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Rusty · 02-27-2015, 01:57 PM

Clay has been on a rampage for a few years now. Here is a good article written about him:

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

As I have read the numerous letters from Jeffrey T. Clay about facilities issues faced by the Newmarket School District, I have wondered why he is so concerned about a school system 35 miles and two counties away from where he lives in Alton. I couldn't imagine why he should be so interested in what happens in Newmarket.

After all, since I live and pay taxes in Durham, I have considered the problem faced by Newmarket Junior/Senior High School to be none of my business. However, since some of Mr. Clay's recent commentary has thrown the Oyster River Cooperative School District into the public discussion, the situation is now the business of Oyster River taxpayers, of which I am one. Additionally, Mr. Clay has chosen to comment on the affairs of the Rochester and Barrington School Districts — two more districts in which he neither resides nor votes.

Mr. Clay's frequent letters and (lately) community commentaries have attacked Newmarket school officials and other public figures with a vicious maze of charges, backed up by a baffling flood of information comprised of few facts, but a boatload of fiction. He is depending on the likelihood that readers will not have the time to track down the accuracy of his charges. He is probably correct to assume that most readers will have neither the time nor the energy to fact-check his numbers and dates and blustering conspiracy theories. So for me, the issue comes down to one crucial fact. The New Hampshire State Fire Marshall's Office has set a deadline for the Newmarket School District: the existing Newmarket Junior/Senior High School will not be allowed to open for the 2015 school year without substantial (and costly) renovation. That means that if Newmarket school officials put students in that building — as is — in September of 2015, they will be in violation of state law. The decision about whether to renovate, build a new school, or send students to another town's school is a decision for Newmarket voters to make. It is not up to Mr. Clay.

So why, as a resident of Alton, does he care?

As it turns out, Mr. Clay is a former Newmarket teacher, and he has an ax to grind. A simple Google search will turn up the public record regarding Mr. Clay's departure from Newmarket, along with his subsequent attempts to be reinstated. According to these public records, Mr. Clay was dismissed from his teaching position for multiple reasons.

You can find online: 1) several newspaper articles regarding his situation; 2) rulings by the NH Public Employee Labor Relations Board upholding the dismissal and then confirming the PELRB's own decision, followed by; 3) the NH Supreme Court's upholding of the PELRB ruling.

Mr. Clay has had his fifteen minutes of fame. Readers of his letters would do well to filter his invective — his wild, inaccurate charges and flat-out fantasies — through the lens of his grudge against the Newmarket School District, which, as affirmed by the PELRB and the NH Supreme Court, acted well within its rights to terminate Mr. Clay's employment.

And, in the interest of disclosure, I was myself a teacher for 31 years, most of that time at the Oyster River Middle School, so I am familiar with the job requirements of teachers, teacher contracts, teachers' unions, and the responsibilities of school administrators.

John Parsons

Durham

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll...19831/0/SEARCH

02-27-2015, 01:57 PM	#53
Rusty Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 2,028 Thanks: 603 Thanked 687 Times in 425 Posts	Clay has been on a rampage for a few years now. Here is a good article written about him: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 As I have read the numerous letters from Jeffrey T. Clay about facilities issues faced by the Newmarket School District, I have wondered why he is so concerned about a school system 35 miles and two counties away from where he lives in Alton. I couldn't imagine why he should be so interested in what happens in Newmarket. After all, since I live and pay taxes in Durham, I have considered the problem faced by Newmarket Junior/Senior High School to be none of my business. However, since some of Mr. Clay's recent commentary has thrown the Oyster River Cooperative School District into the public discussion, the situation is now the business of Oyster River taxpayers, of which I am one. Additionally, Mr. Clay has chosen to comment on the affairs of the Rochester and Barrington School Districts — two more districts in which he neither resides nor votes. Mr. Clay's frequent letters and (lately) community commentaries have attacked Newmarket school officials and other public figures with a vicious maze of charges, backed up by a baffling flood of information comprised of few facts, but a boatload of fiction. He is depending on the likelihood that readers will not have the time to track down the accuracy of his charges. He is probably correct to assume that most readers will have neither the time nor the energy to fact-check his numbers and dates and blustering conspiracy theories. So for me, the issue comes down to one crucial fact. The New Hampshire State Fire Marshall's Office has set a deadline for the Newmarket School District: the existing Newmarket Junior/Senior High School will not be allowed to open for the 2015 school year without substantial (and costly) renovation. That means that if Newmarket school officials put students in that building — as is — in September of 2015, they will be in violation of state law. The decision about whether to renovate, build a new school, or send students to another town's school is a decision for Newmarket voters to make. It is not up to Mr. Clay. So why, as a resident of Alton, does he care? As it turns out, Mr. Clay is a former Newmarket teacher, and he has an ax to grind. A simple Google search will turn up the public record regarding Mr. Clay's departure from Newmarket, along with his subsequent attempts to be reinstated. According to these public records, Mr. Clay was dismissed from his teaching position for multiple reasons. You can find online: 1) several newspaper articles regarding his situation; 2) rulings by the NH Public Employee Labor Relations Board upholding the dismissal and then confirming the PELRB's own decision, followed by; 3) the NH Supreme Court's upholding of the PELRB ruling. Mr. Clay has had his fifteen minutes of fame. Readers of his letters would do well to filter his invective — his wild, inaccurate charges and flat-out fantasies — through the lens of his grudge against the Newmarket School District, which, as affirmed by the PELRB and the NH Supreme Court, acted well within its rights to terminate Mr. Clay's employment. And, in the interest of disclosure, I was myself a teacher for 31 years, most of that time at the Oyster River Middle School, so I am familiar with the job requirements of teachers, teacher contracts, teachers' unions, and the responsibilities of school administrators. John Parsons Durham http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll...19831/0/SEARCH __________________ It's never crowded along the extra mile.