Tag: school board

Congratulations to Ben Nguyen To the Lakota School Board: What would it take for me to support public schools

There’s a lot to say about the recent Lakota school board election, and I want to start by congratulating Ben Nguyen on his historic win. At just 18 years old, he’s now the youngest person ever elected to the Lakota Board of Education, and he achieved this with a clear, conservative message that resonated with voters in Butler County. Nguyen earned 18.61% of the vote, joining incumbent Kelley Casper and newcomer Alex Argo on the five-member board. His victory wasn’t just symbolic—it was a direct response to the district’s failed $506 million levy, which voters rejected by a 61% margin. That levy, which would have demolished nine buildings and built four new ones, was a bloated attempt to reinvent the district with taxpayer money. Nguyen’s campaign stood firmly against it, and his win signals that the community is tired of being asked to fund ideological experiments disguised as infrastructure upgrades.  However, there is much more to all this.  The questions that arose during this campaign and election season, in general, concern my support of Lakota schools, which school board member Doug Horton brought up in a video he posted just before the election.  In short, if Lakota management wants to know what it would take to get my support, I would say to them to stop destroying the kind of school board members that I support.  And I would be a lot less critical.  But when the school board pushes away good people and lobbies to keep the kind of people who glaze over sex scandals, horrendous Democrat strategies in the school to teach young people, and ask for tax increases, especially the most expensive in the history of Ohio, then I’m going to be very critical, and I will provide that criticism in voluminous detail so much so, that the anti tax movement in Butler County will continue to grow, as it has over these years since 2013, and even earlier.

Ben Nguyen is a start, not a solution to what I would call a detrimental school board full of liberal losers. The real problem is systemic. For years, we’ve seen conservative school board members pushed out by coordinated efforts from union-backed liberals and their media allies. Darbi Boddy is a prime example. Elected in 2021, she was removed in 2024 after a civil protection order filed by fellow board member Isaac Adi—once her political ally—barred her from attending meetings for over 90 days. The board declared her absence “insufficient,” and just like that, she was gone. Her removal wasn’t about functionality—it was a matter of political theater. Boddy had challenged DEI programs, opposed transgender policies, and criticized the district’s hiring practices. That made her a target. The board censured her, demanded her resignation, and ultimately replaced her with Christina French, a longtime district insider. It’s a pattern: elect a conservative, stir up controversy, isolate them, and replace them with someone more “manageable.”  I know all the characters of that conservative board very well, and I know what was done to pit them against each other, and when a school system plays that game, and expects to get away with it, well, they have another thing coming.  I’m not in the business of putting up with that, and I never will be.  I was in the district long before many of these people were even born, and I will be around long after they all leave to buy condos in Florida to escape the high taxes they leave behind.  Darbi is just one example of this kind of radical school board behavior; therefore, when asked what it would take to win my support for Lakota schools, the answer is easy.  Don’t run off school board members whom I support.  Radicalism can go both ways, ladies and gentlemen. 

This is why I’ve been so critical of Lakota Schools over the years. It’s not that I hate education—I would say my track record shows where my heart is; there are few people anywhere who love education more than I do.  I respect people who read books and work to sharpen and utilize their intelligence.  I do not trust institutionalized education because it’s often populated by less-than-great individuals, which is reflected directly in the product. And with public schools, I don’t respect the system that’s been built on a century-old foundation of progressive ideology. Public schools, as they exist today, are more about managing perception than delivering results. When you fill school boards with people like Julie Shaffer and Kelley Casper—both endorsed by the Butler County Democrat Party—you get a culture of spending, secrecy, and suppression. They don’t want scrutiny because scrutiny threatens their funding. They don’t wish to be judged because judgment exposes their failures. And when scandals happen—whether it’s inappropriate teacher behavior, administrative misconduct, or ideological overreach—they bury it. That’s why I created my own media platform: to report what they won’t. If you want to know what’s really going on in Lakota, you won’t find it in the district’s press releases. You’ll find it in the stories they try to silence.

So here’s the deal: I’ll support Lakota when Lakota supports the community. That means electing people like Ben Nguyen—people who understand the value of education without being beholden to the liberal establishment. It means rejecting levies that ask for hundreds of millions without accountability. It means standing up for parents, taxpayers, and students—not just the union’s comfort level of lazy labor desires, such as short workdays, fewer students to teach, summers off, and high pay for doing very little. I’ve seen good people try to make a difference on the board, only to be run off by political manipulation; it’s all well-documented. I’m encouraged that Nguyen, with his sharp mind and diplomatic personality, can navigate those waters and bring real change. If we can recruit two or three more like him, we might finally see a board that genuinely reflects the community’s values.  But given the election cycles, it’s going to take a while unless we push off some of these losers the way they have pushed away our conservatives, like Darbi, and Todd Parnell—even Lynda O’Connor.  And with Lynda, I know exactly how that game unfolded; she became so deeply involved in the liberal Lakota movement that she essentially had to adopt its values to attend the meetings.  I don’t think strong personalities like Ben Nguyen will be pushed away, because he has that extra gear that is so needed in these kinds of controversial political environments.  He, like Vivek Ramaswamy, who will be Ohio’s next governor, is part of a new generation that will play these old political games better than they have been played in the past.  We have tried to play it straight with these current school board members, and all they have given us are Antifa like union tactics of left-wing radicalism, and many people in the district simply aren’t going to put up with it.  I’m certainly not going to, under any conditions.  And until there are more options on the school board, I’ll continue to call it as I see it. If you want me to stop criticizing Lakota, stop putting bad people in charge. Put in people I can respect.  But asking, even demanding respect when Lakota hasn’t earned it, is a ridiculous proposition that only losers would even think of.  And until there are more people like Ben Nguyen involved in Lakota schools, I will criticize them extensively because they deserve it.

Rich Hoffman

Click Here to Protect Yourself with Second Call Defense https://www.secondcalldefense.org/?affiliate=20707

The Lakota Levy of 2025 Goes Down in Flames: How the rest of the country looks ahead of the Midterms

There weren’t too many surprises in the elections of 2025, locally or nationally.  The trend of the country can best be stated in the Lakota school levy of 2025, where their $500 million proposal to tear down a bunch of buildings and replace them with new ones for really no reason told the story of voter sentiment.  While it might seem wise not to get too excited about election results ahead of the midterms, so as not to take the edge off voter engagement, because you want to inspire your side to go and vote, the races around the rest of the country told the story very well.  In areas like New York, Virginia, California, and New Jersey, the never Trumpers were trying to go it alone and win elections without Trump, and we saw where that got everyone.  Predictable losses, and as for Mamdani in the New York mayor race, that is a trend happening in a lot of mature areas where open communism has been taught through the public school system, and people have become complacent to the economic math, and susceptible to free stuff.  That was certainly the case in West Chester where I live regarding the trustee race there.  West Chester has been very successful and people turned to the hard left in what they think is compassion.  But it says more about community cycles than it does the real place voters reside, as an average.  And for that, the Lakota levy, with a very vigilant beat, says where most of the country stands, and the way they will vote in the upcoming Midterms.  As to Trump’s warning that Democrats will win if Republicans don’t learn to play hardball, he’s right.  But voters want to vote for hard-hitting winners, and the Democrats have put the loser label on their own party.

