NCS vs bullies - New policy?

NCS board members will face off with school bullies when it meets Monday (2/8/10) and considers the recommendation of the Student Achievement Leadership Team (SALT). That is, according to This Week Community Newspapers report at this link:

“The committee's next task was a revision of the district's bullying policy. The committee will recommend to the school board to omit the phrase stating that the policy applies to students "while en route to or from school."

"It's impossible to ensure that every child is free from harassment the entire time," Herreman said. "You can't follow every student."

Christenberry suggested including "social media" in the bullying policy's current enforcement of harassment via "Internet, e-mail, cellular telephone, personal digital assistance (PDA), or wireless hand-held device," allowing it to cover Facebook and Twitter.”

NCS employees, we don’t care about your convenience

Newark City Schools quandary over where to educate students while the high school campus is being rebuilt is the subject of an Advocate report (1/10/10).

It says administrators favor spending another half-million-or-so tax dollars on renting 16 classroom buidlings.

Another option, would be to schedule split sessions - difficult, but doable, the report says. The problem with that is “it ... hurts your activities” and the administration would have to “manipulate (its) staff so that everybody’s happy.”

This is the kind of fiscally irresponsible crap that property owners and income-tax payers are tired of hearing from NCS administrators.

We don’t care about your activities or your convenience, and we had hoped that a new superintendent and a new treasurer and a couple new board members might make a difference in the NCS attitude toward spending taxpayers’ money.

This is not a good omen.

NCS board election: Bringing truth to the rumors

From behind the scenes of local politics comes an interesting hint from a Blue-Ribbon observer: Molly Ingold is being groomed by local Republicans for a run at the mayor’s seat when it comes up for vote in two years.

If this is the case, the immediate GOP strategy might be to give her experience at city-wide campaigning in a difficult race and, if she wins, keep her in public view for the next two years.

Such might be the real reason why Molly decided to run for a two-year seat on the NCS board of education, rather than to try for one of the open four-year seats.

It might be. Or not. She previously explained her decision like this: “I began to think about the transition from one superintendent to the next and realized it was important to have some consistency and experience on the Board. I decided it was important for me to continue...”

To provide transition from the King Richards’ regime to the Ute superintendency seems self-defeating if voters are aligned more against Richards than not, as am I. The sooner we get out from under the Richards’ mentality at NCS the better. If Molly is offering more of the same old same old as a returning board member, and if voters perceive it as such, I think she’s going to follow Keith out to pasture.

If establishmentarians (represented in local elections by the GOP) are backing her, she’ll have a bunch of money and a bunch of ads.

I see it as a showdown between those business-oriented establishmentarians and the blue-collar, earthy, church-centered, property-owning, and elderly voters who will be attracted to Tim Carr.

I’ve mentioned here before that Tim is talking the kind of talk that older people have been waiting to hear from the city school board. He is holding out the hope that property owners and pensioners could see (some of?) their NCS property-tax burden shifted elsewhere.

All the above speculation aside, it isn’t fair to simply speculate. What is fair is to ask Molly what her long-term political aspirations are. And if that’s fair, it’s also fair to ask Tim. So I did.

My questions to both:

There has been speculation that one or both of you might be considering a run for Newark City Mayor when that election occurs in two years.

Since you are both running for the two-year-seat vacancy on the school board, I wonder if this speculation has merit.

In the interest of having all cards on the table before the coming election, I am asking you to tell Newark voters:

1) - Are you considering running for mayor, or for any other non-school-board office in two years?

2) - Has either local political party approached you and/or encouraged you about this option?

Molly said:

“1.) While it is my understanding there are rumors out there I am running for mayor in two years, I have not at all considered this as part of the reason I am running for a two-year term on the school board. As for the future, I am not always sure what tomorrow will bring so I try not to get too far ahead of myself.

“2.) Neither political party has approached me or encouraged me to consider any political position.”

Tim said:

“I'll answer the questions in reverse realizing that what I don't say is as important as what I do say. I want to be very clear. Nobody from any party has talked with or contacted me in any way about any political aspirations. In fact, nobody at all has talked with me about such things.

