Florida Keys News
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
School jobs talks prompt pleas
BY JOHN L. GUERRA Citizen Staff

Monroe County school administrators who an investigative report blamed for the financial scandal will have contracts next year, based on a 3-2 vote Tuesday, in which board members John Dick and Steve Pribramsky voted no.

Board Chairman Andy Griffiths and members Duncan Mathewson and Debra Walker voted to retain all the administrators, pending a final investigative report...

For the complete article, please pick up a copy of The Citizen for this day or purchase this day's electronic edition at http://secure.floridakeys.com/keysnews/enews. Home Delivery & Electronic Edition subscibers to The Citizen may access this article, once logged in to keysnews.com, at no charge. If you forget your password, please call us at 305-292-7777, ext. 4.
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Andy on the radio this am

Submitted on Fri, 07/03/2009 - 6:15pm
I heard Andy today say that there are now two new applicants for the superintendent position..and oh!! guess what?...better late than never... they are from out of the county completely!! Is this coincidence or what? So..which came first - the unanimous resolution from the board to suggest an outsider to the governor...or the information from the governor that he had made his selection? I knew this smelled fishy.

Question

Submitted on Fri, 07/03/2009 - 11:20am
Bernie M. robs people and goes to jail for life. His wife is snubbed by the New York community. Randy and his wife [allegedly] steal from children. He is given a high paying job at a local bubba company and people cheer for him to be reinstated. What does this say about the Key West community?

Bernie was convicted in a

Submitted on Fri, 07/03/2009 - 12:29pm
Bernie was convicted in a court of law not on a comment board in a local newspaper.

So are you saying

Submitted on Fri, 07/03/2009 - 6:41pm
that you thought Bernie was innocent up until he was recently convicted? I don't think the people he stole money from were thinking that. The money that has been stolen as well as the money that now has to be spent in order to conduct the investigations is very real to the teachers, students, & parents. Don't be mad at them because they are voicing their anger. At the end of the day, whether you believe Randy and Monique are innocent or not, there is still 3 quarters of a million that is not available for educating our students. That is a proven fact even though there hasn't been a conviction yet. Just because the legal process takes time doesn't mean the person didn't commit the crime. I think the evidence so far is pretty damning.

No, what I thought I said was....

Submitted on Sat, 07/04/2009 - 1:30pm
I believed Bernie was guilty and I believe that Monigue is guilty. On the other hand I will withhold my opinion on Mrs. Madoff until she is found guilty of something just as I will do for Mr. Acevedo.

How funny

Submitted on Thu, 07/02/2009 - 11:14pm
How funny will it be when Randy is exonerated and returned to office with the School district paying his legal fees. Just because people have assumed he is guilty doesn't make it so. I can already tell by the behavior of the SA office that they have no idea how to procede with this case.

Wow when you put it that way then

Submitted on Fri, 07/03/2009 - 6:20pm
we will have to welcome Randy back and ask for forgiveness. Then we should all bend over and continue to take it up our keesters! Randy and all of his supporters are idiots!

Your absolutely correct!

Submitted on Fri, 07/03/2009 - 11:07am
If he is found to have done nothing illegal he will receive his job back plus back pay and yes his legal fees will be paid by the school board.

fear of retribution

Submitted on Mon, 07/06/2009 - 8:41am
This must be why the teachers haven't come out as a group and said anything about what's going on. Great working conditions!

True but don't forget

Submitted on Mon, 07/06/2009 - 9:42am
the union boss would much rather defend the admin and their perks than join those on the school board who would like to see things better for teachers.

It's no wonder

Submitted on Mon, 07/06/2009 - 1:22pm
teachers don't stick around. Again, though, it's really only the students who are suffering through all of this. From every angle.

