Three big issues dominated Commission's four-hour meeting yesterday:
1. Resolution to "bill" the federal government for illegal immigrant education costs
2. Resolution to appropriate $60,000 to the Hamblen County School Board for a new "International School"
3. Resolution to have junkyards in Hamblen County put fences or trees around their property
1. Resolution to "bill" the federal government for illegal immigrant education costs.
This proposal from Commissioner Tom Lowe had been studied and worked on for months. Commissioners received a copy of the proposal over 10 days ago. Yesterday, Commissioner Ricky Bruce stated that he thought some of the figures on migrant population were wrong.
After much back-and-forth, the Commission decided that the resolution would be considered again and the school board would be asked again to provide information and data to be used in the resolution. (Commissioner Lowe had great difficulty getting figures from the local Board of Education, and the migrant population data that was used in the resolution came from the State of Tennessee Department of Education)
2. Resolution to appropriate $60,000 to the Hamblen County School Board for a new "International School"
After public comments from many people (most opposed to the school) and after extensive discussion and questions from commissioners, the vote was 8-6 to approve the $60,000 appropriation to the International School venture. The vote was no surprise.
The eight commissioners voting to help start a new school site at Walters State were: Dennis Alvis, Ricky Bruce, Maudie Briggs, Doyle Fullington, Donald Gray, Herbert Harville, Edwin Osborne, and Joe Spoone.
Opposing the funding of a new school site at Walters State were: Larry Baker, Guy Collins, Tom Lowe, Linda Noe, Nancy Phillips, and Bobby Reinhardt.
One individual who spoke against the International School brought out what he considered to be at a minimum "ethical" conflicts of interest involving three commissioners. This individual mentioned that Commissioner Ricky Bruce's sister (Paula Bruce Combs) is an assistant principal in the Hamblen County School System. He said she was selected as an assistant principal less than a year after her brother Ricky Bruce was elected to the Commission. (Since her appointment was in 2003, the current Director of Schools, Dale Lynch, is the one who appointed Commissioner Ricky Bruce's sister to the assistant principalship).
He added that Commissioner Herbert Harville's son Stan is a principal (non-tenured) at Witt and Harville's daughter-in-law is a teacher. Stan has tenure as a teacher, but he is not protected by tenure as a principal.
Finally, the speaker said that Commission Chair Joe Spoone has the most conflicts and closest family ties to the school system. He pointed out that Joe's brother, James Spoone, is a Hamblen County bus driver (non-tenured). Joe's sister, Carolyn Spoone Holt, is chairman of the Hamblen County School Board. Joe's wife, Charlene Spoone, is a technology assistant (non-tenured). Joe is covered by his wife's medical insurance with the Hamblen County School Board.
He mentioned that Joe used to be on the county's insurance plan but apparently decided to become a dependent on his wife's school insurance over a year ago. Most people consider the school insurance to be the Cadillac of insurance while the county insurance has been referred to as a Chevrolet. (Chevrolet owners don't get upset with the comparison. I'm certainly not knocking Chevrolets-- I drive a Chevy PU occasionally.)
The speaker said that the conflicts might or might not be considered as legally precluding these three from voting on school issues, but he wanted Bruce, Harville, and Spoone to consider the ethics of the situation. He asked that they consider recusing themselves from the vote and the discussion on the International School to avoid even the "appearance of impropriety."
You can see by the vote that Joe Spoone, who has the most conflicted situation, didn't think that his brother's employment by the school board, his sister's position as chair of the school board, his wife's employment by the school board, or his own medical insurance coverage under the school board plan creates an "ethical" problem or gives off even the "appearance of impropriety."
Because of the gentleman's concern about conflicts, ethics, and the appearance of impropriety, I raised a question about Joe voting on the International School issue. I hope that by simply raising the question, there is at least a greater awareness of the ethical issue here and the obvious appearance of impropriety.
