Philadelphia Puts Out Call for 5,000 Subs

Dr. William Hite Jr appears to have engaged in breach of contracts for teachers and staff in every district he has worked in. 

Philadelphia has hired a search service to hire 5,000 substitutes.

“Whether you’re a recent college graduate looking to work your way into a full-time teaching position, a retired teacher interested in getting back in the classroom, or someone looking to make a positive contribution to the development of children, Source4Teachers has a place for you. We offer health insurance and other benefits including a 401(k) plan and opportnities for various bonuses. Plus, working as a substitute is extremely flexible –how frequently, when and where you work is entirely up to you,” the SubinPhilly.com website says.”

This could happen only in a district that doesn’t care about education or children. This could happen only in a district that serves poor Black and Hispanic children in which transparency and accountability is next to none existence. It would never happen in a ritzy white suburb in America.

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Where is the Outrage in PGCPS?

There is something sadly skewed with Prince George’s county community’s moral priorities.

We are sure many of you have been following the growing uproar in our blogs which have advocated for several changes in our school system in the last two years.

So many Prince George’s County administrators at Sasscer Administration Building and elsewhere could not possibly get away with such abuse unless many others were complicit in turning a blind eye in various illegal activities,  including sexual abuse of innocent kids. Why do PGCPS leaders tolerate the presence of colleagues who sexually abuse innocent staff, young children and vulnerable adults? Why do people in the pews not rise up and demand that their leaders be held accountable? Where’s the outrage?

Why don’t people at The School District of Philadelphia in Philadelphia demand the resignation of Dr. William Hite Jr, who admittedly kept quiet about staff members involved in sexual related activity and abuse of kids?

Why doesn’t staff at Sasscer Administration Building demand the resignation of Dr. Alvin L. Crawley, about whom there is significant evidence that he knew of a host of problems including sexual abuse of children when he arrived in September 2012? Where’s the outrage?

Where is the outrage when an 8 year old girl is sexually abused and taken advantage of in an environment which is supposed to be safe and conducive for learning?

Where is the outrage when a 13-year-old girl who died four years ago after she was struck by a car while trying to catch a school bus?

Where is the outrage in the wake of the slaying of seven students this school year alone?

Why do so many people act as though staff- sex abuse cover-ups and other criminal activities are no big deal?

We commend the vigilant teacher and the Principal at Glenn Dale Elementary school. Hopefully at the schools PGCPS could implement in the beginning of the school year teachers and students behavior appropriate and inappropriate interactions. And steps they should take if these rules have been violated.

“Politicians, parents, Churches, TV/Radio personalities etc, should respond with righteous outrage and anger at such crimes against innocent staff, children abused by leaders they trust in these schools and offices,” But where is that outrage?

Even now, has anything changed? Have any of those who covered up and kept quiet in the past about the abuse been held accountable? We appreciate the passage of HB 1107 to make proper changes in PGCPS but it might be too little too late for some.

And what about the epicenter of the corruption in PGCPS led by labor relations Director and previous chief legal counsel? Is anyone outraged at the fact that their long-time attorney threatened to sue abused victims even when the abuse was readily substantiated? It certainly doesn’t appear that way, even as these individuals are being caught red handed stealing. Where is the outrage?

The current Prince George’s County Board of Education Chair Verjeana M. Jacobs, has known about these problems for more than six years now and has continued to keep quiet in conspiracy with the corrupt Unions. She was apparently content leaving countless other children and staff at risk. Yet, she is still the Board of Education Chairperson before HB 1107 goes into effect on June 1, 2013. Where’s the outrage?

Where is the outrage when the Director of communications in PGCPS creates false reports to maintain the status quo of the ailing PG County school system in cohort with the current Board chair while abusing the County Executive? (See PGCPSLies) Where’s the outrage?

And what about the fact that a man with a substantiated report of having sexually molested a child was still driving a School Bus, after the fact the school leaders knew of his problems in PGCPS. This is after several leaders had been informed at Sasscer Administrative Building. Those men and women are still in leadership positions including Ms. Monica Goldson the current Chief Operating Officer. Is there any accountability for the willing blindness of PGCPS leaders who leave kids and others in harm’s way for predators? Where is the outrage?

What about the Union leadership and others smooching in the closets in PGCPS schools while refusing to take responsibility for their actions? Where is the outrage?

It is easy enough to look at the perpetrators and say therein lies the problem. But what about all the enablers? What about the many leaders who turn a blind eye like Board of Education Chairperson Verjeana M. Jacobs and allow staff molesters including Union leaders in PGCPS to move on to other schools, offices etc. where they find fresh new prey? Where is the outrage?

