Tidbits and Updates

There are a lot of things going on, none of which I have time to write a full article about – and it IS summer, so I’d much rather be outside hiking, horseback riding, gardening or down the Shore than inside researching and writing.  In that vein, this mashup of bits & pieces will have to do for now:

·         I am told that the Methacton School Board is ready to move forward with hiring a new superintendent and that it is highly likely the announcement will come this Tuesday night, August 20 at the regularly scheduled school board meeting.  There’s a bit of drama surrounding the pick, so it might be worth your while to come out and get a feel for the reasoning behind the Board’s selection and what went into finding and interviewing him (or her).

 

·         Speaking of Methacton, recently departed superintendent Dr. Timothy Quinn and paramour Diane Barrie have both found gainful employment elsewhere. Quinn landed as an Area Partnership Manager for Provo, Utah-based Imagine Learning, a language and literacy software solution provider, and Barrie is the new curriculum coordinator for Kutztown Area School District. Best wishes to both in their new endeavors, and thanks to both for their educational contributions at Methacton.

·         As feared and predicted, Montgomery County did have to shut down the Arcola Road Bridge this past Friday afternoon and, as residents feared, they didn’t necessarily know about it until they were on their way home from work and stuck in traffic. However, I give our elected officials credit for doing a great job of notifying everyone as soon as possible. I heard from Rep. Mike Vereb within 15 minutes after the decision was made, and the County and municipalities of Lower Providence and Upper Providence were very quick to get phone and email blasts out within the hour.

·         Regarding the bridge, the meeting this past Monday was widely reported upon, so I don’t have much to add (and I already wrote back in July about what was likely to happen, here). I do know that as I floated among the Q & A groups, the primary beef residents had was with the detour routes and the length of time it will take to get the bridge built and reopened.  What wasn’t made exactly clear, judging from comments I’ve seen and heard, is that people don’t understand the bridge will be closed for approximately 3 YEARS. 15-18 months are needed  to get through design, easement acquisition and bidding the work, but it’s also going to take another 15-18 months to actually build the thing.  I think people heard the ’15-18 months’ thing twice but didn’t understand it applied to two DIFFERENT things, things that run consecutively, not concurrently. Bottom line, plan extra time accordingly when traveling between Upper Providence, Collegeville and Lower Providence.

·   *      In an odd bit of ill-timed and misguided political sideshow, the LP Dems decided to politicize the bridge meeting/issue, presumably to elevate their candidate for supervisor, Jim Donahue. The weekend before they had gone through several neighborhoods, dropping literature on residents’  mailboxes posing  questions that seemed to lead one to believe they thought closing the bridge was a bad idea, and posting signs near the bridge that were clearly against closing it (they also handed out fundraiser flyers in the literature bags and at the meeting itself).  I’m sure Democrat County Commissioners Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards were utterly thrilled that their own party members were flaming up residents over something that is already a bit of a PR headache for them.  (And, not to be bitchy, but it IS illegal to place anything in or on mailboxes that is not actual US Mail...the fines for doing so can be substantial...get your message out by all means, but follow the law).

        Not only that, but really, Mr. Donahue, you are making being AGAINST  transportation safety improvements and the safety of our residents part of your platform? I bet that if the bridge had remained open and someone were injured or killed, you would be leading the charge to sue the County for wrongful death. Nice.

·         Regarding the same Mr. Donahue, there’s a fun bit of video out on YouTube where he’s attending a regional sewer authority meeting (LPVRSA) and calls out authority member Bob Fieo to ‘take it outside’ and presumably brawl over their disagreement on an issue. Donohue is clearly the instigator, yet the caption under the video posting attempts to make it appear as though Donohue were the victim and Fieo the instigator. Again, curious, since a picture is worth a thousand words. Watch it here at about 6 minutes in. Do we really want to elect a guy to the position of supervisor whose problem resolution skills rise to the level of a common bully??  

·     Regarding the ‘censored’ videotape I wrote about previously – I appealed LP’s denial of my Right to Know Request, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania agreed with my position (here). After asking for an extension of time to thoroughly research the issue, they ruled in my favor and ordered LP to release the unedited version of the video. I have a copy and in the deleted sections, Mr. Baird made some accusations about corruption, criminal activity and collusion. My opinion is that very likely, several individuals have grounds on which to sue for defamation if they so choose; evidently BOS was trying to protect him and themselves from any fallout resulting from Baird’s statements.

