WOCSD/RSU 21 too divided to create a joint high school
We would caution both school boards to tread lightly with this issue.
On the surface it’s easy to say, yes, both school districts are considering major renovations and a combined high school would allow them to share costs and have a better facility. We also don’t doubt that combining the resources of five towns would most likely provide for a state-of-the -art facility that would serve students well.
However, in the current circumstances of vehement disagreement, it’s hard to believe that a high school combining all five of these communities will lead to anything but discord.
read the complete story @ http://www.journaltribune.com/articles/2011/07/15/editorial/doc4e204d4258d3e821858119.txt
WOCSD should run away, and not look back!
ReplyDeleteNICE.... so mature
ReplyDeleteI posted "WOCSD should run away, and not look back!"
ReplyDeleteThe statement was made purely on the Town of Arundel being turned upside down by RSU 21 antics.
WOCSD should be alarmed. The divide still continues, and will not stop, even if Arundel withdraws.
At least, I am not thumbing my nose on the democratic process, and I respect it for what it is.
No, the statement was being made because this anti group is ridiculously nasty.
ReplyDeleteRSU antics? I think that perhaps this group should stop throwing stones at the RSU and look at themselves, calling people names, bullying, spreading false facts and scaring people with them, not to mention continuing to fight against something that actually will HELP our town and doing it all out of spite.
Blaming our town divide on the RSU is just an excuse to behave poorly. I can say that I haven't seen the RSU do anything as immature as some of the people in our own town have. Yes one or two of the board members have spouted off inappropriately, but that does not mean that the entire RSU is out to get Arundel.
In fact they have done a lot for our school and our kids. But this anger mob is refusing to allow ANYTHING positive to be seen or heard without trying to play it down or spin it to a negative. Its exhausting to listen too...
The pot shots and the hate rhetoric are just getting old. This page has looks like middle schoolers are writing on it. I swear I think the adults in the town are acting worse than kids ever would...what are we teaching them? And I will say that to both sides.
I keep waiting for "I know you are but what am I?" to come out....
Who's nasty now? Ads in newspapers. Really? I wonder what that ad is teaching everyone, especially the kids. How about breaching a contract? How about spending money on getting a legal ruling of what the definition of what no is?
ReplyDeleteLet's give credit where it is due. The parent who paid for that ad feels passionately about the education her children receive. She acknowledged the work that TAMS teachers and students do, recognizing that not all education systems work for all students.
ReplyDeleteShe is a parent who wanted her children to be able to go to school in-district, and pursued every avenue possible to make that happen. Showing up at town meetings, requesting meetings with Board members and administrators at TAMS. Her family experienced some serious issues after both of the votes last summer, and I cannot say I blame her for wanting to remove her children from the hostile environment that they personally experienced. I would hope that ANY parent would do the same.
That said, Commissioner Stephen Bowen wrote an opinion piece prior to his appointment as Commissioner of Education, while he was still with Maine Heritage Policy Center. He acknowledged that contracts like the one between Arundel and TAMS eliminate school choice and conflict with Maine law. A large group of parents sought his help in facilitating a conversation to change this, and he said his hands were tied.
A request was made of the RSU 21 Board to ask Carl Stasio if he would agree to amending the contract to allow 15 children (not 15 every year, but 15 children total, the number of families who have been seeking this choice for the past year and a half) to attend MSK, and even to offer to pay their tuition, as they did after the arbitration process. That request was denied.
It is my understanding that one of the RSU 21 Board members voted to send this request only to get a 'no' answer in writing, not because they were at all interested in school choice for those 15 families, or because they thought it was really the right thing to do. Doesn't really set a good example of service to their constituents.
I hope that you understand that 'breaching' a contract means that you intentionally disregard the confines of that contract. There was no breach. They went through the arbitration process to come to a resolution. That was part of the contract. An agreement around the students attending MSK was reached, and per that agreement, tuition was also paid to TAMS for those students. That was part of the contract. Voting to buy out the contract was a clause that was written into the contract.
At no point in time was the contract breached. I'm not sure why folks are so bent on thinking it otherwise, but perhaps some reading up on contracts, breaches and clauses is in order.
In any event, school choice is being elminated for those families, in direct conflict of Maine statute. It's fundamentally unfair to those families, and hopefully someone will step up to the plate and go to bat for these parents.
The contract was BREACHED when RSU 21 solicited, and enrolled students.
ReplyDeleteIn the Matter of the Arbitration Between
Thornton Academy and Maine Regional School Unit 21:
"The vote by RSU 21’s Board to allow 45 students from Arundel to attend the Middle School of the Kennebunks is contrary to the terms of the contract, which is binding on RSU 21. The testimony supports the conclusion that the Board members voting for the pertinent motion did so in good faith, and largely with good intentions. However, under the contract, RSU is simply not entitled to solicit, accept applications from or enroll publicly tuitioned students from Arundel."
AND
"Prior to the entry of an Order of Stay in this case on June 6, 2010, RSU 21 had accepted inquiries and/or applications from the parents of 19 students from Arundel (12 going into the 6th grade, 3 into the 7th and 4 into the 8th) who wished to have their children enrolled in the Middle School of the Kennebunks. The enrollment of any of the referenced children by RSU 21 represents a breach of the contract between the parties."
Please get off of your high horse, and be a bit more realistic.
Happy that you are defending your friend, but really this is one person who keeps pushing for withdrawel, because the *majority of the town* is really getting tired of it.