The shutdown by the Democrats tells that whole story of what they know about themselves.  It was a desperate attempt to out-leverage Trump, and they have lost in a big way there, making it Democrats who wouldn’t pay for military troops, or SNAP benefits.  The grotesque nature of giving away free things to desperate or overly comfortable people doesn’t have the appeal that it used to.  People as a whole have shown that they want MAGA Republicans, not Dick Cheney Republicans.  The more MAGA, the better, which paves a clear path for the upcoming Midterms.  In the chess game of redistricting the maps of states to pick up more seats for Republicans, or whether Democrats can do the same in California, or other places, the lesson is, people are people and Democrats can’t win if they don’t cheat.  They just don’t have the numbers.  The final votes for the Lakota levy were 60,81% against, to 39.1% for, which is a good sampling of where the entire country is on the Midterm sweep.  While the Lakota levy is a public school sample that is regional, the assumption of how Democrats might leverage their position is reflective of national politics and the general demographics.  I have said many times that if you take away the cheating, Democrats are likely only 25% of the country.  The rest of the country, 75% of whom agree on most things, just want to see things not get in their way.  Democrats in the Lakota school district assumed that more people were with them because they only speak to their social networks.  So they overestimated their chances.  They are in a state of denial, just as they were over the Schumer Shutdown, that their ability to give away free stuff would get them more votes without the help of election fraud and illegal immigration.  But that hasn’t turned out to be the case.

Welcome to the Doug Horton Lakota School Board

One of the dangers of a thriving community, such as what we have in the Lakota school system, where people from all over the country want to move to it to enjoy its success, it’s the same kind of reason that New York City has a lot of diverse people and when you break things down to a lot of choices, such as what it was for the West Chester trustee race where everyone running only obtained around 20% of the vote it captures in people the indecision that they feel when given a choice based on the spectrum of sentiment that people possess.  But when it’s a single issue where it’s either good or bad, as in the case of the Lakota levy, then the decision is a lot clearer.  People are messy, and when Democrats recruit them to their cause, they have numerous entry points of value.  But even with an infusion of people moving into a region from all over the country, which is certainly the case with the Lakota school district, it’s still the mature residents who have always been in the region that hold the cultural power of maintaining an area’s value.  And that will be the case nationally for the Midterms.  Whatever hopes that Democrats have gained through cheating the system, with illegal immigration, shut down extortion, mail-in voting fraud, any way they could utilize to close the gaps just don’t work when it forces them actually to perform.  When people are given a choice, as in the Lakota levy, there is no playing nice with the other side; people will decisively pick the winner, which is a lesson all Republicans should utilize. 

A big mouth who wants big taxes

Just as in the concessions on the redrawing of the congressional map in Ohio were promoted as a good thing for all sides involved, playing nice isn’t going to win elections.  And playing nice with Democrats in Ohio over the congressional map isn’t going to help win the Midterms.  Trump is right, and Republicans need to learn from him.  When they try to play nice, they lose, to the many ways that Democrats cheat, even if the fraud is in packing high-density areas with demographics that might be inclined to socialism, such as in New York, and even in West Chester, Ohio.  But since the number of actual Democrats isn’t a very high proportion, as shown in the very diverse community of Lakota schools, where a vast amount of the population is represented, and when given a real choice, will pick the winning message, even if it’s not the popular message, but the winning one.  That is how Trump won in 2024, and that is how the Midterms will be won, and voters will pick in favor of the Republicans, if the GOP doesn’t get into all this playing nice stuff.  The only side that benefits from playing nice is the Democrats.  They are always vulnerable because they are the minority in situations involving physical confrontations.  They win when Republicans play fair and friendly.  It’s part of their fraud mechanism.  And if there was anything to learn from this 2025 election, it’s that, where Trump was not on the ticket, Republicans lost.  Where GOP politics ran away from Trump, as they certainly did in Virginia, Republicans didn’t perform well.  Playing nice only feeds Democrats and their chances.  But not playing nice helps give voters an accurate emotional representation in GOP politics.  And that was certainly the case with the Lakota levy of Butler County.  How many times have people told me that the opposition forces need to be nicer to the bad guys?  A lot!  But the opposition forces didn’t listen, and they played hardball, as was deserved.  And the issue wasn’t even close.  That is the model for the rest of the country: play hardball, take away the cheating mechanisms of Democrats, and they can’t win.  The shutdown of the government was a desperate attempt by them to find their footing, and it didn’t work, forcing them to concessions they would rather not admit to.  And going into the midterms, that is the way that Republicans can pick up seats, not just hold their majority.  But don’t play nice; only losers do that.  When you have the means to win, do it, and don’t apologize for it.  Or feel sorry for the other side.  Because when the shoe is on the other foot, they aren’t nice, but ruthless, and they never look back. 

Rich Hoffman

We’re rebuilding the school board. Good management is the best way to defeat tax increases.

Click Here to Protect Yourself with Second Call Defense https://www.secondcalldefense.org/?affiliate=20707

Ethics in Politics: Holding grudges won’t help win races, or maintain political management

Social interactions are at the heart of human discourse, and I speak from the perspective of someone who has spent a long time building relationships—not always easily, and certainly not always with universal approval. People often talk about love and unity, but I wouldn’t say I’m universally loved. In fact, I’m probably excessively hated by many, and I understand why. It’s not something I wake up hoping to change. I don’t start my day thinking, “I want people to love me today.” That’s not the goal. The goal is to make things work, and sometimes that means doing things others aren’t willing to accept. That’s when people get mad.

Recently, I’ve been vocal about supporting Ben Nguyen for the Lakota School Board. That’s stirred up some discussion. Lynda O’Connor has supported him, the former Lakota school board member who a lot of people are still very angry with.  I was at Ben’s fundraiser at Nancy Nix’s house, and Isaac Adi, another Lakota school board member was there too. I’ve seen Isaac at a few events, and we’ve had the opportunity to talk a bit. There has been tension between us, especially with the way his relationship with Darbi Boddy evolved, and how our policies got tangled up. That situation has many layers behind the scenes. If you want to talk ethics, you can justify being mad at people for what they do to each other.  I’ve been married for 37 years and have learned a lot about dealing with other people. I’ve dealt with all kinds of people—kids, grandkids, colleagues—and not everyone aligns with your goals. You have to find a way to make it work.

If you draw a hard line and say, “It’s my way or the highway,” you might be ethically correct, but you’ll lose people. And if you’re trying to influence something, losing people means losing effectiveness. Politics isn’t about making friends. When you’re trying to bring groups together, you can’t fall into the trap of friendship-based peer pressure. You have to rely on the strength of your ideas in a competitive environment. Politics isn’t a branding exercise. You can either withdraw from society or face the challenge of building teams to accomplish a task. It becomes dicey when political affiliations are based on relationships rather than ideas.

You want the best ideas to emerge. You want a competitive atmosphere where ideas collide. That’s the way you get an authentic system. You have to trust people to vote correctly, but only if you articulate your ideas properly. Sheriff Jones and I have supported other candidates within the Republican Party, and recently we have talked about the things we have in common. We want to help the Trump administration achieve its goals, even if there’s controversy—like the situation at the county jail over immigration policy. We agree on some things and disagree on others. We joke about it when we see each other to stay on ground we can work with. But ultimately, it’s not about building friendships or consensus. It’s about who can make the best argument.

Politics should be about argument, not popularity. If feelings get hurt in the process, that’s part of the election cycle. Politicians often use likability as a tool—they kiss babies, shake hands, and make themselves accessible to the public. But that’s just the first layer. You have to be confident in your ability to articulate a message. Many politicians get elected but don’t raise money or debate effectively. If you can’t engage with people who disagree with you, things fall apart. People get mad. I’ve had people mad at me just for being in a picture with Isaac. They say, “You know what he did to Darbi Boddy?” and assume that by being seen with him, I’m supporting him over her.

