Arbeitman Departing Fox on June 30, 2015 - He'll Get $66,647 Voluntary Incentive Separation Program Payout

The November 18, 2014 Fox C-6 board meeting packet was posted today. Below are a few key points from the board packet.

This article was updated at 7:45PM on Wednesday November 12, 2014 to include the KMOV News Channel 4 story from Russell Kinsaul at the bottom of the article. I also corrected the article to state that it is Dan Kroupa's sister-in-law that owns the Jewel Box Florist. It is NOT his sister. My apologies for the mistake.


Changes Made To VSIP at 11/03/2014 Board Meeting
Second Update at 11:30PM on Wednesday November 12, 2014. After watching the video from KMOV Channel 4 News, Mr. Brazeal stated that this program was for employees vested into the Public School Retirement System. However, that WAS NOT true prior to the November 3, 2014 Fox C-6 board workshop.

Fox's CURRENT board policies that are posted on the district website HAVE NOT BEEN UPDATED to reflect the changes made to the Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Program which became the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program.

What's Been Removed
In reviewing the changes made to the Voluntary Incentive Separation Program (VSIP) and just published for the first time yesterday in the November 18, 2014 Board Packet, the Requirement that a an employee must have completed a minimum of ten years of full-time service in the Fox C-6 School District in order to be eligible for the VSIP program HAS BEEN REMOVED!

Prior to November 3, 2014, Andy Arbeitman WOULD NOT have been eligible for the VSIP program.

I have assembled the November 3, 2014 Fox C-6 board meeting minutes from the November 18, 2014 board meeting packet as well as the new VSIP agreement and current board Policy 4740.1 to compare the old language to the new language for the Incentive Program.

If you read the board meeting minutes about the VSIP program, you'll notice that there was NO MENTION about the removal of the requirement to complete a minimum of ten years of full-time service in the Fox C-6 School District. It also wasn't mentioned during the board workshop that the 10 year requirement was being removed when the changes were presented to the board.

The new VSIP agreement refers to board policy GBN which DOES NOT EXIST. Board policy GBN is a Missouri School Board Association policy designation which Fox does not use. Fox uses school board policies created by our former law firm.

The new VSIP agreement also contains language that states that any employee accepting the new VSIP agreement "agrees to release any and all claims that the employee may have against the district, including the District's affiliates and subsidiaries, together with their respective members, directors, officers, agents and employees, and their attorneys, including but not limited to, claims for compensatory damages, emotional distress, loss of reputation, humiliation, embarrassment, costs, expenses and attorney's fees."

It goes on to state that, "Employee hereby waives, releases, remises, and forever discharges the School District, Board of Education, and their affiliates and subsidiaries, together with their respective members, directors, officers, agents, and employees, including their attorneys, whether in their respective individual of (typo) or official capacities, from any and all claims or other causes of action he or she may have against them, including, but not limited to, any alleged rights or claims arising under the Americans with Disabilities Act..."

There is a lot more release language contained in the new VSIP agreement. Basically, the updated VSIP has been written as a way for the district to do some CYA for any and all wrong doing of current and former employees and board members. It is a MUST READ document!

The new VSIP gives the appearance that the Incentive Program is now being used as "hush money". It's also giving away taxpayer money to those who would not have qualified before. The board needs to be questioned about this change. It is unacceptable!

Click on the link below to read the new VSIP agreement, the current Early Retirement Incentive policy and the November 3, 2014 board workshop minutes.

November 3, 2014 Fox C-6 Board Workshop Minutes and VSIP Changes

Below is what the current Fox C-6 Board Polices and Regulations state as requirements for the Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Program:

Regulation 4740.1 (Current Version)  /  4750 (2014 Draft Version)

Full-time staff members who meet all of the following conditions are eligible for early retirement pay upon leaving the employ of the Fox C-6 School District: 

1. Have completed a minimum of ten years of full-time service as an employee in the Fox C-6 School District 

2. Will have obtained a minimum of twenty years and no more than 31 years of credit in the Missouri Teacher Retirement System (as verified by the PSRS) or the Non-Teacher Retirement System (as verified by the NTRS (PEERS)) in the employee’s final contract year. The 20- 31 years of retirement system credit would include all out-of-state, in-state, or military credit purchased by the individual. This program will not be extended to individuals with more than 31 years of credit in the PSRS or NTRS (PEERS) or to those individuals with fewer than 20 years of credit in the PSRS or NTRS (PEERS).

