Lauderdale Co. Superintendent gets HUGE Raise during PRORATION!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Sleepyshoals:
No, Emmitt Jimmar is the Uniserve Director for the local AEA chapter. He is who school employess would contact if they had a grievance.
I am not defending V's raise, but usually those things are on a schedule--like after so many years of service, etc. I agree the board could have voted against it due to proration. Just pointing out that pay raises in education are generally scheduled by years served or some other marker.

SCHEDULE???? I am certain there were a lot things on the SCHEDULE until PRORATION was declared!!!! How about students taking field trips? How about buying new computers for the classrooms? How about even the custodians buying toilet paper with 3-ply sheets instead of 1? All of these were on SCHEDULE until PRORATION was declared!!!!

This is all about one man and his EGO. Mr. Valentine could not stand, not being among the highest paid superintendents. He would rather have that honor, than have the students in Laud. Co. scoring higher on test scores than any other county. In order to obtain that lofty salary, Mr Valentine and Ms. Cornelius had to play "footsies" under the table so she could get her son the principal job at Anderson, and he could get that big pay raise that NO ONE else is going to get. You don't have to be an Einstein to figure that out!!!

There were alot of other trade offs that we are not talking about. RT granddaughter was also hired at waterloo, DB son has alot of coaches that would be cut at the end of the year, but votig for BV raise saved his son's coaching staff at rogers. TH was only for this when all employees could receive a raise, he was against this, JFF ?????? have not talk to him. I agree BV and most of the board are the worst we could have for our children at this point. Please, people of Lauderdale county this is not right, we the people, parents, taxpayers have got to take a stand. we are the ones stuggling right now (and i bet most of us if any will not be getting a raise like that in the near future, if ever). It is time we take our school sys back THESE PEOPLE WORK FOR US. it is time to stop their own agenda, and force them to do what is best for our kids, not for them.If possible be at the BOE today at 4 PM and let your voice be heard, they can not fire you, they can not stop you, this is what America was built on ,DEBATE to get the best results. If we accept this we don't need to complain when we have to provide all our kids needs and I mean ALL. We as people of this county have got to draw a line in sand at some point. I will be there, I may be perceived as "old school" but it's time we put politicians in their place and take control again and most important GET INVOLVED. "YOU HAVE TO STAND FOR SOMETHING OR YOU WILL FALL FOR ANYTHING" This is our county, our state, our country and we have let it get out of hand. But it is not too late to make it good again, just a little work from all of us. "UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL" and that is where they want us to stay, DIVIDED...DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN OR THE GOOD OLE BOY SYSTEM HAS WON AGAIN.

Here is a novel idea!!! Lets go to the County Commissioners and try to get a petition to expand the Laud. Co. boe to seven(7) members one representing each high schools school zone and all the schools in those zones. I think we(the people) could do this then at least there would be a little more accountability from the board members and the superintendent when making decisions for ALL OUR children. this new number may make them think twice about having personal agendas when there is no one else but that board member to point a finger at when fighting for their school and its improvement.

Great idea! It seems the East end of the county gets everything and the West end gets nothing. However, there is politics in all of the schools. Just like the hiring of RT's granddaughter at Waterloo. The principal there is HUGE friends with that whole family. It's never going to change. I would advise college students going in to education to major in special ed. It seems these are the only ones getting jobs without having to know someone. Those of us who teach other subjects have to know someone or be kin. Mr. Valentine should be ashamed of prososing the raise for a vote. I feel for all these teachers who are single parents that will lose their jobs. The system will be losing a lot of great teachers. I wonder if the grandchildren, neices, and nephews of the L. C. B of E will lose theirs.

quote:

Originally posted by cwt004:
Here is a novel idea!!! Lets go to the County Commissioners and try to get a petition to expand the Laud. Co. boe to seven(7) members one representing each high schools school zone and all the schools in those zones. I think we(the people) could do this then at least there would be a little more accountability from the board members and the superintendent when making decisions for ALL OUR children. this new number may make them think twice about having personal agendas when there is no one else but that board member to point a finger at when fighting for their school and its improvement.

quote:

Originally posted by .:
The people voted for him...did they not...or else he would not be in the office that he is holding...

Technically yes he was voted into office, but almost 60% of the votes actually went between his opponents, so the MAJORITY of Lauderdale County did NOT want him as the Superintendent. Had Hill or Jones stepped aside -- there would have been a majority for the other candidate and he would have been defeated...

So... hang-em-high - did you go voice your displeasure at the board meeting???? or do you and everyone else on here have to eat their words? Inquiring minds want to know..

Hey sb07!! Let me tell the NEWS!! Our Great and Wonderful Leader, Mr. Valentine returned the raise.

