Update: If the The South Huntsville Civic (sic) Association is turning against you..#SpyGate

Copied and pasted verbatim from the  South Huntsville Civic Association Facebook Page

Nearly three weeks ago, citizens were informed by local media that the Huntsville City School System has operated a secret program for the past 18 months, designed to monitor student’s online activity. It was reported that this program began as a result of a tip from the NSA. After it became reasonably clear that the NSA did not contact the Huntsville City Schools security officer, Dr. Wardynski resorted to asking, “What does it matter who the call was from?” It does matter. It seems that the public was misinformed with a statement that would have shaped public opinion if it had been blindly accepted. There are several similar statements pertaining to this program, but no documentation is being provided.

Why does this matter? According to Superintendent Casey Wardynski, it shouldn’t. Our only concern should be for the safety of students. While this argument, launched after most citizens took umbrage to the program, is an effective diversion, (who would disagree that student safety is important?), it is also a means by which the conversation has been halted. We still have not heard straight answers regarding the parameters of the program, the source and amount of funding, the reason for its inception, or what elected official, responsible to citizens, knows the answers to these questions.
SHCA has spoken with the reporter who broke the story, who maintains that he reported what he was told by HCS administration. Follow-up interviews included details which differed from the information first provided.

While it was reported that students social media accounts were being monitored, later statements indicated that accounts are only looked at if school officials are alerted by a tip. The specialist hired to run this program works for T&W Operations, Inc. Upon learning about the program, we checked and found that T&W Operations, Inc had “liked” the facebook page of SHCA and was therefore receiving notifications of our activity. At last check, no member of the SHCA Board of Directors either is enrolled in or would have been reported as a threat to any school. Were we being monitored, or is this a coincidence?

Dr. Wardynski - "When we look on You Tube you'll see something go on there that some kid put up there some beat down somewhere on school property, that’s our job to make sure that doesn’t happen. We see that then we go looking for the kid. So it’s a matter of using the resources we have, looking in public places which is social media. If we get a tip that a kid is going to do something, we'll go look at their facebook page."
School board member, Topper Birney also spoke with one of our board members. He emphatically states that he was not aware that a program of this nature was in place. When asked by the media whether he knew about the program, the name, SAFe, was not mentioned. The activity was described and he maintains that he was never made aware of its existence.
Dr. Wardynski "They didn't know the acronym, but they knew about the program because we brief them on some of the specific cases rarely and more generally on the trends."
David Blair - " I have known about that for a while as well as my fellow board members. . . “
In an attempt to get answers regarding the program’s parameters, Senator Paul Sanford sent the following request to all Huntsville City School Board Members –
Senator Paul Sanford would like to request a detailed explanation for all
expulsions related to the SAFe program. No personal information is
requested, just the facts surrounding each reported threat and subsequent
facts that lead to expulsion or disciplinary measures.
He received the following reply from Board President, David Blair –
“I am uncomfortable with this request due to the sensitive nature of the
expulsions. There is a process in place to deal with discipline issues in the schools
which we will be glad to share if so desired.”

Senator Sanford sent the following response and has not received another reply.
“Mr. Blair,
I see no reason why the board cannot provide information regarding the expulsions or disciplinary measures taken in relation to the SAFe Program. I do not need any personal information about the incidents, but I feel info regarding the tips received, the action taken, and the situations that necessitated the board taking action are an appropriate and reasonable request.
Again I ask that the board provide the previously requested information surrounding the incidents relating to the SAFe Program and the details leading to corrective action by the board.“
While opinions may differ regarding the appropriateness of this type of program, we have a more immediate issue. Our local school board is withholding information from the public. Are you willing to accept being denied information by those you elect and pay? If so, please let us know that we should close our eyes and pretend that our local government is not being run by fiat.

Note from RedEye: Are the rattlesnakes beginning to turn on the Mighty Casey Wardynski........

