Sunday, May 29, 2016

New Superintendent's resume

Anonymous wrote:

"Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "New Superintendent announced": 

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2016/05/29/New-Pittsburgh-City-Schools-superintendent-Anthony-Hamlet-Turning-things-around-his-hallmark/stories/201605290165

Wow, what a resume. "

118 comments:

Questioner said...

Anonymous wrote:

"Schools moving from an 'F' to a 'C' is fairly significant. It would be considered evidence based if in fact the data supported such a claim.

Brian Perkins, ( Search Firm ) says that spot-checking resumes isn't standard practice.

Ragina Holley who contracted Mr. Perkins to lead in the search for superintendent, didn't respond to a request for comment on the resume of Dr. Hamlet."

Anonymous said...


Wait
What?
Spot checking resumes isn't standard practice?
Investigative reporter Molly Brown did some fact checking and uncovered discrepancies in the turn around numbers.

Concerning

Anonymous said...

Correction:
Molly born

Anonymous said...

Wow, some resume. Remember someone said that it was filled with misspellings too.
None of his supervisors would comment for this article.
The Transformation Dept. in Florida was discontinued.
They will not release his agreement to the public.
Are there performance expectations and timelines?
Ms. Holley wouldn't comment.
How do you teachers feel about restorative justice practices? Does this help or hurt discipline and a learning environment?
I'm getting a bad feeling about this.

Anonymous said...


The serving with humility needs to be supported by transparency and trust.

Anonymous said...

I can't believe that we having this conversation at this point of time meaning when we had Mark Roosevelt coming there was no questions about his resume not to mention had no experience far as working for a school district at all
So why now have this conversation !!!! This is nothing but a WITCH HUNT folks so we need to put this aside and let Dr Hamnlet come in and do what he suppose to help bring PPS school performance OK end of story.

Anonymous said...


The process of vetting and fact checking is the work product of the searching firm.
That is why search firms are hired in the first place. Not for witch hunting 6:27.
Brian Perkins is in the spot light here for what he says is 'not standard practice'.

Anonymous said...


6:27

It is entirely appropriate to be having this conversation now. After all we were not part of the search nor the selection. We do no service to Dr. Anthony Hamlet by not holding him to a high standard as we will expect him to do the same with us, here at the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Anonymous said...

6:27, really, end of story? Who died and made you queen? What you consider a witch hunt other people in Pittsburgh consider a legitimate inquiry.
What the hell is your beef?
I'm poster 12:35. Do you care to acknowledge any of my questions? Pick one. Stop with MR already and live in the now. Why are you all "nothing to see here, move on people"?
What's the rush?
I pay my school taxes, so tune out if you can't stand to take this part of democracy.
Like I said, I'm getting a bad feeling.

Anonymous said...


Speaking of inquiry, Who was the individual making the referral of Dr. Hamlet to Mr. Perkins?
Any West Palm Beach ( Ft.Lauderdale ) Pittsburgh connection ?

Anonymous said...

One thing isn't clear to me. What exactly is the Urban Superintendent's Academy? Does this educational program grant Letters of Eligibility? Is this a spin on the Broad concept??

Anonymous said...

To 12:35's question re restorative practices, I like it. A little awkward at first but helps communication with students. I'm a convert.

Anonymous said...

Mark Roosevelt was brought here by Teresa Heinz who used her great influence with foundations and others to get a man a top job in education when he was NEVER a teacher, NEVER a dean, NEVER a principal, NEVER a super. The Board and the Union
fawned all over him. It seems to me that even he eventually realized that none of his
plans for WORLD CLASS SCHOOLS were going to happen. So he ran away before the S...
hit the fan. So did Tarka. End of story.

Questioner said...

Meanwhile he did away with a true world class school- Schenley grads have gone on to do great things.

Questioner said...

Clueless.

Anonymous said...

If I recall, Schenley was in decline academically. If it had not been home of the I.B. program it would have been obvious on paper. There were 2 schools there.
Of course they had a storied past and some famous grads like other schools can claim.
In truth Schenley was as failed as other PPS. Break out the numbers with and w/o
the I.B.
Schenley is so over, so is M.R. Let it go!

Questioner said...