“Second question: I absolutely love my job as Pastor and can not see myself trading it for any political office. If I still feel like I can be a resource for the people and an effective advocate for the children I would consider running for school board again in two years. I consider my spiritual calling to take precedent over all others and see my political aspirations no higher the the school board.

“Thanks for your continued interest in the campaign, and for bringing truth to the rumors.”

School Board candidacy explained

I recently wrote an essay about Tim Carr as a candidate for the Newark City Schools board of education. Folks who commented about it raised the question about why Molly Ingold chose to run for Tim’s seat, rather than for one of the vacant seats.

I asked the two candidates that question. Here’s what Molly told me:

“Bruce: I would be glad to address your question.

“Coming into 2009 I had planned on completing my term this December. At that time I believed the current superintendent was planning on retiring in 2010. We (at least I) received a surprise when Mr. Richards decided to retire in 2009. I began to think about the transition from one superintendent to the next and realized it was important to have some consistency and experience on the Board. I decided it was important for me to continue, but wanted to do so for a shorter period of time than 4 more years. Having already served 6 years, 2 more years would complete 8 years - 2 terms, so to speak.

“The night I took out my petitions, I called Tim to personally notify him of my decision so he would hear it from me and not anyone else. At that point he did not have any petition signatures and I thought he might choose to look at a 4 year term having only 9 months under his belt. He obviously decided to stick with the 2 year term as well.

“So I don't look at it as either Molly choosing to run against Tim or Tim choosing to run against Molly, but rather two individuals who made what they thought was the right decision. (Having talked with Tim about this, I know that both of us prayed about the decision before taking action.)

“Thanks for asking. I hope this helps answer your question. Feel free to share this with the other folks you spoke about..........Molly”

And here’s what Tim said:

“Molly told me she only wanted to serve two more years. All of our conversations previously were that she didn't want to run again. She did know my intentions to run for the two year term and to her credit, she called me several weeks later to say she was running against me. I am not aware of any other reasons.

“Sincerely, Tim Carr”

Tim Carr could lead the way

If you’re an older person or if you expect to become one, pay attention to the campaign promise of Tim Carr, candidate for Newark City School Board.

In the Advocate voters guide he lists as his top priority, if elected, to explore “ways to restructure funding for Newark City Schools that will help our senior citizens and property owners.”

He was a bit more specific when interviewed by the Dispatch/ThisWeek.

“He ... said the district needs to think about the renewal of the income tax levy now and start to think about restructuring it, to ensure no retirement benefits are taxed and seniors don't have to pay for it.”

As a prelude to that statement, Tim said “the school district needs to continue to be fiscally responsible, even with the spring passage of an additional 7.5 mills for five years to meet emergency requirements. Estimates show the money could keep the district from deficit spending for the next three to four years, but Carr asked if the district could be creative and make it last longer.”

Further, he mentions that during his short tenure on the school board he has felt “like an advocate for the kids and the people."

These statements reflect the right attitudes and ambitions. I hope he gets elected because students, parents, and taxpayers need a school board that works better and smarter. Tim could lead the way.

NCS: Ute, Christenberry send encouraging messages

Two items in today’s Advocate should cheer a weary Newark City Schools constituency. The first concerns the new superintendent’s message to his staff: “do one thing above all else: Respect the students, and do everything possible for them.” (Newark chief challenges teachers to respect students)

In all my rants about the Richards’ Regime, the underlying thesis called for the school system to resume the long-ago tradition of serving students and parents first and doing it in the most economical way possible. So Doug Ute’s first words to his employees is precisely on target and is what this community needed to hear. Now, we’ll see if his employees can rise to that challenge.

The second item reported that one NCS board member has again risen above the bobble-head category. Vice President Mark Christenberry took issue with former Superintendent Richards about something, spoke out about it, and voted in favor of common sense, not as he was told to do. (E-mails show disagreement over Newark school resource officer)

The dispute was a result of the superintendent’s unwillingness to cooperate or take suggestions, but instead to issue the board an ultimatum. It sparked a very telling question from Christenberry: "How do we, as a board, make him (the superintendent) do what we want him to do?"

