I Wish I Could Have Voted Yes

First and foremost it is important that I introduce myself. My name is Michaela I. Fissel and I have been a resident of Windsor since 1990. My mother and father moved onto Maythorpe Drive with my younger brother and I when we were still in preschool. Based on this early transition into the Windsor community, I would consider myself a life-long resident of Windsor. Over the subsequent years, my parents’ expanded our family by two prior to their divorce in 1998. As my husband, Alvin J. Fryxell III., is also a life-long resident of Windsor, we have come to the conclusion that Windsor is no longer the community that promotes the values that we expect our two sons to adopt as they develop into young men. In addition, we also do not feel the sense of community that was once celebrated by all families of Windsor. We have come to this decision with a heavy heart because we can recall, quite vividly, the tremendous positive impact that teachers and community leaders have had on our lives. Consider Mrs. Tustin, Mr. Halish, Mrs. Ford, Mrs. Pittman - these professionals across educational and youth athletics upheld their position as a role model, and clearly demonstrated an unwavering passion for providing an equitable experience for all children. This was observable throughout our early childhood experiences from the mid 90s and through the early 2000s. It is unfortunate that the overall climate of our community has been so badly damaged by irresponsible leadership that our political landscape is now centered on the promotion of personal agendas above the welfare of our children. The reason that I have taken such a strong position against the current Board of Education leadership is because I have been unimpressed by the lack of accountability and transparency. The most poignant example is the recent finding that the Board of Education not only failed to carryout a competitive bidding procedure when hiring Dr. Marlon James (violating Administrative Regulation 3000); but they also failed to inform Windsor tax payers that the Alliance Grant was not a straightforward $306,000.000; but that it was a matching grant. I believe that Kristin Ingrim described this most clearly when she, Dr. Villar, and Ms. Richardson presented the BOE budget to the Windsor Town Council on April 3, 2013 (http://windsor-ct.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=251). She stated (timestamp 00:26:58), “I think that it is also important to note that in the Alliance Grant Application the district is receiving $306,000.00, but we have committed to spend $714,000.00; which means we are getting $306,000.00 from the State and we are spending $408,000.00 of our own money on new initiatives. In order to get those funds you can’t just use State money, you also have to put up some of your own money.” This means that the Town of Windsor must match these funds with $408,000.00 of taxpayer dollars. I have listened to the BOE meetings, and this information was NEVER given to the BOE at large or the Windsor Community at any point since the September 12, 2012 meeting when Dr. Marlon James introduced his study to the Board of Education. Interestingly, Dr. Villar and Ms. Richardson reassured Tax Payers that the Equity and Excellence Review would be entirely covered through the Alliance Grant. Based on the selective transparency of the Windsor BOE leadership, I am led to believe that the Windsor community, we - the taxpayers, will be footing the bill for $21,966.00 of Dr. James’ exploratory research study (per contractual agreement http://www.windsorct.org/files/_nLJLf_/abe862b2d2cd59983745a49013852ec4/...); along with an additional $386,034.00 to cover the cost of the matching grant to have NEW initiatives in Windsor. Let me assure you, as someone who knows about federal, state, and private grant funding options, that a matching grant is only one option. Dr. Villar and Ms. Richardson knew that they were playing games by leading the Windsor Town Council to believe that this was the only option. Just to note, my math might be off slightly; but this is strictly because no one seems to be capable of clearly stating what the actual cost to Windsor Tax Payers is going to be. OK - so those are the numbers. Let’s now consider the deception that underlies the BOE’s decision-making practices, respective to the Equity and Excellence Review, because it provides an example of the caustic effect of this decision-making pattern on the overall direction of the Windsor Public School system. Before presenting the three-year association of Dr. Marlon James to Doreen Richardson, I believe that it is important to understand Board of Education Bylaw 9270 and 9271; which describes Conflict of Interest and the Code of Ethics, respectively. Per Bylaw 9270, “No Board member shall use his or her position on the Board to influence a non-Board member in an employment or contractual decision; nor shall a Board member use his or her position on the Board to influence a Board member in employment or contractual decision other than those routinely made by this Board.” What does that even mean? It means, to me, that it was unwise for any Board of Education member to vote in favor of the contract between Dr. Marlon James and Superintendent Villar on September 12, 2012 (http://www.townofwindsorct.com/towninfo/video.php), without Doreen Richardson fully disclosing her prior, and ongoing public support, of Dr. Marlon James. That when she began giving her, as she called it, “two sense,” (9/12/2012, 3:07:12) in support of Dr. Marlon James, she was using her influence as the Board of Education Chair to sway members to support her biased opinion by leveraging fear. This is supported by her statement (timestamp 3:09:20) “The data clearly states it is not good for every single one of our children. That’s the travesty - that is the thing that we should fear.” I know that this is, for some, a mute point because, as posted on the Board of Education website, Attorney’s Shipman and Goodwin concluded that, “According to Ms. Richardson, she does not have a professional relationship with Dr. James…” So what did Dr. Villar mean, when he stated during the September 12, 2012 Board of Education meeting (timestamp 2:40:00) that “it was Doreen who introduced me to Dr. James…” Followed by Doreen Richardson concluding (timestamp 3:07:12) that “I met Dr. James doing this work in the community with parents, trying to build capacity among