That kind of division doesn’t help a party win. There are all kinds of people with different thoughts. Isaac and I are not going to the movies together any time soon, but he represents a vote on the school board. He has opinions about how things should be done. I think he cares about kids and schools, even if I disagree with his methods. That’s what political faith is—believing in the process. If you base everything on popularity—“If you like me, vote my way”—you’re not making a real argument. You have to go further. If you can’t, things fall apart.

It’s essential to communicate with one another. Political candidates need to engage, not isolate. You don’t have to be best friends, but you need common ground. On immigration enforcement, for example, we can sit down and have a great discussion. It’s about positioning your statement and believing in what you’re saying. If you can’t win people over with your argument, people often fall back on popularity. That’s dangerous. You’re using your elected position to steer people through peer pressure, not persuasion.

That’s not sustainable. It’s why political parties struggle to work together. If you do that in your family, you’ll have a broken Thanksgiving dinner where people show up, but nobody likes each other. You might have money, but no real friends, they just hang around you for what they can get out of you. How you handle relationships determines your success in politics. Shared opinion has to go through the funnel of the party system. You can’t have 30% of people on one side and expect unity. You need at least 50% alignment. Even if you’re 40% apart on issues, you can still be on the same side of the line. Democrats are on the other side, and you have to be willing to work with people of different opinions.  Republicans might be at the center line of 50% and others are at 90%.  But their Democrat opposition might be at 40% on the other side of the line, and those kinds of Democrats and Republicans are closer together ideologically than the hard-core Republican at 90%.  But Republicans have to find a way to work with other Republicans if the party is going to do the work voters need. 

That doesn’t mean you abandon ethics or break promises. But you can’t get caught in “It’s either me or them.” That’s not a good place to make articulate arguments. Politics should be about fulfilling voter objectives. That’s the goal. I’ve disagreed strongly with how Isaac and Darbi’s relationship on the school board collapsed. It made me reluctant to get involved in school board issues again. But it’s not fair to someone like Ben Nguyen—a good young man who wants to make a difference. He’s trying to partner with other people to build something positive.

Looking at Isaac during Ben’s fundraiser, I  thought, “Maybe we can get another vote. Maybe we have a chance.” Not right away, but in the near future, we can build something. That’s how I’ve survived—by staying true to myself, relying on my ability to make an argument, and letting public debate shape opinion. It’s good to stay away from popularity contests. Fights don’t help anyone. They create a disjointed approach, and then Democrats win their spots because they unify—even if their ideas are really far apart.

Republicans need to figure this out, especially in school board races. When people see me in pictures with other political people they don’t like, they hold grudges. But that doesn’t solve problems. I want progress. I don’t care if people want to get a corn dog with me. What matters is whether they consider the arguments and make informed decisions. That’s what we’re trying to do—get the correct arguments into the public arena and give voters choices that reflect their lives.

Most people have excuses and fights along the way. However, it’s all aimed at uncovering the truth about what the public wants in representation. You have to trust that process. Make your case with confidence. Don’t rely on popularity. Don’t expect people to vote your way just because they like you. Win the argument. Let the best ideas rise. Let people make their own choices. That’s how things work out for the better and you get a civil society.  And much better political teamwork.

Rich Hoffman

Click Here to Protect Yourself with Second Call Defense https://www.secondcalldefense.org/?affiliate=20707

More Rumors to Address: Do Lakota school board members dance on table tops drunk and naked

We’ve already discussed what is on the Rumor Has It website that Lakota schools produce to address a narrative they’d like to control.  But when it comes to public relations, which is what that official website of the school intends, you can learn a lot more about the people behind the website from what they don’t want to talk about, as opposed to what they do.  And in that regard, there is a big rumor running around out there about the school board itself, and how they behave at out-of-town education conferences that come up every time I speak to people in public about Lakota schools.  When the Lakota school board comes up, one particular incident instantly comes to mind, and it permeates the conversation for the duration.  I happen to know that this incident is not a rumor, as I have been informed about it by another school board member with direct knowledge.  But I was also told about it by the wife of the former superintendent, as she was explaining in great detail the crazy sexual exploits of her husband, for which this same school board knew about, and participated in a very destructive cover-up that involved police reports and all kinds of public debate.  While this isn’t a new story, as it involves members of the current school board, many of these individuals have survived several election cycles since.  Their supporters don’t care about any bad behavior exhibited at these social events. I might care about it and think it’s reprehensible.  However, voters who were aware of the trouble voted for these school board members anyway, and as far as I’m concerned, that sets the record straight regarding the kind of people on the school board and how they represent the community. 

https://www.lakotaonline.com/resources/community-resources/rumor-has-it

The incident we are talking about involved a lot of drinking to the point of severe intoxication and dancing on tabletops in full view of the public.  There is some cell phone footage circulating, but these are not pretty people.  It’s not appealing footage.  And the whole evening collapsed into a puking session, face down next to a toilet with clothes missing.  So if the Rumor Has It page wants to address rumors in the community and put a different spin on the kind of people who find that behavior reprehensible, there is a lot they could say to get a positive narrative.  Such as an argument that these same school board members tried to make about the superintendent, who was found to have an excessive sexual lifestyle that they declared was private.  Because they thought his public job was worth the cost of his private faults.  When I hear that kind of thing, I hear dollar signs because it costs a lot of money for people to hide private faults from public opinion.  Which I would argue is the whole reason behind this facility’s plan; it was conceived by people with major private frailties to hide from the public a title of respect gained through the building of new schools.  It is not uncommon for people who have experienced significant personal failures to seek public acceptance through titles and accreditation, in an attempt to hide them from the world.  It happens all the time, and would undoubtedly be something to talk about on the Rumor Has It webpage.  They could say on it that school board members at Lakota are only human and have human needs for drunkenness and sexual repression that need to be expressed through dancing and the removal of clothes, and what they do in their private life is their private business, even though they are on the road representing the Lakota School District.  What happens at education conventions stays at education conventions. 

However, that’s not what’s happening here. The purpose of the Rumor Has It website is to control the narrative, and that incident is one that they would like the public to forget.  They already have their supporters, who don’t see anything wrong with the behavior.  However, for those who find that behavior devastating, they may not have heard much about it unless the school addressed the issue on its website.  Because the local media certainly didn’t cover the story.  But you can’t keep something like that quiet, and among the kind of conservative voters I speak with, the church goers, the family-first GOP types, this whole incident is all the rage.  They certainly didn’t vote for these current school board members. Instead, they worked to replace them with new board members, only to have them resign amid great controversy.  And oddly enough, during all these news stories, this drinking incident that was on the tips of everyone’s tongues never made it into the newspaper or television coverage.  So, people shake their heads, and the story takes on a life of its own, permeating the background of every social gathering.  Because the school’s strategy isn’t transparent, it’s only talking about the kinds of things it wants, even listing the topics it has on the Rumor Has It website as a diversion from the real problems.  It’s not CRT that is the problem, at Lakota, even though that is one problem.  It’s not the policy of public comments.  The transgender bathroom debates.  It’s the quality of the school board members themselves and how they lead other adult employees.  And when stories like the drunken binge are floating around out there, of course the other unionized employees are going to point to it to justify their bad behavior, such as dating other students, getting caught with porn addictions, and other human resource disasters that come from a culture that says, “I’m only human, so don’t judge me.” 

