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"I REALLY THINK WE ARE MISSING THE POINT"

6 Comments -

1 – 6 of 6
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kevin: It is naive to think the mayor didn't know anything until Tuesday afternoon. For all we know, he was trying for the past two weeks to get the board to reconsider their decision because it was obviously flawed in many ways, Adamowski's bonus manipulations notwithstanding, and upon being unable to do that diplomatically, he was forced to go the public opinion route. It is likely he worked until the last minute to persuade the BOE, and only upon meeting a deaf ear, did he call the press conference to get the results we now thankfully have. Nobody asked him how long he was working this problem before calling the press conference, and as you well know, when you can't get people to come to the table, getting your position before the public(via the press)is the time honored method of political last resort.

February 24, 2011 at 7:13 AM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Unbelievable, Kevin. The story couldn't have been better told plus great opinion and rationale. Only point missing was one captured by Jeff Cohen of NPR regarding the influence of Elizabeth Horton-Sheff and others involved with the historic lawsuit and state takeover of Hartford schools. This quasi-secret coronation was an affront to that mostly open process that took place over many years.

All politicians can be accused of poorly handling situations, including Dr. Kishimoto. Her unsavvy comments reported in de la Torre's Courant article rule her out for future consideration.

As for Pedro, he had enough with the bogus bonuses, the incredibly inappropriate internal lobbying, as well as concerned phone calls from those who have been involved with the Hartford public school makeover for years. So he blew, albeit late as per usual.

Another day, another Hartford political debacle. Let's move on and see if Hartford can't get a search done correctly for these kids and if more overdue changes are made at the school board's HQ.
I'm willing to bet you'll have more dirt to report shortly, Kevin, so let's all stay tuned.

February 24, 2011 at 8:10 AM

Anonymous The King said...

David Medina is an incompetent hack. He should be fired.

February 24, 2011 at 11:59 AM

Anonymous Sick of Hartford Politics said...

The first Anonymous is right. More had to happen in the last week or two.

"It is likely he worked until the last minute to persuade the BOE, and only upon meeting a deaf ear, did he call the press conference to get the results we now thankfully have. Nobody asked him how long he was working this problem before calling the press conference, and as you well know, when you can't get people to come to the table, getting your position before the public(via the press)is the time honored method of political last resort."

Try and get the real story. This could not have been some last minute thing by Segarra.

February 24, 2011 at 12:25 PM

Anonymous peter brush said...

I think we have lost sight of the real culprit.
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Personally, I'm not looking for culprits. What this episode demonstrates is not news; the chain of command within Ct. school districts, particularly Htfd.'s, is a confusing tangle.
Pedro probably honestly believes he has some sort of authority over the schools, and the board probably believes it owes some duty to him as the CEO of the municipality.
Even with those erroneous understandings of their roles, our guys could have avoided a wreck. Pedro should simply shut up about the selection process, or made a "request" with less fanfare at an earlier date. Alternately, the Board should have politely thanked Pedro for his advice, and given Kishimoto a three year term. Any hub-bub of outrage would have died out in due course.

Medina probably was out of line, but it's not at all clear to me that the situation has been improved by the Mayor. Look at it this way. The Board had conducted a valid "search;" one meeting State rules. It had a candidate who was qualified, who had experience with the Hartford school system, and who understood the "reforms" underway. Let's imagine, without asserting, that the Board is not the most competent organization that ever came down the pike. Is it obvious or even likely that the Board will a.)avoid botching a second search, and b.)come up with a candidate manifestly superior to Kishimoto?

February 24, 2011 at 1:22 PM

Anonymous peter brush said...

"All these years we were going back and forth, back and forth, without any stability," said Ross-Ellis, the president of the parent-teacher organization at Weaver High School. "Stability is what I was looking for."
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Sounds reasonable to me. I had a kid in the system not that many years ago; rotating Supers, State "takeover" (as if the State weren't in charge in the first place). There's a (conservative) virtue in stability, continuity. I really think Pedro and McDonald owe a fuller explanation.

February 24, 2011 at 6:56 PM

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