UPDATE:  1/16/10 – The invitation that started this whole mess can be seen by clicking here. 

A MEETING HELD ON 10/26/09 supposedly to give the residents of the Wyoga Lake neighborhood the “real” information about their storm water run-off problems, Council Person Mary Bednar invited a few other council members and few members of the Planning Commission along with the City Engineer to a small get-together with the residents of the area.   The attending council members were:  Janet D’Antonio, Ron Alexander, Mary Bednar and Sara Drew.

The meeting addressed some “false and misleading” information circulating in the area.  We are not concerned so much with the content of the meeting as with HOW it was held. 

At taxpayers expense two employees were invited to this meeting held after their regular work hours (can you say “overtime”?).   In addition, it should be pointed out that the four council members who were there constituted a quorum.   Under Ohio law the quorum constitutes a council meeting. 

In the mean time,  the three members of the planning commission who attended also constituted a quorum. 

So, you might ask, exactly what kind of a meeting was this?

Was it a City Council Meeting?

Was it a Planning Commission Meeting?

No, it was A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN MEETING to promote Mary Bednar’s campaign for election to city council.   

Her campaign re-election  committee  paid for the goodies and other amenities.  Did they pay for the information to try to heal over the irate residents too?   Cider and muffins will excuse a whole lot of governmental misdeeds.  Even when one of the city’s residents tried to attend the meeting and was told that it was a “private” gathering and was escorted off the premises under the threat of having the Police called by a member of the  council.   Councilman Ron Alexander tried to convince the resident to stay (because he probably recognized the illegality of the meeting) but the poor guy left because he didn’t want to violate the law. 

Isn’t this the same group of council members that authorized the purchase of a house for $250,00 to save the residents from the catastrophic costs of repeated flooding?  Now we even have to pay for the maintenance of a vacant lot forever.  Have they offered to buy your house?

Maybe this will help:

The Board has outlined its first five “consequences” if the levy fails:

1.  Reduce busing to the state minimum level

2.  Reduce the school lunch program in the cafeteria (a federal program)

3.  Close one school building

4.  Reduce the teacher/student ratio (larger classes)

5.  “Pay-to-play” for sports, clubs, etc.

“No decisions on cuts were discussed as the the Board meeting focused on consequences the Board said may encourage voters to pass a school levy next May.”  Local Media

…”until the community feels the pain they have no intention of voting yes.“  Superintendet Russ Jones, Update to BOE

 ”Why not put those things out there that are seriously going to impact the community?”  Denny Mariola, President, BOE

 ”I need something that will say, ‘This is going to impact me’ (the voter), I think larger class sizes will affect more people than busing.”  Karen Wright, BOE member

“Again, it’s to incentivize (a corporate-jargon non-word meaning “motivate”) the voter.”    Catherine Bulgrin, District Treasurer

 ”Maybe closing a building would drive people…to the polls,”  Pat Mathews, BOE Member

“It’s just a matter of rearranging your work schedule to accomodate transportation cuts.”  Dick Spangler, BOE Member

Deb,  Can we count on you to have a large number of your rank and file present at the Stow Idiocracy (sic) meeting, Oct. 23rd, at 7:00PM at the Stow City Hall in the Safety Center.  This is where the council meetings are held.  This group is gaining steam and seems their direction is against teachers, classified, administration and of course school board.  We had great representation at their last meeting as you were an attendee and noticeably had put them aback by our presence, questions and comments.  I would really appreciate that as many teachers as possible attend this meeting as to show this group and community we are united in the progress this district is making primarily because of the dedication of all the employees that are connected to our school system.

 It appears that this Board does not represent the best interests of our community, but instead, has decided to represent the unions.   Below is an e-mail sent to the teachers and others in the school system:

The next meeting of the “Stow Citizens for Responsible Government” is this Thursday, Oct. 23rd at 7:00 in the conference room of the Stow Safety Building.  Please try to attend.  This organization has a website which outlines their point of view and the issues they have with our school district.  It is full of misinformation…if you could, plese take some time to review it so that if a community member asks you about it you will be able to let them know about the inaccuracies.

The last meeting was attended by several administrators, teachers and support staff.  Thanks to those that could be there!  One of the issues that SCRG has is that they don’t feel the Board of Education is “transparent ” enough with the voters.  Yet when asked who make up their committee, or who their board members were, the audience was told that they weren’t willing to share that information.  This answer is an example of the type of group that is working against the good we are trying to do, and most importantly, they are hurting the kids of our communities.  If you have any questions, contact Deb Pauley or Deb Husted.

