A blogger posted the following insightful remarks (purple). These are great questions that should elevate the discussion of the current state of affairs in the Hamburg School District. Thank you blogger for your thoughts on these important topics. Hopefully this will generate some serious discussion about how the district might fix the predicament the Hamburg School Board has created with taxpayers dollars.
"What some supporters of the Yoviene cabal who post here refuse to understand is that you can absolutely take a stand for what you believe in, but when that stand extends to using your board faction's voting majority to kick a dissenter off the board for incredibly minor things like merely saying "Santa Claus came early to the Jetter household", it's gone way too far.
And the very idea that the Yoviene school board's supporters actually believe that it was right to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars prosecuting Forcucci for NON-CRIMINAL conduct while awarding Jetter for CRIMINAL conduct should entirely undermine their credibility.
HERE ARE A FEW QUESTIONS FOR THE YOVIENE FACTION SUPPORTER--instead of constantly whining about people who don't share your views of Forcucci and Stephenson (who you appear to be obsessed with), answer these questions:
Do you believe that it is responsible to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on attorneys' fees chasing an non-criminal with politeness problems while you are simultaneously cutting the kids' K-12 intrumural programs, refusing to fund girls' hockey, and not providing anywhere near sufficient Common Core training for teachers and parents?
Do you believe that it is proper for the board to spend money on attorneys to provide public relations advice on how to handle the media regarding the secret hearings controversy?
Do you believe that it was smart or proper to spend so much money on the Forcucci prosecution that it put the board in a position where it did not have the funds necessary to fight Jetter, forcing the board to offer him a huge settlement after admitting to criminal conduct?
Don't you believe that when Jetter was exposed as a criminal who victimized his supporters and the community at large with his dishonesty, Mr. Yoviene and his faction missed the opportunity to reach out to Forcucci and resolve the hearings with a compromise (especially considering that Jetter was a chief accuser)?
Wouldn't compromising with Forcucci after the Jetter drama and moving forward have been a MUCH MORE ETHICAL choice--and much smarter--than continuing this incredibly expensive fight where the price, so far, includes the board caving in to a criminal and giving him more than $100,000 simply because the board is worn out by its continuing fight against someone who has committed no crimes?
When all the bills are finally in, from the full cost of the board's Forcucci adventure to the ill-advised settlement awarded to Jetter--do you understand the rest of the community's concern that that HUGE pile of money could have been spent on teachers to alleviate elementary school overcrowding or vital Common Core training or kids' sports or any number of other needs that are important to kids? How can you justify the incredible costs of the board's political infighting to already strapped taxpayers?
Yoviene school board supporters, you can contribute to a healthy discussion on this blog by answering these questions. They are the questions of most of the community, not just a small group. Get a dialogue going that is more than just your usual personal defenses of people on your side of the aisle.
In short, step back from your personal involvement with the personalities at the center of this mess and consider what the rest of the adults in Hamburg are seriously worried about."
And the very idea that the Yoviene school board's supporters actually believe that it was right to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars prosecuting Forcucci for NON-CRIMINAL conduct while awarding Jetter for CRIMINAL conduct should entirely undermine their credibility.
HERE ARE A FEW QUESTIONS FOR THE YOVIENE FACTION SUPPORTER--instead of constantly whining about people who don't share your views of Forcucci and Stephenson (who you appear to be obsessed with), answer these questions:
Do you believe that it is responsible to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on attorneys' fees chasing an non-criminal with politeness problems while you are simultaneously cutting the kids' K-12 intrumural programs, refusing to fund girls' hockey, and not providing anywhere near sufficient Common Core training for teachers and parents?
Do you believe that it is proper for the board to spend money on attorneys to provide public relations advice on how to handle the media regarding the secret hearings controversy?
Do you believe that it was smart or proper to spend so much money on the Forcucci prosecution that it put the board in a position where it did not have the funds necessary to fight Jetter, forcing the board to offer him a huge settlement after admitting to criminal conduct?
Don't you believe that when Jetter was exposed as a criminal who victimized his supporters and the community at large with his dishonesty, Mr. Yoviene and his faction missed the opportunity to reach out to Forcucci and resolve the hearings with a compromise (especially considering that Jetter was a chief accuser)?
Wouldn't compromising with Forcucci after the Jetter drama and moving forward have been a MUCH MORE ETHICAL choice--and much smarter--than continuing this incredibly expensive fight where the price, so far, includes the board caving in to a criminal and giving him more than $100,000 simply because the board is worn out by its continuing fight against someone who has committed no crimes?
When all the bills are finally in, from the full cost of the board's Forcucci adventure to the ill-advised settlement awarded to Jetter--do you understand the rest of the community's concern that that HUGE pile of money could have been spent on teachers to alleviate elementary school overcrowding or vital Common Core training or kids' sports or any number of other needs that are important to kids? How can you justify the incredible costs of the board's political infighting to already strapped taxpayers?
Yoviene school board supporters, you can contribute to a healthy discussion on this blog by answering these questions. They are the questions of most of the community, not just a small group. Get a dialogue going that is more than just your usual personal defenses of people on your side of the aisle.
In short, step back from your personal involvement with the personalities at the center of this mess and consider what the rest of the adults in Hamburg are seriously worried about."