When they don’t talk about it, more is said than what could otherwise be because the point of the page is to direct people’s attention to the topics they want to talk about, and to rally their progressive base.  Not to address serious issues.  A typical PR firm could easily make a statement about the pressures of running a school, noting that while out of town and away from their families, everyone deserves to let off a little steam, even if it involves a bit of indulgence, such as puking, and the clothes end up missing.  Everyone is just trying to do a good job, and what they do during their private time is their own business.  But saying that indicates bad judgment, and how can people who make those bad judgments also be held credible when it comes to asking the community to spend half a billion dollars on new taxes to pay to tear down old buildings and build new ones?  How can people trust those individuals with the quote process, given that they are prone to poor judgment in their private lives?  Why wouldn’t that same bad judgment carry over into their public roles as school board members?  So, to avoid all that, the Rumor Has It page simply avoids addressing it, which tells you everything you need to know about their intentions with the page.  It’s not about finding the truth or clarifying rumors.  It’s about controlling the narrative, and they seem to think so little of the public that they expect to get away with it.  This only makes people angrier and destroys the brand of the school because of the liberal nature of the people who run it and what they expect their roles to be in the process.  And to avoid the opinions of a public that sees such social behavior as expensive camouflage to social causes meant to hide private failures.  To avoid that can of worms, the topic is not mentioned, even though it’s the only thing people care about.

I will never vote for any more money to public schools, I think they are a broken mess that teaches all the wrong things to kids.  I believe government schools are detrimental to our society, so I’m always a hard ‘no’ on any tax increases.  I despise the socialist nature of the way the public education system was created.  However, as a community issue, many voters support or oppose various aspects for a multitude of reasons.  As long as these school board members remain on the board, I don’t see the public supporting any tax increases. If they truly want a chance to pass any levies, they should resign for the good of the school.  If they want to be competitive in a voucher environment, people will take their kids to places that don’t have stories like the one mentioned here hanging in the background all the time.  The mistakes of the past are what will hold back any passage of a levy request and are part of the reason it has been over a decade since a levy has passed.  People have strong feelings about these stories that emerge when a school district requests more funding, and because many people are aware of the issues, even if they don’t mention them on the Rumor Has It website, they still have knowledge and will vote accordingly.  And even if they have gotten away with much, as long as these school board members are running the show, people aren’t going to give them more money off their property taxes.  Because there are just too many damaged relationships with the community to support a tax increase, I think they will probably have to learn that with a few tax attempts that will be very bloody and embarrassing before they learn the hard lesson.  And by then, we’ll have a new governor in Ohio, and School Choice will expand significantly.  And parents aren’t going to want to send their kids to a school where the school board is so messed up.  And the Lakota school will learn all too late that the rumors they didn’t talk about destroyed their economic viability, and they’ll only have themselves to blame.

Rich Hoffman

Click Here to Protect Yourself with Second Call Defense https://www.secondcalldefense.org/?affiliate=20707

Meet Russ Loges for Lakota School Board: A great guy to help with some looming challenges

I liked Russ Loges the first time he ran for the Lakota school board.  I came to know of him during the last election as my focus was on the Republican-endorsed candidates in the previous election.  Russ wanted to remain independent as he was getting involved in the school board business then.  However, without any name recognition and much support outside of his efforts, he had an excellent showing, gaining several thousand votes with a noticeably conservative position.  I have since met Russ at a few events here and there, and each time, I found that I liked him quite a lot.  He’s a very likable person who has an excellent temperament.  And now that we are in September with the November election coming up quickly, one that will have a lot of Democrats voting because abortion and marijuana will be on the ballot, so there will be unusually high voter engagement during an off-year election, it’s time to get endorsements.  And Russ has already received an approval from some Central Committees around Butler County.  One of the two that are specific to Lakota schools.  So, he came to a meet the candidate night with the Liberty Township Central Committee to present himself with some questions and answers, which are shown here for those interested.  I’ve been to quite a lot of these over the years, and this one was unique.  I liked Russ Loges before the event, but after, I found my opinion of him had inflated quite a lot.  He answered many tough questions very well and cared a lot about what’s going on in Lakota and the specific challenges that are on the horizon.  Russ Loges is precisely the kind of person that the community would benefit from putting on the school board during the upcoming election, and he will win the support of many more Republicans for a party endorsement due to his excellent conservative positions. 

Yet what Russ Loges is not is a person trapped in ideology.  He’s a very even, measured person getting into the school board business from parental concerns.  We have seen over the years that, typically, the best school board candidates who become board members are passionate parents who want to make things better for everyone.  It’s a generally thankless job that doesn’t pay back any real fiscal compensation, but to play in that game, you must raise a substantial amount of money to become impactful in an election, especially in the Lakota school district, which has around 100,000 people within it.  When Russ ran before, he did it as a concerned parent who wanted to help.  This time, he has a broader approach that makes him well-positioned for much more support.  And given the crowd reaction at the Liberty Township Central Committee event, many more will become very eager to support his run for the Lakota school board.  Based on his answers, Russ is more than prepared for some of the complex challenges that are coming quickly on the horizon, and to deal with those challenges, Lakota will need people who care which was clearly expressed during the questions asked by Matt King during the event.  Russ has kids in the district and a wife who is a teacher.  Currently, he is a nurse and his bedside manner is instantly noticeable.  He’s personable, cares, and wants to help his community, so all those traits were very encouraging and made it easy for everyone who met him to get excited about it. 

On those times that I had met him, I wasn’t sure if he was the real deal.  So often, when it comes to political events and the people filling specific seats, you get images of people but not much knowledge of the person.  When I learned Russ Loges was a nurse, I instantly thought of a smart car driving, COVID mask-wearing big government type.  But I was able to meet Russ outside this event, getting out of a big truck, and he’s a good fit for the conservative base of Butler County, Ohio.  He’s outdoors-oriented and robustly presents himself.  He reminded me of many of my friends in the fast draw community, even down to the jokes.  Good, sincere people who love the American flag and the many who revere it with the pledge of allegiance.  He’s certainly not a political radical but more of an even-balanced family man who is proud of his country and wants to help it improve.  He’s a big guy with a warm personality who comes across as sincere without many pretenses.  As he shook my hand, he seemed ready to go fishing, or hunting more than anything.  He has a very natural leadership ability that is instantly noticeable.  So, it wasn’t a surprise to learn that he has already sat down with the Lakota superintendent to talk about improving test scores for the students and building a successful team that can tackle some of the challenges looming.  You could tell that he wasn’t just a nurse as an occupation, but that he was a leader as well.  He is used to managing other people because he has a balanced approach to communication that has been well-tested by experience. 

There are a lot of challenges on the horizon for Lakota and it will take outstanding leadership to meet them.  There is a teacher’s contract coming up that could be very contentious.  There is a facilities plan also emerging that will require a small fortune.  There are indications that the current school board is planning to seek a tax increase even as property value rate assessments will increase sharply due to state challenges.  So passing a levy will be even more challenging, especially in an environment where school choice will increasingly become the reality of tomorrow, regarding education.  It would be easy to sit on the sidelines and turn away from some of these community problems, especially for those who have grown kids.  But Russ and his wife plan to be in Lakota for a while.  He mentioned that he wanted Lakota to be good for his grandkids, so he’s planning to keep deep roots in the community, so this isn’t a fly-by-night endeavor for him.  He wants to help, and after meeting him, I am sure he is just the kind of person we need to work on some of these very difficult problems that are on the horizon, storm clouds coming in fast that will be painful.  Yet, those problems are manageable with the right kind of people to deal with them, and Russ Loges was very encouraging.  He could have easily won if more people had known him during the last race.  More people will know him this time so he should be able to get votes in the required numbers just by letting people get to know him.  I will certainly be voting for him, and I’ll be excited to do it.  Things don’t always go how you want them to in politics, but sometimes you get to meet good people, and if not for this school board race, I wouldn’t know Russ Loges any other way.  And after meeting him, I’m happy I did. 