 THE UNIONS ARE TELLING ITS MEMBERSHIP AND ANYONE ELSE WHO WILL LISTEN THAT THE INFORMATION ON THIS WEBSITE IS “FULL OF MISINFORMATION”, THEN CONTINUES TO ASK THAT THE MEMBERS FAMILIARIZE THEMSELVES WITH THE SITE TO “LET THE COMMUNITY KNOW (IF ASKED) ABOUT THE INACCURACIES”.

What Mr. Mariola, the School Board, Superintendent, Treasurer, Business Manager and the two unions do not say is that NOT ONE of these people has challenged in any way the information provided by the SCRG website.   Why haven’t they?  The answer is quite simple.  The information on this website has been provided to you through the Ohio Open Records Act.  These records come directly from the Treasurer and should be considered indisputable.  The facts are just that.  Anyone is entitled to request information from the Treasurer’s office and we encourage those of you who want factual information to make this contact yourself.

How unfortunate it is that the Stow Citizens for Responsible Government website is under attack only because an effort is being made to empower community members by offering the truth and allowing people to make responsible decisions for themselves.

The prevailing attitude throughout the district continues to be, if you aren’t with “them” you are against children.  NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!

According to records forwarded to us by the Treasurer of the School District, the May 8th forecast for the fiscal year 2008 was off by $900,000.  It is also hard to believe that fiscal year 2012 has gone from a negative $24.7 million dollars in the May forecast to a negative $12.0 million dollars in the October forecast.  This makes us question if we need a levy.  The Board of Education still has no action plan except to ditch the Finance Committee (an extremely valuable check-and-balance tool) and determine how to better sell a levy to the community.  They are quite worried about getting rid of  the Business Manager and screwing up that position rather than paying attention to what really needs their attention.

The school board recently gave the district treasurer a very favorable evaluation. In considering some of the public concerns expressed regarding her performance, we would have asked the treasurer…

- Why are board agendas and meeting minutes consistently posted late?

- Why are meeting minutes inconsistent and not adequate to convey the board’s rationale for voting, as the law requires?

- Why is the five-year forecast not prepared in a timely manner, with only brief opportunity for public (not to mention board) comment or questions? – Why are you consistently late posting meeting information?

- Why is the public unable to reach you directly?

- Why do you have so much trouble complying with public records requests, often consulting lawyers at district expense? Are you not conversant with school law regarding such requests?

- Why are you consistently “unavailable” to the press for comment on district finances?

- Why, when asked any of the above questions, do you always find someone else or some situation to fault? As CFO aren’t you ultimately accountable for the accuracy, legality and transparency of your office and employees?

In considering any additional raises, perks, incentives, etc. as a result of her recent evaluation, perhaps the board should also contemplate a few of the awards the previous treasurer earned for the district. They truly exhibit fiscal efficiency, accountability and accuracy in reporting:

- 2005 Making Your Dollars Count Award (for demonstrating commitment to careful spending, accurate fiscal recording and efficiency) – State Auditor – 2006-07 Meritorious Budget Award (for excellence in the preparation and issuance of its school system budget) – Association of School Business Officials International – Fiscal Year ending 6/2006 Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting (for achieving the highest standards in government accounting and financial reporting) – Government Finance Officers Assoc.

MAYBE SOME ANSWERS TO THE ABOVE QUESTIONS ARE CONTAINED IN THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENT RECEIVED THROUGH THE OHIO OPEN RECORDS ACT:

AGREEMENT CLARIFYING TERMS OF SEPARATION FOR TREASURER CATHERINE M. BULGRIN

WHEREAS there is currently in existence a contract between the South-Western City School District Board of Education (hereinafter “the Board”) and Catherine M. Bulgrin (hereinafter “Ms. Bulgrin”) for the employment of Ms. Bulgrin as Treasurer through December 31, 2007; and

WHEREAS certain issues have arisen which the parties wish to resolve with a minimum of cost, delay, and disruption; and

WHEREAS the parties are desirous of facilitating a smooth transition in the position of Treasurer for the benefit of the District and its students;

IT iS HEREBY AGREED by the Board and Ms. Bulgrin as follows:

1. The Board will continue to pay Ms. Bulgrin at her currently contracted salary rate for the balance of her contract, and will continue to provide insurance coverage and other fringe benefits without change for the balance of her current contract, except as set forth in this Agreement.

2. Ms. Bulgrin will submit her irrevocable resignation from employment in the District effective as of December 31, 2007. Such resignation shall be submitted for the Board’s acceptance at the same time this Agreement is submitted for the Board’s approval, it being understood and agreed that such resignation shall be conditioned upon the Board’s approval of this Agreement..

3. Beginning with the effective date of this Agreement, Ms. Bulgrin will utilize her unused vacation leave until such leave is exhausted. Notwithstanding anything in Ms. Bulgrin’s individual contract or Board policy, no further vacation leave shall be accrued during Ms. Bulgrin’s employment in the District.