The newer DRAFT version of the above Regulation is 4750. The newer DRAFT version of Fox's policies posted earlier this year have not yet been approved by the school board. It has the same language as Regulation 4740.1 with the exception that NTRS has been changed to PEERS.

Some Highlights from the November 18, 2014 Fox C-6 School Board Meeting Packet

Fox's November 18, 2014 Board Packet on District Site

• Assistant Superintendent Andy Arbeitman will be leaving the district June 30, 2015.
• Mr. Arbeitman will be paid $66,647.50 taking the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program.
  (See more below)
• Two IT 3 employees are receiving $10,000+ raises according to the Contract Modifications section of the board packet. The salary raises are as follows:
• $38,696 to $48,878
• $47,340 to $58,153
  View the Contract Modifications
• Board being asked to approve the updated Code of Ethics / Nepotism Policy as presented in the board packet.
  View the changes!
• Fox changed their Professional Development Plan to a Professional Learning Plan. The changes include updated amounts and approvals for travel and hotel stays as well as reimbursement requirements.
  View Professional Learning Plan Update
• Checks for Seckman Athletic Director Brad Duncan were printed as a separate report for easy abstention when approving checks. Brad Duncan is Fox C-6 board member Vern Sullivan's son.
• View Checks to Brad Duncan
• Checks for the Jewel Box Florist were printed on a separate report for easy abstention. The Jewel Box Florist is owned by the sister in-law of Fox C-6 board member Dan Kroupa.
  (NOTE: This post was corrected to properly reflect "sister in-law". My original post stated "sister" instead of "sister in-law". My apologies for the mistake.)
  View Checks to Jewel Box Florist
• Payment of Bills report as posted in the November 18, 2014 board packet.
  View Bill Payments Report
• A bridges teacher separated from the district on November 7, 2014. (NOTE: This information was in the Late Materials at the October 2014 board meeting but was never updated in the Public October 2014 board meeting packet.)

Mr. Arbeitman Departing from Fox

Mr. Arbeitman has only been working for the Fox C-6 district for a little over a year. He officially started working for the district on July 1, 2013. However, he was invited to and attended the MarzanoGate Conference in June 2013 by former superintendent Dianne Critchlow prior to officially worked for the district.

Mr. Arbeitman will be getting a very sweet deal from the Fox C-6 taxpayers if the school board approves the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program list on page 329 of the board meeting packet. Acting superintendent Tim Crutchley is asking the school board to "Approve, as presented, participants in the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program." at the November 18, 2014 Fox C-6 school board meeting.

If the board approves the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program list, Mr. Arbeitman will receive a payment of $66,647.50 for leaving the district at the end of the 2014-2015 school year.

11-18-2014 Staff Separations and Voluntary Separation Incentive Program Participant List from Board Packet

Would you approve this payment of $66,647.50 if you were on the Fox C-6 school board?

What are the requirements for being able to receive the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program?

UPDATED @ 7:45PM on 11/12/2014!

Russell Kinsaul of KMOV News Channel 4 sent me a text earlier today after reading this article. He wanted to do a news story about the large payout to Assistant Superintendent Andy Arbeitman after working for Fox C-6 for only two years by the time he leaves in June 2015. Russell's news story is already online at KMOV.COM. It was explained to Mr. Kinsaul by Fox CFO John Brazeal that the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program was for anyone vested in the Public School Retirement System.

