HanoverTaxpayer

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Like I've been saying all along on this topic my fellow taxpayers, The 2012 school board got their undies in a bunch, decided Kaiser needed to be gone before 2013's new members arrived. So they decided to underhandedly get rid of Kaiser in a non reversable way. I've seen the settlement agreement, (it's a matter of public record after all) and you don't pay out punitive damages if you haven't wronged someone. So they violated Kaiser's contract and state statute by their actions and 150K is gone for good. I've never had any dealings with Kaiser, but I am sure she did not do anything that warranted this kind of treatment. The agreement was also for the press release and forces Kaiser to be quiet about school business. There have been NO charges and NO wrongdoing by Kaiser, just personal bias and mismanagement of public funds by the school board. I guess we are lucky that Kaiser took their settlement, by violating her contract in this flagrant (and illegal) manner they opened the door to a lawsuit that she could have used to get a BUNCH more and won. Sit back and take it folks, 150K buys several teachers, Multiple support staff, several police officers (to guard our schools) or football stands, take your pick, they are gone for good.

January 11, 2013 4:52 pm on Hanover issues statement on school chief's departure
Well 911,
It's been a (long long) while since I graced a classroom seat with my keister, but it certainly is nice to get lessons on how things should be run at a normal school district. I have been doing some calling and pavement pounding today and there are a few discrepancies between what you say should be going on and what has been really going on. I don't for a minute doubt your word on any of the procedural things that you say should be done, don't get me wrong. It's just that they have not been getting done.

First off, let's all get one thing straight, there have been NO charges (formal or otherwise) filed against Kaiser by either the state board of accounts, attorney general or local police. There have been no charges of any type leveled against Kaiser by the school board either. All that happened was certain members of the board put her on administrative leave (with pay) and have refused to tell anyone why. This comes from an official document that was forwarded by someone who has filed a freedom of information act demanding to know what the deal is. The School District's response to the demand for information? "There are no charges against Carol Kaiser" Not one bit of evidence has been presented to anyone in the Lake County Sherriff's office showing any wrong doing involving Kaiser. The allegation against the Bookkeeper involves cash deposits from ECA's and Student fee payments and no one else was involved. The State board of accounts audit will be finalized in 6 weeks and it will bear this out.

I also did some asking about Bogathy, as you have said, everyone says that she is a good person who is working hard but struggling in her duties. In addition to what you said, I have found out that she has been certified by IASBO (Indiana Association of School Business Officers) as an assistant chief business officer. She has also almost completed their program to be certified as a chief business officer. Niether of the previous business managers had any IASBO certification at all. I am not exactly sure what else is needed to be a business manager of a school district. Perhaps 911 has some additional information? I am also unclear as to what the difference between “Director of business services” and a “Business Manager” is. The previous Business managers have not to my knowledge been accountants?

As to why Kaiser would be asked to leave, she wasn’t. She was placed on paid leave and then they offered her a huge settlement to get gone before the new board members came in. It’s my understanding that there was an agreement reached last week and the board voted on it. Just in the nick of time, how convenient.

When you say “Control Grab” it seems to have been done by direct board interference. This, according to sources has been going on for several years. Board members have been individually interfering with day to day business for several years now. This includes personnel measures, funding changes and editing the board agendas for personal reasons. Look at the timeline for the announcement of a football program a month before elections. Ask Kaiser (if she isn’t too busy laughing all the way to the bank) who ordered that to be put on the agenda.

As educational as this has all been, we have gotten off track of what Mwell wanted to know. Why pet projects have gone forward. This answer to this is that the school board of 2012 insisted that they do so to the detriment of much more important things such as playground equipment replacement, classroom funding and staffing. This was so certain board member(s) could be re-elected. Why else would something like a football program be announced so close to an election?
The board should be a watchdog for taxpayer money. That is their function. In this whole insane business, they have squandered our money and acted in their own personal best interests ignoring their duty to us as taxpayers. I certainly hope that in the future the voters will make the right choices and get rid of these people.

