School Board Meeting, August

Here is the video for August's school board meeting. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6U9zJBHu6g

Another Opening on the Board

Tonight was the first full board meeting for John Boyack who was appointed to the board last month.  It was the second meeting since new board members Steve Love and Steve Moser were seated after the May elections.  But the board is once again one member short. 

Sara Ramirez has resigned, and the board must again appoint a replacement.  This position should be filled by someone living in Zone 2, "that portion of Independence south of Monmouth Street and within the citiy limits". 

The board will advertise for the month of August, and then seek to fill the position at the September meeting.  "If you are interested in this School Board position, please submit a letter of interest to the School Board, Central School District 13J, 1610 Monmouth Street, Independence, OR, 97351.  Application deadline is Tuesday, August 30, 2011 @ 4:30 pm."  The full announcement will likely be posted on the district website as well as published in the Itemizer Observer over the next month.

We encourage good citizens to step forward and make themselves available for this service.  If you are reading this and live in zone 2, please give it serious consideration.  Please also alert your friends who live in the zone.  Positive peer pressure can go a long way!

The board has a great opportunity this year to select the next superintendent.  This is one time when the actions of the board will deeply affect the district, and for an extended time.  It should be a rewarding time to serve on the board.

New Board Members!

Tomorrow is the first meeting of the new board, and they will be voting on the replacement for the zone 4 seat, vacated by the recall of Susan Stoops. There are five applicants for the seat vacated by the recall - three from within zone 4, and two from elsewhere in the district. The board will (we assume) hear from the candidates and then vote on the replacement.

Also congratulations to Steve Moser and Steve Love!  They are joining the board tomorrow after winning their seats in the May election.

It should be an interesting meeting - come join us!

You only have until Tuesday!

Have you written your letter of intent?  Are you applying for the opening?  This opening is the opening created by the recall of Susan Stoops.  It's an appointed, 2-year term.  During the first year the board will be selecting the replacement for resigned superintendent Joseph Hunter.

Even if you don't live in Zone 4, you should ask yourself, "why not?"  If no suitable candidate from zone 4 applies, the board can consider candidates from anywhere in the district.  If you dismiss it out of hand, you may be denying our district of the best person for the job!  Applications are due at the district office on Tuesday. 

The district website has the official announcement.

School Board Elections

Congratulations to our new school board members. The results of yesterday's election can be found here: http://www.co.polk.or.us/sites/default/files/ElectionNightFinalPost.pdf

Mary Shellenbarger and Kathy Zehner both won re-election. Steve Love and Steve Moser will be joining them, beginning in July, along with continuing board members Traci Hamilton and Sarah Ramirez. The new board will appoint a replacement for Susan Stoops to fill out the remaining two years of her term.

Central 13J School Board Meeting 05022011 Part 1

Central 13J School Board Meeting 05022011 Part 2

Central 13J School Board Meeting 05022011 Part 3

Central 13J School Board Meeting 05022011 Part 4

Central 13J School Board Meeting 05022011 Part 5 Final

Citizens for 13J Excellence School Board Candidate Forum Part 1

Citizens for 13J Excellence School Board Candidate Forum Part 2

Citizens for 13J Excellence School Board Candidate Forum Part 3

Citizens for 13J Excellence School Board Candidate Forum Part 4

Citizens for 13J Excellence School Board Candidate Forum Part 5 Final

It's the End of the Beginning! - posted by John

The superintendent resigned, the chairperson of the school board recalled, and an informative public forum all in the course of 9 days!  Citizens for 13J Excellence has proven that we are a force for good in the school district.  That is, of course, thanks to all of the dedicated volunteers who held signs, distributed petitions, sent emails and kept smiling through it all.

We wouldn't have gotten here if it weren't for General Mona Hinds, who marched us rapidly forward with unending optimism, and Kathleen Stanley's determination to scrutinize every suspicious activity, and Jill Love's attention to detail in keeping our operations in complete compliance with the laws on political action committees.  So a great big thanks is owed to these three.

