This is completely infuriating. For each of the last several FOIA Gras articles I have wanted to comment but instead have to tend to my jobs as a parent and professional.
FOIA Gras has been an amazing resource for several years, and single-handedly brought light to many issues that were either completely unknown (hundreds of thousands of …
This is completely infuriating. For each of the last several FOIA Gras articles I have wanted to comment but instead have to tend to my jobs as a parent and professional.
FOIA Gras has been an amazing resource for several years, and single-handedly brought light to many issues that were either completely unknown (hundreds of thousands of dollars of catered lunch) or disregarded as “racist” conjecture (the Magical Bus Savings being lesser than advertised).
Tom has the reach and subscriber base he has because D65 has offered anything BUT “clarity and partnership”, “transparency and open lines of communication” to their stakeholders: D65 Parents & Guardians, and every Evanston taxpayer. Without any other area to discuss, Tom filled a void and gave those of us wanting to question the company line a forum to do so.
Speaking of “D65 Parents & Guardians” - where is D65 regarding the use of their name in that toxic, inaccurate, and misleading cesspool of a Facebook group? When will they police that? For years, several of the Same Ten People have shamed, harassed, doxxed anyone and everyone that disagrees with their personal assessment of D65. I’ve seen all types of unsuspecting people be recipients of just plain mean discourse when they are asking questions as simple as “are there Halloween plans” or “I’m moving to Evanston, what is a good school?”.
That D65 FINALLY feels the need to reach out to external media sources to state that the media source is being “inaccurate and misleading to our community” is infuriating. There’s no other way to put it.
Remember, just a few months ago the FY25 Budget was looking great. Then, there was a $10M deficit. And now, it is a $13M deficit. The only thing inaccurate and misleading is the D65 Board, Administrators (past AND present), and their lackeys that stifle any and all discussion regarding the woeful mismanagement of this beautiful district.
D65 could sincerely offer up “clarity”, “partnership”, “transparency”, and “open lines of communication” by allowing the SAP3 Process to be open and to allow citizen input on the inevitable (this wasn’t always the case, but it is now) impending school closures.
I work in boring corporate America. For the things I do, I need to produce multi-year plans, contingency plans, risk assessments, stakeholder analysis, communicate the changes, etc., before I can get started. My work is NOWHERE as near as consequential as the building of schools, shuttering of schools, and redrawing of school boundaries that affects a city of 70,000+ in one of America’s largest metro areas. That any request to do any of the above of D65 Admin & Board was labelled as "problematic" was itself quite problematic, as we now see with this mess.
This “tone policing” from the D65 PR Team is energy best spent elsewhere.
D65 should focus on themselves and their teams, and stop trying to micromanage the one forum in Evanston that allows for true and robust discussion of the dumpster fire that is our public school district. If they want to stamp out inaccurate and misleading information in our community, I first suggest they start on Facebook.
Can I ask a favor - can you change your username? I've had people make fake accounts using my name or derivations of my name in the past and it didn't make me feel great, I don't want to condone that to others. Just don't change it to Hom Tayden!!!
Of course. Just did. You've been nothing but fact-forward and data-driven, as well as courteous to those that don't extend the same to you. Let's see if the changes have already propagated through substack.
I wholeheartedly agree with this. We can’t even rely on the board, who presumably represent us, to exercise any scrutiny over spending. The administration is free to create new high-level positions with nary a raised eyebrow. Meanwhile, much of corporate America is intimately familiar with hiring freezes and fiscal restraint. I would love to see the board impose an upper limit on consultant spend and administrative staffing tied to enrollment.
Well stated, Mr. Mofgren. Now, can you please go to the Roundtable and comment on everyone else’s comments in a manner that makes you appear to be completely unhinged? Thanks in advance.
I agree they should first start on Facebook. And they should have started on Facebook several years ago. One can’t help but think that D65 enjoys the acrimony promulgated by the FB page D65 Parents and Guardians. But then again why would anyone in D65 (PR team included) object to what its staunchest supporters were spewing on that D65 Parents and Guardians FB page?
