Opinion: Thank you, John

In this week's Pike County Dispatch, and also on Nick Troiano's blog, is this response to board member John Kupillas' letter in last week's Dispatch.

To the Dispatch:

I thank school board director John Kupillas for his unfounded personal attack in last week’s Dispatch. Better than I could in any letter, John vividly demonstrated the win-at-all-costs strategy of the Taxpayers United political machine. Instead of responding to any of the questions or issues raised, John, like his fellow TU members, finds it most expedient to go after those who dare challenge TU’s actions and decisions.

When you have a record to run from and no platform to stand on, those become the tactics of the desperate. In this, the greater harm is not done to the handful of people trampled by TU’s shallow politics of deception and division, but to the thousands of students in our school district who have them to look up to as supposed leaders in our community.

George Washington offered the following thoughts in his Farewell Address:

”[Factions] may now and then answer popular ends, but they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government…”

Taxpayers United is such a potent engine. John Kupillas and Boss Goldsack are among those cunning, ambitious and unprincipled men. The power they subvert is yours. And the reins of government they seek to usurp are those of the school board. We must not stand for that.

James Madison suggested two ways to cure this problem of an unjust faction: by removing its causes or by controlling its effects. Luckily, on May 19, voters can do both. Vote for, and only for, those with the integrity to put the interests of our schools and community before petty politics.

Sincerely,

Nick Troiano
Delaware Valley '07
Milford, PA

Ridiculous

This letter to the editor appears in this week's Pike County Dispatch.

Best Friends

To the Dispatch:
Soon voters will decide who they want on the Delaware Valley School Board. Incumbents will be judged by their accomplishments. First time candidates will be judged by what they will bring to the DVSB. All candidates will bring their experience and skills to serve the community.

It is troubling that two people are trying to be in the limelight, as self-proclaimed authorities of who is worthy to serving on the DVSB, Nineteen-year-old Ryan Balton and his good friend Nick Troiano have gone to great lengths to discredit members of Taxpayers United who are sitting members of the DVSB as well as TU members who are candidates. If they disagree with an editorial that is written you could be branded anti-teen. Ryan Bolton sent approximately 40 e-mails in 6 weeks and 7 phone calls in one weekend toseveral DVSB members' homes, mine included! I let Nick Troiano videotape an interview with me. I hoped that he would understand a view different from his own. All I got was negative feedback.

Their advice on district issues rings empty. Neither Ryan Balton nor Nick Troiano have ever paid a school tax, They cite their 13 years at the DV school system as "experience''. They also cite Jack Fisher as their financial guru. Jack Fisher's delinquency paying taxes speaks volumes of Ryan and Nick's experience.

At a recent school board meeting Ryan asked a question of the board. The superintendent attempted to give a response. The board president had to tell Ryan at least twice to stop interrupting. It seems like some growing up is in order. TU candidates bring a lifetime of experience from the real world, such as raising families, and putting bread on the table.

Lastly, I would like to pass on some advice to Ryan and Nick which was given to me when I was 19 years old by a US Army drill instructor screaming at the top of his lungs inches from my face, "don't let your alligator mouth overload your mosquito butt" (I substituted butt for the real word that begins with "A".)

On May 19 fellow taxpayers, please vote for Taxpayer United candidates Goldsack. Marasa. and Wright. We are for " Higher Education Lower Taxes". You can take that to the bank !!!

John Kupillas
Dingmans

Krise Bus unlawfully mixed DV dyed fuel with clear fuel, district to conduct audit

Krise Bus mixed regular fuel for chartered bus runs with untaxed Delaware Valley fuel, which has a red dye to identify it can only be used to transport students, according to owner Tim Krise (at right) and school officials at tonight's transportation meeting.

Krise was unaware of the red-dye fuel until Dec. 4, 2008, he said. The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue contacted Krise Bus regarding an incident in which Krise-owned DV buses were seen at the Crossings Premium Shopping Outlets in Tannersville, Pa. on Black Friday.

Revenue enforcement agent Neil Hochreiter told Krise Bus that by law not even a trace of red dye could be in the tanks of buses being used for any purpose other than transporting students between home and school or on student activity trips, Krise and school officials said.

School board member Sue Casey said she no longer trusts Krise because he did not know about the red dye, which has been in use by the district for over a decade. Superintendent Candis Finan said she has known about the dye since 1997 or 1998, when the district's contract was first developed with Krise Bus.

Krise Bus stopped using DV buses for charter trips effective Dec. 4, after the notification.

