I understand that many who belong to the "Harmony" family are extremely happy with tonight results and already have their eyes set on next year's election, looking to unseat a few more incumbents.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Donlon, Brand and Banta Take Middletown BOE Election
Mike Donlon, Vinnie Brand and Bob Banta have won election to the Middletown Board of Education tonight, beating out 7 other rivals for the 3 seats that were up for grabs. Of the 3 elected, Brand was the lone incumbent to win reelection. The two other incumbent running this year, Chris Aveta and John Bennet Jr., both lost.
I understand that many who belong to the "Harmony" family are extremely happy with tonight results and already have their eyes set on next year's election, looking to unseat a few more incumbents.
I understand that many who belong to the "Harmony" family are extremely happy with tonight results and already have their eyes set on next year's election, looking to unseat a few more incumbents.
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30 comments:
Aveta goes down in flames even as his Republican buddies on the committee win big.
Hey Sharfy and friends, take notice. What are you guys going to do with Aveta now that planting him on the BOE has blown up in your face? Will you throw him out with yesterday's newspapers now that you used him up and he left you with egg on your face? Did you dangle a seat on the committee in front of him like a carrot on a stick if he would just work for you on the BOE?
I understand that you put him on the BOE so that he could do to the school district what you guys did to the library, but he's a loose cannon. He had to go and try to fire the Harmony School principal to help Joan Minnuies (who not coincidentally ran for the committee herself) and it cost him his seat on the BOE.
Now what can you do? Who is going to be willing to do your dirty work on the BOE after seeing what it did to Aveta's political aspirations?
I wonder what would have happened if he didn't flip on Joan at the last possible minute and change his vote to fire the principal?
Do you think he might have been re-elected? That's a tough one. What do voters like less, a weasel or a skunk?
I think the parents of Middletown have just fired a shot across your bow.
We're telling you to keep your hands off our board of education and stop playing politics with our children. Got it? Good. Have a nice day.
You really can't blame them for playing politics with our kids...it worked like a charm at South.
When did Joan Minnuies run for TC?????
Her brother has but when did she ?
She ran against her brother Joe at one point.
"You really can't blame them for playing politics with our kids...it worked like a charm at South."
You really need to get over it already. It wasn't the committee that got rid of him, it was an unanimous vote by the boe at the recommendation of the administrators.
Joe who? And when? I don't recall Joan ever running for TC
Mike,
Joe Mc Grath is Joan's brother. Did she run against him when he won a seat on the TC years ago?
In more recent years Joe has been a candidate but not successful.
More important and on "point", The BOE is no place for people whose only interest is politics !
The future of our kids is TOO important to entrust to unethical characters like that....and the TC should stay out of it also with their track record in these last few years. they have not !!.About time the TC did the job THEY were ELECTED to do and took care of running this community for ALL of it's residents and let the BOE take care of what they were elected to do and that is EDUCATING our kids!! Politics be damned.
The truth of the matter as it always is ,it's about control and the money ....plain and simple !!
That's why the TC supported the candidate, who just lost, when he ran 3 years ago... and the parents were unhappy and he was NOT RE-Elected
once his agenda became blatantly clear..
Messing with the education of our youth is despicable behavior and should not be tolerated by any voter in the town !!
This recent BOE election results does indicate the parents are no going to stand for the politicians ruining our schools.
Aveta is not the only one to go, it's time to show the exit ramp to Joan Minnuies too !
Her brother is Joe McGrath
Actually I believe Donlon would not go along with the anti-Shallop agenda, so it was not unanimous.
Perhaps the person who continues to twist the truth about the past is the one who needs to "get over it"
When are you parents going to realize that Shallop did not have the training necessary for the job he was hired to do?
You don't take a teacher and make them the head of the high school. It takes years of on the job EXPERINCE to become a good administrator. Having friends on the board of education does not qualify you to run any school, much less a high school with over a thousand students.
What you parents should have been outraged about was the fact that he was entrusted with your child's safety and education when he had ZERO EXPERIENCE at the job.
That's the real injustice here. It certainly is not the fact that someone lost a job he didn't merit having in the first place.
Please advise if Dr. Shallop had the credentials to serve as a high school principal because it's difficult to understand how a teacher without the proper certification would have even been appointed.
If he had the education and certification, he was qualified for the job. The educational process would have given him experience and given that, everyone starts somewhere ! It is doubtful he would have been appointed without those credentials.
