On the 6th Day Before the New Year!

The Building Blocks To A HAPPY Community!

7th Day Before 2011 : Closing A Chapter | Part II - The Other Stuff

REAL talk….

The concessions within the agreement only limits the school district. It speaks to what “we” could not do, what “we” had to do, what “we” could not say and what “we” had to say. If you know me at all then you know I have a visceral NEED to be able to share the TRUTH.

Even now I can’t discuss the details of the agreement. Contrary to what one blogger posits – yes, the information IS public, but that DOES NOT mean the Board can release it. It does mean YOU can OPRA it, and that is exactly what will have to happen if there is public that truly wants to understand all the nuisances regarding this ‘jacked up’ agreement.

It’s a sad commentary with regard to the authenticity in which ‘educators’ now pursue the field of education. It was an honorable pursuit and the reward was in the result of seeing students mature into successful adult citizens.

Today, however, for many (NOT ALL) it is just about the money. For those of you who are in this worthy profession, and do well by our students, I pray we attract more like you and less like the ones that have been prominently featured of late.

Just 7 days left before a new year. We’ve got challenges to face and options to exercise… students to educate, administrators to hold accountable, a community to engage and a district to revitalize. It’s not exactly a ‘blank’ canvas, and we certainly can’t gloss over all that has happened, but we can and must move forward anew.

“Slow and steady wins the race.”

8 Days Before 2011 : Closing A Chapter | Part I - The $$$

To be more specific than what has been reported my ‘primary’ reason for not supporting the former CSA’s agreement was more about the lack of contrition and the enormous amount of restrictions on the district. The money portion was inescapable and here’s why...

Federal statute only provides for the suspension of pay (that is to say to suspend someone WITHOUT pay) for up to 120 days and on the 121st day the individual starts getting paid again. That’s right folk our very own laws leave the people of this land powerless. My contention with the agreement was not the payout amount. Accordingly, I worked the numbers forward and backward, personally, and the amount of the settlement was truly at the least cost to our district.

Lots of folks speculated that the Board should have waited for the trial to conclude, and that somehow that would have prevented us from having to pay anything. That’s absolutely not true, nor was it ever possible as per the statute I stated above. I Wished!

The money meter was running and the only way to stop it was to reach a settlement. Look at the current circumstance surrounding this trial; it has been moved once again (this is about the 4th or 5th time) and no matter how long it takes the district would be required to continue paying the CSA’s salary. We just could not afford to go on paying out a hefty amount of money with no end in sight.

I was clear the bucks (literally) had to stop here; in fact the entire Board agreed on that point, but I wasn’t willing to sacrifice the district’s position for the sake of expediency. I felt like our students deserved a public apology, and I wanted to ensure we could prevent this situation from ever happening again. Yes I wanted an admission of wrongdoing, malfeasance -- as is the popular word of the day. Contrition! This was not to be the consensus of the majority. Some wanted to simply close the chapter on this horror story, while others – well -- wanted to spare a friend some dignity. I wanted the TRUTH  -- as usual!

You all can just imagine how that conversation went…

Good Works!

The Lady Princesses have been invited to perform for this wonderful occassion. They will be reciting an original poem as well as Marian Williamson's Return To Love accompanied by my very own guitarista.

Should be fun! 

10th Day Before 2011

Slow and steady wins the race!

Let the stories unfold…let the speculators extol – but when it’s all said and done let the truth be told!

Until then I guess, I like all you other truth seekers, will be stuck with the asinine remarks of faux residents with quips of concern that ironically only surface when there is some negative flow about –much like satan and his many minions.

That's why -- We need to get PRAYED UP!

Retro Prospective Countdown | Introspectively Speaking -- 11th Day

This has certainly been an eye-opening year. From creating an election campaign, partnering with, and ultimately befriending 3 awesome fellow Board members, to offending folks, being offended by folks, stretching, growing, nurturing and by God learning by doing!

I embrace all the experiences ushered in – in 2010.

I’ve lost a dear loved who named me as she did because she did not want people to decide who I was, what I looked like, what I was capable of, what my limits were, and what my VALUE to the world would be based on a name. For that – I am forever grateful as I have crossed many thresholds bracketed by surprised onlookers just beyond the opened door. Odd indeed – Peculiar I am!

I’ve embarked upon new yet temporal friendships, what the congregation of Saints would call “seasonal”, and I do not regret a single one. I will not take for granted the people who I come across during my life’s journey. They teach me. They challenge me. They invigorate and reset my resolve. But, what I do not let them do is define me, defile me, or devalue me. Thank God for the spirit of liberation!

I’d like to think the 9 months that I have served on the Board has been marked with positive changes and has acted as a catalyst towards an upwardly progressive moment to achieve educational excellence. It is a worthy endeavor and I am so honored to have been given the opportunity. I look forward to groundbreaking outcomes in 2011.

This year has proven to be a professional windfall as well. I got my office with a view, a decent salary and a worthwhile work assignment. It too has been fraught with personality challenges some as a result of my own idiosyncrasies while others not so much. I am a work in progress. Simply said, I’ve had my share of challenges and varying states of pistivity, but prayer is an AWESOME thing and it WORKS if you WORK IT!

As I look to the upcoming year my plans include expanding From: Tiaras to Crowns (young ladies mentoring ministry); developing community ‘in’ schools-friendly activities on behalf of the BOE; forging best-in-class school board policies that drive positive behaviors, accountability and world-class outcomes on behalf of the BOE; and finally – and of the greatest importance -- I want to spend more time with my Lovey Dovey Wubby Subby (AKA Milani) as she continues to mature into a compassionate, intelligent young lady and future leader.

So Blessed Am I!

Service is Honorable and REWARDING!

A huge Thank YOU to my church family at CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP GOSPEL CHURCH for providing over 20 toy donations for the Angels in Action organization located right here in Plainfield, NJ.

And a special thank you to the Lady Princesses of Tiaras to Crowns for wrapping the gifts and preparing them for distribution.