Letter to the Editor - March 4, 2007

March 4, 2008 - 12:23PM

By CHARLES ROEDELL

Apple Valley

Our district faces a budget crisis, and we have all been asked to put our collective heads together to come up with solutions.

One solution is to stop the buyout of contracts. After Hank Richardson was unceremoniously fired by Kirk, Black and Rogers, his contract was bought for more than three hundred thousand dollars. This would not have happened under the leadership of Jack Hamilton, Eric Swanson, Nellie Gogley, Bruce Minton and Helen Rogers. How many jobs would we be able to save with this money?

The newest board members also bought out the contract of a teacher who was instrumental in getting them elected. Not only did they buy out his contract, they expunged his PERB record that dealt with a documented history of misconduct. Fully knowing that this person raised thousands of dollars for their campaign, why didn't they rescue themselves from the decision making process to eliminate his unsavory record and to buy out his contract? At the very least it has the appearance of a conflict of interest.

It has also been said that integrity is making the right choices when no one else is looking. When Rogers, Kirk and Black were in closed session to discuss this person's record and to negotiate the cost of buying out his contact, where were their sense of right and wrong? Did they leave their moral compass at home? What was their definition of ethical conduct at the time?

Approximately twenty-five thousand dollars was raised for Kirk, Rogers and Black in their campaign to win a board seat. Did the money, he helped rise for them; influence the amount of his buyout? Was he rewarded with a hundred thousand dollar buyout? A three hundred thousand dollar buyout or was he rewarded with a buyout worth more than five hundred thousand dollars? Again, how many jobs would we have been able to save with this money?

I believe it is important for Kirk, Black and Rogers to respond to these questions. Their silence on this matter will speak volumes. It will speak of their guilt and complicity.

Thousands upon thousands of tax dollars have been wasted by Kirk, Balk and Rogers. The taxpayers of Hesperia can no longer afford these three people.

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Reader's comments

Yeah. You are correct in that if a majority of teachers would step up and take an interest in the elections things would change. However, the vast majority of our teachers are relatively new and have been advised that they are not yet in a position to get politically involved. The elections you refer to had poor voter turn out from teachers and i don't recall any landslides in one direction, regardles of the outcome. I have watched our HTA leadership for the last 9 years and i can honestly say my opinion has not changed. I cannot stand them. The board election is just more to add to the fire and evidence that they will stop at nothing to push their agenda through. Don't kid yourselves, they are all about getting the most for themselves from the district. The power struggle that has ensued over the years has only been detremental to our students. When will our board begin putting them first over HTA?
HTA member - Mar 20, 2008 07:51:48 AM	Remove Comment


In the interest of full disclosure Chuck should have mentioned the over 900,000 dollars that these three saved the district by avoiding a conflict of interest contract on Mission Crest, the over 500,000 dollars saved this year from the retirement incentive plan, the over 30,000 dollars saved by not paying full service club dues, lunches, fines for district employees,and other savings by minimizing cell phone usage. Let's be fair Chuck.
geez - Mar 08, 2008 07:02:00 AM	Remove Comment


Good point. In fact HTA has held several elections this year and a majority of teachers voted to stay the course. You will hear many complaints about tainted voting or intimidation but they are from that vocal minority that keeps losing elections. The union has worked very hard to have fair elections with multiple witnesses present when votes were counted. The reason that a few teachers hate the union is because the union endorsed and supported these new board members instead of the old board members who were running for reelection.
yeah - Mar 07, 2008 03:16:08 PM	Remove Comment


Mr Freeman was not a noble man sitting at home helping, he was sitting at home collecting the money. Mr Richardson did not resign to protect the district from a black eye, he took the money and ran. Don't sit and try to spin each event to make it more than it was. Just saying it doesn't make it true. The one piece of absolute truth here is that many teachers and staff feel a great hatred for the HTA and rather than make it a public issue they need to address it from within, I certainly can't vote to make changes, maybe if just 20-30 people stood along side Charles and voted on HTA issues and elections you could actually change things. On the other hand, you might be in the minority and find that no one really supports your position.
anti-spin - Mar 07, 2008 02:37:05 PM	Remove Comment


I hope 20 or 30 people will stand with Chuck too. Maybe they will block those offensive signs.
me too - Mar 06, 2008 10:15:02 AM	Remove Comment


I hope that 20 or 30 citizens would have the courage to stand with Charles in his little box at the next board meeting and protest the clowns on the school board. It's obvious that when Dr. Kirk speaks, the words of HTA comes pouring out. Richardson did what he felt was in the best interest of the district. He retired. Better than fight and give the district a black eye. Freeman didn't sit at home, he worked diligently bringing the board policies current so that our district wouldn't look like idiots to the rest of the education community. Interesting that both Hank and Bill were on the hitlist from HTA because of their refusal to cave to the Teachers demands in past contract negotiations. STAND FIRM CHARLES, YOU'LL BE PROVEN RIGHT IN THE END.
Hesperia Employee - Mar 06, 2008 08:30:55 AM	Remove Comment


The sign in question here is obviously intended to ridicule the board members . Another HS article mentioned President Bush's protesters being roped off at his appearances. Bush supporters defend this act against free speech by claiming it is disrespectful to the GWB. I would like to suggest here that respect is a two way street Mr. Roedell.
voter - Mar 06, 2008 07:12:02 AM	Remove Comment