One size does not fit all so there were a variety of options. The Spartan program actually did quite well until funding was cut. And of course even the biggest testing proponents are now conceding that there is more to a successful learning experience than test scores may reveal. Not too many successful models to look to do this one is worth keeping in mind. As to MR, the experience can illuminate what needs to be done differently.

Anonymous said...

I appreciate you measured response to my post. I feared that I would be flamed for even suggesting that Schenley was anything but heaven on earth. I personally am a city tax payer who can barely afford to live here anymore so I consider fiduciary points important also. In a perfect world we could spend 100 grand per pupil instead of 21 G's but I always wonder if the district would consider anything enough. We lost so many pupils due to population decline and charters so we must face hard truths about money.
I don't let emotions blind me about dollars and cents like some people who are all about the feelings, sometimes at the expense of poor city residents who are being crushed by property taxes and worry that they will lose their homes.

Also there is a movie filmed in Pgh set at Schenley, the name is something like "Me, Earl and the Dying Girl" Lot's of nice shots. I caught it recently on cable.

Anonymous said...

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2016/06/03/Discrepancies-on-resume-of-new-Pittsburgh-schools-superintendent-come-to-light/stories/201606030177
Care to expound anyone?
Ms Holley... I can't even comment on this debacle!
AMAZING!

Questioner said...

When we got the first Broad super we were told they had been to an intense superintendents academy- only much later did we learn the "academy" was 7 weekends. Dr Hamlet is someone with a long record of dedication and actual service in public schools so let's just give him a chance.

Anonymous said...

Service that hopefully translates into effective leadership for PPS that is coupled with transparency and
integrity. We can't move forward with anything less.

Anonymous said...


Dr. Hamlet and Ms. Holley have taken a defensive posture in this whole resume mess.
It would have served everyone if they had highlighted instead the "service with humility".

The opportunity was missed in today's PG article.

Questioner said...

If someone is attacked they are going to defend themselves right? It is being blown way out of proportion.

Anonymous said...

If you are running as a 'turn around' candidate and the numbers are your evidence, than those numbers need to be accurate and accountable.

Molly Born and Chris Potter investigated the numbers and came up with incongruence.
The search firm failed in it's 'fiduciary' responsibility to vet the candidate and Ms. Holley's oversight was sorely missing.

Anonymous said...

As has been said before but not posted as comment by the questioner: Our leaders need to be scrutinized. It is the scrutiny that makes them better leaders.

Questioner said...

Not sure what comment wasn't posted, but there care needs to be taken so that scrutiny doesn't turn into distracting nitpicking.

Anonymous said...

I'm finding it hard to get worked up over these "discrepancies." Anyone who has worked in a large school district knows that there are all sorts of ways to report numbers. Look back and forth between school level and district level and state level results and while the trends are (usuall!) the same, the numbers often don't match up exactly.

Graduation rates, for instance, can be counted a bunch of different ways -- those who graduated on time, those who graduated within a summer of on-time, those who left school and got a GED within the same time frame, those who left school and got a GED within a year or two of expected graduation date, etc.

Perhaps I'm jaded, but I know of nowhere that has all numbers that match up on every level. I also know that people writing resumes are going to use the most optimistic numbers that can be found, just like education "reformers" like Broad/Gates/charter promoters used the worst numbers to portray schools before they attempted reforms. Then they could just revert to different numbers or counting different things to show "improvement" with their plans. Very often when the same things were compared, there weren't improvements.

Questioner said...

So true. What also happens is that administration "doesn't have" data. As in, "Excellence for All" claimed that there would be huge increases in the number of African American students earning IB diplomas and passing AP exams- but if you request the before and after data to see how the EFA worked out and evaluate how the money was spent, "the requested documentation does not exist."

Anonymous said...



"The board will work with him to ensure that happens" - just like they worked with Lane and see where that got PPS.



In the wake of new reports questioning figures that the future Pittsburgh Public Schools’ superintendent cited in his resume, the school board president acknowledged that more could have been done to check his claims.

Regina Holley emphasized Friday afternoon that Anthony Hamlet “will do a wonderful job in the district, and the board will work with him to ensure that happens,” saying she valued his experience turning around struggling schools in Palm Beach County, Fla. But she said that in hindsight, “I would have questioned him more thoroughly on some of the numbers.”

Anonymous said...

