Where to begin...I believe this election is crucial to the future of the Oshkosh school district, I really hope the voters who go to the polls are informed on the issues and the implications for the district of a board where Mr. Schneider is in the majority. In my opinion that would be very bad news for the Oshkosh school district. Why people continue to elect someone who says whenever questioned about educational concerns "I defer to the experts" yet when the experts bring forward plans, whether it be for roofs, facilities, educational programs, or other students issues, more often than not he votes against the "experts". Lip service is not what we need. A true commitment to making Oshkosh a quality district where the best interests of students is first and formost is what we need if we are to remain the quality district we are today. Here are some of my thoughts on some of the issues and candidates.
The most interesting piece I've read recently was a link on Eye on Oshkosh to an post by Kay Springstroh which details the candidates answers to questions about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) issues in our schools. Kay takes Mr. Schneider to task for his "open homophobia", lack of actual answers to the questions as well as his significant errors in grammar (note: Mr. Schneider was criticized for his grammatical errors on OshKonversation -- his response was to basically "take his bat and ball and go home":
Mr. Schneider's response to OshKonversation poster critical of grammar mistakes in his post:
"I am accessable and if a person wishes to reach me, (MY NOTE: according to a friend of mine who contacted Mr. Schneider, he stated that he typically won't respond to someone unless they provide both their first and last name - though he did respond to my friend who had only provided a first name in an e-mail) I am more than happy to respond to your request for information... if you wish to set up a mutually convenient time to sit down and discuss differences. KRC, I would be happy to meet with you and hope you take me up on my offer.
I will focus my efforts in the above methods of communication and hope the future communications will be more civil! I look forward to hearing from you with your questions or concerns but no longer through this blog. Thanks! Ben Schneider II"
I would think that a board member would take some care in grammar, usage, spelling in responses to questions during a campaign but, I found the lack of answers to the questions much more troubling.
It is no secret that I do not support Mr. Schneider's candidacy, I do not believe his stand on the issues is good for the students of Oshkosh. In fact what has he accomplished in 6 years? If by some cruel twist of fate Mr. Schneider and Mrs. Monte get elected, it is likely that Mr. Schneider will be board president and anyone who cares about the students of Oshkosh should be concerned by that. I have not seen any actions by Mr. Schneider that show he is concerned with students' learning. He pays some lip service to the topic but if you have ever watched him when Administration is presenting information on WKCE scores, or Charter School results, he does not pay attention to the presenters and tries to shut down discussion, apparently because he isn't interested in discussing student learning.
I just finished watching a portion of the "round table" discussion and found it very interesting that ONLY Mr. McDermott was willing to commit to what schools needed to be closed. Mr. Lemberger stated he would not close any schools, Mr. Schneider said something to the effect of it would not be fair to name schools to close without knowing where the students would go, and Mrs. Monte said it was too complex a question to answer in a minute but she didn't want to keep all schools open. Mr. McDermott said Oaklawn needed attention first and he would rebuild it on an alternate site, building large enough so that both Oaklawn and Lincoln could be closed (though instead of Lincoln students going to the New North Side school, Sunset students would, leaving room in Read for Lincoln students).
For those who are interested in some facts, I suggest you read the letter on the Northwestern website under Opinions, with the headline "Letter: Data shows Oshkosh superintendent excels". It provides facts that are in direct opposition to some of the misinformation certain candidates continually put out there.
I truly hope those who really care about education and the students in Oshkosh, inform themselves about where the school board candidates stand on the issues the district faces. Voters, especially those most concerned with our students should think about the consequences of voting for either Monte or Schneider. The school board needs people who understand the issues the district faces, who actually care about education and put the interests of all students above pandering for votes. This is a crucial time for the district, budget cuts will continue to be required. Please think about who is best suited to make those decisions. Why anyone would want someone like Mr. Schneider to run our board is beyond me. He has never made the tough decisions to vote on cuts needed to balance the budget but, instead just voted "No" on every budget . How can someone who just says "No" to a budget, actually lead a board --- are we really interested in being the district who can't pass a budget because the majority of the board just votes "No". I believe this community wants and expects more than that. We shall see soon enough.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
37 comments:
WOW! Gay and lesbian activists disagree with a social and fiscal conservative? Let's lynch him for his beliefs! (sarcasm)
It was asked, "are we really interested in being the district who can't pass a budget because the majority of the board just votes "No". I believe this community wants and expects more than that."