Charles does have a right to express himself with his cartoons. He does not have the right to try to disrupt a board meeting by moving to the front of the room and making a spectacle of himself nor does he have a right to hold a raffle during a board meeting. He can stay in his designated area and express himself all he wants as long as he doesn't cross the line again.
geez - Mar 05, 2008 09:26:00 PM	Remove Comment


I'm so sick of all this. All any of us wants is what is BEST FOR OUR STUDENTS. It's what we were trained to do and what we get paid for. But we are also entitled to our opinions and since this is America and free speech is a constitutional right, Charles should certainly be able to demonstrate with his signs. I admire his guts in standing by something about which he feels strongly.
Another Teacher - Mar 05, 2008 08:40:42 PM	Remove Comment


Charles opened his commentary witht e statement that regarding the budget crisis and the idea of comming together to solve the problem, then goes on a rant about past activities. Since we can't call richardson back and ask him to bring the $300k with him we are going to have to look at reducing future expenses. Have you put any thought into that idea? It's time to open our eyes to the situation at hand and address the CURRENT situation.
LBO - Mar 05, 2008 08:10:07 PM	Remove Comment


You are really spinning to come up with this statement. The only clowns around are the ones with the signs for the pro recall petitions.
geez - Mar 05, 2008 06:46:10 PM	Remove Comment


Sigh. Guess it's time to print this again. Bentley must have forgotten. Chris, Chris, when will Kirk turn on you? It's only a matter of time, when you become a political liability. Now you're the rodeo clown that's distracting the crowd, but soon, very soon, you'll do something that crosses HIS line, and then, well, you see what happens to his enemies. Their livelihoods are taken, and they are threatened. Don't expose your family to that. He's got his son doing his dirty work. You're no match for him. Come to the light.
VR L - Mar 05, 2008 05:56:23 PM	Remove Comment


There are many things that disturb me about what has happened. I keep waiting for the penny to drop and for the new school board members to come to the end of their learning arc and begin to understand what Mrs. Gogley and Mrs. Helen Rogers and Mr. Minton began to understand, that truly doing a good job is to not push your own agenda but to see what�s best in the general overview. I still see this not happening and those who care about our schools are becoming frustrated. There wouldn�t be a recall if the community saw that they were listened to. We see great teachers like Mr. Roedell vilified from the podium, and that�s not what should be happening. I have met all the new board members, and maybe they did originally listen to the wrong people, but the mistakes are still being made. I�m reading board minutes that seemed to suggest that Mr. Kirk is using the superintendent to fight his battles, and referring to the lawyer instead of being a board president. Not having Mrs. Helen Rogers voted to become president, Vice President or Secretary after her years of dedicated service was very upsetting for we who know her outright dedication to our students over her 35 years of teaching. That seemed to show that what recall folks are saying is not just their opinion, but is being reinforced by the disregard Mr. Kirk and Mr. Black and Mrs. Lee Rogers have for the work of Mr. Minton and Mrs. Helen Rogers.
Teacher - Mar 05, 2008 05:47:47 PM	Remove Comment


Mr. Roedell has apparently completely forgotten that Hamilton, Minton, Swanson, Gogley, and Helen Rogers bought out Bill Freeman's contract and paid him to stay at home. Furthermore, the same five were the ones who gave Richardson the extremely lucrative, and undeserved, contract that allowed Hank to negotiate his retirement the way in which he did. Roedell's statements in this letter are proven false by the actual facts. And campaign money raised by candidates has nothing to do with the budget crisis facing HUSD. Thank goodness Roedell is not in charge of anything where he can do actual harm, but wait, he is in classrooms with children. Heaven help these kids.
Chris B. - Mar 05, 2008 02:48:24 PM	Remove Comment


he Public Employee Relations Board ruling that Charles referred to was settled before the three new board members were elected. It found that the district was in violation of several labor laws and directed the district to clear this file. That was a judge's decision. Once again Charles is not telling the truth. He just spins it any way he wants to.
some facts - Mar 05, 2008 01:06:04 PM	Remove Comment


Charles seems to have alot of information about Hank. He omits to mention that it would take at least 4 board members to fire or force him to resign. According to Hank he voluntarily retired. Did he lie? Charles seems to think so.
geez - Mar 05, 2008 01:00:24 PM	Remove Comment


It's too bad you're an Apple Valley resident Chuck.
too bad - Mar 05, 2008 07:22:36 AM	Remove Comment


I see it as light-hearted. So do most people with a sense of humor and without another agenda.
Teacher - Mar 05, 2008 06:46:47 AM	Remove Comment


Charles is immature in his actions and crossed the line with his raffle ticket give away. With this kind of behavior, I would not want my child in his class.
geez - Mar 05, 2008 06:27:50 AM	Remove Comment


I know a lot of people who admire Charles Roedell and are watching carefully to see that he is not attacked again like he was at the board meeting last week by Mark McKinney. If Kirk has an issue with what Mr. Roedell is doing he'd jolly well speak for himself and not hide behind his pet lawyer and our Superintendant. Just goes to show Kirk doesn't know his place.
Teacher - Mar 04, 2008 05:09:01 PM	Remove Comment

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