Allegations at public DV meetings about improper fuel use were first made by DV Support Professionals president Fran Rosario at a transportation committee meeting in December. Krise conceded that while his company had used DV buses, containing the red dye fuel, for non-DV runs, they filled the tanks with non-DV fuel or reimbursed the district.

The board will discuss conducting an audit, on behalf of the school district, to ensure Krise Bus is in compliance with the law.

There is "no intent to take anything from this school district or the taxpayers," Krise said.

The Department of Revenue is conducting tests on fuel from Krise-owned DV buses to determine if red dye and clear fuel were mixed, according to transportation committee chair Diane French. Hochreiter met with Krise, his lawyer, French, Finan, Rosario and a few other DV support professionals at 10 a.m. today to inform them of the situation, French said.

Morning meeting "kept quiet"

The rest of the board didn't appear to be too happy about the meeting that occurred this morning.

The meeting was scheduled by board president Bob Goldsack, who is in the hospital and did not inform the rest of the board that the morning meeting was taking place, French said.

Board member Ed Silverstone asked French to fill the rest of the board in about what happened this morning. French reiterated what Hochreiter had told Krise Bus.

Board member Sue Schor said she wondered why it was "kept quiet."

When French said it was not kept quiet, Casey said she had to disagree. Casey said at a recent executive session the board had agreed to be more open about meetings. French offered a sarcastic "I'm sorry," saying, despite her position as transportation committee chair, she was not responsible for contacting the rest of the board.

Superintendent Finan said she also was unaware of this morning's meeting until shortly before it happened today.

Passing notes

Leading the meeting, French also refused to take questions from members of the public. She told the public that any questions needed to be submitted to her in writing and they would be addressed as seen fit. She said she didn't want the meeting to "turn into a circus."

As members of the public wrote questions in to French during the meeting, she snipped at a student in attendance who was passing the slips of paper to her.

Silverstone raised issue over how French was conducting the meeting, saying the board should field questions from the public to ensure compliance with open meeting laws. Solicitor Mike Weinstein agreed with him.


Diane French, Mike Weinstein and Ed Silverstone discuss French's announcement that she would not accept questions from the public.

When's the meeting?

Schor also said she was unaware of tonight's meeting still taking place. Meetings typically are cancelled when school is closed, Finan said, but because Krise and others had traveled to the area, the meeting still took place.

Schor said she received news of the meeting less than an hour before it began, and had to drive at least a half hour back to Milford to make it.

Board members John Wroblewski and Casey were also unsure if the meeting was going to take place tonight, according to e-mails earlier today.

The only place confirming tonight's meeting was here on RB for DV, after a DV employee who attended this morning's meeting e-mailed in a tip. Confirmation that the meeting would still take place was not posted on the district's Web site nor announced on the school closing phone hotline.

Absent from the meeting were hospitalized board president Goldsack, vice president Deb DuCharme and board member John Kupillas.

Tomorrow's committee meetings at Shohola Elementary School starting at 6 p.m., will most likely be cancelled if school is closed, Finan said.

Bueller? | Two months of trying to contact our public elected officials - and being ignored

For the past two months, I have been trying to contact board members Diane French and John Kupillas, asking only that they call me back.

After they wrote letters to the newspapers that were degrading to the young people in our community, I wanted to speak with them to discuss their comments. I hoped to come to an understanding of their comments and work out the personal problems with me.

Rather than continuing the public spectacle, I did what I think was respectful and policy compliant. I obtained their publicly available information from the administrative offices. I left courteous messages by e-mail and district voicemail. I stand behind the level of respect in my messages, so I have posted them here.

• E-mails to John Kupillas (.PDF file)
  
• E-mails to Diane French (.PDF File)
  

Diane and John seemed to have a lot to say about my peers and me in the newspapers, so I figured they would have no problem getting in touch with me.

I followed up as my messages were not returned over the past two months. Diane e-mailed me twice, asking me to submit my requests through the board secretary. I complied. (See e-mails to and from Bill Hessling, .PDF file.) Diane, an elected public official and a community leader, also wrote - and I directly quote:

"I neither have the time nor the patience to put up with your antics ..." - Diane French, DV School Board member (Oct. 28, 2008)

She had the time to condemn the young people in the community, but not the time in two months to return a phone call from a member of the community – and electorate – she serves.

Because I had not heard back from them – nor from president Bob Goldsack, whom I contacted for help (See e-mails to Bob Goldsack, .PDF file) – I brought up my problem at yesterday's school board meeting. I asked Diane and John when they intend to return my messages, and I provided each of them a packet containing printouts of the hundreds of unreturned e-mails I have sent to them and the board secretary. 

