Kilroy has an inside Pencader agent reporting that a certain board member and employee went undercover to other school districts pretending to be Pencader parents looking for student transfer information. Also, probing around to see how many Pencader students are bailing.
FYI to all of you who sends Kilroy information from within the schools, remember not to use your school E-mail. Logon to your Comcast, Verizon, Yahoo or other providers that you use for personal E-mails. The school / district IT person can see where you go online but once you log-in to a secured 3rd party provider your IP snoop-ass person can’t see beyond the fact you logged-on to the 3rd party. Remember sports fan big brother from within is watching you.
On another note, Lillian is about settled in re: new job. So she might be calling for her pool-boy to come and join her.
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Reblogged this on Transparent Christina and commented:
I have intel from BoardSlammer confirming that the PCHS BOD member was not addressing the desperate problem of leadership at Pencader by seeking how to remove Ann Lewis, but rather to just do some clandestine damage control. Tsk, tsk.
WTH!
Now that the very dapper Ms. Lillian has settled in, look for the very charming Mr. Cruce soon to move; leaving the gym teacher very much in the doldrums.
Do they just walk in the door and ask for transfer records? Is this easily obtained? I wouldn’t think so. If they are posing as a parent it would seem tedious to ask about one student at a time…do they change disguises and come back in?!!
I don’t know how it works for a charter student to enroll back at a district school. My son is going back to the district after graduating from a charter..I had to re-enroll him back into the district. I assumed somewhere along the way, the high school asked for his middle/elem school transcripts from the charter school. If Pencader kids are re-enrolling back into the district, wouldn’t their transcripts be requested, therefore Pencader made aware of this without sneaking around? Maybe not, the oddness of this continues.
It is just disgusting that so many people know that Lewis and her board groupies are corrupt and controlling and DOE is not taking immediate action. I am not sure how Lewis and Kennedy sleep at night. Kennedy falls for Lewis saying that everything is everyone else’s fault and everyone is out to get them. Really? Get a grip. Lewis is the problem. Nobody is out to get the school. A lot of people can’t stand Lewis, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t supportive of the school. Who can stand Lewis – lies, arrogance, smirks, etc. An apology and something that appears to be sincere would help, but nothing like that has come from her.
Lewis is not the problem! The problem is the oversight structure that is meant to ensure Pencader operates under healthy ethics and morals. Stop blaming Lewis for leadership failure of the board and DE DOE. Start demanding action from those who have the power and ask those who have the power and refuse to do their duty to leave.
It doesn’t have to be one or the other, does it? Lewis IS responsible for her actions – and in addition to that, the board and DOE are not stepping up. I get what you’re saying, Kilroy, but it doesn’t seem right to give Lewis a pass. She’s known what she was doing – thus stuff wasn’t accidental.
The failure is in senior leadership which is the board and if they do their jobs the school leader gets the door! Also, DE DOE is giving school leader enough rope to hang herself (politically speaking). But sadly it will be wonderful teachers and students who will suffer the greatest.
Agreed. Sad.
But Kilroy, in many ways Lewis IS the problem. In a small charter school like Pencader the Board is dependent upon the School Leader to give them necessary information. Much the same in a traditional district where the Superintendent gives the Board information. Because she controlled information she controlled much decision making. The Board problems are more severe now I suspect because it appears she was even in on the “selection” of Board members. That doubles the leadership problems. She knows damned well that this new board has no experience or knowledge about school operations so she can much more easily control the flow of information and in fact control the decision making. An example, at last month’s meeting the issue of enrollment numbers never came up. Now that is central to the fiscal health of the school. Nobody on that Board (well, Quimby and Kennedy should know) knows how that funding relationship works so by not telling them anything they don’t even know what questions to ask. Lewis knows they don’t know so she didn’t even bring it up! So, yes, she is the problem. when DOE comes knocking (when/if they wake up) about the low enrollment the board will all be scratching their heads and wondering what’s up in addition to looking clueless….again.
Are you suggesting the school leader stacked the deck by recruiting people who lack critical thinking skills? All eyes are on the state board of ed meeting which comes before Pencader’s.
yep…looks that way. maybe not lacking thiinking skills but people who will say yes if she says yes and no if she says no…might be the same thing, huh.
Are you really that blind? Or perhaps just a Lewis patsy? Read the tea leaves…..