I attended this Republican cheer leading event at Grissom last evening. It was sickening. I’ve never seen so many Republicans in my life. There were 7 elected Repugs on the stage. Could well have been the Republican convention. They used these “civic” meetings to win the election for Mo Brooks, and it is absolutely the bailiwick of school board member, president, head honcho, Jennie Robinson. I have asked the school attorney how they could use a public building for political meetings, and he said "anybody could use it if they paid for it".

Time will tell the truth.... 

"Folks here are keenly interested in property value," Wardynski told the crowd. "I am also keenly interested in value."
Wardynski said that focusing too much on price could cause the system to lose many programs of value. He reiterated that he intends to take schools' success into account when deciding which schools to close.
He added that he does not like using the words "school closures."

Yet he closed schools.....

This non-responsiveness to public comments and opinions is becoming a pattern. As public interest increases, their willingness to allow public participation in the process has decreased. But that’s a posting for another day.

To be continued.....

"Huntsville City Schools need a lecture on the state's open meetings law. Honesty and public trust should be part of that lesson"

Schools Dealing in Darkness

City school board members Topper Birney, Jennie Robinson and David Blair need a lecture on the state's open meetings law. Honesty and public trust should be part of that lesson.
Only a week or so after the municipal elections, the three huddled privately at a local restaurant to discuss board business, including the search for a superintendent and who might be the next school board chairman. Times special projects editor Challen Stephens reported on the restaurant rendezvous on Thursday.
As it turns out, Birney was elected board chairman and he immediately placed Blair and Robinson in charge of the superintendent search.
If that was coincidence, it sure seems fishy. Even if the leadership selections weren't influenced by that meal time pow wow, what were they thinking?
Blair's excuse that he had not been officially seated yet is lame. Under state law, public officials elected, but not yet seated, count toward a quorum that would constitute a private meeting. That starts the day the election results are certified, The Times reported Thursday. Blair ought to know. He served on the board from 2000 to 2004 and was part of the selection of now-outgoing Ann Roy Moore as superintendent.
Robinson also offered a weak defense, noting the three had occasionally met for lunch before the election and that the luncheon started as a post-election celebration. All three acknowledged, however, that school issues, including the superintendent search, were discussed and they soon began to feel uncomfortable. "It just didn't feel right. And that's something that's not going to happen again," Robinson said.
Birney said no decisions were made in the luncheon meeting.

Open meetings act

In Alabama, an open meeting of a governing body is defined as the gathering of a quorum, or a voting majority.  

 The Alabama Open Meetings Act holds that "the deliberative process of governmental bodies shall be open to the public during meetings."

Commissioner Bob Harrison and Councilman Richard Showers are right.  No pun intended.

An Open Letter to Dr. Mae Carol Jemison~Edited

Dear Dr. Mae Carol Jemison,

It's me, RedEye.  Have your ears been burning lately?  The reason I ask is because you are being talked about 24/7 in the Rocket City.  In case you haven't heard, the Superintendent and the Huntsville City Schools Board of Education, voted to replace the name James Oliver Johnson  with  your name, despite opposition  from the majority of Alumni, parents, students, and the community.  The reason the BOE states for wanting to replace the name  J.O. Johnson with  your good name is because you are well....black  and because JOJ is a so called  "failing" school. In other words, they don't want to fix the problem, they want to slap your good name on it and call it fixed.  Nod.  Nod. Wink.  Wink.

Due to changing demographics, J.O. Johnson High School is predominately African American.  With all due respect to you and your many accomplishments, many consider the actions of the BOE to be a slap in the face to J.O. Johnson and it's proud alumni and an attempt to "pacify us" adding  insult to injury.

Johnson High School is not black or white, it is blue and gold and to connect Johnson High to a certain ethnic background is disrespectful, and it's hurtful to those alumni and current students who are not of the same background. You are alienating us with racial prejudice and segregation. And 100 years from now, when Johnson's ethnic landscape has morphed again, the only thing that will hopefully still be intact is its legacy. Its Alma mater. It's mascot, the mighty Jaguar that has come to symbolize perseverance against all odds in this city and beyond.

