The latest Landmark reports on the RBHS administration and board have added to my lack of confidence that intelligent and right actions will be taken concerning the school’s financial situation. The responses of Interim Superintendent David Bonnette and Assistant Principal Tim Scanlon to the Landmark’s questions about the RBTV’s spots violating the law further undermined trust in what they say.
I doubt that the administrators were ignorant of the state law prohibiting the use of the district’s resources to advocate for a yes vote on a referendum. Their ignorance would be bad enough. However, I think they thought they could get away with what was done. And they did, until the Landmark exposed it. My surprise is that RBTV director Gary Prokes complied with Scanlon’s directive to do something in violation of the law.
All this brings up the outrageous sweetheart deal that was previously made by board members led by Larry Herbst to give Tim Scanlon big raises for the years before his scheduled retirement, so that his pension amount would be greatly increased.
It’s a scam on the Teachers Retirement System pensions as well as the district’s funds. The TRS has tried to stop these underhanded deals, but the board devised a way to evade their efforts.
One other thing, why hasn’t the board proposed to the RBEA that the present teachers contract be renegotiated? There’s no contract agreement for salaries to be frozen at the present year’s amounts. A freeze means being paid the same amount currently being paid.
The Communities United for RBHS District 208 should not be putting out misleading or false information on this. Marketing gimmickry isn’t helping the school. RB is and has been an excellent school for most of its existence and is likely to remain so.
Fred Smith
North Riverside
