March 18, 2014 Fox C-6 School Board Meeting Presentation to Outgoing Board Members

At the March 18, 2014 Fox C-6 school board meeting, Assistant Superintendent Tim Crutchley filling in for Superintendent Dianne Critchlow while she is out on FMLA thanked outgoing school board members Linda Nash and Dan Smith and presented them with small thank you gifts for their service to the Fox C-6 School District.

Below is an audio recording of Mr. Crutchley's presentation. He mentioned some of the accomplishments of the school district while they served the community on the school board. Mrs. Nash served for 12 years and Mr. Smith served for 6 years. Mr. Smith and Mrs. Nash both spoke after being recognized by Mr. Crutchley.

Listen to Mr. Crutchley's Presentation and Mr. Smith and Mrs. Nash

One of the facts that Mr. Crutchley mentioned was Fox's Average Composite ACT Score at 1:22 into the recording.  He said that,

"The district's ACT Average is over 23 while the state average is 21."

Below I have posted the ACT report found on Fox's District Report Card page on Missouri DESE's website to compare them to what Mr. Crutchley reported. It's always interesting to compare the real numbers to what is reported by district administrators.

The highest score posted for Fox was a 22.7 in 2011. The average for the state has remained pretty steady at 21.6.

Mr. Crutchley didn't mention Fox's Percentage of Graduates Tested. I've asked them for several years why this number is so low and have been given several different reasons. I always get asked why the number is so low when I tell people what Fox's Percentage of Students taking the ACT is as reported by Missouri DESE.

Fox's Percentage of Student's taking the ACT places our district in the bottom 25% of the state. That number will change in 2015 when ALL 11th graders will be required to take the ACT when it becomes part of the state assessment. Fox's Composite ACT score will most likely drop some once all student's are required to take the ACT.

Requiring all students across the state to take the ACT will help provide a good statewide comparison of college readiness.

Fox C-6 School District Report Card at Missouri DESE

Fox and Missouri ACT Data

District: FOX C-6 Year # Grads # Grads at or above Nat. Avg. % of Grads at or above Nat Avg % of Grads Tested Composite ACT Score 2013 789 298 37.80 55.89 22.3 2012 845 320 37.90 55.98 22.3 2011 854 327 38.30 53.28 22.7 2010 893 315 35.30 53.98 22.2 2009 878 292 33.30 57.06 21.7 2008 904 299 33.10 55.97 21.8 2007 808 256 31.70 51.49 21.7 2006 777 227 29.20 46.59 21.7 2005 697 170 24.40 47.78 20.8 2004 680 170 25.00 49.71 20.7

District: MISSOURI Year # Grads # Grads at or above Nat. Avg. % of Grads at or above Nat Avg % of Grads Tested Composite ACT Score 2012 61,599 23,129 37.50 66.82 21.6 2011 63,013 22,698 36.00 64.25 21.6 2010 64,058 22,623 35.30 63.42 21.6 2009 62,787 21,547 34.30 61.94 21.6 2008 61,894 21,614 34.90 63.03 21.6 2007 60,201 20,893 34.70 61.77 21.6 2006 58,474 19,663 33.60 59.71 21.6 2005 57,843 19,506 33.70 59.88 21.6 2004 58,040 19,192 33.10 59.18 21.5

March 18, 2014 School Board Meeting Review

Have you ever wondered what the Fox C-6 Superintendent is getting paid to do when you discover that an entire section of the updated Board Policies, Regulations and Forms was left out of the documents?

What's really sad is the fact that the part that was left out of the updated Polices, Regulations and Forms was the section on Employee Performance Evaluations in the Forms section.

I would like to think board member John Laughlin for making a motion to remove Section 4.2 - Approve - Policy/Regulation/Forms Manuals from the Fox's Board of Education agenda at last night's meeting after I spoke to him about the updated Policies and Regulations just prior to the meeting. Board member Steve Holloway seconded the motion. The BOE then voted to approve removing it from the agenda for last night's meeting.

I told Mr. Laughlin prior to the meeting that the community had not been properly informed that the updated policies had been posted on the district website for review. Superintendent Critchlow didn't tweet or post anything on the News page after the February BOE meeting to notify the public that the documents were available for public to review and to make recommendations on them. So thank you to Mr. Laughlin and Mr. Holloway for removing the approval from the agenda at last night's meeting.

The section that was left out of the All Forms document was Section 4600 - Performance Evaluation. It was listed in the FORMS - Table of Contents on the Missouri Consultants for Education website where the public can download Fox's latest DRAFT copy of Fox's updated Board Policies, Regulations and Forms. You will need to download the ALL FORMS PDF document from the Missouri Consultants for Education website in order to see that Section 4600 is completely missing from the All Forms document.

I found the missing Section 4600 in the 2012 draft of the updated Board Policies and Regulations on Fox's Website in the FORMS document. I pulled out Section 4600 and made them available here:

Section 4600 - Employee Performance Evaluation Forms

Section 4610.6 - Superintendent Performance Evaluation Forms

I've also assembled ALL of the updated Policies, Regulations and Forms into a single PDF that you can download and view as a single PDF document. It makes it much easier to search rather than trying to read them in chunks as they have been posted on the MCE website. You can view or download the file from the link below:

2014 Fox C-6 Board Policies, Regulations and Forms for Review

I wanted to highlight the following section from Section 4160.6 - Superintendent Performance Evaluation Forms as I thought the Superintendent's Performance Evaluation forms were very interesting. These forms are used by the Board of Education to review the Superintendent's performance on an annual basis. They are required to complete this by February 1 each year.

Superintendent Performance Evaluation

PURPOSE:

One of the primary responsibilities of the School Board is to evaluate the administrative leadership of the school system. Developing performance standards for administrators can be cost effective, reduce crisis management and set and maintain direction.