Rich Hoffman

Darbi Boddy Protects Lakota from Trans Activism: What is really going on in the classrooms that would shock parents

At this point, the constant barrage of anti-Darby Boddy sentiment at Lakota schools is laughable. At the school board meeting on 4.17.23, the second-year school board member, who has been the center of controversy, proposed the board vote on banning transgender bathrooms and athletes at Lakota schools, and the reaction was predictably hostile. School board members Kelly Casper and Julie Shaffer, who have supported transgender bathrooms in the past, were openly hostile toward Darbi for even bringing it up. And the rest of the board noticeably leaned left on the issue, leaving Darbi in a 4-to-1-squabble over an obvious problem. Of course, the media picked up the story and attempted to sling it negatively toward Darbi Boddy, as they have for the entire last year.   But the real problem on the board, just as it is with their grasp of financial concepts, is that the Lakota school board cares much more about its public image than the actual quality of the school. And I have news for them. They can play keep away with the facts all they want, but the reality is that eventually some version of the Backpack Bill will pass in Ohio and the money will go away from the school and will follow the kids. Public schools as we know it will change forever; it’s an inevitable fate. And only one of the school board members at Lakota, Darbi Boddy, is trying to prepare for that inevitability by asking questions that will eventually make Lakota schools more competitive. When the community brings issues to the school board, their reaction has been to hide and keep away from the facts, trying to limit public expression at extreme measures to hide the actual problems from themselves.

For instance, there has been talk for several years now, going back to the previous board president, where Lakota spent much of its excess budget on woke administrators to fill positions like equity inclusion and other ridiculous progressive government roles. The school board attempts to say that they are not a political body of administration and that everything they do is “for the kids.” And anyone who questions that premise they berate like a bunch of thugs robbing a Walmart in Chicago, as if the potential for violence and name-calling might hide the reality of their true intentions, which is extreme political activism, such as is the case with gender-neutral bathrooms in a public school, which Julie Shaffer has undoubtedly supported in the past, who is now up for re-election this year. But like in the case of Kelly Casper, who was openly very rude to Darbi Boddy during the Monday school board meeting, she has been pressing the issue that Lakota has cut all the meat off the bone that they could, so why couldn’t Lakota get more state money to cover their costs. Lakota has too many administrators who perform woke, purely political tasks. Every administrator Lakota hires toward woke causes costs around $100,000 yearly after salary and benefits. Then obviously, ten useless administrators will add a million dollars to the payroll. The question then becomes, how many useless administrators are there at Lakota schools? Around 30%? That is the financial problem at Lakota. It’s a spending problem by big government hacks, not an actual budget problem that requires more state revenue. Lakota needs to go the other way on their cost structure for the eventual day when a Backpack Bill in favor of School Choice passes, and Lakota will become an option instead of a zip code-mandated limit. 

Then in that regard, Darbi is asking all the right questions. Darbi wants to show the voting public that Lakota is taking a stand against transgender activism because that is something that people with kids are concerned about, and if Lakota makes that stand now, they might want to send their kids to Lakota still later. Transgender issues are in the news, so now is the time for Lakota to state its position to ease parents’ minds. But the other board members dug in and lashed out at Darbi for even bringing up the question, with big spender Kelly Casper calling Darbi on stage a “petulant 2-year-old,” obviously trying to score points with the radical teacher union base she most represents. But behind the entire meeting was anger that Darbi even brought up the issue because the board, just as they had done over their superintendent antics, where there were reports of alarming activity that they ignored which drove the need for a public position, and they wanted to pretend as if there was no merit behind Darbi’s vote recommendation. As if reporting any of this transgender activity to the acting superintendent might actually result in action, which we all know by now, it will be ignored because it might damage the school’s reputation. Yet, parents are concerned; I received information that can be seen here from a kid in the 6th grade at VanGorden Elementary at Lakota who brought home the book Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky. That book was given to the child in school, and they brought it home for their parents to discover, and it is all about a boy who feels like a girl, so he takes the journey to become one. It clearly says on the back of the book, “What if who you are on the outside doesn’t match who you are on the inside?” This is what is being taught in Lakota schools, and the school board should be aware of it. According to them, they aren’t aware, which shows how out of touch they are with reality. Only Darbi Boddy is trying to do anything about it. Darbi is right; we need a new board built around people like her because the rest are part of the political problem and spending disasters. 

But even worse than all that, all this transgender talk is technically a religious issue. It’s not just a political platform for liberal politics. The same people advocating for transgender bathrooms and student-athletes are the same who would say that the Cross of Christ or Bible studies in any public school would be a violation of church and state. Yet it’s perfectly ok to plaster the walls of Lakota with rainbows and Pride paraphernalia to show equity inclusion. But the trans movement is religious; it’s the Cult of Ishtar, which is a thing of its own. Where religion becomes part of a political movement, which trans rights clearly are. If a school is going to allow for rainbow representations of a sexual lifestyle in the Pride movement, then they must also enable open displays of the Ten Commandments and the Cross on the walls. You can’t have one without the other. But the instances are that one is allowed, but the other isn’t, and that is indeed the core problem we are dealing with at all public schools. We are supposed to accept that transgender issues are a moral mandate while other religious practices are rejected as a separation of Church and State, which is reprehensible. And the Lakota school board, except for Darbi Boddy, wants to ignore this massive problem just to protect their ability to get more tax money from the public in the future because they waste so much money they have no other management option based on the politics of the system itself. And to that point, only Darbi Boddy has been willing to tackle the problems at Lakota to make it a more viable destination for the education dollar spent. The rest just hope the problem will disappear, especially if they ignore the evidence, which is ridiculously complicit in progressive politics that is the foundation of everything that goes on in public education.

Rich Hoffman

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Proof of CRT in Public Schools: Accuracy in Media has gone undercover and exposed this massive problem in schools like Lakota and many others

I don’t blame Isaac Adi for not seeing Critical Race Theory in Lakota schools. The first-year school board member ran on a platform of driving CRT out of the government school from a northern suburb of Cincinnati but found once he was in office, things were a lot harder in reality than they are on the campaign trail. People lie, and many people guilty of committing CRT with students have not been honest about what they have done, and for good people like Isaac; that is a harsh reality. His first year as a school board member has been tough. As a good, honest person, he has found his path to goodness barricaded by many deceitful characters. Because he does not stray from the truth, he believes people, even when they don’t deserve it. And for those people, it has been kind of a cat-and-mouse game to discover what they are up to. In truth, the only way to see CRT in public schools is to get up from your chair as Darbi Boddy did at Lakota and see it for yourself behind the union firewall that protects radical leftist teachers from public opinion. After all, that caused all the mess with the Matt Miller situation, the recent superintendent who just resigned due to a lot of public pressure for actions discovered in the process. Radical, purple-haired people eater types of liberal teachers who want to be the next candidates for a Sam Smith music video are not going to tell the truth about what they want to do to our kids hidden away in the classrooms. The way to catch them in their lies is to get up and go see what they are doing for yourself. You cannot take their word for anything.