It has also been my personal pleasure to get to know all of our steering committee members better, and to associate with so many wonderfully talented volunteers.

Yes, it is the end of a great month, the end of a hard climb, and the end of a difficult chapter in our community's story.  This is a sweet victory.  But we are conscious that the damage done in our district by years of unethical and arrogant behavior will take some time to heal - especially in a time of ultra tight budgets and fundamental problems facing our educational system.

So Citizens for 13J Excellence will still be around.  There is too much work to do to expect our our school board to do it all, or even our teachers and adminstrators.  The days when most people have no idea who's on the school board (or what the school board is) need to be put behind us. The schools are a resource to our community, and we have a great community of talented people who can pitch in to assist where needed.

The school board will need our support over the next few months as they transition with the new board members, including a replacement for Susan Stoops, and as they search for a replacement for the superintendent.  And meanwhile, they'll face the really big problems.

As you may have read on one of our other pages, our mission is to support Central School District in these ways:

Facilitate communication between community citizens and district leadership,

Promote transparency and integrity in district administration,

Promote awareness in the community of the achievements and needs of our local educational system, and

Bring community support and resources to aid the district in providing a quality learning environment for our students.

Now, it's time to move forward.  It's been a great ride so far!

Election Results

QUESTION: DO YOU VOTE TO RECALL SUSAN MEIKLE STOOPS FROM CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT 13J BOARD MEMBER, POSITION 4?

YES 2065 (76%)

NO 649 (24%)

A Stunning Victory - The People Have Spoken!

Candidate Forum Tonight

The winds of change are blowing through our school district and it's now time to turn our attention to the future.  You are cordially invited to attend a candidate forum tonight.  The candidates seeking office in the May school board election will be on hand to answer questions and share with us their ideas as we all move forward.

What:  School Board Candidate Forum

When:  Monday, April 25th at 7:00 p.m.

Where:  Independence Public Library

Following the question and answer period, we will have the opportunity to chat informally with the candidates.  Refreshments will be served.

We hope to see you there!

Superintendent Hunter Resigns!!!

While this is fantastic news, it does not indicate "Mission Accomplished".  If the board, led by Susan Stoops, had figured this out even six months ago, with the input they were receiving, there might not have been a recall election.  But Stoops' behavior through this entire episode has demonstrated that she is not right for the school board.  Her desire to serve, her love of kids, and her experience in education, laudable as they truly are, do not compensate for her unwillingness to objectively consider the years of complaints about Mr. Hunter. 
Stoops has not demonstrated that she can act effectively as an overseer in the public interest.  That is not an easy thing to do, and the remaining (and soon-to-be-elected) board members should all be pondering the importance of that part of the role.  We thank them all for serving, and look forward to smoother sailing going forward.

In the meantime, please get out the vote!  Vote YES for recall!

Meet the Candidates

Citizens for 13J Excellence will be hosting a forum for the candidates seeking election to the school board in May's election. The forum will be held at the Independence Public Library this Monday, April 25th at 7:00 p.m. This is a great opportunity to get to know the individuals who will be representing us for the next four years and to learn their positions on the issues confronting our district.

Hope to see you there!

Vote YES for Change!

Participating in local politics is a lot more work than listening to talk radio . . .

Welcome! 

For those of you viewing this blog for the first time, here's a quick explanation of the layout of our blog:  Above this post, under the banner, you'll find tabs linking you to information about the recall effort and about our group.  Please especally read all the way to the bottom of the "why recall" page.  On the right are links to other resources with more information on Central School District issues.

The issues that matter most may be the little ones.

I feel fortunate that I got involved in this process last fall.  I have a much greater appreciation for the work that our school board members do than I did before - yes, even Susan Stoops.  They spend many hours without thanks and without pay to represent the public in ensuring we have a quality public education system for the children of our community. 

I also appreciate the role that the public must play in keeping our institutions functioning as they were designed.  Volunteer service in the schools is important, but public awareness of district issues and school board actions is critical. 

