BREAKING NEWS: Frechette Really Was Fullashitte! Court Rules in Favor of Bourne

BREAKING NEWS: Remember how Mayor Dan Drew said he triumphantly ended ALL the lawsuits between the City & the BOE? Yeah...... LIE 

Frechette Really Was Fullashitte! 
Court Rules in Favor of Christine Bourne, former BOE Payroll Supervisor's labor case. Two years ago, Bourne lost her position for being a whistle blower regarding "misplaced" funds overseen by then Superintendent Frechette. Frechette since left the his superintendent position with a settlement paid for by taxpayers that was the size of Rhode Island !

From the Ruling Summary: "There is no way to sugar-coat the facts:  Ms. Bourne was treated horribly by the Board of Education.  

And when push came to shove, the City punished the victim."

At the time the Board of Education was headed by Superintendent Michael Frechette. Mayor Dan Drew was in office at the time when Bourne reapplied to the payroll position, but failed to reinstate her.

UPDATE:In an interview with the Middletown Patch, Mayor Drew is already trying to place ALL of the blame on the previous administration, despite the ruling and facts showing otherwise!! 

Mayor Drew responded to the ruling and his role regarding not reinstating Bourne long before: "Ibityibitty ibity thats thhats all folks!" and proceeded to hide behind Administrative Assistant ('cause thats his title by CHARTER not Chief of Staff) Joe Samolis's legs.

More details to follow!

In the mean time, read up on the Teflon Don and this topic in some oldies but goodies here:

http://www.middletowninsider.com/2012/03/good-question-why-doesnt-boe-just-show.html

http://www.middletowninsider.com/2012/02/scope-on-boe-superintendent-contract.html 

http://www.middletowninsider.com/2012/03/exactly-how-much-does-michael-frechette.html

 

Democrat's Budget: Likely 2 mil Tax Increase for Middletown

He ran on a campaign of lowering taxes & cutting spending.
Is Mayor Drew performing up to your standards?
What does Rep. Joe Serra have to say?

The Insider can't find anyone who
will admit on record they
voted for the Democrats on Council or the Mayor!

The budget written by Mayor Dan Drew and the Democratic Council members calls for nearly a 2 mil increase in taxes, without any increases for Education.

How are Democratic heavy hitters like State Rep. Joe Serra and others who campaigned for Drew feeling as his popularity fades? How do  the senior Councilmen feel  now that their protege is not turning out as malleable as planned?

It seems that the senior Councilmen who felt that they could control Drew once in office have found they have a renegade on their hands.
As a way of off setting the $1 Million dollars overspent by the Board of Education that Mayor Drew says "was just a difference in accounting principles", the Insider  has decided to sell these tee shirts as a way to create 

revenue.

Checks can be made out to Nancy Haynes, business manager at the BOE, or Barbara Senges, or just light the check on fire because that's pretty much where the money will end up anyway. The Insider does not advocate cutting education, however, citizens have not learned and want to increase funding to the BOE since management of such funds has gone so well in the past. Thirty four citizens spoke at the budget hearing held in the Council Chambers April 26, 2012 in favor of increased BOE funding without the BOE providing a line item budget or any additional transparency (see our previous article which explains why by law the BOE administration doesn't have to do this).  Insider is wondering- since a person's tax bill is only representative of the minimum a household is required to pay for property tax- if those who feel this budget is justified why cannot they pay more if they want to so badly? The Insider checked with the Tax Office, and discovered if people wanted to pay more in taxes to Middletown they may, the government will gladly accept donations! So s since taxes are likely only going up 2 mils, anyone wishing to pay 3 mils may do so! It's for the kids people! Monies will be spent on more international trips to Asia and Europe for Mayor Drew in the name of job creation for Middletown, additional aides to the 3 extra he has requested in his budget, and ipads for all Democrats on the Common Council, ( the mayor already has $3,000.00 set aside in his proposed budget for his personal communication devices, so why not share the love and get some for everyone on our dime?)  The Insider tried to find people who voted for Drew and the Democrats to add insight to this article, but no one we talked to would admit they supported these politicians.

Exactly how much does Michael Frechette Get?

New M Town Monopoly staring Michael Frechette & many more dynamic characters!

Last week the BOE elect chose to buy out Superintendent Michael Frechette's contract. In the real world, when you fail to do your job and  mismanage $1 million one would believe that this person would be fired. No so; the Teflon Don seems to be making out well - but questions still remain as to how well? The public deserves to know just how much tax money we must fork over to keep the Frechette family comfortable. Frechette gave his wife a school nurse position that was not offered to the public, which she will get to keep, but will the Frechette's get to keep the two gps's and numerous computers, phones etc. provided to the superintendent? Choose your character! Second in command,  Barbara Senges is  set to retire - what a coincidence! How big will her package be? Play as the lovely Nancy Haynes- who is "out on extended family leave" just when the deficit is being investigated! Mean while, the BOE (that means the tax payers) is paying for her legal fees for her defense against disorderly conduct charges! Or be Josh Berger, the son in law of Councilmember Hope Kasper, who was on the committee that was to fill the questioned position, remains as a permanent employee at the BOE past the 90 day temporary period. He did not even rank in the list of person's qualified! Last week Councilman Tom Serra and Rep. Matt Lesser took the unauthorized drafts of the new district maps from the Registrar Office, what do these two have up their sleeves?  Lastly, why not play as our mysterious leader? Where is Mayor Dan Drew and what does he have to say? Stay and play along at home as the cast of characters grows and the money keeps flowing!