But this isn’t just a Lakota thing; it’s a big problem all over the country where radical Democrat-minded activists are intent on rewriting the history of America and corrupting our young people while they feel protected from the public with heavy security put in place out of fear of school shootings. The more protected “public” schools have become, the worse the problem has evolved. Darbi gets it; she knows what the real fight is about and has been doing a good job in Lakota schools. Her former friend joining her on the board has had a tougher time. He wanted to get along with these people, and they’d been playing him for a sucker. That happens to nice people. I think it says a lot about him that he is so trusting. But when it comes to discovering the truth from many very deceitful characters, those are not traits that will help him.

On the other hand, Darbi caused a lot of stir and had many hostile elements wanting to eradicate her.   Which I would say are all the ingredients for a good school board member. Parents should be able to trust that their school board members are protecting their interests and listening to what the ill-minded are up to, and believing them, doesn’t fit that criterion.   But it’s not just Darbi who has been unraveling this not so concealed mystery. There has been a media group called Accuracy in Media, connected with Project Veritas in several ways, who have gone undercover and recorded the little game teachers and administrators have been playing against parents. And it’s in several schools in Ohio that they have recorded the evidence as discussed on 55 KRC with Brian Thomas. And Southern Ohio has been one of their biggest areas of investigation in the schools surrounding Lakota schools. And what Accuracy in Media discovered is that CRT is typical, not unique and that the teachers think it’s a game of radicalism that they are entitled to play on taxpayers out of spite for a social agenda they are far more committed to than teaching kids how to read, write, and do basic math.

To determine CRT as a reality is simple; if teachers are promoting racism among the population, if they are teaching a revision of American history, they are teaching Critical Race Theory. CRT is meant to undermine an entire generation in their belief of goodness regarding their country, and it’s dangerous on every scale. Its been around for a while, my wife and I could both tell stories from our own college days where college professors would want a report done on the Whiskey Rebellion, for instance, but the report would need to be done on the impact on slaves from the time period instead of the emphasis on the evolution of government standards in a free society. Back then, 30 years ago, they tried to disguise their efforts. But these days, it’s all out in the open, much like Sam Smith’s devil-worshipping forays in front of millions of people at the Grammy’s, sponsored by Pfizer. To continue denying what they are doing in public, they count on good people like Isaac Adi to give them the benefit of the doubt while manipulating everything behind the scenes and often bragging about it. But that’s where personal verification comes into play, such as the media group Accuracy in Media, and goes undercover to reveal what’s really going on. And what they have discovered is that the problem is even worse than I have been saying it is. 

We are not living in an honorable society; if we were, Isaac Adi would be the perfect person for it. Instead, Darbi Boddy, a young lady with a lot of experience in how the human race can fail, knows that you can’t take the word of radicals when they say they aren’t doing something like CRT. When Darbi got into a lot of trouble going into two Lakota school buildings to take pictures for herself, you would have thought she was performing an exorcism among demonic spirits demanding that they bring Christ into their lives, and their heads were spinning backward, and they were fully spitting explosive vomit. Darbi captured images of gay pride artwork that was proudly displayed where very young people would see it, and there were plenty of references to CRT, where racism was being defined in the minds of the school as a reality shaped by politics and not by real history. If you want to really teach black history in America, they will talk about the Republican Party and Abraham Lincoln, who freed the slaves. And how Ulysses Grant tried hard to integrate the freed slaves into American society, but Democrats were violently against it. The KKK wasn’t a bunch of Republicans; it was southern Democrats who were fighting against reformation. That’s the real history, and what they are teaching with CRT is a version of history that breeds Democrat voters by denying the past. And by corrupting the minds of millions of young people behind their parents’ backs, Democrats who run these labor unions hope to sustain themselves as a political power in the future by erasing their complicit past. And when it all comes down to the truth behind the menace, that’s all liberals care about, power at the expense of intelligence. Yes, CRT is being taught in all public schools. Thank goodness we have school board members like Darbi Boddy to expose it. And media outlets like Accuracy in Media to do the work all media should have been doing all along, and that is exposing these dangerous elements that are so corrosive to young minds. 

Rich Hoffman

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MAGA is a Big Tent Party: Understanding Republican Party Politics in Butler County, Ohio

There seems to be a lot of confusion from liberals who thought they understood the political landscape and who have learned recently they didn’t understand anything about it, especially regarding the Republican Party of Butler County, Ohio, where the Lakota drama unfolded during the presidency of Joe Biden. After all, they see pictures of politicians they know, watch their behavior, and think they understand politics. But their assessments have been all wrong. For instance, they think Darbi Boddy, the first-year school board member at Lakota schools, represents the fringe extreme right-wing politics that is so scary to the purple-haired people eaters of the communist LEA labor union. When, in fact, all those sympathetic to the labor movement from the police unions, the teacher unions, the electrical union down the road, all the moderates, the RINOs, and the many, many Democrats who run for office in our very conservative county who put an R next to their name because a D would get them thrown out of their local Target while buying socks if people knew. The political landscape can be pretty confusing to the latte-sipping prostitutes I’m always talking about who are out there trying to save one child at a time with screams for more safety, vaccination status, and bicycle helmets worn to get the mail out of the mailbox. The confusion comes from the scope of the political movement, not its limits, and that is where all the mistakes are made, which for Democrats is catastrophic.

When we were vetting candidates for the Lakota school board, I knew that Isaac Adi had some liberal sentiments. We had a campaign event at Jags Steakhouse, where it came out several times while he sat beside me. But I thought Isaac would be great on the Lakota school board anyway. He was softer-shelled than I am, but I thought it would be much better than the liberals we had been dealing with at that point. So I put my differences aside and got behind him anyway. For me, it was about presidential politics instead of the local disputes that I was after. MAGA is a big tent party, much bigger than traditional Republicans, who were thought of as rich white guys represented in the past. MAGA is all about women, diversity, immigration, and people from diverse backgrounds and beliefs. At that time, Isaac would say to me that he was “MAGA,” and I was okay with that. I still am, even though the confusion is apparent, such as at the Republican Christmas Party, where Isaac took a picture with the black-hatted villain himself, Sheriff Jones, who was at the center of the Matt Miller controversy. Jones who has been a big supporter of President Trump especially over immigration issues played his part in assisting bad behavior at Lakota schools while trying to destroy members of the Republican Party for personal reasons.  We call people like Sheriff Jones people playing Battleship with political rivals rather than chess, and it sends the wrong message to actual political enemies, that is very confusing for them.  Those labor union brothers stick together, even when they do the wrong things. But Isaac is honest and believes what people say to him because he isn’t a person to mislead himself. I look at the picture of those two guys and see voters and supporters for President Trump. But I also see a Democrat and a person thinking about being a Republican. They are about as conservative as Joe Manchin from West Virginia. Relative to the rest of the Democrat Party, they look conservative. But compared to the Tea Party types who are really behind Republican Party politics at the grassroots level, the politics aren’t even close to being consensual.    Now liberals trying to figure out who are Republicans and Democrats in the county would look at that picture and think they have the Republican Party all figured out, and those two are what they are dealing with. So, of course, their lives will be shattered when they find out that just referencing them as MAGA Republicans isn’t the same as legislating as a conservative.