Hooray for Mark, who is the only board member who seems willing to take a management role in school affairs as voters expect. Mark won props here before when I wrote 11/15/08 that he stood up to Richards and voted against him and his school board puppet people on the question of hiring a PR mouthpiece in view of community opposition. Here’s the link, but the Advocate has taken its video down from free Internet access.

With new managers, NCS will revive

Since the announced change in NCS superintendents there has been a cease-fire from critics of Newark Schools’ methods and motives. In November, voters could make it permanent.

Count me among those who intend to support the new superintendent as long as he proves worthy; also the new treasurer. I am assuming they will make wise decisions for the benefit of students, parents, and taxpayers. I am assuming they will be honest and open in all NCS affairs.

The honeymoon is on, which is a great time for the community to reflect on the rough times of the past few years. It hasn’t been pretty, it hasn’t been fun, and the schools lost a lot of goodwill and community support.

We need to reflect on it because the NCS board played a leading role in this unhappy time. They made - or supported - many unwise decisions. They seemed supremely incompetent as money managers and administrators.

The November election will open the way for voters to make corrections as they fill the positions currently held by Bline, Carr, and Ingold. As the Advocate reminded us yesterday, school board “candidates must turn in their petitions with the required number of signatures ... by 4 p.m. Aug. 20 to the Board of Elections.”

That we are not in a state of turmoil at the moment is a great advantage to our chances of finding candidates for those seats who are good managers rather than angry activists.

We need board members who are qualified as business administrators, able to manage money and spend our tax burden wisely. We need board members who will be leaders and not bobble heads for the superintendent. If we get them and if our new superintendent is the genuine article, we can look for much better times ahead: Not just a truce, but a new and welcomed beginning.

Advocate closes gate on masturbators

My own comment to my own essay entitled “Advocate rubs our noses in homosex” published at the Advocate site was strangely offensive to the moralistic editors who routinely publish lush homo-promos as family fare.

I had responded to the comment of NerkBuckeye when he suggested that the Advocate should publish “sexual preference announcements. Then anyone could contact the Advocate and they can announce whether they are gay or straight - or if they are ‘switching teams.’”

My response took that idea to a new level when I suggested that such announcements should also include masturbators - who is and who isn’t. Further, I opined, that if we happened on a Newark City Schools board president who masturbated openly as a means to “new freedom” (in the manner of the former NCS board president who came out of the closet on Page One) then the Advocate could likewise feature the masturbating school official in another Page One story.

Does anyone find it telling that this comment was trashed by Advocate gatekeepers?

NCS is getting another grade of F

People involved in selection of this city’s school superintendent see it as a job for themselves and not for citizens. This is evident in today’s reports about the status of the search through the eyes of the Ohio School Boards Association.

In the Advocate’s report and the WCLT report, there was never a mention about any avenue for public input to the selection process.

Apparently it will all be decided by our “experts.” Even the tenor of the WCLT report hints of that. Check it: “OSBA search consultant Kathy LaSota talks about what she’s looking for. ‘Most importantly for Newark, ...’”

What I want to know is: Where was the NCS school board when Judge Hoover was publishing on-line the resumes of the school board candidates? Where were they when the Judge required these candidates to get up in front of the folks they wanted to serve and tell why they would do it well? Where were these folks when the Judge invited public comments which became part of his selection criteria?

What were they thinking - and where was Ms. LaSota - when the school board issued its “transparency” promises?

“Transparency” to them apparently is defined as a single and very late news release from the offices of OSBA.

NCS school board is about to get another in a long series of failing grades by a weary constituency.

NCS transparency begins with executive sessions

Last evening - the evening of my post “Untransparent search for the NCS superintendent,” the NCS board met, and in regard to the search for the superintendent it was announced, according to the Advocate, “the board will meet in executive session June 24 to review the applications.” That was just before the board adjourned last evening to executive session for a discussion of the public’s business.

Untransparent search for the NCS superintendent

The search for a new superintendent for Newark City Schools began May 13, 2009, in cooperation with Ohio School Boards Association and its consultant, Kathy LaSota.