Diane told me I had been disrespectful. But by trying to contact Diane and John to discuss their problems civilly, I believe I was acting out of respect to contact them.

John told me I had been harassing. But not once – in a span of two months – did John, Diane or Bob contact me to return my inquiries nor request that I stop contacting them. 

John said, his letter, unlike my action, was "respectful." Because, after all, he did write "with all due respect." Never mind the small detail that his letter included a disgusting and disproved rant about how the teenage brain is too undeveloped to make rational decisions.

John's "respectful" letter also ironically criticized my undeveloped brain for its inability to "connect to the residents served by the board." After John failed to return a single one of my 50 or so e-mails and 50 phone calls, this correlation hardly seems to be the case.

While I'm deciding to take back the two minutes of my day that I usually would be calling and e-mailing Diane and John, my request to speak with them still stands. Operators are standing by.

Read the e-mails mentioned in this post (.PDF files)

• E-mails to (and two from) board member Diane French
  
• Unreturned e-mails to board member John Kupillas
  
• E-mails to and from board secretary Bill Hessling
  
• Unreturned e-mails to board president Bob Goldsack
  

Courier roundup: Veterans Day

• Observances mark Veterans’ Day week in Milford
  
• Students reach out with the arts
  
• Play made ‘Bah Humbug!’ famous
  
• How to make a paper backpack
• A really big pumpkin
• On school boards and abortion
  
• Thank you teens (letter by board member John Kupillas, who publicly lamented about undeveloped teenage brains a few weeks ago)
  

People continue voicing opposition to Kupillas' statement

This letter appeared in this week's Pike County Dispatch in response to John Kupillas' sentiments about how young people's brains are undeveloped.

There also have been a few comments that have surfaced on the Times Herald-Record article about the vacancy, which ran in yesterday's sell-out election issue.

Record runs long-awaited article on vacancy

The Times Herald-Record ran today an article on the vacancy on the Delaware Valley School Board.

Kupillas didn't return phone calls. Bob Goldsack, school board president, said Kupillas was "busting Ryan's chops."

Yes, because going to the local press in the capacity of an elected public official to alienate the very young people you serve is appropriate chop-busting.

Kupillas hasn't returned my phone calls, either. Nor has Diane French.

What with the election coverage, this story got a little buried, but hopefully running this information in the regional daily newspaper will give the whole issue more attention.

How to contact your board members

After a question came up at Thursday's board meeting about contacting board members, the board indicated a list of their addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses is available at the DV Administrative Offices.

RB for DV has obtained a copy of this list and scanned it in for your reference.

⇒ VIEW THE LIST

Download a printable .PDF

SUSAN CASEY (07-11)
P.O. BOX 665
MILFORD. PA 18337-0665
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-686-1239
WORK TELEPHONE: 845-556-5311.439
FAX: 845-856-7710
CELL 845-820-5155
EMAIL: scasey54@ptd.net
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7076

BOB GOLDSACK, PRESIDENT (05-09)
3237 SUNRISE LAKE
MILFORD, PA 18337
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-686-4177
WORK TELEPHONE: 800-987-4177
FAX: 570-688-3240
CELL PHONE: 973-903-1888
EMAIL: goldsack@ptd.net
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7120

ED SILVERSTONE (05-09)
P.O. BOX 116
MILFORD, PA 18337
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-296-8130
ALTERNATE TELEPHONE: 212-724-2619
CELL PHONE: 917-208-0596
EMAIL: slverstne@yahoo.com
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7114


SUPERINTENDENT
CANDIS M, FINAN, ED.D
235 ROUTE 6 & 209
MILFORD, PA 18337
TELEPHONE: 570-296-1804
FAX: 570-296-3172
EMAIL: cfinan@dvsd.org

DEB DUCHARME, VICE PRESIDENT (05-09)
157 INDIAN TRAILS
MILFORD, PA 18337
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-686-2822
WORK TELEPHONE: 570-409-9999 Ext. 112
HOME FAX: 5700-409-8888
WORK FAX: 570-686-2822
EMAIL: dducharm@ptd.net
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7061

JOHN KUPILLAS (07-11)
3573 SUNRISE LAKE
MILFORD, PA 18337
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-686-9211
EMAIL: janandellen@yahoo.com
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7285