Tennessee's conflict of interest statute is so limited that it is likely that there is no technical legal conflict. You just about have to pay yourself directly to have a legal conflict of interest.
"Ethical" and "appearance of impropriety" questions are more complex. I'm afraid that Tennessee (as all who have watched Tennessee Waltz corruption charges unfold across the state) has few and largely toothless ethics standards at this point in time. The "call" on the type of ethical questions that the gentleman raised is apparently left to the person with the conflict to decide.
Obviously, Commissioner Spoone may take the position that there is no "appearance of impropriety" and that he is not "ethically" conflicted by the fact that his wife is employed by the school board and his medical insurance is provided by the school board through his wife's plan, that his brother is employed by the school board, and that his sister is chairman of the school board.
I think that the gentleman yesterday who discussed these family and economic ties was actually telling commissioners that sometimes common sense tells you more about conflicts of interest than all the laws on the books. Sometimes common sense tells you that you have a personal conflict and that stepping aside is the right thing to do.
It is Tennessee's loose ethics laws that have precipitated the current ethical crisis in the state and that have prompted the renewed emphasis on ethics legislation at every level of government. Is there anyone, including Commissioner Joe Spoone, who can say with a straight face that his many close family and economic ties to the school board have no effect on his vote?
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I'll get into more on the International School in later posts, but I do want to add something important now for all citizens and taxpayers to consider. The School System's ELL (English-Language Learners) student count resulted in state and local match BEP funding for 11.5 ELL teachers in the current 2005-2006 school year. The school system, however, employed only 8 ELL teachers for 2005-2006.
There will be, and has been, "spin" galore about the ELL teacher situation. As Commissioner Phillips pointed out yesterday, if the school system had followed the BEP funding guidelines in this area (11.5 teachers), we would only be 2.5 teachers short of the 14 that will be required for ELL students in 2006-2007 instead of being 6 short! Another item that the Board likes to "spin" is to say that the state/local BEP funding doesn't cover the full costs of these ELL teachers in Hamblen County.
Well, the fact is that the state provides 62.7% of the BEP funding for these teachers and Hamblen County provides the required BEP local funding match of 37.3%. The school system says that this level of state/local BEP funding doesn't cover its teacher and benefit costs. What is not mentioned is that Hamblen County provides additional funding over and above the required BEP local funding match of 37.3%. Hamblen County provides approximately $5 million dollars in additional funding above the required match and has done so for several years through maintenance of effort provisions. And on top of the $5 million provided above BEP local match requirements, Hamblen County also provides additional money to the schools every year through the payment of school construction debt on behalf of the school system---principal and interest payments that are paid from the county's debt service fund. (If you hear it said that the school system helps pay the school construction debt, that is correct but only to a small degree. The school system agreed years ago to contribute $500,000 of its BEP money to help in the payment of the huge school construction debt that was incurred by the county with the recently completed $35 million school building program--this $500,000, however, does not begin to cover the principal and interest costs that the county incurs and pays each year for school debt outside of the BEP and school budget.)
There will be a dozen different and carefully worded explanations for the current "crisis" and shortage of ELL teachers. Putting all this "spin" aside, the simple fact is that the school system shorted this program area for at least two years and has now put together a plan to start a brand new school for "newcomers" --a plan that will involve bussing 120 students from all over the county to and from a site at Walters State with loss of instructional time and ever-rising costs to the local taxpayers in future years.
3. Resolution to have junkyard owners put fences or trees around their property
This proposal that has been in the works for over six months seemed to be going along well until a few days before the commission meeting when several owners of junkyards asked to meet with Commissioner Nancy Phillips to express their concerns.
Junkyards in Hamblen County were "grandfathered" in when countywide zoning was enacted in the early 1990's. That means that junkyards in existence when zoning was first adopted can not be forced out of business (unless they cease operations for an extended period of time) even though they do not conform to the current zoning of their area.
