Last night was my first Scranton School Board meeting as a member. It was heartening to see so many members of the public in the audience. Dr. Finan, our Recovery Officer, needs to hear how much our schools, libraries, and arts programs matter to us. We need to preserve them and, one day, restore them. […]
Scranton School Board Week 1: Well, Here Goes Nothin’
March 3, 2019
Politics
Scranton School Board: The Clear Choice
November 4, 2018
Tomorrow, the Board has an opportunity and an obligation to do the right thing and appoint the most qualified person to fill its vacant seat. While I hate to eschew my normal humility, that person is me. I’ve made my case previously, and I’m going to make one final pitch. I’ve said more than once […]
Politics
Scranton School Board: Credibility at Stake with Appointment
October 22, 2018
With the tragic passing of Scranton School Board member Carol Oleski, the Board has a seat to fill. Last time a vacancy occurred, after the abrupt resignation of Jim Timlin, the end result, thankfully, was positive. The process itself, however, undermined the integrity of the Board. Directors Schuster and McAndrew gave me scores that are […]
Scranton School District Pt 3: The Players
July 14, 2018
Blame for the current Scranton School District Disaster isn’t actually very easy to assign, because we are going way back. And that means there are different political majorities and factions and people in control at different times. Not every person listed below is getting blame, per se. The Grand Jury will handle that definitively. The […]
Scranton School District Pt. 2: What’s Been Done
July 6, 2018
So we’ve weathered a rather rough year in the Scranton School District. How? The Board really pulled out all the stops. While I certainly wish more had been done (and more could have), we made it when I thought a state takeover was a distinct possibility. The Board deserves credit. They recently released a statement regarding […]
Scranton PAC: Buying the Integrity of Directors Who’ll Sell It
December 30, 2017
In today’s paper, Borys points out that the Scranton PAC called in a few sitting Scranton School Directors and told them they wanted Paige Cognetti on the Board. Now, I’m sure Paige could’ve and would’ve gotten on the Board without this influence. This isn’t about her. Instead, I want to point out something very important and […]
Scranton School District: Digging the Hole Deeper
December 27, 2017
In today’s paper, we learn, via the Board’s budget chairman, Tom Schuster, that the Board is considering doing a “scoop” in order to balance the budget this year. This is a mistake. Right now, with the cash infusion from the state, we have $4 million to find. If you want to save 89 jobs and […]
Scranton School Board: Had I Been There (Or, Steal My Ideas, Please)
December 16, 2017
SCPAC: Buying Elections Does Work
May 27, 2015
After publishing a blog post about a secretive band of wealthy people bent on buying the Scranton School Board election, many open questions remained that bothered me. Who is the Scranton City Political Action Committee? What are their intentions? Nobody crawled out of the woodwork to explain. Some people, behind the scenes, said they were uncomfortable […]