There was a work session?

The new BoardDocs system on the Delaware Valley School District's Web site was not updated with an agenda for Thursday night's work session.

The work session agenda, next Thursday's regular board meeting agenda, and minutes from the May meeting do not appear on BoardDocs.

According to the district's Web site, "Beginning May 2009 all Board meeting agendas, minutes and information will be available on BoardDocs."

Transportation meeting cancelled

Tuesday's transportation committee meeting has been cancelled, according to emails from school officials.

Impromptu transportation meeting not listed on district's Web site

The transportation committee meeting at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at the Administrative Offices is not posted on the district Web site. The meeting is not listed on the community bulletin page nor the meeting dates page.

The meeting was announced to the press by e-mail and posted on the Administrative Offices door on Thursday, just three business days before it will take place. The meeting will happen in the afternoon instead of the evening, when transportation meetings typically occur.

A Thursday night e-mail asking for an agenda of the meeting has yet to be returned by Diane French, the transportation committee chair.

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.

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

Posted using ShareThis

'08 grad responds to Kupillas

A member of the Pike County Youth Coalition, Ryan Jameson, wrote a letter to the editor responding to board member John Kupillas' letter in last week's Pike County Dispatch. The letter was posted on the PCYC blog.

In related news, I am seeking personal contact with Kupillas. I am hoping to speak to the elected public official personally about his letter to the editor, in a private and mature manner. I e-mailed board secretary Bill Hessling, who did not provide me an e-mail address or phone number for Kupillas, but assured me my request was passed along. I also have tried calling two different phone numbers for which Kupillas is listed in the phonebook and leaving messages, but I have not heard back from him yet.

Thirty days later, no replacement; resident submits petition to court

Today marks the first business day after 30 days have elapsed since John Wladar resigned from the Delaware Valley school board on Sept. 18.

According to board policy, the vacancy needed to be filled within 30 days. If not, a petition to the court with 10 resident signatures could be filed.

This morning, one of the candidates for the vacancy and former board member, Jack Fisher, submitted a petition to the court, according to an e-mail.

The board currently plans to appoint Bernard Marasa at Thursday's regular meeting 7 p.m. at Shohola Elementary School.

PCYC posts press release regarding Kupillas' comments

The Pike County Youth Coalition is circulating a press release in which it condemns John Kupillas' comments printed in the Pike County Dispatch and Pike County Courier about the teenage mind's inability to connect with other people, make decisions and think rationally. 

From the press release:

Young people’s brains are developed enough to let us drive, vote, and even die in war. It is outrageous to claim that when it comes to having a say in the affairs of the school district we all deeply care about, that our brains are then not able to function as well as those of older people.

Note: PCYC has taken it upon itself to distribute this statement after reading Kupillas' letter to the editor. I am not a PCYC member and did not seek out this response from the organization.

Courier Roundup: Article and many letters about the vacancy

• Board to fill vacancy: Some uncertainty apparent regarding the district’s candidate selection process
  
• Learning Curve? (Kupillas' letter that also appeared in the Dispatch)
  
• On the school board vacancy (by Mary Gordon, one of the candidates for the position)
  
• There is no learning curve (Goldsack's letter that also appeared in the Dispatch)
  
• September 2008 Students of the Month (DVHS) 
  
• Happy 5th birthday, Nicole!
  

Opinion: The future of our community’s students is too important to be playing political games with

This is a letter sent to the Pike County Dispatch and printed this week written by Pike County Youth Coalition executive director Nick Troiano, according to a note he posted on Facebook. 

Troiano said the Dispatch also ran a letter written by school board president Bob Goldsack, who praises Bernard Marasa, the candidate with no educational experience who is expected to fill the vacancy on the board. They also ran a front page article about my announcement to fill the spot, he said. 

