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Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Please Join Us
When: Monday, January 31 @ 6:30 PM
Where: Independence Fire Station
Please plan to attend our organizational meeting tomorrow evening to discuss plans to recall Susan Stoops from the school board. Many of us have become convinced that things will not change for the better in our district until she is removed from the board. As chair she has been a consistent and enthusiastic supporter of Joseph Hunter and it's time for a change. Our district is governed through the elected board of directors. We do not have the power or authority to remove Joseph Hunter as superintendent but we do have the power and authority to remove board members who, despite all that has happened, continue to support him. At tomorrow's meeting we will have to decide whether it is just Stoops we wish to remove or all three board members who have been aiding and abetting his bad behavior.
A recall is a daunting challenge but it can be accomplished if we have the manpower and the willpower. At tomorrow's meeting we will have to make that assessment and decide whether to go forward. If we do, we will need to establish an organizational structure with a chief petitioner and a treasurer and familiarize ourselves with the process and its attendant regulations. I've spoken with County Clerk, read the Recall Manual, and downloaded the forms we will need. We will need to proceed "by the book" but it's not difficult or complicated. While we shouldn't underestimate the effort that will be required neither should we shy away from it.
District staff are welcome. Your participation in an electoral process cannot be restricted by your employer (i.e., the district) so long as you do not use work time to advocate for or against the recall. It's very important that no one use a position of authority over others (administrators over teacher, teachers over students) whether at work or not to advocate for or against the recall. Interestingly, the law does allow public employees to wear political buttons to work. I know most of you are very familiar with these rules as a result of our recent bond campaigns but it is helpful to refresh our memories.
In the Oregon Recall Manual, Secretary of State Bill Bradbury writes, "Recall is one way Oregon pioneered citizen control of government. Oregonians amended the State Constitution in 1908 to allow citizens to vote to remove an elected public official from office. The active participation of Oregonians in ensuring the quality and integrity of our elected public officials is a welcome and valuable contribution to an effective democracy."
Where: Independence Fire Station
Please plan to attend our organizational meeting tomorrow evening to discuss plans to recall Susan Stoops from the school board. Many of us have become convinced that things will not change for the better in our district until she is removed from the board. As chair she has been a consistent and enthusiastic supporter of Joseph Hunter and it's time for a change. Our district is governed through the elected board of directors. We do not have the power or authority to remove Joseph Hunter as superintendent but we do have the power and authority to remove board members who, despite all that has happened, continue to support him. At tomorrow's meeting we will have to decide whether it is just Stoops we wish to remove or all three board members who have been aiding and abetting his bad behavior.
A recall is a daunting challenge but it can be accomplished if we have the manpower and the willpower. At tomorrow's meeting we will have to make that assessment and decide whether to go forward. If we do, we will need to establish an organizational structure with a chief petitioner and a treasurer and familiarize ourselves with the process and its attendant regulations. I've spoken with County Clerk, read the Recall Manual, and downloaded the forms we will need. We will need to proceed "by the book" but it's not difficult or complicated. While we shouldn't underestimate the effort that will be required neither should we shy away from it.
District staff are welcome. Your participation in an electoral process cannot be restricted by your employer (i.e., the district) so long as you do not use work time to advocate for or against the recall. It's very important that no one use a position of authority over others (administrators over teacher, teachers over students) whether at work or not to advocate for or against the recall. Interestingly, the law does allow public employees to wear political buttons to work. I know most of you are very familiar with these rules as a result of our recent bond campaigns but it is helpful to refresh our memories.
In the Oregon Recall Manual, Secretary of State Bill Bradbury writes, "Recall is one way Oregon pioneered citizen control of government. Oregonians amended the State Constitution in 1908 to allow citizens to vote to remove an elected public official from office. The active participation of Oregonians in ensuring the quality and integrity of our elected public officials is a welcome and valuable contribution to an effective democracy."
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Can This Possibly be Legal?