4. Upon the exhaustion of her vacation leave, Ms. Bulgrin will utilize sick leave through June 30, 2007. The Board will not make any objection or require any type of verification for the utilization of sick leave during this period.

5 Effective July 1, 2007, or at such earlier time as the District may identify and hire another individual to serve as Treasurer, Ms. Bulgrin will be placed on special assignment to perform such projects as the Board may determine for the balance of her contract term. During this period, Ms. Bulgrin will not report to work in the District offices but will perform her assigned duties from home or another office location of her choosing. It is also agreed that during this period, Ms. Bulgrin will assume the title of Special Assistant to the Treasurer; provided, however, that such change in title will not affect the salary or fringe benefits paid to Ms. Bulgrin.

6. If, at any time following the Board’s approval of this Agreement, Ms. Buigrin should accept. a position with another SERS, STRS, or PERS public employer, the Board’s obligations under its contract with Ms. Bulgrin shall end as of the effective date of such alternate employment; provided, however, that if the base salary earned under such alternate employment through December 31, 2007 is less that the base salary paid in her current position, the Board shall pay the difference to Ms. Buigrin in a lump sum. The projected difference will be paid to Ms. Buigrin in a lump sum within thirty (30) calendar days of the effective date of such alternate employment. Any required adjustment to the difference, based upon the actual difference as of December 31, 2007, will be paid by one party to the other, as appropriate, by January 31, 2008.

7. Ms. Buigrin may continue to use her District e-mail account as long as she remains an employee of the District, subject to any applicable policies relating to employee usage of school computers and networks.

8. The Board agrees that nothing herein shall be construed as an admission of fault or wrongdoing on the part of the Ms. Bulgrin, and M.s. Bulgrin likewise agrees that nothing herein shall be construed as an admission of fault or wrongdoing on the part of the Board. Both parties will exercise all efforts in good faith to refrain from public comment on either the terms of this Agreement or the circumstances giving rise to this Agreement, and will likewise exercise their good-faith efforts to ensure that the underlying purpose of this Agreement is achieved, namely, a smooth transition in the position of Treasurer for the benefit of all concerned.

9. The Board and Ms. Bulgrin hereby release any and all claims they may now have or could have asserted against the other, or the officers, employees, or agents of the other, past or present, arising from or connected with the employment of Ms. Bulgrin in the South-Western City School District. The Board will not exercise its legal option to nonrenew the contract of Ms. Bulgrin.

WHEREFORE the parties, by their own hand or through their designated representatives, have indicated their acceptance of the foregoing terms by affixing their signatures below:

SOUTH-WESTERN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION

Here is an example of a teacher’s compensation.  This teacher has 11 years with the school district and a bachelor’s degree:

Contract Salary: $51,364.00

Amount of increase negotiated for ‘07-’08: $1,426.50

Longevity increase for ‘07-’08: $1,581.50

Total increase: $3,008.00

Total % increase for ‘07-’08: 6.22%

Extended time (0 days): -0-

Supplemental Contract: -0-

TOTAL SALARY: $51,364.00

BENEFIT INFORMATION

STRS (State Teacher’s Retirement System) (14% of salary): $7,190.96

Medicare Tax (1.45% of salary): $744.78

Worker’s Comp/Unemployment Insurance: $1,027.28

Life Insurance ($50,000.00 policy): $117.00

Medical/Rx Insurance (family coverage) Board paid: $11,496.24

(Teacher’s ANNUAL premium for Medical/Rx Insurance: $605.16)

Dental Insurance (family coverage) Board paid: $1,482.12

(Teachers ANNUAL premium for dental insurance (family coverage): $1,482.12)

TOTAL BOARD PAID BENEFITS: $22,058.38

TOTAL COMPENSATION PACKAGE: $73,422.38

1. The Board has hired a “public engagement advisor” to help them “incentivize” the voters of Stow-Munroe Falls School District. We don’t yet know how much money was blown on this contract, but we do intend to find out.

2. From August 1,2007 to June 2008 (the school year) 15,570 days were missed by school system employees. The majority of these days were sick days. This figure also includes “professional days”, and other days that were missed. The vast majority of these days were paid days off. 11,521 substitutes were called in to replace the employees missing work. In many cases, there were not enough substitutes to cover the missing staff. The taxpayers paid for both the missing employee and the substitute. The Board of Education has negotiated away so much money to the unions it is shocking. A private sector business would go bankrupt immediately. Why do we allow this in the public sector? It happens when taxpayers are not aware. The public does not know what these employees are getting through negotiations with their unions.

3. A high school unit principal received a $26,000 raise when promoted to Principal. This raise elevated the new Principal to a pay range higher than the preceding Principal.

4. A high school Principal with no experience was given the job of Human Resource Director at a salary higher than the former H.R. Director who had experience.