Lewis is not the problem! The problem is the oversight structure that is meant to ensure Pencader operates under healthy ethics and morals. Stop blaming Lewis for leadership failure of the board and DE DOE. Start demanding action from those who have the power and ask those who have the power and refuse to do their duty to leave.
The citizen budget review committee by law “shall” have access to all information not protected by confidentiality re: staff and student. Enrollment data is not protected and does have a direct impact on the financial health of Pencader. The cowards are afraid to ask for that information. Also, the board members as board members have rights to all data. They rather snoop around other district than confront the mighty Oz.
.
A friend of mine recently referred to Pencader as a cesspool. That pretty much summarizes the state of the school. It is disgusting. Maybe DOE is letting it fester and those that are stupid enough to stick with it will rot with it.
At the last board meeting not one board member looked up or welcomed the over 15 members of the public when they entered the room? That was really classy and showed great manners. How can they teach the kids to show respect to others when they can’t show any respect? People were standing and sitting on cabinets because there weren’t enough chairs supplied. Lewis and Kennedy clearly don’t want the public involved.
Interesting that not one person at the last board meeting spoke in favor of the school.
I’m confused about what this super spy stuff is supposed to accomplish for them. If a student is transferring out, then PCHS must release them in eSchool so that the new school can pick them up. No one is going to know the state of the union better than whoever maintains eSchool at PCHS. And reports are available from eSchool to give you a concise, single page view of exactly where your numbers are – so what’s the deal??!
Perhaps this board member is the one with critical thinking skills who realized that the information is not flowing and decided to do his own super-sleuthing…
A call to Johm Carwell for some eschool reports is probably more effective…
if there are reports why the need to call Carwell! Shouldn’t those reports be posted. However. as far as current student count the school leader knows and by now those bailing have schools calling for those records. But the big issues is , will the board renew school leader’s contract and if so, will the board approve bringing back Mr. Lewis under new contract as consultant? But if the do and Pencader parents don’t complain, the process works! HOWEVER HOWEVER HOWEVER, more dark clouds rolling in!
Hey can you shoot me an e-mail mirandastpierre@aol.com i have to ask you something
Oh boy, another riddle! When should we look for these storm clouds to roll in? Also, when is Pencaders next SB meeting?
It is on the 23 it’s a Thursday
anon, if you are right, and I hope you are, this board member will vote no and make the move to remove her.
Wanna hold your breath?
My guess is it was JK, she doesn’t seem to have many brain cells. Who would go about it this way? Just sayin. I wouldn’t hold my breath.
I wish the board dropout and her “Berkley PhD, 1967″ husband would bow out and let the people who will be the agents of success of the school take center stage. Pencader can continue to succeed if people will stay supportive of it. The current school administration may be awful, but the teaching staff is the key — let them make this the best charter school in the state. They are trying; just GET OUT OF THEIR WAY!
Please — get the dropout and her husband out of the discussion!
Wow, almost no response. The school is a class A charter train wreck. 100% caused by school administration. Blaming HE is insane.
Way to play your crazy card early.
Yo! Don’t be bashing Berkley ! Loved those 60′s radicals!
Pencader has wonderful teachers and students and the point of no return is slipping each day there is no action. DE DOE took some heat from many of us last year in efforts to save Pencader. I just wonder is DOE Dan is sitting back saying, you should have been careful for what you wished for. If he had his way Pencader would have been closed already. Yea Dan, damned if I do and damned if I don’t. I think it was worth the effort for the sake of the kids. I just ask, of you going to close it please announce it before the school choice window. I am sure Markell says WTF when he reads the News Journal. Hey Jack, I am sure you know what the Water Boy knows. .
Misc.. say what?? Are you completely stoned? While there are some very good teachers at Pencader, what are they doing (“trying”) to make this school better? While they may be excellent at their jobs, the school is being run to the ground by the current SL!
If you really cared about this school, you would be begging for the Minnehan’s help. By the way, Berkley is a bonfide Phd. JUST SAYIN
Kathy – I agree with you. Misc must have just taken a few hits from some of those funny cigarettes before typing her comment. Maybe it was meant as a sarcastic joke to make us all roll on the floor laughing. The thought of the current school leader making Pencader the best charter school in the state. What a joke!!!!!!!!
You guys are making me piss my paints! I love your comments!