The purpose of the evaluation process is to provide both the superintendent and the board with information, which can be used to improve the effectiveness of the chief administrator, improve the quality of the school system and strengthen the relationship between the school board and the superintendent.

The results of the evaluation shall be used by the superintendent to identify and nurture strengths and to provide specific direction for improving performance. The board shall use the results of the evaluation to improve communications, to clarify roles and expectations and to make critical employment decisions regarding the superintendent’s contract.

CONTENT:

The superintendent’s effectiveness shall minimally be evaluated according to these six general areas of responsibility:

1. Instructional Leadership
2. Policy & Governance
3. Communications& Community Relations
4. Organizational Management
5. Human Resources Management
6. Values & Ethics of Leadership

Standard 1: INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP

This standard stresses the superintendent’s performance in leadership through empowering others, visioning, and helping shape school culture in a manner to enhance student performance outcomes.

Performance Indicators:(Do not rate individual indicators. These are listed only to help you think about the standard.)

1. Supervises the development & implementation of effective, research based practices allowing the district’s students to meet or exceed Missouri Performance standards
2. Promotes academic rigor that focuses on learning and excellence for schools
3. Creates and supports a community of learners that empowers others to reach high levels of performance to achieve the school’s vision
4. Models learning for staff and students
5. Promotes and expects a school based climate of tolerance, acceptance and civility
6. Develops, implements, promotes and monitors continuous improvement processes
7. Provides for effective educational services for the at-risk students
8. Establishes instructional strategies that include cultural diversity and differences in learning styles
9. Applies effective methods of providing, monitoring, evaluating and reporting student achievement and uses good research and assessments to improve the learning process.

Standard 2: POLICY AND GOVERNANCE

Working with the board to formulate internal and external district policy, defining mutual expectations of performance with the board and communicate effectively.

Performance Indicators:(Do not rate individual indicators. These are listed only to help you think about the standard.)

1. Implements decisions/policies of the BOE and provides follow-up reports.
2. Responds appropriately to board concerns
3. Informs the BOE of federal and state laws and changes in laws
4. Uses legal counsel in governance and procedures to avoid civil and criminal liabilities
5. Provides regular reports to the BOE on school district transactions
6. Serves as liaison between the BOE and school staff, facilitating communications and representing BOE positions and decisions accurately
7. Review existing policies and procedures and makes recommendations to the BOE for necessary revisions
8. Keeps the BOE abreast guidelines of DESE & U.S. Department of Ed.

Standard 3: COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS

This standard emphasizes the skills necessary to establish effective two-way communications not only with students, staff and parents, but the community as a whole including beneficial relationships with the media. It also stresses responding to community feedback and building community support for the district.

Performance Indicators:(Do not rate individual indicators. These are listed only to help you think about the standard.)

1. Promotes and maintains a positive attitude/climate in the district.
2. Maintains open communications with local police, fire, juvenile, & other governmental entities.
3. Demonstrates effective communication skills (written, verbal and non-verbal contexts, formal and informal settings, large and small group and one-on- one environments)
4. Promotes involvement of all stakeholders to be involved in the development of District programs and services.
5. Understands the role of media in shaping and forming opinions as well as how to work with the media. ("It's all about the summit!")

Standard 4: ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT

This standard requires the superintendent to gather and analyze data for decision making and for making recommendations to the board. It stresses the skills necessary to meet internal and external customer expectations and to effectively allocate resources.

Performance Indicators:

(Do not rate individual indicators. These are listed only to help you think about the standard.)

1. Demonstrates budget management.
2. Ensures that the annual budget is aligned to support the District goals.
3. Develops and monitors long-range plans for school and district technology and information systems, making informed decisions about computer hardware & software,& staff development & training needs.
4. Assesses and recommends facility and capital improvements.
5. Establishes procedures and practices for dealing with emergencies such as weather, threats to the school, student violence and trauma
6. Ensures a process is in place for continuous maintenance of existing facilities are conducive to positive learning
7. Analyzes available instructional resources including applications of technology and assign them in cost effective and equitable manner to enhance student outcomes

Standard 5: HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

This performance standard requires skills in developing and implementing a staff performance-evaluation system. It also requires skills in applying ethical, contractual and legal requirements for personnel selection, development, retention, promotion and dismissal.

Performance Indicators:(Do not rate individual indicators. These are listed only to help you think about the standard.)

1. Keeps the Board informed of personnel issues.
2. Identifies and applies appropriate polices, criteria, and processes for the recruitment, selection, induction, compensation and separation of personnel with attention to issues of equity and diversity.
3. Establishes standards for staff performance, accountability and evaluation.
4. Develop and implement staff development programs to provide on-going education for all staff. Provide training for all staff in the areas of legal concern, including, but not limited to, harassment, discrimination, confidentiality, special education and disciplining of students.
5. Involves staff in assessing, identifying and implementing staff development needs and activities.

Standard 6: VALUES AND ETHICS OF LEADERSHIP

This standard requires the understanding and modeling of appropriate value systems, ethics and moral leadership.

Performance Indicators:

(Do not rate individual indicators. These are listed only to help you think about the standard.)

1. Exhibits ability to work well with individuals and groups.
2. Earns respect among professional colleagues.
3. Manifests a professional code of ethics and demonstrates personal integrity.
4. Expects professional conduct from all staff members.
5. Handles crisis management in a controlled and professional manner.
6. Promotes the establishment of moral and ethical practices in every classroom, every school, and throughout the district.

==============================================================

There's still more to add to this article which I'll do later this evening.

I had the chance to speak with Assistant Superintendent Andy Arbeitman about his email from last month and the response I sent to him and the school board. I also had the opportunity to speak with a couple of our school board candidates for the April election.

Questions for the Fox C-6 School Board!

What questions do you have for our school board?

