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Thread: Lackawanna School Board Shenanigans

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    Lackawanna School Board Shenanigans

    Recently, some friends were dining at the Blackthorn Restaurant in South Buffalo. They happened to witness the chef of the restaurant approach a table and start telling the patrons seated there that they needed to vote for John Makeyenko in the upcoming school board election. Apparently, the chef stated that he needed a job with better health insurance and John had promised him a job in the Lackawanna Schools maintenance department if he won.

    After a little investigation, it turns out that "the chef" is Mark Daley, the brother of John Makeyenko's good friend Bob Daley - whose wife Courtney was put on as a teacher's aide last September.

    5B APPOINTMENT OF COURTNEY DALEY/TEACHER AIDE POSTION
    Motion by Member Friend, seconded by President Makeyenko upon the
    recommendation of the Superintendent of Schools, Nicholas D. Korach, to approve
    the appointment of Courtney Daley to a 10 month Teacher Aide Position. Ms. Daley
    meets the qualifications as outlined in the District posting. The effective date of
    employment will be September 1, 2011. Her salary and benefits will be in
    accordance with current CSEA contract.
    Motion amended by Ronald Miller to appoint of Elizabeth Krakowski to this position,
    seconded by Motyka.
    VOTING ON THE AMENDMENT FIRST FOR Mrs. Krakowski
    AYES: Motyka, Miller, Makeyenko
    NAYS: Joyce, Friend, Sanders,
    3-3
    AMENDMENT FAILED
    DULY PUT TO A VOTE ON THE ORGINIAL MOTION OF MS. DALEY
    ALL IN FAVOR/NONE OPPOSED
    6-0
    APPROVED

    After a little more investigation, it was revealed that Mark used to work at the Mulberry Restaurant in Bethlehem Park, but left because of...you guessed it-the owner wouldn't give him health insurance!!!

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    Glad to see that Makeyenko is - as always - looking out for the best interests of the children of the Lackawanna City School District!!!

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    The only way the board will hear about doing the right thing is for the people to vote NO on the school budget.

    Shame on Superintendent Korach for even recommending this to the board. Without the Super's recommendation there can be NO vote!
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

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    Quote Originally Posted by literal View Post
    The only way the board will hear about doing the right thing is for the people to vote NO on the school budget.

    Shame on Superintendent Korach for even recommending this to the board. Without the Super's recommendation there can be NO vote!
    Your so right a vote NO for the budget. On the otherhand the school board recruits their family/friends for employment not Nick, they have him by the short hairs. Look over the last years minutes and the connection with the board on who was hired and let go. I am sure they are not the best of the best, their just connected individuals that needed a job.

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    Post While YOU are on the subject.......

    Patronage and nepotism breed incompetence.....I have said it a thousand times! We all know it, and have experienced working with some flunkie at some point because "daddy knew someone somewhere, and they could not hold down a job without " connections ". It is all over the County, and Lackawanna is the poster child for it......we know, and so do they, so they fight and pay their way in by buying their "cocktail party tickets ect. for the rest of their lives! They would not get away with their call-offs and no-shows/tardiness, grievances if someone looked at you funny, ETC., in the private sector, never .

    Lots of us do not have health insurance, and many who do have BIG$$ money deductibles......we just deal with it, and would never compromise our integrity by sucking up to a candidate who does not have the children and communities interests at heart! Yuck! It is like selling your soul to the devil, and perpetrates an already broken system.


    New subject.......on Truman School Bond vote which I felt boxed in to vote yes for.
    $$6.65 mil is A LOT of money....right?! So, they could have closed Truman and sold it to whoever.........built a hall or two off of Martin Road School and put the kids in there like all other schools who always house K-6th.
    Truman is Pre-K thru 2nd and then Martin Road 3rd thru 6th, then they go on to the Junior and Senior High in one building. Lackawannna is really a little district.
    They keep threatening to pull Pre-K (I hope not but if they do, HEAD START will boom and they would love it!), and we have declining enrollment every year due to the Charter Schools ..........so.........
    Seems to make sense to do this to save on busing, heat, electric, maintenance, GASOLINE for school vehicles and teacher trips, etc., etc., etc.!

    Only one problem........less maintenance men, custodians, two men who sit in hall when you go to get your child out, LA cops security, ETC., ETC., ETC.!!

