Seckman Pom Squad Asks To Stay at Hard Rock Hotel in 2015

The Seckman High School Pom Squad is asking the Fox C-6 school board for permission to attend the 2015 National Dance Competition in Orland Florida and stay at the Hard Rock Hotel. Yes. It's the same hotel that our administrators stayed at in June 2013 during the MarzanoGate Conference. At least the pom squad asked for permission to do so.

Please download and review the October 2014 Fox C-6 School Board Meeting Packet from the district website ahead of next week's meeting on Tuesday October 21, 2014.

The board packet is the same information that is provided to the school board members to review each month prior to school board meetings. Nowadays, the board packets are made available to the board a week before the meeting. The board packets used to be provided to the board members on the Friday before the meeting.

Some information is still provided to the board the night of the meeting in their Late Materials.

One item you'll notice in this month's board packet is a request for permission from the school board to allow the Seckman Pom Squad to attend the National Dance Competition at the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlanda Florida.

In 2013, former Fox C-6 Superintendent Dianne Critchlow told then Assistant Superintendent Tim Crutchley that if the pom squad could stay at the Hard Rock Hotel then the staff could stay there too. That's why they upgraded from the $99 per night DoubleTree Hotel to the $350 to $550 per night Hard Rock Hotel for the June 2013 Marzano Conference in Orlando Florida.

June 2013 Fox C-6 Administrator
Hard Rock Hotel Lodging Costs

The difference here is that I don't recall seeing any requests in board packets from former superintendent Dianne Critchlow asking the school board for their permission to take trips to their training conferences like each of the school teams and groups are required to do.

Use the link below to review the October 2014 Fox C-6 board meeting packet. On page 208 you will find the Seckman pom squad asking for permission to travel to the 2015 National Dance Competition to be held in Orlando Florida in March 2015.

If the direct link to the board packet below doesn't work then use the link to the Board Packet folder for 2014-2015 and click on the October 21, 2014 board packet document.

Review the October 2014 Fox C-6 Board Packet

2014-2015 Fox C-6 Board Packets Folder

Perhaps it was much easier to take luxurious trips to conferences and hope that no one found out rather than ask the board for permission ahead of time. When your district has $600,000 in training funds to use, you have to spend it somewhere.

And if your high school pom squad can stay at the more expensive hotel then so can your staff. Let's not forget the fact that the conference hotel at the DoubleTree was only $99 a night and was first booked for the 2013 Marzano Conference. It's just that the DoubleTree Hotel didn't advertise that you could Live Like a Rock Star!

Attend the Next Board Meeting
Plan to attend the Tuesday October 21, 2014 Fox C-6 school board meeting so you can ask your school board questions about what's been happening in our school district.

You might want to ask them about the recent statements in the Letters to the Editor section of this week's Leader newspaper. Several people wanted to know why former Fox C-6 superintendent Dianne Critchlow hasn't already been arrested for stealing and fraud.

Thursday October 16, 2017 Leader Newspaper
Letters to the Editor

You may also want to read Patrick Martin's Editorial page as well comparing former Fox C-6 superintendent Dianne Critchlow's departure to former Fox C-6 superintendent Diane Bourisaw's departure from the district.

It's somewhat strange how the Leader has turned from supporting Diane Brown-Critchlow to finally noticing and publishing that there was a problem with the leadership in the Fox C-6 district. Some of my Letters to the Editor never got published in the past regarding my "concerns in the district" as Dianne Critchlow liked to document them in the board meeting minutes.

I sent an email to Patrick Martin and Kim Robertson in February 2011 regarding the online posts that were being made on Topix. My email was brushed off in an editorial as online name calling. It was much more than simple name calling that was linked back to the Critchlow's home.

Thursday October 16, 2014 Leader Newspaper Editorial

The Paper Trail Keeps Growing!