The community needs to be able to submit their questions to a Suggestion Box anonymously so Superintendent Critchlow can't threaten them with Cease and Desist letters or email them and tell them that they must first call the Assistant Superintendent Andy Arbeitman with their questions prior to submitting them to the school board during Public Comments or the school board will not respond with anything other than a "Thank you!". Mr. Arbeitman stated in his email that the district was trying to be "proactive rather than reactive". It sounds more like the district is being discriminatory towards individuals who ask the school board direct questions.

I've been asking the Fox C-6 school board questions for nearly 5 years and have rarely if ever received a response from our school board. It doesn't appear that our school board is following board policy in this area.

I thought it would be convenient to post some of the questions I have asked and have never had answered. I've also thought of some new questions that our school board needs to answer for the community. After all, our school board members are elected by the community to represent us and provide oversight of our school district.

How do we know they are doing their job if they don't respond to questions?

I think that a large part of the problem is that the district attorney has warned the school board about responding to the public. If the district attorney doesn't want the school board speaking with the public, shouldn't that throw up some Red Flags for the community?

I've posted a few questions here for the school board below. Hopefully they will answer them. If you get the chance, you may want to pose some of these questions to our school board members yourself since my questions don't tend to get answered. Maybe you'll get a different response then I get. Who knows?

Public Comments Questions

• Should the school board president respond to questions that can only be answered by the school board or should the responses come from Superintendent Critchlow or Assistant Superintendent Andy Arbeitman?
• Should the school board be informed or copied on responses to Public Comments from the school district?
  (Board member Cheryl Herman said that she would like to know when the district responds at the November 5th board workshop.)
• Should the school board be informed when Superintendent Critchlow sends out Cease and Desist letters to citizens in the community?
• Should school district taxpayers be footing the bill for Cease and Desist letters sent by Superintendent Critchlow simply because she wanted the criticism to stop?
• Why won't the school board respond to the question about why the district won't audio or video recording school board meetings?
  (I've been asking this question for several years without a response.)
• Has anyone on the school board looked into the concerns of the shortage of books that I brought to their attention several times over the past couple of years?
  
  Superintendent Critchlow has gone on record on News Channel 5 stating that the district doesn't have a shortage of books. However teachers, parents and students know that there aren't enough books for all of the students. Even Principal Kristen Pelster emailed me a response when she was still principal stating that the students aren't given books to take home because there aren't enough for all of the students.
• Why won't the school board post the school district budget on the district website? Superintendent Critchlow informed me that I'm the only person requesting the data and therefore the data won't be published on the district website. Her reason to not post the data doesn't give the community the impression that she believes in transparency.
• How does the school board approve Bill Payments each month if they don't know what the Bill Payments are paying for since the Bill Payments report no longer has payment descriptions for each payment?
• How does the school board verify that the payments for credit card bills are valid if the school board isn't provided credit card statements in the board packets with the Bill Payments report?
• Why did it take the school district and the school board 3 years to update and revise our school board policies?Fox has the 4th Highest Superintendent Salary in the state and the 2nd Highest Average Administrator Salary in the state. A person would expect them to be quite responsive to getting changes made and updated.
• Does the school board know how much has been spent in legal fees over the last 6 years as the district has dealt with the ongoing compliance issues with the USDA and the U.S. Department of Education?
• How can the school district be paying bills on the Visa credit card that are in the $70,000 and $80,000 range when the total number of credit card holders and their credit limits total less than $40,000?
• Do school board members ever review the district website to see what information or misinformation is on the district website?
• Why hasn't the school board questioned Superintendent Critchlow on her annual report for the last several years that shows that Fox has 270 Administrators Per Student since this is clearly incorrect information?

Bullying Questions

• Is the school board aware of the comments made by a person claiming to be an employee of the district that calls himself TROOP?
• Many of TROOP's comments were derogatory and libelous in nature and were directed at individuals who spoke at school board meetings. Has the school board read any of TROOP's comments hat were posted online?
• Should any employee of the Fox C-6 school district be making comments such as those made by TROOP?
• Since the district has a board policy regarding bullying, does TROOP's behavior fall under this policy which could lead to his termination?
• Does the school board consider threatening people for speaking at school board meetings to be a serious issue concern for the community? 
• Is it considered bullying or discrimination when a single person is told that they will have to contact school administrators prior to asking the school board questions during Public Comments or their questions will not be answered with anything other than a Thank You?
• Is the school board and TROOP aware of the fact Fox C-6 has adopted a commitment to the Character Education program?
• Was the school board aware of the fact that several teachers were questioned by their supervisors after they attended a school board meeting and asked why they had attended the meeting?

Superintendent Issue Questions

• Why doesn't Superintendent Critchlow report the Percentage of Graduates taking the ACT test on her annual report to the school board each year?
  According to the latest revision of the school board policies, it states that the superintendent is required to report to everyone in the district the ACT Scores AND the Percentage of Graduates taking the ACT. Superintendent has neglected to include the Percentage of Graduates taking the ACT off of her annual report at the board meeting for years. Why is that?
  
  The current Percentage of Graduates taking the ACT at Fox is only 56%. The state average is reported at 74% on Missouri DESE's Top 10 by 20 Dashboard. Fox is currently ranked in the bottom 25% of the state for the Percentage of Students taking the ACT. Why is that?
  
  Starting next year the state is requiring ALL 11th graders to take the ACT test as part of the state's assessment. The state will be paying for each student to take the ACT test one time. How does the school board feel that this new requirement will affect the district's Composite Score?
• Why doesn't the school board require the school district to post the district budget on the school district website to make it available to the public?
  
  Superintendent Critchlow has informed me that since only 1 person is requesting the information that it won't be posted on the district website. Does this seem like a valid response?
• Why won't the school board require descriptions to be included on the Bill Payments Report like they were in previous years?
  
  Superintendent Critchlow informed me that only 1 person is requesting this information so the reports won't be changed. She also said that anyone can call the Central Office if they have questions about any of the Bill Payments. Is there a reason that descriptions aren't included with Bill Payments anymore? Should everyone be required to call the Central Office to get those types of questions answered?

