He’s Back In The Saddle Again – Thomas Hylton’s Neighborhood Schools Committee Rises From The Ashes

You may remember a while back that Mr. Hylton and his Neighborhood Schools Committee (NSC) were reigned in by the board for operating outside the normal limits of a committee.  They were placed under the Facilities Committee so that decisions would be made that included the entire board, not just “selected members”.

Oh, how times have changed.  Mr. Hylton’s power grab has landed him back in the catbird seat once again.  Mr. Hylton now has a majority of five votes on the board that will predictably go his way.  The NSC is now unfettered and free to act without the pesky interference of those other four trouble makers on the board who disagree with him.

On August 8^th, the NSC held an 18 minute meeting to discuss a few issues.  Chairman Dennis Wausnock and Committee members Valerie Harris and Thomas Hylton were in attendance.  Déjà vu anyone.  There were some others in attendance, members of the administration, two other board members, Crabtree and Rohrbaugh folks and a couple of spectators.  Just a cozy little group, the way Mr. Hylton likes it 🙂

Mr. Thees (a former board member) asked some pointed questions:

1. Will the cost summary be provided to the public?
2. Mr. Thees asked about those darned historical windows that keep popping up.
3. Is four weeks enough time for Crabtree and Rohrbaugh to go through the list?
4. Why is Mr. Hylton the sole representative on the board for this project?

Mrs. Weand asked Mr. Hylton if the other eight members of the board are not to be involved in the day-to-day decisions.  Mr. Hylton replied that the board decided the Neighborhood Schools Committee has been appointed to oversee the work.  Ms. Harris chimed in that every board member has a say but that Mr. Hylton is the point person for the day-to-day dealings.   (The answer to Mrs. Weand’s question is a resounding NO!).

So Crabtree and Rohrbaugh have four weeks to provide a timeline to the NSC on the completion of renovations to Pottstown’s five elementary schools.  Of course, this motion passed with three yes votes.

Another motion was passed to authorize the preliminary work necessary to issue the $15 million bond ASAP.

Of course, the NSC voted to make Mr. Hylton the sole point of day-to-day contact between the PSD administration, Crabtree and Rohrbaugh, Stephen Kalis and others involved in the upgrade of our five elementary schools.

A motion was made and passed to develop a contingency plan for emergency student housing if the construction takes longer than anticipated.  (We can only imagine what this will entail!)

Eighteen minutes later, Mr. Hylton made the motion to adjourn.

Future meetings will be on an “as needed basis”.  (Sounds like the Shade Tree Commission)

If this doesn’t raise a few eyebrows then I am not sure what will.  Mr. Hylton has made himself Elementary Emperor.  He will be the only board member involved in this process and has effectively shut out the other seven elected school board directors from the day-to-day process of spending $15 million dollars to “band aid” five school buildings.

Does this seem unusual to anyone else?

You know those historical windows will end up in Rupert.  What you don’t know is that those windows will enrich the quality of education in the Pottstown School District tremendously.  Why I bet they will even make test scores in the high school go up to meet the state required levels.  The sense of pride in those historical windows will inspire our students to greatness.

Just another day in Pottstown.

Where There Is Drama, There Is The Pottstown School Board

I read the article in today’s Sunday Mercury about the latest PSD nonsense that is distracting the school board from their primary task of making sure our children receive a proper education.

Wildly hurling racial accusations is quite serious.  From what I know of Michele Pargeon, she does not appear to be a “racist” as she is being labeled by Ms. Harris.  I am sure there is as misunderstanding here. 

As usual, Thomas Hylton is in the fray adding his “two cents” now that he has more time on his hands after being dethroned as Lord God Tree King.

I would hope President Huss takes immediate charge of this situation before it gets TOTALLY out of hand.  At this juncture we appear to be about there with front page headlines in the Mercury.  We just love to stir the pot over at the Mercury!

The school board needs to learn how to work and play nice with each other or the whole lot of you need to go.  We have too much at stake here and there is too much work to be done.  This political posturing needs to stop.  How convenient Mrs. Pargeon is up for re-election and now all of a sudden this issue develops.

I voted for you Ms. Harris but honestly I am starting to wish I could take my vote back.  I am NOT liking what you have brought to the table thus far. If this is any indication of future behavior that we can expect from you, I will vote for someone else when you come up for relection.

Two thumbs down for this childish behavior!!!  Nice black eye for Pottstown!

Tom Hylton Strikes Yet Again!!

Tom is sure keeping me busy this week.  I read in today’s Pottstown Mercury that our tree hugging school board member is making secret visits to elementary schools without advising the rest of the school board.

I am starting to wonder if Tom has a learning disability because he never benefits from his previous mistakes.  Most people stop repeating bad behavior that continually gets them in hot water.

There is a reason we have a set number of people on the school board i.e more than two.  You should be working as a group and everyone should always know what’s going on.  It is called communication.  People who lurk in the shadows and seek to hide their activities are a huge blip on my radar.

Again, Tom needs to learn to work and play well with others. 

Valerie, you should really distance yourself from this person before you get the same reputation.  Whether this visit was intentionally mutually exclusive or if it was just a “slip up” doesn’t matter.  The public perception of this kind of activity is very negative and arouses suspicion.  I would hate to see you labeled as a Hyltonite.

The problem here is not that Polly Weand and others got their information from SavePottstown!.  The problem is, this visit should have been discussed at a board meeting and all the members should have been informed it was a. talking place and b. asked if they cared to attend.  Board members should never have to find out about official business transpiring from a source outside of a meeting.  This is just WRONG!