Loyal PureBunkum reader Richard Holodick has asked to address this website’s readers on a subject near and dear to his heart. So without further ado, please allow Dr. Holodick to explain why he believes it is crucial to attend the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board’s Dec. 3 meeting.
The Children, the Children, and the Children!
Without question, a Times Leader editorial cartoon depicting a school bus heading off a cliff dramatically illustrated the damage being done to our children. The poisonous mushroom portrayed the perilous effects of nepotism.
Admittedly, four board members at least attempted to do the right thing by contacting the PA School Boards Association to conduct a search for a new superintendent. Then, in an in-your-face show of arrogance, the five majority board members threw that $10,000 investment out the window by prematurely ending the process.
They defied the will of four board members, taxpayers and, no doubt, the faculty and staff who must be completely embarrassed by the actions of these and past board members.
Surely, the execution of this vote to hire the in-house person violated the state’s Sunshine Act.
Some may feel that three back-to-back newspaper editorials sharply critical of this board borders on overkill. Why single out the WBA School Board when there are other boards in our area guilty of nepotism, power plays and back-room deals? Why? Because those other boards pale in comparison to the corruption poisoning the WBA School District. Despite the past indictments of a third of this board, the dysfunction continues.
I am perplexed by the inaction of so many parents. What doesn’t surprise me is the number of parents pulling their children from the system and enrolling them in cyber and charter schools the first chance they get.
I got nowhere when I asked Wilkes-Barre City Mayor Tom Leighton and the city council for help. I got nowhere when I approached our new county manager Robert Lawton, county council members and the Chamber of Commerce to get involved. It’s discouraging to say the least. Is the news media the only concerned organization out there?
So, why aren’t more people outraged? Maybe they are but have simply accepted that this is par for the course. First and foremost, we need to think about this district’s children, some of whom are being taught by teachers who offered bribes to get their jobs and are being led by an ethics-challenged school board.
What we have in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District are students failing to meet academic standards and buildings desperately in need of renovations, possibly consolidations or closings. And you know who will pay for the failings of this board? Of course you do - already overburdened taxpayers.
Taxpayers, community leaders and lawmakers need to get onboard here. They must stress to this board that their destructive actions will no longer be tolerated.
This opportunity is right around the corner. When the board meets on December 3 in the district’s administration building, located at 730 S. Main Street in Wilkes-Barre.
There are three reasons you need to be there: the children, the children and the children. Not showing up only enables them to do whatever they want, whenever they want. And we’ve seen where that has gotten us.
I am with you Richard. I will try to be there.
The Board treats teachers like they are “commodities.” They consider a polished teacher with all of the credentials to be the same as one granted a position through nepotism.
What a lie this is. Readers, think back to the very best teacher you ever had and compare to the worst. Are they all the same?
I think part of the problem in WB (in terms of activism) is the family structure isn’t as solid as those, say, in Crestwood or Dallas. Single parents can become overwhelmed making “activism” more than they can handle.
But this is no excuse for the board to take advantage.
Keep up the fight. “Kids for Cash” I believe will set the stage for many corrupt activities to be exposed. Also jail sentences to commissioners.
… and it is entirely predictable that Leighton wouldn’t help.
Your point and comparison is a good one regarding the single parent situation. I do hope the turnout is a good one December 3rd. Thanks for the reply.
Why don’t parents in Wilkes Barre care? Thats a trick question ….ain’t it. The long and short of it is ….they are Democrats. It wasn’t long ago that the residents of WB City nearly re-elected a sitting school board member that had already been bagged by the FBI, or perhaps he had resigned by that point and was in the clink, but in any case his name couldn’t be removed from the ballot and he missed being re elected by just 200 – 250 votes. Somewhere around 900 people voted for this guy knowing he was a likely felon or didn’t know or care but voted anyway. I was at Republican HQ that night watching the election returns roll in with Republicans who were on the ballot for the WB school board, and all we could do was sit and shake our heads at the sheer idiocy of what we were watching happen. Hell why don’t they care ….how many people in the city actually pay taxes,and how many don’t,and which population is larger? Of those who don’t pay how many are Democrats? When ignorance is cheap or free …* Shrug *…hey now that’s a good title for my next blog post me thinks
Methinks you have a legitimate gripe!
You wonder why people don’t care? Don’t get me wrong i love being around my friends and their kids, but i can give them back when I am through with them. In other words i hate kids, i hate all the stages (about) them, the schooling bull you have to go through. Before you berate me for hating kids just be glad i know i hate them before spitting some out and becoming another wyoming valley bad parent. However i am a homeowner and like many homeowners in this area I either dont have kids or am elderly and no longer have kids in schools. We just dont care because are money is stolen either way. I wish PA would do what NC does. When i lived there we paid taxes in everything. From clothes to processed food to unprocessed food and the rate was 7.5%. But on the flip side their was no property taxes and the school districts received their money from everybody. Let the welfare pay a share of their kids schooling, let the people from NY,NJ who come here to buy millions of dollars in clothes a year at our outlet malls because of no taxes pay a share. I dont care if your kid has to share a 30 yr outdated book. But nobody cares in wb because the ppl living in that district to still pay taxes dont have kids and more then not the people that do have kids that attend wbsd are on some kind of public assistance. Sorry for the harsh truth but its not becuase of democrats or republicans its a lack of empathy for the way the admin has taken a direction. Well time to go write out my mortgage payment which ncreased because of tax hikes.
Sephanie, while this is one of the strangest responses I have ever received to a post, I certainly understand your frustration.