Earlier this week, I filed a Right To Know for the "recommendations made by Dr. Steinhauer’s task force created November 2009 regarding student drug and alcohol use as reported by Peter Berg at the December 21, 2009 Regular Board Meeting." * Fortunately, the District chose to grant my request in a timely manner. Below is the two page report.
2009 Drug and Alcohol Task Force Report
Back in February, I penned the following post. Our kids are dying As a result of that post, Kelly Fraasch took on this serious issue and together with Josephine Posti, formed a drug task force.
Recently, I sent an email to the school board with the tragic news of another young person's death, this time too close to home. The only school board member to respond was Scott Goldman. Scott, I want to publicly thank you. You are a class act.
Timmy, keep up with the bathroom photos and renovation tours. Daniel Pink must be so proud.
*Meeting minutes have not been posted since February 2013. Here is another example of incompetence within the District. The staff must be swamped by the stack of pizza receipts.
16 comments:
Have there been any monitoring, status, progress or effectiveness reports on the Task Force recommendations ? Have all the recommendations been implemented ? Does the same or similar Task Force remain in place ?
Bill Lewis
I have no idea, Bill. My guess is that Timmy dropped the ball. He has bigger issues to contend with. They can't even keep the meeting minutes up to date.
Did you see the name of the school board candidate on the 2009 task force? Do you think this will be part of his platform? We will never know because the PTA doesn't think it is important. We dare not ask because we will be ignored or labeled as hateful bloggers.
Elaine
Wonder if this is yet another one of those district things where there is a check-off list just for the record, e.g. Formed a Task Force of many important people...check...met several times...check...wrote a report with important sounding recommendations...check...well, that's it, done, fini ?
Why would the school board bother responding to someone who so regularly publishes such vitriol? Whenever I consider public service, I think of the callous treatment that you give to people who for the most part are donating their time. It is shameful, shameful behavior.
As someone who lost someone dear to me because of the drug and alcohol abuse within out township, I ask that you back away from this issue. Your involvement does nothing more than antagonize those who could actually make a difference. Including personal attacks on our superintendent and school board while referencing this crucial issue just serves to diminish its perceived importance.
I sometimes find myself agreeing with some of the positions you take on this blog. But the nastiness, retaliation, and ad hominem attacks are too distracting. Hopefully one day you'll come to understand that those with whom you don't ideologically see eye-to-eye aren't actually your enemies; rather, they just disagree with you.
Let me clarify something. Kelly Fraasch did not step forward because of my February post. This was an issue she wanted to tackle when she was first elected. If you listen to the retreat podcast, Kelly mentioned that it was a top priority for her.
Rob, I won't be sucked into a debate about people who donate their time. I will argue with you about our superintendent who is being compensated dearly for taking pictures of bathrooms and blogging about pizza. Anything that is the least bit challenging, he passes on to Dr. Davis. We have the wrong guy as our superintendent. Call it vitriole. You are entitled to your own opinion. I just happen to see things differently than you .
Elaine
That is truly a hilarious comment by 2:34.
Yes, indeed the school board is comprised of people that are freely volunteering their time and energy. For that they should be commended, but that doesn't make them omnipotent. Volunteers can be wrong, make judgement errors, have agendas and perhaps self-serving.
I wonder where 2:34 stood when a group of "volunteers" joined with a couple of officials and tried to conduct a town hall. Were you inside trying to make things better or did you align with the group outside holding signs reading "what the Kluck!"?
How about those volunteers that stepped up and tried to get elected to the school board. Did you find the PTA associated email besmirching the candidates and their families callous vitriol? Did you file a protest and call the email authors out publically.
How that guy that called people here and on Bloglebo hijackers? Not a peep or self-righteous indignation 2:34, how come?
I'm the 2:34 poster and my name is not Rob. I've never met you and I've never posted here before. In fact, why anyone would divulge their identity to you is beyond me. Why avail oneself to a personal attack?
