Lee plays favorites

It seems that Lee is biased towards certain people who post on her blog. Surprise, surprise. In the most recent occurence, Lee scolds John D for vulgarity (who only used such language as a response to Vox's nasty language), but allows Vox to curse due to that justification that Vox, "truncates them so that they come across as funny, not offensive" This is absurd. In what world is, "STFU john d, you moronic mfer..." a funny, non-offensive statement? Lee's twisted rationalization of her actions in this situation only further confirms her hypocritical behavior. I feel sorry for her former students at HCC, for it is obvious that she, just as she has now, had favorite students who she gave special privileges to.

I've held my tongue for too long

I've held my tongue for too long, but I finally have to say something after Lee's insane ranting at the Board yesterday. Lee, you need to realize the difference between an speaking to an agenda item and audience comment. Citizens can speak to a particular agenda item only if they actually speak TO it. You cannot simply sign up to speak for an agenda item and then speak about something else. You must speak specifically to it. For instance, usually you try to speak to an agenda item concerning hires during a certain time period. One must speak about those specific hires that occurred in that time frame, or else you are out of order. You, however, usually like to talk about hiring in general or about a hiring that is not listed. That's what the citizen comment section is for: so that a citizen can speak about a topic that is not on the agenda. I bring this up become you relentlessly accuse Kurdell of restricting your free speech rights, which is simply not true. If she tried to prevent you from speaking during the public comment section, then yes, that would be abridging your free speech rights. I feel that this is important to resolve because one of your primary criticisms of the Board is suppression of speech.

You commented that Steve Hegarty accuses you of having Alzheimer's and I think that's exactly what you have. When attempting to explain to the Board that Hegarty has accused you of having Alzheimer's, you can't even think of the work "Alzheimer's" and instead say, "You thought I was...um...uh...somehow suffering from...um...uh...elderly...um...uh...loss of...of mental abilities or something like that". Later, you couldn't even recall Doug Erwin's name, a man whom you write about on your blog on practically a daily basis. I remember a time from a previous board meeting when you couldn't even recall the word "lobbyist". And lets not forget "Ethridge" instead of Edgecomb and "Gallagher" instead of Gonzalez. I think you have even forgotten these made-up names altogether, for most recently you call Tom Gonzalez simply "the lawyer."

The procedures of speaking to the Board have been explained to you time and time again, yet you still don't understand them. Sounds like senility to me. Just think logically for a moment. If Kurdell really wanted to restrict your free speech, why wouldn't she prevent you from speaking during the audience comment section as well? Why would she shut you up in one part but allow you to speak in another? It doesn't make any sense.

Lies, Exaggerations...in other words, the usual...

Lie/Exaggertion/Miscalculation/Misleading Statement/Absurd Statement #1: The superintendent of Hillsborough County makes ten times what beginning teachers make.

L/E/M/MS/AS #2: In Hillsborough County, administrators make five times the salaries of beginning teachers.

L/E/M/MS/AS #3: The head of Professional Standards, for example, one Ms. Linda Kipley, gets $150,000 with a home-ec degree.

L/E/M/MS/AS #4: $9000, which is about one-third of beginning teachers' salary.

L/E/M/MS/AS #5: One of the board members who campaigned on a reform platform has no college degree, little common sense, and a frail grasp of basic math.

-Yet, you supported her campaign and have worse mathematical abilities than she does. Senile grannies of ten with discalculia have no right to accuse ANYONE of having a "frail grasp of basic math".

L/E/M/MS/AS #6: Ms. Elia's buying a multi-million-dollar program called Spring that had failed in other venues.

L/E/M/MS/AS #7: The SOE lists the salary of board members as over $40,000, which exceeds the salary of beginning teachers by about $7,000.

I haven't posted in a while because Lee seems to talk about the same issues repeatedly to make it seem like things are worse than they really are

...Ms. Kipley's stormy exit from Hillsborough High School as principal before the administration...

Why are you always accusing of Ms. Kipley of not having a master's degree when you just admitted that she does in the statement above? All principals have master's degrees you senile old bag.


Apparently the guy in this recital that I append did something unwise: he spanked a child. Even if he did it with the grandparents' permission, physical punishment was wrong; corporeal punishment exacerbates violence in a child. It does not abate it.

