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Thread: Lancaster Board of Education member dismisses community and Speakupwny.com rumors

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    Lancaster Board of Education member dismisses community and Speakupwny.com rumors

    To set the record straight, Brenda Christopher, Lancaster Board of Education vice president, made the following comments during the Lancaster Central School District Board Report session of the regular meeting to dispel community rumors and incorrect blog postings that have appeared on Speakupwny.com.

    Christopher comments

    We know how people like to indulge in the personal lives of elected officials. As of recent, I find myself in this position as elected vice president of this school board.
    When I started on this journey, I never thought of this as political. It didn’t take long for me to see how very political this position really is, and to adjust to that personally. I am about to complete my second year on this board and couldn’t be more proud of this district. I could ramble on for hours about the positives in this district. That is not the reason I asked for a few minutes to speak with you.

    I would like to dismiss a few rumors that have been floating around the community and from bloggers on Speakupwny.com. First and foremost, I am not a teacher at Lancaster. I am in fact a second grade special education teacher at the Cheektowaga Central School District.

    I do not profit at all from any decisions I make or vote on with my fellow board members.

    On the subject of my daughters (that have been mentioned), I am very proud to announce that my eldest daughter has been accepted to Nardin Academy in the fall; 351 students applied, 121 were accepted. Some have criticized me for serving this board and sending my daughter for a private education. Please understand that this is a decision that we as a family have made. We believe this is best for our daughter.

    I want to thank the teachers at Court Street, William Street and the Middle School for preparing her so well. I am confident that with the preparation that was invested here, and with her unconditional support at home, she will soar.

    Lastly, within the past six weeks or so my husband and I have decided to put our home on the market. I have published no information because so far there is no real information to share. As I am sure you all know the real estate market is grim. A house could sell in two weeks, two months, or two years; who knows. The decision as to where I will move also has not been finalized. With that said, I will continue to fill my role as a trustee on this board.

    I want to remind the board this evening that I am a lifelong resident of this town, I am a proud alumni of this district, and (?). I have worked long and hard with my colleagues to put together a fair and strong budget that stops cuts, that retains programs and that will be supported by our taxpayers. Tonight I plan to vote on this budget and continue my responsibility as a trustee and officer of this board. And I am going to share as a trustee on this board; I will. Until then, I encourage people talk to me instead of posting incorrect information on blogging web sites. I will be happy to answer any questions you have.

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    Brenda Christopher's comment was professional and rightfully stated. Her situation being posted and torn apart on this blog site was inappropriate.

    I myself apologize for anything that I may have stated, this left a very bad taste in my mouth and I hope we learned from this dialog. I know I did.

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    I apologize for posting a rumor that Mrs Christopher was leaving the area and also the rumor that wasn't a rumor that her house was up for sale. I believe she has made a smart move by sending her child to Nardin. It seems that all you hear is drugs, drugs, drugs in suburban schools but you don't hear the Nardin Academy ever being referred to as Heroine High.

    Georgia L Schlager

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    I do not seem to remember any personal attacks against Brenda. Most writers were interested in the "conflict of interest" issue only.

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    What conflict of interest is there?? She has stated that she is a life long resident, an alumni of the district and has children who attend there.
    I'm curious as to what conflicts of interest you are referring to.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ichingtheory View Post
    I do not seem to remember any personal attacks against Brenda. Most writers were interested in the "conflict of interest" issue only.
    I reread the posts on this matter and have to agree with you. There was no personal attack. That said, I can't understand why anyone is apologizing for any statements they made on that thread.

    Ms. Christopher's statement at the BOE meeting was to dispel the rumors and questions that were bang made in the community and on Spaeakup. In my mind, and in that of others, her statement confirmed them.

    The erroneous declaration on Speakup that Ms. Christopher was a teacher in another school district was corrected by another Speakup poster and needed no mention by her.

    Ms. Christopher acted appropriately in making her comments and that is why I published them. Unfortunately the timing and place were inappropriate.

    At this time of year, nothing should distract from the 2012-13 budget. And it was at this meeting that the BOE approved the budget - a fair and balanced budget, in my opinion. Taxes increase by only 1.51%, all educational programs are preserved, teacher staff was only cut by three positions (from a total staff cut of 13 FTE positions); and those cuts were the result of lowered student enrollment at the elementary level.