Here is the link to the Palm Beach Post article with their readers' comments. Interesting...

http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/local-education/palm-beach-county-educator-embellishes-record-gets/nrZHR/

Anonymous said...


So when you have students who are 80 to 90% NOT PROFICIENT on the states minimum competency test graduating based on 'easy' low standard, classroom tasks/tests/assessments that teachers adapt so that 80-90% of their students will have a passing grade....its easy to get worked up over "discrepancies" especially when those "discrepancies" are the evidence put forth for your " Turnaround ".

Anonymous said...

This entire process just makes our board look bad/incompetent. I wonder who the other two candidates were? We weren't allowed to know. No wonder the public's perception of PPS is what it is. It's situations like this that give PPS a bad reputation.

Anonymous said...

If we paid the Perkins agency to do our search--isnt it their job to review credentials, etc.? If ther board had the ability to do the search themselves-- they wouldnt have spent that money. Today school districts have started using companies to do this, which is fine-- but dont blame the board that hired them.

Anonymous said...

Remember..."You inspect what you expect." This Board is not exempt!

Anonymous said...


Remembering also that our Board hired Brian Perkins while knowing that he had no experience searching for superintendents in his resume.

Anonymous said...

http://pittsburghcomet.com/pgh-school-board-hires-consultant-named-perkins/
Who refused to see this coming?

Anonymous said...


What part of this conversation is "nitpicking" questioner?...or to phrase it differently what part doesn't go straight to the heart of what is missing in the PPS?

Grateful for Eleanor Chute's retirement and the emergence of Molly Born and Chris Potter who show us what doing one's due diligence is all about.

Questioner said...

See 10:48 above, and don't hold your breath waiting for any PG reporter to diligently look at anything or anyone favored by the foundations. The PG will fall into line and report that the current administration has been phenomenal.

Anonymous said...

Having less skin the game these days since my kids are now in their twenties, I did not follow the whole search and hiring process. Perhaps Mr. Perkins will be a better consultant for the next district having learned that he could do more fact-checking if he made fewer robo-calls. Still I hate to see this cloud and hope the story fades away and does not create an atmosphere where the superintendent is so focused on proving himself quickly that things go wrong.

Questioner said...

When members of groups that have not traditionally been consultants or superintendents are first hired they are likely to have less experience than usual. So a few initial bumps in the road may be expected while things even out.

Anonymous said...

1:01 - This statement does not even come close to a rational justification for hiring people OUTSIDE of their field of experience or expertise. Sounds like a Donald Trump line of thinking or worse, if possiblle

Anonymous said...


http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/news/local-education/palm-beach-county-educator-embellishes-record-gets/nrZHR/

Hmmm-- it is obvious that things werent vetted-- doesnt mean he's a bad guy-- Florida schools and their "grading systems" are convoluted--
But teachers are watching- less suspensions doesnt equal great schools- it just means that more students who committed some offense was chucked back into a classroom

Questioner said...

Please explain. Donald trump is not known for seeking diversity and inclusiveness.

Anonymous said...

Questioner...what is your justification for hiring individuals who have not traditionlly been consultants or superintendents? Paying big money for these novices to figure out what their jobs are while flying the plane are some pretty expensive and I might add foolhardy "bumps in the road." There is no reason to excuse lack of insight or at least the lack of investigative measures regarding hiring important key positions in PPS.

Questioner said...

After thorough review the board believed they could fly the plane. Avoiding "gotcha" mistakes will come quickly with experience.

Anonymous said...


Thorough review did not happen here. Ms. Holley has conceded as much. What may be viewed as bumps in the road could be in fact...pot holes... and we all know how they can swallow you up.

Perhaps the gridiron has toughened Dr. Hamlet for a rough ride.

Questioner said...

Most likely they thoroughly reviewed for things that matter more than unreliable graduation and suspension data.

Anonymous said...

Uh...in being deemed capable of running a district, candidates should undergo a review of not just what they say they can do but also on the facts that support their ability to do it. Why describe graduation and suspension data as being unreliable? It was misrepresented and manipulated by Hamlet - two verbs that should not represent the actions of a "transformational" leader.

Questioner said...

Increases in graduation can be real, or they can result from bumping up what would have been failing grades to Ds or from making easy credit recovery available. It is impossible to know if the bar was moved. Similarly short one day suspensions can be waived or replaced by detention while the more significant 10 day suspensions are unchanged. There are so many ways to manipulate the numbers and then it puts pressure on everyone to "keep up" and look good.