I urge all voters to read, listen, ask questions and vote thoughtfully.  I also urge everyone to pay attention to local politics.  Monmouth / Indpendence / Central / Polk conversations aren't accompanied by a dynamic radio personality, but those conversations may have a more direct effect on you, your family and your neighbors than the state and national issues do.

And more to the point, expressing your perspective, experience, and wisdom can make an immediate difference. 

Let's be citizens, not just fans.

John's Response to a Concerned Citizen's Request for Information

Thank you for your inquiry and for the maturity with which you approach the question.  It shows that you treat community concerns and your vote with the seriousness they deserve.  I will respond from my own experiences and with the resources our group has assembled.

First, let me assure you we are not out to ruin a reputation.  I cannot find fault with Susan Stoops' value as a person, friend or neighbor.  We do not attack her character or pesonality.  Our grievance is with the mis-management of the school district.  We have run out of patience with the school board's inability or unwillingness to provide effective oversight on its executive, Superintendent Joseph Hunter; and its unwillingness to listen to community voices of concern regarding Hunter or regarding its own decisions.

I am a novice to local politics. I began following Central School District issues last September when I ran headlong into unethical and wasteful conduct in the district.  My concern was money.  When I brought that issue to the forefront, I found that the district was full of unhappy teachers and that there were others in the community with serious concerns about the district leadership.  This group has now become the executive committee of Citizens for 13J Excellence.  You can read brief biographical statements here.

Some of our best teachers are looking to get out of the district.  The teachers submitted an overwhelming vote of no confidence on district leadership two years ago, and were officially ignored, but publicly accused of falsifying the count.  The teachers worked half a year with no contract while the superintendent's contrtact is never shorter than 2 years - it is a three-year contract updated annually.  His contract continues to provide more and more generous cash compensation while teachers are being cut and class-sizes increased. 

No expense was spared on the new (and, I admit, beautiful) high school renovation, including low-return investments such as solar panels.  The theater has every frill imaginable for a high school - but not all of it is working.  When parts of the project didn't quite fit into the 48-million dollar bond, monies from the general fund - in the amount that could have paid four teachers for a year, were used.  Small loans were taken to augment the project.  This was during a recession when construction bids were unusually low. 

Worst of all, in the finishing and fixtures budgeet area (2 million-ish), the project seems to be missing many receipts!  There is no proof of competitive bidding, and many purchases were made far ABOVE PUBLISHED catalog prices.  And when the community clamors for an audit of the expenses, the school board has balked at the cost.  We can afford to increase the superintendent's compensation but we can't afford the proper audit costing less than 1/1000th of the bond expenditures?  Seeming fishy, isn't it?

Meanwhile, the superintendent's conduct toward his teachers and staff is frequently the subject of formal and informal complaint.  The district does not provide a working environment where employees are respected; instead, it is managed strongly from the top down.  Another superintendent has been brought in as a buffer between Hunter and some employees who have lodged a complaint.  It was that serious, but not serious enough to put him on paid administrative leave?

And what does the school board do with these formal complaints?  Until recently, nothing.  But it's HOW they do nothing that leads us back to Susan Stoops.  There are three members of the board who will advance the concerns voiced by teachers and public.  They are Kathy Zehner, Mary Shellenbarger and Paul Evans.  There are three (four until one resigned leaving an open position) who consistently praise the superintendent and disregard criticism of him.  Chief among those who sees it the superintendent's way is Susan Stoops.  And as chairperson she has the biggest megaphone.  By policy she controls the communication from othe board to the district.  By preference, she has also chosen to control the communication from the district to the board, keeping some board members in the dark on some issues.  She actually advanced a policy prohibiting school board members from having discussions with the public on any matter touching the schools except within the school board meeting.

I cannot speak to her motives for this behavior.  In her heart of hearts she probably believes that what she and Hunter are doing are right and that the critical voices are wrong.  I belive this is a dangerous mindset for a leader, however virtuous the intention.  As the governing body of the school district, the school board should be providing skeptical oversight of the superintendent, regardless his popularity or reputation.