Moreover, I'm not trying to engage you in any debate whatsoever. Neither am I trying to argue that you're not entitled to your opinion. I'm just powerlessly asking that you not pollute the debate of an important issue with pejoratives and grudges.
Plus 2:34 regarding the superintendent, he's is a paid public servant and no less open to criticism than the governor, presidents - current and past or any other elected official that is collecting a pay check.
He is neither Clara Barton, Mother Theresa or God.
He is our employee and we can post our opinionsof his job performance.
Some of us believe he should have his monthly pizza lunches not with 8 or 10 middle schoolers but with the drug task force. Or rather than conducting student tours of freshly paintedempty classrooms taking tours with the CM, owners rep and finding out why floors are 30" out of alignment, why pool pumps have no electrical feeds, why there are heating ducts running thru themiddle of elevator shafts.
You want him to have pizza with kids, fine that is your opinion.
Of course you wouldn't want to engage in a harmless debate 2:34, you're of the opinion that you hold no grudges, your comments have no nasty intent or callous vitriole.
You are truly a saint in your own mind.
4:33 PM, I get that this is painful for you. I lost someone dear to me too. Perhaps it is the same person since we are a small community. That doesn't change the fact that in November 2009, when Dr. Steinhauer (back in the days I addressed him as such) started a drug task force, his priorities were much different than they are now. Read the minutes of that December meeting. Look what transpired at that meeting and what became the most important issues from that meeting. Turf and they blew away the CAC. What happened to that task force? Who are you trying to protect here? The superintendent and school board? Why does it always come down to my so called grudges? Why do you hold me to a higher standard than our elected officials or our paid administration? When will it ever be about our kids?
Elaine
2:34 PM Sorry about your loss. Tell us what you are personally doing about the D & A problem in the community, who you're working with and what your recommendations would be for the rest of us in dealing with the problem.
Now the conversation here is getting interesting. At least 7:32 has taken a first step.
There is a hint of compassion showing in their post and perhaps a willingness to listen rather draw up sides and hurl nasty insults.
That was typical of the Mt. Lebanon we thought we were moving into many years ago. Maybe it was a fantasy that was created by a PR effort. Did that "community" ever exist? I don't know, I believed it did, but think now it left some time ago.
I believe the turning point was about the time of Sablegate. Since then the leadership, especially on the school board, proclaiming transparency and a willingness to be open and communicative seldom is.
There is a perfect example to draw upon.
Think back to the petition. The board declared they wanted input and when the community made an effort to communicate with 4,000 voices what was the response.
Derision by a very vocal group and proclamation by the board that they heard from 4,000 and one voices that supported their grandiose plans. Though no hard evidence was ver offered as proof.
The board said the project would come in at $95 million. Experts said they were delusional. They were, the first bids came in $15 million over their $113.4 million limit.
Any admission by the board... "we were wrong, you were right... Let's work together now, please."
No,the board's approach, "we'll manipulate the plans and good ahead just as we intended."
And where are we now, paying $24,000 in a change order to fix floors that are 30" out of alignment!
On the municipal side we have $2 million in parks, good only for dog walks, in other communities. Why, when there are so many other uses that money could've gone towards?
2:34 PM, in Kelly Fraasch's Feb. 18 post http://www.kellyfraasch.com/blog/page/2/ Josephine Posti offers some resources which might be helpful. I would have thought I would hear from her since she appeared to be reaching out in her community address.
If there are grieving children involved, 2:34 PM, check highmarkcaringplace.com. I used to work there until I had my own grieving kid at home. They have helped many families.
Elaine
This Blogger parent pines for answers to Dr. Berg's outlined outcomes.
I for one applaud your efforts Elaine, for bringing this critical issue to light.
*A deeply concerned parent*
Here's an idea...if the school district and the municipality can't or won't address the drug problem in our community put your kids in cyber-school. It's free and your kids won't have to be exposed to drugs.
Ask yourself why the board won't address the drug problem.
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