...I told you so.
The following comment was posted on another topic and I thought it deserved it's own thread.
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Re: Bus fiasco.I may be a little shaky on this, but if memory serves me right…A former bus driver led the problem-plagued transportation office and the Boss was very reluctant to demote with pay loss. I think she created a job for him for a little less $. The $350,000 to $500,000 “consultant” payoff results in the rudimentary suggestions of parking the buses in more centralized areas and buying software. Thanks for all of the help! As if that was not enough, my guess is that transportation has probably a half-dozen supervisors that make $100,000 or more a year. Great work! I wonder if the media will be blamed like they were during the Good Friday fiasco?After quite a while searching the newspapers of the larger districts nation-wide and the rest of the large districts in Florida, it seems that only Hillsborough is not “up to their usual standards”. We must be suffering from some malady that no one else on planet Earth is dealing with, such as parent meetings about changes and lightning strikes twenty days ago. Those excuses are pathetic.The fun has only begun. MaryEllen
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When I ran for office I said that I would be an agent for change. I questioned the hiring policies that simply moved educators into business-oriented jobs without making sure they had the proper skills. I pointed to the facilities and transportation departments as examples.
Back when we started this transportation re-org everyone had to re-apply for their job. I insisted on a nation wide search to replace the person in charge of that division who was responsible for losing the district millions of dollars and creating the mess we were in.
After finding someone from outside the school district the superintendent then recommended the person who had previously been in charge for the number two position. I was the sole vote against that recommendation. I did not believe at the time someone being demoted would want their replacement to succeed and felt the person we had hired to take on an awesome responsibility should hire his own staff. And now it looks as if I was right.
I have received information that has led me to the opinion that the current busing fiasco is at least partly attributable to this individual and as of Friday has left the district.
8 comments:
I'm just saying a little prayer this weekend that none of our children have to suffer because some are not “up to their usual standards”.
http://prohcds.blogspot.com/2008/08/missed-opportunity-for-another.html
Ms Griffin
Looks like your concerns were valid and I only hope that in the future you keep fighting the good fight. There are many of us who support you and are watching your back.
Keep up the good work!
Saying I told you so is all well and good, but what are you going to do about this? Will you become more vocal? Will you challenge the Superintendent when she starts her HRMD speech when proposing appointments?
In an earlier post you indicated that if you were informed about a questionable appointment before the position/appointment came before the board you would look into the situation. Also, that by the time the position appointment was before the board it was too "late" for you to do anything about it.
I'm sure you are aware that once the applicants interview with the Superintendent's Staff, they are left to twist in the wind until the morning of the board meeting. If there are concerns about the selection process or unfair hiring issues exactly WHEN should you be contacted?
It is common knowledge in the District that notification phone calls to the selected applicant aren't "OFFICIALLY" made until sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning on the day of the board meeting.
Seems a little like a Catch 22 April. You want us to point out hiring issues/concerns, but you can't assist if we wait too long to notify you. Yet, the interview and selection process is cloaked in secrecy. Therefore, by the time the grapevine shakes out the questionable selection, it is too late for your help.
Seem like a circular argument?
You want to help, but you can't because the info got to you to late. You tell us you will help if we give you the information ahead of time, but by the time the powers that be get done playing that cloak and dagger game and the word gets out, it's already too late for you to help!
Why aren't the hiring practices more transparent? What is the big deal about knowing who is being appointed? Faculty and staff become uneasy when fearing the unknown. The rumor mill in this district runs rampant. The site employees experiencing the "vacancy" spend/waste a lot of time trying to discover who is being appointed and what that person is like. With transparent hiring practices, the district might just see an increase in things like productivity, trust, motivation and initiative.
I can tell you April that I know of highly qualified individuals that aren't given the courtesy of an interview, while so-and-so's friend (with no experience, education, etc.) gets the job. This kind of practice has discouraged school district employees from even applying. The consensus is "why bother...they already know who they want!"
What are your suggestions?
August 19, 2008 5:17 AM,
You make good points.
I want more transparency too. That is what I have spent the last 2 years working on. As an employee in the trenches what suggestions do you have to make things more transparent? Should the announcement of who is going to be recommended be made before the recommendation? What arguments do you think senior staff will make against that proceedure? And what would your counter argument be?
As to what I am going to do about it...I already did it at the time this recommendation came to the board. I will question publicly and vote against.
I heard much disturbing information about the person in transportation before the recommendation came before the board and I questioned staff and voted against it.
When I have information ahead of time I can question and vote based on information I have gathered. If I don’t have information from the community I can only go on the recommendation. As to the HRMD, again, unless I have knowledge beforehand that it is not followed, it is difficult to question.
I must say that I do not believe every person recommended is not qualified. It would not behoove us to call every person recommended ill-qualified.
Bottom line is this…I will continue questioning when I know something is amiss, but I need more people on the board who are going to be willing to stand with me when I have information that calls into question the hiring practices. I need someone who will not reprimand and chastise me for doing my job. I believe Steve Gorham is that person.
At your service, April
Transportation has made a blanket claim (proportedly to distraught parents) that the trouble they had with the ESE transportation was the fault of the school site ESE Specialists! "They didn't fill out the paperwork properly." Funny how this problem just surfaced.
Transportation dropped the ball. PERIOD.
Do you EVER allow a post that is in opposition to your view? I have not seen it. You are as much like Hitler as you claim others to be.
October 21, 2008 7:46,
Yes all the time. Read the entire blog and you will find plenty of posts that oppose my view.
Now, do you have something constructive you would like to discuss?
At your service, April
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