When at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try, Double-try Again

Secretary Smith:

This is another reminder that the Hillsborough County schools have failed to implement the bullying law by leaving out the staff and teachers that the law cites repeatedly as protected by the legislation as well as the students.

Board Attorney Tom Gonzalez announced in a public meeting at the behest of Board Member Candy Olson that the bill did not apply to staff and teachers, only students.

I filed an ethics charge against him with the Florida Bar for this distortion of legislation to fit the administrative goal of the board and administration to deny teachers and staff the protection of the bullying law so that the board and administration could continue to terrorize teachers with the threat of job loss if they made any suggestions or criticized the administration's and board's running of the schools.

You had the schools submit a plan to implement this law. As pubic information, I would like a copy of this submission from the School Board of the Hillsborough County schools so that I can post it on my Web site.

I would also like to know what you will do to see that the Hillsborough County board and administration carry out the bullying law as the House wrote it.

Lee Drury De Cesare

15316 Gulf Boulevard 802

Madeira Beach, FL 33708

leedrurydecesarescasting-roomcouch.blogspot.com

From: MacMenomay, Jennifer [mailto:Jennifer.MacMenomay@myfloridahouse.gov]
Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 11:15 AM
To: tdecesar@taMPAbay.rr.com
Subject: RE: information

Dear Ms. De Cesare:

Representative Frishe received your email and asked me to look into this for you. HB 669 was passed during the 2008 legislative session and was signed into law by the Governor on June 10, 2008. The bill “Creates ‘Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act’; prohibits bullying & harassment of any student or employee of public K-12 educational institution; requires school district to adopt policy prohibiting bullying & harassment; provides immunity; provides restrictions with respect to defense of action & application of provisions; requires DOE approval of school district policy & school district compliance with reporting procedures as prerequisites to receipt of safe schools funds.”

You can view full text of this bill at the link listed below:

http://www.myfloridahouse.com/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=38076&SessionIndex=-1&SessionId=57&BillText=&BillNumber=669&BillSponsorIndex=0&BillListIndex=0&BillStatuteText=&BillTypeIndex=0&BillReferredIndex=0&HouseChamber=B&BillSearchIndex=0

Please do not hesitate to contact our office should you need any additional assistance in the future.

Kind Regards,

Jennifer MacMenomay

District Aide

State Representative Jim Frishe

125 Indian Rocks Road North, Suite A

Belleair Bluffs, FL 33770-1727

(727) 518-3902 Phone

(727) 518-3904 Fax

From: Jim Frishe [mailto:jim@jimfrishe.com]
Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 10:44 AM
To: Frishe, Jim
Subject: FW: information

From: lee de cesare [mailto:tdecesar@taMPAbay.rr.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 30, 2009 2:34 PM
To: jim@jimfrishe.com
Subject: information

Will you tell me if the bullying bill (HB 669) covers students as well as staff and teachers in the schools? If you are no sure, could you get an Attorney General opinion on this issue?

Thank you.

Lee Drury De Cesare

15316 Gulf Boulevard 802

Madeira Beach, FL 33708

tdecesar@tampabay.rr.com

Just Picking Away at the Rock of Resistance

Secretary George Sheldon
Department of Children and Families
1317 Wineward Boulevard
Building 1, Room 202
Tallahassee, FL 32300-0700
1/10/2010

Dear George:

I have received a copy of Senator Storms's letter regarding my complaint about the abusive conditions that the profoundly retarded children endure in the Hillsborough county schools.

Your local bureau chief declined since he said your agency didn't have authority to intervene in abuse by Hillsborough County schools' personnel. That leaves a whole lot of county children uncovered by your agency's protection.

I have asked you for public information that I have not received yet. The Attorney General has said that 48 hours is a reasonable turnaround time for public information.

You have far exceeded that time frame in my public-information request. I ask for it again and add this: Give me a copy of the information in your agency manual that confirms that you don't have any control over abuse of children by school personnel; in fact, give me any exceptions to protection that this manual lists.

That this in an unexplored issue that your agency has not thought of or avoided is in question. It seems a giant oversight to me and needs attention. This meeting with the Hillsborough County superintendent and board could be a start.