I also want you to let you know that in their haste to place your good name on the new school building,  the BOE violated their own naming policy.

Last night the Huntsville City School Board of Education violated their own policy on the Selection of School, Facility, and/or Property Name (Policy 2.9, presented September 5, 2013) by concluding the process and voting on the new names approximately three weeks before they were allowed to do so.
On September 5, 2013, the board met and discussed during their work session a new policy entitled, “Selection of School, Facility, and/or Property Name” (Policy 2.9). This policy was necessary to ensure that the process of receiving new names for schools would be as open to the public as possible. Laurie McCaulley, who was at that time serving as the School Board President, assured the public present that evening that the public would have every opportunity to “have input on these changes.”

 The public did not have every opportunity to "have input on these changes", as a matter of fact, it was the opposite.

The board was receiving political heat over this decision, and they don’t like political heat or pressure. Despite their claims to the contrary, they actually do prefer it when the board room is filled with nothing but employees whom they control.

That was why they held between 10 and 15 seats in a standing room only crowd last night for TFAers. (There are, by the way, only about 50 seats in the room that aren’t always taken by school district employees.)

 That was why they kept the general public waiting outside until 5:15pm.

 That was why they instigated a new policy of requiring all questions from the public during the work session part of the meeting to be submitted in writing (that they then refused to read out loud).

That was why Dr. Robinson decided that it would be a good idea to berate Johnson parents for supposedly caring more about the name of the school rather than the test scores when she said, “My challenge would be to those folks who have been spending a lot of time focused on the name that you might want to put that same focus on the test scores.”

That was why Ms. McCaulley seemed to have such difficulty reading citizens’ questions or putting forth a coherent statement on her position.

That was why Mr. Blair seemed incapable of doing anything other than demand complete silence from a crowd of interested citizens.

That was why Dr. Wardynski asked security to remove the few non-employees who managed to get seats in the room.

Mr. Culbreath’s only contribution was to claim, by holding up a folder that he “had received only a few hours ago,” that he just didn’t understand how anyone could claim that this process had been anything other than transparent.

Only Mr. Birney seemed genuinely concerned about the process that they were pushing through when he shared that Mae Jemison didn’t appreciate her southern heritage by pointing out, “You may have the possibility of Dr. Jemison refusing this as she has publicly declaimed the fact that she was born in the south. She resented that heritage.” Mr. Birney was the lone dissenting voice on this matter last night.

Anyhoo, I just wanted to let you know what was being done in your name, and wondering if you approve?

Your friend,
RedEye

WARdynski on Public Education

The Problem Black Students Still Live With

Access to a quality public education for black/brown/poor students is under a well funded, well organized, and sustained attack in Huntsville, AL. under the capable command of Colonel Casey WARdynski.

Why is public education under attack?  Well, because it's PUBLIC education.  Meaning, every child has access, regardless of race, gender, income or address, which is the opposite of PRIVATE education.  The only reason some (not to be confused with all) black/brown/poor children have access to a quality public education is because the school district is under a federal court desegregation order.

Board President David Blair says the court order is holding back progress, preventing city schools from experimenting with a system in which students choose a school based on what they want to study instead of where they live.
"I would love to see us challenge the desegregation order," said board member Jennie Robinson, who represents south Huntsville.The Justice Department, which monitors compliance with the court order, recently refused approval for a second southeast high school. At Grissom, the only nearby high school, less than 4 percent of students are black.
The Justice Department's action limits growth near the Tennessee River, Robinson said. Plus, she said the court order ignores that there are more than two races here. Last year, Huntsville had almost 600 Hispanic students and almost 600 Asians. Most Asian students attended Grissom or its feeder schools.
She also said some studies show children learn better from teachers of the same race.
Board member Topper Birney said the city school board could better operate without federal approval for every new building.