Another good example was a recent photo of West Chester Township Trustee Lee Wong at a Chinese New Year type of event getting a selfie of himself with Joe Biden, giddy as a schoolgirl. Lately, because the political sentiment has demanded it, Lee has voted more conservatively, more along the lines of my friend Mark Welch than toward the liberal leanings of the past. I would not call Lee a Republican, ever. But he has voted more conservatively than another friend of mine who is another fellow trustee, Ann Becker. I’ve known Ann for a long time as she was president of the Cincinnati Tea Party and openly campaigned against John Boehner for being too much of a RINO while he was the third most powerful person in the country as Speaker of the House. These days, however, next to Lee Wong, Ann looks like the liberal. So that gives a little perspective to how things can change over time as the political tides roll in and out. But then you learn what a person is really about when they get a chance to meet President Biden. I wouldn’t be caught under any circumstances shaking his hand under any condition. Biden represents the worst in politics. But you can see from the picture that Lee was enchanted to have a picture with Biden, which says everything about his political motivations. 

People only casually concerned with politics to preserve their wild sex lives and extracurricular social nonsense wanted to think that Lee Wong, Isaac Adi, Sheriff Jones, and others represented the Republican Party because they see them at the same kind of events, so they misplaced their strategies. Many real conservatives in Butler County never go to social events because the people are too liberal for them. If they get a candidate to vote for like Darbi Boddy, they will show up on election day, the same as they will for Trump. But if they get just another RINO, they will probably not vote. And when it came time for the rubber to hit the road with the Matt Miller drama at Lakota, there was a surprising level of support for Darbi, who is considered a radical right-winged Republican as opposed to the much more moderate Isaac Adi. Liberals looked at the situation and thought they could work with Isaac. But not Darbi, so they endeavored to get rid of her and made quite a show of it. But they didn’t understand that much of what they thought was the Republican Party was an illusion. They were looking at the big tent MAGA party with all kinds of people coming to it because MAGA means wins. Being associated with President Trump means winning in politics. Obviously, people thinking of running want to be associated with MAGA politics, despite what the liberal news media wants to believe. But when it comes down to personal beliefs, people are generally conservative; they lean much more toward Darbi Boddy than toward Isaac Adi. And Democrats, to them, is a very dirty word. So is working with them. While the moderates, the RINOs, and the communist union supporters all talk about working together, what the voting public wants is a fight. They want fighters who will sort out all the nonsense and represent them in government. Darbi Boddy certainly does that, and so does President Trump on a national level. But the mushy middle is what gives politics a bad name because politicians who claim to be more conservative than they really are just to get elected end up disappointing everyone. And in a world of lies and misleading action, those are unforgivable sentiments. It might win a vote under the big tent of MAGA. But it certainly doesn’t win the hearts of the public. 

Rich Hoffman

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The Police Report: Zero tolerance for liars and bullies

As I said in the video, the two things I have zero tolerance for are liars and bullies, whether individually or through institutions. And this whole case with Matt Miller, the superintendent of Lakota schools, is the result of both. And since trouble was first announced in August of 2022, the worst in people and those traits has only escalated the problem to the result of this police report, which is available through a public record request with the Butler County Sheriff’s Department. And given the pressure and emotion of a situation like this, I am impressed with the investigation and report. I wanted Matt Miller to be innocent; I didn’t want to believe what kind of information that a small army of friends connected to his ex-wife was reporting about his behavior during his marriage to her. They had all been triggered by watching how Matt was treating the school board member Darbi Boddy and what came from them to a friend of mine, Vennessa Wells, a former Lakota school board candidate, which I explain in detail in the video, were things that nobody wants to think about. When I saw it, because of the seriousness of it, I instantly recommended sending it to the police because this wasn’t tabloid stuff about who was sleeping with whom and for what salacious reason. This is an admission that sent their marriage into counseling and eventual termination because of its audaciousness. And when it comes to public employees, like Matt Miller is, who is the spokesperson for Lakota schools as a public figure, and everything is paid for with public money, the behavior in a bedroom when it deviates from standard husband/wife activities becomes everyone’s business, especially when it involves the kind of behavior that the officers interviewing both his ex-wife and Matt Miller himself revealed. 

The whole report is bad for the way I see things. It shows a history of a reckless sexual lifestyle that culminated in the point of the entire report, which the Lakota school board chose not to discuss with the public. They received this report on September 9th and have been reporting to the public that it cleared Matt Miller of any wrongdoing. When referring to the activities reported during an interview with the Lakota superintendent, initially, he said to the investigators that the activities he participated in did not involve minors but that they, as a couple, did participate in sexual encounters, as alluded to elsewhere in the report. Then, as the investigation continued, he admitted that they had “pillow talk” about role-playing, drugging, molesting, and recording on video sex acts with three juveniles. The police report also references the possession of images of underage nude children that could easily be obtained by correlating his phone at the time or through the carrier. This part of the report was odd because Matt Miller admitted to talking about sex with underage children with his wife as if “pillow talk” gave him the excuse of any liability. But as all child pornography tends to assume, the downloading of it, the planning of it, or the act of it tends to inspire very severe penalties. Yet under pressure from the investigators, he rationalized this behavior as acceptable social conduct, behavior we wouldn’t have known if his ex-wife and her friends had not come forward with information that they were inspired to through the treatment of the board of current school board member Darbi Boddy. It’s not like people were looking for dirt on Matt Miller’s lifestyle. It came forward through his social interactions and the power of his position.

When I first read all the Craigslist information and the many text messages between Miller and his wife, as she was feeling bad about everything, and he was not denying that anything she was saying had happened, I saw it immediately as a case for the authorities. They needed a chance to do the right thing and provide a proper investigation. I wanted this case to be about a messy divorce where an ex-spouse wanted to bring down her husband out of further vengeance for a marriage gone wrong. With the mention of children and their own child involved in “pillow talk,” I was hoping it all just to be salacious nonsense. But during the interview, Matt Miller admitted that they had talked about it as part of their fantasy talk in the bedroom, and that was it for me. All this occurred in 2019, and as of this writing, this is 2022. The only reason we know any of this is because of his ex-wife and her many friends who feel she was an abused person and wanted to defend her publicly. The superintendent’s actions against Darbi Boddy were their trigger mechanism to do so. But now we have to question what don’t we know. I would certainly hope that sexual fantasies with underage children are not common. A mind that allows itself to think such things are broken and needs help. They certainly don’t need to be in charge of 17,000 students behind locked security from the outside world that the superintendent controls exclusively. That doesn’t sound like a very “safe” environment. If little kids are the subject of “pillow talk,” Matt Miller probably shouldn’t have eyes on children under his care. 

Even worse is the school board’s reaction to this report. They read the same thing, yet they punted everything to a third-party investigation, just as they have for CRT. And from the teacher’s union at Lakota came a steady stream of denials that there was any evidence, even as everyone had this police report in their hands. They claimed that anything said against Matt Miller was unsubstantiated before they even knew that there was a police report. I received lots of hate mail from community activists who attacked Venessa and me and continued to spread all kinds of misinformation on various social media platforms trying to do damage control without knowing anything about the facts. I was bewildered as I saw some of these while holding pages and pages of evidence in my hand. I considered much of that evidence hearsay until the police did their investigation. I expected Matt Miller, when interviewed, to say something to the effect, even if he was lying, “no, no, I would never think of doing anything sexual to children.” I may not care much for the guy, but on a level of basic human decency, I would hope that he would at least not cross that line. But instead, he said it was “pillow talk.” For the police, is pillow talk illegal when it involves children? Possession of nude photos of children certainly is, and that would seem easy enough to get. We just saw that the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office had a family member sent to prison for the rest of his life because of child pornography, so we can only speculate why the words “at this time” concluded this report. I would agree with Lindsey Sheehan on the evidence; so far, it was a one-sided conversation that would need cross-referencing with carrier data, an inspection of Matt Miller’s computer, and further interviews with more witnesses. And who has the stomach for all that, especially on such a large and public case? And who needs all that when you have the superintendent himself admitting to what he did to the officers? That was bad enough. But worse, so many adults supposed to care anything for children were more concerned about protecting Matt Miller than what might be best for children. That certainly wasn’t their first priority, as shown by their actions.