Randy and his entire family are done in this town

Submitted on Fri, 07/03/2009 - 10:36am by *.*
The people see them for the low-class thugs that they are. They are already being ostracized and it is only going to get worse for them. With a wife in prison, a kid who's cheating the state on taxes and licensing, an out-of-control father with no sense of the social graces and of course, his fat life exposed for the greedy, smug sham that it is, even IF he were to beat this rap, he's done. The whole family is done. And you can thank the elder Acevedos who clearly condone criminal activities in the schools, as well as Randy and Monique.

The Gang of three ,we are watching you!

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 11:38pm
The gang of three acted like a group of impotent politicians. They are afraid to take a stand on this very controversial subject; the firing of the administrators who willing through their lack of oversight and negligence let this (alleged) crime happen. They should have at the very least beeen put on administrative leave without pay, just like Randy, until the full investigation by the State Attorney and the forensic investigators is over. This is a common practice throughout police department when a police officer is suspected of a crime. It enables the department to throughly investigate the crime without potential interference and tampering of evidence that potentialy the officer would access to. The gang of three is using the oldest political ploy in history, STALL FOR TIME in hopes that the public will loose interest and forget about this. Or may be someone else will make the decision for them ie. The State Attorney. The board is hoping that we will all loose interest and forget about this scandal. Then, when no one is paying attention, quietly they will sweep the whole "dirty" affair under the rug. Be warned, School board, this is a fire storm that will engulf the keys and potentially make the national press for its sheer level of corruption. We, the voters will not forget or disappear. We will be watching you!

The board is in uncharted

Submitted on Thu, 07/02/2009 - 8:49am
The board is in uncharted waters. They must act cautiously for what they are doing. After all, this is the first time we have actually seen them having to work on anything or for that matter actually think. The standard procedure in the past was to have a brief meeting, rubber stamp everything for approval after a brief idiotic discussion and go home. At times it appears there are two or three members that wish to press on, get things done and move forward. Then you have those that are totally clueless, confused and afraid to make a decision; for them it is best to drag your feet and let things be forgotten in time and get back to the business as usual. I would bet that by the time the board makes any wortwhile decision, the whole mess will have gone to court, be tried and settled. It is time to move forward, let those you have hired do their jobs, get back to your true duty and reinforce "student success", but not at "whatever it takes"; apparently we have already seen what happened with that. School starts soon, make the teachers as well as the students your current priority, provide them what they need now, not later in the year, after everyone is tired, worried and depressed over your inaction and inabilities. The dirty laundry you have accumulated will get washed in due time, just do not make it your current and apparently only priority. And yes, we will be watching!

The entire district is in

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 8:16pm
The entire district is in need of good bookkeeping policies and training. Check the agenda for the last meeting and look at the internal audit report for the schools. Many of the schools have violated policy on several occasions. Missing vouchers, checks not corresponding to purchases, purchase orders completed after the fact, and improper autorization. According to several of the individual reports, much of this at some of the schools was business as usual. Was there any discussion of letters of reprimand or talk of termnation? What it seems like after reading this document, is that maybe Monique got too greedy in such a short time and maybe someone felt she might have gotten more than her "(un)fair share". Granted, these are all intrior accounts, but collectively they spent more than $35,000.00 than they took in and all toggether they do have over a million dollars in reserve. I can't remember for sure, but isn't this one of the items they approved without discussion? When will the insanity stop?

This Item was discussed.

Submitted on Thu, 07/02/2009 - 10:31am
If you watched the meeting, John D pulled this item for discussion and he pointed out how many of these problems are reoccuring from year to year. He wanted to know what consequences this had on the evaluation of the principals of the schools. But the board member on the phone kept saying how great everything is and this is really nothing. Like everything else it appears no consequences.

