Harner declines TPS offer!

April 30th they will meet to decide what to do next. Report coming.

I'm listening now...a lot of "shifting". I wish Ms. Jackish would get "shifted" away from Old Orchard...

Until the lion writes his own story, the tale of the hunt will always glorify the hunter (African proverb)

Here is the report, very weak but this is it:

First I got there after citizen comments and mostly through executive session around 6:30 or so. Apparently things got hot when Larry Sykes threatened to arrest Claudia Cooper for something. I did not see it, maybe someone can elaborate. Due needing to accomplish some tasks for tomorrow, I could not make it on time. They came back around 7 or so and made the announcement that Harner withdrew his name.

Then with union input, AFSME said that they wondered when they were going to get a new levy because workers are tired of not having raises and they are paying more than ever.

The only other main thing that was discussed was a resolution supporting putting the (wrongly labeled) constitutional school funding amendment on the ballot. The group wanted boards to support it so that the district can go out and get signatures. Darlene Fisher asked some questions about the amendment questioning it. It passed 4 to 1 with Fisher the dissenting vote.

The sad thing about the whole meeting was the negotiations fell through

Now that the charade is over and Sykes and Steel do not have to pretend like they were seriously considering Mr. Harner any longer they will go ahead and give the job to Mr. Foley. This was the plan from the start with the sanction of Ms. Noeske.

I am really pissed that I went to the public forums at 7:30 in the morning to meet the candidates thinking that the process would be fair, if the public was watching.

I have attended and taken part in the entire process to get a new superintendent, other than the one Sanders left behind to guard the henhouse.

Does the public really care about what is taking place On Manhattan?

What is wrong in Toledo that we settle on being a city "of the future." Why don't we want a "right now city" that we and our children can prosper in?

NO LEVY!!!!

There are a lot of reasons to get negotiations done quickly after a decision to hire is made. This type of situation is more likely to occur the longer it drags out. Events crop up in a ten week plus time frame that can complicate a decision such as Paul Vallas' decision on April 12 - http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_top_left_story/20070412_Vallas_to_le...

Harner undoubtedly is a strong candidate to replace Vallas - much larger salary, does not have to move and uproot his family, knows the district and problems, etc.

If this deal had been done in March as it should have been, my belief is Harner would have been signed.

Larry Sykes was responsible for the negotiations in 2000 and they let him lead the negotiations this time. He never wanted Harner and he got his way through delay.

We need to demand that Sykes and the board tell us what really happened. It does not look good for this district to keep bungling "everything". Is it any wonder with leadership like this in this city that everyone is leaving. What is the old adage - you don't want to be the last one out turning off the lights. What a shame!

totally confused. This whole mess reeks of dead fish and backroom deals.

I do have to agree somewhat with LisaRenee about the true evaluation of Harner's willingness to stay with the District if he was offered something else AFTER he was hired here. But now we will never know if that is on target or not.

Foley seems to be a nice man, but I am not convinced that he has what it takes to make the hard decisions, stand by them, and survive the fallout associated with such a task. We need a no-nonsense, take no prisoners type of superintendent that has the stuff to stand up to the demons.

The idea that this devastating news is released and the next 'comment' is from AFSCME asking for more money.......well, that just tells me that they (AFSCME) don't care what happens to the district as long as they get their dollars. That leads me to believe that they don't give two hoots about the district, the schools, or the kids.

I am just beside myself. I feel like I'm stuck watching a bad movie - over and over and over....

AND - the next time I hear "it's for the kids" as an excuse for a levy??? I'm probably going to need bail money!

Question. How was it obvious to you that Harner was not the right fit? Were you involved in any of the Public Forums that TPS had to question and talk to the three candidates?

While Harner was not my first choice, he was my second. I was involved in the interview process and was very impressed with the answers to all of the questions.

First of all he said that the mission was first. The mission are the children. He stated that he had just met with the unions and that they were concerned about their safety. He said that they can not lose sight of the mission and that is to educate the children.

I asked him about diversity in the teaching ranks. He was stunned that this question was even asked as he said that diversity was very important in a school system. In the district where he was, he said that there were only three minority teachers in a student population of minorities (Hispanic). Within a short amount of time he had increased the minority teaching staff to 16 (mainly men and Hispanic). He said that he didn't care how it happened or where they came from, all children need minority teachers, Men, Black, Hispanic and he would see to it that Toledo recruited more minority teachers.

So for him not to be a good fit would require the mindset and the culture of exclusion that would require TPS to stay the same, approximately 12,000 black students, 200 black teachers, 43 hispanic teachers out of a pool of 1598, of which 400 are male. These numbers are atrocious! Harner would have had a fight but he would have changed that!

50,000 days of suspension which is punitive and does not change behavior and no end in sight. He was committed to change that.

The way that the media twists the news is appalling. "Harner turns down Toledo," when in actuality Toledo turned down Harner. To get Foley!

When did anyone ever receive an announcement that they had been selected as the 'pick' for a job...wait around for a month or more and then have to make an offer TO the hiring party?

I'm just asking because one of my skills is business consulting - and have been consulting for years for a select few clients - NONE of us have ever heard of this practice.

Have you?!

I did not know the answer to the question, which is why I asked.

As stated, he was my second choice and I felt that he would start the process of change.

We all know that the media drives a person's opinion. It is better to me but not always possible to actually talk to the person and get a feel for what they are about.

Whatever "Harnergate" is or was, the fact that he had the courage to discipline a teacher is unique.

I don't expect everyone to understand this statement but I just returned from a suspension hearing where the teacher just outright lied (on paper, didn't have to courage to attend and lie face to face to the parent) and should be disciplined, but that won't happen.

This comment is from todays Blade article. And I am truly confused now.

"Residency was the issue and where his daughter would go to school," Mr. Sykes said. "We were not going to agree to let him live in Ottawa Hills, ..."

And this makes sense why??? The TEACHERS don't have to live in the district, so why would the Super? If residency is a requirement, then TPS better start making darned sure that the teachers live IN the district and they don't send their own children to private/parochial schools!

This truly sounds like more Sykes BS to me!

From what I've read in the Blade Harner was hired, and then negotiations began on his compensation package. I've always known what I would receive before I took a job. It seems rather unprofessional to me.

Of course, we aren't talking about professionals, but rather the Board of Education of TPS. I am assuming that Mr. Harner thought he was wanted badly enough that he could write his own ticket, and the Board decided, belatedly, otherwise.

Where does that leave the taxpayer? Mr. Foley, being human, could put the screws to the Board. He was passed over for someone who looked "better", but who was too expensive (both financially and in the loss of prestige to the "leaders" in the community). Do we really need a "leader", or just a fall guy when things begin to go badly next time there is an "education crisis"? How much do you compensate some fool for that? Maybe we are all better off just letting one parent quit his/her own job, and homeschooling the brats.

WTOL has the story. WSPD too I think.