Anonymous said...

Hamlet is holding a press conference tomorrow to "address apparent discrepancies in his resume." This should be interesting. What a way to begin a new job. He's off to a shaky start.

Anonymous said...

9:32 PM where and what time is the press conference also will it be along side with Mr. Perkins to address the discrepancies Mr Hamlet
Resume !!!

Anonymous said...

The press conference is at 2:30 in Bellefield. The article didn't say which "spin doctors" will be present with him. We all know PPS has lots of spin doctors in-house!

Anonymous said...

At least the Post-Gazette writers now are doing some fact checking. Previous writers seemed like they were on the PPS payroll. Keep up the good work writers!

Anonymous said...

Here's the link: note the readers' comments at the end.

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2016/06/06/City-schools-superintendent-schedules-news-conference/stories/201606060086

Anonymous said...

KDKA's Andy Sheehan interviewed Hamlet.

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2016/06/06/resume-questions-raised-about-incoming-pps-superintendent/

I can't wait for the press conference and Hamlet's answers. The Board is incompetent starting with the hiring of Perkins. The Board will end up buying out Hamlet's contract at some point. More of our money down the drain.

It's unusual for local media to actually challenge anything PPS does. I wonder what has brought about this change?

Anonymous said...


Interesting that Hamlet chose Dilworth PreK-5 because he heard they were the best and the brightest.

As a 'turnaround' leader one might have assumed he'd visit the lowest achieving school to begin his message and promise of transformation.

Anonymous said...

I agree 12:12 but maybe he wants to see both ends of the spectrum. What will be the telling move is the NEXT school he chooses to visit. Stay tuned...

Anonymous said...


Maybe 1:32 but I think it was a missed opportunity to begin and frame his 'service'.

Anonymous said...

Hamlet had his press conference and Andy Sheehan questioned him some more about discrepancies in the resume. Holley just wants to move forward. The interesting thing though was that Sala Udin and Tracey Reed Armant (A+ Schools) didn't seem too satisfied with Hamlet's explanation.

Gee, first the Post-Gazette, then KDKA, and now Udin and Armant actually speaking out and questioning PPS. It must be a new day In PPS. Maybe we are going to get some transparency finally.

Anonymous said...

I think that all that the PG actually doing something means is that he wasn't the choice of the foundations/A+ schools/Broad-Gates alliance.

That doesn't mean he's good or bad, it does mean that he's being treated differently than other people who have lied directly to the PGs face about the schools and not been called on it.

Anonymous said...

To June 2nd, 8:45 AM who said:
'If I recall, Schenley was in decline academically.' regarding its closing.

That was the party line coming from Roosevelt (via Lopez and Reed, primarily).

However, the district's own data at the time of the discussions about closing Schenley showed that Schenley had the highest performing black/African American students in the district after CAPA according to the PSSA data. That I do know. I believe that they had the next highest graduation rate as well.

You certainly can't say that about its replacement school.

Of course, we know now that they were lying about the asbestos and the renovation costs at that very same time. Truth and reality weren't their strong suits. They were also sure that all sorts of Pitt students would be usefully volunteering at UPrep and that there was no need for any sort of agreement listing exactly what services would be provided and by whom. There were a lot of things said, most of them weren't very true at all.

ALSO, the closing of Schenley and the opening of "small schools" came just as Gates was realizing that that wasn't actually a solution to anything. Small schools didn't didn't work and now there's data that shows exactly what many Schenley parents pointed out, that bigger comprehensive schools offer more choices to ALL students. But instead we have 3 smaller schools (Obama, SciTech, UPrep) that have to ship kids here and there to get them the experiences that kids at a comprehensive high school can get right in their very own school. Remember, at the time, Schenley had a robotics magnet, as well as the International Studies program and the IB program (and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater program). Those three schools could still be one school with lots of offerings, serving many different kinds of kids.


Questioner said...

Yes that's it, so many people and organizations follow the foundations/ $.

Anonymous said...