It's evident from the small amount of information that's been uncovered so far that every single credit card purchase made by several of Fox C-6's administrators on their district credit cards will have to be reviewed and scrutinized. The charges placed on the Discover card of other district employees will have to be reviewed as well. It's well documented that Dianne Critchlow used other district cards for purchase as well.

It's not just enough to look at a single charge from a hotel. Each of the charges on the hotel bill itself must be scrutinized as well. The Hard Rock Hotel invoices have charges for restaurants, ice cream, hot dogs and parking charged to their rooms.

You can review the charges from the Hard Rock Hotel invoices from the June 2013 Marzano Conference in Orlando using the link below. None of the meal charges and parking fees were documented in the Leader or on the recent You Paid For It! news story:

June 2013 Hard Rock Hotel Receipts

Federal Dollars For Professional Development
Title II Professional Development Funds can be used as "incentives" to train and recruit high quality teachers and principals. Fox used the "incentive" funds for fun getaways and everyday meals. Those seem like great incentives.

Professional development is how many of the charges were explained and we've been told there are explanations for every charge!

Just because there are explanations doesn't necessarily make them valid. I've been searching and reading documents concerning allowable and unallowable uses of Title II Professional Development funds. Food could be an incentive. But, I'm not sure that it truly qualifies as Professional Development when eating at McDonald's.

You can read more about Title II and Professional Development subgrants from the U.S Department of Education here:

Title II: Preparing Training and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals 

More Demands for Repayment
Last Friday I was emailed a copies of more Demand for Repayment letters that were sent to former Fox C-6 superintendent Dianne Critchlow. One of them had a copy of a receipt from McDonald's for lunch that was purchased on Saturday April 5, 2014 while she was on Family Medical Leave. The McDonald's receipt was documented as Professional Development.

The demand letter from Fox's CFO had the following comment regarding the McDonald's receipt:

District records indicate that you were on FMLA during that timeframe. So, on a Saturday while you were on FMLA you supposedly engaged in a professional development activity that justified the purchase of food from McDonald's at District expense. Frankly, there is nothing believable about that scenario.

The above comment sums up a lot of what's been done and said by Dianne Critchlow while she was superintendent of Fox C-6. Many things were not believable. There is plenty of documentation to back that up.

September 30, 2014 Demand for Repayment Letter to Dianne Critchlow for Golf Tournament and McDonald's Professional Development Lunch

Every Credit Card Charge Must Be Reviewed

Because Critchlow shattered the trust of the taxpayers, we must look at each and every purchase to determine how much taxpayer dollars were used for her own personal use. Just looking at the April 2014 VISA statement included in the demand letter above, there are multiple charges that are questionable.

Why would Critchlow be shopping at Hobby Lobby with her District credit card while on FMLA?

I don't have the exact dates for her FMLA but it was only 2 days before the McDonald's meal which was documented as being purchased while she was on FMLA.

Critchlow went shopping at the South County Wireless Freedom store the day before she ate at McDonald's. What did she purchase there? Was it more cellular phone cases or spare batteries? We'll need to see that receipt as well.

Then you have to wonder what she purchased at Hobby Lobby and Walmart for more than $240+ dollars that were used for school. What are on those receipts?

Those purchases are similar to the ones at Target in December 2011 when she purchased the Nikon 1 digital camera, spare lens, battery and memory cards right before her daughter's wedding. There's really no telling as to how much taxpayer dollars were spent on personal use items.

The charges listed below are the charges that were listed on Dianne Critchlow's April 21, 2014 VISA card statement:

• 04/03/2014 - Hobby Lobby        - $89.14 (For what?)
• 04/04/2014 - Wireless Freedom - $79.19 (cell phone cases/batteries?)
• 04/05/2014 - Shell Oil                - $85.06  (Yukon has a 31 gallontank)
• 04/05/2014 - McDonald's           - $11.79 (Professional Development?)
• 04/11/2014 - Walmart                - $152.00 (Gift cards?)
• 04/14/2014 - Panera Bread        - $31.19 (More PDC?)
• 04/17/2014 - Shell Oil               - $45.37

Critchlow didn't make that many purchases on her district VISA card in April 2014 compared to other months. But, every receipt must be reviewed and scrutinized because trust has been lost and everything must be questioned.