A teacher did something wrong?! No, it can't be! It's amazing how you spend only one paragraph discussing the issue. Had an administrator spanked the child, you would have milked it for everything it was worth.


At least there was some basis for the teacher's rebuke in this instance.

What? You just said that physical punishment was wrong and that it only makes things worse, yet you only acknowledge that there was "some" basis for the teacher's rebuke?


She got the job not through merit but through the chicanery of the board, which lowered the academic standards for her and ignored her lack of experience. The board members didn't pick any of the excellent candidates that could have done an uncharacteristically superb job of superintendent.

I'm not even going to comment about your obsession with Elia not having a doctorate because I have so many times before. But I will, however, comment on your claim that she has "lack of experience". What do you mean by this exactly? Elia taught for 16 years (unlike most administrators these days), was a reading resource specialist, supervisor of secondary reading, supervisor of magnet schools (which she pioneered), director of non-traditional programs, general director of secondary education, and chief facilities officer before becoming superintendent. How does that record constitute a "lack of experience"? Funny thing is that she has more experience for her position than President Obama, whom I know you voted for, has for his.


I read the files. Trust me. The academic world is my bailiwick. Ms. Elia was the least qualified of the candidates.

How can we trust you? You can't just simply read someone's file to conclude whether or not they should have gotten the job. That why they have interviews, you old bat. The merit that you speak of is more than just degrees, but additional skills that can't be put down on paper. For instance, Ms. Elia was/is known for being a quick problem-solver and getting things done. That is the most likely the reason that she stood out above the other candidates. Yes, Dr. Grego had an Ed.D., but he seemed quiet and reserved. Those are not necessarily bad qualities, but the school board was obviously looking for a strong leader. You are all about open-government, yet you never share the files of the candidates with your readers and expect them to simply "trust you".


...toe cracking...

Had a teacher done the toe cracking, you would have brushed it off rather than obsessing over it by writing numerous blog entries about it. The proof is in the case mentioned previously where you only spend one paragraph talking about abuse by a teacher. Antigrammargrinch's new title "Lee selectively discusses issues" is right on the money.

The Kemp case

It seems that Antigrammargrinch has recently brought up a point that I have been meaning to bring up myself for a long time: That Lee's charge of child abuse against the administration is hypocritical. She claims that while the administration accused Steve Kemp of child abuse, the administrators were actually the abusers because they put mentally retarded children in a room filled with junk. As Antigrammargrinch said, was Kemp not complicit in the abuse as well? If Lee defines abuse as leaving mentally retarded children in a junk room, did Kemp not do that very exact thing? Kemp justifies his actions by saying that the administrators were "highly trained" and that he was not. This claim has no standing whatsoever. One does not need "training" to recognize child abuse. If a situation with a child in it looks dangerous, then one uses common sense to deduce what is happening. For instance, a parent cannot abuse a child and then defend themselves by saying that they had no training in child-rearing. It doesn't work that way. Lee claims that that Kemp spent the six days trying to prevent the children from pulling down the junk. If that is true, then that proves that he was cognizant of the fact that the children were in danger. And if he knew that they were in danger, then that proves that one need not training to recognize such things. Thus, Kemp was complicit in the crime. The way I see it, the case is a stalemate. Neither side can report the other because both have wrongdoings. That is why the administration has given up: They know they are responsible for placing the children in a junk-filled room, and Kemp knows that he didn't tell anybody about it.

Concerning the whole dispute of Lee not having "standing" to file charges, I would like to offer some insight. I think the problem is that one cannot file a professional standards charge against someone by simply stating so in an email. Linda Cobbe said: "You have no standing to file charges. An email from you with allegations about employees would not generate a Professional Standards investigation." Of course Lee is too senile to understand this, and only focuses on the part that says, "You have no standing to file charges." Cobbe then goes on to say, "People who work in schools are obligated by law to report possible abuse. Child Protective Investigations is obligated to investigate and they call in law enforcement. When CPI and law enforcement investigate an employee, Professional Standards gets involved." So if one wants to files charges, one must go through the proper channels. Apparently Lee has no working knowledge of the law even when it is presented to her on a silver platter. Well either that or she just simply completely ignored what was said (as she often does) so that she can conjure up some absurd claim that the administration and board are restricting her democratic rights.

