Comments on It's About Oshkosh Students: School Board Election

Anonymous 7:52 While your comment sounds a little ...

2008-02-16T18:30:00.000-06:00

Anonymous 7:52

While your comment sounds a little dramatic, I think you are correct. Let's hope this community has more sense.

Notice how Michelle Monte doesn't talk about that ...

2008-02-15T19:52:00.000-06:00

Notice how Michelle Monte doesn't talk about that or bring it up? She's such a hypocrite -- always pointing out the negative about people and things she doesn't like but never once holding those people and things she does like to the same standards. A vote for her Tuesday is a vote for the destruction of the school district in Oshkosh.

A google search shows that Ms. Vice has been sued ...

2008-02-14T22:24:00.000-06:00

A google search shows that Ms. Vice has been sued by Tremco...

I checked out Diana Vice's Welcome to my Tea Party...

2008-02-13T19:23:00.000-06:00

I checked out Diana Vice's Welcome to my Tea Party blog and she's got a posting on there from some roofing contractor in Indiana who spouted off about how Tremcos prices are higher than everyone else's and how they market mainly to public institutions. He's great at making such assertions but what he fails to discuss or even mention is why are the other more reasonably priced companies he mentioned not bidding on these public jobs? The bidding process is open to all. Perhaps there's a reason why they're not bidding and that in turn might be why Tremco keeps getting public sector work around the country. But Michelle Monte and her Indiana cohort would rather deal in innuendo and conspiracy theories. Board member wannabe Monte's rants and ramblings hold as much water as a leaky bucket.

Yeah and there's now a post that Mrs. Monte answer...

2008-02-13T18:22:00.000-06:00

Yeah and there's now a post that Mrs. Monte answers by calling the woman Mrs. Vice and the woman says she'd vote for her if she lived here. What an "incestuous" nest she's building.

As for any other lawsuits, about all you can find on the net is suits filed by Sodexho employees. She sure can sling it, can't she? And her "supporters" demand proof of her mistakes and other pieces of unreliability. They're too numerous to mention but if anyone wants more proof, wait for her next rant. There will be more. There always is. It's classic Michelle Monte.

Anon Feb 13 7:36 I checked out Monte's blog and di...

2008-02-13T16:28:00.000-06:00

Anon Feb 13 7:36

I checked out Monte's blog and did a simple google search "tremco lawsuits" and the first item I found said:

"Indiana attorney general refuses Tremco investigation"

However, the attorney general’s office did not see illegal actions committed.

“A review of the materials indicate that there has not been misappropriation of public funds or other wrongdoing in which the attorney general could pursue,” says Staci Schneider, chief communications officer and press secretary for the attorney general."

The most interesting thing of all is the attorney general was contacted by:

"Diana Vice, a Rossville resident, contacted the attorney general’s office in November 2005 on behalf of Taxpayers United For Fairness (TUFF) to ask Carter to investigate possible illegal acts with regard to public sector construction contracts. Vice, along with TUFF and resident Melissa Kingery, had filed a lawsuit in September 2005"

I'm sure that Diana Vice name looks familiar because that is one of the links on Monte's site... some blogger whose claim was dismissed out of hand by the Indiana Attorney General. What a reliable source she uses...

http://www.nrca.net/rp/news/details.aspx?id=1138

That's apple and oranges, honey.

2008-02-13T15:55:00.000-06:00

That's apple and oranges, honey.

You say tomatoe and I say tomato. Different people...

2008-02-13T14:08:00.000-06:00

You say tomatoe and I say tomato. Different people seeing things differently or interpreting things differently than someone else. doesn't make it a lie but if you'd like to use that logic try this on for size. Candidates Michelle Monte and Ben Schneider see things differently than the majority of board members and some other candidates. Guess that makes Monte and Schneider liars then, huh? See how dumb that kind of "logic" is?

You can deflect and pick at the techno genius (it ...

2008-02-13T10:52:00.000-06:00

You can deflect and pick at the techno genius (it is pretty bad) who put the vid together, but it doesn't change the bottom line. The bottom line is that the SAGE planners acknowledged that there was no clear evidence that SAGE is working and that there is no clear evidence that class size has an effect, but Patti Vickman made a presentation and stated that there is "clear, consistent & powerful evidence that SAGE works in Oshkosh!

I don't know how that could be considered anything but a lie.

Hey anonymous, not only does the link you posted n...

2008-02-13T10:38:00.000-06:00

Hey anonymous, not only does the link you posted not work directly from the posting but the YouTube video itself doesn't work too well. It keeps sticking as it's playing. Kudos to the techno genius who put it together and to you for providing the link for comic relief on an otherwise dreary hump day. Bottom line: all the video really says, when you can get through it, that is, is that people either have differing opinions about SAGE or someone has changed their mind. But the way the video sticks makes one wonder how much creative editing was done by the creator. There's the bigger conspiracy theory for you.

