Posts
Monday Night Football - 11/03/08
GOTCHA!
Loss of Yardage
Posted Monday night:
This is my response to a Comment from a person posting with a fake identity, calling himself "JD":
Been waiting on you to show up, JD.
And let's be clear, my name is Karen Rucker and I post here as Truth-In-Education.
And let's be very clear, you are definitely no JD that I am acquainted with and your blog profile is completely blank except for the two initials. So if we're talking semantics, it is your post here and your comments that would best be described as deceptive.
So, let's talk about the truth.
It is indeed sometimes hard to look at.
Pure and unvarnished and shocking.
It is indeed sometimes hard to look at.
Pure and unvarnished and shocking.
So,
If you consider posting the truth to be inflammatory,
If you consider posting the truth to be malicious,
If you consider posting the truth to be abusive,
If you consider posting the truth to be vilification,
If you consider posting the truth to be defamatory,
So be it.
As regards my behavior in this matter, I and others involved in this have tried to follow every protocol, every rule of procedure, beginning during the last school year, without publicity. Those who know me, know I am not a malicious or abusive person. Those adjectives could definitely be used in describing what the students and staff at this school have endured, though. Neither I, nor anyone on the Spring Valley side of this, chose this path or it's timing. And there is nothing on the face of this earth that can reduce the validity of the truth.
Thank you for your analysis of the best way to resolve this situation and your definition of hysteria. Let me reassure you that none of the hundreds of people that have spoken to us personally at school, at ballgames, at the gas station, at the grocery store, at the mall, at WalMart, at McD's-BK-Wendy's..., that have commented on this site, or have sent emails are the least bit hysterical. They have expressed disgust, amazement and some anger. Mostly they have expressed solidarity and resolve as to the efforts to pursue the termination of Mr. Thompson and the removal of others complicit in this mess. No hysteria. No extreme emotion. Just a lot of good old-fashioned Wayne County backbone out there.
As for your additional analysis of the "only way this can be resolved to anyone's satisfaction is legally" and they must "rely upon the law and the law enforcement agencies to investigate and take action!" -----I would say 1) be careful what you wish for and 2) the last person terminated in this county and several others were terminated with no criminal charges pending and indeed no criminal investigation. Well, maybe that's not the best example - the Superintendent gave the last guy his job right back. Well, maybe that will get a higher-up-the-food-chain looksee soon.
As far as my motives, you're the first to question them. Short answer: I am a Mom, You and Yours put my kid in harm's way. And my friend's kids. And my friends that work at that school. Didn't want this fight, but you brought it to my door. And a few other doors. Do believe me when I say that I am SO not saying exactly what I would like to say here - the "issue at SVHS" is NOT being used as a "retaliatory weapon to slam the Central Office Administration and the Board of Education". IT IS NOT A FLIPPIN ISSUE, IT IS THE SAFETY OF OUR KIDS. Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees.
And since you are posting here, freely speaking, with your fake name, non-censored by me, as an advocate for the "Central Office Administration and Board Attorney and Board of Education", then I will assume you are privy to the full story on this situation and other workings of the Central Office. If we agree that is the case, then you know I have chosen not to post massive additional amounts of info here that would be of a more sensational nature, both about the Thompson situation and the daily happenings at the Central Office.
I was advised in March to pursue dismissal of Mr. Thompson based on violations of the morals clause in his contract disrupting the learning environment. I chose instead to leave that mess behind, and to pursue the harassment and abuse of students and staff, violations of the safe schools act, hostile work environment, and multiple violations of both the WVDE and Wayne County Acceptable Use of Internet policies because I had WV Case Law and Grievance Board precedent handy. And yes, the hard evidence you speak of. Signed. Delivered. More than enough. It never occurred to us those would be ignored. So the comment that the "Administration and Board of Education have been working diligently on this issue" is a little disingenuous. I am sure they are now working diligently but not as an advocate for SVHS. Or this would have been over. But we're past that now. We'll let that someone a little further up the food chain decide if the items that have come before them should have been ignored. And look at the actions, and inaction, of ALL concerned, Board included.
So let's talk about New Truths. New Hard Evidence. New infractions. By Mr. Todd Thompson. In the last two weeks.
I'm sure you're very familiar with these. Let's talk about re-violations of the WVDE and Wayne County Acceptable Use of Internet policies by Mr. Todd Thompson. And Insubordination for the re-offense. Caught. Posting those bogus SVHS pages again. On a private internet service provider. With the "share my interests? just want to start a correspondence? contact me at --" page. And the page with the unauthorized pictures of SVHS students that he "copyrighted". Caught. Again. Turned in by a parent. Who kept looking. Who never let her guard down. And conveniently, Assistant Superintendent, Mike Rutherford was right there to.........suspend and recommend termination? Well no, he just told him to take it down. Like to see the incident report he wrote up on that one. Oh right, there isn't one. But there were witnesses. And the complaining parent. And another parent who printed the complete set of webpages complete with date viewed on them, just before the website was taken down. Sounds like hard evidence to me.