The above comment just seems to be more from the person adept at twisting the truth and that person "should get over it" !!!!
Wow 8:52 - trying a new angle now to convince us that Shallop wasn't railroaded as a political favor to, ahem, someone?
By your argument, you should have alot of issues with the appointment of Shallop's replacement Patrick Rinella. He is a young guy with minimal administrative credentials but was a "protege" of Pat Houston.
You really should save your baloney for some of the newbies that might be buying real estate in Middletown.
Pat Rinella was a known quantity, Shallop was not. Pat had proven himself to be an excellent administrator as an assistant principal. He had years of administrative experience. Comparing the qualifications of Pat Rinella to Shallop is ridiculous and points out exactly why Shallop should never had been principal.
Shallop was promised the job BEFORE he had his administrative credentials. Bilboa had to hire interim principals while she waited for him to obtain the proper certification. The job was waiting for him.
Look at who Karen Bilboa's friends and neighbors were. Look at who was on the board of education at the time. Look at who her friend's kids had for a teacher. Then look at what ex-board members who were on the board when Shallop was hired showed up to fight for his job at the meeting the night he was let go.
Those are all the pieces. That is how a teacher with no administrative experience was handed one of the most demanding jobs in the district.
You think he lost his job because of politics? The fact is he got his job because of politics.
Classroom experience is a foundation for being an administrator, but being a good teacher does not guarantee that you will be a good administrator. Someone could be a great teacher and lacks the skills necessary to be an administrator.
If he wanted to save his job and he didn't think he did anything wrong, he could have requested that the meeting with the board to discuss his future be a public meeting. That was his right. Then there would be no speculation about why he was being let go. He preferred the speculation.
The rumors of what he did and who was involved aside, when his job was on the line he demonstrated exceptionally poor judgment. He creating a spectacle that has echoed for years. He fed off the rumors to garner support because he knew the board was prohibited by law from saying why they were letting him go. Their hands were tied, they could not defend themselves and he took advantage of the situation. He gave the board a black eye at the expense of his career as an administrator.
That lack of foresight and poor decision making might not have prevented him from explaining the periodic table to sixteen year old girls but I think it was a deal breaker when he left the classroom.
Notwithstanding that the student allegedly involved had a parent on the BOE and other political connections.
Stop trying to justify any of this because you just make it worse.
This town leaves much to be desired as far as politics go and politics has no place on the BOE. NONE. EVER.
The BOE members take an oath. How many of you adhere to that oath?
The members you are knocking certainly served the children of this community well and none of them are in politics. Some of you now,the officers in particular, should not be on any BOE.
The only lack of foresight on Shallop's part was that he failed to grasp the outsized influence of politics and cronyism in Middletown schools. He treated a politically connected student as he would any other. That was his crime. Spin it from any angle that makes it easier for you, but those are the facts.
He committed no crime, it's the politics in this town that are CRIMINAL ! And they are really SICK !!
"He treated a politically connected student as he would any other."
Or did he mistreat a politically connected student as he would any other?
Someone said that he didn't dot his "I's" and cross his "T's". To me, that means he did something wrong, he made a mistake. It's his job to make sure the "I"s are dotted, especially when dealing directly with your children. You make it sound like he wasn't very good at his job.
So if what you say is true, we had a rookie administrator who was dealing with a politically connected student and he didn't know enough to make certain he was dotting his "I's" and crossing his "T's". That's wasn't very bright of him.
"The only lack of foresight on Shallop's part was that he failed to grasp the outsized influence of politics and cronyism in Middletown schools."
Although I think he fully understood how cronyism at the time could get someone promoted above what their experience level would indicate, I agree with you, he was naive.
So years later, you are still upset because you had an inexperienced, naive principal who apparently wasn't very thorough at performing his duties lose his job. I want to work for you, I can be as inept as you need me to be.
This is a guy who wasn't smart enough to realize that demonizing the board of education would make it more difficult to find a job working for another board somewhere else.
He could have quietly resigned. walked away with dignity saying it was for personal reasons and applied for an administrative job in any district. Middletown's reputation for having a dysfunctional school board is well known. No one would have held it against him for leaving this town. They might have seen his leaving as a feather in his cap.
Did I say "allegedly" I meant to say "allegedly"?
Like everywhere.
Just crossing my "T"s.
The Decider has spoken.
Typical. You don't like what you read so you just insult the writer instead countering with an intelligent response.