·         At the July 18, 2013 Board of Supervisors meeting, Colleen Eckman mentioned that she wanted to revisit the issue of a proposed ordinance for rental property inspections and fees, last discussed in late 2012 (here). Several options regarding frequency and fees have been discussed, and an annual inspection versus just an inspection at the time a property is resold or rerented has been considered. 

 

        Supervisor Don Thomas, who earlier this year was an applicant before the Zoning Hearing Board attempting to get approval to build rental apartments behind his home (see here),  weighed in that he was fine with whatever was decided upon, as long as “the focus was on the health and welfare of the community, and not revenue generation”.  Given that he and his family are landlords of numerous rental units in LP, is this an issue that Don should even be able to vote on? Is his concern really anti-revenue generation, or is it really about keeping it less expensive for him and his family to do business? Seems like a conflict of interest to me since he and his family would directly be impacted by costs of paying for such rental inspections on properties he and his family hold, including the apartments Don is building right behind his house.

Enjoy these last few weeks of summer!

 

 

Gone But Not Forgotten

Updated 9:20 pm

At tonight's school board  meeting it was announced that today was Quinn's last day and that Diane Barrie's will be June 13.

I am hearing from several reliable but as-yet unconfirmed sources that embattled Methacton superintendent Timothy Quinn has not only resigned (possibly as recently as Friday March 15) but that the school board has accepted it and that his last day was Friday March 22. Perhaps the school board will mention something about it at tonight's meeting - last week's work session and subcommittee meetings were all cancelled. I will update this post as more information becomes available.

"Wanna Get Away"?

A few years back, Southwest Airlines aired a popular series of commercials. In them, people found themselves in highly embarrassing situations that left them wanting to evaporate and get out of town ASAP. The campaign, dubbed ‘Wanna Get Away?” was very humorous, relatable, and successful. 

 

What’s going on up at Methacton School District these days easily has the makings of the next installment of that ad campaign.



  

When last we tuned in (here), the superintendent and a high-ranking administration official were allegedly embroiled in a messy extramarital affair amid allegations of favoritism in the promotions of one of the parties. Last fall, the Methacton School Board appointed special and separate legal and investigative counsel to look into the accusations and report findings and recommendations back to them. Perhaps what’s taking so long for the process to play out is the forensic discovery that must occur to obtain and review phone and email records and to interview any individuals who can corroborate or shed light on the accusations, as well as providing that information to the accused so they can respond.

 

In the meantime, the accused have apparently not been sitting idly by waiting for the axe to fall. Documents brought to my attention (see below) include a letter dated December 11, 2012 from Diane Barrie, indicating her interest in being hired as the Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development at the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit (MCIU).  

Oddly, a second letter recommending Ms. Barrie for the position, dated November 7, 2012 was purportedly written by Methacton’s Assistant to the Superintendent for Personnel, Robert Harney, to the MCIU, strongly recommending Ms. Barrie for the position almost a full month before she had even expressed a formal, written interest in the job.  I have no idea whether she's been interviewed or an offer extended to her.
 

Now, let me qualify this information by saying that these letters were provided to me anonymously. I generally know my sources and can vouch for their integrity and the quality of the information. And, regardless of the origination of information that comes my way, I always verify the information from secondary sources. However, in this case, since it involves proposed personnel actions and can neither be spoken about publicly yet nor can documents relevant to the situation be produced, as they are largely exempt from production in response to Right To Know requests, it’s impossible to do so. So, take all this with a grain of salt.  Obviously, someone has an agenda in providing them to me; curiously, they did not provide them to Jeff Cole, the Fox 29 reporter who originally broke the story. I don’t know what that agenda is but I present them for your consideration in arriving at whatever conclusions you may come to.

Is this an attempt by the school board – or, perhaps, by Quinn and his administration, without the school board’s knowledge - to sweep the problem under the figurative rug by attempting to ship Ms. Barrie off to the MCIU? Clearly Quinn could not author such a letter of recommendation himself.  The current school board is largely made up of people who had nothing to do with hiring Quinn, so I’m not sure how much they care whether he stays or goes; any poor judgment he may have exhibited would not necessarily be a reflection on them. They obviously cannot discuss this matter publicly yet because it’s a personnel issue, but my guess is that most if not all of the school board members have no idea that these letters were written and submitted.

 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, my understanding is that the school board has not yet been provided with the findings of the investigation. That may happen this coming week, when I've caught wind that the school board may be holding an executive session. 

