All over the United States state and local debt is up 138 percent since 1990 levels. What that means is that state governments, which include school boards and county commissioners, have become spend-happy and corrupt by federal money. The more money that they have received, the more they spent, without any increase in services. It is just wasted money. At some point, there must be a conscious decision to cut back dramatically the amount of money we spend on all services, and we must by necessity begin with education.
We have covered a lot of arrogance at this site regarding public education. Usually after the defeat of a levy the school board and superintendent are cautious about how they deal with the public, however, after the defeat of the West Clermont School System Levy Superintendent Gary Brooks was unusually arrogant toward the residents of the community that voted his levy down. Immediately the district is cutting art, and music teachers and there will be no more dedicated specialists to teach gifted specialists, there will be fewer elective courses in both their high schools. This was in reaction to a levy defeat that was 61 percent against, to 39 percent for. Listen Gary Brooks in his own words.
The crowd that showed up at the school board meeting in West Clermont was upset, saying “This board has done a pathetic job. You’ve been gilding the lily, and now we’re paying for it.”
Then with great shock, the school board president, Dan Krueger said “If you don’t like what we’re doing, vote us out, but whoever you put up here is going to find the same things we found.” He went on to say the board is not there to serve the tax payer, but to serve the children. (Brace yourself before you watch this video. You may want to act lash out in anger)
This was a shocking statement from a school board president that reveals how these people think. What we’re finding is that school districts all over Ohio are mimicking the same types of behavior. We are learning now under financial stress that there is a certain type of person that is attracted to become a school board member, and those types are particularly vulnerable to the seduction that goes into play every November when all school boards meet in Columbus at the OSBA conference. That is when these people become members of the fraternity, and the rules of that fraternity are set by the Ohio Education Association. This is why these school boards function the same way no matter what the district, because they receive centralized training from Columbus.
I know many school board members that get elected and are forced to make the choice to play ball, or are they going to try and do the job they “think” they were elected for. This is why the board president’s comments are so shocking because he reveals the true problem. Those board members that elect not to “play ball” are pushed out, which is the story of Jennifer Miller from Mason, shown in the I-Team Report with Brendan Keefe. That’s her story, and she’s not alone in the state. Most board members prove to be lifeless oafs and power hungry types that would trade their soul for a name-plate in brass to sit upon their desk. And those are the types of people that the OEA wants to compete against in contract talks, because it allows their union presidents to preside over those that have already lost. And the superintendents are bought off by the union in the spoils of the system. Superintendents are well-compensated and have their egos inflated to believe they are running a major organization, when the true hands on the strings are the union leaders. And the school boards know that their hands are tied, and that they are only tokens of ceremony to preside over decisions that are already in motion before the announcements are ever public knowledge.
The only weapon they use is guilt.
Rich Hoffman
https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com/2010/12/04/ten-rules-to-live-by/
http://twitter.com/#!/overmanwarrior
www.overmanwarrior.com
The Overmanwarrior 
I thought the radio interview was just as great as the TV broadcast. Way more uncensored by Brendan. I could hear the disgust in his voice and that was powerful. He believes what he reports..imagine that.
I heard the young man call in to Doc today who in his government class, sat in on a school board meeting. He had valid questions against their policies and they laughed him off. Fortunately, he had the wisdom to see the problem even before they demeaned him. So much for “all about the children”. Not if you’re on their turf, which is paved with sweaty, hard earned cash of people like us and probably his parents. We need more young men like him.
Excellent post yesterday and today and a big THANK YOU to…You, Jennifer, Sharon, Doc, Brendan and those that stand unafraid and will not be silent. There are so many now, and growing by the day.
😉
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Incompetent superintendents like Gary Brooks are what is wrong with government schools. Just listen and look at the guy. Does he reflect what you think a superintendent of schools should look like. He looks like someone they randomly picked off the street. He needs to go to the retraining camp. Get into retail perhaps. Our children deserve better.
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I was in a meeting when this aired during the day, so I missed it live. It was a great report! And I noticed that you were on at the end. Nicely done! It was great to hear you!
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I had to ponder West Cleremont.
When did we get so mamby pamby? 35 students in a class? When I went to school in Jaxsonville, Fla…in the mid to late 70’s, we had at least that many, no A/C (in Florida), and I’m wracking my brain to try to remember that individual time with the teacher. Nope.
We payed attention and asked questions later as not to interrupt the rest that were trying to learn. No hand holding. We were hot, uncomforatable, and the days seemed to go on forever, but we walked away with a deep appreciation of our own investment in why we were there. No one to blame but us. Pull your boot straps up and get it done. I guess that must seem like another planet to those that would read this that are much younger than I. My hats off to those peole that filled that school borad meeting and spoke freely. It’s refreshing, and keeps us in check that think we have it bad to see so many others with the exact same type of poor leadership skills or worse.
I saw Mr. Brooks speak live. It’s just so pathetic that they keep saying the same thing from district to district and never ever tackle the issue that is the snake ready to strike right before them. Well you layed it down, and we all know it…they can’t and won’t. It’s people like those citizens that will effect change. They must stay vigilant.
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If schools need to raise taxes AGAIN, maybe they need to look at all the goodies that have been granted teachers and employees that now cannot be continued, let along be increased. I was never paid so much for so little time worked each day, and with summers off. And we are not even talking about the quality of education compared with the rest of the world. Buses taking kids home at 2:00 PM every day irritate me. What do kids do the rest of the day? Get real.
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Double Dipping costs the tax payers millions of dollars, not the state of Ohio. It goes on in every state and should be made illegal.
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