A POSITIVE SUGGESTION

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 7:45pm
I was thinking that since these highly paid people working at the district with only high school diplomas....would they be willing to get a degree? Maybe this could be a compromise and show initiative on their part to keep their jobs and to make the taxpayers feel better about a high school graduate making over $70,000 a year. The only other option which I think is too harsh is to eliminate the position or rewrite the job description. I don't know these people but I think they did the best they could and if given the chance they would try to better themselves. However, if they don't have the mental capacity to get an online degree in business or whatever that department deals with, then we really have to wonder if they should be running the department. They would certainly show how the value the importance of an education by suggesting to the board (and they have 48 hours granted by the board to come up with suggestions for saving their jobs)that they educate themselves. This would send a positive message to the kids in the wake of all this unfortunate scandal and the board would send a message to teachers, with a degree and half the pay, that the board also values education. This message about the importance of education to earn your way in the world is what a school system should be emphasizing. If I were about to lose a high paying job like that, I would jump on the opportunity to prove myself.

YOU CAN'T GO TO COLLEGE TO GET COMMON SENSE...

Submitted on Fri, 07/03/2009 - 11:37am
The problem is that the Board wants to fire ALL the Randy supporters who work in administration. According to the Board (Andy, Steve, John and Duncan), if you meet at least 3 out 4 basic criteria, you lose your job! Simple! Here's the basic criteria: 1) You work in Administration, preferably in Key West, 2) You have openly supported Randy Acevedo in the past. 3) You're of Conch lineage. If you meet 1-3 above, then the Board will conclude: You are "incompetent", and therefore part of the "culture problem", which is code for "corrupt". That's it. You don't get a trial. You don't get a chance to save your job, The evidence is already against you, and the judge (in this case the Board) does not believe in "innocent until proven guilty", but rather guilty by association. By using a HEAVY HAND and firing as many as they can, they can hide behind the "I'm doing something about it"-mask. Too late, especially for the long-time Board members...WOW...WOW...WOW...HOW CAN THEY EVER GET BACK IN OFFICE? Only a few in the Finanance Department should probably be let go- or disciplined, but not for "incompetence", rather for "gross negligence" and "lack of judgement". And, if the finance clerks lose their jobs, shouldn't the state also fire it's auditors? They don't give you ethics or critical thinking schools in College as evidenced by two key facts: 1) The COLLEGE EDUCATED State Auditors did not catch in four consecutive years, what now seems blatant and gross financial error and corruption, and 2) the combined 50 years of experience of the School Board, with its "accountant", Doctorate-prepared folks, and savy "business" owners", DIDN'T UNCOVER THIS EARLIER. Afterall, it happened on their watch, did it not?

Degrees and Common Sense

Submitted on Fri, 07/03/2009 - 4:54pm
I have never read a "College Degree" that states that common sense and strong work ethic was taught or accomplished..Higher education is great for expanding oneself but no where in the USA or any other country is there listed course work in common sense and work ethics (meaning that the person working believes in doing their job to the fullest and not half hearted)..The 'slash and burn' attitude that the School Board and in particular two board members, and they know who they are, is the Obama way of doing things..So far Obama's way has not help anyone with the exception of a few on the inner circle..The same thing is happening now with the actions of the School Board.. They have difficult enough of a job, they don't need to throw in political and personal agenda..Before all of this is over it will be shown that a or several of the elected board members have had assistance from the outside in their proposed dismantling of the local "culture" that some on the board preceive to be in place.. Its a shame that those members have wasted their time getting their "degrees".. And why have they not taken a pay cut, they have other jobs and/or businesses that make plenty of money and they do not do one sixth of the work in the district that the workers within the district do. If fact many doubt that the board members could even do the work that the workers in the district do with the exception of Dr. Walker and Dr. Matherson (SP?)..It looks as if they are trying to add two and two and get six and they are having a problem even adding..Lets not forget folks these people are getting 30k + in salaries of taxpayers monies and doing away with teachers and admin folks that don't have the monies coming in like the board members...Still common sense and a strong work ethic is not on College Degrees and is not taught in Colleges and Universities...

School Board

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 7:08pm
What diversity in a school board! 2 MIGHTY OAKS and 3 pansies.