Rich Hoffman

Government Schools are All About the Employees: The kids are used as a means to expand easy jobs and administrative nonsense

Everyone wants to know what’s going on with Lakota schools and why there has not been any mainstream news regarding the very serious allegation against the public school administration. Given the nature of the offense, as indicated in the official police report from the Butler County Sheriff’s Department, many were expecting at least an arrest or a leave of absence. But there has been nothing but an acknowledgment of documents, one from the police indicating that on August 8th, 2022, the complainant responded to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office to report that she had received and compiled information from a third party of potential criminal wrongdoing by the suspect regarding juveniles. Then there is a short email from the president of the Lakota School Board speaking on behalf of the entire Board, saying, ” Ms. (former candidate for Lakota school board), The Board has reviewed your email and attachments. The safety and security of the district’s students is the Board’s highest priority. As noted in your email, this issue has already been escalated to law enforcement and is now in the capable hands of the Butler County Sheriff’s Office. When the Sheriff’s Office concludes its investigation, the Board will review its findings and determine if any further action is warranted. On behalf of the Board. ”  I thought all that pretty interesting, especially after the press conference Sheriff Jones held recently stating that he was investigating wrongdoing in the direction of Ohio Representative Thomas Hall, because years ago, when he was a trustee for Madison Township, there were questions as to whether or not he recused himself on Fire Department matters since his father was the Fire Chief. As discussed before, Thomas sought legal advice on when to recuse himself and when not to, so he was clean. But, with a Sheriff talking tough like that, you would think that a Lakota school administrator with an ex-wife putting in writing some really charged content would inspire more action on behalf of the “safety” of all. But after a month of tranquil activity on the matter from the administrative perspective, there hasn’t been anything to satisfy people’s fears.

I was wondering myself, knowing all the characters involved. When I first saw the material, I could have published it and beat the rest of the media to a really salacious story. But I was more concerned about the criminal side of the story and wanted to know how much some of the people in charge cared about what was happening in the school. Unfortunately, we have our answer, and it’s one I thought we would have from the beginning. Over the years, I have witnessed too many of these stories to think anything else. But I thought it was worth a try. We trusted the system and hoped for a reasonable outcome. With a case like this, it would be expected to have at least a note from the Board to the parents, much like they have on other things in the past. I remember when someone left a threatening note in a bathroom during a levy campaign, and a lot of drama was made about it. Lakota always seems to send home notes to the parents, letting them know when something is wrong and that the administration is all over the issue so they won’t have to worry. But on this issue, they have been oddly silent. They might say that it’s purely political, the entire escapade. But then again, what hasn’t been political? The moment that new school board member Darbi Boddy was voted in as a new school board member, many board members and the administration have been trying to remove her in any technical way they could, using every excuse possible to make a media story out of her, to put pressure on her to resign. So why wouldn’t there be political opposition flowing in the opposite direction? They should expect it; they created that atmosphere. 

The truth is that all public schools, Lakota being just one of them, are all about filling the needs of the employees. They could care less about the kids involved. This is the case today, and it has been the case over the many decades that I have been involved in these public school issues. Government schools like Lakota use children as a playground for the adults, making these schools some of the largest employers in the region. Yet they expect to never get in trouble for bad behavior. If what was happening at Lakota were happening at any large corporation, there would be, at a bare minimum, paid administrative leave while everyone sorted out the matter. There would be press conferences updating the taxpayers on what was being done to investigate the matter and assuring the public that good people were doing good work. I wanted to think differently of Lakota, knowing some people the way I do. I really didn’t think they would be willing to put up with bad behavior when they saw it and knew about it. Even if it was just the remnants of a bad marriage, when a personal life starts to impact the public life of someone, that is a factor in work performance that can be very negative. But there was just a case the other night where a person was caught regionally just downloading child porn, and the police were all over them with arrests and significant news coverage. Why, with this case, did everyone suddenly want to show a benefit of the doubt toward the evidence presented, even as crazy as much of that evidence has been? 

A Message from Lakota Local Schools May 5, 2022

Dear Lakota Staff, Parents and Guardians, The end of the school year is a time to celebrate our students and staff and all that we have achieved since August. This year, we have even more to celebrate as we have been able to lift our COVID protocols and return to a much more normal school experience for our students. It is unfortunate that, over recent weeks, instead of this being our focus, district leaders have been forced to respond to baseless allegations and escalating threatening behavior by an elected member of our school board.As a result of a school board member’s blatant disregard for policy and procedures that are in place to help ensure the safety of our students and staff and a productive learning environment, this morning, Lakota Local Schools was forced to issue a notice of trespassing to Mrs. Darbi Boddy. As such, Mrs. Boddy will no longer be allowed on district property without prior authorization and unless invited for official Board business.Yesterday morning, Mrs. Boddy violated Board Policy and Administrative Guidelines 9150 by visiting two schools without first notifying the building principal – a requirement of all visitors to our schools. Entering through the main offices, she then proceeded to ignore staff requests to remain there until the principals met her. Instead, she left the offices and proceeded to walk the hallways, violating safety protocols and causing a disruption in learning at both Lakota East High School and Liberty Early Childhood School. While some may question why such a seemingly steep action was taken against Mrs. Boddy, let me explain. We welcome our parents into our schools; we welcome our community into our schools; and we certainly welcome our school board members into our schools – as long as they follow safety procedures and policy. These are not difficult. They involve alerting building administrators of the interest in visiting and setting up a time that is convenient for all involved. Yesterday, this did not happen. This is also not the first time that Mrs. Boddy has ignored board policy, nor is it the first time she has disrupted learning in our schools. Our decision was not made lightly and was done in consultation with law enforcement. It is my hope that by sharing this information with you, I am able to stop rumors from circulating and reassure you of our commitment to safety. The safety of our students and staff is always my first priority and a responsibility I take very seriously. I will do everything I can to ensure that our students and staff feel safe, welcome and included when they walk through our doors.

Sincerely,

Matthew J. Miller
​​​​​​​Superintendent

Of course, we all know the answer, which is the painful part. Many people knew the answer from the beginning but didn’t want to believe it. I was very skeptical about everything. As things have transpired over the last month, it became an apparent human resource problem without consistent standards, which is a tremendous management problem. I didn’t care much about Lakota at the start of this process. My hope was that by electing better school board members, the proper management of the district’s largest government school might improve. I have seen complaints about her since Darbi Boddy was elected and sworn in because she’s a conservative. It has become grossly apparent that the only thing the teachers and administrators care about at Lakota is not the kids but their easy jobs with high pay rates. As bad as the accusations are in the police report, I know that there is far worse going on behind the scenes that nobody is even talking about because they are either scared or don’t trust anybody to say anything. Not even the police. With the kind of threats that have been tossed at this whistleblower occurs, the message is clear, don’t mess with the breadbasket and playground of the adults who work at the school. The community and the children of the community are there to serve them and them only. That’s not what they say, of course. But that’s the message they convey. To say I’m disappointed would be a misplaced description. I had optimistic hope that I might be wrong. Government schools are all about politics, liberal politics at that, and they waste money on a garbage product while they treat the place like their personal Tinder app. And the way the public employees behave is reprehensible. But why wouldn’t they be when management allows them to behave that way? 

Rich Hoffman