Friday, April 20, 2018

Decisions by Hamlet

Anonymous wrote:

"*New post please As a PPS parent, I am increasingly concerned about the unfolding events surrounding Hamlet et al. I questioned the Board’s decision to honor his contract when his blatant plagiarism was discovered. I questioned his ability to lead a parade, much less a school district, when the fairy-tale data increases he cited on his resume were exposed as fantasy. I suppose, then, I should have expected nothing more from those with whom he surrounded himself. Instead, I turned a blind eye, taking my cue from Regina Holly, and drove a leg of the Welcome Wagon’s pilgrimage to pave the road to “superintendentdom”. Are we now experiencing the backlash of karma?

Rumors aside, the band of merry men brought in to support Hamlet’s superintendency are falling like Trump cabinet members. First, we had Seema Ramji, the CAO who lasted less time than the smoke rings Hamlet blew to distract us. We collectively waved goodbye to a woman who leapt from a position as a Reading Director to that of a member of the triumvirate.

Next is Milton Walters, brought in via the sunny streets of Youngstown, Ohio after meeting our superintendent at a professional development session. Forget for a moment that Walters resigned from his post as the Chief of Human Resources in Youngstown, citing “personal reasons”. Better yet, instead of forgetting it, file it away for a moment. He came and was given carte blanche to fill the offices around him, which he did. He brought in an “assistant” to work under him (literally it seems), a woman without a track record to support her salary. Not enough of a red flag even when coupled with his past “resignation”? When the relationship started to go south (coincidentally the same direction from which our leader arrived), Walters initiated charges against her for poor performance. One has to wonder exactly which job she was performing poorly, but she returned the serve with allegations of her own of unwanted advances from Milton. His response was Clintonesque as he denied any involvement. At just about the same time those words were being spoken, texts were uncovered in which this man was gushing like a middle school boy. So it was adios to them both, leaving empty (and yet unfilled) positions in a department that has suffered from poor management since, it would seem, its inception.

The third strike in Hamlet’s hiring just emerged, and it may be the most spectacular example of why not to hire your friends. The “newly” appointed principal of Perry High School is now on administrative leave, trailing a chain of allegations of inappropriate behavior. While the details have yet to fully float to the surface, the murky waters surrounding Cooper can’t obscure the fact that he was hired by our super superintendent. In Cooper’s place we once again see Dr. Spadafora, the man who was once responsible for a spate of vicious fights and for letting in-place initiatives wither and die. So far, in his short term as the boss there, Perry has already again made the news when a student was suspended for a fight, his mother wasn’t notified, and the child was sent home on his regular bus without consideration for his safety. In retaliation for the altercation at school, three boys jumped the kid and beat him mercilessly, while someone with a phone filmed the event and posted it to YouTube to ensure its infamy. Spadafora didn’t see that coming?

We may have chosen as a district to overlook Hamlet’s resume, his lies and lack of character, but his transgressions keep piling up, now in the form of misguided hiring. The money his poor judgement is now costing us is unforgivable. Rehiring and retraining personnel in important positions of leadership is expensive. Additionally, these positions are, in some cases, still empty at a time when their work is critical. 

Trump, while stumping, repeatedly promised his supporters to “drain the swamp”. Perhaps it’s time for us to drain our own swamp, the Bellefield Bog, before the creatures there devour us whole and leave behind only the broken psyche and mismanaged education of our children. "

8 comments:

Questioner said...

The resume issues were really blown out of proportion- by all accounts the result of some careless mistakes, the kind we would no doubt have seen on previous resumes if anyone had ever bothered to scrutinize them. Discussions of other issues, like those in the remainder of the post, would be stronger if the resume isn't first brought up again.

Anonymous said...

Why is it when a past problem issue is revisited the response is often "the past is in the past...let's move on." If that is the attitude then NO ONE should ever be questioned or held accountable for his actions...everything is in the past. Also, if careless mistakes can get one a job running a school system we can not be surprised when problems arise. If a resume is a reflection of you best self.....hmmm!?

Anonymous said...

The news reports regarding "the fight" were inaccurate & in fact Spadafore is bringing safety & order within one week - ask staff & students - he is a caring leader that all respect

Anonymous said...

The man misrepresented himself on his resume for a position paying him six figures. He was not applying to McDonalds. I do not see this as a small affair. Add to that the fact that he also doubts his abilities as displayed by his constant search for self improvement. His "educational field trips" to Costa Rica, Vancouver and Ireland on the district dime are testament to that. His initiatives so far have simply been a mish mash. So far all he has offered is the common board, PLCs, and total abandonment of any form of discipline in our schools. The fact remains, he is living up to his disaster of a resume and we are all paying the price.

Anonymous said...

Questioner, you took the thought right out of my head. Most glaring, there is no excuse for the poor judgement on the part of this Cooper person, whom I had never heard of because I no longer keep up with PPS. In my opinion, he should have worked his last day for PPS the day a child was beaten mercilessly. Who should investigate such situations? Kids are suffering because of what, cronyism, nepotism and favoritism in appointments of unqualified and unskilled admins?

Anonymous said...

Until the voting populace start caring about the character and integrity of those we put in power, then we will forever be stuck in the swamp.

Ifonlyyouknew said...

I wonder why you never hear about the principal that called black kids and a teacher in Northview monkeys,and another threatened kids to have their mob family @uck them up, was just recently quietly suspended, but now he's a principal at another school of black kids. Funny how they're very particular about what stories leak.

Anonymous said...

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2018/05/10/Pittsburgh-Perry-Traditional-Academy-principal-suspension-leave-James-Cooper-Anthony-Hamlet/stories/201805090209