School Board Policy Questions

• Should the school board be following school district policies?
• Has any of our school board members read Fox's school board Policies and Regulations in their entirety? 
• Did anyone on the school board notice that our most recent update of the school board policies still has a point of contact that retired from the district in 2008?
• Has the school board read the policy on Financial Management that requires that Bill Payment lists "will be supported by invoices, approved purchase orders, properly submitted vouchers, or in accordance with salaries and salary schedules approved by the board."?
• Why isn't a Termination clause included in Superintendent Critchlow's contract if school board policy states that it should be?
• Does the school board know why the school district's policies deny parents the right to audio record IEP or Section 504 Meetings?
• Shouldn't the revised school board Policy 1310 and Regulation 1310 and their associated forms now include the USDA Office for Civil Rights as well since they are now included on the lunch menus?

Salary Questions

• Why has the school board approved increasing Superintendent Critchlow's salary more than 80% since she was hired as the district's superintendent in 2005?
• Why are we paying Superintendent Critchlow $256,131 for the 2013-2014 school year? How does the school board justify her salary?
• Why do the Administrator Salaries listed in the March 2013 school board meeting packet have only "X"'s listed for their salaries?
• How did the school board approve the 2013-2016 Administrator Salaries if the report from the March 2013 school board packet didn't list their salaries?
• How is the base salary for administrators computed now? I asked if the information was available on the district website at the February 2014 school board meeting but was told that since it wasn't listed as a topic on my Public Comments form that I would have to contact Mr. Arbeitman to obtain the information.The school district administrator salary schedule used to be based on the highest school teacher salary in the school district. When the school teachers got a raise or their pay increased each year according to the schedule, the administrator salary automatically increased as well.
  Why isn't the school district's administrator salary schedule posted on the district website?

Hiring Questions

• Several of the current school board members were on the school board in 2009 when Superintendent Critchlow's husband was promoted to the Director of the Bridges program after only working for the district for 2 months. He did not have a Masters Degree in Education Administration and he had not taken the School Leaders Licensure Assessment test. He did not obtain his Initial Professional Teacher's Certificate until January 2011 per Missouri DESE records. Why did the school board approve his promotion if school board policy states that the school board is "To support the superintendent's efforts to appoint the most qualified persons as employees of the District."?
  
  Mr. Critchlow was certainly not the most qualified person in the school district for the position considering he only had a provisional teaching certification and did not take the Praxis tests until 2010. His promotion at that time certainly didn't follow district policy.
• Why did the school board approve the hiring of school board president at the time Linda Nash's daughter in law if she did not meet the school board policy requirement that states that school board is "To support the superintendent's efforts to appoint the most qualified persons as employees of the District."?

General Questions

• Is the school board familiar with the law about Making False Statements (USC Title 18 Section 1001)?
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_false_statements
• Was the school board aware of the fact that the school buses that leave early from Lone Dell Elementary for special education students that are documented as leaving at 3PM actually leave between 5 to 20 minutes earlier than documented?
• Is the school board aware of the fact that the district began charging me to scan board meeting packets after Superintendent Critchlow sent me a Cease and Desist letter even though those documents had already been scanned for the board?
  It gives the appearance that if a government entity does not want the public to have information they will start charging to obtain the information.
• Is the school board aware that the district informed me that the district doesn't get detailed billing from the district's law firm?

School District Website Questions

• Why won't the school board video or audio record public school board meetings and post them on the district website like they do in other school districts?
• Do school board members review the district website to see what is posted and ensure that information is accurate?
• Should the school board require the district to review our school district website and correct mistakes?
• Should the school board require our school district to correct information published on the district website if it is not accurate?
  
  The About Us page on the school district website states that our school district "covers an approximate area of 75-100 square miles" instead of square mileage documented by the United States Census Bureau which is 74.284 square miles:
  (http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/gazetteer2013.html)
  
  
• Is it OK with everyone that the District website lists the Curriculum Objects or Grade Level Expectations as shown below? 
  3rd Grade is an easy year since they don't have any Grade Level Expectations.
  
  You can actually download the 3rd Grade Level Expectations document if you make an educated guess as to what the name of the file is for 3rd grade based on the other file names and type it into the Address Bar in your web browser. It's possible that the district purposefully created the web page this way in order to help people improve their creative problem solving skills.
  
  Fox C-6 Curriculum Objectives
  
  Grade Level ExpectationsGrade K         Grade 4         Grade 8         Grade 12
  Grade 1         Grade 5         Grade 9
  Grade 2         Grade 6         Grade 10
  Grade 7         Grade 11 

In Summary
I'm sure that there are many more questions that the Fox C-6 community has for our school board that they would like to ask. However, people that have asked our school board questions usually don't get a response based upon feedback that I have received from individuals in our district over the years .

Why does Fox have a school board if they aren't going to respond to the public?

Wow! What an incredible violation of the Public's trust!

The Fox C-6 community cannot trust our school district leaders or the school board if the school board approves the revised school board policies at the March 2014 school board meeting.

Never mind that the revised school board policies still have mistakes in them or have points of contact in them who have been retired for nearly 6 years. The district and the Board of Education has only had 3+ years to work on them.

It's the fact that Superintendent Critchlow and our school board made very little effort to fully inform the public that they were even available on the district website for review since being announced at the February 2014 school board meeting by Superintendent Dianne Critchlow.

When did Superintendent Critchlow publicly inform "everyone" in the district that the updated board Policies, Regulations and Forms were available on the district website for the public to review?

She didn't!

She didn't even make a post on her Twitter account notifying the public about the updated Policies, Regulations and Forms:

https://www.twitter.com/FoxC6Supt

The district only posted an obscure link on the Board of Education Documents webpage last month that read "Documents for Review" to inform the public that the revised board policies were available for public review.