It will never be over because some people, like you, will continue to bring it up at every opportunity, regardless of what the facts are.
If you don't like what I have to say, don't read it. But attacking me personally reflect on your level of intelligence, not mine.
What deep character flaw do you have that you have yet to learn "that silence is golden" and that you must always get the last word ??
Mike, I'm not telling you how to run your blog, but when the conversation erodes into nothing more than off topic personal attacks perhaps it would best to exercise some discretion before posting comments.
If all a poster has to add is insults, it must be because he has nothing of value to add, why add it?
I can appreciate a well turned insult in the context of an argument as much as the next guy. But when the topic is abandoned and the posts become nothing more than attacks on the posters maybe it's time for the moderator to moderate.
Anon 10:52
I feel your pain.
The problem is, as a previous anonymous poster (possibly the same that is being offensive to you) stated, people always want to have the last word. It's childish and sad but that's the nature people.
Since all the commentators wish to post anonymously and keep their true self hidden, I haven't seen any comments in my opinion, that have been truly over the top that I shouldn't post.
In the past I have chosen not to post comments that crossed the line on language and the use of "cuss" words and I will continue to do so when I feel it is warranted.
I suggest that you do the hardest and most grown-up thing and not respond to the individual that is being the most childish and offensive to you. Ignore them and move on. After all, that's what I do all the time when commentators insist on being childish and need to play "gotcha" at time.
I don't think anything was over the top either and I didn't respond to them.
My point was, if it doesn't add anything of value, why add it? Last word or not.
No biggie, just a suggestion that I thought might elevate the level of conversation here.
Mike, in case you haven't taken notice, there is one individual, who previously posted under the alias Legion (now anonymous) who has spent many an hour posting provocative comments about private citizens in the hopes of stirring up their wrath. Clearly her goal is to provoke them (or you) to post something "actionable" - something that she can "take to the bank" so to speak.
As a long time observer of Middletown politics, you know full well that that is how they operate. It has happened at the library, our schools, and on the TC. I think most of your readers know those posts when they see them.
The person smearing private citizens should be aware that her style is recognizable. She is a long time baiter of one of your posters who is not in public office or in any governmental position. This is part and parcel of the personal attacks on any citizen who has the audacity to criticize Middletown's elected officials. If what she adds is value, then the word has completely lost its meaning.
Anon 6:51
Which posts are you referring to when you say someone is "smearing" private citizens?
Because I have a feeling you are talking about my posts and I assure you, I am not Legion.
BTW, why are you so cryptic with you accusations?
Are you afraid that someone else has the same incredible ability that you have to identify who is posting anonymously so you are trying to throw them off your scent by being mysterious?
Well nice try, but you didn't fool me. I too possess the same uncanny ability to identify who is posting anonymously.
I know exactly who you are and unlike you I'm not afraid to tell the world.
Just admit it, there's no use pretending, you're Chuck Norris.
You didn't fool me for one minute, your style is recognizable.
Yeah right, Legion , from the Chun Kuk Do School!
Really?
You needed to Google "Chuck Norris"?
Don't let him find out.
You won't see the roundhouse kick coming because he will go back in time and do it yesterday.
It seems Art's sponsors have some high-brow tastes!
This is hysterical. You people are amazing.
First I am some lady called "Legion", now I am "Art".
Just think. On a blog on the World Wide Web, which has open access to anyone on the planet with an Internet connection you believe you can narrow it down to a single person who is posting anonymously based on......????? What exactly???
And what if you happen to be right? Then what? Do you expect the person to confess because there is no sense trying to hide their identity from someone as clever as you who has magical intuitive powers?
That's too funny. The irony is that when you guess a person's identity it actually only provides insight into who you are, not the person you are trying to out.
I now know you are the person who has a problem with Art, or Legion or whoever.
You've reduced the possible candidates for your anonymous identity tremendously whereas mine remains unchanged.
Isn't that right Pat?
Mike,
Just what does the BS from your poster at 8:25 and her previous posts have to do with the election of Donlon,Brand or Banta to the BOE !!
Giving her "airtime" just encourages her bizarre behavior and is far off the point of your post now, isn't it ?
No value added.
Obviously we're playing the game of who can get the last word in.
I don't have the time or patients to play along, so as of this writing consider this post closed to further comments. I will not post any further anonymous comments to this thread, if someone wishes to put their name to their comments then i'll consider posting, otherwise please refrain for commenting further.
This thread is closed.
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