The Justice Department told the School Board to not even think about being granted Unitary Status.  My Daddy says if you can't get in through the front door then go around to the back door.  Looks like the School Board has finally found the man with a plan to continue to ignore the United States Department of Justice.  Keeping them there black/brown/poor students in their place, I mean their zones.  Snark

In a three-page explanation to The Times, Wardynski said his sweeping overhaul of system leadership was designed "to promote strong leaders into larger schools and into schools for which their talents are particularly suited."
Two of those principal swaps, the transfer of Lynette Alexander to Westlawn Middle and Dawn Ashley to Dawson Elementary, are designed to help the district "restart" low-performing schools. A "restart" allows the district to replace about 50 percent of the teachers and bring in new school leaders.
Wardynski called Alexander and Ashley "two of our most accomplished leaders" and said he expected immediate improvements.
The move also allows a district to cancel student transfers to other schools and erase a school's test score history in an effort to give it a fresh start.

Looks like Colonel WARdynski is doing at least on of the jobs he was hired to do.

In case you missed it, tonight the board had yet another discussion about how to evaluate Dr. Wardynski. The board has proposed five goals by which Dr. Wardynski will be evaluated. These are:
Accelerate Learning at All Levels
Increase Flexibility in the General Fund Budget While Preserving Educational Programs
Build Bench Strength Though Strategic Staffing
Improve Capital Infrastructure
Meet Department of Justice Requirements to Deserve Unitary Status

Today's Must Read
Just how much of a bonus should Dr. Wardynski receive for his work this year? 

Which brings me to the Pinnacle fiasco.  Stay tuned.

Quid Quo Pro?

I've said it many times before, I'm not a lawyer, and I don't play one on the Internet, but I'm sure there are legal eagles out there who can clear up my confusion  regarding several cases involving democrats and the long arm of the law here in Sweet Home Alabama.

Yesterday I pointed out the hypocrisy of former state Rep. Sue Schmitz's (D), conviction and sentencing  for being paid tax dollars for not working, and former Huntsville City Schools Superintendent Ann Roy Moore, who was also paid tax dollars for not working. 

Anne Roy Moore presents another interesting comparison (for lack of a better word) to former democratic Governor Don Siegelman's conviction for bribery (Quid Quo Pro).  To make a long story short, prosecutors argued  Don Siegelman appointed Richard Scrushy to the CON board in exchange for a campaign contribution.

Now, turn to the case of Ann Roy Moore, who according to several Huntsville City School Board members was paid to not work so she wouldn't file a lawsuit against the school system.

Topper Birney said that, despite the money Moore's been paid over the past six months, keeping the former superintendent on as a consultant likely saved the district much larger costs with a possible lawsuit.
"This was probably, in the long run, the most cost-efficient way to handle it," Birney said.
David Blair, who was not on the board when Moore was ousted, agreed. Blair pointed out that, until the board decided to fire her, Moore had received nearly perfect performance reviews.
"In my estimation, the system had (legal) exposure," Blair said. "It was the best resolution for both parties."

Question, what is the difference between appointing a campaign contributor to a board, and paying someone tax dollars not work in exchange for not filing a lawsuit?

Happy Days with Tax Payers Dollars

According to a  Watchdog Report by The Huntsville Times,   former HSC Superintendent Dr. Anne Roy Moore earned her $99,000 consulting fee,  in addition to her $198,000 annual salary,  by working at home, and providing background information on the firing of Hampton Middle Schools former principal.  Nice work if you can get it.

The reason Moore was paid a consulting fee, in addition to her annual salary, was because theSchool Board  didn't have a valid reason not to renew her contract and replace her with Casey Wardynski,  so he could, according to a comment at al.com,   "restore the school system to it's former glory."

To make a long story short, the school board  paid our money to Anne Roy Moore to avoid a law suit she would have won.  This at the same time they are cutting special education funding and making other costly changes at taxpayers expense.

This is history repeating itself with the same cast of characters.

And we wonder why we keep getting the same results?