HE and her husband and any other taxpayer have every right to say something. They are paying for the school. If you would like to live in a communist country with a dictator,,pack up and get going. This place is a democracy. Our dollars pay for the public schools and every taxpayer should be spitting mad about this situation. You have now infuriated me. Telling someone to keep quiet and mind their own business. This is a public school we are talking about!!!! You sound just like Lewis! I have heard those words from her! The really scary part is that you are likely a Pencader board member with no plan of getting rid of Lewis. Un XXXXX believable!
1 HE was not a board “dropout” , she was faced with the impossible task of beating her head against a brick wall, or leave of her own free will. You can’t make positive changes if you are dealing with people who lie and act like middle school girls. Guess your one of them
This discussion all started with a clandestine “information phone call” which I am certain was checked for accuracy and was not speculation, right? If not it is only “gossip.” Insider information is not always accurate; while it may be partially true, a partial truth is not a real truth.
The best thing that could happen to that Pencader board is to have HE back on it with her experience, knowledge and connections. You want the community to be supportive of the school? That would be a good first step forward.
“Agents of success”? Geez that sounds stupid.
Misc – are you xxxxx KIDDING??? You must be referring to the dropout that is currently on the board trying to run the show. There is no way you can possibly think that the liar and fraud Lewis and her handpicked group of inexperienced board members are going to successfully run the school.
Come on now let’s not call names! Give the new board a chance! Nobody is that stupid to renew the school leader’s contract. Give these new board members a chance to show you that they are for the kids.
jim said, “The best thing that could happen to that Pencader board is to have HE back”
SHE QUIT!!! She wasn’t fired, she wasn’t asked to leave by the rest of the board — she quit. That’s no leader. And you want her back??!!
And then the drama started! Not unjustifiably; however, orchestrated clandestinely behind the scenes to make sure any dirt,etc. at all that could be found is found. There will be changes at Pencader but changes not hastily made. You have no idea what is really going on and you certainly have your rights to express your opinions. However, without concrete facts that is all they are. There are personal agendas being fulfilled, at PCHS, but there are also personal agendas being fulfilled here in the name of taxpayers, not necessarily by kilroys either.
Personal Agendas? Lol You are right in relationship to me. I personally have witnessed the mismanagement of funds (have proof) and am tired of watching this school be run through the gutter. I was there in the beginning when we hung signs to get the first recruits.
I am the parent of a graduate. I am also a taxpayer. I’ve also personally witness the arrogance, fraud, and lies.
Yep, I have an agenda. Save Pencader (and tax dollars) by getting a competent SL and SB.
Anon2 and misc – let’s get to the point. Do you believe Lewis should be running the school right now?
anon2 – you say things have been “orchestrated clandestinely behind the scenes to makes sure any dirt, etc. at all could be found is found.”
You couldn’t possibly be referring the manufacture of evidence of wrong-doing? That may be the Team Lewis MO – I am rather certain that the News Journal which has led the investigation into the Pencader Pickle would never do such a thing…
anon2 and misc., you may be right. Maybe changes are coming. Maybe the board really is thinking about all of this carefully and weighing options, and will make the tough choices and hard decisions soon. Maybe. But, if you are connected to the board, would you mind communicating with us parents? We have NO IDEA what you are thinking. NONE. No board member has issued one word of response to any of the horrible stories in the News Journal. The school board should have issued statements to the school family after each story, reassuring us that the board is looking into everything and will respond as appropriate. But we have not received the courtesy of a single world of communication from anyone in the administration. It is so incredibly sad that I cannot tell my children to do as they see their school leader do, to use her or the board members as role models. I can’t even tell other people that my kids go to Pencader without rolling my eyes and acknowledging, “Yes, THAT Pencader. The one in the paper.” No way can I recommend tha tother parents send their kids there with this mess going on.
Very well said by Concerned2!
The worst part is when people ask me, “So, what’s happening with all of that? How has the school responded?” When I tell them that absolutely nothing has happened, there is no investigation, the school leader is still there and the board has not communicated anything to us, their jaws drop to the floor. And you, the school board, are responsible for that. Shame on you.