Critchlow was quoted as saying that she welcomed an audit. Perhaps she thought a State Audit would be similar to a Dan Jones & Associates audit which just samples some data to see if things look OK. This State Audit report should be an eye opener compared to the 2002 audit.

Critchlow had already been informed by her Internet Service Provider in April 2014 that her name and address was being provided due to a law suit for libelous and derogatory comments that had been linked to computers in her home.

Everyone seems to be amazed as to how bold Critchlow was in her spending of taxpayer dollars for personal use. You get the impression that she thought that no one would ever see or review the credit card statements. She certainly wasn't supplying the credit card statements to the school board as required by District policy. She tried to charge me $170 to get copies of them per my April 2014 Sunshine Request knowing that I wouldn't pay for data that should have already been provided to the school board for free.

Have you found yourself shaking your head side to side lately in disbelief?

I think almost everyone has. Just watch someone when they start reading an article in the paper or on this blog or on the news to see if they do what so many have been doing lately of shaking their head in disbelief.

For more unbelievable information, check out Dianne Critchlow's Amazon.com orders that she had shipped directly to her house. The receipts are listed in the demand letter below:

October 3, 2014 Demand for Repayment Letter for Amazon.com Purchases

Below is a copy of the Demand for Repayment Letter sent to Dianne Critchlow for the After Football Game Party she threw for Administrators and charged to Professional Development:

October 2, 2014 Demand for Repayment Letter for Qdoba Mexican Grill Party Food!

It's going to take a long time to go through all of the receipts and recoup taxpayer money. What a waste of time!

Fox C-6 On You Paid For It! Again - New Sunshine Request Sent to Fox C-6 - Updated 10/14/14!

After watching last night's Fox 2 News You Paid For It story about the MarzanoGate Conference from June 2013 I emailed a new request to the district requesting electronic copies of all receipts as well as any letters sent out and invoices sent to Dianne Critchlow that were associated with the Marzano Conference. The You Paid For It! news story hasn't been posted to the website yet but I will link to it when it becomes available.

It appeared from the news story that Dianne Critchlow is blaming Tim Crutchley and the school board for allowing Tim Crutchley to book the expensive rooms at the Hard Rock Hotel in June 2013 at the Marzano Conference.

It was stated during the news story by Critchlow's attorney that the board was blindly approving charges. Dianne Critchlow should know that it's difficult to approve individual credit card charges if the credit card statements aren't provided to the school board members in their board packets each month.

When asked to provide the credit charges in the board packets, my request was ignored. It would appear that Critchlow didn't want to provide the credit card statements to the board since they weren't provided to them while she was superintendent.

Critchlow also asked that I be charged $170 to obtain the credit card statements for the 2013-2014 school year when I made a Sunshine request for them in April 2013. The credit card statement should have been public record and should have already been provided to the school board each month but they weren't.

Pausing the video from the news story showed an email from Fox CFO John Brazeal dated October 3, 2014 that was addressed to: To Whom It May Concern. While reading the letter on the TV I noticed there was a comment from Dianne Critchlow to Tim Crutchley about booking the rooms at the Hard Rock Hotel. Below you'll find a copy of the email that was displayed during the news story that I typed in from the video on Friday October 10, 2014.

After I posted this article and made another Sunshine Request for the letter below I received a copy of the letter and documents from Fox's CFO Friday morning October 10, 2014. The "To Whom It May Concern" letter contained Marzano Conference related lodging receipts and hotel reservations. It did not contain any receipts for any of the non-room related meals or the car rental receipts.

The Fox 2 News You Paid For It story and the October 9, 2014 Leader article didn't point out the charges for Value Parking, Self Parking and Meals that were charged to the hotel rooms during the conference as documented below.