April Griffin stops by

It has come to my attention that April Griffin has commented on my entry where I posted Dave Schmidt's criticisms of Lee.

April Griffin said...
"Minimally educated Valdes and Griffin"...Schmidt doesn't have a college degree and ran for school board. I guess he thinks he could do better as a minimally educated district insider, who has shoved himself up MaryEllen's posterior region (when convenient). How does being a low level bureaucrat who's wife wrote his job description before she retired qualify him for policy making. He wasn't even qualified for the job he currently has. His wife dumbed the job description so he would be qualified for it.

Ms. Griffin, my question is this: If what you say is true, then how come you have done nothing about it? I mean, aren't you supposed to be the maverick of the board, advocating for transparency and open government? The fact that you have knowledge of this incident and have done nothing about it makes you complicit in the "crime." You are a two-face, Ms. Griffin. You can't claim to advocate from a progressive standpoint, while at the same time covering up the corrupt business of the district. You are a hypocrite, just like Lee. No wonder she is fond of you. Also, as a school board member, I think it is inappropriate for you to refer to the superintendent by her first name, as you often do, especially when you include things about her "posterior region". I know you are technically her boss, but that doesn't give you the right to be rude.

Finally, do you have a college degree, Ms. Griffin? Not that I particularly care, its just that there seem to be many rumors about it and I would like to know the truth. It may be the case that Mr. Schmidt is the one without the degree, and then it would be he that is the hypocrite. If that is the case, I would like to know.

It's been a while, but this one sure is juicy

Ms. Valdez's not keeping her promise to me that she would give some short comment in Spanish on the board dais every board day contrasts invidiously with the first Hispanic woman's being named to the Supreme Court by President Obama. Ms. Valdes does not give outlet to the pride of Hispanics and women across the country that a Hispanic woman, the first, will sit on the highest court in the land.

This recognition is doubly valid and trebly imperative for the only Hispanic on the Hillsborough County School Board to feature since Hillsborough County has a record of discrimination against Hispanics. Ms. Valdes's speaking a few sentences in Spanish would serve to validate Hispanics' right to inclusion in the community political dialogue of an area that has for too long scorned the Ybor-City Hispanic neighborhood and the area's Hispanics as the butt of the charge that they are to Anglos second-class, contemptible citizens.

Ms. Valdez thinks invoking "family values" instead of bringing up the nomination of a first Hispanic woman to the Supreme Court with Ms. Valdes's speaking in the language of Cervantes testifies to her lack of devotion to making the point that Hispanics have a right to be on the Bay Area's government bodies and that she will invoke this right by speaking some Spanish at each board meeting.

The School Board needs Hispanic members who overtly honor their heritage by interpolating a Spanish-- a sentence or two-- at every board meeting and saluting national Hispanic success stories such as that of Sonia Sotomayor. If Ms. Valdes can't desert clichés for Hispanic recognition, she should quit the board and give way to Hispanics who can. The Hispanic community does not need a Hispanic woman on the board who is too ashamed or too timid to recognize her community by invoking its language every board meeting.

Are you serious, Lee? You spend four paragraphs criticizing a person for the sole reason that she doesn't give "short comments in Spanish" at school board meetings? According to you, "a sentence or two" would do? What would be the point of that? Saying one sentence in Spanish during a three-hour meeting is supposed to honor and recognize Hispanic heritage? That's ridiculous. And actually, quite contrary to your claims, I have noticed that Valdes is quite cognizant of her heritage, for she often talks about the minority community, especially Leto, her alma mater. Lee, your critiques of people are beginning to become absurd, if not strange. I mean besides the $50,000 taxmoney spending-spree, you have nothing else on the woman, so you conjure up these ridiculous comments to make her look bad for the sole reason that you must criticize everybody on the school board, on any other governing entity, for that matter.

Ms. Ethridge made the sensible suggestion of having two calendars: one a work calendar, the other final product. But she said nothing about religious holidays. Ms. Ethridge is on the board, I infer, to protect the right of her child to get an administration job and to keep it. Her daughter got the job; whether she deserved it we do not know since the competitors' and Ms. Ethridge's child's credentials were not published on the board site as they should have been.