County attorney Rusty Cantwell, at the request of several Hamblen County residents and several commissioners, researched what could be done to gradually require junkyard owners to put fences or trees around their property to help shield any unsightly piles of cars or junk on their property from public view. Coming out of committee, the proposal was to require owners to build a fence or plant trees as a screen around the junkyard--and allow them 3 years to do this.
Because of the discussion about changes, the commission did not take action yesterday. Yesterday's meeting was recessed, and the full commission will meet again on Monday, October 24, at 6:00 pm to iron out the details of the junkyard ordinance. Some suggestions made yesterday were to allow 5 years before a fence or trees must be planted and to only make the fencing and trees apply to junkyards fronting on county roads--with the idea that the state can be pushed to address the junkyards that have frontage on state roads.
Coming up soon...update on county vehicles (should be very interesting), audit information, and the long-awaited report on the headlines you've seen and those you haven't seen (but should have) in the Tribune.
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11 comments:
As Ronald Reagan once to another tiresome comment from then President Carter, "There you go again".
Mrs. Noe has the unique ability to oppose one item by smearing those who support it with another.
She is against English language classes for non Anglo Saxon Southlanders. That much is perfectly obvious.
Yet she is a bit more polished than her colleagues in arms the esteemed Tom Lowe and the notable legal authority Carl Two Feathers.
Her opposition isn't packaged in embarrasing and nonsensical RICO investigations or silly (and costly) resolutions to bill the federal government for a public school education (an obligation Hamblen County has gladly funded since 1870).
She attacks at a different flank. It is equally as obvious and it is vindictive. But it is a recipe for which everything which comes from her kitchen reeks.
Mrs. Noe blows a gasket (as only Mayor Purkey would do, to hear her blog it) toward some Commissioners who have the abject audacity to have a family member employed by the Hamblen County School System.
As if this is ome sort of terrific transgression would cause them to somehow support an attempt to ensure that students learn the English language.
To hear her logic - akin to a trip to go around an elbow to get to a thumb - if Commissioner A has a spouse who teaches in School B, then said Commissioner A is a crony to Director of Schools C in his/her support of a class to teach English.
Sad, really sad.
Tom Lowe may have as much polish as a '39 La Salle and Carl Two Feathers may have the articulation of drunk in a Miss Congenality contest, but both at least admit their dislike of Hispanics.
Mrs. Noe on the other hand indicates her distaste by tiresome reruns of attacking the same people for whatever issue the county faces.
A-l-o-n-g b-l-og. S-a-m-e c-o-m-p-l-a-i-n-t-s. G-e-t a l-i-f-e.
Jenn,
What is "perfectly obvious" is that you don't have a clue what you are talking about and that you are willing to state deliberate falsehoods in order to make your case--whatever it is.
I have never said that there should be no English language classes for "non Anglo Saxon Southlanders" (to use your words), and I do not oppose such classes.
So what you think is "perfectly obvious" is a figment of your imagination or a deliberate prevarication.
If you attended the meeting, you would have heard my statement that all children must and should be educated. The issue at the meeting was "how" to do this.
My position is that the English language classes should be pull out classes within the existing school facilities with ELL teachers traveling from school to school instead of 120 students being bussed across the county to a new school site.
You can disagree with that, but you are lying when you say that I am against English language classes.
But I wouldn't want you to strain yourself with paying attention to what is actually said instead of making it up as you go along.
If you paid attention and came to committee or commission meetings and actually listened to the discussion, you wouldn't continue to make false statements. (Or at least I don't think you would)
That the issue of ethical conflicts of interest was brought up by a gentleman at the meeting was not a smear--the facts are what they are.
I have not said that a commissioner should not have a relative connected to the school system (or 3 close relatives in the case of Commissioner Joe Spoone).
And the gentleman who spoke at the meeting did not say that a commissioner should not have a relative connected to the school system.
He simply said that there is an ethical conflict and the appearance of impropriety for that commissioner in voting on school issues.
I agree with him.