Read the request posted in the March 18, 2014 school board meeting packet that was posted on the district website on Tuesday March 11, 2014.

Fox's March 2014 Request for
Board Approval of Updated Policies

To even think that our school board members would approve the updated policies without notifying the public that they were available for review anywhere outside of the confines of the February 2014 school board meeting to the very few people in attendance is a violation of the public trust and a violation of school board policies.

The Fox C-6 community needs to begin a recall of school board members if the board allows Superintendent Critchlow to get by with this charade. The lack of integrity of our district leadership DOES NOT represent that of a National District of Character.

Email your school board members and let them know that this is unacceptable.

Your Fox C-6 School Board Members

You can read my previous posts concerning this issue here:

Fox C-6's Revised School Board Policies - A District of Excellence?

Proper Chain of Command for Public Complaints per Board Policies and More!

Fox C-6's Revised School Board Policies - A District of Excellence?

So, why has it taken Superintendent Critchlow and the Fox C-6 School Board more than 3 years to update our school district Policies, Regulations and Forms?

That seems like a valid question. I wouldn't think that updating and revising Polices and Regulations would take more than a year. It's been 2 years since Superintendent Dianne Brown (now Critchlow) announced that the overhaul of the district policies were ready to be reviewed and were going to be placed on the district website. From my audio recording of the March 2012 board meeting, here is exactly what Superintendent Brown (Critchlow) told the public at that meeting:

"We are finally ready for the forms and manuals and policies to be reviewed.  This would be an overhaul of all of the school district policies. They will be placed, I believe tomorrow night, Debby, on the website? And, sent out to staff or we will have a place that staff can log into. We’re not sure if we can send that big of documents for download. And we’re going to leave them up until June so that staff can make recommendations and the public can make recommendations.  Then we’ll bring those recommendations back and my guess is....”

In 2012, it sounded like the policies would probably be approved sometime that fall if the district was going to "leave them up until June so the staff can make recommendations and the public can make recommendations". Those documents have been on the website now for nearly 2 years and haven't been updated during that time according to their PDF Creation Date.

However, the overhauled policies weren't originally posted on the district website like Superintendent Brown (Critchlow) said they would. I had to email the board secretary and former school board member Ruth Ann Newman asking when the revised policies would be posted for the public to review a week after the board meeting. The response I received from Superintendent Brown (Critchlow) wasn't at all what I expected considering what she said at the March 2012 board meeting. Her email stated that the draft Board Policies and Regulations were NOT for public review at this time. That's definitely not what she said at the school board meeting.

This is what Superintendent Brown (Critchlow) emailed to me on March 29, 2012 regarding the updated board policies:

"The draft of the Board Policies and Regulations are sent via email to the staff for comments (not for public review at this time in the process).  Policy review and adoption has always been handled in this manner. They then will be placed on the district web site after they have been adopted by the board."

Her email response contradicted what she said at the school board meeting. I was glad that I had an audio recorded of the meeting so I could quote back to her what she said at the meeting. Otherwise, it would have just been my word against her word as to what she actually said at the board meeting. Now you know why I record board meetings and it's probably why Superintendent Critchlow won't record board meetings like they used to in the past.

Superintendent Brown (Critchlow) sent me the following response on March 30, 2012 after I quoted to her what she said at the March 2012 school board meeting:

"Hello Rich! Debby will gather all of this information and shoot it to you electronically today. 

Please let us know if it all doesn't transmit."

Without my audio recording, there's a good chance that the public wouldn't have been able to review the revised policies for the last 2 years while the district and the board worked on making revisions.

I still had to make another request to get the documents posted onto the district website like Superintendent Brown (Critchlow) originally said they would.

I'm not really sure what Superintendent Critchlow's aversion has been for the last 4 or 5 years to posting documentation on the district website like they do in other school districts. Our school board policies state that she's responsible for keeping the board and the public informed. Making the public call and request documentation like bill payment descriptions gives the impression that she's trying to hide things from the public. Developing school district policies is a community effort. She even said at the board meeting that the public would get the chance to review them and provide recommendations. So why would she say one thing and then say something different after the fact?

With the amount of salary that Superintendent Critchlow and her assistant superintendents are getting by our school board, wouldn't you have expected a lot quicker turn around in reviewing and updating our district's Policies and Regulations?

Fox C-6 had the 4th Highest Superintendent Salary in the state of Missouri in 2013 and the 2nd Highest Average Administrator Salary in the state of Missouri in 2013 according to records found on Missouri DESE's website.

If the Fox C-6 school board is paying such high salaries, they must believe that Superintendent Critchlow and her assistants are doing a great job. Based on their salaries, they should be doing one of the best jobs in the state. So, why would it take so long to update and revise our district's policies?

After 3+ years of work on revising and updating Fox's School Board Policies and Regulations, why would the latest revision still have someone listed as a point of contact who retired from the district in 2008?

Shouldn't someone have noticed this mistake after 3 years of reviewing and updating the documents?

You can download and review the latest revision of Fox's School Board Policies from the Missouri Consultants for Education website here:

Direct link to Fox C-6's revised Board Policies/Regulations/Forms on the
 Missouri Consultants for Education Website

When the first draft was posted on the district's website in March 2012, I emailed the district and gave them a list of contacts that I found in the Policies and Regulations that had been retired from the district for years that needed to be updated. I also supplied several grammatical and typographical corrections as well. Many of those items have been corrected. But, it's now been 2 years since I notified the district about retirees being listed as contacts and they're still in the latest revision. It makes you wonder if anyone has ever fully read our Policies and Regulations.

So what are we actually getting for Superintendent Critchlow's $256,131 salary?

I think that's a really good question and one that everyone in our community should be asking our school board since the board is responsible for setting her salary.

Her salary doesn't include her other benefits and the additional 14.5% that the taxpayers put into her retirement account each year. If you are paying someone that much money to lead your school district, shouldn't they be making sure that people are doing their jobs and and checking their work? After all, Fox is a District of Excellence!