If we have a fiscally conservative BOE majority, the administration will be forced to bring an acceptable budget to them. Don't you understand that?
What makes you so sure Monte is a fiscal conservative? She supports all the Arts programs even stating in the past she would spend more on them. She thinks we can afford to have special education programs in all our schools (Schneider said we can't afford that) and she really has no understanding of the budgeting process anyway.
Anonymous 7:08
You clearly missed the point of the comments re: the LGBT questionnaire. Not only were Mr. Schneider's comments rife with errors, he didn't come close to answering the question.
Here is the question:
"Federal law establishes the right for students to form GSAs in schools. Do you know if there are any GSAs in the district? Have any students attempted to form a GSA? If yes, what happened? What was/is your position?"
Here is Mr. Schneider's response:
"Yes, I am. My position is; it is something I don't personally agree with."
Please, how does that answer the question? Are we to infer from that non-answer that Mr. Schneider, in defiance of the law, would vote against the establishment of a Gay Student Alliance Club in the district? He was not asked his "beliefs" he was asked his position. He clearly could NOT articulate his "position".
As for an acceptable budget, what are the chances any of the current board minority will be able to articulate that? Based on the past, I'd say slim to none...
Wouldn't it be nice if those that preach tolerance and acceptance wouldn't try to run down everyone they oppose? Just a thought!
Wouldn't it be nice if those who try getting cute on blogs, like 7:42 AM, would get it through their thick skulls that to challenge someone's political views is not "running them down" but instead is part of the game, and stay out of politics or off the blogs if they can't see the difference? Just a thought!
While it is good to teach our children to turn the other cheek and take the high road, we also need to teach them to defend themselves against bullies who would otherwise run them off the playground by any means they can. Like it or not, that's life and if you don't agree with it, political blogs may not be your cup of tea.
Please provide the link to the board policy of business attire. Sure can't seem to find it on the district's website. I did notice there's a board policy for board members to pay attention to speakers. We've seen how Ben Schneider doesn't do that if he's not interested in the topic. Hmmm!
I deleted a series of back and forth comments that really had little to do with the School Board Race. I did leave the last post because I do think it makes a good point. At the candidate's forum put on by Oshkosh students, a question was asked about the board not getting along and Mr. Schneider clearly doesn't think he is part of the problem because he stated "people should not be criticized for voting no" of course he didn't also say they should be vilified for voting yes (something he does all the time, even bringing up a board member's yes vote from several years ago. Clearly the rules do not apply to him. He thinks he treats everyone with respect, but I'm sure there are plenty of people, both on the board and not on the board who would disagree. He doesn't listen to audience members who disagree with him, he makes snide comments to Mr. Becker when other board members are speaking, he has been disrespectful to members who have presented information to the board (just ask Sue Panek if she felt Mr. Schneider treated her with respect the last time she presented to the board). To say he is not part of the problem with the board not getting along, is ridiculous, I would say all members share some blame in that. Though Mr. Schneider is the only current member I have seen who was rude to workshop presenters.
Finally Anonymous 9:58 there is nothing in policy requiring board members to wear business attire. I'm thinking the poster probably didn't know what the term "professional demeanor" meant and confused that with "dress"...
Thank you Mrs. Thiel. I looked for a board policy on professional or business attire, or anything at all that would dictate how a board member is to dress (as was stated by the poster) and could find nothing. I suspect you're correct about them not knowing what it meant. I appreciate the clarification.
I didn't say that there was a policy. I said that board members shouldn't wear clothes that aren't allowed to be worn by students.
And since Thiel brought it up, it is extremely disrespectful for people to huff and roll their eyes while others are speaking. It is rude and childish. Thiel will throw stones at Schneider but she is even guiltier herself.
There is no doubt that there was an incident that involved a somewhat revealing sweater on a speaker. Equally there is no doubt that a school board member often dresses inappropriately for meetings. It used to bother me but I had to just get over it. It's clothing, and in no way affects her ability to think. It only affects her credibility to the some of the public.
