Did you see the debate, Joshua? Or are you just repeating the same mantra?

I have gone to meetings in the past. Yvonne didn't attend. She didn't bother with these issues until Fulop was elected and she wanted to use the Board of Ed as another platform to grind her political axe.

As Matt has pointed out, the claims that "there are no supplies" are, at best, an exaggeration.

Some people will protest anything. There were people who protested expanding school breakfast to make sure kids got a meal! So they show up with signs with enlarged photos of rats. No, that does not mean that the buildings have rat infestation problems, or that any problems are the result of more kids eating breakfast.

When the choice was between Lyles and Brathwaite, I supported Brathwaite. There are plenty of decisions Lyles made that I objected to, and she seems to be politically tone deaf. As I've noted, the JCEA has called for a scalp, and I suspect that there are enough board members to recognize that.

But to say "she's given out so many contracts that the kids don't have supplies" is a statement that is both wrong but vague enough that one can get away with such an accusation. One hopes that board members entrusted with the decision to renew or not renew at least can come up with more honest reasons for the decision.

Matt, that is not true. I go to some meetings and then watch the monthly meetings on Channel 1. Parents and teachers do make these comments. This was discussed at the debate between Gina and John is on line from PS. 16 debate.
https://vimeo.com/143083610

Go to some meetings? I've attended every monthly Board of Ed meeting this year. There has not been one instance where someone has said, "There are no books or supplies in Mr. or Ms. _______'s class at PS__." It's never happened.

Does that mean the public schools are perfect and always have been? Of course not. But under this administration, there is far more accountability over all areas of instruction, operations and facilities than there ever has been. This has been recognized and confirmed by the NJ Dept of Education, Mayor Fulop and many others.

It is telling that those opposed to district leadership rely on rumor and innuendo to score cheap points rather than taking the time to engage and address the real challenges facing our district.

Teachers complain about books, even candidate and winner John Reichart said during the Paulus Hook debate his children do not have books. Parents complained band practice has been eliminated, why? There is a cost to band practice.
Also teachers have complained about computers maintenance and some parents have complained about the lack of soap in the bathrooms. Gina Verdibello complained about broken doors in the bathrooms for privacy. Go to some meetings or watch Channel 1.

Quote:

This 'lack of supplies' canard is trotted out every time somebody with no fact-based criticism wants to lob grenades at the administration.

Every time this mistruth is repeated, the administration and school board's response is the same: "Tell us what school or what classroom is undersupplied and we will address it immediately."

Surprise, surprise - none of these critics can name a single school or classroom. It is made up.

When you choose to lob mythical grenades at the administration, you can affect public opinion of the whole school district including teachers, students, and all other stakeholders. This is fair if you are speaking the truth. This is ugly and unfair if you are making it up or mindlessly repeating what you heard from somebody at a political debate or anywhere else.

You want to criticize the school district, fine. There are plenty of improvements still to be made and real problems to address. But let's base this criticism in reality.

Quote:

This comment, Joshua, has been made by different teachers and parents but according to you, it means it doesn't necessarily mean it is true. Have you ever watched the board of ed coverage on Channel 1?
When I took my required Sociology course in college, I discovered salesman and lawyers were at the bottom of the list for honesty. Sorry to attack your profession.

The fact that someone makes an accusation in a debate or in comment period does not mean that the accusation is true.


If I had to place a wager on the matter, I would guess that Lyles's days are numbered. Ronnie Greco threw down the gauntlet when he said, even after the contract was settled, that we should have someone more local as the next superintendent. What he said is awfully hard to walk back and he wouldn't have said it if he thought he might have to. So I have to assume that he is relatively confident that she does not have the votes to get renewed. I can think of four that would vote to renew but getting the fifth vote is hard.

Meanwhile, the people who shout the loudest at board meetings will proudly claim that their efforts led to dumping Lyles. They're already talking about what signs to bring to the meeting.

Why are the students always on the short list. When I taped the debate at PS #16, Gina Verdibello brought up the lack of supplies for students, when John Reichart said something like we need to priorities spending and said his children did not have text books. Sorry, I think the needs of the students come first.

Both the BOE President and the state education department seem to give her high marks, and it takes a long time to turn a large, under-performing institution around. It seems to me she should really be considered for an extended contract if there is agreement she is making improvements.

I'm not sure the problem with the contracts needs to be laid at her doorstep, though. That's a bigger issue, and IMO won't be resolved until the problem of underfunding education generally is resolved.

Quote:
I'm not sure what to make of this comment, I hope this isn't a criticism of her salary - Lyles has a very hard management job, which has an incredible important impact on the city's social fabric. A lot of DTJC makes $200K working for Wall Street, destroying the economy for fun and profit and not adding anything to society.

Quote:


'nuff said....

I am disappointed to see millions in contracts given out while students are short on supplies. Students should have band practice and sports restored. I want a new person at the helm.