Like most school districts in the nation today, our school district faces some really difficult problems.  There just isn't enough tax revenue coming in to run the schools the way they have been.  In the face of this kind of challenge it is unfortunate that we are arguing about ethics and oversight.  But we certainly won't resolve the coming difficult issues with a divided school board and an unethical superintendent.

Bottom line: the district is being mismanaged.  The school board is the designated entity that has power to fix the problem, and they have not done anything about it.  The school board reports to us, the community, and we are blessed as Americans and Oregonians to have the priveledge of voting and the priveledge of recalling our elected officials.  We made a mistake and now we should fix it.

Rock the Vote!

Dear Recall Volunteers,

We have a busy weekend ahead of us. It's time to GET OUT THE VOTE!

We also know that you have lives and may not be able to make it to all of these meetings/events. The most crucial task over the next few days is getting the door hangers and yard signs distributed. If your time is limited and you can do only one thing, PLEASE try to make it on Saturday afternoon and bring as many friends and family members as you can rustle up. The more people we have, the quicker we can finish. If you can't make it on Saturday but would be able to help later in the weekend, let me know (some already have) and we will give you the "leftovers" from Saturday.

Friday, April 15 at 3 p.m. - We will meet at my house to work on the yard signs. We have 60 completed and about 140 more to go. Please be working on finding them homes - we don't want any orphaned yard signs.

Saturday, April 16 at 10:30 a.m. - We will meet again at my house to finish any remaining signs and also to hand out door hangers and maps to anyone who wants to start walking neighborhoods early.

Saturday, April 16 at 2 p.m. - We will set up headquarters at Riverview Park in Independence. We'll divide into 9 teams and go out to distribute door hangers and yard signs. The goal is to get all of Monmouth and Independence done this weekend. We will then be able to assess our supplies and energy level and decide whether to try to cover the areas of the district that lie outside the city limits. In studying the voter registration rolls, there are a surprising number of district voters in those areas.

If anyone is willing to write a letter to the editor for next week's I-O, please contact John Boyack (boyack.john@gmail.com) as we are trying to coordinate our efforts.

Our candidate's forum in scheduled for Monday, April 25, 7 p.m. at the Independence Public Library. We will be sending the candidates a list of possible questions in advance so if you have suggestions for questions that you would like to hear answers to, please forward them to me no later than Tuesday, April 19th.

I will be forwarding you another email from Jill. She wrote a letter to be sent to everyone in her email contacts reminding them to vote and urging them to vote YES on the recall. We are sending the letter to you in hopes that you will modify it in whatever way you wish and then send it to your own friends and acquaintances.

We are liking our odds of successfully recalling Susan Stoops but we can take nothing for granted. We should not be complacent! We need to get out the vote and make sure that we not only win but that we win by a large margin. Please do everything you can to make this a successful campaign!

Kathleen

Upcoming Meetings

Dear Members of C413JE (Citizens for 13J Excellence),

We have a number of important meetings coming up.

Monday, April 4th is the regular school board meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the CHS cafeteria. Immediately preceeding that meeting is a Performance Audit Review meeting at which the board will be finalizing the shape and scope of the recently approved performance audit of the 2008 bond. Although board materials indicate that this meeting will be in the cafteria as well, I have been informed that they will actually be meeting in the CHS library. You may need to check both locations. A performance audit is something we pushed hard for and we're hoping that they have taken our request to make it a true and comprehensive audit seriously.

April 13th at 7 p.m. C413JE will meet at the Independence Public Library to discuss the elections. At this point, the indications are that Susan Stoops will in fact opt for the recall election rather than resign. We will need to move fast to continue our educational campaign and also to get out the vote. Initial word from the country clerk is that ballots will be mailed around April 14th and due back by April 28th. The steering committee will be meeting several times between now and then to put plans in motion. At our meeting on the 13th we will need organize volunteers to help distribute yard signs and door hangers and also to phone bank to registered voters in our district. We will also be planning the candidate forum that we will hosting on April 25th.