I'm not really sure how our school board has been able to justify Superintendent Critchlow's raises year after year when there are things that just never get done. I've asked them but I've never gotten a response. Superintendent Critchlow usually has an excuse as to why Fox can't do what they do in other districts. But when does it end and the Fox C-6 taxpayers start receiving the benefits that taxpayers are getting in other school districts?

I think the majority of people in our community are in agreement that Superintendent Critchlow's salary is outrageous and that she is way overpaid. My father always tells me that it's the school board's fault for paying her too much!

I think that her over the top salary has caused her to have an over the top attitude towards anyone questioning her salary, her conduct or the job that she's been doing as a school district superintendent. It's also created a lot of resentment and morale problems within the district for employees as well as the community. It's hard to believe that our Fox C-6 School Board members can't see that this is a problem or that they haven't had any complaints from people in the community.

If Fox was ranked as high as Lindbergh in academic performance or if Fox had the ACT Scores and the same high Percentage of Students Taking the ACT like Rockwood or Parkway, then there might be a reason to possibly pay her more than $200,000 per year. But, when speaking with people in the community, all I've heard is complaint after complaint about how high her salary is.

Perhaps, our school board doesn't realize that Fox's demographics, annual budget and academic performance don't warrant the salary increases that they have given Superintendent Brown / Critchlow since she became superintendent in 2005.

I've written numerous articles over the last several years concerning Superintendent Critchlow's salary. I've compared her salary to other superintendents across the state and provided demographic comparisons for those other district's and communities as well.

Superintendent Critchlow may not think that her pay is out of line. But people in the community talk quite a bit about how much she's getting paid with taxpayer dollars. Our school district is not a "For Profit" corporation. It's a publicly funded entity. Therefore, the public has every right to question our school board as to how much they are paying her and they deserve to have the school board respond and not Superintendent Critchlow or Assistant Superintendent Andy Arbeitman.

The community expects Superintendent Critchlow to do the job that our school board policies document that she is supposed to be doing. The community also expects the school board to do it's job and provide proper oversight of our school district and be held accountable for their work. If the board just "rubber stamps" everything and they don't ask questions then we get into the situation that we're in now where Superintendent Critchlow is just raking in the money and not getting a lot done.

Perhaps, everyone in our community should start calling the anonymous hot line to report to the school board what they think about Superintendent Critchlow's salary and how much they've increased it over the years. If the community was given the chance to speak anonymously without retribution and retaliation and without fear of being sent Cease and Desist letters, they might speak out more often.

If you read the recent state audit of the Hickman Mills School District, you will get a sense of understanding as to why this occurs. An article in the Kansas City Star said, "That's what happens when not enough people are watching." It also occurs because people don't speak up when they see problems.

Speaking to our school board for 3 minutes a month doesn't mean that they're going to listen or respond. They just say, "Thank you!"

Superintendent Critchlow or now Assistant Superintendent Andy Arbeitman responds for our school board even on matters that only our school board can answer. So, without more voices from the community, everyone will have to continue to watch our school board overpay Superintendent Critchlow for not doing the job that she is supposed to be doing per our school board policies.

According to Superintendent Critchlow and her supporters, the district is doing great and there aren't any problems. According to a recent letter from one supporter, 99.9% of the people think things are great. My father recently told me that I'm not the only one complaining as Superintendent Critchlow would like everyone to believe. He called her comments "propaganda" to try and discredit me.

My father recently heard enough complaints from some of his friends at a trivia night that it was the first time I really heard him voice his concerns about the district. He was really concerned that the school board wasn't asking questions about bill payments especially if there weren't any descriptions on the bill payments. He said if the school board isn't asking questions then they should be voted out. I told him that there are a couple of board members that have been helpful with improving transparency and that they shouldn't be voted out. It's just a matter of time before we get enough responsible board members on our school board that don't have spouses or daughter in laws in supervisory positions to make a difference.

Superintendent Critchlow isn't going to allow the community to know what questions I bring to our school board when I speak at school board meetings. She's not going to document Public Comments in board meeting minutes with enough information to let you know. My Public Comments are documented as "Concerns within the district." or commented on this or commented on that.

Since the school board votes to approve the board meeting minutes each month, it doesn't appear that they are following the school board's Code of Ethics policy that states, "As member of the school Board, I shall: Maintain the public trust through full and open communication."

The board is responsible for approving the generically written minutes for the Public Comments that our board secretary writes each month documenting what I said at the meeting. However, if someone comes and praises the district, there will be quite a bit more detail for those Public Comments. Their letters will even get included in the board meeting packets. My letters to the board have never been included even though they were handed to the board and requested to be included as a matter of public record. Superintendent Critchlow is purposely failing to include them. That's how she can give the appearance that she's doing a great job and that everything is great within our district.

I have even emailed and asked for board minutes to be corrected to include more details after they were posted the month after a meeting. Superintendent Critchlow responded and informed me that the Missouri School Board Association told the board secretary that the board meeting minutes follow state law and won't be changed. It sounds to me like Superintendent Critchlow isn't doing her job of keeping the pubic fully informed.

If you want to see changes occur, it's time for you to start contacting your school board and showing up at school board meetings and start asking questions. After all, it's your school district and the Fox C-6 School Board represents you as a taxpayer.

Please be sure and tell your friends and family what's been going on with the leadership in our school district so they can contact our school board members as well. Your voice can make a difference!

Proper Chain of Command for Public Complaints per Board Policies and More!

So what is the proper chain of command for Public Complaints to the Fox C-6 Board of Education?

There's actually a policy that directly addresses Public Complaints in Fox C-6's School Board Policies and Regulations. A member of the community DOES NOT have to follow the same chain of command when addressing a complaint or a grievance directly to the Fox C-6 Board of Education that the public does when making a complaint involving instruction, discipline, or learning materials.