    Patronage to build their political pyramid because they hang the good jobs of $15.00+/hr with FULL BENEFITS and minimal deductibles if any over their heads.....
    Can't wait for Business First....tick tick!

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    BINGO, Andrea.

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    Quote Originally Posted by andreahaxton View Post
    Patronage and nepotism breed incompetence.....I have said it a thousand times! We all know it, and have experienced working with some flunkie at some point because "daddy knew someone somewhere, and they could not hold down a job without " connections ". It is all over the County, and Lackawanna is the poster child for it......we know, and so do they, so they fight and pay their way in by buying their "cocktail party tickets ect. for the rest of their lives! They would not get away with their call-offs and no-shows/tardiness, grievances if someone looked at you funny, ETC., in the private sector, never .

    Lots of us do not have health insurance, and many who do have BIG$$ money deductibles......we just deal with it, and would never compromise our integrity by sucking up to a candidate who does not have the children and communities interests at heart! Yuck! It is like selling your soul to the devil, and perpetrates an already broken system.


    New subject.......on Truman School Bond vote which I felt boxed in to vote yes for.
    $$6.65 mil is A LOT of money....right?! So, they could have closed Truman and sold it to whoever.........built a hall or two off of Martin Road School and put the kids in there like all other schools who always house K-6th.
    Truman is Pre-K thru 2nd and then Martin Road 3rd thru 6th, then they go on to the Junior and Senior High in one building. Lackawannna is really a little district.
    They keep threatening to pull Pre-K (I hope not but if they do, HEAD START will boom and they would love it!), and we have declining enrollment every year due to the Charter Schools ..........so.........
    Seems to make sense to do this to save on busing, heat, electric, maintenance, GASOLINE for school vehicles and teacher trips, etc., etc., etc.!

    Only one problem........less maintenance men, custodians, two men who sit in hall when you go to get your child out, LA cops security, ETC., ETC., ETC.!!

    Patronage to build their political pyramid because they hang the good jobs of $15.00+/hr with FULL BENEFITS and minimal deductibles if any over their heads.....
    Can't wait for Business First....tick tick!
    I have to disagree with you on a couple points:

    1. Truman no longer has security guards...personally I miss them. When you go to school now, you are buzzed in and go over to the office. There is nothing wrong with that, but with the world the way it is today I liked having a staffed security desk.

    2. In theory it may not have been a bad idea to make Martin Rd. Pre-K thru 6th...however you cannot just "build a couple hallways" today and expect that to house close to 500 students. If the school would have been originally constructed that way it's one thing, but it wasn't.

    3. Stop getting so down on the Elementary School. Truman is a shining example of what elementary education should be. You have a fantastic principal and caring staff. The Elementary School isn't the problem in our district. Why do you have to apologize about feeling "boxed in" to vote for renovations. It's a zero impact tax project that will go to a very worthwhile project.

    4. I have personally dealt with Global Concepts. I inquired about admission when I thought kindergarten may have been cut last year. I was not impressed with their facility or their staff and I have no desire to send my children there. They are no better than Lackawanna.

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    No matter what you feel and believe about Lackawanna Schools it is true that Truman is the jewel in the district....always was! Now that's consistency!
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

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    Quote Originally Posted by literal View Post
    No matter what you feel and believe about Lackawanna Schools it is true that Truman is the jewel in the district....always was! Now that's consistency!
    And look who was in charge of Truman for many years...Mr. Korach. I have had the pleasure of speaking to him a few times over the course of learning about the renovation project of Truman and he's a pretty good guy. I believe there is hope for the district.

    Don't get me wrong, I still think the high school was awful when I went there 10 years ago...It probably was at its lowest point. But I do see today they are offering AP courses and starting next year will be offering courses for college credit...think about that college credit courses that will be available to students at little or no cost. That's impressive.

    I think that nepotism jobs are a problem. I also think that the treatment of students is a problem, at least it was when I went there. It's a two way street though. Unfortunately children aren't taught respect, so they go to school and don't respect their teachers and in turn they are treated like criminals. However, I don't think treating students like criminals is the answer. I was never disrespectful to staff, yet I could not freely go to my locker as needed or use the bathroom between classes...that strips a person of dignity a little.

