Dr.William Hite Jr goes Bonkers – finally loses it!

Please anyone, calm this man down.

Reform Sasscer movement has always taken a holistic approach to promote good governance. Good governance requires strong institutions, a receptive regulatory environment, and an active citizenry that holds its government accountable.  Underpinning all governance reform efforts is the public’s right to information. Where information is accessible at all levels and transactions are conducted in a transparent and open way, citizens are empowered and opportunities for corruption diminish. Conversely, the lack of adequate access to information, whether in election, budget processes or procurement procedures, enables corruption to not only exist but to flourish.

Reform Sasscer movement experience has proven that improving in one area of governance –  For example PGCPS Budget reform – without addressing access to information leaves an imbalance which can result in a less transparent and accountable society like we are seeing under the  Student Based Budgeting (SBB) in Prince George’s County Public Schools ( PGCPS) under William Hite. Many parents and staff members are in the dark. This was demonstrated recently on May 30, 2012 during the District 6 citizen meeting at Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School. Several concerned parents had no idea of how money is being spent.

It is in this background that we wrote to the General assembly on April 23, 2012 asking our elected officials to help push much needed reforms within PGCPS under embattled Superintendent Hite.  As a result of our advocacy, Dr. Hite reacted angrily over the weekend promising certain retaliatory measures. He refused to answer the concerns presented in our blogs by denying everything  saying “these allegations are not only false, they are slanderous”. (See emails below and our response).

Greater transparency can be achieved in various ways, but one of the most efficient way is through a general right of access to official information. Access to timely, transparent and appropriate information within our school system is crucial to building accountable communities.  If William Hite cannot cope with this demand, he should resign hence forth. We have been demanding this for a while now on behalf of PGCPS and the larger community as a whole. Dr. Hite is and has been a distraction because he does not know the job and he is harrassing. The man was selected corruptly for the job.

Bottom line, in the age of social media (Twitter, Facebook, blogs etc.), no leader or civil servant can afford to abuse power and plunder resources without oversight. The consequences can be adverse as demonstrated recently even with our own secret service. Nobody should be above the law in PGCPS. That goes for Dr. William R. Hite Jr., Ms. Verjeana Jacobs and anyone else involved in the public corruption including Chief legal counsel Mr. Roger Thomas.  We will continue with our advocacy until the issues are addressed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: Reform Sasscer <reformsasscer@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Apr 29, 2012 at 3:45 AM
Subject: Re: Allegations – A Response To Allegations in This Information
To: “William R. Hite, Jr.” <william.hite@pgcps.org>
Cc: “educationissues@hotmail.com” <educationissues@hotmail.com>, “paul.pinsky@senate.state.md.us” <paul.pinsky@senate.state.md.us>, “anthony.muse@senate.state.md.us” <anthony.muse@senate.state.md.us>, “douglas.peters@senate.state.md.us” <douglas.peters@senate.state.md.us>, “jim.rosapepe@senate.state.md.us” <jim.rosapepe@senate.state.md.us>, “victor.ramirez@senate.state.md.us” <victor.ramirez@senate.state.md.us>, “thomas.v.mike.miller@senate.state.md.us” <thomas.v.mike.miller@senate.state.md.us>, “joanne.benson@senate.state.md.us” <joanne.benson@senate.state.md.us>

Dear Senators, Board of Education members, elected officials et alia,

The reply received is typical of Dr. William Hite jr response to a public inquiry. First, Dr. William Hite jr is a public figure with responsibility and duty to be accountable to the public and yet he feels he is a king in charge and only accountable to himself. His response to Dr. Eugene Williams is contemptible and disgusting and revealing to his attitude towards accountability and transparency of public funds. Dr. Eugene Williams only asked for a simple clarification to an issue which is now public knowledge and what does Dr. William Hites jr do? He comes out with guns blazing and with a no take prisoners approach. Dr Hite immediately becomes a judge and jury all rolled into one claiming slander and terrorist – threatening unspecified retaliation measures. Could someone please bring this Dr. William Frankenstein Hite monster under control with a muzzle and tranquilizer? Such a so called learned man should learn how to respond in a civil and enlightened manner. Prince George’s County Public Schools (Pgcps) does not deserve or condone such uncouth and irresponsible behavior from a superintendent of schools.

Dr. Wiiliam Flantesntein Hite should tame his ego and lead by example. What kind of example does this dialogue serve? Are we supposed to bow and shudder to the all might self proclaimed king Dr. Wiliiam Frankenstein Hite? We hope he is not trying to start his own Friday the 13th horror sequel. Dr. Hite you don’t scare anyone. We will settle for nothing-less than the truth, transparency and accountability. Enough is enough. Your threats and witch hunt belong in a museum. They will never work. We will not be silenced or intimidated.

In addition, Dr. William Hite you can bark as much as you like but you need to have the common decency to the gentleman’s inquiry and answer the questions.  This is not a threat but a fact. There are more than 21 points to clarify. We will continue to post questions and concerns from Pg county citizens in the blogs. Parents and students deserves answers. Dr William Hite jr climb down from your high perch.

