www.insideoswego.com

fruss881 writes "If Jim Tschudy is going to be writing editorials and cramming his "facts" down our throats, let's rewind the tape and look at the video evidence.

Tschudy claims, in part:

"With two weeks remaining before the beginning of the school year, stellar candidates presented for these positions were told, in effect, “you’re not in the budget” (which was false)"

On July 6, 2010, the school board held its first meeting of the school year.

After Bill Foley introduced a resolution to post vacancies for athletic coaches, at 67 minutes and 20 seconds into the video of the 7/6/10 school board meeting, the following exchange takes place:

John Dunsmoor: "Have we decided yet what we're doin' with the phys ed position?"
Bill Crist: "At this point, we are not going to fill the phys ed position. Are you talking about the phys ed position thats vacated by the retirement at Fitzhugh Park School?
Dunsmoor: "Right"
Crist: "Right.
Dunsmoor: "At this point? Or...? Forever? I mean, we must know by now, the kids are goin..."
Crist: "We have staff at the other elementary schools that would allow us to do, with the enrollment thats at Minetto elementary, that we would transfer one of the phys ed teachers at Minetto to work full time at Fitzhugh, and there may be a need to move a 0.2 for instance from one of the other elementary schools to Minetto part of the week then. Point two or point four."
Dunsmoor: "Is that a done deal, or...?
Crist: "It appears the...yes. It appears that we don't have a need for the particular position at this time with the present enrollment."

At this point, Fran Hoefer jumps into the conversation.

Fran Hoefer: "We're actually..."
Crist: "We're attriting."
Hoefer: "...reducing some staff, Reducing staff. I like that. I like that."
Crist: "We're attriting, in your words Fran, we're attriting."
Hoefer: "I like that."

At 68 minutes and 30 seconds, the exchange regarding this topic ends. Fast forward 49 days later to August 24, 2010.

At 68 minutes and 40 seconds of the 8/24/10 board meeting video, Dave White and Bill Foley move onto P7 of the agenda.

Bill Foley: "That the board of education accept the following personnel items: probationary, Julia Mosier, physical education, replacing Andrea DeSantis, a salary of $55,099, effective 9/1/2010, tenure date, 9/1/2012. Motion please."

After the motion by DeCastro and Tschudy is made, the following exchange occurs:

Sam Tripp: "Was this position cut in the budget?"
Bill Crist: "No, it was not."
Tripp: "All the sheets I have says it was."
Dave White: "I believe you're right."
Fran Hoefer: "I believe you're right too."
White: "Any other discussion?"
Tom DeCastro: "I don't remember whether it was cut or not, but I think we have to remember that we're in a position where some of these positions we're looking at, the position is driven by student population. To just flat out say no, we're not going to approve this position, and then leave the kids hanging, this certainly doesn't address our mission statement or what we're here for."
White: "Anyone else?"
Tripp: "Well I'm just wondering, when you make cuts in the budget and you don't put that money in the budget to fund that position, then you turn around and put the position back in, I wonder where the money comes from, that doesn't look to me like you gave the community a very fair budget if you found money to put positions back in after takin' em out, and submitted a budget, that's..."
Crist: "Mr. Colucci, am I incorrect? I...I don't..."
Pete Colucci: "I...I believe that there was always going to be staffing for at least more than one phys ed teacher at Fitzhugh school. At the same time, it's, in order to accomdate the needs of that building, there's a shifting of staff, from health in the district, to phys ed, to make sure the students in that building have enough phys ed time to meet the requirements of the state. So I don't think its so much a financial situation, cause the money is in the budget for this person, where they are assigned as a duty that they're gonna perform based on our student need, is defining this resolution."

At this point, 71 minutes and 35 minutes into the video, the discussion ends, and a roll call vote results in Sam Tripp, Fran Hoefer, and Dave White voting against the resolution, and Jim Tschudy, Kathleen Allen and Tom DeCastro voting in favor of it.

All of the above says all you need to know. Crist & Colucci believe that lying to their bosses - and by extension, to the public - is an acceptable practice. Next time these "administrative professionals" want to tell bold faced lies at board of education meetings, they should probably make sure they haven't already contradicted themselves on tape.

And next time Tschudy feels he wants to be big, bad and tough in the newspaper, he should go back and review the videos - and find out who is REALLY lying and who is telling the truth. Despite his infatuation with the incompetent administration, he'd find the results very surprising!

Thanks to Hoefer, Dunsmoor, Tripp and White for having the gall to stand up for what was right and refuse to be spoonfed lies by the corrupt group that so desperately desires to cause harm to the taxpaying public."