It it reprehensible that you should post that Mr. Schneider is homophobic. Beyond reprehensible, it is patently incorrect to assume that someone is phobic (i.e. anxious or obsessed) simply because they don't agree with a someone.
If one wanted to draw such conclusions, perhaps Mrs. Theil is obsessed with Mr. Schneider or Schneiderophobic since she doesn't agree with his views. You can see the ridiculousness. You should print an apology for overezealousness and move to a more reasonable topic of why you can't stand Mr. Schneider.
You're on a slippery slope with this type of rhetoric.
I have spoken to the board a number of times, in a number of formats. During those times each school board member has looked at me and given me undivided attention. I have seen "presenters" speak and receive much different treatment. Mrs. Weinsheim often eats during presentations, stares at the wall, and whispers with Mrs. Bowen. I find those actions improper also. Mrs. Bowen, perhaps subconsiously, tends to shake her head 'no' while presenters are speaking...seemingly in disagreement to their 'facts'. I can't honestly say I've seen Mr. Traska or Mr. Kavanaugh being chatty during the presenting. Perhaps we need a new seating chart. If we're going to call a spade a spade, let's call them all.
How is it that Mr. Sshneider speaks to Mr. Becker when they are seated apart. Unless the comments are telepathic, funneled through McDermott, or some other unlikely form of communication, I would think the very sensitive microphones would pick it up. I only hear Weinsheim, Heilmann, and Bowen's whisperings on the radio.
Anonymous 6:18 I suggest you go back and read my post I did not call Mr. Schneider homophobic, I merely quoted from a poster from another blog. Did you actually read is "responses" to the LGBT questionnaire?
As for my "disrespect" in rolling my eyes when Mr. Schneider was making inaccurate comments, I'll grant you that was rude but you must admit Mr. Schneider's shouting from the board table at me because of it was clearly not professional (I have two questions, one, why is he so concerned with my thoughts on his comments and two, why did he not shout at the man who kicked over a chair on his way out of a board meeting --- in the middle of a meeting because he didn't like the vote taken by the board. Seems to me shouting at the board, and kicking over a chair is much more disrespectful and disruptive to a meeting than eye rolling from the back of the room).
If you want to argue that Mr. Schneider is the epitome of decorum please go to the Monte blog, I'd like to deal in reality here. I am completely willing to admit I do not have much respect for Mr. Schneider but I have never disrupted a board meeting by shouting out or kicking over chairs I would think if Mr. Schneider is concerned with "respectful behavior" at board meetings he certainly would have chastized members of the public shouting out after a vote and kicking a chair over. No, he was silent on all of that...hmmm... I wonder why?
Hopefully this community is looking for someone different on the board. Someone who will actually be willing to compromise with others, someone who take a leadership role and make things happen, not just sit back and do nothing and then blame and criticize the "board majority" for actually taking action. That is my hope, only time will tell.
Maybe Mr. Schneider had had enough of your huffing and puffing and eye rolling. I have seen this behavior out of you at numerous meetings and it is clearly inappropriate. I don't recall anyone kicking a chair, but I must assume that it was a one-time occurrence out of frustration. That is not to make it acceptable, but to state that maybe it was not worthy of confrontation as it was likely to settle and not happen again.
Compromise and working together is a two-way street and Mr. Schneider is not entirely to blame for disagreeing with decisions he feels are wrong for the district.
It was smart for Mr. Schneider to not respond to a chair kicker. Why do you think Mr. Schneider, in particular, should have addressed it? Perhaps the board president should have? In my eyes, it is best to let the person kick the chair and exit the room unapproached. Since you connected the incident to your incident, I would have to agree that you do tend to huff and puff a lot. You tend to roll your eyes and chat during the meeting. So do I, usually in frustration for the fact that they can't get anything accomplished in a reasonable manner. However, I do not have a blog where I bash Mr. Schneider and I would guess that the chair kicker is also without this type of blog.
I think the incident you had with him falls into the category of 'you reap what you sow.'
