisions at CCSB. So her campaign supporters can come here and blog for her all they want; it's their right. Just don't pretend you actually care about the students when you're blogging for her.

I agree with realcleartruth here, that Curatolo does not accept the blame for what is happening here. At least Donovan is! And he is calling on his fellow board members to stop the bickering and work together. And they can do that. This job is bigger than all their personalities rolled together and they need to put their agendas aside and get business taken care of.
ANd you others need to get over the fact that Baker is gone, he is not coming back!

I am moving out of this God forsaken town, it has gone downhill in the past 20 years, good luck School Board, you will need it! Thanks for all your years of serve, thankless as it is most of the time. Good luck to new board members whoever they might be!
Go Paterno! Go MacCluggage!
Peace to all!

Fedup yes Baker is not coming back thanks to your friend making 3a.m. phone calls to other board members. Please do go, and if you haven't yet noticed most of the country has gone down hill over the past twenty years, run, run for your life.

Bye, Doreen.

donovan was the chair and is part of the idoits ruining the schools and need to go allso , everyone should vote for the new people to come in and start clean again, vote and lets clean house for the sake of the kids. vote out everyone and lets start over. the next thing is to out the high paid sup. let take back our schools.

In all honesty, all the board members should be embarrassed of the way they handle board meetings – I wonder if they realize how incompetent they look during meetings. Student governments all over this country conduct better parliamentary procedure than this group does. They are in desperate need of a “board training program”; they have no clue what they are doing – it literally makes me cringe watching them on the TV.

Donovan should be afraid about losing accreditation – they’ve had over a year to get their act together, but they had other personal and selfish priorities (getting Thompson in) that they felt were more important than dealing with accreditation. They made their bed now they must lie in it.

Let's outsource the kids.

We can pick a place in China with good test results and fly our children there at the beginning of every school year. We won't have to worry about them while they're away at the boarding schools in China. When they graduate, each will be quite well-qualified for scholarships to colleges around the globe. Besides, they'll learn geography and how to behave.

Then we won't need governance or nice or anything from the school board. No teachers, no custodians, no technology expense. We could sell the school buildings, the Taj, and reduce taxes to just airplane fare and boarding fees.

Pam...you are crazy

I was told Mr Donovan never threw down his gaunlet today as he said..........what happened Dono? Heard the meeting was cut short ....you were saved from yourself.....

Bagpiper, do you have proof of a 3AM phone call? Do you have phone records or transcripts? Where is the proof? I think it was a nice ploy by Mr. Fridkin to make the board members look bad, because frankly, there was nothing to his sunshine violation and so he had no case. So he needed to taint the jury pool and was successful in suggesting that there were phone calls at inappropriate times of the day and night. Since this case is settled, maybe we can get thw transcripts and see for ourselves.
Wanna move out of town also? Please do!!!

Guess what.....I like it here in what you call a "God foraken town" , I don't cut and run. You know the records exsist, the cross referencing of the numbers etc....what was spoken about is not known. Why did Mr Donovan request a priavte attorney when the others were secure with Withers? Its most likely going to come out, there are forces in hot persuit of the truth. Glad to see you got home from the meeting that wasn't. What happened to the gauntlet?

and you are correct, it was settled out of court. Freidkin shook everyone up and the push was on for a settlement. That is not the same as a trial with evidence and examination. Just thought I'd clear that up. Here is what I do know. In the recent past I have personally watched the interaction of the Board during meetings. Basically unbiased because I really was not involved. I witnessed Mr Donovans contempt towards Mrs Curatola's manner and deliberate questioning of issues. He can not hide his feelings, he should learn to, he would be seen as more professional. He should look back at tapes he can see it himself. I know,..... I am a Curatola person, whatelse can "you" say.....No it is just observation of behavior, something I have been trained and schooled to do, no more no less. Thompson is here, and he will stay. Tell me why we need a school board if we just rubber stamp whatever Dr Thompson wants? No, I vote for Board members who will attempt to represent me and the other residents and balance that with the districts needs. Most folks don't see that from Mr Donovan, and his rubber stamp

Was cruising YouTube thought you ought to see this one.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=uzY6Nq3w8tc

what is fedup moving so that she can chaperone her son at school? :)

Thompson most likely took Donovan back to the woodshed again before the board meeting started! Donovan just needs to go!

Glassman, I got a call and that woodshed was just before the meeting began that wasn't. He got his verbal over his Naples News articile, "laying done the gauntlet" and his talk of quiting.