Ms. Ethridge, one infers, stands guard on the board for her child to keep the administrative job she got without the public's inspecting hers and competitors' credentials and thus does not know job whether Board Member Ethridge's child earned the job or got it because she was a board member's child even though there were better candidates who applied for the position.

First, her name is EDGECOMB! Comic-book style captials are necessary for people who are illiterate. Second, these two paragraphs basically say the same exact thing! Are you senile? In addition, you make the claim that Edgecomb and Lamb's children are shoe-ins for administrative positions. While this may be true, you yourself want the public to be able to see the credentials that the job candidate have. This implies that you have no knowledge of their credentials as of this time, so thus you have no right to accuse them of anything.

P.S. At the last board meeting, you refered to Edgecomb as "Ethridge," just as I predicted in a previous post. Maybe at the next board meeting you call thrown in "Dorothy" to complete my prediction.

But Ms. Faliero appears somewhat educable. She does have a bachelor's degree from USF, which can't get a Phi Beta Kappa chapter but which is superior to the education of two board members who have no degrees at all even from third-rate colleges.

Hypocrisy like a bitch! First, doesn't one or two of your ten grandchildren go to USF? Are they getting a good education, despite your criticisms of the university? When they graduate, will you comment on your blog that graduated from a "bad" university and slam them for having meager credentials? I highly doubt it, for there is nothing wrong with USF. And a university not having a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa does not make it a bad one. Second (and the real kicker), how you can criticize USF and Faliero by saying that she has weak educational creditionals, when the majority of teachers in the county have bachelor's degrees from USF! Are they, too, uneducated? How can you defend them and say that they're the smart ones (as opposed to administrators), but then claim that the univerisity that most of them graduated from with a bachelor's degree is a "third-rate" college will no PBK chapter?! Yet, no matter how good of credentials an administrator has (a Ph.D. from UF, etc.), you rape them for having one grammatical error in a 200-page dissertation, write the university which granted the degree to accuse them of giving away degrees, and then post on your blog for an eternity that the particular administrator is incompetent, illiterate, etc. But, according to you, teachers who graduate with only bachelor's degree from a third-tier college with no PBK chapter should be worshiped! The hypocrisy is absolutely unbelievable!

The board, alas, is too cowardly, too indifferent to the grandeur of democracy to oppose them.

An elephant can live 80 years. It is the biggest animal on earth. Is it still in the board room of the Hillsborough County system? You betcha.

Until other, sturdier participants of democracy replace this board, until a superintendent with a more capacious understanding of history and sympathy with our country's democratic obligations appears on the podium, until enough citizens insist on the Constitution's enactment in the most distant reaches of democracy such a Hillsborough County, the elephant remains in the room.

The is a response to the above, in addition to your many other comments about the religious issue from the beginning of your post. You go on and on about the "elephant in the room" and about the apparent conservatism of the board, yet they voted in favor of the secular calendar! I mean, am I not understanding something here?! They voted in favor of not having Good Friday off...so where's you argument? And then you say that the board is "too indifferent to the grandeur of democracy to oppose them." What does that even mean? If the board wanted to maintain it's alleged conservative principles, then if would have done it! If they truly wanted Good Friday as a holiday, wouldn't they have "rubber-stamped" it like everything else? How is this time any different? If they wanted to "oppose democracy," they would have, like all the other times you accuse them of doing. Is nothing good enough for you, Lee? The board finally votes for something that you favor, and you still attack them?! This is insane!

Senility, exaggerations, lies, & rumors are rampant in Leeville

When Dr. Hamilton retired from the Hillsborough school system in 2008, Superintendent Elia created him a bridge job with a fancy title and $140,000 salary so that he could sit in Dr. Otero’s, his replacement’s, office and cold-call school-board clients for his double-dipping lobbying enterprise. Testimony to this arrangement was retiree Hamilton’s name crudely inserted in pencil above Otero’s on the schools’ Web site.