SUSAN SCHOR (08-09)
156 CHOKEBERRY DRIVE
MILFORD, PA 18337
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-296-4295
CELL PHONE: 570-228-1466
EMAIL: sdschor@ptd.net
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7240

SCHOOL BOARD SOLICITOR
MICHAEL WEINSTEIN, ATTORNEY
104 WEST HIGH STREET
MILFORD, PA 18337
OFFICE: 570-296-6471
FAX: 570-296-2653
EMAIL: weinstein@wskllawfirm.com
GENERAL EMAIL: wskl@ptd.net

DIANE FRENCH (07-11)
3728 SUNRISE LAKE
MILFORD, PA 18337
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-686-2914
EMAIL: gogiants@ptd.net
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7091

PAM LUTFY (05-09)
476 ROUTE 6 & 209 ATTN: P. LUTFY
MILFORD, PA 18337
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-296-6329
SUNSHINE STATION: 570-296-7241
DINGMANS: 570-828-6168
FAX: 570-296-4169
EMAIL: longdog51@hotmail.com
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7356

JOHN WROBLEWSKI (07-11)
199 HAWTHORNE DRIVE
MILFORD, PA 18337
HOME TELEPHONE: 570-296-6298
WORK TELEPHONE: 570-296-7956
FAX: 570-296-5498
EMAIL: johnwrob@ptd.net
DVSD VOICE MAIL: 7107

SECRETARY, NON-MEMBER
WILLIAM HESSLING, SECRETARY
236 ROUTE 6 & 209
MILFORD, PA 18337-9454
WORK TELEPHONE: 570-296-1806
FAX: 570-296-3172
EMAIL: bhessling@dvsd.org

Courier roundup: Responses to Kupillas, already outdated top story on the board appointment

• Court decides board vacancy
• AND UPDATE (7:30 p.m.): Court decides board vacancy
• Spirited students
• Teddy Bears on parade at Shohola
• Smoky and the kindergarten
• Getting Physical with Education
• September’s best at Delaware Valley Middle School
• Pike County Youth Coalition response to John Kupillas
• Secrets, discrimination and irresponsibility
  

Diane French: "This position is not a summer joke."

These two letters appeared in this week's Pike County Dispatch.

I appreciated reading Kim Pabon's letter (below), which discusses the cronyism that was taking place on the school board until today, when the board lost its power to fill John Wladar's Sept. 18 vacancy because the board had not acted within the 30 days required by policy.

Sadly, the Dispatch selectively chose to disregard a letter I wrote in response to Kupillas, in addition to at least one other response letter written by a member of the Pike County Youth Coalition.

After hearing last night about board member Diane French's letter (below), I contacted her to request a personal conversation with her privately. She has not yet responded to my request, nor has fellow board member John Kupillas, who wrote a similarly "stunningly negative" letter last week and whom I have tried to contact multiple times. I would be grateful if the elected public officials who represent me and our community would respond and take care of their personal problems with me in a "mature" manner.

Judge to appoint new board member by noon tomorrow

Judge Greg Chelak announced the court will appoint a new school board member by noon Thursday (tomorrow), after listening to candidates at today's 1 p.m. court hearing, according to multiple candidates and sources who attended the hearing. The hearing was ordered after the board failed to fill the Sept. 18 vacancy of John Wladar within 30 days and a petition was submitted by former board member and vacancy candidate Jack Fisher.

Board solicitor Mike Weinstein had earlier advised the board not to worry about appointing within 30 days.

Candidates present at the meeting were Denise Fey, Jack Fisher, Mary Gordon, Bill Greenlaw and Sue Schor. Not present were Taxpayers United favorite Bernard Marasa, who is in Florida, and I, who could not make travel accommodations on such short notice.

In Marasa's absence, current board members Deb DuCharme, Bob Goldsack and John Kupillas spoke on his behalf and presented his resume. Current board members Sue Casey and John Wroblewski endorsed Schor, and Pam Lutfy endorsed Gordon. In my absence, a letter and my resume, which I faxed to the court administrator's office early this morning, were examined at the hearing.

Current board members absent from the hearing were Diane French, who wrote a scathing letter to the editor in this week's Pike County Dispatch to be posted on the blog later this evening, and Ed Silverstone, who arrived at the end of the hearing.

Stay tuned to RB for DV - your only source for late-breaking news.

Mobilize.org picks up Kupillas letter

A national non-profit youth organization called Mobilize has discovered the youth-attacking letter to the editor by board member John Kupillas and has mention of it on the Mobilize blog:

So Sad in This "Youth-Friendly" Election

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