But there's more. Let's look at a complaint filed by an SVHS teacher on behalf of a frightened student on Monday, October 27, 2008. And said complaint delivered into the hands of ...again ... Mike Rutherford, Assistant Superintendent ... conveniently on the scene at SVHS that Monday with the Superintendent of Schools, Gary Adkins, and other Central Office Staff. An additional, important fact: the unhappy father of that student was at SVHS on Friday talking to the principal. And the unhappy father contacted a lawyer before he met with the principal. Oops. Lawyer alert.
As far as me "continually adding to the emotional instability surrounding this situation and the unstable learning environment for all concerned at SVHS" , no one's heard a peep from me since I and another SVHS parent spoke to Mr. Adkins, Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Lycan, Mr. Conzett, and the Board of Education Members in attendance during Executive Session, Wayne County Board of Education meeting held on June 3, 2008. Not a peep. Until Tuesday, October 21, 2008. Until Mr. Gary Adkins, supported by at least four members of the Wayne County Board of Education, chose to send Mr. Todd Thompson back to work as Network Administrator at Spring Valley High School. I wrote one letter. Mailed five copies to five Wayne County Board of Education members, Thursday, October 23rd, at approximately 5: 35 p.m. Received a very brief phone call from the Superintendent of Wayne County Schools the next day. Then it was off to the media and posting letters to this blog so the public has complete access, at least to our records. And our actions.
So
Let's vote. Tomorrow is election day. Let's have every single student, parent, teacher, staff member, and administrator from SVHS vote on just who they think is "continually adding to the emotional instability surrounding this situation and the unstable learning environment". Based on the feedback we've been getting in the last two weeks, maybe we should have the entire County vote on that question. I don't think my name would be the one they'd come up with.
Interestingly, you chose to mention "violating another individual's rights". Mr. Todd Thompson was very interested in individual rights, also. He mentioned his perceived "violations" of his "constitutional rights" over and over and over in an alarming, threatening email he sent back in February which I happen to have a copy of. My perspective is a bit different. I think some rights got violated, but they sure weren't Mr. Todd Thompson's. Those students, those teachers, that staff, had a right to a safe school environment, a non-hostile workplace, freedom from harassment, freedom from disruptions to learning, freedom from fear. Those are the rights I'm concerned with.
Interestingly, you chose to mention "violating another individual's rights". Mr. Todd Thompson was very interested in individual rights, also. He mentioned his perceived "violations" of his "constitutional rights" over and over and over in an alarming, threatening email he sent back in February which I happen to have a copy of. My perspective is a bit different. I think some rights got violated, but they sure weren't Mr. Todd Thompson's. Those students, those teachers, that staff, had a right to a safe school environment, a non-hostile workplace, freedom from harassment, freedom from disruptions to learning, freedom from fear. Those are the rights I'm concerned with.
To your lecture on my "ethical obligations" and your legal opinion that I "do not have the right to use this blog and hide behind the freedom of speech" my response is I DON'T HIDE. Never Have. Never Will. You on the other hand...
As far as your advice to me about letting others know about the problems I've encountered "with accuracy, restraint, patience, and great care"
been there, done that.
As for seeing red, nope. Absolutely crystal clear here.
Everyone can see clearly now.
This is the actual comment posted by someone calling themselves "JD":
Host Name: c-76-26-81-250.hsd1.wv.comcast.net
IP Address: 76.26.81.250
ISP: COMCAST CABLE COMMUNICATIONS INC
Domain: COMCAST.NET
Although you may have legitimate concerns and complaints they are severely being under minded by the language and color commentary you’ve insisted on using over and over again when describing the Central Office Administration and Board of Education. Your words are highly inflammatory and deceptive! You vilify Mr. Adkins, Mr. Rutherford, and The Board of Education members with malicious and abusive statements. Behaving in this manner reduces the validity of your argument and detracts from resolving the issues at hand. Furthermore, it works against the legitimate concerns and complaints of the people you claim to represent!You are continually adding to the emotional instability surrounding this situation and the unstable learning environment for all concerned at SVHS. The only way this situation can be resolved to anyone’s satisfaction is legally, not in an extreme state of emotion or hysteria (“a state of extreme or exaggerated emotion such as excitement or panic, especially among large numbers of people”, “media hysteria about the latest scandals”). The Administration and Board of Education have been working diligently on this issue. However, the Administration, Board Attorney, and Board of Education cannot act upon inflammatory statements, requests, or notifications may by you or any other individuals. They must act upon hard evidence, they must rely upon the law and the law enforcement agencies to investigate and take action!With these highly defamatory statements and half-truths concerning the Wayne County Board of Education your motives are now in question. Are you using this blog and the issues, mainly the issue at SVHS as a retaliatory weapon, to slam the Central Office Administration and The Board of Education? Your ethical obligations include accurately informing the public and treating subjects of your blogs fairly. Just state the facts, you do not have the right to use this blog and hide behind the freedom of speech to say anything you want in any manner. What you are doing now can be looked at under the microscope to see if you are violating another individual’s rights with these posts! How do you let others know about problems you’ve encountered when blogging? The answer: with accuracy, restraint, patience, and great care. Bottom line: If you’re seeing red, be very careful about what you post in black and white.
November 3, 2008 10:21 PM
