[terrasol]

It looks like the Pinellas County School Board is
trying to get around the public opposition to their
plans of firing Rus. The new strategy is: Let's
exclude public participation, fire her, and then
let them comment on "the issues" but not allow
them to mention Rus's name. Splendit!

Rus wrote:

An update on the firing.

All public comment has been moved two hours into the board meeting and after the board fires me.

The heading is now under disciplinary so people are not allowed to mention my name directly -- only discuss the issues.

It should still be interesting.

I'll keep you posted.

Rus

My comment. The School Board had originally intended to
do a snowjob by handling Russ's firing as an "exercise of
the Board's option to dismiss without cause within the
probationary period". It seems that they have come to
realize that people will not buy this. So they did a
nice little magical switch and it is now a "disciplinary
action" that excludes public participation. How is
that for creative administering.

I think it would be helpful to email the Superintendent
and the School Board again, asking them "what's up with
this switch in the middle of the game?" Something is
seriously not right with this whole thing.

Here are the addresses:

These are the email addresses I am using. I don't have one for Principal Griffin

Dr J. Howard Hinesley, Superintendent of Schools, Pinellas County

super@pinellas.k12.fl.us

Email for members of the School Board (direct through "attention to" by name:

Board@pcsb.org

John W. Bowen, School Board Attorney

bowenj@pinellas.k12.fl.us

Thomas Wittmer, Assistant School Board Attorney

wittmert@pinellas.k12.fl.us

BTW, there was a pasting glitch in the email address
for the Superintendent I had given in an earlier post.
I have corrected it in the above list.

Thank you for your action.
terrasol

[terrasol]

Update on Pinellas County Schoolboard action against
the disabled teacher who spoke out in favor of Terri.
Why are these School Board people going to such a
length eliminating one crippled teacher? What layer
of the Felos network felt threatened by the TV interview
she gave, in which she presented the viewpoint of a
disabled woman about what was happening to Terri?

The way the Pinellas County School Board is handling its
attack on Rus Cooper-Dowda is quite reminiscent of the
proceedings over which the Honorable George W. Greer
precided, biased, underhanded and clearly agenda-driven.
I am forwarding an excerpt from Rus's email this
morning:

Remember I was fired for speaking out about Terri while
still recovering from that student attack the school knew
was coming but would not help me prevent?

Well --
The day before Thanksgiving I was denied worker's comp for
that injury because the school said the assault (attacking
a public school teacher: a 3rd degree felony in Florida)
accounts were inconclusive.

That turned out to mean the student said he didn't do it.

So the official stance is that the unprevented and long
promised attack didn't really happen.

But the student was punished for it and that
acknowledgement of the attack is part of his permanent
record. One copy is in his file. I have one copy as his
teacher and case manager.

So here's the news I just uncovered:
It was also reported as teacher battery by the school
police officer to the St. Petersburg, Florida police
department one week after it happened. There is even a
report number.

So an unprevented planned attack with 2 separate permanent
school system reports and 1 city police report officially
didn't happen.

This is getting curiouser and curiouser all the time.

Rus