April 25th at 7 p.m. at the Independence Public Library C413JE will host a forum for school board candidates. This is good timing as the ballots for the May election will be mailed on April 29th. All five candidates will be invited (Steve Love, Preston Baxter, Kathy Zehner, Mary Shellenbarger, and Steve Moser) and we will send them a list of questions/issues in advance. School board elections usually pass by with very little notice. Most voters don't know who the candidates are nor are they familiar with the issues. C413JE believes it is time to change that - we need to know who we are voting for and where they stand on the issues confronting our school district.

See you soon!

This Feels Good!

We can take a few moments to enjoy this feeling before we move on to the election phase!

Collect a few more! And submit on Tuesday at 7 pm

Hey, everyone!  We'll meet at the Monmouth City Park on Tuesday from 7:00 pm to 7:30 to gather the last of the signatures and celebrate the end of the signature-gathering phase of the campaign.  We need 90 to 100 more signatures, so if everyone can go and get just a few more!

Canvassing tomorrow - March 24

The petitions were delivered to the county clerk today with 1,025 signatures. We still need to gather some more, however, so we will be canvassing again tomorrow. If you can, PLEASE join us at Riverview Park in Independence at 1:30 pm. We'll divide into teams and set forth to gather the extra signatures we need for insurance against any unverifiable ones that have been already submitted.

Over the Top!

Hey sports fans - as of this evening we have well over 1,000 signatures on our recall petitions!

Since we need 1,001 to request a recall election, we are ready to deliver them to the county clerk tomorrow to begin the verification process. PLEASE keep collecting signatures, however, as some of those we have collected will be disqualified for one reason or another. We would like to have an additional 150 signatures within the next few days.

The clerk has indicated that it will take around one week to certify the signatures. After that, Susan Stoops will have five days to decide whether or not to resign. If she chooses to resign it will be effective immediately. If she chooses not to resign there will be a recall election within 35 days.

So far she has indicated that she will not resign so we need to start our preparations for the election. Our plans include: the distribution of informational literature, letters to the editor, yard signs, and a mass mailing to the households of all registered voters within the district.

Some food for thought: when she was elected in 2009 (running unopposed), Stoops received 1,370 votes. We already have almost that many voters who would like to see her removed from office.

Calling All Petitioners

If you have petitions with any number of signatures, please bring them to the Independence Public Library tomorrow evening between 5:30 and 7:00. We are very close to ending this phase of the recall and hope to turn in the petitions to the county clerk this week for verification. Let's make a real effort to gather as many signatures as we can over the next 36 hours! Thanks to everyone for their dedication and hard work.

Canvassing this Saturday, March 19

Our door-to-door canvassing last weekend was very successful! We not only collected lots of signatures, we handed out information to community members who were unaware of the magnitude of the problems in our school district. We would like to build on our momentum by canvassing again this Saturday, March 19 from 11 am - 2 pm. Please join us, even if you only have an hour or so to spare. We will set up our tent at Madrona Park in Monmouth and you can meet us there to pick up supplies and choose a neighborhood to canvass.

We are very close to reaching the required number of signatures. Canvassing will allow us to finish up this phase of the recall effort in the next week or so and also inform the community of the issues that will be at stake in the election to follow.

In the immortal words of Larry the Cable Guy, let's Git R Done!

Hope to see you Saturday!

Elementary School Conferences

All four elementary schools in our district will be having parent-teacher conferences all day on Thursday and Friday this week. If you can, please take up a position outside a school (on the public sidewalk) with your clipboard and copies of the petitions. This is a great opportunity to connect with parents as they enter and leave for conferences and hopefully collect a large number of signatures. We know this is not a time when most of us are available so if you can spare an hour or two please do what you can.

Henry Hill Elementary
Independence Elementary
Ash Creek Elementary
Monmouth Elementary

Conferences will run from 9 am - 5 pm on Thursday and Friday. Some teachers will also be holding conferences into the early evening on Thursday.

Recall Meeting - Tuesday, March 15

We will be meeting on Tuesday, March 15 at 5:30 pm at the Independence Public Library. At this meeting, we'll bring everyone up to date on what we have accomplished so far and plan our next steps. In less than two weeks we have made great progress in our signature gathering efforts and will soon be able to submit our petitions to the county clerk. On Tuesday we'll discuss our strategy for the final stage of signature gathering and begin planning for the recall election. Hope to see you there!