Commissioner Spoone has the most conflicts in this regard. However, he votes on school issues and apparently feels that there is no "appearance of impropriety" and that he is not "ethically" conflicted by the fact that his wife is employed by the school board and his medical insurance is provided by the school board through his wife's school insurance, that his brother is employed by the school board, and that his sister is chairman of the school board.
Sometimes common sense tells you more about conflicts of interest than all the laws on the books.
Sometimes common sense tells you that you have a personal conflict and that stepping aside is the right thing to do.
My opposition to the International School is stated as are the reasons.
Don't try to make up other reasons and ascribe them to me--that is dishonest.
Don't try to put me or my reasons into your little box of names that you like to throw out in each post.
While you talk about logic, it's easy to see that facts don't really matter to you.
You obviously find it more convenient to make and repeat false statements over and over in order to provide support for your equally false conclusions.
The "Big Lie" of German Propaganda Minister J. Goebbels is similar to what you are doing. Also known as argumentum ad nauseam, the Goebbels technique was to repeat a lie over and over until it is taken to be the truth.
Despite your penchant for using the Big Lie technique, I encourage you to come to committee and commission meetings and let all the commissioners know what you think.
You might also consider listening to what is said so you can get your facts straight while you are there--if you are actually interested in facts.
Ms. Noe, if you are in favor of all students being educated then why oppose an opportunity to teach English?
When Jefferson Federal donated several thousand to fund the international school if the City and County would match, you told a friend that Jefferson Federal should have asked other banks to donate.
Forgive me, but I think that is looking a gift bank in the mouth.
Why not say a simple thank you to private groups who offset the taxpayers' expense to improve life in Hamblen County?
We will await your reply.
The first item that I would like to address is a comment from jenn in her October 10th response to linda. Renters do not pay property taxes! The only people who pay property taxes on homes or apartments are those whose names are registered at the tax assessor's office as owners of the property. That is one less deduction that illegal immigrants have when it comes to footing the bill for their education and health care. Any GOOD researcher(or anyone who has ever paid property taxes) would know this.
Secondly, as to your quote "there are no Americans left to work in these difficult and low-paying jobs," I do not recall(and maybe with your help I can) the Constitutional guarantee that every American has the right to an easy life. The unemployment rate in the US in September of 2005, according to Department of Labor statistics, was 5.1 percent. It does not sound like there are "no Americans left," it sounds like there are no Americans willing. ILLEGAL immigrants are not guaranteed a job in this country simply because Americans don't want to do them.
I enjoy the frequent use of the phrase "guest worker." When we use the word "guest" it implies that the person will be leaving...soon. Unfortunately this is not the case. Guest workers turn into freeloaders who overstay their welcome. A sensible guest worker solution would be to require visas for foreign nationals wishing to work here...wait...don't we already have that? Perhaps a "sensible" solution would be for the federal government to wake up and enforce the laws that are already on the books. It is very simple. If you are illegal-meaning here without valid documentation-you are deported. That sounds like the most sensible policy that our country could follow...the one that is already in place.
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses..." this invitation still extends to all nations of the world today. But, just as it did in the late 1800 and early 1900s, it was not a call for open borders. There were still restrictions that came along with the opportunity for a better life. Some of us seem to think that our Polish and Irish forefathers simply walked into this country without a bat of the eye. This is simply untrue. Just as immigrants today have to obtain visas and passports, the immigrants of yesterday were processed through Ellis Island. Why is there such an outcry today when immigrants in the past considered these processes normal and routine?
This response is not to show any dislike of Hispanics. Rather, my proposition is to simply enforce the law as it currently stands.
Ms. Noe, as you know, this is a small county and if a Commissioner recused himself on school related issues simply because he has family employed by the schools, then he shouldn't be a Commissioner.
The school system is the largest part of the County's budget so to step aside when a school issue arises is neglecting a huge portion of a Commissioner's responsibility to his constituents.