The search, according to an Advocate report, would be “transparent.” LaSota said “community members should have input and see the process as it happens ... We want this whole process to be as open and transparent as possible,” she said.

Mark Christenberry, NCS board vp, concurred. The Advocate quoted him as saying: “We’re really trying hard to make this an open process ... There will be no transparency issues.”

Really?

With the deadline for applications 10 days from today, and the decision scheduled for less than one month from today, to my knowledge there has yet to be the first shred of an update on the search and the candidates, and the first word yet to be published at the NCS web site about any of this.

So how is NCS defining “transparency?” So far, this just one more ham-handed disappointment delivered by NCS to an already disillusioned and disbelieving constituency. This, even though a perfect example of what is meant by “transparency” was demonstrated to the NCS administration in Judge Hoover’s selection process for a new board member.

NCS still marches to the beat of its own drum.

Untransparently.

Advocate editorialist is a mental and moral underachiever

Yesterday, an Advocate editorial trumpeted the virtues of Keith Richards. It called him “a pretty good example of what's needed to get the job done,” “a wise and savvy leader, “an open and honest superintendent” who “understood the importance of accountability,” calling for “a fresh start from a leader of similar skills and focus.”

It’s painfully obvious to anyone who is still reading the Advocate that good help is pretty scarce, maybe because of layoffs or involuntary furloughs. The editorialist who wrote this is the one who deserves a permanent furlough. She is not merely lousy help, but worse, a mental and moral underachiever.

I gave Keith Richards enough grief before he decided to retire. I was willing to drop him off the list of write-worthy subjects.

I was willing to let the King Richards’ era die a peaceful death - forgetting all the things about his reign that angered taxpayers -  so that Newark could get on with a new life with a new guy.

I was willing to forget that the superintendent told the Advocate ahead of the levy vote that the money would be spent, in part, on raises for employees. This in a system where the average salary for teachers is $53,179, and there’s one employee for every 8 NCS students. Raises for these people, but not a return to full busing, though local taxpayers spend more on the superintendent’s salary than the people of Alaska pay their governor.

I was willing to forget that under Keith’s guidance NCS mustered the third worst graduation rate in Ohio and that Keith blamed Newark citizens for this.

I was willing to forget that NCS failed to admit until after the levy vote that the estimate for increased government funding is $2 million and that it still hasn’t admitted more federal stimulus funding is expected.

I was willing to forget that the school board’s “transparent” search for a new superintendent began with an executive session to talk about it.

But yesterday when the Advocate trumpeted the virtues of Keith Richards, I just had to remember all this crap. 

There is a good side: The Advocate editorialist has clearly demonstrated - in case anyone ever doubted - her lack of support for NCS pupils, parents and taxpayers, while shamelessly paying dues to the local establishment clique in partnership with Keith Richards & company.

NCS levy signals call to arms

Anyone who considers the passage of the $5.9-million-per-year levy a sign that the community is poised to kiss and make up with the Newark City Schools should go read the outpouring of rage in comments to the Advocate on-line news report.

The NCS tax take has grown by $230 a year per $100,000 value. That’s added to the $892 per year already in place, plus a 1 percent income tax, plus state and federal taxes giving Keith & Company a total of $12,693 per student, per year, plus an estimated 9.3% increase in state and federal aid over the next two years. 

Still NCS will not have enough, they say, to fully bus students, or fully fund the extras for students, but they do anticipate having enough for staff raises which are needed because the NCS classroom teachers’ average salary is only $55,331 for nine months’ work before benefits - and NCS has only one employee for every 4.9 students, and the superintendent makes more than the governor of Alaska.

That Keith & Company strategized a winning shell game on property owners comes as a call to arms. Sitting in front of a computer screen screaming insults back and forth may be therapeutic, but it’s a lousy solution. 

What has to happen next is state intervention into the rape of property owners. It has to happen before Keith & Company come back to rape again, and they will because it’s never enough no matter how much it is.

There are three people who are responsible for doing this, but who won’t do anything meaningful for property owners unless they are made to do it. One is State Representative Jay Hottinger, another is State Senator Tim Schaffer and the third is Governor Ted Strickland.