A Special Message from Mona

Dear Citizens For 13 J Excellence,

What a great start to the signature gathering for the Recall Campaign. This just shows, I believe that our 13 J Citizens are dissatisfied and DO WANT TO be involved and have a voice.

After the Board Meeting on Monday, I have heard from some that it is time to step up the campaign a notch. We truly believe that we can complete the signature gathering very soon. So, we are announcing an event this weekend that we would like all to come to!! For those that are in town please come, stop by, spread the word, bring friends and family, stop by and encourage...whatever works into your day.

We will be set up at the Independence Riverview Park by 11 a.m. this Saturday. Please if at all possible be there at 11 a.m. to help rally and energize. We will then go forth and gather signatures. Some will stay and encourage, some will go door-to-door, some will go to their own neighborhoods and friends gathering signatures of those they know, whatever people feel comfortable completing. It is our intent to gather signatures in teams until 2 p.m.

If each of us would volunteer and just gather 10 signatures a piece we believe we would be complete, or very, very close to completion of the signature gathering phase. I do not believe that this is unrealistic to be done this week or next. If we were to accomplish this, then we could get a special election to occur even before the May Election.

This, to me is vital. I believe that we have reached a “Crisis” level in this district. I get the honor of walking into our schools at least once a week. I also know that if we do not change what is currently being allowed to happen to our teachers, staff, administrators and fellow community members in this district that we will be damaged beyond repair. I am truly not an “alarmist” type of person. What I am, is a person of action. I know that each of you are also.

What I have seen thus far in the signature gathering, at meetings, at the petition tables is soooo exciting.

So, let’s come together, keep up the momentum and get this complete!

If you are unable to be there on Saturday, I am asking that you either stop by one of the tables this evening, (Monmouth, or Independence Plaza, 4-7p) or ask me to deliver a copy of the petition to you, and commit to completing one 10 signature petition this week.

PLEASE BRING ANY COMPLETE PETITIONS TO SATURDAY, OR THE ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING ON TUESDAY, MARCH 15TH, 5:30-7 p.m., Independence Library. It is very important to turn all signatures in by that time, even if only one signature is on a page.

mona
(K-Hinds)
503-689-3768

What a Great First Week!

Thanks, everyone for a great first week of signature collecting. The weather wasn't very cooperative so it was especially gratifying to have so many folks stop by our tables to sign the petition. Susan even came by to get a button and a brochure for her scrap book.

Hopefully this next week will be warmer and drier - keep up the good work!

Kick-Off Events

Signature Gathering for the Recall Susan Meikle Stoops Campaign has begun! Bring a friend and come sign a petition.

We will have tables at:
Independence Plaza
Monmouth Volunteer Hall (144 S Warren)

From 4 - 7 PM on the following days:
Monday, February 28
Thursday, March 3
Tuesday, March 8
Thursday, March 10

Please Click on the Different Pages Above to Navigate this Site

We are constantly updating this site with additional detail.  On the "Why Recall?" page we expect to have a list of Susan Meikle-Stoops' failures by category, with links to details for each issue.  Please check back periodically to see our progress.

The Campaign has Officially Started

The recall campaign is officially underway. The Polk County Clerk approved our statement and petitions on Thursday and we are ready to begin collecting signatures. Our big kick-off events will be on Monday, February 28. Check back here for information on locations where we will be set up.

Check Out Our New Blog!

Hello everyone, and welcome to Citizens for 13J Excellence.  Please allow me to introduce you to our blogsite.  On the right you'll find links to our Facebook page, The Central Advocate blog, and links to share our site on your Facebook or Twitter account.  Above you'll see several different pages to inform you about the recall campaign and the objectives of this committee.  Please click and peruse! 

Our Facebook Group Page

If you are a Facebook user, you can connect with us at:


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Citizens-for-13J-Excellence/192641224092836#!/