Monday, June 13, 2016

Personnel committee to meet

Anonymous wrote:

"http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2016/06/13/City-public-schools-committee-will-continue-discussion-about-Hamlet-s-resume/stories/201606130127

Board met this AM. The personnel committee will continue to look into his resume. I wonder who is on that committee? I didn't know we had such a committee. "

54 comments:

Questioner said...

Anonymous wrote:

"
As the board was meeting, representatives of the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers called a news conference to express their support for the board and Hamlet, who they said has a proven track record as an administrator in Florida.

“We're urging them to stand strong under the fire of all this scrutiny,” said the Rev. Rodney Lyde, president of the network. “This is the time for leadership.”

The quote is from the Tribune-Review. "

Anonymous said...


Who recommended Hamlet for the Supt. position to begin with???
He didn't come to know of the opening on his own as told by Ms.Born and Mr.Potter.

Anonymous said...

http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/10607683-74/board-hamlet-district

A Pgh. based attorney will further investigate Hamlet's resume for the board. Weiss has previously worked with her. You know what this means if Weiss has worked with her? I believe that they need someone completely independent of PPS and Weiss.

Anonymous said...

“I felt and recommended to the board they needed an independent inquiry into this as part of their obligations as school board members and prospective employers,” said district solicitor Ira Weiss. “I thought it was the prudent thing to do.”

Laurel Brandstetter, a Pittsburgh-based attorney who specializes in personnel and corporate investigations, will lead the inquiry on behalf of the board. Weiss, whose firm represents school districts throughout Southwest Pennsylvania, said he has worked with her previously on personnel matters.

Is she part of the "personnel committee?"

Anonymous said...

North Allegheny School DIstrict just hired a new Superintendent they had a smooth transition no problems .
No special board meetings about integrity of their new Suoerintendent
Meaning maybe next time let North Allegeny do the Superintendent search can do a better job and for a better price💲💲💲
Meaning they have ACCOUNTABILITY

Questioner said...

Where have all these calls for accountability been the last 10 years?

Anonymous said...

Well, do you know that the PG and the Trib and the Pittsburgh Foundation and A+ Schools have gone through the new NA superintendent's resume line by line looking for issues or inconsistencies? Has someone done a plagiarism check on every part of the resume, cover letter(s) and any speaking the candidate has done?

You can't say that they hired someone better or did a better job without the same scrutiny! (Also, of course, their issues and PPS issues are very different in some respects. What is good for them could very well not be as good for PPS and vice versa.

Questioner said...

Meanwhile they won't make the slightest effort to check or challenge claims made by foundations or the current administration, even when obvious errors and issues are called to their attention.

Anonymous said...

The sagacious district and the valiant union approved $100,000 financing for Perkins Consulting to seek out a superintendent, yet this company could not find out these embellishments and plagiaristic acts prior to Hamlet being hired, let alone being interviewed. The board, the union, and Linda Lane should chip in a $100,000 and reimburse the district. Then the triumvirate should be sentenced to a three year teaching stint in the district.

Questioner said...

Again, why the sudden search for embellishments? Years and years of obvious manipulation of data, including data that was part of the decision to hire and extend the contract of the current superintendent, have been completely ignored.

Anonymous said...

The NA supt was hired first as asst supt and then acting supt before being hired as the current supt. They already knew his background and his expertise. No need to come through his resume for discrepancies and false statements. C'mon, I'm sure you're aware he was previously principal at Allderdice and Sci-Tech, right?

Anonymous said...

It's interesting how the P-G and Trib. report PPS stories differently. Today's P-G front page reads, "Board to pay for closer look at Hamlet credentials." "Superintendent's resume questioned." The P-G slants their reporting regarding this matter. The story even discusses attorney's hourly fees. Imagine how much Ira Weiss makes off of PPS!

Anonymous said...

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2016/06/14/Groups-can-no-longer-wait-want-new-search-for-city-public-schools-superintendent/stories/201606140141

Here we go with pressure.

Questioner said...

The same folks responsible for PPS poor results over the last decade want to continue in control.

Anonymous said...

The statement is signed by Esther L. Bush, president and CEO of Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh; Tim Stevens, chairman and CEO of the Black Political Empowerment Project; Sala Udin, co-chair of the Hill District Education Council; and Carey A. Harris, executive director of A+ Schools.

The Post-Gazette reported last week that Mr. Hamlet’s educational philosophy in his resume included wording almost identical to that found in a Washington Post editorial from February 2015 — minus one word.