Why do you frequently refer to Mr. Otero as "Dr. Otero"? I mean, if anything, you usually try to strip people of the title at all costs. You have even said (before Dr. Steele's appointment) that there were no Ph.D.'s in the senior administration. And the funny thing is that you don't do it all the time; sometimes you say "Mr." and sometimes you say "Dr." This is synonymous to your Edgecomb/Edgecombe/Etheridge/Ethridge insanity. You're senile, Lee. Absolutely senile.


These deficient K12 scholars draw salaries five or six times greater than those of teachers. School boards interested only in political la gloire and perquisites of board membership as is Hillsborough County’s case collude with this corrupt system. Hillsborough County school board voted itself salaries ten thousand dollars higher for a part-time, ceremonial job than the salaries of beginning full-time teachers.

This is a blatant exaggeration. For senior administrators to be making five or six times more than starting teachers do, they would have to be making between approximately $185,000-$220,000. Most senior administrators (i.e. assistant superintendents, chief officers, etc.) make only around $130,000 starting.


The board had handed Ms. Elia the job, waiving a Ph.D. because she didn’t have one. She was not best candidate (I reviewed the applicant files) but the worst.

The board did not "waive the requirement" for Elia. Just because recent superintendent's before her had Ph.D.'s doesn't mean it was a "requirement". From the school district website:

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS: Most of the positions in the ADMINISTRATIVE job type category require at least a Master's Degree from an accredited college or university or equivalent responsible related experience.

Superintendent - requires at least a Master's Degree
Organizational Area Senior Executive - requires at least a Master's Degree
Operations/Program Area Admin/Manager - requires at least a Bachelors and/or a Master's Degree
Principal; Asst. Principal or Site Admin. - requires at least a Master's Degree


Your biography says that that you emerged from the Florida K12 bureaucracy yourself, Dr. Smith. It also says that you got your terminal degree in “curriculum and instruction.” I never heard of that degree. Could you put your terminal thesis online, sir, so that we taxpayers can read it? We could get a better view of your theory of education from reviewing that thesis.

You have never heard of a degree in curriculum and instruction? Are you serious? If so, this worries my profoundly. First of all, a degree in curriculum and instruction is perhaps the most common graduate education degree that is offered. In essence, administrative degrees are in educational leadership, and most everything else is in curriculum and instruction. Curriculum and instruction is a broad title, though, and can be a degree in almost any other educational area, whether it be social studies education, mathematics education, special education, elementary education, secondary education, etc, etc. Most holders of such as degree usually say that the degree is in the specific educational area, rather than the general phrase "curriculum and instruction". I am hoping that is what confused you.


Massachusetts, the country’s number-one school system, has thinned ranks of administrator numbskulls by requiring that administrators pass the same language test as teachers must pass. Grammar and punctuation disability cuts out some of the worst administration-wannabe specimens.

In Florida, a teacher's knowledge of basic English is tested in the FTCE General Knowledge Test. Since all administrators were teachers at one point or another, that that means they have all taken and passed this test as well.


Rampant rumors say she uses the “f” word in putdowns of personnel in her office confrontations with them.

Even you, now, admit that this is a rumor. You seem to get this information from your pets who comment on your blog, which are usually rebellious teachers. So, if they are teachers, how would they know such information? Where they the ones cursed by Elia? Did she personally call them to her office downtown just to curse them? I mean, what were the circumstances, considering most teachers have never set foot in ROSSAC, let alone Elia's office? Or did they hear it from a ROSSAC administrator? But this couldn't be the case, could it, for aren't you always boasting about about the administration is loyal to Elia? Now, there could be a rogue administrator, but if this was the case, wouldn't they have already been persecuted by the Professional Affairs Office?


I have concern about punctuation in your own one-sentence essay. I am a retired English teacher. Your performance reminds me of freshman remedial-English classes coming from Hillsborough County schools. Most couldn’t write a paragraph with coherent structure, correct grammar, and standard punctuation much less an essay. Hamlet waited off stage while I reviewed comma lore that students should have learned in the ninth grade and certainly by high-school graduation.