 

I have also learned that Ms. Barrie and Mr. Quinn have already been provided with “Loudermill” requests. Loudermill is a reference to a 1985 landmark Supreme Court decision, Cleveland Board of Ed. V. Loudermill, et al., 470 U.S. 532 (1985). A Loudermill request is a pretermination hearing process that’s part of the framework for investigations of public employees where discipline, especially termination, could be the end result. The Loudermill decision requires that a minimum level of due process be given to public employees before dismissal can even be considered as an option.  The legal theory is a bit more complex than that, but at its basic level, that’s what it means and why it’s done.

The overall process requires that a written statement of findings be provided to the accused, and requesting the individual to formally respond before the entire shebang is presented to the school board for review and possible action. I don’t know how many days the parties were given to respond, as this can vary, but I believe their responses are already back, or will be shortly.

If I had to guess (and I am merely conjecturing here) I think that more likely than not, the parties expect something of substance to be found, actions will be taken, and at least Ms. Barrie will have a safety net to cushion any fall from grace. Harney may have written his letter at Quinn's request, or, perhaps in anticipation of a potential Quinn departure, Harney (who I believe would be next in line to succeed Quinn as the acting/interim superintendent should Quinn be removed from duty), by writing Barrie a recommendation letter is attempting to clear the deck of controversy so he has a clean slate if he takes the helm.

 As for Quinn, if his days at Methacton are numbered, perhaps his only recourse will be to purchase a ticket to someplace Southwest Airlines flies…as the ads famously concluded, he’ll be ‘free to move about the country’.

 

 

The Young And The Restless

Updated 12/7/12 8:04 am

Fox 29 reporter Jeff Cole filed an update segment earlier this evening (here). The Methacton School Board is next scheduled to meet later today, at 7:30 pm.

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It's doubtful that even much-revered Methacton Community Theater could conjure up the kind of drama our school district has been generating in recent months and years, but you can bet that anything for which they produce and sell tickets is a work of fiction.

Unfortunately, truth is often stranger than fiction at our local school district, which serves both Lower Providence and Worcester Townships. Between the news in August that a 43 year old teacher (Sean McCullough) has been having an inappropriate relationship with a 17 year old student, to the prom drinking incident a couple years ago, to the controversy over the need for and costs of the turf fields and lights, to the former school board member going after a resident and/or his camera (depending whose version of that incident you believe) in a public meeting, you have to wonder what the next chapter at Methacton will bring.  

By now you've probably seen or heard about the Fox 29 investigative report (here) about controversial Methacton superintendent Timothy Quinn and their allegations that Quinn and a colleague, former English teacher Diane Barrie, have been conducting an extramarital relationship at work, on taxpayer-paid time, using taxpayer-paid equipment (cellphones, computers etc). The story also mentions pervasive rumours I've been hearing ever since Quinn landed here about past similar behavior during his tenure with at least one and potentially two other school districts, information at least one Worcester resident tried to no avail to bring to the school board's attention at the time. More information is available here.

It's unclear exactly how the story came to light. Did one of the betrayed spouses trip over the digital evidence and make sure it found the light of day, hoping for revenge or to gain leverage in an eventual divorce proceeding? (Since the Fox investigation began, I have confirmed that both couples have filed to dissolve their marriage; the Barries filed in late October of this year). Or did a disgruntled school district employee out the couple? The reporter had copies of emails evidencing intimate conversations between the two, and presumably only a small circle of people would have had access to any place those conversations could have been viewed.  Not that it matters in the grand scheme of things, but the source of the emails could put the allegations into perspective and lend to - or detract from - the credibility of the story. 


While cheating on one's spouse in the workplace is hardly a new phenomenon, neither is sending the occasional personal email from a work account, during the work day, and/or on employer-owned piece of equipment. You can discuss amongst yourselves whether or not evidence of an extramarital affair conducted by publicly paid employees on public time, using publicly paid for equipment, is worthy of scorn, especially when you consider that Quinn is alleged to have conducted himself similarly in past positions. I do know it's not behavior that a number of residents want to see from publicly paid employees during the days when their children and grandchildren are entrusted to their care, and it's certainly nothing that's considered setting a good example for our students to emulate in their adult lives. Arguably, those in public positions should conduct themselves according to a higher standard than most.

I do, however, believe there's a bigger issue here, one that Fox 29 reporter Jeff Cole seems to me to miss taking a deeper dive on, and that is, how and why exactly did Mrs. Barrie get the position she now holds?    

