Great post. You've said it so well. I had a similar experience: Asked a question about info that is tracked by the BOE, MBD said she didn't have the info, she told me to contact another administrator, I e-mailed that person, and guess what? I never heard from him.

I'm not sticking up for MBD, however, often you can tell the transparency/integrity of an organization by how much autonomy they are able to give their front person. She sounds a little hog tied. Like someone from the top has got to keep tight control on the message to get the spin just right.

OK why do we need to pay the spin doctors over 100,000 a year. The odd kid that takes a pen knife to school and misrepresenting facts every couple of years during the redistricting fiascos doesn't seem value for money. I would complain if I were Dr. D that doesn't leave much for him to scalpel a pay raise and push him over 200K.

Personally, it's always kind of ticked me off when my kids bring home those full-color brochures with the pie graphs showing me how my tax dollars are being spent. They seem frivolous, and I know they're expensive. It's all a bunch of spin, and all those brochures go into the trash anyway. And I wouldn't be too proud of those school calendars they put out last year. They were laid out terribly and crammed full with TMI. Even the school employees were complaining about them. Now, with this beauty of a revelation, I can see that far too many of my tax dollars are being spent on this kind of stuff.

Is that why I have to provide dry erase markers for my kid's teachers???

Don't know where your coming from but $800 pk/py is a bunch of money.

Well, make it $775. She did input all of the dates into the new calendar on the BOE site - what a POS! Pretty colors though. Luckily you can still download the print version.

"What's he know, I'm the one with the Porsche." - Nuke

$183,000.00 divided by 22,000 students = $8.32 per kid, per year.

Not posting that as a defense of the position, just wanted to clear that up.

Interesting choice for a name seeing as though you were never able to actually provide any authentic facts to your constituents. Every so called fact that you spewed out of your eager mouth was not only disputed but refuted. You are a spin dr. just like the rest of the gang up at the FCBoE. We are on to you. I know what you are about and i know that you have an agenda.

that justhafax is Janet Smola, truth monger??

Just trying to catch up. These posts pile up and can be tough to follow.

trust me I'm the truth monger....anyone that would applaud the PR office of the FCBOE has to be someone on the inside. They weave a very tangled web of deceit.

move hours before anyone got anything out of the vault. You are one to be listened to. (Sorry for ending with a preposition. Don't want to hit the Elizabethan English tonight.)

We must pass this resolution! This bill introduced next session will change the way the BoE receives their funding. Instead of property taxes they will receive their money through a 3% state sales tax. It is funny how MBD in PR says it is important to defeat this bill because this will keep your property value high! HA! CW Campbell poo-pooed the property value issue during redistricting. I guess the property value argument is only one sided.

the vote at the meeting the other night. There was a report from the finance guy that was scaring the beans out of the BOE. As you say, something about changing the way the financing might go in the future. Flew over my head at the time with no reference point but the fear was unmistakable.

Must have been this House Resolution 58. We need to look into it further and make sure we are not cutting off our noses to spite our children's faces.

Good digging.

Hey the FCBoE is all gloom and doom when it comes to needing more money from us. They want us to be afraid of HR58... the only one who should be afraid of it is Dr. DeCotis and his rather large salary. Did you know that he makes about $170,000 per year. Let Smola chew on that a while. They don't want HR58 to pass because it means the party is over and the "Bubba" deals would have to end.

you can find the salary of director, teacher, secretary, etc. at this site: https://www.audits.state.ga.us/esa/confirm.aud - copy & paste, I don't know how to do the link thingy. The information is sometimes 'last year', because of the fiscal year dates, but you can pretty well figure who makes what.

Thanks, eo. A few weeks ago someone posted a link to a site that had a record of all the disciplinary actions reported at the schools. I should've bookmarked it but didn't. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

By the way TM, just looked back at all JTF postings with your new perspective.

I can see JS saying those things now that you've pointed it out.

I read about HR58 much earlier this year, but I no longer remember the details. I need to get up to speed on it.

Beginning with some posts made right after Monday night's meeting, I strongly suspected JTF was a female BOE member, though I wasn't sure just one. I was positive it was an insider, though. Every subsequent post has just confirmed my suspicion.

And I think you're right about gerrymandering districts to improve scores. I know I've heard that somewhere.

too bad just the facts logged off before I could blow her cover. JTF wants to send the NPTC kids down to Sandy Creek...she lives in Tyrone and would love to have the PTCkids there to help improve the image of S.C. I just keep asking myself what is in it for her or her Tyrone town council husband...HMMM... must be something to connect there,just are not enough of the facts out yet. think about that one for a while.

Hey truth monger, bout 24 hours ago "amg2022" registered as a blog member on this site. They left an empty comment to my uploaded video post on the Citzen blog. Also, they left me a sarcastic comment on YouTube about my bookmark of “Lonely Girl”, the Internet soap opera with the Australian actress that was exposed as a fake a few months ago. This is going to be fun. Thanks for tracking and stay tuned. "justthafax" may not be the only alias the BOE is using.

on tracking this one. The more I think about JTF being JS and the vicious bitch attack the madder I get. If that really was Janet Smola, she needs to seek help and resign. Resign first.