You taught community college, you old bag! I mean, what kind of students did you expect to have? While there are many intelligent students who attend community college nowadays for financial reasons, I think we can agree that back in your time, most of the students in community college were barely 2.0 GPA graduates from high school. How could you expect them to be expert writers when they came through the door? And another thing: by criticizing the mediocrity of the students that were coming out of the Hillsborough County School System, aren't you simultaneously criticizing the teachers who taught them? And aren't you always defending teachers, say they are the smart, competent ones, while administrators are dumb and incompetent? If this is true, then why were the students taught so poorly? Why weren't these amazing teachers doing their jobs, which is to properly educate students?


Little wonder that relative illiteracy afflicts high-school graduates when the Florida Secretary of Education signals its lack of importance by his inability to punctuate a one-sentence essay.

Isn't it obvious that Dr. Smith didn't write the email? Why would he refer to himself in the third person? It was most likely a correspondence from his secretary.

Its really all in fun

Thomas Vaughan said...
Steve is a decent guy who is job scared. They know that. The woman who is currently in the gunsights is scared too. I dont blame either of them but their fear in not justified. The only way to avoid the loss of their jobs is to fight them.

I wish he hadn't censored himself.

Lee De Cesare is a loud obnoxious thorn in their side and the very best friend we teachers have. I am done with "working behind the scenes". It will get us no where.

You may not agree with Lee's tactics but is it really worse than rolling over and letting them stomp on your rights?

Ok...maybe she bothers some people with her grammar criticism. So what? What is wrong with good grammar? Its really all in fun. She hasn't attacked my poor grammar because she's given up on me.

Have you read the nasty disgusting garbage written by her enemies? Who are those people? Why are they attacking her? Have you seen the doctored photo one of them uses? I don't get it, why are they being so gratuitously mean? What purpose does it serve?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ok...maybe she bothers some people with her grammar criticism. So what? What is wrong with good grammar? Its really all in fun. She hasn't attacked my poor grammar because she's given up on me."

--The point is that she uses it as a defense mechanism when she knows she is wrong. When I first began criticizing Lee, she would not respond to my accusations, but rather criticize my grammar, say that I'm illiterate, etc. Well, the fact of the matter is that her grammar is no where near perfect despite her being an English instructor for 28 years (which she boasts about). Calling people out on grammar as a defense mechanism is in itself absurd, but calling out people when her own grammar is mediocre is even more insane. So no, its not "really all in fun". And no, the reason she doesn't attack your grammar is because you're one of her pets, which is a point I've brought up before. If she was truly concerned about grammar, she would call out everybody on it; the fact that she only criticizes her enemies proves that she uses it soley as a defense mechanism.


Have you read the nasty disgusting garbage written by her enemies? Who are those people? Why are they attacking her?

--If anybody writes about garbage, it's Lee. You all say we don't talk about the issues (i.e. Anonymous said... And notice how they don't ever comment on her content.....), but apparently you don't even listen to what Lee says. She is obsessed with appearances. Here are just a few:

-Elia's "mullet hairstyle"
-Faliero's bleached blonde hair
-The claim that everyone on the board, besides "Pole Girl", needs to go to Jenny Craig
-Connie Milito being a "munchkin"

Are these issues? Do these things have anything to do with running a school district? Lee even asked that I send her a picture of myself so that she could make fun of it. The lady's crazy. And although I don't comment about the issues all the time, I frequently do, including things about teacher pay, the district/state grade, Elia's decision making, factors of student success, etc.


Have you seen the doctored photo one of them uses?

Actually, I think Antigrammargrinch's photo of "Vinegartits" is quite amusing.


The main reason I go after Lee is because of her hypocrisy. Here are some examples:

-Lee boasts about the first amendment and free speech, yet doesn't let people who oppose her comment on her blog (And isn't it ironic how her most recent post is titled "Stomping on the First Amendment"? She must be referring to her own practices). I know some bloggers moderate comments to prevent cursing, profanity, etc., but Lee does it simply to shut up anyone who disagrees with her. A few board meetings ago, she criticized Elia of "punishing teachers for having a blog or a opinion", yet she does the same exact thing. Initially, she allowed me to comment on her blog. But then she began copying my comments to the main page, and then after a while stopped because she said something to the extent of that I was monopolizing her blog and becoming a "star". She said I could continue commenting in the reader's comment section, but this was a lie, because, after that, she blocked all of my comments. It is ridiculous to accuse me of monolopizing her blog when she is the one who posted my comments to the main page; I never asked her to do so. I think she only did it so she would later have justification for disallowing my posts.