Finally, if you are a woman  who has been subjected to sexual harrassment, innuendo, unwarranted looks and comments and promises by Dr. William Hite jr, don’t be a victim of silence, you need to come out and save other women suffering the abuse silently. We are aware of numerous venues inluding Boston etc. Time has come to put a stop to this madness. Every girl and woman needs your protection in Pgcps – Speak up!

Regards,

Deputy spokesman – Fletcher Morris Beyene

Reform Sasscer Movement Secretariat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: William R. Hite, Jr. <william.hite@pgcps.org>
Date: Fri, Apr 27, 2012 at 11:58 AM
Subject: Allegations – A Response To Allegations in This Information
To: educationissues@hotmail.com, reformsasscer@gmail.com
Cc: paul.pinsky@senate.state.md.us, anthony.muse@senate.state.md.us, douglas.peters@senate.state.md.us, jim.rosapepe@senate.state.md.us, victor.ramirez@senate.state.md.us, thomas.v.mike.miller@senate.state.md.us, joanne.benson@senate.state.md.us

Greetings Mr. Williams,

 Thank you for contacting Prince George’s County Public Schools. As a general rule, we do not respond to anonymous emails, blogs, tweets and Facebook posts. The school system has established numerous resources for individuals to voice their concerns and/or make formal complaints (http://www1.pgcps.org/internalaudit/index.aspx?id=20430).

However, rest assured that these allegations are not only false, they are slanderous. The individuals behind these hateful attacks seek to shred the reputation of our employees, students, school system and community. Hateful online speech (e-bullying or e-terrorist attacks) have real world consequences and should not be tolerated.

Finally, Mr. Williams, if you are the person responsible for these communiqués or if you know the individual(s) responsible, please let us know.

Thank you,

William R. Hite

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: Eugene Williams,Sr. <educationissues@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, Apr 25, 2012 at 11:58 AM
Subject: A Response To Allegations in This Information
To: rosalind.johnson@pgcps.org, verjeana.jacobs@pgcps.org, donna.hathawaybeck@pgcps.org, william.hite@pgcps.org, educationissues@hotmail.com

Superintendent Hite and Board Members-

I recently retired from the school system, primarily because I did not feel that the the teaching environment was hostile and retaliatory to senior, experienced teachers. Moreover,  the alleged age and racial discrimination infuriated me, an experience, competent teacher who helped many students and brought national and international recognition to the system. For more abour my accomplishments and achievements, please see www.academicresourcesunlimited.org.

Now, an Evolutionary Elder, I am desirious of a response to the information in the e-mail I am forwarding to you. I receive such e-mails regularly. Are these allegations true? If so, how do you plan to address them?

Personally, as a citizen of the County, I have several other concerns about the quality of education some of our young people are receiving. I will share them with the Superintendent in a follow-up e-mail.

Thanks for a prompt response.

Dr. Eugene Williams, Sr.
301-768-8316
www.academicresourcesunlimited.org
Evolutionary Elder

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:43:06 -0400
Subject: Reforms needed at PGCPS -Sasscer.
From: reformsasscer@gmail.com
To: paul.pinsky@senate.state.md.us; anthony.muse@senate.state.md.us; douglas.peters@senate.state.md.us; jim.rosapepe@senate.state.md.us; victor.ramirez@senate.state.md.us; thomas.v.mike.miller@senate.state.md.us; joanne.benson@senate.state.md.us

Greetings,

We are providing you with this update to make you aware of the conflicts of interest which is impacting Prince Georges County Public Schools (PGCPS) as a result of  the actions of Superintendent of Schools Dr.William Hite and the outgoing BOE Chair since 2008 school year.

We are asking the members of the General Assembly to press for reforms at the Sasscer Administration Building and an end to the corruption being perpetrated by Dr. William Hite and his Kitchen cabinet. We request major cuts be pushed at Sasscer before any approval of the FY2013 budget..Our school system is faced with corruption, nepotism and professional misconduct and cuts are necessary to clean house. Any Budget approval should be tied to accountability and transparency of an inspector General (IG). Needless to say, this would act as a mint of fresh air to scandalous Budget AND money buried in the said budget for questionable activities by Dr. William Hite and Verjeana Jacobs (BOE Chair). (see the link below)

http://pgcpsmess.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/top-priorities-for-the-incoming-boe-in-pgcps/#respond

Deputy spokesman – Fletcher Morris Beyene

Reform Sasscer Movement Secretariat.

 

PGCPS Normal Breakfast or Bribery?

Verjeana Jacobs (Pictured above) must be rejected in the polls this election season for practicing corruption.

It has come to our attention that the embattled Ms. Verjeana Jacobs  (Chairperson of the Board of Education – BOE) is throwing a breakfast for influential members of the board, parents and union members which includes school principals after her defeat in the primary elections.