That report followed earlier stories in the Post-Gazette and the Palm Beach Post that Mr. Hamlet’s resume made claims about his record as a Florida school administrator that were at odds with data filed by the Palm Beach County school district.

The groups today called on the board to issue a request for proposals for executive search organizations “with successful track records of placing urban superintendents (including supporting the board in vetting the final candidates)” and “use a community committee to screen applicants and build consensus for selecting the district's next leader — a decision that ultimately rests with the elected school board.”

*Note they want a "community committee to screen applicants." In other words they want to pick the new superintendent despite saying the "decision ultimately rests with the elected school board." That's a joke. They are pressuring the board to get their own way. Same old same old politics. Maybe we should save time and money and just allow this group to run PPS. They did such a great job turning a blind eye when Roosevelt and then Lane help direct PPS in a downward spiral.

I wouldn't want to be the PPS superintendent because of all the political behind the scenes crap that goes on. I'm sure Gates has someone in mind though.

Anonymous said...

This same group fiddled while UPrep burned.

Questioner said...

And agreed to an isolated, segregated "high school" in a middle school building with a completely inadequate gymnasium.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Hamlet does not deserve to crash and burn because PPS and Perkins did an abysmal job of fact checking him as a candidate. I'm sure somebody in the Perkins group pursued Hamlet and convinced him that he'd be a good candidate and Hamlet just tried to live up to that encouragement. Prior to all of this, he was just doing his job for the district in FLA, raising his son, minding his own business and suddenly PPS gets its hooks in him. And.now.he's.ruined.

Questioner said...

On his way to his next round of success if many of us have anything to do with it.

Anonymous said...


Dr.Hamlet is not going to crash and burn. If he is indeed talented with African American youth there are many in the Pittsburgh community that will scarf him up.
Manchester Craftsman Guild comes to mind.

Community leader and visionary, William E Strickland Jr. CEO of MCG is quoted as having said, " A successful life is not something you simply pursue,it is something that you create moment to moment."

Dr. Hamlet will be fine with or without the 'burgh'

Questioner said...

The Urban League, Sala Udin, certain members of HDEC and A+- these are the same African American "leaders" who put their own interests before those of the wider community. They did it with the creation of U Prep and look how that turned out. They tried to do it with TFA but we had a stronger Board in place. They are trying again with privatization and charter schools (big money in charters).

Anonymous said...

Dr Holly brought the consultant to the board.

Questioner said...

Yes and it looks like the consultant identified a great superintendent!

He clearly did not expect this kind of attack, though. Some reason to complain would have been found for any candidate who is not Broad Gates/ Foundation and subject to their control. And if the candidate had been Broad Gates, no one would be scrutinizing resumes.

Anonymous said...

6:14
William E Strickland Jr is NOT Sala Udin, HDEC or A+ and to compare him to them is a reflection of your own narrow vision questioner.

Anonymous said...


Questioner..."consultant identified a great superintendent"? What do you know that no one else knows? Even Dr. Hamlet doesn't market himself as a "Great Superintendent"? Who's embellishing now?....but of course we all .... make mistakes.

Anonymous said...


Beginning to wonder if the questioner recommended Hamlet as a candidate for the supt position?

How does the saying go...she/he doth protest too much?

Questioner said...

No, Questioner had never heard the name Hamlet until the May press conference announcing his appointment, nor met the man. However, he is highly recommended by qualified and respected individuals.

No knowledge of where William Strickland stands on the appointment.

Anonymous said...

2 things,
I got a robo call last night from A+ schools urging me to protest this hire.
Also, if Dr. Hamlet was so good why did they get rid of his program and move him to a H.R. position for next year? Apparently, the recommendations from FL were very limited and not from people in key positions. As I recall, people in FL had a lot of "no comment".

Anonymous said...

nobody in their right mind will ever want to apply or be superintendent in Pittsburgh again. the attorney now taking a deeper look at the resume is a former prosecutor? ponder the implications of that. how dare we let the board and solicitor ruin this man as a result of their failure to vet and pick a search team who could have prevented this.

Questioner said...

Meanwhile everywhere incredible claim made by the current and previous super go completely unchallenged.

Anonymous said...

Let's see how/if all of this is addressed in tonight's meeting.

Questioner said...

Remember when MR submitted a sham 10 second "resignation" to get around the state law restricting how far in advance a superintendent contract could be renewed? Not a peep was heard about integrity or example setting. Different rules apply to different people.

Anonymous said...