To Whom It May Concern Letter
In reviewing the To Whom It May Concern letter and receipts, you will notice the following:

• The original reservations for 7 people at the DoubleTree conference hotel for $99 per night made on January 11, 2013 (Exhibits A-1 & A-2).
• Registration confirmation for the Marzano conference ($4100) Jan 11, 2013. (A-3)
• The reservations for the Hard Rock Hotel made on February 26, 2013. (B-1, B-2, C-1 & C-2)
• The Hard Rock Hotel Orlando Invoices (Exhibits D-1 through D-6)
• Dianne and Jamie Critchlow paid for meals and Valet Parking on their room tab (D-1)
• Valet Parkin - $25 / day
• Emack & Bolio - $26.52
• Beach Club - $145.78
• The Kitchen - $49.54
• Beach Club - $162.12
• Tim Crutchley and Kristen Pelster paid for a meal on their room tab. (D-2)
• The Kitchen - $99.07
• Self Parking Fees of $18 / day
• Dan and Angie Baker had charges for a meal and the Minibar on their room tab. (D-3)
• The Kitchen - $95.07
• Minibar - $16.90
• Stacy Dockery and her spouse charged food to their room tab. (D-4)
• Expo Hot Dog - $6.05
• NASCAR Sports Grille - $41.78
• Andy Arbeitman and his spouse charged self parking to their room tab. (D-5)
• Self Parking - $18 / day
• Jeremy Donald and his wife charged a meal to their room tab. (D-6)
• The Kitchen - $45.54

MarzanoGate Conference Public Letter

and Lodging Receipts

DATE:  October 3, 2014

TO:       To Whom It May Concern 

FROM: John Brazeal, CFO 

RE:       Lodging costs at Marzano Conference - Orlando, Florida - June 2013

Public school districts are issued federal program Title II money for the purpose of providing professional development for educators. Unspent Title II money typically rolls over from one fiscal year to the next. Apparently by December 2012, Fox School District had an accumulation of unspent Title II money in excess of $600,00. In early 2013, an effort began to spend down the accumulation of professional development funds. 

In response to this situation, then superintendent Dianne Critchlow apparently identified several school related conferences scheduled to take place during 2013 and also identified various staff to attend the conferences. One of these conferences was the Marzano conference scheduled during June 2013 in Orlando, Florida. 

Requests for information about the conference have been received with a focus on the lodging costs. The remainder of this memo will outline the sequence of events, trip participants and lodging costs for the conference. 

On or about 1/11/2013, it appears 7 hotel rooms were reserved at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel at the entrance to Universal Orlando. See Exhibit A. The reservations were made for 4 nights each (6/18/2103 - 6/22/2013) at a nightly rate of $99 per night plus taxes. The names on the reservation were: 

Apparently, the DoubleTree reservations were later cancelled, because in February 2013 new reservations are made at the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando.

According to Tim Crutchley, Dianne Critchlow requested that he make reservations at the Hard Rock Hotel. Upon researching the cost and informing Dianne Critchlow, he was told that if the Pom squad could stay at the hotel, so could staff. He was instructed to make the reservations.

On 2/26/2013, 4 rooms were reserved at the Loews Hotels Hard Rock. The rooms were reserved for 4 nights each, arriving 6/18/2013, departing 6/22/2013. A one night deposit (rate plus tax) was charged to Discover credit card assign to Deborah Davis. The hotel weekday rate applied to the first three nights, while the higher weekend rate applied to the fourth night. The tax rate is 12.5%.

The room reserved for Dianne is listed as a "King Suite with Garden 2 Queen and Garden King". The before tax room rate for the first 3 nights was $1,095.30 per night, and the rate for the fourth night was $1,162.80. A room deposit of $1,232.21 was charged to the credit card representing 1 night at $1,095.30 plus tax of $136.91. See Exhibit B. (Note: Apparently this reservation...

Below is a link to the Fox 2 News You Paid For It news story:

MarzanoGate Conference on You Paid For It!

The saga continues....