“What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander.”

— Elie Wiesel

Philly’s ‘broke’ school district boosts salaries of 25 nonunion workers.

 

Dr. William Hite Jr is pictured above.

As the Philadelphia School District continues to deal with a financial crisis, several members of the teachers union are angry over the district’s recent decision to give raises to non-union members.

The school district awarded raises to 25 non-union employees, a move that the district called a “necessary part of doing business.” The Philadelphia Daily News reports the 25 staffers received a total increase of $311,351 in salary, which averages out to $12,454 per year. This is the same tactic previously used by Dr. William Hite in PGCPS school district before he left for Philly. In Prince George’s County for example, Ms. Monica Goldson “Goldson” was given a huge raise in suspicious circumstances together with others close to Dr. William Hite Jr.  Unfortunately, in these circumstances, money that could be allotted for classroom supplies to further the education of youth, and to increase homeless children’s participation in the educational system, is being used elsewhere.

Recently, there has been an unprecedented increase in homeless individuals living in the United States because of hard economic times, thus, Dr.Hite and his colleagues who are involved in this illicit act, should reconsider returning the money to the treasury, and allotting it to its respective educational needs. What is quite disturbing about these practices is that, one employee received a 49% raise, for example. This particular employee had only been in the system for approximately three years and now makes over 100k. (Read more here), (here) (here), (here) and (here). It’s time!

Sign the petition.

Target: Governor Martin O'Malley, Dr. Bernard J. Sadusky and Board of Education members

Region: United States of America

Petition:

Vote of No confidence on William Hite EdD.

Dear Governor O’Malley, Dr. Bernard J. Sadusky and Board of Education members,

We are respectfully requesting that you act to have Dr. William Hite Jr removed as superintendent of schools in Prince George’s County Public schools (PGCPS). Under his watch, we have witnessed nepotism, professional misconduct, discrimination and corruption.

Dr William Hite has been the disgraced Jack Johnson’s side kick before and after he became the County superintendent of schools. We have the evidence and the PG County needs new officials with no ties to corruption.

Keeping Superintendent Hite is just not working well for students and staff of Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS). We the public, would like to see an effort to address this situation by the state of Maryland. Enough is enough.

Reform Sasscer Movement.

 

Petition:

We are asking people to sign a petition that will be forwarded to Governor Martin O’Malley of the state of Maryland, the local school Board of Education and State superintendent Dr. Bernard J. Sadusky in order to address the Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) situation! The Online petition requests that, nepotism, professional misconduct, discrimination and corruption by senior staff in PGCPS be brought to an end.

 

Dr William Hite has been the disgraced Jack Johnson’s side kick before and after he became the County superintendent of schools. We have the evidence and the PG County needs new officials with no hands tied to corruption.Please sign the petition. However if you leave comments, no foul language, belittling etc should be used. Example, what you see on comment boards.

We need for everyone to post this link to Face book. Twitter. Email. This will close March 30th 2012. We need several thousand to be heard!

Also please forward this link. We need many signatures!

 

Sign the petition~> Here

12 points why PGCPS needs a new Superintendent

What Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) – District Community needs in a new Superintendent;

1. Community needs a new Superintendent who has a vision, is able to communicate that vision and is able to make it come to pass.
2. Teachers in all schools are 100 percent focused on the children. “Our problem here isn’t funding, it’s some administrators,” one teacher said recently. “There are givers and takers in this world, and it’s sad that in this community we have too many takers.” How can one justify thousands of administrators making over $100,000 with nothing to show for it?
3. The community also needs a new Superintendent who is a team leader and a team player who can educate children on their individual level. William Hite Jr. EdD  (pictutered below) is neither a good team leader nor a good team player.
4. Administrators, Teachers and support staff need a new superintendent who can quickly gain the confidence of leaders within the system, inspire them, motivate them and re-energize them.
5. They also strongly favor a new superintendent as someone who can focus on one or two key areas of change; improve student achievement and be fair and consistent in his or her dealings with employees, students and the community.
6. Other Key suggestions made to the “Reform Sasscer Team” are; A new superintendent who could implement a system wide focus on all schools, meet the needs of students who aren’t college-bound and unify the school system and public behind one vision.
7. A new Superintendent who could assist students make AYP as well as staying focused on students and working on parental involvement. Many schools have been failing contrary to what William Hite has been saying lately as a cover up, (Read the news clip here).
8. The big superintendent goals/qualities that came out of the teachers’ input meeting recently are making data-driven decisions that are not one-size fits all, giving administrators the autonomy to use school data to identify problems at their schools and create solutions to fix them, and bridging racial divisions that exist in the school system.
9. Encouraging collaboration and creativity among teachers, being a visionary and having sensitivity for other cultures including southern and racial issues.
10. A new Superintendent who can work with all the board members without targeting those who do not toe the line by not supporting fraud and other corrupt activities.
11. The Business Community wants a new superintendent who can utilize sound business practices to achieve the outcome that everyone wants — or should want — and that’s getting the best results for our kids. Today, we spend a lot to get a poor product. No business can sustain itself with that model.
12. Finally PGCPS needs a new superintendent who can fight corruption and take heads on  Bully administrators who are sexually harassing staff in various locations, schools, central offices within the PGCPS District system with blind eye of embattled Superintendent Hite.  This issue has been compromising quality of service and has gotten worse under  him. (William Hite Jr. EdD). 