8:52

I think you're spot on, especially now that Cate Reed is quoted in the PG speaking out against him. The foundations and media outlets didn't get the little puppet they needed to keep the donor money flowing. I had my doubts about Hamlet, but if Cate Reed doesn't want him then I definitely DO want him. How does that saying go...an enemy of my enemy is my friend, or some thing like that. A+ schools, Cate Reed, the HDEC, Sala Udin ...All fake concern. Why weren't any of them publicly taking Linda to task on ANYTHING???!!

Anonymous said...

i think that all the controversy will only strengthen Hamlet's resolve to improve the district and you can bet his scores will be indisputable here, not open to any interpretation or inflated in any way.

Anonymous said...


The unwritten play book is no longer in play. The code of silence that blanketed the tenure of Linda Lane and Thomas Sumpter by the African American community has been lifted with their retirement. Anthony Hamlet and Regina Holley are fair game for Sala Udin and HDEC and anyone else feeling free to 'speak out' against.

They now will portend to be the children's advocates.

Anonymous said...

12:36

If you read today's PG carefully, Cate Reed says that her issue is less with Hamlet than it is with the board.

The PG points to her bias. She plans to fund candidates for school board next year.

Anonymous said...

I agree with 12:36 AM. Cate Reed's group funding future school board candidates highlights her trying to get her claws into the district for her own agendas such as Teach for America. If you can't get in the front door, try the back door.

If and when Jody Spolar retires, another piece of that "code of silence" will be gone.

Anonymous said...

The bottom line here is that ,once again, the board shows it's lack of professionalism. The people who were hired for the search did not have experience so they didn't properly vet the candidates. The board took that recommendation and ran with it instead of thoroughly reviewing the information. I'm surprised they didn't hire another consultant to deal with the consultant. Many people are saying that the data discrepancies don't matter. Try telling that to the teachers who are rated solely on data. I hope the new superintendent does what is best for the district but this beginning is a little shaky!

Anonymous said...

Imagine a teacher or any other professional for that matter, caught with a resume based on false information. That would be grounds for termination as it should be. Why doesn't the board admit their mistake and find an HONEST candidate. What kind of message are we sending to our students? We need role models for our students. The message here is hey it's ok to lie to get what you want.

Questioner said...

MRs whole tenure was misstatements and spin to get what he wanted. And very few spoke up. And those who did were called irrational, conspiracy y theorists, etc.

Anonymous said...

No one has commented on Kate Reed's comment " You can make data say whatever you want." That to me is the biggest concern. How much data has been spun? How many teachers data has been spun? Schools for that matter? While she was employed. I often wondered about the schools that were awarded bonuses when other were named in the paper by the state for growth and received no star school status. We know data is skewed but to fully admit that when teachers have lost jobs over data. ...... Just saying....

Anonymous said...

And .. aside from the data discrepancies, obvious plagiarism on his resume as well. Looks like Dr Holley is slowly backing down in her defense of him.
http://triblive.com/news/education/10601208-74/hamlet-resume-board

Media must have seen this earlier, but left him the opportunity to acknowledge it on his own at the press conference, which he didn't.

Unfortunate.

Stephanie Tecza said...

After reading the article Kevin Carter said "you live and learn" WHAT!!!!! THIS DISTRICT HAS SCREWED THESE KIDS OVER FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS. WE CANNOT AFFORD TO TAKE A LACKADAISICAL APPROACH. I AM DISAPPOINTED. I AM DISAPPOINTED IN THE ENTIRE SCHOOL BOARD FOR NOT DOING THEIR HOMEWORK.

“I'm just waiting to see if I discover anything else before leaping to a final judgment,” school board member Kevin Carter said. “Dr. Hamlet — it was of my belief — that he was the best for the job based on his interviews, resume, the whole shebang. You live and you learn.”

Anonymous said...

I predict a buyout coming...

Anonymous said...

I wonder what the students involved in the selection process have to say about this.

Anonymous said...

Yes. A buyout is the only way to go to save us from 5 years of wondering about his legitimacy in all that he recommends for PPS students and teachers. It's just a real mess that this Board has gotten us into.

The issues of PPS that we had hoped were finally being put behind us now have taken on a very scary, dark dimension.

Anonymous said...


"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

All eyes on you Dr. Anthony Hamlet.

The glass is 3/4 empty said...

In a perfect world, the new school superintendent, Dr. Hamlet, would admit that his resume was incorrect. He would then resign. There would be no buyout, and there would be no further waste of taxpayer money.