Jay Hottinger has practically grown to adulthood as our link to state government. Because of that, I think he is as responsible as any member of government for schools’ rape and re-raping of property owners in Newark, Licking County, and Ohio.

So here’s a suggestion for you guys sitting there moaning about having to pay yet another $5.9 million each year on top of an already-excessive tax bill:

Call Jay Hottinger’s office - 614/466-1482 - and ask him precisely what he’s going to do to solve the problem. If you don’t understand his answer, ask again. 

Then call Senator Schaffer at 614/466-5838 and ask him the same thing. Ask the same question as many times as it takes until you understand it.

Then call Governor Strickland at the constituent helpline 614/644-4357 and ask him what he’s going to do to solve the problem. Make sure you understand exactly what he intends to do before you hang up.

When you have done so, please leave a comment here about your experience. The number and kind of comments received will indicate how serious you are about dealing with the problem, rather than whining about it.

Newark Schools’ need for levy is unproven

Three events that have gone unreported and/or under-reported by the Advocate suggest that likely there is no need for a property tax increase, the goal of NCS.

One is that NCS superintendent said, in an Advocate report 4/21/09 Superintendent outlines Newark district's future, recent sacrifices (video) that raises to “staff” would be among the uses for a hike in homeowners’ tax bills if the levy passes.

This comes at the same time many property owners are losing their jobs and losing their homes (in part because of real estate taxes) and state government workers are taking 10 days without pay for the next two years, in addition to wage freezes.

The second is that a comparison with similar districts, as reported by the Advocate 4/26/09, How do Newark schools compare? demonstrates that NCS is not financially disadvantaged compared to the others. 

The newspaper gave readers a link to a spread sheet in which the similar districts are compared but it failed to otherwise mention some findings that I think are important. One is that Newark’s District Local Tax Effort was highest of the six districts. Another is our local District Instructional Expenditure Per Pupil is the lowest of the six, even though the NCS District Classroom Teachers’ Average Salary is the highest ($55,330.67).

The third is in regard to the additional state and federal money coming to NCS. I reported 4/17/09 Ohio House Dems break out school funding revise that a district-by-district estimate of Ohio Democrats’ school-funding revise would bring an additional 9.3% to NCS coffers during the next two fiscal years. That amount includes certain of the federal stimulus funds (poor students - Title I, and special education students - IDEA).

The Ohio House recently passed that bill and the word from Jay Hottinger’s office is that those estimates were unchanged. That bill could be changed by the Senate but, until its final passage, the figures comprise the only estimate we have.

In view of these facts - even if there were no war between the community and its school administration (How to stop the war between NCS and Newark taxpayers) - more money for “staff” raises will be a hard sell. 

More BS from NCS

This rat-a-tat-tat in the Advocate letters-to-the-editor column promoting the Newark school levy appears to have been written by the same person. You sort of get so you can spot the same writer if you read enough of anyone’s prose. If I’m right, that person could be the Newark City Schools new $59,000-a-year spin doctor. If I’m wrong it doesn’t change the rat-a-tat-tat aspect that I know is coming from her.

I predicted in an essay 11/12/08 the product taxpayers were buying in this $59,000-per-year investment is more BS from NCS.  

Also, I answered in advance those letters currently appearing in the Advocate in an essay 1/19/09 when I said: The "more taxes for the kids" song doesn't play anymore. The reason is that the public is no longer slumbering and leaving their voting responsibilities up to parents of students. The public has recognized that the money isn't for the kids; it's for the accumulated and ever-growing fat content of Newark City Schools. The public has at last demanded a reckoning.

NCS has, in other words, failed taxpayers, the employers who have no more fat to donate.

That’s one thing Tuesday’s vote is about, but it is about much more than just that. It’s about a school administration that has failed students and parents. It’s about a school administration that has proved - time after time - itself unable serve constituents or take a new direction. Therefore, Tuesday’s vote will be the only way in which the direction of NCS can be influenced. 

This is not about whether Newark should support its schools. Total revenue for NCS has risen from $52.8 million in 1999 to $70.3 million in 2008, while student population has dropped from 7,433 in 1999 to 6,468 in 2008. You can get links to all the financial info in the essay at this link.