I will tell you this, that when there were only two board members, two can hardly do what needs to be done to investigate, answer emails, questions etc. unless that is their full time job. Even then it would be difficult. Now that the new board is in place, there should be a statement coming forth. I know they are investigating and considering a lot. They may be a little gun shy too because of the vociferous and acrimonious vilification that was put forth in the beginning. I have been pleased to see actual discussions instead of the acrimony that was initially spewed forth. No one jumps in to have that thrown at them regardless of their position on anything.
anon — All news reporters and reports are absolutely honest and not biased, I guess. I am not so sure looking at national news and the news industry in general. It used to be they were reporting objectively the truth, but it always has a spin these days. No, I don’t trust everything I read, nor do I trust everything I hear. It has to be verified by something other than word of mouth. Remember the game “Telephone?”
anon2 – Yep, there is absolutely a spin to every story. Frequently the story spins itself. Does going around telling everyone you earned your Ph.D. have a spin? Not until someone discovers your Ph.D. was purchased from a diploma mill and you can’t muscle up your transcipts to prove otherwise. Does committing Pension Fraud have a spin? Absolutely, b/c who in their right mine tries to concoct a way for a family member to collect both a pension and to earn a full salary for teaching one class and a lot of volunteering? In the case of the pension issues – these are facts, ruled on by a body of law, and reported by a court transcript that doesn’t leave anything out. If you don’t like the spin, go read the transcripts.
Communication – which is something the bloggers have snatched onto… does it have a spin? Absolutely, if you don’t communicate, you are afraid or you are hiding something. Put out a damn statement saying that you are investigating the bullshit in the news. That’s communication. And that’s where the spin lives and dies.
“I have been pleased to see actual discussions instead of the acrimony that was initially spewed forth.”
Anon2, I attended the last noticed public meeting of the board and there was much in the way of conversations. Just listening. Few if any questions about relevant business. Don’t know about the executive session as it’s not open to the public. But, I certainly hope that if the board as a quorum is having “actual discussions” those discussions, executive or public, are occuring at properly noticed meetings in accordance with Delaware Open Meeting/Sunshine Laws. To that end, no meetings have been noticed on the school website since the July meeting…
That was supposed to say “…there WASN’T much in the way of conversation…”
Also, keep in mind the case law regarding serial meetings…
Anon2- I am sorry, but you really have your head in the sand. The investigations have already occurred by the AJ office, and where are the documents for her Phd? These are concrete findings, not spin.
The pension issue-all you have to do is read the evidence in the court documents including the testimonies. The Phd issue- where are the documents proving she has a Phd? This should not be hard to produce at all. There is no excuse for not doing so by now.
Finances-I would start demanding to see the concrete evidence here as well. I doubt they will give it to you.
Saul-Ewing- a very reputable law firm does not even want anything to do with the school anymore. Just sayin.
The writing is on the wall, and it’s way past time for this SB to issue a position statement to the parents and the general public.
There has been more than enough time for this SB to respond, and the last taped SB meeting shows again just how bad things really are in this school.
I really, really want to see this school remain open and get on track for the future. At this point, I think it is a financial vacuum with shady leadership at the helm.
I think you should go back and re-read the comments by Concerned2. Saying that “investigating and considering a lot” are fairly empty words without actions. Parents should be the top priority and they should be kept in the loop continually. I can’t imagine how much more “investigating” there could be after the News Journal stories…..
I want to see the school succeed as well. the monthly board meetings are, as I understand it, planned for the fourth Thursday of every month. If I have it correct that should be in the not too distant future. I believe there will be changes made, I am not sure exactly how it will all go down. I think it is sad that things have gone they way they have for many reasons. The school leader is only one of them. There have been issues from the beginning of the opening of PCHS but initially I attributed many things to the “new school working the wrinkles out.” We lost some terrific teachers over the last couple of years and I don’t anticipate getting them back even with changes. I am waiting to see what happens; how things are addressed, etc. When my child was a student, I was actively involved on many levels as a parent.
Overheard being said by a Pencader SB member: “It’ll be great when we have more board members who can look at this thing rationally, members who won’t believe everything that Harrie Ellen is digging up.” Such an attitude makes me doubt that any investigation is going to be honest or objective. When the board does make an announcement of an investigation to the school family–assuming that ever happens–please detail exactly how the investigation will take place and who will be conducting it. Better yet, find some reputable stake holders from outside the school family to do the investigating, so that everything is transparent.
