Good morning.
Monday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 42. Sunrise is 7:04 and sunset 5:13 for 10h 09m 24s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 24.8% of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1945, General MacArthur returns to Manila.
On Thursday, January 25th, Whitewater School District Superintendent Dr. Caroline Pate-Hefty and Board President Larry Kachel issued the following statement:
Successful school districts stay relentlessly focused on results and outcomes for their students. Dr. Pate-Hefty talked with Mr. Larry Kachel, board president, many times this week. We both hope for stability in the district and want to support our team/staff.
To be clear, the allegations made in the Monday, January 22nd board meeting were inaccurate. They were also fully investigated and reviewed by Mr. Kachel and the board attorney. There is no violation of board policy or ethics standards for the superintendent to make and negotiate salary offers; that is a requirement of the position for functional operations. According to Wisconsin State Statutes 118.24 and 19.85, administrator contracts are reviewed annually at a closed session of the board meeting. This was done according to the requirements.
The board and administration agree that the current policy language for contract negotiation is vague and are working collaboratively via the policy review process to improve clear guidance beginning in the January policy meeting; good policy is how we improve functional operations.
As we turn the corner in math and literacy, we will stay focused on the amazing work our staff and students are doing.
Emphasis added.
Best that they take their own advice.
California battered by hurricane-force winds and heavy rain:
Very clever, Mr. Adams. You already know that they haven’t taken their advice, don’t you? You know that if they took their advice the attorney would not have sent a letter to Maryann Zimmerman.
Yes, I do know that.
Caroline likes to rule with a iron fist. And she’s getting her way so far.
Yes, so it seems. So far, however, is not forever.
By chance, I’m one of the few people who watched all of the episodes of Marvel’s Iron Fist on Netflix. A featured review on IMDb seems apt:
It is interesting to me how this Administrator’s name continues to come up in a very bad light, and nothing seems to be done about it. It seems she runs the school district, not the board. I seldom hear of anyone defending her. What gives school board? I hope you have at minimum addressed the voters problems with her. Same thing with a city matter I tried to bring up a year ago. The council woman I voted for said she did not even want to hear it. So, I will change my vote.
It’s not about personal likability when it comes to the roles of the school district or city administrator. It’s about results. School district effectiveness is reflected in the improved test scores and reduced budgets, which are significant achievements. City just releases something on the giant turnaround of the fire department. In my years of observation, the previous city manager, despite being well-liked and having a long tenure, was not very effective in achieving significant results.
The focus should be on their performance rather than personal feelings towards them. It’s the elected officials (school board and city council) who are chosen by voters, not the bureaucrats and administrators.
The critiques aimed at the school district administrator appear unjustified, especially given the complexities of navigating a community with diverse and often opposing interests. Furthermore, the situation is compounded by elected officials who seem more inclined to criticize their team members than to foster progress and unity.
The true mechanism for expressing dissatisfaction lies with the electorate’s power to change their representatives. It appears that a more rational segment of the community is emerging to counteract negative and unproductive criticism. It’s important to engage in constructive dialogue rather than resorting to anonymous disparagement that doesn’t contribute to positive change.