My post (if you can call it "mine") is an EXACT lift from the NJFORUM from an individual that has been figthing with educational battle in Plainfield for just as long as myself and many others. Thanks LS for your diligence, dogma and NEVER SAY DIE spirit!
I was at the board meeting on Tuesday night. I expected it to be a much more heated evening than it was, but there were some vocal people who spoke about what this district needs.
First and foremost, the children did a fabulous job. I know people might disagree with me but I do believe that the board meeting is NOT the place for the children to perform. If we want to showcase the children, then a night should be set aside once a month just for that.
Now, onto the board meeting. It’s started out rather slow, and then we got to privilege of the floor. Many people spoke about Paul Graves. I honestly do not know enough about Mr. Graves to speak about it, but what I do know is that he filed a grievance, won, BOE appealed, he won again…give the man his job back! How much money do we have to spend in legal fees just to give the man his job back in the long run?
I had some tough questions to pose to the board, including but not limited to: “Many members of the community, along with many PPS employees, feel it is time to RICE Dr. Gallon. We would like to call a special meeting to discuss the process and receive counsel on how the board can go about this process, and whether or not Dr. Gallon MUST be present.” This was not my only question, but it definitely was the question that raised the most eyebrows at the table. Renata asked the same question, word for word, so that they knew we weren’t playing. Mr. Campbell then spoke and pleaded with the women on the Board to run this district like they would their homes…sorry Mr. Campbell that I don’t remember your exact words, but they were priceless!
After privilege of floor, Ms. Campbell made the motion to call a special meeting to have Dr. Gallon RICEd along with the two employees in question. This came under attack because the BOE cannot RICE employees, only the CSA. They refused to vote on it. That motion was pulled and another motion was made by Ms. Campbell and seconded by Ms. Logan-Leach to RICE the CSA to be able to discuss future employment. I believe those were the words used, again, forgive me if I’m off and feel free to let me know if I’m wrong. Of course, the Board voted that down. Now people, what does this tell you? The only two people willing to do something to make a change, to right the wrongs, were voted down by the 6 other people on the Board. All the while, DSG looked at me and grinned. Sorry, I had the last laugh.
The meeting came to a close and DSG left the building. What he didn’t know is that he was to be greeted by Arnold Diaz at the bottom of the steps. He ran back into the building like a scared little girl. Sorry, I actually said that to him too! He grabbed the Board attorney and went back outside and was met by Arnold Diaz and cameraman.
My question to anyone reading this: what is it going to take before the people of the community DEMAND that the board do something about this? We know what he has done wrong, we have seen the documentation, and he believes he is above the law. Everyone complains about Plainfield getting bad press…what happens when the bad press isn’t just the Courier News, but instead a full investigative piece on “Shame on You?” What will the Board do then? Will they finally say “enough is enough?”
The reason for contacting Arnold Diaz is because he IS an investigative journalist, he gets the facts with documentation. Many of his investigations have led to arrests, state investigations, etc. That seemed to be the only course to take. DSG needs to know that in Plainfield, when it comes to the kids, we don’t play.