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Tammany Hall is Alive and Well

What occurred at the Delaware Valley school system’s district office two weeks ago demonstrates that the long-defunct political spoils system is very much alive in Pike County. Thus, I have taken the liberty to rename this building where the school board regularly meets “Tammany Hall”– after the famous political institution in New York City that went about the public’s business in much the same way many decades ago, valuing cronyism over qualification.

A group called Taxpayers United, much like Tammany itself, very well may have been a noble grassroots organization in its outset, but it has turned into no more than a political machine that dominates local decision-making. Under its control, the school board has deteriorated into the same kind of entity that the group sought to reform many years ago. It is no surprise then, that when the school board recently convened to replace John Wladar upon his resignation, some egregious things occurred.

Among the handful of community members who put themselves forward for the vacant position were former board members, passionate parents, previous candidates (one of whom had the next highest vote total in the last election), and even a recent DV graduate. The candidate who garnered the majority of support after an unofficial 5-3 vote, however, was no one I described, but rather a friend and political supporter of Taxpayers United’s boss, board president Bob Goldsack. I have nothing personally against Bernard Marasa, but I do find it incredibly irresponsible and reckless of the board to consider appointing him when he is clearly the least qualified and experienced candidate in such a talented applicant pool.

As George Plunkitt, one of Tammany’s legendary leaders, wrote in his book: “When the people elected Tammany, they knew just what they were doin'…We stood as we have always stood, for reward-in' the men that won the victory.” Mr. Goldsack must have been taking notes. This idea that “to the victor go the spoils” has manifested itself many times in his tenure, from arbitrarily changing board procedures and reassigning committees to, most recently, appointing political supporters to open positions. What kind of taxpayers are uniting around that?

What is most troubling is that the initial vote and deliberation on the candidates were conducted in a manner that violated the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act. The law requires that the public have notice and be allowed to observe any meeting that deals with the appointing of a citizen to public office. Neither requirement was met. Furthermore, the next meeting will occur outside the 30-day window that the district’s own policy states the process of filling a vacancy must be completed within. But what’s the law among friends, right? We digress to the times of Tammany.

To be sure, the school board had only two guidelines to follow: fill the vacancy within 30 days and in a way complaint with the Sunshine Act, yet it failed to comply with either. One would think that in a school district in which minor policy infractions, such as bringing advil to school, can result in serious consequences like expulsion, the majority of school board would set an example for DV’s 6,000 students and at least be able to follow its own policy and the law.

When I look at what occurred these past few weeks and what is at stake going forward, I urge concerned citizens and fellow students to show up on October 23rd at Tammany Hall (SES Cafeteria, this time) and tell Boss Goldsack and the rest of the school board that the future of our community’s students is too important to be playing political games with.

Sincerely,


Nick Troiano
Delaware Valley Class of 2007

Dispatch offers insight on vacancy process

The Pike County Dispatch has an article this week about the board vacancy and the chaos that has been surrounding it. Since the Dispatch doesn't have a comprehensive Web site (or much of one at all), here is the article for your reference.

It includes a nice shout out for the blog, too. Which, by the way, has averaged 224 hits a day so far this month. If you find something useful, share it with your neighbors. And if something raises your eyebrow, comment away!

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The final word: Oct. 9 meeting canceled, Marasa to be voted on Oct. 23 and sworn in when he returns from vacation in Florida

The Oct. 9 meeting has been canceled, according to an e-mail from board member Sue Casey. The Oct. 9 meeting was scheduled by the board in September to discuss and vote on the replacement for John Wladar, who resigned Sept. 18.

Here is an e-mail superintendent Candis Finan sent out to board members Friday afternoon:

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: LAST NOTICE Today!
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2008 15:13:29 -0400

No meeting on Oct. 7 nor on Oct. 9! We will have one meeting on Oct. 23. The meeting on Oct. 23 will have the appointment of Bernard. Bernard will be sworn in after he returns from Florida.