In a perfect world, the Pittsburgh school board would then issue a statement admitting that they didn't do their job properly. The president of the school board, Dr. Holley, would resign her position. And a new board president would be chosen.

But this is not a perfect world. In the real world, the Pittburgh of today, there is no shame, and no accountability at the top. A vague statement will eventually be issued, and it will paper over this whole mess. And then everyone will get back to basics. And in Pittsburgh that means getting back to cooking data to make central administration look good.

Anonymous said...


Not this time 2:12PM. The kitchen's too HOT.

Anonymous said...


Worldlyness has never been perfection. It would be difficult for the above mentioned Drs. to survive this and command the respect needed to guide the district and it's students to be the best that they can be.

Anonymous said...

Forgive me but I am still reeling from the formatting and spacing issues in the resume. Our students, in particular those in high school, are fed the idea that they are getting a second rate education and the idea is backed up by reports of ranking from the state, among others. My kids got a pretty great education in PPS but I recall the words I heard from another parent giving testimony at a public hearing about 15 years ago, "Pittsburgh Public Schools offers a good education to those who wish to receive one." We need leadership to believe that and act accordingly. #worldclassteachers

Anonymous said...

It is very disappointing that this hiring was handled so badly. It styarted with a search firm who doesn't do background checks?? and a board who didn;t ask the question "Can all of his info be verified?" He then goes to Dilworth and call them the best and the brightest a comment that somehow does not sound too fair to other PPS students. I find all of this very, very sad.

Anonymous said...

I am very very leary of a person who is already receiving so much negative press.....there should be no buyout....he hasn't officially started working yet. Be truthful and up front .... There are ALOT of hard working people that make progress happen and need to be given a chance, but too much negativity already.....very very leary of the " leader" our board has chosen for PPS....how can someone have confidence when all these skeletons are being brought out???

Questioner said...

If he came in and did a great job initial press would fade. Substance will be more important than press.

Anonymous said...

http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2016/06/10/Start-over-city-schools-The-Pittsburgh-Public-Schools-cannot-function-with-Anthony-Hamlet-as-superintendent/stories/201606300027

School solicitor Ira Weiss has called a meeting today to discuss the Hamlet situation. The handwriting is on the wall folks. Hamlet will be gone one way or the other. The P-G published an editorial today calling for PPS to start over and begin a new search.

Where was Ira Weiss, the Board, the Post-Gazette, A+ Schools, Sala Udin, Tim Stevens, etc. when Roosevelt and then Linda Lane bought into Broad and Gates, and we saw the decline in our City Schools? All of a sudden everyone is so concerned about our school system. Where have you all been BEFORE? Clearly, you all want to see a Superintendent you can influence. I am not condoning what Hamlet did or didn't do regarding his resume. What I see are special interests at work here to make sure their agendas are advanced.

Anonymous said...

After today's emergency Board meeting, we'll find out if Hamlet is "To be or not to be..." That for sure will be the question!

Anonymous said...

Anything's possible, Questioner at 6:50.

But consider an applicant whose resume lists 10 years of teaching experience. So he is hired. But in reality he only has 3 years of teaching experience. This person might be a gifted teacher, and he might do very well regardless.

But I don't think I'd want such a person in my school for two reasons. One, he does not have the background he claims to have. And two, his misleading resume would force me to question his overall character.

Anonymous said...

@6:50 u r right... Press will fade BUT why is he getting so much already... I totally believe in giving someone a chance, but he is caught in a web of problems already....

Mark Rauterkus said...

The witch hunt is on and I fear that they want to take down the concept of democracy and an elected school board.

The type and intensity of the noise was orchestrated by saboteurs.

The Allegheny Conference folks attended one of the early meetings (at Hill House) about the pending process, and they seemed to be yanked off when they learned that they'll not get a vote on who is going to be the next leader of PPS. Go figure.

Anonymous said...

Over a 2 and a half hour meeting today and another meeting scheduled for Monday. Yes, the witch hunt continues Mark. Special interests won't quit until they get their way (someone they can manipulate for their agendas). Will they (special interests) pay the buyout or will the taxpayers once again bear the burden? PPS has had many, many buyouts in the past.

Anonymous said...