I question your timing in "blowing a gasket" over Commissioner Spoone's family. I think you waited until you knew that a close vote would face the Commission and you were on the losing side. Therefore, the only way to win the vote - and defeat the International School - would be to disqualify votes.
Has the Commission not considered other school related issues before the International School? If so, questions of conflict of interest needed consideration then.
Why now?
It is paramount on anyone vested with the public trust to know when the decisions they are engaged might be influenced by a personal matter. I think it unconscionable that you chose to attack Joe Spoone so as to simply defeat the International School. This is another one of your tired examples of attacking one thing to defeat another.
I appreciate your reasoning for the opposition to the International School and I can understand your points.
Of course on this website, you go to great lengths to defend the actions of Tom Lowe who is obviously opposed to educating Hispanic students and who panders to the likes of Carl Two Feathers and his small fry band of race baiters.
I suggest you distance yourself from people of that ilk who contribute nothing to the Hamblen County but stand to cost us dearly by discouraging business and industry from expanding and/or locating here because of a latter day group of Know Nothings.
And lost amid these ill-informed comments are the facts:
The county has committed to funding a separate, segreated school facility rather than devoted dollars to hiring teachers needed within the system.
After private donations for this so-called school evaporate, the county will have to face funding it completely. Thge schools director and the local media have this town utterly befuddled in a pointless spin cycle.
Sadly, Linda, too many out there would rather insult you than deal with reality.
Joe,
The "spin" cycle never seems to stop in the local media.
The one constant in the "spin" cycle is that more money and new projects with fancy new names ("International School") are the answer to every problem.
Although other school systems across the state have kept up over the years and have hired the required number of ELL teachers funded through state and local BEP matching money, the Hamblen County School Board has not.
Although many school systems are providing ELL services through pull-out classes in existing schools with teachers moving between schools, Hamblen County is going to create a totally new International School at Walters State for 120 students.
Mrs. Noe has accruately identified a pork barrel issue (International School) while the established ELL program is not used.
Ms. Simoneaux's style of attack has been identified for what it is.
Mr. Powell correctly notes that the short term financial support will disappear and the county taxpayers will have to fund this political boondoogle.
Since the local paper's owner has no problem with spending some else's money don't count on seeing any citizen opposition printed there.
I might mention to Joe Powell that it is "segregated" not "segreated".
Of course, those opposed to providing a public education for all students in Hamblen County would say that the International School is "segregated" (or to use the Joe Powell lexicon "segreated").
That is akin to saying that because the football team practices in the stadium then surely they are segregated too. And if one attends a class in the Science building then surely one must be in Little Rock in 1956 - according to this crowd.
It is as silly as a vote to elect Carl Two Feathers the next governor (two being the number of votes Carl will receive - his own and somebody who made a mistake).
Certainly, the esteemed Commissioner Lowe (the Costello to Carl Two Feathers' Abbott) proposed the separate school two years ago and then when the opportunity arose for him to vote on his idea, he, naturally, twisted himself into a 180 degree Gordion knot and voted against it.
This is some of the leadership of this County and it is profoundly sad.
And finally we have a county commissioner who, in an attempt to block the International School, lip synches a nonsensical accusation from some crank that simply because a fellow commissioner has people employed in the school system, he shouldn't be allowed to vote because he will vote for the International School which she opposes.
And she does this all the while she - and other commissioners - are collecting county paid medical insurance at $10,000 a pop.
If Ms. Noe and some of her bretheren would decline this Rolls Royce insurance plan then maybe we could offer free public education to students in Hamblen County (as we have gladly since 1870) without a few "blowing a gasket".
Miss Miller of Arizona, you haven't exposed anything except your terrible and sad bias toward immigrant labor. If the Minutemen (named for the amount of time it takes to know what time of day it is) want to hustle people back across the Arizona border, then that is their perogative, but pleae do not continue to export your intolerance to Tennessee unless you plan to live here.
On the idea of billing the government for education of Mexicans... call it what it is.