Yipes! Please tell that SB member when next you overhear them talking that nobody has to go “digging” for anything….it’s more a matter of stumbling over one piece after another and hoping not to fall into that deep, dark, winding Well of Corruption. “Rationally looking at something” means, I think, recognizing what is real and factual and not putting a spin on it. Please, also, don’t give me credit for work I have not done. I know many want to believe I am “out to get somebody” but the real case, no spin on it, is I want to see Pencader taken off life support and surviving as a strong, viable, competitive Charter School.
Absolutely amazing…Pencader has been open and honest…the pension board has not…there are retired educators state wide that are collecting a pension and a paycheck, including some people at DOE…The SL did not hire Mr. L…Brad Catts did, the SL did not hire the other pensioner…Mr. Catts did..Ms. Minnehan was the one that approved salaries and what I want to know is why were the Board minutes and agendas perfectly fine when Harrie Ellen created them, but not when the current board created them…if enrollment is down, check with Minnehan, Dobo, and Scheinberg…they vacation together, Minnehan pays for or is related to Dobo and supports Scheinberg, and find out the truth about why Minnehan supposedly retired…ask her what it cost her husband to get her to retire because of what happened at Bancroft…this is all about jealousy…the current SL turned this school around…checkbooks, are open, financial are being completed and all this backbighting has done is reduce enrollment…no one has really bothered to find out the truth behind the group that is trying to bring this school down…what a shame…
I am, for the first time in years, left speechless….all I can say is you got a bad batch of shrooms or something…..seriously, everything in this response except the sentence that Brad hired Bob Lewis is so far off the truth meter that it is ridiculous. You’d better check back into the asylum, your pass to the real world just expired….
Correction: Brad Catts originally hired Bob Lewis but Ann re-hired him 2x and then contracted with him as a “vendor.” Needed to make that clear. The rest of the crap in the response from Jack remains crap.
Jack, I guess HEM also held a gun to AL head and made her sign a fake PhD too?
Dang I am on a cruise, and had to pay high dollar to spend time typing this message, but I had to bc this was so ridiculous. I bet your really Judy.
ROFL
If you know of people collecting a pension and a paycheck you should report them to the pension office immediately and the the auditor’s office.
I love Jack’s “other people are doing it so I can too” bullshit reasoning to justify pension fraud. Unreal “Jack”
Jack,
I know for a FACT the SL (you) wasted thousands in legal fees bc of your own stupid arrogance.
As far as the pension fraud, the fact you were warned by the pension office that it was wrong, and then devised a scheme to pay them anyway, shows intent to commit fraud. Saying others do it, is like a child and shows your lack of character and integrity.
Despite all if this- The PhD fraud is enough to get you fired at MCDonalds (and you don’t need a PhD to work there either!).
Jack, who’s your dealer? Send my compliments, cause that sure is some good stuff you’re smokin’
Jack is Ann Lewis. This has been obvious over the past year. Who cares if HE knows Dobo and Scheinberg. If they are speaking anything that isn’t true, show us. Show us your valid PhD. Show us all the contracts and the bids that were put out. Show us the online information that shows your house is not in foreclosure. Just about everybody in Delaware knows each other. I feed Dobo information. I know at least three other people that do as well. We are so sick of your XXXX that we want her to write articles about you. Attending board meetings and going to DOE hasn’t worked. We figure alerting the public and letting them see what is going on is another avenue to try. Dobo sends her phone number & email to people seeking information on Pencader. That is what a good reporter does. It doesn’t matter if HE is vacationing with anyone. There are enough people that want you out that HE could disappear & believe me this wouldn’t go away. Judi can try all she wants to wave her magic wand, but it isn’t going away. Judi – you previously said Brad Catts blew smoke up your XXX. Why can’t you see that Lewis has done the same.
You know, I was debating leaving a comment for Jack. But, y’all have done such a marvelous job, I don’t think I need to dignify her with a response.
My goodness, it is a wonderful feeling to know that despite the outcome you live your life with such integrity that when your head hits the pillow, you sleep like a baby.
Thank you.
Elizabeth
For Judi – just so you know that the foreclosure information about Lewis is on the internet for everyone to see, I was just reading about the two lawsuits you have been involved with. It is all out there on the internet for everyone to read about. I am not trying to say anything other than to make you aware that the info about judgements is out there for everyone to see at anytime. I don’t really like that it is out there, but it is.
