[Rusty]

Mr. Clay is going full force against the Alton School board, I guess he wants to shut down more than just the Board of Selectmen.

This article is in todays edition of the Baysider:

The Alton School Board is a spineless public body; a body without integrity; and as a consequence, has rendered itself quite irrelevant and useless. The board has clearly abdicated its lawful authority to school district administrators and to the special interest teacher's union.

The biggest losers as a result of this abdication is of course the public, those who elected the board to exercise its lawful duties and represent the community with honesty and integrity. The events occurring over the past year in the dis*trict stand as a testament justifying my harsh criticism of the board.

On Jan. 31, the school board entered non-public session for just 10 minutes. However, what took place during those 10 minutes, I contend, was unethical and illegal and cannot be swept under the rug because some in the public want to protect the town's reputation, or because those involved “had good intentions.”

Without any prior public or non-public meeting discussions having taken place and without any documents in hand for review, the board entered into negotiations during those 10 minutes with YET Consulting, an LLC apparently created and owned by current superintendent of schools, Mr. William Lander. During this brief 10-minute meeting, the board also voted to obligate $125,000 of taxpayers’ money for the services of YET Consulting beginning on July 1.

Intensifying the odor of malfeasance and unethical behavior surrounding this debacle, is the recent revelations that several of the members of the board had met privately, individually, with superintendent Lander/YET Consulting outside of any public or non-public meetings for the purpose of discuss*ing and deliberating the matter of hiring YET.

As outrageous as the actions of the board and superintendent have been regarding all of the above, the most outrageous aspect of this entire episode would follow their having been caught.

Despite repeated calls for an independent in*vestigation into what appears to have been unethical and illegal behavior, the board and superintendent have refused to take any action in this regard.

The good people of Alton should not have to call for an independent investigation. The publicly elected and appointed officials should have already done so, so as to assure the public that no wrongdoing had taken place. Why? Because its the right thing to do and is necessary in order for this community to move forward. This is called having integrity. The people must have faith in the system.

The second biggest failure of the board during the past year involved manner in which Linda Wilman became the associate principal of Alton Central School. The entire process appears to have been a shameful deception and fraud.

An advertisement to fill the vacancy of departing principal Leggett asked for applicants who were certified principals with administrative experience. It is reported 22 applicants fitting this bill submitted their applications for the position. Yet, the school board never reviewed or interviewed any of the applications or applicants.

However, we have been informed that a “principal search committee” did review applications and conducted interviews, but, that they could not find a candidate who “was the right fit.” And, that not having found a suitable fit, the committee, without school board involvement, went to superintendent Lander with their dilemma. Enter Mrs. Wilman.

First, it is important to note that I have not been able to find any record of the Alton School Board ever nominating or appointing anyone to a principal search committee. Moreover, I have not been able to find any public or non-public meeting minutes of any meetings of any principal search committee. Consequently, it is impossible to know who served on the committee, or when they ever met, or if they ever inter*viewed anyone.

In the past I have asked pertinent questions regarding how Mrs. Wilman became the associate principal, such as: did she ever actually apply for the job? Did the school board or search committee ever interview her? Why, if she was not certified and had no experience, was she chosen above 22 other applicants who were? The board has yet to an*swer these questions, choosing silence instead of transparency.

The school board meeting of March 2 helped shed light, at least for me, on what actually took place regarding the hiring of Mrs. Wilman, and what is now being seen by many as her inevitable ascension to becoming the new principal of Alton Central School.

A small group of individuals, consisting predominantly of teacher union members, unilaerally dismissed all of the qualified applicants and sought to have one of their own, Mrs. Wilman, appointed. This of course, at least in part, explains all of the accolades bestowed upon Mrs. Wilman during a recent school board meeting whereby members of the teachers union extolled her excellence as a principal and other virtues to the point of believing her the seconded coming. All of this despite the fact she is still not a certified principal and has only been an associate principal for approximately eight months.

It is easy for me to conclude, based upon the facts, that the teachers’ union unilaterally sought out and advocate for one of their fellow educators to become the next principal. Someone perhaps, whom they believed, would be easy on them. Someone who, because of their close ties, would never hold them accountable. These are justifiable assumptions given the facts.

In closing, the Alton School Board has irrevocably lost my confidence, faith and trust to effectively lead the Alton School District. I find them all to be without integrity. Because when it came time to stand tall and admit their mistakes and take responsibility for their actions, there response was silence.

A complete and independent investigation is justified. Let the chips fall where they may. Guilt or innocence, the public has a right to know.

As for who the next principal will be, I don't much care. All I care about is integrity in the process.