I did re-read your blog. I still cannot get the "letter" from the NW to connect to anything. I know you don't claim to be a comp. guru and no fault there. But I would like to read it if you can post it.
By posting on the way you did on your blog it seems that you believe and are proclaiming (LOL 'outing') him homophobic. It is irresponsible unless you know for a fact that his answer was intended as meaning that he doesn't support such a group. Call him and ask, then you can print the truth on your blog, not just some 'interesting' gossip from a misunderstood remark.
By the way, his grammar is implorable. Good thing we're not electing him to be an English teacher! (You should see some of the stuff that comes home from the school. It is replete with errors and it is from children's primary educators!) I know many insanely intelligent people in the maths and sciences who cannot spell their own names correctly.
Wow! Such tolerance for a dedicated member of the community that provides expertise to the school board. I hate to see how an unqualified elected official would be treated come election time. Lets keep electing under educated, unqualified people to the school board so they can continue to be in the majority and continue to manage this chaos!! They are doing such a fine job now, aren't they?
Anonymous 8:11 I can't get the letter link to work... you can find the letter (at least today - March 18 it is still on the website) on the Northwestern website, under Opinion... the letter was posted March 14 and the Headline is "Letter: Data shows Oshkosh superintendent excels. Sorry I don't think I'm allowed to copy and paste the letter here.
As for the comment from another blogger, it is out there. As for his "answers" they were basically non-existent... which makes me question why 3 candidates could fully answered the questions and Mr. Schneider chose to, for the most part, give non-answers.
I have already admitted that it was rude of me to "roll my eyes" however, I am a private citizen who attends a majority of board meetings, he is a member of the school board and as such should have a much thicker skin, if he can't handle a little eye rolling perhaps he should re-think being a political figure. When I was on the board, I had people publically criticize me, take me to task for my votes, misrepresent what I stood for, make faces when I spoke, shake their head as I voted, and wrote sometimes very nasty e-mails, and I NEVER shouted at any of them from the board table or anywhere else. I was always respectful in my e-mail responses (I even answered "anonymous" e-mailers) even to those who had written very nasty comments. If you don't see the difference between me rolling my eyes during a meeting at comments I disagree with and no to be untrue, and a board members shouting at me for those actions, in the middle of a meeting, then there is nothing I can say to explain the difference.
As for "bashing" Mr. Schneider on my blog, this is the first time I can recall (certainly the first time in a long time) that I have written anything about Mr. Schneider. You can call it bashing, but it is funny how Mr. Schneider's actions are always above reproach. How about when he went on Eye on Oshkosh and called Mr. Sween a "lap dog" I suppose that wasn't "bashing"... or when he threatened to sue Mr. Sween if he were to vote on the budget, even though the ethics board had already given the district several letters of opinion which would have allowed Mr. Sween to vote on the budget. Those are not the actions of a dedicated professional, they are bullying behavior and certainly not professional. I just don't the pedastal some of you put him on.
I firmly believe that a school board controlled by Mr. Schneider will be the beginning of the decline of the Oshkosh School District and this community will be to blame. Hopefully the voters will make the right choice for our children and the future of our district.
Feel free to disagree but please focus on what Mr. Schneider or Mrs. Monte will DO as board members that will help our students and move our district forward and bring our community together. I'll delete any comments off topic.
Mrs. Theil.
YOU may not want Mr. Schneider or Mrs. Monte to get elected, but you must also remember that the VOTERS decided to relieve YOU of your duties. You are but one person with one opinion. The voters are many people with many opinions and obviously the voters don't like your opinions
“Can't we all... just... get along?”
Rodney King
I firmly believe that a school board controlled by Mr. Schneider will be the beginning of the decline of the Oshkosh School District
What is it we are in now Mrs. Theil? Is this a thriving district? A mega referendum that won't pass because the Board has zilch for credibility. It seems Schneider has credibility as they all of a sudden want his vote! Maybe because he has a good reputation as a business person and as a finance person. He seems to be doing well for himself and doesn't apply a tax and spend mentality to the board of education. Schneider as President, like he would want it anyway with this Motley crew.