Can you imagine, a member of the BOE slandering such a dedicated parent. I guess it makes me naive, but man, I expect better from people. With all the BOE's trotting around about the importance of parent involvement in school, then to deliver this swift kick in the teeth. What a bunch of hypocrites!

I never knew CE before this past month, but I sure as hell knew her name. It comes home on nearly every piece of paper from school with regard to fundraising and organizing. "For more info call CE." The woman is everywhere!

Janet, if that was you with the Alpha Bitch comment, it takes one to know one. And if JTF disappears, your goose is cooked.

Click on the link below and see how the BoE views the peasants.

Justhafax, Attacks II

it's against federal law to jerrymander (sp?, it's too late for spell check, you know what I mean) school districts to improve test scores. I personally don't know.

CM... why do you think that they are busing kids out of PTC to go to school in Fayetteville? Did you know that McIntosh is not a normal school in some respects. McIntosh is a great school filled with extremely bright kids with a bunch of over-acheiving parents pushing their kids to rise to the challenge of higher education. There are kids with Aplus avgs. that are not in the top 25% of their class. The FCBOE wants to spread the academic wealth around.

that there is an impressive number of service academy appointments every year in this area. But, no, I didn't realize about the A+ kids being average at Mac.

OK, gerrymandering is going on, but how do you prove it? Maybe I'll make another call to the A.G.'s office in the morning.

Looked back on JTF female dog comment earlier. I think she's scared of CE. Let's get CE on the board and we'll take over the PTO responsibilities for her and free her up to kick BOE @$$.

This will show just how blog naive I am, but do earlier posts just disappear when there is a lot of activity on the board? I was trying to look back at the JTF post about Marion Key, but I couldn't find it. Is there a way to get to find earlier posts, or is this what PTC Guy used to talk about?

RT Tugger click below for the comments you were looking for. This is JTF talking about Marion.

Justhafax Attacks!

Wow, you can find old blogs *and* make a link! I'm impressed. Anyway, thanks for finding the JTF comments. I'm still not 100% certain of JTF's identity, but I'm sure it's a BOE member. Whoever it is, she's been way out of line several times.

Some posts are entered late and are missed, some are eliminated, none are available in history, and not even all of the day before are left. The intent must be to get you to tune in several times a day, and night, to read ads, I guess.

If you want to discuss these same topics, and still be able to see what others have posted even several hours or days or months later (easily, I might add), check out fayettespeaks.com

I looked at fayettespeaks when it first went online but haven't gone back since then because I thought most people are probably blogging on this site. I'll have to check it out again. Sounds like it's a better format for discussing topics.

CE is a woman of integrity and smarts...something that the current BOE lacks entirely. They are afraid that she'll come in, clean things up and make people earn their paychecks. CE has more qualifications to be on the FCBOE than SMOLA...SMOLA is afraid because she knows that she can't win that "dog fight"( to quote her is really giving her too much credit). I hope CE runs and makes SMOLA run home with her tail between her legs...

I haven't read this board in a week...who is CE?

Cele Eifert

the article above. The answer is the beginning of the 12th paragraph.

but let's face it with the way they are misusing our $$ for PR and such they should be put on a tighter budget. They have a new middle school they can't fill and started a new math curriculum without textbooks. Money is not their problem planning is!!!

Berry lied to the press and gave bogus numbers. At Mondays meetings I heard that she said there were less than 10 kids off Robinson Road. Doesn't she work there all day? Doesn't she know the numbers? She said she didn't know where Kathy Cox lived? She told the press at public comments that she didn't know RSMS had trailers. I think you are correct the only person who would stick up for an incompetent PR person is none other than Board member Smola.

Any well informed FCBOE member would know this and guess what you are a fraud. Thanks for representing Crabapple Woods so well. You are the woman. You have a wicked point and a nasty tone of voice. I know who you are and you are not fooling anyone...SMOLA!!
Loved the props you sent yourself on the blogs after the meeting.I'm glad to see you have such a great opinion of yourself.Thanks for nothing.

There may be a few administrators or support personnel pulling down six figure salaries but this statement "MANY teachers pull down very decent salaries, including lots in 6 figures, including people under 40 with many more years to go in their careers" is not true. There is not one teacher in Fayette County (or probably anywhere else in GA) pulling down a six figure salary. The average teacher salary is in the 40's or low 50's and I don't know why you would want to state ridiculously false information as fact. The original posters' assertion that the secretary makes more than some experienced teachers and most fairly new teachers is a valid and puzzling one. Also, when teachers are asked to watch the number of copies they produce, the cost of this entire department is fair game to be questioned as well. I, for one, believe the good news of Fayette schools would be spread with or without this money being spent.

You would think with that kind of salary she could get her facts straight. Telling the press a bogus number of kids being put back into Booth. Saying she did not know Kathy Cox lived in one of the subdivisions returned to Booth. Pointing out the wrong location on the map of Bennetts Mill. At least this time we were able to set them straight. Hey I can get it wrong all day long for free!!

Glad to see you made time for the blogs. I find it interesting that mbd makes that much money for spinning things. Is this a course you take in college to be able to spin everything? Didn't her mom teach her not to lie? Why does a school system need to spend that kind of money on a spin dr. ? what are they trying to hide?