Candis

Oct. 9 meeting still unknown, blog exceeds 300 hits today

Hi folks, I'm doing what I can to try and find out if the Oct. 9 meeting is still happening. I have a number of e-mails sent out to administrators and board members to hear the official word. Here is a timeline of how things have happened:

• May- The last meeting John Wladar attended.
• Sept. 18 - Wladar's resignation was announced, Oct. 16 work session/committee meetings were rescheduled to Oct. 9 and a special purpose voting meeting was added so the board could vote for Wladar's replacement on Oct. 9.
• Sept. 30- Deadline for submitting letters of interest for the school board position.
• Oct. 2- The board interviewed candidates, and then engaged in private deliberation that was unadvertised and closed to the public. The board decided it would appoint Bernard Marasa, Taxpayers United member with no educational experience. The board decided to cancel its Oct. 9 meeting because of Yom Kippur and to put Marasa on the Oct. 23 agenda.
• Oct. 3
  
  • 7:46 a.m.- E-mail from board member Sue Casey arrived with information about the selection of Marasa and the cancellation of the Oct. 9 meeting.
  • 11:01 a.m.- Superintendent Candy Finan e-mailed board members that the Oct. 9 meeting is back on because Marasa will be on vacation and unable to attend the Oct. 23 meeting. (Doesn't this school district stress attendance? Guess Marasa won't be able to go to prom.)
  • 9:05 p.m.- E-mail from a super reliable source arrived stating the source had seen Casey at 3:30 p.m. and that the Oct. 9 meeting was once again cancelled.

I am waiting for e-mail confirmation from an administrator or board member as to whether or not the meeting is back on. To my knowledge, this information is not posted on any other local press Web site and is not available on the district's Web site. 

I am also waiting back for a phone call from Marasa. I left a message on his answering machine today asking we set up an interview so I can share background information about him with you – you the 300 plus visitors today. 

That's right: RB for DV has served 311 hits today as of this moment. The hit count has increased dramatically the past three days from a normal average of around 50 per day. 

If you find this blog a valuable resource, please share it with other residents. Please also contribute with your comments; reader participation has been excellent and informative.

And if any of the FACTS presented here raise your eyebrow, please write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper. Our local press needs to hold our elected officials responsible and keep us informed. Please also write to the school board or attend meetings; that is, once we find out when the meetings actually are!

• Pike County Courier: paoffice@strausnews.com
• Pike County Dispatch: pr@pikedispatch.com
  
• The Gazette: pjgazette@gmail.com
• News Eagle: news@neagle.com
• River Reporter: editor@riverreporter.com

• Delaware Valley School Board
  236 Route 6 & 209
  Milford, PA 18337-9454
• Official board secretary: William Hessling, business manager, bhessling@dvsd.org

Oct. 9 meeting canceled AGAIN???

The Oct. 9 meeting has once again been canceled and the board will be voting in Bernard Marasa on Oct. 23, according to an anonymous (but reliable) source as of 3:30 p.m. I am working on confirming this information, and any updates will be posted here as soon as I receive them.

In other news:

"The interviews were not open to the public or advertised," according to an e-mail from board member Sue Casey. "Only the board members, Hessling, Weinstein, Finan and one candidate at a time were present."

Photo disclaimer: any resemblance to real school board members is purely accidental. 

BREAKING NEWS: Update - Oct. 9 meeting BACK ON

According to an e-mail from superintendent Candis Finan to the board members, the Oct. 9 meeting is back on.

Bernard Marasa has family obligations which require him to be in Florida from Oct. 16 through Oct. 25 or beyond. The point is Bernard Marasa is not available for appointment on Oct. 23. Thus, we are back to our original plan on Oct. 9 of a 6 pm Strategic Planning meeting to discuss AP and a special meeting for the purpose of appointing Bernard Marasa at 7 pm.

Interestingly, I was told I was put at the bottom of the list of candidates because I said I may not be able to attend the meetings in October and November. Marasa is off to a good start of responsibly serving the students and taxpayers.