Perfect metaphor

Submitted on Fri, 07/03/2009 - 11:23am by 50 year resident of Marathon and voter
Hooray for John and Steve!

School Board

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 6:55pm
If we should require people in supervisory positions to hold a certain college degree (I agree--or we should at least publicly advertise these positions), why would we prohibit the degreed people who live here from taking a Superintendent position? Don't stereotype anyone who lives in the Keys, or anywhere else. Perhaps we should exclude Keys residents from serving on the Board. Maybe then they wouldn't sway with the wind every time a voter calls...

Deputy Superintendent

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 6:50pm
All of the Deputy Superintendent tasks were divided up at the district when Mrs. St. James left, then Mr. Henriquez was quietly made Deputy (receiving raise with less duties?). There are several assistants in the district office who do a fabulous job helping the acting superintendent. Won't a new Superintendent want their own 'trusted and esteemed associate' to serve as their Deputy? While Mr. Henriquez may deserve a place in the district, for the school board to suggest that he serve in that capacity for the next year to keep things the same is ludicrous. The favoritism in pay and the silent advertisement for positions needs to change. Compare all of the principal's/AP salaries with their years of experience--you will find patterns with the bubbas.

Where can we see this pay

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 8:59pm
Where can we see this pay comparison?

All salaries

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 10:04pm
can be requested at the district office.

Mr. Fraga, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Martin

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 6:37pm
Since they have already reached retirement, will they be working at starting pay-not modified Step 0--for their positions?

It's amazing how the Randites get cocky after the gang of three

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 6:28pm
And that moron henriquez push through another corrupt ruling. The arguements portrayed here by the Randite crowd are just hot air. Remeber Randites your boy is the one who was arrested and who is going to trial! Steve and John will get the job done! Don't get overconfident bubbas your corrupt rule is near!

That arrogance will be their downfall

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 8:48pm by *.*
Crooks are crooks - and those who support crooks are just as filthy.

People backing Steve and John D. want facts

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 5:54pm
Well how about for the past 2 years, while they both were on the School Board, there were 96 people with "P" cards. Anyone with any common sense knows that was a disaster waiting to happen, and happen it did.

Of those 96 how many are

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 9:01pm
Of those 96 how many are guilty of doing something illegal where the cards are concerned? I have onlt heard of Monique. Seems like everyone else was doing it the right way.

Dori Collins, Mark Hooper, Freeman

Submitted on Thu, 07/02/2009 - 10:35am
those are three more right now that you somehow missed.

Illegal activities

Submitted on Thu, 07/02/2009 - 11:09pm
But did they do anything illegal? I haven't heard about them other than that they spent a lot of money on stuff. Did they buy things for personal use?

Re: OHHHHHHHHH GOOD DETECTIVE WORK

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 4:46pm
No problem. I have it and working on more. It just takes a little time as Chi-town is almost 1600 miles away. I'm just trying to get the point across that people are not always who they purport to be. What I don't have hard copies of I have date stamped screen caps. Come on guys do your research and DD on these people. It didn't take much for me to find and post the info on the MBA, CPA license etc. Be an informed taxpayer and citizen. Quit being little sheepies. People who live in glass stones should not try and throw houses. Stay tuned !!!

Witchhunt?

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 5:46pm
I can't remember who is on a witch hunt and who isn't?

Lets make it fair and get

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 4:36pm
Lets make it fair and get rid of the Henriquez clan, Primbansky clan, Acevedo clan, Dick clan, Walker clan, Matthewson clan, Reitzel clan, Andy clan, who am I leaving out. They are all incompetent and useless and have failed the taxpayers.

RE: Let's make it fair

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 6:45pm
You left out the Fraga clan

Neither Steve P. nor Acevedo

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 4:22pm
Neither Steve P. nor Acevedo know how to manage their own finances. How can they preach to us about running a school district. They are both a complete joke.

Ahhh, A 3rd Party Rises Up...LOL

Submitted on Fri, 07/03/2009 - 11:39am
imgaine that?