I have for the whole summer not gotten involved, but I’m so glad that more people are noticing that what has been coming out of the (SL) mouth, doesn’t smell like roses! Also I have never heard of a principal calling themselves “School Leader” when they can’t lead shit
Taking a long look at these comments makes me think we’ve found the link back to Kilroy’s first posting today…might not be so far fetched that the SL knows finally that it’s Game Over and is today striking back at everyone or anyone in sight. It is way, way past time that this story had a “The End” tag on it. Should have been months ago, probably that Sunday when the diploma mill story first hit. A reasonable person would have cleaned their desk out and taken down the pictures and hiked out then. To hang around and around as if you are immune to the slings and arrows is foolhardy and in the end of course the SL’s reputation has been irreparably damaged, particularly in a state this small. The damage to the reputation of Pencader is enormous. To have set up a board without skills or knowledge to gain favorable votes, and it looks to the public like that is what happened, is inexcusable as well as insulting. It has become a story of self-destruction at this point. Do I care? I care about the kids and their families that the leadership of both the school and the PTO has sacrificed and forgotten all summer long. Pencader is the last best hope for so many to finish high school and get a leg up on post secondary education. It has been a wonderful place for young teachers to get their foot in the educational door and learn their craft alongside some master teachers. I ask you, Judi and other board members, how dare you sit there month after month worried only about how you’re going to “shield Ann Lewis?” Who shielded the kids? What awful lessons did they learn from this? Adults they trusted cheated and used the system, lied to them and each other for personal gain, and never once thought of the students, never once.
I can only hope that Kilroy’s “weak rumor” grows strong legs and that the SL is packing up, that Board members are resigning, and that Pencader can have a razor thin hope of rebuilding, and that it’s not too late. If it is too late that will be your legacy, Ann and Bob Lewis, Judi Kennedy, Amanda Fraser and Team Lewis, and the rest of you who were afraid in July and August to do the right thing. All of you who put yourselves first. Shame.
The Sept. 8, 2012 reply from “Jack” is full of mis-conceptions and wrong “facts”. Amost fitting in this current election cycle where truth and accuracy is not important.
Some objectionable statements:
“The pension board has not” ..been honest?
I attended the July hearing where Bob and Ann Lewis testified. I found the state’s factual presentation more convincing than the Lewis’ testimony – I do frequently read and hear testimony as part of my law case related work in the past 40 years. Factually, retired teachers do return to part-time work as teachers, and get paid by the State. Harrie Ellen often goes to a monthly meeting of retired teachers from Bancroft School in Wilmington, and her former colleagues report that they do work a few days a week at a pay rate of maybe $100 per day – not the over $300 per day paid to Bob Lewis in the 2011-2012 school year. The key point here is that these “other” retired teachers are not being paid a full-time equivalent salary, as they are working an average of less than 30 hours a week and earning less than $20,000 per year. This 30 hours per week limit and $20,000 per year limit are part of newly issued State pension rules as of July 2012
The State’s claim here is that Ann and Bob Lewis “knowingly” violated the State “rules” on limits for pensioner’s pay when he returned to work as a full-time teacher. They were advised last September that they were in violation of the rules, and there was a Pencader employee’s conspiracy to conceal and deceive the State about their work status: Pencader wrote to the State pension office about the status of Bob Lewis and the other two teachers and the Pencader messages were interpreted to mean that the three teachers were no longer employees.
Then the termination of Bob Lewis in March 2012 revealed that Bob Lewis was still an “employee” but being classified as a consultant! (Which can raise questions about the contracting procedures at pencader: competitive bidding, etc.)
As a side note here: Harrie Ellen did revise the teacher’s pay scale at Pencader to bring it into conformance with the Pencader charter – that the teachers would be paid 90% of the pay they would receive as Christina School District employees. This revised pay scale applied to all the Pencader teachers with credentials.
A peripheral point here: If you start Social Security before your “Full Retirement Age” then you have an earnings limit; currently about $15,000 per year. If you earn more than this limit your Social Security check will be reduced by $1 for every $2 of annual earnings above this limit. This is an old rule, checked by reviewing your form 1040s. Union pensions also have some earnings limits for work in similar jobs. Bob Lewis could have found an alternative job where he did not have an earnings limit.