Not to mention taxpayers bearing another burden of a lawsuit that Hamlet might hit PPS with given he would be out of both FLA and PA jobs with a smeared reputation. Who will want to hire him?

Anonymous said...

Hamlet wasn't at today's meeting. If I'm him, I'd be on my way back to Florida and let my attorney handle matters going forward. A buyout will be coming. PPS dropped the ball once again... more of our tax dollars down the drain. One has to wonder, if this resume matter hadn't surfaced, what else would the special interests groups come up with to get rid of him? Clearly they want their own man in charge.

Anonymous said...


There is nothing clear about this at all.

Having read all of the above comments, none have been a thumbs up for this guy....none.

Anonymous said...


If #worldclassteachers ( 7:23 PM )is a special interest group and they are lobbying for a world class super than my tax dollars will gladly line their pockets.

Search on.

Anonymous said...

The hunt should be focused on retrieving the $100,000 paid to Perkins who is at the root of this debacle. If this superintendent search had been conducted correctly by an experienced team, the Board would not be in this position of being embarrassed by his (and their) incompetence. Hamlet would have been an unknown name to our District.

Anonymous said...

The district could be on the hook for a year's worth of pay and benefits to Hamlet if the school board ends his contract through a “mutual agreement,” Hamlet's contract shows.

From this mornings Tribune-Review.

Anonymous said...

A comment on the P-G article today.


Kipp Dawson1 hour ago
A wondering, from a PPS teacher and parent of two PPS K-12 graduates. All of a sudden, people have lots to say to condemn our (elected) school board. A board which has a publicly-shared, publicly-vetted vision for schools which will recognize and build to meet the real potential and needs of our real students. A vision I applaud and find so very refreshing in these times when we are surrounded by the destruction of public schools via business-model demonizatiin of parents and teachers and students, punitive responses to our real children which feed that pipeline to prison, and privatization/charterizing which bankrupt our public schools. My wondering: where were all the players in this current "exposure" when Pittsburgh Public Schools faced the attempts to destroy them in this "reform" frenzy? When the real imposters were given the reigns over our schools which wrecked havoc and drove so many educators and parents to despair? When non-educator business-oriented Mark Roosevelt and the Gates foundation brought their anti-pedagogy schemes (now so largely discredited) into action in our schools?

I'll give you a short answer. The members of our current school board were working working working to protect our children and communities and schools from those destructive forces. All of them were. And most especially, Dr. Regina Holley, who led one of our most important and most beleaguered schools as a farsighted, team-building principal, and then took her experience and vision deep into the frey when she agreed to take on the often-thankless, always pay-less job on our school board.

As to those currently attacking our board, I caution all of us: be wary of what lies behind their current frenzy. Let's hear their vision for our schools. Let's see what the organizatiibs which support these attacks have in mind for our schools and our children. Let's see. And when we do, I will bet we will recognize our current, elected school board, and it's elected leader, to be the real champions of our children, our schools, and our city.

Anonymous said...


Totally confused by your comments9:22AM at a time when clarity is needed.

To begin with all of our students are "real"....and the mess that we find ourselves in is our reality. Our 'realness'. And its all real.

Until the black and white of it is dropped the solution will be forever waiting for the two to become one.

Anonymous said...

9:22 AM is a comment that someone posted online (P-G website) in response to the P-G article today.

I agree with him in that where were all these people calling for Hamlet's head, and attacking our school board when the PPS ship was sinking under Roosevelt and then Lane? As long as their own agendas were moving forward, they stayed silent as PPS schools worsen under all the consultants and so called reforms.

Questioner said...

Not to mention integrity issues. MR learned in 2009 that he was wrong and Schenley actually had minimal asbestos in its plaster, but never bothered to reveal this to the public or correct the numerous press releases he sent out announcing asbestos.

Anonymous said...

The point is: MR,Linda Lane, asbestos at Schenley is no longer our reality. We have a new set of issues needing to be solved.

Questioner said...

Lots of issues including whether a non foundation candidate is treated differently, and so history is relevant.

Note that the Washington Post article that had the same educational philosophy is over 10 years old. I'm guessing this was an oversight, ie Dr Hamlet jotted down a concept he liked and going back to notes at a later time thought they were his own words- again, the ideas are pretty generic.

Anonymous said...

It's about his student body. How can face those students with a straight face while asking for excellence?