 

 

Sasscer scandal.

The announcement that Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) received National recognition for excellence in financial reporting is suspicious ploy. We truly believe it is a clever move to boost Superintendent William Hite’s ego in order to dupe the citizens of Prince George’s County.  Only the devil knows why this information is being released now!  We are sure that Dr. William Hite Jr. and his gang is involved in professional misconduct, corruption and nepotism.  By creating these many clever moves at a time when we are demanding for accountability, he is trying to fool citizens in order to hold on to power. These aspects will never fly with any keen observer.

Financial mismanagement and lack of accountability and transparency has been his trademark to date!  Besides the corruption, many employees, stake holders and citizens of Prince George’s County are astounded by the many lawsuits brought up against the county public schools recently during his tenure. This is unprecedented in the History of PGCPS and it definitely shows there are problems within the school system.  Read the story here by the Gazette Newspaper. Another story here by Washington post.

Anyone who has been following the initial  blog will agree that the second announcement regarding the financial reporting award only came after 7 days after publication of the second blog.  This is problematic for parents who want to see proper reforms and tough changes in the school system in order to support students, teachers and administrators.  Once again, Dr. William Hite Jr. wants to appear that he is doing a good job and that transparency and accountability are not an issue. We disagree with him!  The problems in our school system are manmade.  We demand a reputable external audit to make a proper assessment without any interference from Superintendent Hite and his staff. We have had enough with this PGCPS mess. Superintendent Hite for the most part is either playing golf or is out in the field doing other activities that are unrelated to the education of our children. This is not fair to those who are stakeholders and citizens of Prince George’s County interested in genuine reform.  He is not a good superintendent because he is not doing the job we have hired him to do.  Besides, he likes to cover up corruption! Therefore, he should resign as soon as possible.

Before he begins to resign, a reporter or someone else needs to ask Superintendent Hite’s position on the reasons for introducing a dysfunctional online portal which is not even navigateable for the public to verify school contracts and other tenders online. Why can’t a big school system like PGCPS create an accountable and functional website, like other Districts, to show this?  Is it time we started looking for a new webmaster?  The current webmaster Mr. Max Pugh is over paid.  He makes over $100,000 and he does not seem to have the technical know how on simple areas.  We believe the use of unfair and dubious online processes without any challenge from anyone, including some Board members, is a cause for alarm.  We have confirmed claims of some Directors receiving kickbacks in certain areas. This is not fair to the children of Prince George’s County Public Schools.  The time for Dr. William Hite to go has come!

Conclusions

Even though we want to see greater transparency and accountability, budget transparency is not a goal in itself. If a budget is built on distorted priorities, and if it does not represent all expenditure, then there may be room for corruption even though the budget data is available. Similarly, a budget that is transparent but not accurate will make public scrutiny impossible and again provide room for corruption. Furthermore, budget transparency is only useful in combination with budget timeliness and accessibility. If data is provided too late, or if information is not made available in a reader-friendly format, the public will not be able to monitor the budget process. Finally, a transparent budget will only be useful if effectively used by the public. Transparency and participation complement each other.

Budget transparency has to be seen as one component of a broader framework of fiscal transparency and public expenditure management. Transparency should be a standard feature of a sound budget system that is built on realistic assumptions. Expenditure management should promote adherence to the budget and allow for public scrutiny. Right now, as things stand in PGCPS under William Hite Jr. EdD, this is not the case.