At the November board meeting I submitted a complaint against Joseph Hunter. I didn't hear anything for an entire month (in violation of board policy regarding public complaints) and when I made further inquiries at the December meeting, I was told that the complaint had been forwarded to the board's legal counsel who had hired an investigator to look into the matter. I did hear from the investigator within a few days and we had a number of communications over the next couple of weeks. He indicated he would also be talking with staff in the district office. I was impressed with his professionalism and commitment to being thorough and unbiased. He told me at the time that he hoped to have his report ready for the board by Christmas. He did not discuss the results of his investigation with me at any time; he was working for the board and prepared his report for them. I don't know what the report says but the way it has been handled by Susan Stoops would suggest that it is bad news for Hunter.
Given the time line he indicated, I was expecting some kind of response from the board by now. On Monday, I asked a couple of board members when I might hear something and they said that they hadn't seen the report and didn't think it was ready yet. So today I contacted the investigator to see if his report was done. Imagine my surprise when he let me know that he had turned in the report to the board's attorney on December 30. The investigator was very surprised that board members had not seen the report and that I had not received an official response. He said it was "very peculiar to have a complaint response delayed this long." The normal procedure would be for the attorney to forward the report to the board chair and there is certainly no reason to suppose that he failed to do so.
It would appear that Susan Stoops has been in possession of that report for nearly a month! And that she has been withholding it from other board members! This kind of thing happened when I was on the board - the chair and the superintendent would consult and decide what the rest of the board needed to know. It was infuriating then and it is infuriating now. The board as a whole is legally responsible for this district. How can board members make informed decisions without information? But maybe that's the whole point.
I wonder what's in it that she doesn't want them to see - it can't be very flattering to Hunter. She gives every appearance of having allied herself with him against other board members. If so, she has abused her authority as board chair and should be removed immediately. It is not up to the chair to decide what other board members will be allowed to know. This is especially true in this instance - I certainly hope she did not share the report with Hunter before the board got to read it. But it wouldn't surprise me if she did. In the case of complaints against the superintendent, the attorney and the investigator work for The Board - not the board chair and certainly not the superintendent.
Unbelievable? Manipulative? Shameless? Unethical?
Given the time line he indicated, I was expecting some kind of response from the board by now. On Monday, I asked a couple of board members when I might hear something and they said that they hadn't seen the report and didn't think it was ready yet. So today I contacted the investigator to see if his report was done. Imagine my surprise when he let me know that he had turned in the report to the board's attorney on December 30. The investigator was very surprised that board members had not seen the report and that I had not received an official response. He said it was "very peculiar to have a complaint response delayed this long." The normal procedure would be for the attorney to forward the report to the board chair and there is certainly no reason to suppose that he failed to do so.
It would appear that Susan Stoops has been in possession of that report for nearly a month! And that she has been withholding it from other board members! This kind of thing happened when I was on the board - the chair and the superintendent would consult and decide what the rest of the board needed to know. It was infuriating then and it is infuriating now. The board as a whole is legally responsible for this district. How can board members make informed decisions without information? But maybe that's the whole point.
I wonder what's in it that she doesn't want them to see - it can't be very flattering to Hunter. She gives every appearance of having allied herself with him against other board members. If so, she has abused her authority as board chair and should be removed immediately. It is not up to the chair to decide what other board members will be allowed to know. This is especially true in this instance - I certainly hope she did not share the report with Hunter before the board got to read it. But it wouldn't surprise me if she did. In the case of complaints against the superintendent, the attorney and the investigator work for The Board - not the board chair and certainly not the superintendent.
Unbelievable? Manipulative? Shameless? Unethical?
Recall Meeting
There will be a meeting on Monday, January 31 at 6:30 pm at the fire station in Independence to discuss the recall effort. This will be a large undertaking that will require the efforts of many people. If you are interested in this going forward, please plan to attend.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Let's Roll
There will be a community meeting in the very near future to discuss a recall effort to remove Susan Stoops from office. Stay tuned for details.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
What does it take?
I've heard that question a lot lately - "What does it take?" And the answer is, "It takes four votes."
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