OP ED By: Publius
We start the first part of this exposé in the Hartland Consolidated School District.
Of the 5 school districts in Livingston County, we find Hartland to be one of the most egregious in Administrative over reach and ball dropping.
With a totalitarian superintendent that obviously does not understand; he works FOR the school board. LITERALLY, this is the process folks, the PEOPLE (tax payer) elect the board (unless they are selected by appointment mid term as was Megan Glabach [first term] and Cindy Shaw[currently]). The board interviews the supers, the supers hire staff and negotiate union contracts with slight board oversight of hiring. That's the process. The board is literally the boss.
Unless you're in Hartland. Where Chris Costa stares wide eyed at his "leader", superintendent Chuck Hughes, to direct him in his "presidency" over the district board. Followed by the three nodding ducklings who waddle behind with zero questions and no interest of exactly where their board oaths are derived. Its honestly very sad to witness and unfortunately we have, on multiple occasions.
Then there is the gaggle of Thrune lawyers that meet in secret (off record) with our elected boards in EVERY district (separate from the taxpayers who fund them), to decide how they can deceive the people with legalese and policy that dilutes the details of any established policy or rule and makes it almost impossible for parents to stand up for their children.
To make matters worse, unlike most boards in Livingston County, who meet with the law firm in closed session, Hartland's board is kept separate from the lawyers. Only meeting in private and off record with superintendent Chuck Hughes!! An unelected EMPLOYEE of the Hartland School Board! This is an ATROCIOUS usurpation of his duties as a hired employee of the board and should be rectified IMMEDIATELY!
This leads us to a small part of the meat in this long story. What is Hartland hiding? This specific child in question, caused a school shutdown, traumatized and physically assaulted multiple classmates and violently attacked a teacher. He recieved 2 weeks of suspension.
Don't believe me? Read these
this is a police report and affidavits recived via FOIA request attesting to multiple violent outbursts from said student. While this is not the only student with major mental health and violent behavioral issues in this district, he is the only one we could obtain documentation for, currently.
Why? Because the superintendent and administration push things under the rug. This was reported to police by an Ok2Say counselor AFTER THE FACT!
IT WAS NOT REPORTED BY ADMINISTRATION!!
The Hartland administrators rely on silence in response to parents and soft setting situations so as not to draw attention to their mishandlings. More to come on that later. This has been a repetitive cycle witnessed throughout the schools for at least the last 3 years and it is definitely getting worse.
Recently a few mothers have reached out to us from Hartland with serious concerns about saftey for their children among the rise in violent crimes in the public education system and specifically with the last few "shelter in place" situations in Hartland schools that traumatized their children.
What we have found through police reports, testimony and affidavits has been shocking.
Is Hartland grooming their students for the next violent outbreak? Why, all of a sudden, is the focus of gossip from a local small group of outsiders (Gogoleski's sister, residing in Portland OR, is one of them); who ran an opposition social media page against the newly elected board members with Chuck Hughes as an admin and participant in the group this past election cycle, so angry? Their irate rant over a school secretary reporting issues in the schools to a board member (you know, her boss...) who also happens to be her husband, is out of line, how? As a board member, he IS allowed to be privy to this information. In fact, it's what he was elected to do! Their current focus is also a misrepresentation of the fact that 2 of the board members and a previous candidate spoke openly on a local podcast about lack of safety and oversight in Hartland schools.
How is testing the boundries of the current protocols, allowing them (The Board members) to see more clearly the holes in the established system, a problem for this group of bad actors? Why would this opposition group dismiss the subject of safety and accountability with the administration and use divisive rhetoric addressing the student bodies safety? Because they dont like Mr. Gogoleski?? The waste of energy to counter school safety FOR ALL CHILDREN on their part is mind boggling.
We have our suspicions this is to draw focus away from the actual problem, Administrative malfeasance and a clouded effort to discredit the new members of the board. This social media band of misfits are currently only protecting the abusers, not the victims.
Chuck refused ALICE training. Chuck refused door jammers... and yet Mr. Hughes was totally good to go on vacation in the 3rd week of a new school year? Hartland tax payers pay over $150k a year plus paid government holidays off, 1 week spring break, 2 week winter break and a 3 month summer break to Mr. Hughes all while he is shirking his duties 3 weeks into a brand new school year. Seriously?!?!
How is this allowed to happen? Maybe its because the administration (making roughly $750k a year between them) feel that the safety of the schools are under their "control" and it's "fine".
Everything is fine.
Teachers having desks thrown at them and being punched is fine. Children being terrorized into a corner while the teachers barricade doors as staff circle and speak calmly to a chair throwing, tantruming middle schooler traumatizing every student in the vicinity, this is all totally acceptable. Death threats are also fine as long as the child in question has the proper paperwork. Meaning and IEP or 504. That exempts them from the inflicted trauma on their peers. It keeps the offender protected from accountability. It exempts the school and administrative staff from culpability if there is some sort of "event". No wonder our children have anxiety at school!
When the lack of safety concerns in Hartland does blow its roof, we know in this story (we hope NEVER BECOMES A NATIONAL STORY) of school violence, the blame will land in the laps of this childs parents and on the shoulders of the school board members that have repeatedly called for safety meetings with zero accountability from the administration who created the problem! But I digress.
We will note as we pause on this story for today, that Michelle Blondeel, Glen Gogoleski and Greg Kellar have all requested a special meeting for safety due to parent response from these situations, and they were denied. One parent inside the district has also reportedly reached out to Megan Glabach and received a positive response over Ms. Glabach's possible change in her stance on the current safety policy of Hartland schools. That is a positive move forward and we hope Ms. Glabach will support the 3 other board members in an investigation as to how to make swift correction of these policies and remove the mechanisms placed for Superintendent Hughes total control over the boards ability.
We also want to add before ending this segment, the same private corporation delivering school safety reviews, gave Oxford a glowing review prior to their mishandling of repeatedly reported events with their national story of school violence. This is the same organization that gave Hartland their glowing safety review. Once our FOIA is returned, the documents will be released to prove this.
Something stinks here and we plan to get to the bottom of it.
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