Senator Storms has asked you to get back to her on what you do about this problem.

I request that you come to Tampa for a meeting with Ms. Elia, me, and others. Your station chief seems a tentative person to me, and we need a firm voice in this situation. I hope that you can provide it.

Also, this meeting should not be shut up. The school board and administration have a policy of giving out manipulated information only through the Public Affairs Laundromat so that the public is kept ignorant of how the schools are really run. So I ask that you not bar any press that wants to attend. Your boss Mr. Crist believes in government in the sunshine, and this allowing of press people in would enhance that goal.

I think the board should be at the meeting. This is something its members are responsible for monitoring but have not. Their presence would mean that they can no longer say that the problem of the abusive practices in the severely retarded area is something they don't know about. Claiming ignorance of problems in the schools that people elected them to monitor is their standard defense about doing anything.

I also have a couple of teachers who want to come, and they don't get out of school until five. So the meeting should be a few minutes after five.

The school board must have a conference room. I suggest that the meeting be there.
I appreciate your help in this matter.

Respectfully,

c:Governor Crist
Marc Rubio
Sheryl S. Steckler

John D Gets His Comeuppance; Bart Strikes Back; Lee Referees This Battle of the Nitpicking Titans

The Council of Trent Goes to the Mattresses in the Crossfire of John D's and Bart Birdsall's Nitpicking Joust; May God or at Least Buddha Have Mercy on the Souls of All Involved Braccae tuae aperiuntur

From: Anonymous [mailto:noreply-comment@blogger.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 10:50 AM
To: tdecesar@tampabay.rr.com
Subject: [Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch] New comment on John D Gets His Comeuppance; Bart Strikes Back; Le....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "John D Gets His Comeuppance; Bart Strikes Back; Le...":

People aren't busy refuting his nonsense. No one ever does.



Posted by Anonymous to Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch at 3:57 AM

From: Anonymous [mailto:noreply-comment@blogger.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 10:50 AM
To: tdecesar@tampabay.rr.com
Subject: [Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch] New comment on John D Gets His Comeuppance; Bart Strikes Back; Le....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "John D Gets His Comeuppance; Bart Strikes Back; Le...":

People aren't busy refuting his nonsense. No one ever does.



Posted by Anonymous to Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch at 3:57 AM

From: Anonymous [mailto:noreply-comment@blogger.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 6:55 AM
To: tdecesar@tampabay.rr.com
Subject: [Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch] New comment on Playbook for Griffin's Challengers.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Playbook for Griffin's Challengers":

Lee,
John D. makes no sense. I follow the law in which Freedom of Speech reigns except when it incites violence. He is trying to find holes in which to nitpick and say, "Gotcha!" which is what he does with you too to try to prove you are a liar. He needs to look at the bigger picture. I am an Aquarius and the big picture is what is important, not details. Details are for maids or servants to look into. I don't have time in my life for details. I always have my focus on the bigger picture. Besides, the First Amendment is upheld in most court cases except when it has incited someone to violence. That is the law. John D. must not know that. So I think homophobes can say, write, and do what they want as long as what they do does not cause someone to literally harass or physically harm a gay student or adult. Basically, I follow the law in my ethics. I have argued, debated, etc. with Ronda Storms and others, and they better be ready to argue, but they have the right to their opinions.
He can split hairs all he wants to make himself feel big, but in the end I am not going to respond to someone who admits to not reading my whole post. Basically, he's saying, "I don't want to read the rest of your post which you took the time to write and obviously want me to read, because I don't want to have to address those points. Instead, I will nitpick at some minor point that is a side tangent to the bigger argument or picture." There is no point in debating with someone like that.
When he can stand in a boxing ring (metaphor) and duke it out with people in power over him and remain standing like I did, then he can come talk to me, but I have a feeling this John D. wouldn't have the guts to do the things I have done in my life. I don't just write emails. I duke it out face to face with people over issues, often with people no one else would mess with. I wonder if he does.
Bart

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Posted by Anonymous to Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch at 3:55 AM