    In my opinion the key to fixing the district starts heavily with parental involvement. Parents should feel welcome in school and should have a respectful open dialogue with administrators. They then need to teach their kids that they respect their teachers and treat school like a job. We can have the best district in the world but if it's attended by students who don't care and don't value learning it won't matter.

    Next, children who do care about learning should be rewarded by being in class together. That way the teachers can teach to students with similar abilities. I remember in elementary school at Franklin I was with the same group of kids from 1st to 4th. We were considered the bright class and we got to work at an advanced pace. When we went to McKinley for 5th they stopped grouping students together and instead of the bright students inspiring the not so bright ones, our entire class seemed to melt into mediocrity. That's a great disservice to the kids who want to learn. Let the bright kids stay together and have advanced studies throughout their entire school career. Look at a school like City Honors, even though the Buffalo School District sucks worse than ours that school produces Ivy League students even though it's a public education. Lackawanna can have that just on a smaller scale. I also think that putting kids with similar abilities together in the same class would make it easier for teachers to focus on the needs of the students because all students in the class will be at the same level, there is no more juggling students being bored with students being completely lost.

    Once you have children of similar abilities working together in a respectful environment I believe you will see improvement in the district. However that will only happen if the focus is on academics. You want to keep advanced placement courses and you don't want to gut things like music education which has been proven time and again to increase math abilities. Instead of thinking of ways to vote no on the budget we should be thinking of ways to fill the budge with quality ideas to help students.

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    Instead of thinking of ways to vote no on the budget we should be thinking of ways to fill the budge with quality ideas to help students.[/QUOTE]

    The only hope for the district is for people to vote NO for the 2012 budget. You paint with very broad brush strokes as you assess the district. The reality is they have never been short ideas or money. It would blow your mind to know how much money has been given to the schools each year only to be misused!!!

    The fact is the district is terminally ill. They need to get beyond COSMETIC corrections and find someone who can lead them into a radical change to save everything. Right now all you have
    is a maintenance program keeping the patient/school alive but not flourishing!!!
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

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    Hold -Up jenrose66

    Quote Originally Posted by jenrose66 View Post
    I have to disagree with you on a couple points:

    1. Truman no longer has security guards...personally I miss them. When you go to school now, you are buzzed in and go over to the office. There is nothing wrong with that, but with the world the way it is today I liked having a staffed security desk.

    2. In theory it may not have been a bad idea to make Martin Rd. Pre-K thru 6th...however you cannot just "build a couple hallways" today and expect that to house close to 500 students. If the school would have been originally constructed that way it's one thing, but it wasn't.

    3. Stop getting so down on the Elementary School. Truman is a shining example of what elementary education should be. You have a fantastic principal and caring staff. The Elementary School isn't the problem in our district. Why do you have to apologize about feeling "boxed in" to vote for renovations. It's a zero impact tax project that will go to a very worthwhile project.

    4. I have personally dealt with Global Concepts. I inquired about admission when I thought kindergarten may have been cut last year. I was not impressed with their facility or their staff and I have no desire to send my children there. They are no better than Lackawanna.

    I also feel Truman is the best elementary school........not downing it at all!
    1. At 5pm a few weeks ago, I picked up my Grandson from the after-school program and TWO men were sitting at the little desk. This is patronage.....one of them ok, and take the other guys salary to fund the daytime security position, why aren't you banded together and complaining at the School Board meeting about the cuts?

    2. I am perfectly aware that the change would be much more than a couple of hallways.....$$6.65 million is A LOT of money. It could have been looked into at least. Parent accessibility is of key importance and Martin Rd has the advantage over Truman. The side streets in those neighborhood would not take the heavy bus abuse either.

    3. Zero Impact?!? Are you kidding? That money is coming indirectly from your pocket and everyone else's too. Don't be fooled. NY taxes are over the roof and it definitely has great impact even though they tell us it doesn't, it will somehow-someday. Public Schools=Public Money.

    4.The Charter School was built in an attempt to take the POLITICS out of the schools and get back to teaching. They are still booming whatever you think of them. I had to put my child in Sacred Heart after 4th grade because she was one of the ones who "fell between the cracks". "A pleasure to have in class", on EVERY Report Card but the kid couldn't get phonics and the teachers had no time to help her as they were too busy with the other children.