    As in the past several years, I attended most of the budget work sessions and have witnessed the time and effort administrators and the BOE members have put into formulating a budget that meets the educational needs of the community while satisfying the taxpayer.

    Unfortunately, and despite the call from the BOE to the public to attend the budget work sessions, less than a handful of residents attend these work sessions.

    Having witnessed firsthand the difficulty in getting this budget down to the 1.51% tax increase level, far below the 3.76% tax cap allowed by state dictate, I support this budget and don't need any distraction that could change my mind - especially when the brunt of the spending increase was attributable to skyrocketing staff pension and health insurance costs - and where the district lost $1.73 million in the federal JOBS grant program that was used to retain teachers and had to manage the budget despite that loss.

    Let's keep our eye on what is really important here.
    Last edited by Lee Chowaniec; April 19th, 2012 at 11:23 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Flash View Post
    What conflict of interest is there?? She has stated that she is a life long resident, an alumni of the district and has children who attend there.
    I'm curious as to what conflicts of interest you are referring to.
    You may want to go back and read all the entries to get the full picture.

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    To my understanding there is only one new person from the community running as well as Mrs. Buckert for the upcoming school year. With all the complaining that goes on about the BOE on this site, one would think more people would of ran and tried to fix what they think is broken. Instead you spend countless hours complaining, and digging in to people's person lives. I don't live far from Mrs. Christopher and noticed a for sale sign isn't even on her lawn, so how did anyone even know it was for sale. Sounds to me like people have a lot of time on their hands and instead of using that time to make a positive difference in your community, you'd rather throw stones at those who are. That's sad.
    Where and when should Mrs. Christopher have aired her feelings??? You may not think she was being attacked, but obviously she did. From what I can see, the BOE is doing an excellent job and unless we, and that includes myself, aren't going to take a seat on the board, we should mind our own business, especially when it comes to their personal lives.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Flash View Post
    To my understanding there is only one new person from the community running as well as Mrs. Buckert for the upcoming school year. With all the complaining that goes on about the BOE on this site, one would think more people would of ran and tried to fix what they think is broken. Instead you spend countless hours complaining, and digging in to people's person lives. I don't live far from Mrs. Christopher and noticed a for sale sign isn't even on her lawn, so how did anyone even know it was for sale. Sounds to me like people have a lot of time on their hands and instead of using that time to make a positive difference in your community, you'd rather throw stones at those who are. That's sad.
    Where and when should Mrs. Christopher have aired her feelings??? You may not think she was being attacked, but obviously she did. From what I can see, the BOE is doing an excellent job and unless we, and that includes myself, aren't going to take a seat on the board, we should mind our own business, especially when it comes to their personal lives.
    read all the posts
    flash-you are right
    found the postings on brenda probing
    harsh
    good point flash - why complain
    join and participate on a board

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    Hats off to you Brenda!

    Brenda - Bravo for standing up to the small population of blogging bullies that have nothing better to do than complain and dig into the personal lives of others.
    Remember those who can't do - complain and then blame the worlds problems on everyone else!

    The tax payers of lancaster voted you in and thank you for the outstanding job you have done VOLUNTARILY to help our children have the best education possible.

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    Hind sight is always easy - no one did anything but ask valid questions!

    There was a possible question on the legality or possible issue of residence. No one accused anyone of anything - at least i never read about any over the top questions.

    Those who raised the questions are tax payers - they have a right to inquire. No one said illegal actions were taken nor did anyone claim contracts were affected by her actions.

    Now some would turn this into a witch hunt gone wrong - well it wasn't and I for one believe the letter she wrote was over due. Anyone in the public arena has opened themselves to this type of transparency. Whether you like it or not - thats our system and it should be equal for everyone.

    Ethics and honest openness have been sorely lacking in Lancaster's Government for far to long - if there is a finger to point - point it at past players.

    Thanks for the letter Brenda, come here and help inform residents any time you wish - all are welcome.
    #Dems play musical chairs + patronage and nepotism = entitlement !

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    While the statements made here about her may have been mostly true, the fact that details about her personal life were posted on the internet in the first place makes you wonder why people bother volunteering for these positions at all.
    And, the more this type of thing happens, the less likely we will get truly qualified people to take these positions.

    PS This is obviously not something that happens only in Lancaster, so I don't mean to suggest that what happened here is unique in any fashion.

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