Friday, September 26, 2008

Yeah, Neshaminy really stinks

From a press release on the Neshaminy district website:

This past summer Neshaminy High School was recognized at the PA. Governor's Institute on Financial Education. Mr. Paul Coleman, a Neshaminy High School teacher, represented the District as a teacher mentor.
The recognition was for Neshaminy High School’s performance on the National Financial Literacy Challenge in April given by the US Department of the Treasury. The test was administered to 46,000 high school students to coincide with April being National Financial Education Month. During the Institute, Mr. Coleman was informed that Neshaminy High School had more students score in the top 25% on the test than any other school in Pennsylvania and Neshaminy High School scores were among the best nationwide.


I think some of that is worth repeating . . .
Neshaminy High School had more students score in the top 25% on the test than any other school in Pennsylvania and Neshaminy High School scores were among the best nationwide!

Gee, can our days get any darker? This is awful . . . how embarrassing! I know, let's force out the superintendent responsible for this atrocity by undermining his every move.


9 comments:

Unknown said...

Neshaminy is a very good district and I hope we can keep it that way. But if Kadri is forced out I'm concerned what direction we'll be heading. I cannot imagine we'll find an effective, innovative leader who will want to come here, but I guess that fits in well with the plans of some board members.

JS said...

Pianomom - that's the whole reason those three board members have issues with Kadri, because he currently isn't their puppet. The next person (if they get their way) will slash budgets (to make them look good), agree to what ever they say (good or bad), and basically roll over and let them play master.

The rest of the board is on notice, step up and take control of them, or they may not be the only ones the public turns on.

KClarinet said...

I only hope that the taxpaying public in this area really cares about any of this. My impression is that, for a large part of the local electorate, anyone who stands for lower taxes (no matter how they are lowered or what programs are hurt or destroyed) is good. Anyone who asks serious questions about the educational cost of budget cuts is a big spender, insensitive to the problems of taxpayers and, especially, the retired on fixed incomes, and is viewed suspiciously by large numbers of voters. Parents with children in the Neshaminy public schools, even if they came out to vote reliably, don't have the numerical strength in most parts of the district to defeat the budget-slashers-at-any-cost. All of which makes me discouraged that enough people will anytime soon be elected to the board whose first goal is high quality of the schools overall. So much that was good in Neshaminy has already been or is being destroyed with the casual dismissal heard so often at board meetings that "we can't realistically afford" the expenses involved. While a large portion of the electorate supports and encourages that attitude in the board members it elects, we will not be able to keep innovative, positive and independent senior administrators like Paul Kadri, even if we manage to find them intially.

JS, I only hope that if those board members you have put on notice are eventually voted out of office, their replacements aren't just as mono-focused on tax levels. More to the point, I wish, but don't really believe, that your sentiments ( with which I strongly agree) are even supported by the "public" whose electoral wrath you hope for.

Mnay voters don't trust educators to know what they're doing. They don't trust administrators or teachers to be driven by valid, child-centered educational goals. As a result, many voters want board members who will take the time to micro-manage district processes and expenditures, because the board members are the only ones they can retaliate against if their taxes go higher.

Unknown said...

You are most wise JS. Forcing Kadri is not the end of their diabolical plan, it is only the beginning. The next person they push will be their budget slashing puppet.
Fear not the superintendent from another district for she will not come. Their disease will spread from within. When they cannot find new strings to pull, they will turn to the one they already control.
Which of the other 6 board members will stand up for the district, and which will roll over?
Stay tuned.

I must be living in Jersey said...

Your comment sounds a little dark there feastervillain but you seem to have some inside info. I'm guessing you are a district employee. Anything else you care to share?

SUV said...

I have it from a very reliable source that there are four votes to keep Kadri. Unfortiunatley, the fifth vote will not come over.

William O'Connor said...

Attention All Posters (Please Read):

Because I value your opinions, I try to print as much of your comments as possible without editing. There has been much speculation lately about Mr. Kadri, and that has led to many rumors within the district and on this blog. Although I love a good rumor as much as the next person, they can sometimes be unintentionally destructive.

I've posted the rumors submitted thus far, but from this point forward I will edit/reject any comments containing rumors that I deem to be inappropriate or misleading.

As always, please feel free to email me directly if you have any questions or comments in this regard.

Thank you.

KClarinet said...

Unless I missed something, the Board may not be making a decision about whether to keep Mr. Kadri or not. If he takes another job and resigns, the number of potential votes for or against retaining him will be a moot issue. The important thing then will be how his successor is chosen.

Unknown said...

I think you're right kclarinet. It's not up to the board at this point if Kadri leaves because he is choosing to leave. Seeing the way he has been treated by members of this board, I can certainly understand why he would go elsewhere. If he doesn't get this job in Connecticut and assuming he doesn't have any other pending offers, the board majority should get some backbone and do something to keep this guy. Give him a new contract, and don't let him get crucified in public any more by the Levittown representatives.
If he does leave, then we must all pay close attention to who gets the job. There has been much speculation about an heir apparent who is in lockstep with the board president. If that is true, then the other board members better get a dose of courage and fight to keep politics out of the process.