Release of ADDITIONAL PUBLIC RECORDS! THANKS to the Gazette!
Release of ADDITIONAL PUBLIC RECORDS! THANKS to the Gazette!
I must again express GRATITUDE to our Janesville Gazette for its STRONG ACTION for WE THE PEOPLE of Milton School District to FORCE our Milton Board of Education to release LEGALLY REQUIRED PUBLIC RECORDS!
I hope the Board will clarify for WE THE PEOPLE of the School District of Milton WHY it requires the threat of legal action to make them do their DUTY to WE THE PEOPLE of the Milton School District? Tell us, please, Board President Rob Roy! What do YOU expect from our Board?
The follow-up report after the STRONG GAZETTE EDITORIAL published on Sunday, December 2, “Milton should release records to avoid lawsuit,” (p. 8A) is published on p. 3A today.
Gazette reporter Neil Johnson, who has conscientiously followed our Milton School District “MESS” (as stated by Board President Rob Roy), “The Milton School District plans to release records that will shed more light on Superintendent Mike Garrow’s leave and agreement that allows him to be paid while not working for the rest of the school year.”
Johnson reports that School board President Rob Roy said yesterday that the district has mailed copies of the records to Garrow, along with an open records request The Janesville Gazette filed last week.” According to Roy, Garrow has 5 days to add information to the records so Roy estimates that the records will be available early next week. FINALLY!
I think WE THE PEOPLE of Milton School District owe the Gazette special GRATITUDE! I note that this is a second Open Records request! WHY has the Board been so secretive?
In response to the first Open Records request, the Board released ONLY some of the details about Garrow’s leave. The Board claimed at that time that other information requested by the Gazette in its Open Records filing with Roy stating that state statute protected the privacy of Garrow and his family.
NOW, the additional PRESSURE from the Gazette threatening legal action, Roy seems to have gained a BETTER UNDERSTANDING of the real meaning of our WI State Law. WHY does the Board continue playing games?!
Let me underscore the fact that while Rob Roy is President of the Board, he is NOT THE BOARD! There are 6 other board members. WHY are they NOT speaking up for WE THE PEOPLE of the Milton School District? What do YOU think? Want?
IF you want to identify the board members and get their contact information (e-mail and phone number(s)), you can use this link to our Milton School District website which will take you directly to “The Board” webpage.
I have been following the “MESS” in our Milton School District since it first became “public.” IF you want to review my WE THE PEOPLE blog posts, they are:
Friday, November 16 - “Vote of NO CONFIDENCE! Milton Board of Education.”
And then on Monday, November 19, we had the confirmation in the Gazette that our Milton Superintendent was actually being paid while on leave until the end of the school year, June 2013! “Milton Superintendent being PAID.”
I followed up with MORE information as the Gazette’s NEIL JOHNSON provided more information in an article in the Gazette on Tuesday, November 20, 2012. “Milton Superintendent is being PAID – Part II.”
We gained MORE information with perspective on the “MESS” in our Milton School District after our Board met on Monday, November 26 with reporting by two local journalists, James Debilzen of the Milton Courier and Neil Johnson of the Janesville Gazette. “Update on our Milton School District ‘MESS’”
And then, I posted on Sunday, December 2 after I read the VERY IMPORTANT GAZETTE EDITORIAL, “Milton should release records to avoid lawsuit”! THANKS to the Gazette!! “Milton should release records to avoid lawsuit.”
WHY does it take such legal action to convince YOU, our Milton Board of Education, to do YOUR duty to WE THE PEOPLE of the Milton School District?
I’ve talked with several district citizens – taxpayers over the past weeks and we agreed that we WISHED we had the MONEY to SUE YOU for the records. Were you banking on WE THE PEOPLE of the Milton School District NOT having the money to bring legal action?
FORTUNATELY, the importance of the LOCAL NEWSPAPER was demonstrated again by The Janesville Gazette when it announced that it would use its resources (money and expertise) to take legal action! THANK YOU, BLISS COMMUNICATIONS – The Janesville Gazette.
I am a daily reader of both the electronic and print editions of The Janesville Gazette. Yes, I am a subscriber to both the Gazette and the Courier. I hope YOU will consider being a SUBSCRIBER to our local newspapers – both The Janesville Gazette and Milton Courier. WE THE PEOPLE need local newspapers to bolster our ETERNAL VIGILANCE as part of the PRICE of liberty.
My WE THE PEOPLE blog post on Sunday stated, “I hope that before the end of this first full week of December 2012, WE THE PEOPLE of the MILTON SCHOOL DISTRICT will KNOW “the rest of the story” to the FULL extent that WI STATE LAW REQUIRES for WE THE PEOPLE! I am NOT holding my breath. Are YOU?”
Well, it will NOT be before the end of this first full week of December 2012… I am shifting my HOPE to before the end of the second full week of December 2012, but I am STILL NOT HOLDING MY BREATH! Are YOU?