Hangingchad, interesting you were "just cruising you tube"...... I see what you are putting out,.....does a board member have to have personal relationships with other members to be effective? I tend to think that the others want her to go along with the majority. Do you think she voted against hiring Thompson because of her lack of personal relationships with some other board members?

bozo, where does Fedup think they can go?

bozosunlimited, saw the youtube video and it sounds like to me that she tried working with these people and just had all she could take of bull coming from them!

glassman, Donovan tries to bully her. I heard some really abusive things come from his lips at the Golden Gate Forum toward her. Loud enough for those 15 feet away to hear. I am sure she has been informed. That aside, she dislikes someone and doesn't want a relationship but will work forward for the districts interest. I don't have a problem with that.

In my old job I worked with people that I did not have a relationship nor did I want one with them, but that did not keep use from doing a very good job together!

I agree, I was in Law enforcement many years. There were guys I did not really take to and did not socialize. But when the s__t hit the fan we all pulled together and I trusted them with my life. It is how it is.....one has little to do with the other

glass, you notice how the Donovan and Abbott supporters through something out and then disappear......maybe Hangingchad is still cruising you tube

Bag,you are right who cares if she dislikes some one as long as the job gets done!!!My vote is going to her!

I agree, she has backbone. If I were a custodian, I would really apreciate that she is slowing things down long enough to hear from everyone involved. More than I can say for the others,

I guess they can't stand the truth, and take the heat! That youtube video is going to go nowhere!

If that youtube video is all they have then they have nothing.

I hear you

looks like they left us, going to sleep, see you on the next blog or on this thing in the am

Re post #10 and #46 - These are funny posts. Again, wrongly and incorrectly claiming that the reason Steve Donovan failed to show up for his deposition during the lawsuit brought by the former superintendent is because the deposition was "cancelled" -- when the truth is that Donovan was afraid he might be asked what he was doing talking on the phone at 3Am with another board member.

Yes, there are phone records, and those phone records are public records because they were the result of discovery in a trial. To pretend that such records do no exist is pretty lame, though such an effort is repeatedly made on this forum by some.

The relevant links are below, reporting the phone records (WINK News), as well as the time of the phone calls and which board members were talking.
The NDN article about Donovan failing to show up for a deposition is also linked below. Again, it's very lame to continue to pretend these facts do not exist.

Now, if only teacher Terry Walters, the one who met secretly with Thompson in Rockford - perhaps to find out how much money it would take for Thompson to walk out on his contract there - could "remember" what he did with the paper after Thompson wrote on it whatever, and if only the content of the phone calls could be "remembered" by board members Calabrese and Donovan, who knows, we might have some criminal arrests in this matter.

Fortunately for those who are corrupt and involved in this matter, everyone who might go to jail still has a failing memory.

Phone records revealed as evidence in lawsuit:
http://www.winknews.com/news/local/14...

How board member Steve "No Show" Donovan got his nick name:
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/j...

And, you can always learn more at my parody site about this mess, and still vote in the polls on that site:

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

Enjoy.

flcertified, thank you for posting those links again, because now I have looked at the link about the phone calls. It is the stupidest article! It states that Dennis Thompson was questioned about the phone calls - why would Dennis thompson be questioned about a supposed discussion at 3AM between Calabrese and Donovan? And where is the PROOF of these phone calls? This is mere conjecture, unless of course you have a copyof the phone records. Imight just take a hike down to the courthouse before I head out of town and get a copyof them to see for myself what you are talking about. Might make some interesting reading.
Might just be there never were any 3AM phone calls between these board members. Attorneys have been known to "twist the truth" to win their cases! WINK news did not produce the proof, only what Fridkin gave them, so where is the proof I ask you?I will get back to you on what I find so that you will know what you are printing in your posts is correct or not.

just watched the uTube video and and I could certainly relate to Curatolo - why would she want to have a nice chitchat or social luncheon with the ignorant, lying, underhanded, EGO-DRIVEN, compadres that she has been forced to work with over the past few years? She has brains and the brawn to back it up - she doesn't "attack" until her head is bloodied from beating it up against the wall - I'm sure of it - I can't imagine sitting on the dais next to uneducated, uninformed, egotistical maniacs who contribute nothing other than hearing the sound of their own voices -

OH stop it FEDup........... if Friekin and the NDN fabricated the phone records why didn't Donovan and or Calabrese go after them? Defamation, etc.

FEDUP, it is interesting how upset you get anytime Donovans actions, integrity, and behavior come into question. You must be very very close to him. It is a blog........If Donovan is clean and upset about Freidkin and the NDN article, why doesn't he go after them. NDN according to you falsely accused him of connecting with Calabrese at 3:18 am on June 22.

Fridkin stated he wanted to "talk to Donovans wife about her conversations with Mr Calabrese"... wooooooo hooooooo thats hot. I see why you want to get out of this "Godforsaken town".(as you called it in a recent blog)

Bagpiper, I wonder how any copy wright laws have been broken by putting that video on youtube of Curatolo? I may be wrong but I believe echannel has the copy wright on that video!

