Much better, Orlando. I have hope for you. You sound like you have guts, which is rarer than ability to use commas.

Here's what you should do: Contact your School Board member and demand that he/she reform the hiring process in the administration. Awarding $100,000-plus buddy/sycophant jobs results in dummies at the top, and their decisions match their brains. Don't ask one time. Ask and ask and ask and demand an accounting of what the Board member has done about this problem.

The second thing you can do is to demand of all School Board members that they assign the first hearing slot at Board meetings to the system's teachers and that the Board not insult them with unreasonable time limits. This slot will give teachers with a shred of guts the chance to tell the Board what they see as right/wrong with the schools. Everybody--including this Board--praises teachers with pious asseverations, but they don't show this respect in their actions. Demand respect. Don't let the Board get away since delivering pious piffle about how they esteem teachers but do nothing about their low pay while they pile on $262,000 plus perquisites to a superintendent who politicked her way into the job and does not have the credentials or administrative savvy to do it satisfactorily.

The Board treated the teachers who went to protest Elia's ukase that they teach an extra class free of charge disrespectfully. This is an elected Board. Its members have long rubberstamped the administration because nobody bothers to protest or is afraid to. The CTA is in bed with the administration. Teachers need a new union. (I served as president of mine when I taught college English.)

What good is having the First Amendment if people are too gutless to use it? Use your Constitutional right to reform the hiring practices of administrators and to fight the Board's mistreatment of teachers. You sound as if you may be a candidate to do that chore, so get cracking.

I am guarding your back, and I am a person any man with a lick of sense will go over the hill with. I opened the police and sheriff's departments to women thirty-five years ago. That chore required tenacity and effrontery. I have both.

And never forget this: don't let the administration intimidate you with the Professional Standards Abu Gharib. Defy them. They can't punish you for using your First Amendment rights. They can only bluster.

lee drury de cesare

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From: Orlando Goodwin [mailto:Orlando.Goodwin@sdhc.k12.fl.us]
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 3:41 PM
To: lee decesare
Cc: Bryan.Burgess@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Mary.Ibarra@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Richard.Shelburn@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Michael Caballero; Mary.Jackson@sdhc.k12.fl.us; June Showalter; Martha Carson; Christellyn.Johnson@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Lisa Sigmon; Johnny Cassiano; Robert.Jordan@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Martha Sinclair; Judy Charlton; Willie.Jordan@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Joseph Sipp; Carissa.Chatham@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Caryn.Juntunen@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Terri.Smith@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Don.Cherry@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Wanda.Starling@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Marilyn Connors; Elaine.Lambrianakos@sdhc.k12.fl.us; William.Crawford@sdhc.k12.fl.us; aunee.Laskowski@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Althea.Stirling@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Jonathan Culpo; Trent.Strauch@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Oscar Cunningham; elliot.Levine@sdhc.k12.fl.us; David.Suarez@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Patricia Davis; Long.Leroy@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Cathy.Susar@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Marc.Delaportilla@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Sylvia.Lufriu@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Gerald Susar; Carlos.Diaz@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Maria Luna; Gary Tubb; Fred.DiGenova@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Barbara.Lutz@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Raquel.Tucker@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Eric Dolby; Vickie.Massmann@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Ricky.Tyson@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Letha.Maxey@sdhc.k12.fl.us; John Vecellio; Mayo.Jonathan.Elly@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Christina@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Rodney.Walden@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Rania.El-Sioufi@sdhc.k12.fl.us; shannon.McGoorty@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Lorna.Erwin@sdhc.k12.fl.us; don.middleton@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Elizabeth Waring; April.Fiore@sdhc.k12.fl.us; sophie.McKenzie@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Peggy.Watts@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Jennifer Fiore; Mieder.Kimberly@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Robert.Westman@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Nicole Franchini; Irish Miller; Yolanda.Whitehead@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Elizabeth Freeman; Melissa Miller; Yvonne.Wiliams@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Garland Mitchell; Daniel.Wilkins@sdhc.k12.fl.us; roger.mitchell@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Kevin.Williams@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Jeffrey.Mobley@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Linda.Wilson@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Joseph Morales; Jean Wiser; April.Morris@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Andrew.Wood@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Susan.Nieto@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Alan.Zale@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Lanness.Robinson@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Virginia.Diaz@sdhc.k12.fl.us; 'George.'; Raymond.Bonti@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Charles.Moehl@sdhc.k12.fl.us; 'James'; 'Craig.'; Dorraine.Freiermuth@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Tom.Fisher@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Ian.Mooney@sdhc.k12.fl.us; Warren Rachels
Subject: Re: SPAM: RE: FW: Is the Education Foundation Underwriting Job Discrimination at

Now that school is over and I have more than between bells and lunch I have read through what you wrote. Since there is a level of joust to these EVERYTING IS NOT POLITICAL. Ms. Elia don't know her never met her but as a parent and teacher I know what her job is. The section on Nomination for We-Deliver Award has some specific facts that are alarming if true. But sometimes the messenger can distract from the message. You have a creative style and I see you like writing. Credibility is also critical for someone who doesn't know you or your style it can turn them off then the message is lost. Grading a person's speech or paper is a stunt that distracts from the purpose. Based on what they read they consider the source. To be effective you have to know your audience. And insults and threats and other games can be amusing but they get the job done. Some just talk to be talking ( or write to be writing) some just love to hear themselves talk (or write). My question to you is based on what you have found out what is it you would like for me or anyone else to do. What action should result from this. Words without action are rhetoric.

By the way I'm not a great typist I don't use commas in email and don't use spell check. I communicate and hope the person on the other end can look past all my personal email flaws and get my message. Also although I'm new at this teaching thing, inner city high school and all the bad stuff you hear. I can communicate with students here and I can teach them. They may not get to you perfect but they will get to you wanting to learn. You can polish them off. Anytime you want to assist in mentoring or tutoring a child I'm associated with a lot of organizations that get get you well grounded. Not to say that you are not but If there is any point that you carry from this, let it be that your skills and knowledge can be put to use helping kids.

(I did use one comma so I'm coming around as a school teacher I don't get paid enough to make every email a term paper, maybe I should get an administrator job)

still need a little humor and lighten up, everybody is not as bad as you think