The Board had the opportunity to save significantly with both of these positions, but they failed. There were at least 40 applicants for each position, some already loaded with experience, that possibly could have been hired for less.

5. The Assistant Treasurer’s salary went from $41,000 to $51,000. When the Board of Education members were candidates they criticized the raise. But when it came time to hire a replacement they raised the salary even higher to over $58,000.

6. Attempts have been made to offer the school system free services. The Booster Club offered to raise funds to carpet the football stadium with artificial turf. The Superintendant vetoed the idea because he did not want the club raising private monies. We feel that this school district belongs to the taxpayers. We feel that the Superintendant has no right to refuse such offers if they are accepted by the School Board. Why would you want to raise taxes when you can get the services free? Simply because if the field was carpeted with new levy funds, that levy would not expire. The subsequent money could be used to pay for something else.

7. Why would you want to pay an ongoing tax for an all-day kindergarten when it is cheaper to pay a one-time fee for the service and only if you use it? permanent and all  Does the senior citizen on Social Security who lives down the street from you care about a carpeted football field or an all-day kindergarten that they will never use?

We have been told, in letters to the local newspaper, how hard teachers work. Don’t we all? We have also been told by one teacher how she creates “miracles in the classroom every day”. We are told that if you want to see how hard she works, come to her classroom. Don’t we all create miracles in our daily jobs? This smacks of total arrogance and is down-right insulting to anyone who works. Do teachers think they are the only ones who work hard? If she is doing a job and doing it very well, “thank you very much”. That’s all anyone else gets from their boss. It is what you are paid to do.

8. The Treasurer has never written a policy governing the use of time clocks. Why did we pay for this equipment?

It would appear, from the taxpayer’s viewpoint, that the levies asked for by the school district serve only the purpose of giving someone a raise. The private sector businesses can’t do that. Where else can you work and get about 15 weeks a year off, a great pension, and best of all, guaranteed raises? The taxpayer is losing jobs, taking pay cuts, giving up things like sick days, and suffering loss of benefits regarding medical insurance and retirement.

We do not propose the removal of anything the district employees have gained. We only ask that they join the rest of the workforce and accept that taxpayers are quickly running out of money to keep your jobs alive. We don’t propose pay cuts. Just don’t hit us with a raise for you every time we turn around, especially when the economic hole is growing larger.

IN A SOMEWHAT SECRETIVE MANNNER, AT THE BOARD MEETING ON 2/23/09, THE BOARD OF EDUCATION VOTED ON A PROPOSAL TO RAISE THE SUPERINTENDENT’S SALARY AND RENEW HIS CONTRACT.

This proposal was not made public and was not added to the meeting agenda until late in the afternoon before the meeting was held.  No opportunity for community input was permitted at the Board meeting.  In fact, if you want to address the Board, you must get to the meeting early enough to sign a “comment” card.  Comments were not permitted during or after the meeting, so here are ours now:

**************************************************************

Spend it like you got it!
After hiring several new administrators, with little to no experience, but at higher salaries than their seasoned predecessors (HR Director, High School Principal, Transportation Supervisor), the board is at it again…

With little understanding of the economic plight their neighbors are experiencing, they voted recently to make the superintendent virtually recession-proof. Extending his contract another four years, they also increased his salary, added life insurance, increased his annuity and assumed 100% (employer’s and employee’s share) to the State Teachers Retirement System.

It gets better. According to Board President Denny Mariola, they “dangled a carrot” and will award the superintendent a $5,000 bonus every time the district achieves the highest level on the Ohio Department of Education’s School Report Card. It may be naïve to assume, but isn’t that what we are paying him to do? Isn’t that giving the superintendent full credit for an accomplishment that so many others are responsible for? Students come to mind, but parents and a supportive community seldom seem to figure in the equation. Teachers, aides, tutors, custodians, bus drivers, etc. – sorry, we are an excellent district solely due to the superintendent’s efforts.

This school district really saved a bunch of money when the Superintendent’s contract was renewed and extended five years. With a $5000 a year raise, we should be overjoyed that the Board and the Superintendent are both so diligently searching for ways to cut expenses. YOO-HOO, EARTH TO BOARD: YOU ARE LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACES! Try looking at half-full school buses. Try looking at under-utilized teachers. Try looking at extraneous supplemental contracts. Try looking at the size of some of the classes at the High School. Try looking at the health insurance plan offered administrators and teachers. Try looking at how much you are paying to pick up the administrator’s portion of the State Teachers Retirement System. THERE ARE A HUNDRED THINGS YOU CAN DO BEFORE YOU GET TO THE POINT OF REMOVING ANYONE.

THIS IS THE TYPE OF BOARD DECISION THAT GIVES

THIS WEBSITE IT’S NAME!

OUTRAGEOUS !!!