Questioner said...

He can explain that he got a little sloppy and let this be an example of how there are those who will all you on it, even if you had no intent to do wrong (unspoken text: esp if you are African American not supported by organizations with $).

Anonymous said...

Ok 9:22 let me get this straight,if you owned a company as your number 1 advisor made a decision that costed you 1,000,000 would you keep him/her on your payroll. Our public schools are in the 15% from the bottom list. So who are we supposed to be glorifying for such good work. I can't find one name that's stand out.

Questioner said...

Who made a decision that cost $1,000,000?

Incredibly bad facilities decisions costing tens of millions of dollars have been made over the last 10 years, and now we have to deal with them. It's going to cost, a lot.

And that's not even counting decisions to sell properties in up and coming areas like East Liberty (Reizenstein) and Lawrenceville (Washington) for laughably low prices.

Everyone stayed on the payroll

Anonymous said...

I admit to being a big fan of Spampinato. She really connected with many of us parents at several meetings. You could almost see the wheels spinning behind her eyes when a parent introduced a topic for discussion. Why don't we sit back and see what Hamlet does for a year and then if there is a buyout warranted it can't be any worse than the one Spa-ram-arato-do-do-do-do got. Um, that is usually sung to the tune "it's pal-a-mal-lou- do-do-do-do".

Mark Rauterkus said...

OMG.

Above it was posted: "Having read all of the above comments, none have been a thumbs up for this guy....none."

Hold the phone. There were NINE people who were thumbs up for this guy. All the PPS Board Members got to interview the guy in length. And, they got to pick him over the other two finalists too. The elected PPS BOARD has the duty to make the final decision. They spoke. There was a NONE for anyone else really -- that is the big fact that you seem to forget. And, the people on the blog don't have interview opportunities. He is an outsider. He is from a distance. He has his own history that isn't with PITTSBURGH patronage. So, who do you expect citizens to support, a stranger?

To say none have been thumbs up for the guy is to LIE NINE TIMES, whopper lies each. Let's not be at odds with the truth, crazy talk style.

I give a thumbs up to the duty of an elected board of trustees. I give a thumbs up to the guy being with the potential to be 10x better than outgoing Linda Lane and 100 times better than any temp superintendent and 1,000 times better than any quickly hired different person who comes in the wake of this storm. The pool of candidates just evaporated with this circus of back stabbers and media sabotage.

Anonymous said...

Mark Roosevelt "was an outsider,was from a distance, had his own history that wasn't with PITTSBURGH patronage" and yet as a stranger he was welcomed and supported. A "circus of back stabbers and media [saboteurs]" has reared its ugly head against Hamlet which once again proven that a fair shake isn't possible in this small minded city unless of course you are/ aren't__________ (fill in the blank)

Mark Rauterkus said...

Roosevelt's arrival came, and I did clap, for a while. Roosevelt would come to see what I saw and know what I knew, because, in part, I told him. And, he values were similar too, because he told me he was in agreement. However, his actions were different. He had a scritp, a playbook, an agenda, that he HAD TO FOLLOW. His priorities were different, especially at the outset.

But, Roosevelt was no outsider. Roosevelt was choosen. He was tied to a specific mission and a specific cadre of wire-pullers of power. We in the neighborhood were played like pawns.

Roossevelt/Lane and Hamlet are with far different connections to "Pittsburgh power" in this regard.

Anonymous said...


If athletics is your measure he probably is 1,000 times better than anyone else.

BTW, the nine thumbs up are beginning to turn. Can we say Linda Wrenn's thump is on a downward trajectory?

Anonymous said...

Considering the popularity of Trump, TRUTH doesn't seem very important these days. People have already been called racists because they thought the super of a school district should have some integrity and hold someone for their resume. But no, let;s just forget all that and get with it and hire anyone who can cut and paste.

Anonymous said...


I give a thumbs up for the ability of an elected board trustee to change his or her mind.

Anonymous said...


Truth lost it's standing when the first Clinton in the white house pointed his finger to the nation and said " I did not ".

Questioner said...

There was Nixon before that.

Anonymous said...

And Reagan before that - Check your history on how he unscrupulously financed a war!

Anonymous said...

And don't forget Bush hunting Bin Laden..

Questioner said...

WMD and our own WMD (asbestos).