Re: rebroadcast

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 3:46pm
Somebody please record and post on youtube.

Re: You are boring us all - Another Foreclosure

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 3:32pm
Here is another "lie" that I guess isn't true either. I wonder who had the property at 344 E Hillside Avenue, Barrington, Ill 60010 foreclosed on them on June 18, 2002. I can't figure out who it is, maybe you can.... http://chicago.blockshopper.com/property/01011260600000/344_e_hillside_a...

Who CARES?

Submitted on Thu, 07/02/2009 - 11:00am by 50 year resident of Marathon and voter
Get over it. Once again, Steve is not the one who has been indicted for anything. FOCUS on the issues. Just another Randy/Lydia supporter who wants to muddy the waters.

PERHAPS STEVIE P DID GO TO THE MADOFF

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 3:57pm
School of Finance?? or lack thereof, like it was said earlier, the higher the pedestal Stevie the harder the fall. Maybe you should put on a few more pounds to cushion the fall ; )

Just heard that HTA (ed

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 10:03pm by M
Just heard that HTA (ed swift) hired Randy to redo his computer system and is paying him over $100,000 a year. I guess Spottswood couldn't compete with this amount for security.

job at HTA

Submitted on Thu, 07/02/2009 - 11:22am by 4:25am by N. Sane
Is this $100k job thing a joke? Due to the high level of ludicrousness to which we have been subjected in this whole miasma, it's hard to tell fact from fiction anymore.

OHHHHHHHHH GOOD DETECTIVE WORK

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 3:45pm
WELL DONE!!!! ,I would like to see a site go up with ALL of the P lies with all of the documentation. So they can see it for themselves in BLACK AND WHITE

Blast from the past!

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 6:18pm
Maybe Dr. Lockwood would be willing to pay for it again like he did during Steve's campaign. Way to go Lydia! NOT!!!!!

Stevie P. can get Padgett and Weimer to fund

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 10:45pm
Stevie P. Can get Allen Weimer to fund another ficticious lawsuit and get Padgett to fund his campaign also. Since we know Stevie P. doesn't have any of his own money. And that fact eats him up.

Are you stupid?

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 6:12pm
So what if Steve P. Had a bad run on his finances. If I remember going bankrupt or into foreclosure or not being able to pay your realestate taxes is NOT a crime! Hey Randy did not break any laws when he did not pay his mortgage for several months. Hey it was not a criminal act when he could have paid the mortgage easily at this time. He and monique did make over $200K a year! What was totally obnoxious is that allegedly they were stealing us taxpayers blind and still letting the bills go unpaid! Hey I guess those caviar sunglasses were more important. Hey what's more incredible is how they [allegedly] used the p-card to finance Randy's campaign. Now that's criminal!

My Observation

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 3:29pm
As I was reading through the comments posted on this particular article, I couldn't help but find a common thread in the anti Dick & Pribramsky posts. They either focus on the false check writing incident that was created by Lydia in order to steal votes from Steve or they just resort to name calling for the both of them. At least the posts praising John and Steve usually reference some facts or specific actions they have taken just like many of the posts that attack Randy, his administration, and the other three board members. I guess what I am saying here is that it is very clear to me that Steve and John are despised by some, not because of anything they have done, but rather for the pinciples and ideals they represent. Some of the more vocal Conchs/bubbas would much rather project their failures and inadequacies on these two gentlemen then deal with the problems that have been created by Randy, his wife, his administration, and the other three board members. It is truly a sad state of affairs.

I agree with your observation

Submitted on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 3:49pm
The projection is very clear and ugly in these anti board member posts. they don't like the heat...but keep it stoked Dick and Pribramsky.!!.I would hate to see either one of you start to move under the covers with the others. These nasty posts just indicate that you have gotten to them and they will slander, name call and threaten to get you two to back off. They are misguided and misdirected in their anger and hatred.
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