I've posted several of Fox's Policies and Regulations that should be of great interest to the Fox C-6 community below to make it easy for you to review. I've also included Policies and Regulations for the Role of the Superintendent of Schools.

Fox's Policies and Regulations can be downloaded in it's various forms from the district website or from one of the district attorney's Missouri Consultants for Education (MCE) website. MCE has the latest revision of the Policies and Regulations posted on it for the community and staff to review. The community is part of the development process of our school district's Policies and Regulations.

The copy posted on MCE's website is the copy that Superintendent Critchlow told the community and staff to review at the February school board meeting. Superintendent Critchlow is asking for feedback and comments on the updated Policies and Regulations before the school board votes to approve them. She said they would be posted online for review for the next 30 days.

Did Superintendent Critchlow inform the public very well about the updated Policies, Regulations and Forms that were posted for review?

Below are some links for where you can download Fox's School Board Policies and Regulations:

Direct link to Fox C-6's new Board Policies/Regulations/Forms Manuals on Missouri Consultants for Education Website

Find link on this page to - Policies/Regulations/Forms Manuals 2-2014 – For Review

Fox's Draft of new Board Policies and Regulations from 2012 on Fox's Website

Fox's Current Board Policies and Regulations on Fox's Website


Below are some of Fox C-6's Policies and Regulations for you to review. I have emphasized some of the text in the Policies and Regulations to bring them to your attention. After reading them, you may discover that Superintendent Critchlow and the Board of Education don't always follow our Policies and Regulations. Superintendent Critchlow will most likely disagree with my conclusions, but there is plenty of documentation to prove otherwise.

It's up to you, the patrons and taxpayers of the Fox C-6 community to express your concerns or Public Complaints directly to our elected Board of Education. That is THE ONLY WAY to make our school board members aware of the problems in our school district and show that the community really does care about how our school district operates. Be forewarned that you may receive an email from the district informing you that you have to follow the "proper chain of command" similar to the email I received last month.

See my article from last month titled: Why Does Fox C-6 Have a School Board?

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Policy 1480

School/Community Relations

Public Complaints

Although no member of the community shall be denied the right to petition the Board of Education for redress of a grievance, the complaints will be referred through the proper administrative channels for solution before investigation or action by the Board. Exceptions are complaints that concern Board actions or Board operations only.

The Board advises the public that the proper channeling of complaints involving instruction, discipline, or learning materials is as follows:

1. Teacher

2. Principal

3. Appropriate Central Office Administrator

4. Superintendent

5. Board of Education

Any complaint about school personnel will be investigated by the Administration before consideration and action by the Board.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Policy 1460

School/Community Relations

Community Involvement in Decision Making

The Board of Education recognizes that many residents of the District may be especially qualified to take an active part in school affairs because of their training, experience, or personal characteristics and encourages them to take an active part in school affairs.

The Board shall give substantial weight to the advice it receives from individuals and community groups interested in the District's schools, but shall use its own judgment in arriving at decisions.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Regulation 1460

School/Community Relations

Community Involvement in Decision Making

As elected officials, members of the Board of Education will be open to input from members of the community. While accountable to the Electorate of the District, Board members will act in what they believe is in the best interest of District students given existing finances and circumstances of the District.

As required by State or Federal Law or Regulations the Superintendent or designated representative shall:

1. Solicit parents' suggestions in the planning, development, and operation of programs.

2. Consult with parents about how the school can work with parents to achieve the program's objectives.

3. Provide to parents timely information concerning program evaluations.

4. Facilitate willing participation by parents in program activities.

5. Provide timely responses to parents' recommendations.

6. Establish parent advisory councils as needed.

7. Inform parents concerning the selection of students for programs, objectives for the child, the child's progress, advice on ways parents may help the child, and provide when possible materials to help parents assist their children in special programs.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Policy 1720  (Regulation 1720)

Administrative Organization and Roles

Superintendent of Schools

The Superintendent is the chief administrative officer of the School District. The Superintendent, under the direction of the Board, is responsible for the general supervision of the schools and all District personnel. The Superintendent is the chief executive officer of the Board and shall be responsible to the Board for the execution of the policies, rules and regulations and directives given by the Board, and for the functions listed in Regulation 1720.

The Superintendent is the authorized representative and signatory for all official matters pertaining to the School District.

Qualifications of the Superintendent of Schools

The Superintendent shall hold Missouri Teacher's and Superintendent's Certificates and have prior teaching experience. Prior experience as a school administrator is desirable.

Terms of Employment

The Superintendent’s contract will be based on a twelve-month year, with salary and work year to be established by the Board.

Contract

The Superintendent of Schools may be employed by the Board of Education for a term of from one (1) to three (3) years. The terms of the Superintendent's employment will be contained in a written contract signed by the Superintendent, the Board President and the Board Secretary. During the term of the Superintendent's contract, the amount of compensation and benefits provided in the contract may not be changed.

Evaluation of the Superintendent

The Board of Education will evaluate the performance of the Superintendent in or by February in each contract year. The Superintendent's evaluation will be based, in part, upon the Superintendent's annual goals provided to the Board of Education.

Termination

The employment of the Superintendent terminates upon expiration of the Superintendent’s contract. The decision to extend the Superintendent’s contract or to deny such extension lies in the total discretion of the Board.

In addition, and as provided in the Superintendent’s employment contract, the Superintendent’s contract may be terminated by mutual consent, termination for cause, or death or incapacity.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Regulation 1720

Administrative Organization and Roles

Superintendent of Schools

1. Attend and participate in all meetings of the Board, except when his/her own employment status is being considered.

2. Formulate and present for Board action policies, plans, programs and proposals for curriculum revision with full information which will assist the Board in making fully informed decisions. Short and long term educational goals shall be presented along with regular population studies.

3. Enforce all provisions of applicable municipal, state and federal laws, policies and regulations of the Board of Education, make recommendations for any changes of policy or regulation which may be needed.