You can watch the KMOV News story using the link below:

KMOV 4 News Story on Andy Arbeitman's $66,747 Voluntary Separation Incentive Payout

Arbeitman's Desoto School District Settlement

Mr. Arbeitman received a $208,000 settlement from the Desoto School District in 2012 after being put on paid leave in May 2012 and eventually resigning from the district.

You can read more about Mr. Arbeitman's departure from the Desoto School District and his subsequent hire at Fox in the following March 2013 news story:

De Soto superintendent who got $208,000 settlement lands job with Fox district

2014 Fox C-6 School Board Candidates Voter's Guide in the Arnold-Imperial Leader

The March 27, 2014 Arnold-Imperial Leader has a Voter's Guide page for the Fox C-6 School Board candidates for the April 8, 2014 election posted online:

2014 Fox C-6 School Board Candidates Voter's Guide

in the Arnold-Imperial Leader

I didn't find any information on Vernon Sullivan's education in his information. It's very evident that Vern Sullivan is a very busy person. I would be concerned that he wouldn't be able to dedicate any time towards being a Fox C-6 school board member with all of his other commitments.

It also appears that Vern Sullivan is the only Fox C-6 school board candidate that has someone working for the school district. It's reported that Vern Sullivan has two sons working for the district with one of them being in a supervisory position. Based on what's happened over the past 9 years with Superintendent Dianne Brown-Critchlow and school board members with spouses or children on the school board, I believe that having Mr. Sullivan on the school board would NOT be good for the community.

In 2008, Superintendent Brown had Vern Sullivan call my father into Dianne Brown's (now Critchlow) office and tell my father to tell me to stop pursuing our complaints with the federal agencies that the Missouri DESE compliance officer told me to file with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (ED OCR) and the USDA's Office for Civil Rights. I didn't know that you could file complaints with the ED OCR until I spoke with the Missouri DESE compliance officer. He even walked me through the process while I was on the phone with him. He told me that we should file a complaint because what Fox was doing was wrong. To me, what Vern Sullivan and Superintendent Brown did to my father was a bullying tactic which runs contrary to Mr. Sullivan's campaigning for abolishing bullying. Perhaps Mr. Sullivan is only referring to student bullying.

In 2009, Fox C-6 signed a Resolution Agreement with ED OCR to make corrections to it's school board policies and other corrections. After 4+ years, Fox still hadn't fulfilled the Resolution Agreement. USDA OCR found the district Non-Compliant with Federal Laws in 2011 and was told to make immediate corrections. The district spent hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting ED OCR and USDA OCR over the past 5+ years. Superintendent Critchlow has brushed off the Resolution Agreement and the USDA Ruling as litigation even though there were NO lawsuits filed. The Federal agencies simply investigated and found problems in the district and with the law firm's interpretation of the law. By referring to them as litigation, Superintendent Critchlow has been able to hide the information from the public. Our school board has been willfully blind to these problems. You can easily obtain the information regarding these issues by filing a Freedom Of Information Act request with ED OCR and USDA OCR.

I didn't see any mention of transparency by Vern Sullivan in his campaign information as well. That is still a huge problem in the Fox C-6 School District. It appears that Superintendent Critchlow wants to keep as much information as possible away from the public. She obviously doesn't want school board meetings recorded because I've asked the board to record school board meetings many times over the past 3+ years and have never been given a response. It could be that she doesn't want to record them because another district attorney told a parent advocate that, "Tape recordings are notoriously unreliable." Fox used to record school board meetings in the past. So why did they stop?

I believe that Superintendent Critchlow doesn't want board meetings, IEP meetings or Section 504 meetings recorded because she can't refute what's been recorded. She's been caught having to change her story many times because of my audio recordings of Fox C-6 school board board meetings. If there's no audio recording, Superintendent Critchlow can document board meeting minutes with minimal information and the public will never know what the school board was asked during Public Comments.

It's very important for our community that you elect school board members that are honest and are willing to stand up for the community. Your school board members represent the community and are responsible for ensuring that your tax dollars are spent wisely. Please take the time to read about your school board candidates and ask them questions while they are still allowed to speak with you.