Well let's not recall Dr. Hamlet how the BOARD PPS ADMINISTRATION being since we want to start over a SUPERINTENDENT oh also
Start over with PPS STUDENTS
Other than that I think the State Board Control take over PPS just like in Duquesne how about that folks

Anonymous said...

Once again, Dr. Holly brought the consultant to the board.

Anonymous said...

If I remember it was Dr. Holley and THomas sumpter who found Mr. Perkins. They said they were so impressed with him.

Anonymous said...

POINT OF CLARIFICATION- State Boards of Control only takes over if a district is in financial distress...not a political fiasco as with PPS. Example: Like Duquesne in the past, currently Penn Hills School District's financial crisis would qualify it for a Board of Control.

Anonymous said...

We must remember that UPREP/Milliones is a separate issue-- though it is the flagship of what is so very wrong. Herron Hill was a high school so the building isnt totally the problem. Yes the gym is inadequate from today's view-- but Westinghouse had a state of the art facility, and still had horrid growing pains trying to deal with MR/ Broad agenda.
U Prep - if it ignoring all the administrative nonsense since 2006-- could work-- but not trying to fit the Broad mold. They could certainly look around this city and see what worked-- Brashear/ South Hills share a building but are on separate schedules and have a wall-- hmmm
Other schools are back to interesting electives for middle school students not drill and kill training for tests--hmmm
We have the strengths here-- release Broad crap and look around....

Questioner said...

You are right! It looks like Herron Hill was a high school back in the 50's and earlier... but the gym is nothing like a normal high school gym like you would see at the other high school buildings in the city from say the 70's on, and will need to be replaced at great cost, while the gym down Center Avenue a bit is enjoyed by luxury apartment dwellers. And yes, a great facility is not sufficient to create a great school. It's just that every time the foundations roll out an idea that most people feel is wrong (close Schenley and create U Prep, bring in TFA, privatize schools) they roll out the usual supporters (A Plus, etc).

Questioner said...

And by the way, what do the unpopular decisions being pushed by A Plus, etc have in common?

It's money. Someone will makes a lot of money from converting a well-built, much loved public building into residences, hiring TFA and privatizing schools. And the supporters are often rewarded in various ways as well.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of A+, it strikes me that they loved everything that came from Bellefield for so long and now are all tied up with the 3 organizations who support a new search.

Questioner said...

Yes, A+ and the other organizations loved everything that came from Bellefield because they were behind much of what came from the old Bellefield.

Anonymous said...

A+ is pushing hard. I had the robo call the other night and now a big email telling me to protest this hire too.
Just what is their angle. I don't get this fierce opposition. Is it the money that will be sprinkled around? Is it race? Is it the foundations? Is it control of something? Unions? Neighborhoods? East End white people? Vacant properties? Test scores? Truth about data? It is a huge budget, bigger than the city budget and taxes are high (for me). Who wants what and why? I don't get it. It's way beyond the new Super. Can anyone spell it out for me? Please?
Where will UPrep and Westinghouse land?
It's worse than ever. I always admired Miss Holley and just wish she would be more open at this crucial time. She always seemed wise and reasoned but now her power seems to have messed everything up. Any quotes of note from her or any other board member that may be insightful.
So many post's hint or imply at some unspoken truths that I just don't get.
Spell it out please.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone plan a counter-protest in support of retaining Hamlet? We have heard so little from him and so little from the board members. He could be the best thing that ever happened to this district and if the fearsome four organizations get their way we will never know. It would not surprise me in the least if one of the groups already has a person they would like to recommend. Randall Taylor's brother was mentioned at one point, either prior to Thompson, during King's brief time in the position or when Roosevelt was hired.

Questioner said...

5:11 really captures how perplexed the average citizen feels about all this. And there are those who take advantage of the confusion. Would someone like to take a shot at explaining?

Re: Randall Taylor, he was on KDKA over the weekend speaking in support of Dr. Hamlet. Randall's brother was a candidate at the time Roosevelt was chosen but the foundation community exercised power on behalf of Roosevelt.

Anonymous said...

I've been looking for the board members email addresses on the PPS site. What are your thoughts about flooding them with emails saying we support Hamlet (for those who do)? I am a teacher and I am terrified that the four horsemen groups are pulling this B.S. Although I was wondering what would happen if a Broad candidate didn't get picked and this is pretty predictable. Would A+ schools even still exist without Gates and other foundation money? They are just trying to save their own jobs. If any of them are educators, they should be forced to work in the conditions they created.