We are, indeed, financially supporting our schools. So letter writers and conscripts of Keith Richards, quit talking as though people who aren’t voting for school levies are somehow ignorant or defective or selfish.

If voters want more of the same crap coming out of 85 East Main Street, then they should indeed vote “yes.” If not, the only way they can say so is to give this levy another good thumping. That’s what the real issue is.

NCS has one employee for every 4.9 students

The second-largest employer in Newark in 2007 was Newark City Schools with 1,367 employees, according to the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, City of Newark Auditor’s Report 12/31/07, Page S31

Newark City Schools that year served 6,716 students, according to the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Newark City Schools 6/30/08, Page 167.

That is 4.9 students per NCS employee.

NCS is asking for you to raise your property taxes during Tuesday’s election so that you might donate more of your money to such an awesome make-work machine.

You might also find interesting a comparison of the NCS superintendent’s pay with that of the Alaska governor and others. Here’s the link.

Here’s a list of essays which describe some ways in which NCS has been failing to listen to its constituents and failing to serve its students and their parents; also some information about the funding of NCS and links to other sources. These should be fresh in your mind before you go the the polls Tuesday:  

11/12/08 - Newark Schools, get a grip, not a spin doctor

http://observationsfromnewarkohio.blogspot.com/2008/11/newark-schools-get-grip-not-pr-spin.html

11/14/08 - NCS thumbs its nose at the community

http://observationsfromnewarkohio.blogspot.com/2008/11/ncs-thumbs-its-nose-at-community.html

1/19/09 - Why did we let schools get so fat?

http://observationsfromnewarkohio.blogspot.com/2009/01/why-did-we-let-schools-get-so-fat.html

1/23/09 - Superintendent Richards is not a good manager

http://observationsfromnewarkohio.blogspot.com/2009/01/superintendent-richards-is-not-good.html

2/16/09 - NCS, hire someone who will spend wisely

http://observationsfromnewarkohio.blogspot.com/2009/02/ncs-hire-someone-who-will-spend-wisely.html

2/19/09 - How to stop the war between NCS and Newark taxpayers

http://observationsfromnewarkohio.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-to-stop-war-between-ncs-and-newark.html

3/15/09 - NCS superintendent makes almost as much as the governor

http://observationsfromnewarkohio.blogspot.com/2009/03/ncs-superintendent-makes-almost-as-much.html

4/15/09 - NCS revenue up $17.5 million from ’99 to ’08

http://observationsfromnewarkohio.blogspot.com/2009/04/ncs-revenue-up-175-million-from-99-to.html

4/17/09 - Ohio House Dems break out school funding revise

http://observationsfromnewarkohio.blogspot.com/2009/04/ohio-house-dems-break-out-school.html

Salaries compared

Compare the salary of Keith Richards, Superintendent of Newark City Schools with those of public officials and celebrities at this link.

Taxpayer interests go unprotected during negotiations

In comments to my Advocate essay yesterday, spacemonkey9000 said he believed the constant spending increase by schools “starts with mandatory pay increases for all teachers, regardless of their ability, simply because they have a contract that dictates the same. I have always thought that teachers unions are the downfall of troubled school districts ...”

Amythirdward compared teacher unions to “the UAW and the outrageous pay and benefits autoworkers collected.”

PEARL52 believes “they'll raise themselves right out of a job.”

I agree with the thrust of these comments. I also believe that the fault is ours. We have let government and schools out on a long leash; we haven’t paid attention to what goes on when they line up at the trough. Now, taxpayer-voters waking up a little bit, thanks to the Internet, and learning more and talking more.

Because we’re learning about the excesses that are occurring, we’re sensing the need to put the brakes on these people by questioning their wisdom and ability in spending public money, rather than voting yes for “the kids,” for “higher property values,” for “attracting jobs,” and other babble from bobble heads whose only objective is getting the wherewithal to pay public employees more.

We should also be sensing the need to learn how this all comes about, and exactly which elected officials are giving away the farm, so we may have the chance to vote them out.