Are you folks saying that "fedup" is Donovan's wife?

re posts #66 and #67

I think the link I posted in #66 speaks for itself, but here is the article in full:

------------------------
Mysterious 3 a.m. phone calls may link Collier School Board members

By WINK News

Story Created: Jan 24, 2008 at 6:59 PM EDT

Story Updated: Jan 25, 2008 at 3:49 PM EDT

North Naples, Fla. - Former Collier County Superintendent Ray Baker meets face to face with the man who replaced him.

Dennis Thompson and Ray Baker met without their attorneys today for about 20 minutes, as far as what they talked about, no one would comment.

Thompson was questioned the entire morning about lengthy conversations between Board Chair Linda Abbott and teacher Terry Walters about a month before Ray Baker was fired.

According to the phone records provided:

June 22nd, 2007:
3:18 a.m. Richard Calabrese and Steve Donovan talk for 5 minutes
3:37 a.m. Richard Calabrese calls teacher Terry Walters and talk for 23 minutes

June 25th, 2007:
Board Chair Linda Abbott talks to Dennis Thompson in Rockford for 27 minutes

June 26th, 2007:
Dennis Thompson talks to Terry Walters for 37 minutes

June 27th, 2007:
Terry Walters and Linda Abbott talk for 27 minutes

When asked about these specific phone calls, Thompson says he couldn't remember anything.

Ray Baker's attorney is trying to prove three board members had a secret plan to fire his client outside the public setting, which would violate the Sunshine Law.
------------------
And, I agree with post #74. I believe that post accurately expresses how most people feel about this matter here in this town; that is to say, anyone with the knowledge of the difference between right and wrong.

I notice there was no repeat claim in post #67 of the bogus reasons that Steve "No Show" Donovan failed to show up at the deposition. BTW, he failed to show up twice.

And, now he's wondering if he should resign?

Yes, Steve "No Show" Donovan, you should resign NOW from your position on the school board -- since you can't find the time to tell the truth in the discovery phase of a lawsuit after you've been on the phone at 3AM with a board member.

Not good.

http://dennisthompsonresponds.blogspo...

http://dennisthompsonbackgroundquiz.b...

Oh, and let's not forget Dennis Thompson, the current superintendent, and his failing memory in this mess:

from WINK article above --

"When asked about these specific phone calls, Thompson says he couldn't remember anything."

What a shock: ALL members of an alleged conspiracy completely and collectively "forgot" everything they discussed with each other! Wow! I'm really surprised!

How can anyone ever trust anything these jerks tell the public in their positions of public trust? They and their positions need to be spearated.

Oh, and let's not forget Dennis Thompson, the current superintendent, and his failing memory in this mess:

from WINK article above --

"When asked about these specific phone calls, Thompson says he couldn't remember anything."

What a shock: ALL members of an alleged conspiracy completely and collectively "forgot" everything they discussed with each other! Wow! I'm really surprised!

How can anyone ever trust anything these jerks tell the public in their positions of public trust? They and their positions need to be separated.

Question 1: Has anyone actually seen these phone records, or is this just a "trust us b/c the lawyer said so"? I ask not because I have any info to the contrary, but because there's no reason to talk at 3 am. It's not like the board members were under 20-hr surveillance and had to call in secret. Further, phone records just prove a connection between 2 numbers, it doesn't prove a conversation between 2 people.

Question 2: Did anyone ever get the phone records of Baker or the other 2 board members?

Question 3: If this case was such a slam-dunk--almost a good vs. evil case--why was Baker so anxious to settle before it went to trial? And why did part of the settlement include Baker admitting that there were no Sunshine Law violations?

Please, don't anyone say anything that might make fedup change her mind and stay! If she is who I think she is (see post #40), we will all be better off when she is gone!

Maybe she is leaving because "Dennis" stopped talking to her months ago when the investigation got too hot. (Notice how she is on a first name basis with all her buds? She is in the Baker/Thompson thing up to her evil eyeballs.)

Maybe she is leaving because someone has found her missing computer (with all those emails to the key players) that accidently got dumped in the landfill.

Or maybe she has done enough damage here and is moving on to destroy lives elsewhere.

Whatever the case, good riddance.

Bake wanted his contract honored. i would take a half milion and retire. He was of age anyway. Realclear......why have both editors of the NDN written pieces asking for the State Attorney to investigate? How would Baker know if there were sunshine violations? Why would to Board members have phone contact at "3:18 am from there home phones? Why did Withers show up for the second deposition appointment, only to have Donovan call fora postponemeny so he could have a private attorney/ The others used Withers, why did he feel he needed a priavte attorney AND anyone who knows legal tactic knows that you usually save your key suspect for the last deposition after having gathered as much information from the preceeding deposed people. I do not believe in conspiracy theories, or Tarot cards or unlucky numbers etc. If you don't feel that something took place here.........what can I say