HDEC wouldn't say boo about u prep, so they are in the foundation's grips. Urban league tooks gates money then Esther Bush started a campaign against seniority layoffs. The funniest thing I heard was Sala Udin demanding a super with prior urban superintendent experience. The last two supers experience put together wouldn't have prepared them to SUB at the elementary school where I teach. Roosevelt had NO experience urban or otherwise and Lane's experience in the mean streets of Iowa is laughable. They were chosen and no one said boo about it. These 4 groups and the media fooled the public for 8 years!!! If the public is so outraged by Hamlets little misstep, they should be livid about purposefully being lied to for 8 years!!!

Let's starts emailing the board members. Let them know they have our support. Also Nina saying she supports Hamlet should sway them. The PFT gets them elected. 2 board members are now saying they can't support Hamlet. The PFT picks for candidates are typically the winners. If they are going against the PFT, are they being offered re-election money from one of these 4 groups??!?

Does anyone know the email addresses of the board members? I'll keep searching and post them if I find them. We need to stop them from getting another one of their puppets in charge.

Anonymous said...

I heard Randall on a call-in and he inferred money, lucrative contracts that will be in jeopardy. I find it hard to believe that education could not be paramount.
While I'm at it, where does Mark Brentley stand? Has he chimed in yet?
Everyone appears a little sneaky.

Anonymous said...

Here are the email addresses. If you are a PPS employee it is best to send it from your work email address. I know that a lot of emails that are sent to my pgh.boe address get sent to the junk folder if they are not recognized.

swilson1@pghboe.net

tsumpter1@pghboe.net


klug1@pghboe.net

rholley1@pghboe.net

mkaleida1@pghboe.net

tkennedy1@pghboe.net


lwrenn1@pghboe.net

kcarter1@pghboe.net

cfalls1@pghboe.net

Questioner said...

Start by considering A Plus schools. It consistently tries to portray itself as establishing grass roots efforts, or organizing grass roots efforts. But real grass roots efforts don't come from paid organizers. With A+, the initiative always comes first and then there is an effort to grow some roots to support it. And there is always a lot of money involved. When was the last time an A Plus position diverged from the foundation that fund it? When is the last time A Plus changed a position in response to the view of regular citizens? This type of organization is a nationwide phenomena, with the organizations said to support astroturf rather than real grass roots efforts.

Mark Rauterkus said...

I sent an email to all the board members on Friday saying I support their decision. They interviewed three candidates.

Two people have told me recently that there should be a petition in support of elected school boards and board members doing the job they were elected to do.

Anonymous said...

Mark,

Maybe a change.org petition supporting Hamlet? I'm sure a lot of teachers and Great public schools Pittsburgh, and PFT members would sign. It would be great if it got way more signatures than the one that is asking people to support getting rid of Hamlet. I am a teacher who supports Hamlet. This is keeping me up at night. I can't bear the though of 4 more years of the same old stuff. Or worse.

Anonymous said...

Hey!! There is a petition to keep Hamlet!! Here is the link


https://www.change.org/p/pittsburgh-board-of-education-support-dr-hamlet-for-superintendent


PLEASE everyone who supports him please sign and get your friends and family to sign. Let's crush the petition that one of the 4 foundation jokers started!!!!

Anonymous said...

10:44, my sentiments exactly! Here is the email I sent to A+ in this morning in response to their email:

"Inconsistencies in Dr. Hamlet's resume.

You should be ashamed of yourself. What about the years and years of inconsistencies, manipulation of data and deceptiveness we have endured but are finally about to end?

What about inconsistencies in the claims made by the current administration just last month?

Please, just stop already."

Anonymous said...

Listen. Resumes mean nothing. Most are embellished. The interview means very little. Someone who is good at interviewing could be the worst and vice versa. Even what people say about you and your work can make little difference, because each job is unique and requires unique skills that may or may not transfer to a new position. Certainly, it will be these things that move you forward to get a job. But what matters most in the scheme of things is how effective one is to be a changemaker and have a willingness to work so hard to do a good job. That's what will matter the most. Stop the nonsense and waste of time. We (students and teachers) need order when school starts. Let the work begin. The progress Mr. Hamlet makes will be what matters. Please just allow him to get down to business. Move the politics out of the way. Students, parents, board members met with him beyond his credentials and unanomously saw something in him that they felt would make a good leader in our district. Let's have some faith in that process.

Questioner said...

Agreed!!!
Note though that students and parents were not able to actually meet with him in advance- candidates' confidentiality is protected- but students did submit written questions and they liked his answer!