    Talk to me when your children get out of elementary. I wish and hope you all prosper, not everyone has a bad experience with the LA educational system. I truly pray you are one of them!
    I see the poli-tricks and I know this affects the overall academics which should be the front-runner ...NOT the latter! Have a good day! You have a right to your opinion and I am glad you at least step out of the box. Stay involved and VOCAL, the squeaky wheel gets the oil.......!
    Last edited by andreahaxton; March 29th, 2012 at 11:18 AM.

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    I assume if you were on the school board you would only hire the most qualified individuals for every position that becomes available. Teachers, aides, maintenance workers, lunch ladies etc. and never give any special consideration to family and friends. Yeah Right!!!

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    Post Please, Keep it in perspective Steeler Nation.

    Quote Originally Posted by Steeler Nation View Post
    I assume if you were on the school board you would only hire the most qualified individuals for every position that becomes available. Teachers, aides, maintenance workers, lunch ladies etc. and never give any special consideration to family and friends. Yeah Right!!!

    I love to help people....and have helped people through-out the years with jobs, leads, references, and visited HR/bosses to put in a good word for them. I never said I had a problem with a job or two in a family.........but they have to be qualified for the position of course. Please keep this in perspective.

    It is the blatant nepotism and patronage that creates incompetence that is out of line. It adds to low moral, unsafe working conditions, and not carrying your full share of the work-load that is wrong because your husband or daddy is so-and-so. Come-on, would you really want to go to work with that going on?!?

    When kids don't have enough books to do their work from, when parents have to bring in school lists a mile long, and less buses so the kids have to walk far in the winter because the budget is cut.......BUT, there is lots of overtime, + created part-time jobs for people who are retired or have another decent outside employment is what I am talking about.
    Lackawanna has a lot of job-hoarding going on and the "family and friends club" greedily gobble the pie when other qualified LA citizens remain on the outside looking in. I did not create the downward spiral of LA City and Schools, I have fought against the hidden agendas and lack of transparency for years.
    ie. Giving a Policeman's wife a wonderful job with Cadillac benefits on top of his from the City is what I am talking about.
    A woman who is active in the schools for years was voted down from that job and "consideration" went directly to the Policeman/School Board Trustees wife. I am not putting them down.....maybe they can't live on his $35.00/hr+ salary due to personal reasons. I apologize in advance....

    Again, I do not have any problem hiring competent people who NEED A JOB. LA due to the high levels of nepotism and patronage tries to shove a square peg into a round hole and putty it in for the next 30 years or so due to political paybacks. NOT every time or everyone, of course, but LA history speaks for itself! It is a known fact that you have to be "connected" in LA to "get-in" or be the only one with the proper credentials at the time. Even then they will cover for them to keep that golden paycheck coming! A Department Head recently said something to the effect that why shouldn't they get all the jobs....they are the ones in power and make the decisions. In other words, What resume'??!!............

    I do not disagree with you Steeler Nation, just a few tweaks on the implementation of good management practices.

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    Damage Control, Makeyenko & Gambino running for School Board. These two are the prime examples of people who think that employment of family and friends is more important than the education of our children. Putting them back on the board would mean that the people of Lackawanna don't care about their children. We need a change in the administration to change the culture of this school district and it needs to start by telling the board that the status quo is not acceptable.

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    Post Help!

    What are we going to do about the 1 polling place in each Ward thing they concocted to keep the votes slanted toward the family and friends club?!?
    It worked good for them on the Truman Bond VOTE when less than 1000 folks total came out. They even had appr. 100 yes votes in affidavit's to round out the suppression of voter turnout. Very cute, club.

    The First Ward Bocce Club is very isolated and the walkers will have a real hard time getting over here along the Turnpike. Especially the senior citizens.
    So folks, we can assume will stay home, and the family and friends will drive their slanted/controlled voters over to plunk them.

    WAKE-UP! WAKE-UP! WAKE-UP!

    April 17, 2012 Board Mtg. to "Adopt Lackawanna School Budget 2012/13' by the Board.
    Work Session on April 23, 2012 at 6pm Mckinley School.
    *** Lackawanna School Budget COPY can be picked up on April 25, 2012.

    School Board public meeting April 25, 2012 at 7pm at Martin Road.

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