Perhaps maybe you should read the ruling, and perhaps you may want to take into consideration what that ruling is, and perhaps you may want to think about tuition being spent on students who are not attending MSK on the entire districts expense, and perhaps you may want to consider writing truthful statements, or maybe do a little bit of research before you post something that is untruthful, or shall I also post on here something directly quoted from the dictionary? You people are so arrogant, and think that you know it all. If nobody has told you yet, you are flipping the town back upside down again, and really ticking a lot of people off by all of your nonsense. I would just hope at some point you ALL would decide to either homeschool, pay the tuition to RSU 21, or let your kids go to TAMS. Because to be quite candid-never mind, I won't waste the words.
That parent, and the things that happened were with in the district-RSU 21, they didn't happen at TAMS, they happened with in the district *RSU 21*. Put the anger where it belongs, its not at TAMS, and as low as this person has gone, I wouldn't want my kids going to a school that I just bashed repeatedly, openly, and publicly. If that parent explored every avenue, why didn't that parent not thumb her nose up at the district voters and just pay the tuition? She acknowledge the teachers but also slammed them just the same by saying that TAMS was a low achieving school. Check out how the testing is done for the State, 6th grade gets tested for everything they learned the year prior, and that would be at MLDAY, think before you do, because you all are going to get more than you bargained for. These are the things she will never be able to take back, never. It is always going to be in the back of all of our minds. To be quite candid, the supporters of Arundel kids attending MSK are underhanded, rude and devisive and maybe the MSK supporters should start thinking about what you have ponged upon the Town of Arundel.
ReplyDeleteI hope you aren't outing an anonymous poster; perhaps a refresher course on the point of this blog is in order.
ReplyDeleteAdmin? Care to weigh in on this?
That aside, there is nothing wrong with 12:58PM's post; if you don't understand contract law, then you won't understand the arbitrator's ruling in the context of the law.
It sounds to me like 'breach' is just an excuse to be angry with the school district, and really, everyone in Arundel is to blame. If the school district is so terrible, why did everyone vote to join?
Furthermore, to quote the arbitrator as the poster above did:
ReplyDelete"The vote by RSU 21’s Board to allow 45 students from Arundel to attend the Middle School of the Kennebunks is contrary to the terms of the contract, which is binding on RSU 21. The testimony supports the conclusion that the Board members voting for the pertinent motion did so in good faith, and largely with good intentions. However, under the contract, RSU is simply not entitled to solicit, accept applications from or enroll publicly tuitioned students from Arundel."
Point out to me where the arbitrator says that the contract was BREACHED. They simply stated that solicitation of students wasn't allowed.
Logic dictates that if there is a disagreement, and the next step, as agreed to in a contract is arbitration (which it was), that is the process to be followed.
What happened? (This one is easy) They went through arbitration.
It's like talking to a wall, though. The arbitrators words do not say the contract was breached, and the arbitratot acknowledged that the contract was vague and subject to many interpretations.
Try as you might to villify the school district, you cannot, because they did no wrong.
Here's an example of 'breaching' the contract:
1. The school district solicits students to attend, which is against the confines of the contract.
2. TAMS objects, requests arbitration.
3. RSU 21 refuses arbitration, accepts the students.
Didn't happen that way though. Sorry, anonymous, but you can't paint it any other way than the way it happened, and there was no breach, up to or after the contract was reviewed.
"Prior to the entry of an Order of Stay in this case on June 6, 2010, RSU 21 had accepted inquiries and/or applications from the parents of 19 students from Arundel (12 going into the 6th grade, 3 into the 7th and 4 into the 8th) who wished to have their children enrolled in the Middle School of the Kennebunks. The enrollment of any of the referenced children by RSU 21 represents a breach of the contract between the parties."
ReplyDeleteLegal definition of represent: To exhibit or expose; to appear in the character of.
ReplyDeleteOther definintions of represent: rep·re·sent (rpr-znt)
tr.v. rep·re·sent·ed, rep·re·sent·ing, rep·re·sents
1.
a. To stand for; symbolize: The bald eagle represents the United States.
b. To indicate or communicate by signs or symbols: Letters of the alphabet represent sounds.
2.
a. To depict in art; portray.
b. To describe or present in words; set forth.
3. To present clearly to the mind.
4. To draw attention to by way of remonstrance or protest: Our parents represented to us the need for greater caution.
5. To describe or put forward (a person or thing) as an embodiment of a specified quality.
6.
a. To serve as the official and authorized delegate or agent for.
b. To act as a spokesperson for.
7. To serve as an example of: The museum had several paintings representing the artist's early style.
8. To be the equivalent of.
9.
a. To stage (a play, for example); produce.
b. To act the part or role of.
There was a clear and defined breach of contract!
Boy, definintion of all, intent, breach.
ReplyDeleteHonesty always wins.
"Prior to the entry of an Order of Stay in this case on June 6, 2010, RSU 21 had accepted inquiries and/or applications from the parents of 19 students from Arundel (12 going into the 6th grade, 3 into the 7th and 4 into the 8th) who wished to have their children enrolled in the Middle School of the Kennebunks. The enrollment of any of the referenced children by RSU 21 represents a breach of the contract between the parties."
ReplyDeleteAccepting inquiries and applications is not enrolling. That paragraph also does not state that the school indeed enrolled any students. What it states is that enrollment of any of the children whose applications they took would be a breach.
Didn't happen.
Try again.