I agree with Mr Hale that Superintendent Margaret Smith needs to be shown the door. New leadership is needed with the school system.

Courtesy of Volusia Tax Reform..

Compare the cost of our District with that of neighboring Seminole County, which is an A Rated District, while Volusia is a C Rated District:

Volusia County School Board spent:

* $9.6 million MORE on curriculum development;

* $8.9 million MORE on administration;

* $5 million MORE on Central Services;

*$10.5 million MORE on Administrative technology, operations and maintenance.

Ask about all of the Teacher on Assignment positions they created this year, spending millions on non classroom teachers that never interact with students.

Hello

I don't want to continue to clutter the Beacon's comments section with examples of the Volusia County School Board's obscene waste which may be difficult to follow here.. but if anyone is interested, you can find out more here:

http://ourvolusiaschools.org

There is going to be a LOT of material to cover over the coming days, weeks, months.. or however long it takes.

They can ignore my emails (or "try" to block them) where I ask legitimate and logical questions about how our money is being spent, but it won't stop me from asking.

Trust me.

Beacon Please....

Beacon Please look into the issues that are being talked about/

I understand. But, look at what the "educated" people are giving us. They are giving us S##T as a curriculum. I have had to teach my kids extra because the VCSB wants kids to be,more excited about "Silly Hat Day" then about learning.

What is missing is common sense as well. I don't know about you but the days of arrogant, one size fits all mentality are numbered. These current School Board members are part of the status quo and they need to be tossed out on their ear.

Ha!.. thanks but no thanks.

.. I know there is a much more educated person than myself with great analytical, leadership, and collaborative skills out there waiting to take the place of one the remaining board members that can only rubber stamp all of Margaret Smith's recommendations and proposals.

Someone who will pass up the opportunity to put forth a political agenda, or look forward to the next social gathering with little weight given to our student's achievement.

Someone willing to stop the threats of giving us "less of the same".. and take a common sense approach to becoming fiscally responsible.

Someone willing to seek out and listen to the good intelligent people that are right under their very noses.. but can't hear them from their penthouse perch or take time away from their circle jerk of telling each other how wonderful they are.

Someone who understands that just because a tax hike is defeated does not mean that the residents of Volusia County do not value education, as board member Candace Lankford eluded to.

I bet the cocktail hour was frightfully glum after using that brand new shiny very Very VERY expensive website and a threatening call from the "queen" to try to cram down our throats.

Someone willing to replace Margaret Smith.

That person gets my support.

Mr.Hale, why don't you run for school. I am serious and not being sarcastic. You seem quits knowledgeable. If they respond to you like they are doing, they must be thinking (If they know how) that their days are numbered because voters are catching on.

You thinking about it?

In reply to the post by "me":

I don't know about you, but I am getting a sense they do not feel an obligation to answer questions from taxpayers in regards to how our taxpayer dollars are being spent or wasted.

This has them all tangled up inside the unique dichotomy of their true beliefs and character, and their public persona. Such a quandary.

They can block a taxpayer's email, but it will not stop the questioning.. and believe me I will get around to asking logical questions and stating my concerns with our money and accountability on the part of their Maintenance Department.

There is so much that we need to explore,(and we will) so I can't give a time frame at this moment.

I suppose that it hasn't sunk in with them as of yet that there is an emerging activism that will hold them accountable.

Trust me.

How is questioning what money is coming in to a taxpayer funded school system "personal communications" ? Doesn't the school board have to respond to OPRA requests? Still waiting to hear how much money they recieved from the functioning $200.000 air handler that Gravedigger had hauled off for scrap, polluting our air when it was not drained of Freon. How about the "auctions" for used equipment they never advertise (so their buddies can get cheap taxpayer bought equipment), they can robo call everyone begging for an ammendment but not events where equipment is sold for pennies on the dollar? In your next email you should ask them why Maintnance costs have gone up sharply since they implemented Riceslingers Hub program, why to save the taxpayers money "Knee", is that why Nascar let you go? Now the IT departments are on a Hub system and only go to a school after several weeks when there are enough computers to fix, despite the fact that they have enough people in their department to have almost one person per school (Oh, I forgot, some of them are "programmers" at 50k+...too good to actually do repairs teachers need for our children).Hey Paul, you gotta explain the "school dude debacle". Careful what you wish for in a new superintendent...the new one they are grooming, Thumper (Bambi), has already gotten used to using taxpayer dollars, being flown all over the state, at taxpayer expense to attend "meetings". These are just things I've heard and may have no basis in reality.

Here is the way the School Board operates under Margaret Smith, please follow along with this:

I sent an email this morning to Superintendent Margaret Smith and copied the Director of Maintenance & Operations Russell (Ty "Knee" Riceslinger) with the following question(s) about the scrapping of fixed assets. Millions of dollars in assets scrapped, by the way.

"Maybe one of you could this explain to me, (but only if you wish of course).. when Financial Services reports as part of an "Asset Retirement" of fixed assets, where would I be able to find a breakdown of what those assets were, and is there a chart showing the chain of custody up to and including the delivery of the assets that are scrapped and how much money was recovered.. and where those funds end up?"

This is the reply I received:

"This network is reserved for school related business and we ask that you refrain from sending personal communications not pertaining to specific school related matters.

This e-mail will not be delivered to the intended recipient. Thank you for understanding as we try to preserve network resources to better service educational needs."

So I sent a follow-up from another email address that included the following, and I am waiting patiently for a reply:

"This creates another set of questions.. who "ordered" that a taxpayer's email address be blocked, and why.. and how does this automated process determine that the email contains something other than "specific school related matters"?"

I would like to see both Smiths go. In fact, get rid of the rest of the dead wood on the school board. Time for Volusia voters to finish the job and vote them out.

Our children deserve better and so do we!

I agree with Paul Hale. Get rid of Margaret Smith, the captain of the sinking ship. Had she been the administrator of a hedge fund, she would have been fired ages ago. Why should it be any different with the education of our children and use of taxpayer money?

Mrs. Costello

Top of mind, top priority should be setting your sights on replacing Margaret Smith with a forward thinking and progressive Superintendent, and let the voters give you a competent supporting cast via elections.

She makes for a decent social butterfly, but a terrible CEO.