In 1982, using the 14th Amendment, Section 1 as the basis of their decision, the US Supreme Court voted 5-4 in the Plyler v Doe case, a case of illegal aliens v. State of Texas, based on Texas' decision to block enrollment of illegal aliens in public schools. The decision put into motion and forces states to provide free public education for all children, US Citizens, legal immigrants and most importantly illegal immigrants. Their ruling stated that "persons" refers to all people, not just US citizens, legal immigrants, etc. Keep in mind, at the time the 14th Amendment was added, it was the " anti-slavery" amendment. It was adopted immediately after the Civil War, and a was adopted to protect the rights of newly freed slaves. There was no Immigration-Naturalization Service, or immigration laws at this time. Read the amendment. You decide.
Below are links to the actual Supreme Court Rulings, both pro and con. In both, you will see, they feel their hands are tied and it is Congress who needs to step up and change the 14th Amendment to reflect the true interpretation it was originally meant for.
The Supreme Court Documents- http://www.tourolaw.edu/patch/Plyler/Powell.asp ruling in assention, states must allow/provide all illegal aliens free public education. However interestingly enough, the Supreme Court holds responsible the Federal Government for the problem...
"Access from Mexico into this country, across our 2,000-mile border, is readily available and virtually uncontrollable. Illegal aliens are attracted by our employment opportunities, and perhaps by other benefits as well. This is a problem of serious national proportions, as the Attorney General recently has recognized. See ante, at 218-219, n. 17. Perhaps because of the intractability of the problem, Congress - vested by the Constitution with the responsibility of protecting our borders and legislating with respect to aliens - has not provided effective leadership in dealing with this problem. 1 It therefore is certain that illegal aliens will continue [457 U.S. 202, 238] to enter the United States and, as the record makes clear, an unknown percentage of them will remain here."
The Supreme Court Documents- http://www.tourolaw.edu/patch/Plyler/Burger.asp dissenting against the ruling. One interesting section from this is as follows:
"The Court makes no attempt to disguise that it is acting to make up for Congress' lack of "effective leadership" in dealing with the serious national problems caused by the influx of uncountable millions of illegal aliens across our borders. 2 [457 U.S. 202, 243] See ante, at 237-238 (POWELL, J., concurring). The failure of enforcement of the immigration laws over more than a decade and the inherent difficulty and expense of sealing our vast borders have combined to create a grave socioeconomic dilemma."
"[ Footnote 1 ] It does not follow, however, that a state should bear the costs of educating children whose illegal presence in this country results from the default of the political branches of the Federal Government. A state has no power to prevent unlawful immigration, and no power to deport illegal aliens; those powers are reserved exclusively to Congress and the Executive. If the Federal Government, properly chargeable with deporting illegal aliens, fails to do so, it should bear the burdens of their presence here. Surely if illegal alien children can be identified for purposes of this litigation, their parents can be identified for purposes of prompt deportation."
The full reading of the 14th Admendment - http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.amendmentxiv.html
THE 14th AMENDMENT - Section 1
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the state wherin they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the priviledges or immunities of citizens of the United States: nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its juridiction the equal protection of the laws.
In other words, start complaining to your state and US congressmen, the Immigration Service, the Vice-President and the President. It's time it stopped. It's a very simple issue to solve by asking one simple question...When was it okayed that we can pick and choose which laws we are allowed to break? Illegal aliens here doing" those jobs nobody wants" pick entering and living and working in the US illegally. So does that mean the rest of us here legally get to " pick our poison", so let's say we get to knock off a licquor store, drive like a bat out of hell down Morris Blvd. at 12Noon, or steal a car for kicks. Hey if they get one freebie, why shouldn't the US citizens too? And as for identifying illegals, how many businesses hiring US Citizens and Hispanics are following the federal law which requires employers to have an I-9 form filled out for each employee and kept on file. Do this, and not too hard to weed out illegals, unless you wanted to hire them in first place. For more info on I-9 form-
http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/i-9.htm
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