Finally 911, you are exactly right. The new board members certainly have their work cut out for them. If I were Mr. Wilkening and Mrs. Burkel, I’d be marching into the school business office and calling the school’s attorney and demanding to know what’s been going on. It’s their right as our duly elected officials. I am just wondering if they’ll be told they are “not trusted and don’t need to know” just like Pat Kocot was told last year….

January 04, 2013 8:28 pm on Hanover School Board accepts superintendent's resignation
911,
Thanks for your information, but unfortunately you are misinformed about how things are/were being handled at Hanover; according to what I've been told. For the past 4 years, the main budget has been developed under the guidance of the current Interim Superintendent (Richard Cook, who is an outsourcing contractor) and approved by the current school board. What you say about how things are USUALLY handled doesn't ever seem to apply to the Hanover school corp or their board. For example, statutes and contracts are USUALLY handled within the law. Additionally, school boards at other corporations USUALLY don't have secret meetings to conduct business. Other school boards also don't USUALLY sign 3 year contract extensions before foolishly goofing up the termination process of their superintendents. As far as what I posed about how things are handled, this is what I was told when I asked. Maybe we should call on the 7th and ask for clairification? I am certainly planning on lighting up some phone lines to find out more. As far as the lunch lady goes, I hardly believe that's her only qualification to be a business official. Does anyone really know anything about her or what she does? I haven't heard anything said about her other than a few lunch lady comments in posts here. Sounds like I need to shake the bushes some more and find out. If that's all she's got, questions, questions, questions. But what else is new around Hanover? I appreciate your comments 911, keep 'em coming, I will be first to agree if the facts show I am wrong. I am all about education and these classes in misconduct have certainly been educational.

December 30, 2012 10:05 pm on Hanover School Board accepts superintendent's resignation
The bookeeper thing and Kaiser are in no way related. There is an ongoing investigation by the State Attorney General and the Lake County Sherriff's office of the bookeeper. Kaiser is NOT under investigation by them. This comes from a buddy in the Sherriff's office who is close to the investigation. Watch and see if I am telling the truth...

December 29, 2012 4:50 pm on Hanover School Board accepts superintendent's resignation
Whoa! Time out Mwell, I am in no way minimizing your questions. I agree with you 100% about the need for classrooms, teachers and teaching supplies as a first priority. But the procedural things are also in no way meaningless. The board's violation of them has made it so they have to pay out a big settlement to Kaiser. If they had done as they should, she would have been gone within six months without costing a dime. How many books, how many supples and how many teacher's salaries you think this settlement would have paid for? Right now we have no idea the amount but I'll bet you my property taxes next year it ain't less than 50K. Not very meaningful I guess. I personally have no vested interest in how Hanover spends my money, I have no kids going there. I just expect my elected officials to spend my money wisely. Foolish and Idealistic I know. But on the subject of how money is spent and controlled by the school district, you are incorrect on several points in your post. The bookeeper does not control how money is budgeted or spent at the school she works for. She pays invoices, takes deposits and keeps track of where the money is. The superintendant does not direct where the funds go for each individual school. The superintendant supervises the buget process for the whole district and then gives the spending amounts to the individual schools. Where the money goes from there, the school administrator decides. What you've said is like blaming Mitch Daniels for the Cedar Lake Police Department not having enough funding. Simply not the case. I am apalled to hear you tell of the lack of funding for a class in our school system and I recommend you contact that school's administrator immediately when classes resume. I know I'll be calling as well. I tend to be long winded as a retiree, but please don't misunderstand, the kid's education is first and foremost. Extra things such as football should be funded after all other needs are met. The procedures and laws that have been violated by the school board are the reason that money that should be in the classroom won't be in 2013.

December 29, 2012 4:11 pm on Hanover School Board accepts superintendent's resignation
Mwell,
How about asking why school board agendas are edited by individual board members before they are shown to the public? That's a good question. How about another? Why were there only 3 members present for this board meeting (MJ, JM and DG) and why weren't the other two notified about the meeting at all? While the questions are flying, how about: How many teachers worth of salary is the board's burning need to get rid of Kaiser at the last minute going to cost us?

