“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” – William Arthur War
Dear friends and fellow Rockwood taxpayers,
Tired of Rockwood being in the news every day? Embarrassed by the latest controversies? Help me save Rockwood by making changes at the top – join me in electing Jeff Morrell and Loralee Mondl to the Rockwood School District Board of Education.
Two incumbents are up for re-election – Janet Strate and Steve Banton. They have served on the Board for years (Strate for 9, Banton for 15) and, frankly, are part of the problem. Every issue on the front pages and on the news has occurred during their watch and because of their decisions over the years. They’ve done their damage; we have to now pick up the pieces.
The Missouri State Auditor’s recent scathing report identified multiple areas of deficiencies resulting in a rating of “Fair” – only one step above the lowest rating of “Poor”. NOTHING about Rockwood should ever be “Fair”. If our teachers were found to be “Fair”, they’d be looking for a new job. If our students’ performance was “Fair”, this would not be tolerated. Why should we tolerate equally mediocre performances by the district?
Go here to read the State Auditor’s report directly: http://www.auditor.mo.gov/Press/2013-018.pdf. Read for yourself about these deficiencies, including:
- The sweetheart no-bid construction deals with Glenn Construction
- A Board member’s conflict of interest
- The lack of adequate inventory controls for school property where the status of thousands of items are unknown, including computers and furniture
- The lack of adequate oversight over District credit cards where millions of dollars of expenses are not fully accounted for
- The lack of adequate oversight of District vehicle use
Our own teachers union, the Rockwood NEA, is very concerned about the leadership of Rockwood. Go here to read their five-part series “Where’s the Board? Where’s the Superintendent?” and their three-part series “What is Rockwood’s Financial Reality”: www.rnea.org.
The current Superintendent, Dr. Bruce Borchers, has been interviewing for weeks to leave this sinking ship – going to a smaller district a fourth the size of Rockwood with a $60,000+ cut in pay. Why would he do that? (Go here for recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch articles: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/rockwood-superintendent-says-tenn-job-is-an-opportunity-we-had/article_b66685c4-f365-527c-9518-e76c4e0932aa.html, and here http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/likely-departure-of-superintendent-adds-to-rockwood-s-bad-timing/article_4da009dc-8d6e-55cc-85d8-69add8c7beab.html)
Former Board members have also left recently: Matthew Fitzpatrick abruptly stepped down, Geoff Rigabar who replaced him didn’t want to be re-elected, Steve Smith resigned in disgrace.
Hear from the candidates themselves. Go here for the first of a four-part series covering each of the four candidates’ comments during the recent League of Women Voter’s Candidate Forum: http://ballwin-ellisville.patch.com/articles/rockwood-board-of-education-candidates-forum-issues-not-personalities#photo-13572453
Even if you don’t have a child in Rockwood, these continuing issues are directly affecting your property values.
We need new blood! Help me make needed changes starting at the very top. Please join me in voting for Jeff Morrell and Loralee Mondl for the Rockwood School Board next Tuesday.
Because no one ever wants to be just “Fair”.
Sincerely,
David
David A. Miller, MD
Parent of two Rockwood students
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