FOOTNOTE: The end of the second full week of December 2012 will be Saturday, December 15. Let’s put our hope in context by noting that December 15th is BILL OF RIGHTS DAY! This special date remembers the RATIFICATION of our BILL OF RIGHTS (first 10 amendments to our US Constitution of 1789) as of December 15, 1791. Thanks to the Anti-federalists for this very significant contribution to our US Constitution and our RIGHTS!
If you want to review information, you can use this link to Wikipedia’s article, “United States Bill of Rights.”
Here we go…
Mr. E.
John Eyster lives in the Edgerton area. He is an adjunct professor of political science at UW-Waukesha and an advocate for democracy/civics education in Wisconsin high schools. John is a community blogger and is not a part of The Gazette staff. His opinion is not necessarily that of the The Gazette staff or management.
Dec 5, 2012 at 2:58 p.m.
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Thank you, Mr. Eyster, for your continuing pursuit to make the Milton School Board accountable. I agree that sometimes your posts are too long, but I admire your persistance. It would appear that the Board made a hasty and poor decision in hiring Mr. Garrow and now all the taxpayers in Milton have to suffer the consequences. If anyone is interested in taking out nomination papers to run in the spring election for the board, call the district office to get details.
Dec 4, 2012 at 5:59 p.m.
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jca- like button +1
Dec 4, 2012 at 5 p.m.
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Of all your blogs Mr Eyster, I found this one to be the most annoying. Maybe if you wrote like an intelligent human being your words would have more effect. Your message is completely lost in your WE THE PEOPLE and all CAPS garbage. You claim you were once a teacher...write like one and maybe you'll gain a larger audience.
Dec 4, 2012 at 2:25 p.m.
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Hey, John:
Couldn't agree with you more. Unfortunately, too many units of government try to operate in secret and deprive the taxpayers of our right to know. It's largely only thanks to the efforts of the news media (including the Gazette) that these goverments are held to account for their viiolations of the spirit and letter of Wisconsin's open government laws.
While most people who dream of winning a half billion dollar lottery envision cars, houses and trips, I think about how great it would be to help fund legal efforts to hold these governement units to the law. I believe you use caps for emphasis, but I also believe that responsible goverment is something to shout about!
Good luck to the people of the Milton School District, and add mine to your praise for the Gazette in their efforts, John.
Dec 4, 2012 at 2:20 p.m.
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grprix girl- so it isn't just most of us. Novel with incorrect writting style and he calls himself a teacher.
northman- As I read the title I thought the info was released. I had to read through the novel only to know it was all a recap of previous novels. BLOGS not novels!
I donn't live in Milton but want to know answer why some smuck gets paid for not working. Then to pay another guy to do his job for now and he may come back next year. NO. Milton you have my vote- COJ tax payer.
Dec 4, 2012 at 11:28 a.m.
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OCD Eyster
Dec 4, 2012 at 10:37 a.m.
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grandprixgirl
I agree with you. It's too hard to read. I was always told make it short, sweet & to the point.
I read the comments then if something sounds interesting I try to find it in his blog
Dec 4, 2012 at 10:11 a.m.
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Thank you JoyM. I live in Janesville, but I am part of the Milton School District. I don't squander my money away at home, so I expect the Milton School Board to run a tight ship with the taxpayer's money.
Dec 4, 2012 at 9:58 a.m.
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Lemke10, there are a number of people with Janesville mailing addresses who live in the Milton School District. Even if I didn't have kids who go to Milton schools (I do), I would still be all over this because I pay taxes to this school district and want to know why this guy gets to "pursue his dreams" (definition: sit on his backside) on my dime. I have plenty of other things I would like to spend my hard-earned cash for rather than paying for two superintendents to the do the work of one.
Dec 4, 2012 at 9:47 a.m.
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It's the Janesville Gazette, not the Milton Gazette. Out of the 5,000 people that live in Milton, how many subscribe to the Gazette? I'm sure this is a story people really could care less about. We always laugh when we see a Gazette in the break room at work. There will be 5 to 6 pages of sports and 2 pages will be dedicated to National and World News which almost all those stories breakdown into either Crime, Sex, or Religion topics.
Dec 4, 2012 at 9:21 a.m.
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I think we can all feel grandprixgirl’s pain. It took you over 1000 words to basically thank the Gozer for putting the legal squeeze on, and then reiterate your previous reiterations. I agree that Milton needs to ‘fess up and start shining some daylight onto this whole issue. But you’ve worked yourself up into a tizz before they’ve even released anything. Best if you practice some deep breathing exercises and wait for results, rather than pound out a bunch more rants apropos of nothing.
Dec 4, 2012 at 6:58 a.m.
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Mr Eyster...you were my social studies teacher "back in the day"....so I respect you...but...my gosh, I have to be totally honest..I just canNOT read your posts! I tried a few..but they are so long..and to be completely frank..they are boreing as all get out...you rant...and carry on...and the use of upper case letters in which you SHOUT YOUR OPINIONS gives me a headache... you were respected in your day....and im sure you still are...but...wow..... you are very...intense....... good day to you.
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