December 29, 2012 1:42 pm on Hanover School Board accepts superintendent's resignation
Absolutely. Right on the money Topheavy, in this case a fat settlement from the taxpayers money. Watch and see. Anyone out there actually think there was wrongdoing on Kaiser's part? Why a PAID leave and resignation WITH a settlement if so? The current board wanted her gone before the new members came in January, no other reason. Why else would they violate the law AND her contract to get rid of her this quickly? Questions need to be asked, make a point to ask Mary Joan,Julie Mueller or Dana Grinder if you see them around town... They are supposed to represent the best interests of the taxpayers, parents and Students right?

December 29, 2012 12:17 pm on Hanover School Board accepts superintendent's resignation
It's 114K a year plus benefits and the interim superintendent's name is Richard COOK not King....

I also agree that the taxpayers have a right to know. We already know part of it. The board playing their games. Whatever the board thinks Kaiser did was so serious that they had to have an Illegal meeting to suspend her, now it's not so bad, it can wait a month. Meanwhile the taxpayers have to cough up for TWO supers. Well, it was either abysmal negligence on the board and their lawyer or intentional. Got my popcorn popped and I'm waiting to see what new and innovative ways they can come up with to squander my hard earned dollars...

December 12, 2012 6:36 am on Schools chief to remain on leave
Swisher,
True about the state being higher than the board. Unfortunately the state audit (which is a regularly scheduled thing BTW) has nothing to do with this suspension. Here's why: The state board of accounts does their deal, then if they find wrongdoing they turn that info over to the state attorney general for prosecution. They don't get involved at the local level at all. The state police would have come in and made an arrest plain and simple. A high ranking friend of mine at Hanover community says the only thing that has been locked out at all was a school bookeeper's office for a couple of days and no one else has been locked out of anything. I would also think that your opinion would be the case, but according to my sickbed study of the applicable laws and guidelines the board can't meet or make ANY decisions or conduct ANY business without having a legal meeting. They haven't, so whatever they have done was contrary to the law and therefore invalid. Like I've said previously, IMO, it's a setup to give out a fat taxpayer funded settlement done by a School board that thinks they are the CIA or something and can do whatever they want whenever they want.
If we want to talk rumors, the one I've been hearing around town is that Kaiser scheduled a "Full Disclosure" meeting with the incoming board members and the current board is trying to get rid of her before they come in. The fat settlement is to keep her from blabbing all their dirty dealings and make her go away. Again that's a rumor. I personally am waiting to see what happens on Tuesday, More dirty deeds or honest transparent disclosure. Guess which I think's going to happen....

December 09, 2012 12:13 pm on Hanover superintendent on administrative leave
Blak,
It's not a matter of what Kaiser did or didn't do or what the school board can or can't do to her for whatever she allegedly did, It's a matter of board misconduct and what seems to be a deliberate indifference to the law. A point I'm sure her lawyer will be happy to use in court for a nice fat tax funded settlement.
The Fact of the Matter is: You can't take administrative action as a school board on ANYTHING without having a legal meeting, following the proper guidelines as laid out in the law. It flat out says so both in the law and the Hanover school corp.’s own bylaws. Even emergency meetings have to have notification AND be on certain specific subjects. They goofed up. Now their only recourse is to cough up a settlement or have the pants sued off them. Because any action they took is Illegal and will be overturned by any county judge the moment a motion is filed. If they had just gotten together for an executive session, made the decision to suspend her and notified her accordingly there wouldn't be this issue that's probably gonna eat up more of my hard earned tax dollars. To sum up: If Kaiser has done something wrong, I'll be the first one in line with the tar and feathers demanding they fire her. The problem with that is, the board failed to follow the law and their lawyer didn't warn them. I for one am looking forward to Tuesday’s meeting and watching the board squeeze the termination in with no explanation, at the end of the meeting when they won't allow any public comment. Just because they want her to have a fat payoff or fire her before the new board members start and find out all the unethical nonsense they’ve been pulling. Everyone bring your cameras, it sounds like a heckuva show. BTW they can't stop you from recording the meeting per the law...

December 08, 2012 12:16 pm on Hanover superintendent on administrative leave