Oops, the link didn't work, but you can find it on...

2008-02-13T09:43:00.000-06:00

Oops, the link didn't work, but you can find it on Oshkonversation.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=12YdYjVD7F4Did somebody...

2008-02-13T09:42:00.000-06:00

http://youtube.com/watch?v=12YdYjVD7F4

Did somebody ask for conspiracy theories?

There goes Michelle Monte again with more conspira...

2008-02-13T07:36:00.000-06:00

There goes Michelle Monte again with more conspiracy theories in a new post called Facilities Concerns. If anyone else bothers to read it, after you schlep through her entire commentary, there are a few points which jump out.

(1) She says there's so much info about Sodexho available on the net. So naturally one must wonder why someone from another school district looking for information on Sodexho would call her, especially knowing her position on this issue. They could get the information they seek most anywhere. Because he selected her (if it happened at all), it doesn't seem like the man was too interested in seeking out facts, only info from someone who's opposed to Sodexho and Tremco. If he really was interested in facts, he'd have been better served contacting districts who've dealt with the company, not some candidate for office with her own agenda to push. But it's reasonably questionable whether she got such a call at all.

(2) I also question whether or not all these people in the district Mrs. Monte claims to have spoken with have direct knowledge of the Sodexho situation, especially since so many of the powers that be in this district don't like or have respect for her. It's more likely those she's talked to are basing their comments on rumor and one-sided information.

(3) This candidate claims that complaints and lawsuits say this is more than rumor. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Anyone can sue another person. Being the legal scholar Mrs. Monte acts like, she must realize what matters most is not that suits were filed, but what the outcomes of those suits were. Mind you, I'm speaking now about the result of lawsuits brought by their customers, not by employees. Those employment issues are other matters that have nothing to do with poor workmanship, the keeping of product after jobs have been completed, etc.

(4) Finally, it's amazing how a woman who claims to always provide accurate information can't even correctly spell the name of the company being discussed in her commentary. Given that she's done so much research on the company and is speaking to people with such "authority" on the subject, she's surely come across the name hundreds of times. But if still in doubt, Sodexho has their name spelled accurately on their own web site. I'd have thought she would have visited it in her quest for information. I find it hard to take seriously anything else she says when she can't get even the most simple of information correct.

And like she's done other times, she can't say she was in a hurry or that it was a typo. The same typo doesn't occur multiple times in the same post and if she's pressed for time, maybe she shouldn't post until she has the proper amount of time to do so.

Give it a rest anonymous. Mrs. Monte's "errors" ha...

2008-02-12T23:04:00.000-06:00

Give it a rest anonymous. Mrs. Monte's "errors" have been pointed out countless times. Being the blog wizard you are, you can find them most anywhere. And by barely lifting a finger. To point them out again here would be letting you goad me into a pissing contest. Not gonna happen. If it's important enough to you you'll rise to the challenge.

It's obvious to anyone who's been paying attention...

2008-02-12T21:55:00.000-06:00

It's obvious to anyone who's been paying attention. If you're truly "interested" compare the data with what Monte's saying. That will give you the information you act like you want to know.

cite your "misinformation" claims. If you can...

2008-02-12T18:50:00.000-06:00

cite your "misinformation" claims. If you can...

Misinformation is a good word for it. Monte was we...

2008-02-12T09:08:00.000-06:00

Misinformation is a good word for it. Monte was well dressed (more like over dressed) and well "rehearsed" for the forum but spewed forth much wrong information. You'd think for someone who's run for school board 3 times now and boasts how she's been attending school board meetings for years, she'd have a better understanding of some of the most fundamental points. The propaganda she's spinning for the voters is frightening. Her accusatory attack mode is also getting old. When someone acts like that, there's no way they can or will work with others. She says differently but her actions prove she's a liar and doing nothing more than paying the voters lip service. Fortunately, pandering never pulls enough votes to win an election.

I read Oshkonversation's follow up to the forum th...

2008-02-09T16:02:00.000-06:00

I read Oshkonversation's follow up to the forum the other night and observed that Michele Monte just can't stop herself from mudslinging and making her comments personal. In this particular case she went after someone who's not even running. She whines about how she met with a school board member to show she was willing to work with others but then the woman apparently changed her mind about Mrs. Monte. This school board member wannabe points to this incident as the other woman somehow being disingenuous. I believe the woman no doubt quickly figured out what Michele Monte's game is - it doesn't take long - and wanted nothing more to do with her.