Now, I have met Mrs. Barrie. My son had her for English a few years back and she seems to be a nice lady. However, she has had a rapid and recent rise in title and salary.  She went from K-12 Reading/Title I and K-8 English/ILA Coordinator (after working at Arcola for 14 years as a 7th grade English teacher at Arcola) to being appointed to Acting Coordinator of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment on June 21, 2011 when the school board approved a change of status for her; the promotion was to be effective almost six months later, on December 12, 2011. With the promotion to acting coordinator, she was given an additional stipend of $2,500.

In April of this year, the school board approved a change of status from Acting Coordinator of Curriculum and Instruction to Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, the position she now holds. This promotion was effective June 18, 2012 and carries a salary of $103,500.  

My understanding is that Mrs. Barrie's promotion was intended to be a replacement of sorts for the retirement of assistant superintendent Jane Martin, who retired effective February 17, 2012 (her retirement was accepted at the May 24, 2011 school board meeting).

In this and her 'acting' position, she reports directly to Quinn...and therein lies the rub (no pun intended). Did she receive her promotion because of her apparent personal relationship with Quinn? Were other candidates discriminated against because they did not enjoy a similar relationship? Could this revelation impact the disposition and potential damages paid out in other pending cases against the school district? Methacton has at least one current lawsuit against them alleging discrimination (Lena Sampson v. Methacton School District, filed in July 2011); Ms. Sampson is a former acting principal at Arcola who alleges discrimination and harrassment by Quinn due to a disability (more here); there have been others.

I don't know if Methacton has a policy against their (single) employees dating each other, but in the nonpublic employee world, dating your boss or subordinates is pretty much universally prohibited, if for no other reason than it tends to give rise to sexual harrassment claims. If it's not prohibited outright, it's generally not considered a smart career move for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which is what happens when you break up, although a surprising number of people meet their spouses in the workplace. For employees who are married to other people, well, I should think all of this would go without saying.

In the course of my political activities, I hear lots of complaints about Methacton School District in general and Quinn himself has not escaped criticism; I am aware that he's generally not well liked, and sources tell me there are even school board members that are not fond of him or stunts he's pulled recently.

A recent example given was that Quinn decided to appear before Lower Providence's Zoning Hearing Board alone, without counsel and apparently without authorization of the school board, back in June of this year, in case # Z12-02,  to seek variances for a 9' 9"x6' digital sign at Arcola, something that is not advisable given the hurdles one has to overcome to get a variance or other considerations approved and which are best navigated by an attorney. The ZHB denied the superintendent's request, and in September 2012 Quinn, allegedly without school board authorization, had school district counsel file an appeal against the Township in the Court of Common Pleas (docket #2012-24145, filed September 7, 2012). A search of school board minutes didn't turn up anything authorizing counsel to commence any court actions in this matter.

In addition to his apparent pursuit of 'afternoon delight', Quinn has evidently forgotten that he works at the pleasure of the school board, who work at the pleasure of the voters who elected them, and all are ultimately answerable to those voters. Quinn has no business playing footsie on the clock or going rogue on legal matters and should be held accountable, not given pay raises and contract extensions.

Yet inexplicably, in 2010 the school board not only opened up the superintendent's three-year employment contract a year early and handed him a raise, but they also gave him another 2% raise in July of this year. He currently earns approximately $175,000 a year plus benefits and bonus; Ms. Barrie, as I mentioned above, earns $103,500 plus benefits. Not that Mrs. Barrie's behavior is excusable, but she is the subordinate employee here.  

Am I the only one who recalls the fateful and tragic personal relationship in the 1979-1980 timeframe at Upper Merion High School involving principal Jay Smith and teachers William Bradfield and Susan Reinert? Reinert wound up dead, her children have never been found, and Smith and Bradfield did time in the slammer. Books were written and movies were made about the case. If ever there was a textbook cautionary tale against love and romance in an educational institution, that was it.

The next time Methacton wants to hit you up for more tax dollars, think about what these people earn and what they're doing all day, and also consider how much it costs every time the school district incurs legal fees to defend itself when scandals arise (two, count 'em TWO special counsel law firms were hired by Methacton in November to handle whatever legal issues arise from 'affair gate'). My understanding is that normally, the superintendent would investigate the claims and special counsel would represent the school district. In this instance, since the superintendent himself is the subject of the controversy, a second firm must be retained to do the investigation piece. Information from the Methacton School Board's official press release on the matter appears here. 

Are Methacton taxpayers getting their money's worth? It seems to me that the student dress code is the last thing the school board should be concerned with at the moment. 

Start showing up at school board meetings, communicating with your school board, and tell them you prefer drama and scandals be left to thespians, not school administrators and employees who apparently are "acting" the role of professionals instead of taking their responsibilties seriously.