Missouri Education Watchdog Says Local School Boards Should Be Abolished!

A recent article on the Missouri Education Watchdog website says that Local School Boards Should Be Abolished.

Missouri Education Watchdog is based in the Kirkwood School District. I highly recommend reading their article.

Local School Boards Should Be Abolished

Fox C-6 uses the same law firm as the Camdenton School District that is mentioned in the article above. Last November Mickes Goldman O'Toole attorney Ernie Trakas told the Fox C-6 School Board that he didn't recommend having open discussions with the public like they do in the Rockwood School District. Some of our Fox C-6 school board members like John Laughlin were open to speaking with the public while others such as Dave Palmer were not.

I mentioned what happened at the November 2013 Board Workshop in several articles last fall. This was the meeting where the District's attorney recommended that the Fox C-6 school board go into Closed Session for reasons not permitted for Closed Session. Here are some of those articles:

Fox C-6 Violates Missouri Sunshine Law at Board Workshop

The Fox C-6 School Board Fails the Public Again

It's important for you to find out how your Fox C-6 school board candidates feel about speaking with the public prior to the upcoming April 8th election. Responding to the public has been a problem for years and needs to be resolved. Fox's current school board is being shutdown from responding to patrons by Superintendent Critchlow and the district attorney.

The Fox C-6 community will need to vote for 3 school board members in the upcoming April 8th election.

The Fox C-6 community will most likely have to contend with current Fox C-6 School Board Vice President Dave Palmer being selected as the School Board President in April. Mr. Palmer has been a friend of Superintendent Dianne Critchlow ever since Dianne recommended that Dave Palmer's wife Gee Palmer be promoted to District Head Nurse in 2006 while Dave Palmer was the Fox C-6 School Board President. Dave Palmer's wife was given a 75% pay increase when she was promoted and given a 12 month contract instead of a 9 month contract.

I recommend reading what Dave Palmer had to say at the November 2013 board workshop about speaking with the public. I transcribed his comments in the following article:

The Fox C-6 School Board Fails the Public Again

2014 Fox C-6 School Board Candidates

Here are your choices for Fox C-6 School Board on April 8th, 2014 (pick 3):

• John Laughlin - Incumbent (John has my vote! - John's been helpful in improving transparency.)
• Mark Jones - (Fox Alumni. Very honest! Interested in accountability and transparency.)
  https://www.facebook.com/MissouriForJones
• Chris Hastings - (Wife - Seckman 2001, Mother in Law - Fox Grad)
  https://www.facebook.com/hastings4foxc6)
• Dawn Mullins - (I know very little about her.)
• Vern Sullivan - (Former Board Member and Former Employee (retired))

I don't know much about Dawn Mullins. I met her at the February 2014 Fox C-6 school board meeting. She told me that she has children in the district. She did not graduate from the district. I need to find out more information about Dawn Mullins before deciding on whether or not I would support her.

I have very strong concerns about Vern Sullivan. Vern Sullivan is a close friend of Dianne Critchlow and worked for her in the district for many years. Many in the district (not administrators) are concerned about Vern Sullivan as being "an insider". 

Vern Sullivan is a co-founder of the Politcal Action Committee "Friends of Fox C-6" which has its address listed as 745 Jeffco Blvd, Arnold, MO. This is the same address as the Fox C-6 School District. 

Vern has two sons working for the school district. One of Vern's son's, Brad Duncan, is the Athletic Director at Seckman Senior High School. Vern Sullivan will never be able to approve Bill Payments each month without abstaining unless the district breaks the Bill Payments into separate sections. Every month Brad Duncan has multiple checks written to him. We don't know what the checks are for because our current Bill Payments don't have descriptions included with them anymore on the Bill Payments report. However, the checks are for thousands of dollars each month. This will be a problem!

I believe that voting for Vern Sullivan would be like voting for another raise for Dianne Critchlow.

Superintendent Dianne Critchlow doesn't need a raise and we don't need Vern Sullivan on the Fox C-6 School Board!