-She criticizes people's grammar, despite her own grammar being slightly above mediocre, at best, especially for someone who taught English for 28 years. Also, she only criticizes the grammar of those who oppose her. It is purely a defense mechanism so that she doesn't have to actually respond to the content of what someone is saying. Anonymous says "...notice how they don't ever comment on her content"...yet Lee is the one who doesn't comment on content!

-She criticizes the senior administration because the majority of them don't have Ph.D.'s. However, if one of them happens to have such a degree, she still criticizes them because she claims that they bought and paid for their dissertation. And all of this is coming from a woman who could only teach at a community college and not an actual univeristy due to the fact that she doesn't have a Ph.D.


I don't get it, why are they being so gratuitously mean? What purpose does it serve?

Answer this: Is making fun of Elia and Faliero's hair styles not mean, especially when one of them is accused of being a "mullet"? Does it serve a purpose? And what about the board members needing to go to Jenny Craig? And Connie Milito being labeled a "munchkin" just because she is short? Why so mean? What purpose does it serve?

Never hesitate to call out the insane rantings of a senile grandma of ten

Beginning teachers make $34,000; the board makes ten thousand dollars more than that for miming ceremonial potted plants on the podium

Wrong. As of last school year, beginning teachers made about $37,000, and currently, board members make about $41,000. So, that means board members only make roughly $3,000-$4,000 more than beginning teachers do.


The superintendent, for whom the board waived Ph.D. requirement for this ill-educated, ill-trained in-house candidate

Stop with this Ph.D. requirement nonsense. Whether the district had such a policy prior to Elia's appointment or not, the fact of that matter is that a Ph.D. doesn't necessarily mean someone is automatically going to be a good superintendent (remember Earl the Pearl that you love so dearly?), and just because someone doesn't have one doesn't mean they should automatically be deemed as a bad superintendent. As I said in a previous post, only 19 out of the 67 Florida superintendents have doctorate degrees. Also, a doctorate degree need not be a Ph.D., for the degree could just as well be an Ed.D. And while a doctorate is usually prefered, it is not the only qualification that school board's look for when selecting a superintendent.


[Elia] makes $300,000 a year, which includes about $40,000 in "bonus"

Yes, this is true, but somehow you "forgot" to mention that she donated her entire bonus to the Hillsborough Education Foundation this year. This may represent a positive pattern, actually, for Elia has just initiated the Superintendent's Recognition Fund, which she will partially fund. And considering the fact that the economy next year will be probably be even worse than it is now, Elia will most likely donate her bonus again.

And what is so wrong with her salary? Elia is the "chief executive officer", if you will, of the 8th largest school district in the nation, which has over 200 schools, 190,000 students, 20,000 teachers and a budget of $3.2 billion.


The administrator of the Professional Standards gulag has a home-ec degree. I am not making this up.

You repeat this in almost every post that you write. What is your point? Kipley was a home economics teacher, and has certification as a school principal, so I'm assuming she's been an assistant principal and principal as well. These looks like decent qualifications to me. You always make Kipley look bad because you only mention her "home-ec degree" and not her other qualifications. (That would be the equivalent of saying that Elia only has a history degree, when we know that she has also has two master's degrees and certification in educational leadership.) Are you saying that Kipley is unqualified because she taught in a vocational area? Just because the subject isn't necessarily "hard" doesn't mean that she is dumb or that she was a bad teacher, and is thus unqualified for her job.


Your biography reveals that you have formidable credentials to push back. Who else from the fens and bogs of Plant City ever went to Oxford? Who other than you in these legal badlands has ever been president of the American Bar?

Finally, academic credentials that you approve of!


But your biography presents a mystery of perhaps lapsed scholarship. You got your bachelor's at South Carolina. I don't see that you are a PBK member. PBK doesn't ask if you want to join. It conscripts you. Didn't South Carolina have a PBK chapter? I can imagine it didn't.

I spoke too soon.


And finally...

Gentle Readers: Before I was a college professor, I was a nurse.

Whaaaaat?!?!?!???! A nurse?! Not a Nobel-Prize winning physicist?! This is surely academic mediocrity at its best!!!!