The Reform Sasscer movement is exposing this scandal to show there is a conflict of interest and is cumulative. The scandal is being perpetrated by Dr. William Hite Jr. and Ms. Verjeana Jacobs to mobilize school Principals and the Presidents of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) into supporting a campaign for Ms. Jacobs using student funds in Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) using illegal methods. In our view, this is a waste of tax payer money, bribery of the highest order and corruption. Why does Chairperson Verjeana Jacobs suddenly feel the need to have a community engagement breakfast with the unions and other leaders she has not reached out to in 6 years? On top of all, the event is taking place in an expensive restaurant. The invitation went out to PTA/PTO/PTSO Presidents, Vice Presidents and Principals in the entire PGCPS District on Tuesday, April 10, 2012, at 4:07 PM. (see attached breakfast). This is an attempt to undermine the smooth political campaigns and pressure the Principals and the PTA Presidents at Tax payers’ expense. This is unacceptable. We demand an immediate investigation and a full reimbursement of the tax payer’s money.

We are astounded by the turn of events by Mrs. Jacobs and Superintendent Hite.  Why invite members of a union that did not endorse or support her after she was exposed for engaging in corruption in the last 6 years as the chairperson of the Board of Education in PGCPS?  The  reasons for her actions may include an effort to undermine the solidarity of the union or fear of exposure. She seem to have run out of steam!  The Board of Education, led by Verjeana Jacobs and the administration of Dr. William Hite has been in bed with some corrupt union members as well as the former county executive Jack John for sometime. Their relationship with both Leslie Johnson  and Jack Johnson  have been compromising the quality of service in Prince George’s County schools. “This is another attempt to interfere and break the union inorder to  maintain status quo” said one union staffer recently.  However, “It will not work!”, she continued to say.  Members of the public are fed up with what is going on in our schools  and they are too smart to take the bait. Mrs.Verjeana Jacobs, your desperation is showing and come November 2012, the voters will speak loud and clear. They will send you home packing for good!

Dr. Hite and his ongoing scandals

On Monday Dr. William Hite, Superintendent of the Prince George’s County Public Schools, invited all non-incumbent candidates for the Board of Education to a private meeting in his office. Our investigations reveal that, Hite requested the discussion to probably sway potential board members. He is looking for ways to make sure it works for him since questions surrounding misappropriation of funds, professional misconduct and nepotism was first brought to light in our blog. Before highlighting more about the meeting we think it is important to get a few facts straight;

• Hite’s scheduling secretary sent an e-mail early this month (February 2012) inviting the candidates to a brief meeting on Monday night at Sasscer Administration Building.
• The invitation was not sent to all candidates but just all non-incumbents with an exception of two Board members close to Dr. Hite.
• The invite didn’t mention the agenda. However, Since then, the meeting has taken on a life of its own.

Some of the BOE candidates chose not to attend the meeting with Dr. Hite because they felt it flirted with a line that they were not willing to cross. “Meetings of this type should not be done in private” Joseph Kitchen said.  There was the appearance that he wanted to tell “candidates what the board is supposed to do. It’s supposed to work the other way around.” He continued. We agree with him. Superintendent William Hite Jr is not a reformer in our view and is presiding over deep seated corruption in variety of ways in Pg County. Superintendent Hite who is a great friend of convicted former county executive (Jack Johnson) needs to be put on the spot light as he was elected corruptly.  Proper accountability is needed immediately.

According to Washington post, “among some of the topics discussed were the  district’s revenue, its enrollment, and maintenance and repair of school property”. The information shared by Dr. Hite never came as a surprise to us, and the issues he outlined are issues we have been involved in for many months now. We want to see proper accountability and transparency involving millions of dollars slated to be poured in Pg County towards construction projects and other matters in the next school year. We demand public scrutiny with proper checks and balances.

Accountability is a fundamental value for any system. Citizens of PG County should have the right to know what actions are being taken in their name, and they should have the means to force corrective actions when government acts in an illegal, immoral, or unjust manner as seen in Prince Georges County recently.  Individual citizens should have the ability to have some redress when their rights are abused by government or they do not receive the public benefits to which they are entitled.

Accountability is also important for Dr Hite and PGCPS itself.  It provides the school system or any government agency with a means of understanding how programs may fail and finding mechanisms that can make programs perform better. Covering up Financial corruption with the announcement that PGCPS got a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award will never fly with anybody. Staff we spoke to at Sasscer knows what is happening regarding the decay in PGCPS.

In the next several months, discussions on serious issues regarding corruptions and other matters will be discussed. It’s in these forums where true leaders will be identified to lead the next BOE in Prince Georges County. The decision regarding a private meeting with Dr. Hite should not have taken place in private especially in regards to issues pertaining to public funds. Let us demand transparency.

23 candidates are vying for the Board of Education seats. Citizens of PG County must do their work in order  to select the best candidates who have a good track record in fighting corruption. This is the key to accountability!

Bill PG 410-12

 Call your elected representatives now and the media.  Ask them to support the accountability and transparency intitive bill.

 ~> Support Bill PG 410-12 – Education – Prince George’s County School Board Budgets – Transparency

Sponsor – Delegate Geraldine Valentino-Smith

Synopsis

For the purpose of requiring a certain Web site of the Prince George’s County Board of Education to include certain budget data; requiring the Web site to contain annual data and to be searchable based on individual schools; and generally relating to a searchable Web site of the Prince George’s County Board of Education.

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