Another "Hyper-Aware" Email from Franklin Schools

The administration of Franklin City Schools appears to be as corrupt as Cincinnati Public's. So it is fitting that the Enquirer stand up for their right to abuse taxpayer dollars for political purposes.

Superintendent Elam's letter to parents - delivered with indentured servant students - was not some quick, off-the-cuff, I lost my head sort of letter as has been suggested by the Enquirer and others. Rather this was a deliberately crafted political piece that was vetted and approved by the School Board prior to publication.

Apparently the Board's hypersensitivity wasn't turned up to 11 that day.

Read below as the board's comment and approval is sought and given:

  Board Approval by COAST  

Enquirer Gets it Wrong...Again!

In a recent unsigned editorial, the Enquirer did their usual handwringing, blathery commentary; ultimately calling for a stop to the investigation into Franklin City Schools' blatant abuse of public resources.

In the piece, here, the Enquirer noted that "school leaders are usually hyper-aware about staying apolitical in their communications."

That would be all well and good if that was the situation here. As the email below demonstrates, this was not a mere accidental stepping over the line, this was a calculated, in your face, political ad masquerading as an informative letter from the Superintendent.

A member of the community, in a friendly, professional email, pointed out that the communication violated state law. A member of the school board, rather than respond in kind, mocked the emailer in emails to the Superintendent. Hardly the sort of email that screams "hyper aware of staying apolitical."

Unfortunately, Warren County Prosecutor, David Fornshell, has ended the investigation - prematurely in our minds.

COAST will continued to follow this and the many similar instances of public officials misusing public resources for political purposes.

  Franklin School Board Mocking Citizen by COAST  

How to Stop Taxpayer Abuse by Schools

Are you tired of watching "public servants" misuse public funds to promote their political causes? Are you tired of watching the elected officials ostensibly in charge of stopping these abuses condone the abuse?

There is an answer: Citizen Involvement.

This November three of the five seats on the Franklin City Schools Board of Education are up for election. Control will be decided.

Are there three concerned citizens in Franklin willing to step up and run against the misuse and abuse of tax dollars? The involuntary servitude of students?

In Franklin with 25 valid signatures and $30 you can get your name on the ballot and run for School Board. Petitions to run individually are available online here. Petitions to run as a slate are available online here.

JoAnn Feltner, Paul Hillard and Chris Sizemore clearly are unwilling to act to protect the taxpayers and the students.

The message is clear: You fire Arnol Elam or we'll fire you! - (and then we'll fire Arnol Elam)

Democrats Defend the Indefensible!

A few weeks ago there was a steady drumbeat of outrage coming from the Democrats over the political speech of a member of the Ohio School Board.

Deb Terhar, reposted a political message some find objectionable on her personal facebook page, and a short time later removed the message. This led to calls for her to be removed from the school board, for her to resign, everything short of a gallows being constructed. All over a pretty innocuous facebook posting on her personal facebook page.

On to Step 4 of the Cycle of Abuse of Public Resources - Contact Franklin Schools Now!

Superintendent Elam (provided)

Third Base Politics reports that the Franklin City Schools have "scrubbed" their website to remove the most blatant political propaganda from Arnol Elam's letter to parents. Not that we believe the current version is an acceptable use of public resources either.

We'd consider this to be the Fourth Stage of the Cycle of Abuse.

Franklin Schools and the Cycle of Abuse...

Experts in domestic violence often discuss the "cycle of abuse" or "cycle of violence." The abuse of public resources follows a similar cycle:

• Abuse – Your abusive governmental official lashes out with aggressive, belittling, or violent behavior. The abuse is a power play designed to show the taxpayers "who is boss."
• Guilt – After abusing the taxpayers, your public official feels guilt, but not over what he's done. He’s more worried about the possibility of being caught and facing consequences for his abusive behavior.
• Excuses – Your abusive public official rationalizes what he or she has done. The person may come up with a string of excuses or blame you or others for the abusive behavior—anything to avoid taking responsibility.
• "Normal" behavior — The abuser does everything he can to regain control and keep the victim in the relationship. He may act as if nothing has happened, or he may turn on the charm. This peaceful honeymoon phase may give the victim hope that the abuser has really changed this time.
• Fantasy and planning – Your abusive public official begins to fantasize about abusing public resources again. He spends a lot of time thinking about what political opponents have done wrong and how he'll make them pay. Then he makes a plan for turning the fantasy of abuse into reality.
• Set-up – Your abusive public official sets you up and puts his plan in motion, creating a situation where he can justify abusing public resources.