parents, in helping them to navigate and understand how to translate what school expectations are to what home expectations are and what they can do to help their children succeed in school. I have been through seminars that Dr. James has offered in a professional setting… it ‘s through that experience with Dr. James that I came to understand the disconnect between what we say are the root causes of the achievement gap and the solutions that we apply within these institutions to resolve that conflict.” Shouldn’t this have been a red flag to all those who voted in favor of the contract? Maybe Doreen’s enthusiasm was somewhat biased by her previous relationship with Dr. James and, in the least, the vote should have been Tabled until every member was given the opportunity to digest the two hour, plus, dialogue about a complex exploratory research study? Considering Bylaw 9271, line 12, did the Board of Education members uphold their duty to “Acknowledge that the Board represents the entire school community, and will refuse to surrender their independent judgment to special interests or participant political groups,” when they cast their vote? How else were Board of Education members, who are clearly being directed by Doreen Richardson, to vote after being told by Ms. Richardson to (9/12/2013, timestamp 03:12:36), “Demonstrate with your vote this afternoon that you believe that our teachers want the best for our children…” As I listened again to this statement, it felt very similar to the 4 “robo” calls I received from my son’s elementary school over the past five days reminding me to vote yesterday during the Budget Referendum. After surveying other parents and general community members, it became quite clear that the vast numbers of community members did not receive the targeted advertisement that parents of children who are currently enrolled in the Windsor Public School System received. This outcome all into question the validity of the message. Was the Windsor Public School system attempting to solicit votes from parents who would feel badly if they voted against a budget that was proposed to support equity and excellence for their children? After seeing the budget fail last night I came to the conclusion that I can not just move out of Windsor and save my children from the implosion that will soon befall our Windsor Board of Education - I must make one last attempt to close the feedback loop by informing Windsor Residents about the ongoing relationship between Doreen Richardson and Dr. Marlon James that has perpetuated since at least June 9th of 2010. This is important because we have not only been lied to about this relationship, but it is going to potentially cost our Town the civic events, like First Town Downtown, when the Town Council begins to cut and/or reduce items from the Budget. A TIME LINE OF DOCUMENTED PUBLIC SUPPORT OF DR. MARLON JAMES BY DOREEN RICHARDSON: 3 Published Press Releases for the Tuesday June 8, 2010 P.O.W.E.R hour with Dr. Marlon James - First article includes contact e-mail: folkstonepark@yahoo.com - Second article includes the number 860.752.4430 and the e-mail folkstonepark@yahoo.com to make reservation - Third article in the Reminder, published June 1, 2010 included the number 860.752.4430 and the e-mail folkstonepark@yahoo.com to make reservation 6/9/2010 - SBCTA Blog about “PRESS Presents P.O.W.E.R. Hour w/ Professor Marlon James” - e-mail provided for to suggest future topics included folkstonepark@yahoo.com 2/16/2011 E-mail from PRESS Committee info@presswindsor.org for the community conversation titled, “Helping All Students Succeed in a Diverse Society.” - e-mail included to confirm attendance info@presswindsor.org or “call Doreen Richardson at 860.752.4430 - Signed by Doreen Richardson, Co-Chair - PRESS Publicized PRESS event on 4/16/2011 Helping All Students Succeed in Diverse Society held at Sage Park Middle School - First Advertisement included contact information to reserve seat included, “call Doreen Richardson at 860.752.4430 or send an e-mail to info@presswindsor.org - Second advertisement included info@presswindsor.org to register for the event. 11/12/2012 E-mail from Doreen Richardson folkstonepark@yahoo.com to PRESS PRESS info@presswindsor.org with Reply-To: folkstonepark@yahoo.com - Included the following content, signed by Doreen Richardson 860.752.4430, “The Republican and Democratic Town Committees are pressuring Board members to ignore the by-laws of the Board of Education in order to preserve the paternalistic system of power grabbing. If that were not egregious enough the power once grabbed has been used to perpetuate school-yard bullying tactics to preserves a status quo which has resulted in almost irreversible harm to our school and our children.” She continues on, “Please plan to attend the next meeting of the Board of Education where we will be electing officers of the Board - Tuesday, November 15 [2011] @ 7:00pm… Our children need you to take a stand now.” 12/12/12 E-mail from Doreen Richardson folkstonepark@gmail.com to Doreen Richardson folkstonepark@gmail.com - This e-mail was received through a Listsrv that includes a significant number of Windsor residents - It is asking these recipients to support the online petition “Town of Windsor: Support the Equity and Excellence Review.” - The signature is Doreen Richardson 860.752.4430 In conclusion: Please take a stand, and write to our Town Council members and inform them of why you voted no, and when elections take place in November - remember. Remember the charade of personal agendas that has marked our political landscape; the deceit caused by the lack of transparency of our elected leadership; and the injustice that is being carried out by the inability of too many of our elected officials to hold themselves accountable to the bylaws and regulations that keep our children safe. I would like to thank all of the individuals who contributed to the compiling of documents that supports the direct correlation between Doreen Richardson, P.R.E.S.S., and Dr. Marlon James since June of 2010. To read more about Doreen Richardsons’ public testimony where she disclosed to the State Education Committee in February of 2012 that Windsor will be working towards Equity and Excellence (5 months prior to Dr. Marlon James coming to Windsor to introduce the Equity and Excellence Review) please go to http://windsor.patch.com/groups/michaela-i-fissels-blog/p/bp--whose-agen....