Reform Sasscer Team 2011-12 Movement.

The Reform Sasscer Team 2011-12 is a nationwide nonprofit movement dedicated to reforming Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) District system based out of Largo,Maryland.

Our mission is to transform the school system into one that builds on the strengths of young people, families, and communities to ensure children are given the greatest opportunities to grow and thrive.

In addition, we are committed to seeing proper reforms, transparency and accountability issues addressed for the benefit of the stakeholders as well as citizens of Prince George’s County.

Other Blogs – PGCPS Mess and Reform Sasscer

PGCPS Boycott.

Boycott the Failing Prince George’s County Public Schools. (PGCPS).

The announcement that Superintendent Dr. William Hite Jr. of Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) received a Directorship of National PTA Board of Directors is suspicious. We believe that this is a clever ploy to boost his ego after we published an initial  blog.  The announcement came  four days after publication of the second blog.  This is problematic for parents who want to see proper reforms and tough changes in the school system in order to support students, teachers and administrators.  Dr. William Hite Jr. wants to appear that he is doing a good job.  He sits on several boards but he does not have enough time to do what he was hired to do.  Most of the time he is either playing golf or is out in the field doing other activities that are unrelated to the education of our children. This is not fair to those who are stakeholders and citizens of Prince George’s County.  He is not a good superintendent becasue he is not doing the job we have hired him to do. Therefore, he should resign as soon as possible.  

 Before you decide whether to support the proposed November 4th, 2011  boycott of PGCPS, by not sending your child to school that day, first understand the issues facing these parents.  PGCPS has an approximate graduation rate of 50%.  Shockingly this is not the problem facing parents. The real problem is that 179 schools are rated as PLA.  PLA is a rating given to schools that have persistently breached the public trust and that have completely failed to educate the students who attend them. PLA rated schools have less than a 50% graduation rate. Infact, these schools are factored in with the twenty other non- PLA schools, such as County Honors, to give PGCPS its 50% graduation rate. Note that PGCPS is the second worst performing school District in the whole state of Maryland, barely above Baltimore City public schools.

The problem for many parents, particularly those with lower incomes,  is that they must send their children to a PLA school where the child will receive an inadequate education.  When these parents send their children to a PLA school, they face the stark reality that their children are set up to fail.  This problem is not a recent issue. These schools have failed several generations of students.  Year after year these parents are told that something is being done to address this failure, and they are given a list of what will be done.  Yet, the failure persists with no consequence to those accountable for this failure.  The issue has gotten worse under Superintendent Hite.  Recently, Dr. William Hite Jr., put up a questionable editorial (you can read it here) that claims tremendous progress was achieved last year.  This is contrary to the investigative  reports done by the Gazette newspaper. (Read the report here).

During the budget process hearings this past spring, we attended a board meeting that was coordinated by Superintendent Hite where he undermined several elected officials including senators and delegates, clandestinely, because they dared question his work ethic. We found out that  Superintendent Hite controls almost all the board members.  When the chair of the Board finally called for a vote to confirm the issues following presentations on the PLA problem by the PGCPS Superintendent Hites, they passed the budget without much questioning of his decision.  Local leaders and an auditorium filled with more than 100 Prince George’s County parents were astonished.  The turning point at this meeting for us was when Superintendent Hite suggested that parents are expecting too much and they should settle for children that do not always graduate but rather the standard should be that they are able to pass a GED test.  Hite actually proposed at the meeting to change the standard from expecting their child to graduate to minimally expecting their children be able to pass a GED test and be work force ready.  Hite  is the one primarily accountable for setting the educational standard and developing the plan to address the PLA crises.  These parents’ children are currently trapped in a school system that is led by a person that proposes setting low expectations and does not expect the system to succeed or improve.

 Whether you are located in the PGCPS or outside of this area, consider providing support to these parents and the PGCPS’s bold move to boycott.   The boycott is the first step in sending the message that without the children there is no PGCPS and that these parents do have power.  They should expect real corrective and preventive action.  The time for talk and playing the blame game is over.  Parents are vital in the process of reviewing and approving the plan that is proposed and acted on.  The Prince George’s County Council has the power to provide oversight to the Board of Education Budget and to ask tough questions following massive corruption unmasked recently.  There must be accountability and transparency without much delay!

A rally will be held in front of PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING in Upper Marlboro at noon in the near future (check back here for the date)– be there!

County Administration Building
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772-3050

“We need to support & encourage the parents of children attending failing Prince George’s County Public schools to keep up the pressure…”

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