TRSD School Board Meeting 6/18/09
Once again the school board came under fire for Mr. La Salle’s firing of the ski coaches. Supporters of the dismissed coaches filled the room. They testified on behalf of the coaches and presented a petition of support from parents. One parent noted that Mary Beth Torosian being a registered nurse saved the district money since her presence made it unnecessary to have a nurse on trips (to accommodate a special needs skier). Mr. La Salle responded that he was not compelled to make unreasonable accommodations. The supporters complained that Mr. La Salle refused to meet with them or even put them on the school board agenda. The take away here should be that the superintendent runs the school board not the other way around.
The school board was completely disengaged and the chair promised only to ‘take their concerns under advisement.’
When pressed further, Mr. La Salle said he would not run his business on television or in the papers and that the bullying of the parents would not intimidate him.
We learned that once again money approved for the purchase of books was misappropriated. Book money has been used to bankroll FREE TRSD Kindergarten and construction cost overruns. Now book appropriations are being used to fund new reading programs. School board, if you use the money to buy books and turn off the televisions, the kids will learn to read. Give it a try.
TRSD Daycare was discussed. There will be no need for a warrant article or public debate — President Obama has personally approved and funded TRSD pre-k…for two years. After that the taxpayers will be legally obligated to continue funding of the program as a condition of the school board accepting the cash.
TRSD almost implemented policy that would allow the SAU to confiscate unspent Nutrikids funds. Mr. Paone was joined by our Top Cop in overturning this policy. Thanks to both.
Before sneaking off to nonpublic session, the school board approved the publication and mailing of a ‘community relations’ newsletter. This letter will go out four times a year at a cost of approximately $2000 per mailing. This is the same school board that accused people who wanted a paper copy of the annual report mailed to each taxpayer at a cost of $10,000 per year of being wasteful and environmentally irresponsible. The Super PTA does not think we need to know how our money is spent but wants to make sure they know how AWESOME they are. Got it. No opportunity to opt of this junk mail either! How about we use a petition warrant to…um…save the planet…for the children?
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Concerned parent of two children in the TRSD school system who pays taxes and is not employed by -- or contracted to -- the town or the SAU...one of the Rest of Us