4. Make recommendations for the employment, promotion, assignment, transfer, or dismissal, of any school employee in accordance with school policy.

5. Prepare, or direct the preparation of, the annual School District budget for the Board's consideration and action.

6. Administer the budget as approved by the Board and interpret it to the community.

7. Conduct a program of public relations which will keep the community fully informed of the activities, successes and needs of the School District. The Superintendent shall maintain a cooperative working relationship between the School District and the community by regularly attending community and school activities.

8. Initiate citizen committees which includes professional consultants to act in an advisory capacity in areas such as curriculum, government programs, school projects, research, school finance and evaluations subject to the Board's approval.

9. Respond to situations requiring discretion because they are not covered by Board existing policies, reporting the action to the Board as soon as possible thereafter.

10. Assist the Board in fulfilling its legislative function for the schools in an efficient and just manner.

11. Assume direct operational responsibility for all duties and responsibilities not specifically assigned to an assistant Superintendent, director, or others.

12. Maintain accurate up-to-date records and reports as required by law, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and/or the Board.

13. Provide an orientation program for new Board members and inform Board members of conferences, workshops and other meetings that will assist them in their duties and responsibilities.

14. Provide an agenda to Board President prior to all regular Board meetings, with appropriate background information.

15. Provide leadership for all School District personnel which encourages team effort to provide quality education and services.

16. Supervise and evaluate central office administrative personnel and all principals, making annual recommendations to the Board for administrative employment and compensation.

17. Resolve student disciplinary problems resulting from principals' referrals.

18. Serve as spokesperson for the Board team in discussions with the representative teacher organization.

19. Perform other duties as may be assigned by the Board of Education or as may be required to implement the policies and regulations of the Board of Education.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Policy 1520 (Regulation 1520)

Office Methods and Data Management

School District Annual Report

School District officials will submit to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education all data and reports as required by law and/or by regulations of the Missouri State Board of Education. The Annual Report will be completed and submitted in accordance with department regulations.

The Annual Report will be available on the District’s website which is linked to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Regulation 1520

Office Methods and Data Management

School District Annual Report

The Board of Education will annually issue a report to each household with a student enrolled in the District. Copies of the School Accountability Report Card shall be available at all school or administrative buildings and shall also be distributed to all media outlets serving the District. The School Accountability Report Card for each school building will include the following information:

1. Enrollment.

2. Rates of pupil attendance.

3. High school dropout rate.

4. Staffing ratios, including the District ratio of students to all teachers, to administrators, and to classroom teachers.

5. Average years of experience of professional staff and advanced degrees earned.

6. Student achievement as determined through the assessment system developed pursuant to section 160.518.

7. Student scores on the SAT or ACT, as appropriate, along with the percentage of students taking each test.

8. Average teachers' and administrators' salaries compared to the state averages.

9. Average salaries of non-certificated personnel compared to state averages.

10. Average per pupil expenditures for the District as a whole and for each attendance center in the District.

11. Voted and adjusted tax rates levied.

12. Assessed valuation.

13. Percent of the District operating budget received from state, federal, and local sources. 

14. Number of students eligible for free or reduced lunch.

15. School calendar information, including days of student attendance.

16. Parent-teacher conferences and rates of participation.

17. Staff development or in-service training. 

18. Data on course offerings.

19. Special education programs.

20. Early childhood special education programs.

21. Parents as teachers programs.

22. Vocational education programs.

23. Gifted or enrichment programs.

24. Advanced placement programs.

25. Data on the number of students continuing their education in post secondary programs.

26. Information about job placement for students who complete District vocational education programs.

27. District's most recent accreditation by the state Board of Education, including measures for school improvement.

28. Rates, duration of, and reasons for suspensions of ten (10) days or longer and expulsions of students.

PERSONNEL SERVICES

Policy 4732 (Regulation 4732)

Separation

Termination of Employment: Administrators

The terms and conditions of the Superintendent's employment are governed by the employment contract between the Board of Education and the Superintendent. Provision for employment and termination of the Superintendent are provided for in Policy 1720. The employment of all other certificated teachers who are employed as administrators and who are not eligible for permanent status as a teacher are provided for in this policy.

Such district administrators are not eligible for permanent status in their administrative position. However, as provided by law, administrators may be entitled to permanent status as a teacher should their administrative employment be voluntarily or involuntarily terminated. All such administrators may be assigned to other administrative positions or teaching positions as provided in the regulations enacted under this policy.

PERSONNEL SERVICES

Regulation 4732

Separation

Termination of Employment:Administrators

Contracts for administrators under this policy and regulation may be non-renewed for any lawful reason. Administrators will be notified on or by April 15 of the Board's intention to reemploy them in their present positions, another position or to non-renew their employment. On or by May 15, the Board will provide each returning administrator with a written contract. Administrators will have ten (10) calendar days from receipt of the offered contract to accept or reject the contract. Failure to respond in a timely manner will be considered a rejection of the Board's offer.

Non-Renewal Process

Administrators who have been reemployed by the Board as a District administrator five (5) times or more are entitled to certain due process procedures. Within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of notification of non-renewal or reassignment, eligible administrators have ten (10) calendar days within which to request in writing a statement of reasons for the Board's action. The Board will respond in writing within ten (10) days of receipt of the administrator's request. The administrator will then have ten (10) calendar days to submit a written request for a Board hearing. The hearing will then be held within ten (10) calendar days of the receipt of the request for a hearing. The purpose of the hearing is to provide the administrator with the opportunity to convince the Board to reconsider their decision.

Administrators who have been reemployed as a District administrator less than five times are entitled only to notice of non-renewal or reassignment by April 15.

Reduction in Force

Administrators are subject to reduction in their administrative positions at any time. The procedures for such reductions are the same as for probationary teachers. (Refer to Regulation 4740 - Reduction in Force: Certificated Staff.)