Another mis-statement of facts: “Minnehan, Dobo, and Scheinberg … they vacation together”. WOW! What a mis-statement! Harrie Ellen spent a week at Rehoboth in August with her daughter and granddaughter and I was there for 4 nights. Ms. Dobo vacationed in Montana, with a trip to Glacier National Park. None of the Minnehans went to Montana this summer – though I have been to Montana multiple times in the past; as my father was born in Missoula, and my paternal grandfather is buried in Missoula. Mrs. Scheinberg did not visit Rehoboth when we were there. Actually we have known Elizabeth Scheinberg for many years; as she was a neighbor when she was about 11 years old and was a pal of my daughter.
Here is another astounding and amusing mis-statement: “Minnehan pays for or is related to Dobo and supports Sheinberg”. NOT related to Dobo (although she would be a nice relative). No financial support for Sheinberg, but Harrie Ellen and Elizabeth talk often; this started when Elizabeth joined the Christina School District Board. Harrie Ellen also knows John Young and Kilroy.
Yet another confused statement: “find out the truth about why Minnehan supposedly retired…ask her what it cost her husband to get her to retire because of what happened at Bancroft”.
WOW again! Why did Harrie Ellen retire? She was getting tired at age 67 plus. She has taught for over 31 years; teaching in California (2 school districts plus student teaching in two more districts), Delaware (several schools in the Christina District plus a private school for 26 year spanning 1967 to 2010), New York City at a Convent school for a few months, and some time teaching at a Prostestant school in Quebec, Canada. Plus Harrie Ellen spent some time raising children; our granddaughter lives with us so we a
have been caring for children since 1973.
Harrie Ellen’s goal was to get 20 years of State of Delaware pension credit, and she completed this in 2010. So she retired.
What did it cost me when Harrie Ellen retired? I wrote checks to the State to buy five years of teaching credit for the private school time. This increased her pension by 20% and was a good financial choice.
Another statement: “what hapened at Bancroft…”. This puzzles me! Harrie Ellen got a Bancroft teacher of the year award in her last years. The retirement paperwork flow was normal. She is friendly with two members of the current Christina Schhol Board and their new Superintendent. She also knows Dr. Lowery and Mr. Cruce. People are suggesting that she run for a seat on the Christina School Board. Harrie Ellen seems to be a friend of everyone except Bob and Ann.
Finally: “no one has really bothered to find out the truth behind the group that is trying to bring this school down …”. Another WOW!
The truth is that this group does not think that the current school leader should continue; just as they thought her husband should not be permitted to continue as a Pencader teacher after his comments about India. Harrie Ellen has been told by several of the Pencader “insiders” that the plan was to hire Bob Lewis back to teach Summer School and then the 2012-2013 school year.
Now that is a shocking rumour – and also amusing, as it implies that the school leader is not going to listen to any of the numerous critics that are asking for change, such as a restoration of credibility and integrity at Pencader.
The false claim for a Ph.D. degree can be mentioned again – almost as amusing, and worth repeating, as the story about Mitt Romney taking his dog to Canada in an animal carrier on the roof of his vehicle. Wait, maybe this is not a fair linking of “stories” as the Miitt Romney dog story is not denied; while the Ann Lewis Ph.D. claim is not verified to date.
Why does the “school leader” think that more lies are going to be convincing to outsiders? We are already very skeptical.
A long response! Sorry, but a lot of false claims in “Jack”‘s Sept. 8 comment.
Mr. Minnehan signed his full name to the “clarification”, and he also is an extremely educated man.
I would say “now you know the rest of the story”.
Also worth repeating that Romney donated his inheritance, donates over 15% of his income each year, worked for free as Governor and ran the Salt Lake Olympics for free. In the interest of full disclosure.
“As a side note here: Harrie Ellen did revise the teacher’s pay scale at Pencader to bring it into conformance with the Pencader charter – that the teachers would be paid 90% of the pay they would receive as Christina School District employees. This revised pay scale applied to all the Pencader teachers with credentials.”
This past school year, CSD negotiated a new contract with the Christina Education Association – the local chapter of DSEA. That new agreement included a raise on the local side as there had not been a local raise since Joe Wise buried the district in debt. The district was rescued by a state loan and that loan has been repaid 100% and on time. Thus, Pencader’s teachers are due a pay raise as well in order for the school to continue to be compliant with their charter – the promise of a salary at 90% of what Christina’s teacher’s earn.
I hope Pencader’s board and admin have informed their teachers of the raises due to them.
Interesting point and I wonder if Pencader’s projected budget reflects the increase under salaries?
I can’t say as the board passed their preliminary budget sight-unseen at their August board meeting…