Good Question: "Why doesn't the BOE just show us the books?" Answer: THEY DON'T HAVE TO.

A much loved reader The Blue Cat asked an intelligent question in our comments section the Insider would like to address. " Why doesn't the BOE Administration just show the public the accounting books?" We don't mean to pick on you kitty cat, its a really good question; good for you for taking an interest in where your tax money goes. Many have asked this over and over in various letters to the media and statements given and its a fair question answered below. 

"Rumor Disney to make movie about Nancy Haynes & Middletown BOE!"

2 Comments - Show Original PostCollapse comments

 The Blue Cat said...

It is clear that the BOE had over-spent their special education budget. They did it two years in a row.

Thing is.. thats the norm. And normally there is a grant check that covers a lot of that expenditure. Problem is.. the City used that money without BOE permission. Should the City have done that. No. Did the BOE overspend their budget? Yeah. Thats what happened.

But in the end the city has to fund the BOE no less then the year before. And all of this is over two institutions sharing money. For a few years they have been getting less from the state and the spat between Guiliano and "Evil BOE Empire" didn't help the sharing process.

Now I do have my doubts about some of the accounting practices at the BOE. It appears that some things are left in the dark. Why cant we get a "completely detailed receipt" from the BOE? Isn't that a fair request?

Either way we all have to pay for it.

March 4, 2012 10:22 PM

 Middletown Insider said...

Thank you thank you for the question Blue Cat! in a nutshell here is the answer...

I have to correct you a a few points Blue Cat- the City did not spend the BOE's money. The City told Haynes it was not going to receive the grant money from the State and she and the administration played dumb and kept spending anyway. Mind you, she and all the admins got raises, not a single teacher did. In fact students have been sent home with supply "wish lists." SO the City never had the money. Chalking this up to Giuliano having a spat is inaccurate and unfair and a rumor perpetuated by some of the local Democrats. Again not all, newly elected are doing a fine job asking the right questions. Frechette actively campaigned for Tom Serra and Dan Drew so you have to see that connection. This set the stage for any questioning of Frechette by anyone in public office from either party to have the preconceived connotation of being strictly politically motivated.The crew enlisted  the help of Wesleyan student Dem presidents Ben Florsheim and Gabriela D'Golia who  accused Giuliano supporters of felony voter intimidation. Employees employed by the City working as aids, janitors, secretaries etc have filed numerous grievances citing real mistreatment, discrimination, and unlawful practices by the BOE administration that has gone unnoticed for years. The then Mayor trying to remedy this only to find no communication on the part of the BOE admin namely Frechette is anything but a spat. (So Giuliano took the BOE Administration to court, which the public  grossly misunderstood. Dan Drew ran his campaign on the premise "end the lawsuits save money", and badda bing badda boom, gets elected, no more lawsuits basically giving Frechette carte blanche to continue the madness of the BOE acting like a soverign nation and he the big Chief.)  The only instance of this gross mistreatment of workers, out of dozens, that made the Press was when cafe workers and janitors were not paid for 2 months for the hours they worked at the storm shelter. The only person to blame for this is Michael Frechette. How would you feel if your boss told you he was not going to pay you money you were owed for 2 months? Wrong and illegal but it happened!

By law, which no one seems to understand is the BOE Administration does not have to show line items or be transparent. THATS THE LAW. So if they don't have to all the cries of transparency, talking, hugging, sharing "fair request" will continue to fall on deaf ears. It is not or never was a matter of the BOE and Mayor Giuliano being stubborn, its a matter of the fact Frechette and Haynes by law do not have to show the public the books, and therefore won't. By standing up Blue Cat, we as tax payers do not have to pay for it. Some people have jobs illegally (Haynes) and some people got huge raises (Frechette & Senges) and and mileage- that certainly will cover a lot of the million deficit. Also did you forget Frechette gifted Datco a magic bio-diesel or something school bus a year ago? He spent what he called a $100,000.00 overage!

The Insider pulled the contracts of Frechette and Haynes, and there is not exit clause. Frechette's 3 year contract auto-renews in its second year. Therefore he is always in his second year of three, employed for life. However, contrary to rumors there is no buy out. A vote of no confidence on the part of the elected BOE board would give Frechette, the Insider feels, the much deserved boot. (hint hint) Frechette was the highest paid public employee of Middletown the past two years; his salary is comparable with other superintendents around the state, however, they do their jobs without making headlines- they do not have scream rooms or deficits of a million dollars. Haynes was hired last spring, however, did not sign her contract until August. Why? And, remind you, she was hired illegally as the State has since ruled. Now, the position will be filled again, and taxpayers will be paying for Haynes's salary and that of a person duplicating her duties. Have you ever seen "The Shining" where the twins come down the hall ? Yeah....double the pleasure, double the fun.

One would think if there was nothing to hide the books would be public, however, so far it hasn't happened, and I wouldn't hold my breath. The Insider says if we had a dollar for everytime Mayor Drew says "communication" or "transparency" the million dollar deficit would have been long paid by now. By law, the BOE does not have to give the public a "detailed receipt", which everyone and their mother has asked for over and over, therefore it will never happen.

Blue Cat you are right in the fact by our charter herein known as "Our Stupid Charter," taxpayers must fund the BOE no less than the previous year, therefore the deficit is in fact compounded. This is possibly how DEAL and Special Education got shafted. Oh Our Stupid Charter.

**Correction: according to State Law- the BOE  must provide no less funding than the year before.** Apologies for the misinformation. Also a better choice of words is that our Charter is confusing rather than stupid.

Anyone else who would like to submit a question please do! The Insider is here to answer!