This is completely infuriating. For each of the last several FOIA Gras articles I have wanted to comment but instead have to tend to my jobs as a parent and professional.
FOIA Gras has been an amazing resource for several years, and single-handedly brought light to many issues that were either completely unknown (hundreds of thousands of dollars of catered lunch) or disregarded as “racist” conjecture (the Magical Bus Savings being lesser than advertised).
Tom has the reach and subscriber base he has because D65 has offered anything BUT “clarity and partnership”, “transparency and open lines of communication” to their stakeholders: D65 Parents & Guardians, and every Evanston taxpayer. Without any other area to discuss, Tom filled a void and gave those of us wanting to question the company line a forum to do so.
Speaking of “D65 Parents & Guardians” - where is D65 regarding the use of their name in that toxic, inaccurate, and misleading cesspool of a Facebook group? When will they police that? For years, several of the Same Ten People have shamed, harassed, doxxed anyone and everyone that disagrees with their personal assessment of D65. I’ve seen all types of unsuspecting people be recipients of just plain mean discourse when they are asking questions as simple as “are there Halloween plans” or “I’m moving to Evanston, what is a good school?”.
That D65 FINALLY feels the need to reach out to external media sources to state that the media source is being “inaccurate and misleading to our community” is infuriating. There’s no other way to put it.
Remember, just a few months ago the FY25 Budget was looking great. Then, there was a $10M deficit. And now, it is a $13M deficit. The only thing inaccurate and misleading is the D65 Board, Administrators (past AND present), and their lackeys that stifle any and all discussion regarding the woeful mismanagement of this beautiful district.
D65 could sincerely offer up “clarity”, “partnership”, “transparency”, and “open lines of communication” by allowing the SAP3 Process to be open and to allow citizen input on the inevitable (this wasn’t always the case, but it is now) impending school closures.
I work in boring corporate America. For the things I do, I need to produce multi-year plans, contingency plans, risk assessments, stakeholder analysis, communicate the changes, etc., before I can get started. My work is NOWHERE as near as consequential as the building of schools, shuttering of schools, and redrawing of school boundaries that affects a city of 70,000+ in one of America’s largest metro areas. That any request to do any of the above of D65 Admin & Board was labelled as "problematic" was itself quite problematic, as we now see with this mess.
This “tone policing” from the D65 PR Team is energy best spent elsewhere.
D65 should focus on themselves and their teams, and stop trying to micromanage the one forum in Evanston that allows for true and robust discussion of the dumpster fire that is our public school district. If they want to stamp out inaccurate and misleading information in our community, I first suggest they start on Facebook.
Can I ask a favor - can you change your username? I've had people make fake accounts using my name or derivations of my name in the past and it didn't make me feel great, I don't want to condone that to others. Just don't change it to Hom Tayden!!!
Of course. Just did. You've been nothing but fact-forward and data-driven, as well as courteous to those that don't extend the same to you. Let's see if the changes have already propagated through substack.
I wholeheartedly agree with this. We can’t even rely on the board, who presumably represent us, to exercise any scrutiny over spending. The administration is free to create new high-level positions with nary a raised eyebrow. Meanwhile, much of corporate America is intimately familiar with hiring freezes and fiscal restraint. I would love to see the board impose an upper limit on consultant spend and administrative staffing tied to enrollment.
I would love to see a zero tolerance for new consultant hire in 2024 and 2025.
Also, is D65 projected to lose more students next year?
Your new username made me laugh. That is a good one.
Well stated, Mr. Mofgren. Now, can you please go to the Roundtable and comment on everyone else’s comments in a manner that makes you appear to be completely unhinged? Thanks in advance.
I agree they should first start on Facebook. And they should have started on Facebook several years ago. One can’t help but think that D65 enjoys the acrimony promulgated by the FB page D65 Parents and Guardians. But then again why would anyone in D65 (PR team included) object to what its staunchest supporters were spewing on that D65 Parents and Guardians FB page?