She's drunk with the thought of having power and she's a bully. She loves to poke her stick through the cage at others, and then offer sorry-ass excuses as to why she did what she did, just like on that blog. She's also great at claiming to have proof of things, but fails to realize the presence of proof is easily be a 2-way street.

"Excuses," "deception," and "misinformation" are Mrs. Monte's middle names. People know this about her and haven't elected her in the past. It's safe to say she'd be 100 times worse if she got elected so I predict she won't get elected this time either.

John Daggett also was interviewed by Eye on Oshkos...

2008-02-06T23:45:00.000-06:00

John Daggett also was interviewed by Eye on Oshkosh. He didn't really answer any questions though. This man has his own agenda and from the things he did say doesn't have a grasp of the issues.

Well if you are going to vote for someone who "put...

2008-02-06T13:10:00.000-06:00

Well if you are going to vote for someone who "puts their agenda out there" I guess that would leave only Monte since she has a blog...

Lemberger and Jahnke were both on Eye on Oshkosh but I've seen nothing from either of them to otherwise "put their agenda out there". I would argue that neither McDermott nor Schneider have "put their agenda out there" you can surmise their agenda by watching board meetings but I haven't seen anything anywhere else.

I would suggest you attend / watch /listen to the League of Women voters forum tomorrow that should give you plenty of information on where each candidate is coming from.

Info. on League Forum:

A forum for the six Oshkosh Area School Board candidates is set for Thursday, Feb. 7, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Oshkosh City Council Chambers, 4th floor City Hall.
The six candidates are incumbents Tom McDermott and Ben Schneider II. The challengers are John Daggett, Kevin Jahnke, John Lemberger and Michele Monte. Panel members are Jim Fitzhenry, managing editor of the Oshkosh Northwestern and Frankie Mengeling, vice-president Oshkosh Area LWV.
This forum will be broadcast on Oshkosh Community Access Television CitiCable 10 and simulcast by WOCT 101.9 FM, Oshkosh Community Radio.

Is Lemberger committed to neighborhood schools to ...

2008-02-06T12:22:00.000-06:00

Is Lemberger committed to neighborhood schools to the extent that he will not close some elementary schools even if it is fiscally responsible? Given his profession will he unduly side with teachers and the union instead of fighting for what is right for the students?

McDermott is no doubt an intelligent man. I've had many conversations with him through the long-term facilities process. I'm just not sure I understand his position. Some days it is A and some days it is B. Don't mistake this...compromise is good. However, I hear talk but don't see action perhaps due to indecisiveness?

Jahnke: If someone makes no attempt to put their agenda out prior to primaries, how can I possibly vote for him?

Anon. 12:49 asked "Who can most constructively ser...

2008-02-06T12:12:00.000-06:00

Anon. 12:49 asked "Who can most constructively serve the students and families in the district?"

Well if you are looking for constructive, that would leave Lemberger, Jahnke or McDermott to vote for, as the other two candidates have not shown, by their actions that they are willing to work WITH others. It is "my way or the highway". Examples: One of the candidates resigned from a crucial committee because things weren't going the way she thought they should, the other deivsed a boundary plan but once it was changed a bit, would no longer support it. You can't get anything done alone on a school board, it takes convincing at least 3 others to go your way. Without this, you are just another "no vote" that leaves the district stagnant.

As for who to vote for of the 3, McDermott obviously has the most experience, is clearly intelligent and has a grasp of the issues and seems to have a good balance between what is best for kids and what the taxpayer can afford. He is the member of the board most willing to compromise to get things done.

Jahnke has served on the CRT and one or two subcommittees seems to have a pretty decent grasp of the issues.

Lemberger, is committed to neighborhood schools and given his position at UW-O should have a good understanding of the workings of a K-12 system. I don't know of any actual involvement on committees etc. in the district but I don't know that, that is essential.

It would be nice if the NW would publish something that gives us an idea of where the candidates stand on the issues. Right now, I know who NOT to vote for but not sure who TO vote for.

Didn't Mrs. Monte post somewhere once upon a time ...

2008-02-06T07:13:00.000-06:00

Didn't Mrs. Monte post somewhere once upon a time that she was working part time at the university as part of her studies there? That being the case and using the "logic" of 12:03 PM, we should not elect her to the school board either.

Oh Monte's obsessed alright, but not with the job....

2008-02-06T01:42:00.000-06:00

Oh Monte's obsessed alright, but not with the job. She and Kent both are fixated on being something more than wannabes. Too bad the words uttered from that side of the table don't add up. It's either lack of understanding of issues, lack of common sense, or being a flat out liar. Good thing most voters have their number.

oops. 12:03

2008-02-05T12:50:00.000-06:00

oops. 12:03