In my recollection, it’s been many years since the Advocate has reported details of new contracts and who negotiated them. We learn only about their cost - long after the fact - when these government and quasi-government representatives are asking for more money to pay the bills.

This is exactly why we have a superintendent of city schools making about twice as much as the mayor of the city and about $2,000 less than the Ohio governor - the one who currently “needs” more tax money to pay the bills.

The day when taxpayers are free to sit in on negotiations regarding pay and benefits for tax-paid employees is the day when the taxpayers’ interests will be protected. We need a law to provide that protection, but until then we need a full public report on what happens when our employees line up at the trough.

NCS superintendent makes almost as much as the governor

That Newark City Schools graduation rate is the third worst in the state was reported by the Advocate 3/12/09. Two days later, NCS Superintendent Richards, in another Advocate article, blamed the community for this; a day later, so did the Advocate.

Naming citizen-taxpayer-parents as villains in the abysmal performance of NCS is about a cheap a shot as might be made. Such an excuse from Richards is to be expected. But woe to whatever shred of credibility Advocate editorials ever mustered. Prostituting the institutional opinion page to Richards and his PR lady is a foolish mistake that’s easily recognized - and long-remembered - for the deception it is.

The many failures of King Richards are common knowledge and there are too many of them to list here. (Go to the box above and search “Keith Richards.”) In general, he has failed to manage taxpayers’ money wisely, he is deaf to constituents and oblivious to their needs. He is the third worst in the state at enabling students to graduate and he blames us for it.

For this prodigious performance, King Richards is paid about $2,000 less per year than the Governor of Ohio. The governor's annual salary, according to the Dispatch, is $133,292; Newark's superintendent makes, according to an Advocate report 10/5/08, $131,382 before benefits, a difference of $1,910.

Meanwhile, School Board Bobble Heads, who should have dethroned Richards eons ago, sit there and provide the man with the lifestyle of a pharaoh and their rubber stamps as a reward for having the third worst graduation rate in the state.

School Board Bobble Heads will, if they act as expected, also blame parents and taxpayers and bloggers because they are, you see, followers and not the leaders they were believed to be when elected. If they fail to acknowledge the cause of citizen discontent with NCS, as expected, they will only prolong the war between the community and the pharaoh, but likely they will not be back after the next school board election.

How to stop the war between NCS and Newark taxpayers

The news that Newark City Schools officials say they will restore some bussing if only property owners will provide them with another 7.5 mills was met with predictable anger in the Advocate comments column (2/19/09).

This demonstrates to my satisfaction that school board members, the superintendent, the strategizers and counselors, the cheering section, and the Advocate, after all this time, have learned nothing about voter mentality, nothing about what has everyone so angry and rebellious. Nothing at all.

The reason they haven't learned anything is simple. In order to deal with it, they would first have to deal with their own egos. They have to admit they are wrong, that they have been wrong and that they are offering no real relief. Only more phony theatrics. They're still playing games and everyone knows it and they're not smart enough to know everyone knows it.

The community is at war with its school board and its superintendent and the war runs deeper than the tax burden. The war certainly isn't about whether or not we all want good schools, good and well-paid teachers, and adequate facilities. No. The war has to do with trust.

The community feels it is being blackmailed and bullied and lied to, and in my opinion it dislikes the superintendent because taxpayers perceive him - accurately or not - as the blackmailer, the bully and the liar.

So, what's it going to take to end this war? I think it's going to take two things. The first is Keith Richards' departure. That means A) school board members must either admit they are wrong in their blind support of him, or B) we're going to have to elect a new school board, which will take some time.

The second is the assurance by whomever replaces Richards that our tax burden is being spent wisely - and that, too, is going to take some time. This person must be a good listener and a saver rather than a spender and taxpayers have to believe that. It's pretty simple.

Once the slate has been cleaned and once the school administration has listened to taxpayers and once the new superintendent has revamped and cut and cleaned house - and most of all demonstrate honesty and transparency - the war will end.

We will get back on track, the Newark City Schools will regain the entire community's good will, its cooperation, and its pride - just like the old days. I really want that to happen and happen quickly.