Please show me some fact anon. 2:05
We are one of the lowest spending districts in the state of Wisconsin, in fact the last time I checked (about 2 years ago) there were only about 40 districts out of 426 districts that spend less per pupil than Oshkosh, yet we have much higher than the state average test scores, and higher than the state average ACT scores (and this in a state that has the 2nd or 3rd highest ACT scores in the nation). Please do tell where our district is moving in the wrong direction... we have many charter schools to meet the diverse needs of our students (how many would we have if it were up to Mr. Schneider?) We continue to educate students, even if they have been expelled, something many school districts do not do.
I really didn't see you mention ONE thing that Schneider or Monte would do to move the district forward. Yes the voters voted me off the board, but can you really say it was my stand on the issues they didn't like? That same election they elected Karen Bowen, and our views are VERY similar... how do you explain that? The voters also elected Mrs. Weinsheim, twice, and our views are somewhat similar as well.
There is no point rehashing the past, please tell us what Schneider or Monte will do to make this a better district for our students? And please provide some evidence to support your beliefs.
Schneider would get ride of Heilmann. That is one thing to make this district better. A "superintendent" that after 10 years, doesn't have a 10 year plan completed despite having a board majority eating out of his hand! Thank you. Hold your applause!
Hey, how about that 100 person boundary commityee Teresa. What ever happened on that and where did the board majority and leadership take us??
Ah, I just love how ignorance abounds (and a lack of ability to spell --- is that Mr. Schneider?) There was NO 100 person boundary committee --- contrary to constant reports.
I'm still waiting for the positives on Schneider... could it be even supporters can't come up with any.
And how do you think Schneider could get ride (sic) of Dr. Heilmann? There is that little thing called a contract and the need for 3 other board members to vote with him... or were you inferring something else?
Oh and where did you get the impression anyone was looking for Schneider's vote at the board table? They pretty much wrote him off... no one even asked what it would take to get his vote.
Still waiting...
I wonder if Mr. Becker and Mr. Traska will support this plan?
Isn't it interesting that as soon as I ask a candidate's supporters to identify something, anything their candidate will actually accomplish if elected there is NO response, (2 days and still waiting)...
Since you find it appropriate to pick on the grammar and spelling of your posters' comments, I hope you can take this leveling of the playing field.
"I truly hope those who really care about education and the students in Oshkosh, inform themselves about ..."
Oops, there shouldn't be a comma after 'Oshkosh'.
"...are we really interested in being the district who can't pass a budget because..."
Oops, a district isn't a 'who', it's a 'that'.
Now that I've pointed out that we all make errors, let's have a real conversation.
I can think of positives for each and every board member. While what one person finds positive, another may see as a negative. Since you asked specifically about Mr. Schneider I will share my positives about him:
I believe his number one reason for being on the board is to ensure quality education for all of our children. While we all parent differently and have different ideas for what is acceptable for our children, his views closely align with mine.
He always returns my phone calls and emails. This doesn't sound like a big thing but he is one of only TWO who respond to my very infrequent emails. To be fair, I do not email Mrs. Weinsheim since she doesn't have one available.
During board meetings he asks the questions to which I wish to know the answers.
He pays attention to the public when we come to speak, and contrary to your report, I have never seen or heard him whisper to Mr. Becker who sits two seats away.
He is a true steward of taxpayer dollars and looks to account for district spending.
He votes with the administration's advisement more often than not.
He is passionate about his school board job and takes his responsibility seriously.
I could go on for quite a while, but for the sake of your readers I'll stop with those highlights.
9:14 PM's punctuation isn't perfect either.
Example: He pays attention to the public when we come to speak, and contrary to your report, I have never seen or heard him whisper to Mr. Becker who sits two seats away.
This should really be: He pays attention to the public when we come to speak and, contrary to your report, I have never seen or heard him whisper to Mr. Becker who sits two seats away.
What a wonderful editorial in the paper this morning endorsing school board candidates. It sure pegged Ben Schneider II and Michelle Monte for the divisive people they are. It's exactly what a lot of people throughout the community have been saying for a long time. Let's hope those voting Tuesday share the same opinion and vote against these two. We don't need more divisiveness and negativity on our school board, especially with so much hard work in front of it. Maybe you could start a new thread before the election?
Post a Comment