NOW FOR THE REST OF THE STORY!!! ......

Mr. Valntine got up and read a 3 page letter indicating he is giving the raise back. OH WHAT A HEART FELT JESTURE (Excuse me while I throw up in the toilet!!)

Once again, this just indicates what a self righteous man this is. He wanted the Times Daily to come down and take his statement and come out in the paper tomorrow..... "Mr. Valentine declines raise"...

We all know the REAL STORY Mr. Valentine!! HA HA HA You realized that your little scheme with Mrs. Cornelius was out in the public and I'm sure YOU received several emails of the public voicing their displeasure of your character.

I can just hear him now...."Out of the goodness of my heart and for the better of the schools and the students, which is my first concern....blah blah blah.... I want to give back my raise!"

TOO LATE MR. VALENTINE... ANY RESPECT THE PUBLIC HAD FOR YOU, YOU JUST LOST BY ACCEPTING THIS RAISE, ORIGINALLY, WHILE WE ARE IN PRORATION WHEN EVERYONE ELSE IS HURTING!!!

IT WOULD HAVE MEANT SOMETHING IF YOU WOULD HAVE DECLINED THE NIGHT IT WAS VOTED ON. BUT NOT YOU!!! YOU PROBABLY THOUGHT THE PUBLIC WOULD PAT YOU ON THE BACK AND TELL YOU 'YOU NEEDED THE RAISE'.

I bet if you ask any bank robber after he gets caught, what his statement would be.... "I'm sorry I robbed the bank and out of the goodness of my heart, I will give the money back to the bank! HA HA HA TOO LATE MR. VALENTINE.. YOU SHOULD HAVE KEPT IT!! HA HA HA WE ALL KNOW WHAT YOU STAND FOR!!

hey ReadThis - do you know the rest of the story?? Mrs. Cornelius' son did not get the job at Anderson - Johnny Tidwell did.

You are one bitter person... would you have had this same attitude if Hill or Jones had gotten Superintendent and received a raise that would have been WAAAAY more than $12,000.

Whatever your problem, maybe you will work it out before you return to your classroom on January 5.

You have yourself worked up over something that you cannot control. Yes, you can talk about Mr. Valentine, the board members, but nobody is going anywhere for at least 2 years. Maybe, you should start campaigning now for one of the two positions that will be up for election in 2010. Good Luck to you.

ok guys, this just in

Link

he is turning down his raise and giving splitting it among the schools.

so Find something else to grip about.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Super Billy!!!

I wonder how the $12,000 raise affects his retirement? No matter where he chooses to spend the money, he still gets the credit for this raise to increase his retirement.

cwt2004, you are sure hard to please. You would complain about having to pay taxes on it if Santa Claus brought you a new Cadillac.
If you had gotten the raise, would you have given it away? Who would remember by next election.

LOL You're probably right!!

But if I had gotten a $12,000 raise I wouldn't have to worry about it.

Oh yeah, BV gave it back.. Hope Santa doesn't bring him a new Caddy.

Hey sb07, yes I did attend, and yes I could not believe what I was hearing. I was thinking this man is actually doing the right thing, I had him figured him all wrong. WRONG!!!!!! After the meeting I was going to tell him that I was proud of what he did, then I witnessed a LCBOE employee tell him that and shook his hand. Billy V did not even acknowledge him and stormed out to his office pouting like he had just lost his best friend. Well I guess he did, I know he must not have too many friends, so money must be his best friend. I have never seen a grown man pucker his lips as he did. He is still screwing the other employees - his raise was from local funds - he frooze it until the state gives a raise - where is the local money for all employees? He acts worse than my 18 month old. I can't wait til JFF and TH hear how he dogged them in his 3 page pat on the back. I guess nothing will get done now, oh but wait, DB accepted the "olive branch of peace" that gives BV the majority. We are still screwed.

sbo7... I won't be returning to the classroom, I will be returning to work with you at the Board of Education. This is such a "dog and pony show" that Valentine is putting on.

Nobody but you and Valentine's flunkies believe that this is a sincere act. I know Hill or Jones would not have accepted the money during proration. They both understand the concept of TEAM and know that the leader is the last one to get rewarded...not the 1st one.

As for me running for office in 2010 sb07... I know from being around these people day in and day out, and I'm sure you have seen it too, by working with them at the board, how corrupt it makes them.

Hmmm. Let's take a survey..... Everyone that thinks Mr. Valentine gave back the money out of the goodness of his heart.... Say "I"...

Everyone that thinks Mr. Valentine gave back the money and didn't hire Ms. Cornelius son becasue the public was in an uproar... say "Merry Christmas!!"

er,

Readthis--I don't think anything BV does will make you happy. You're mad he got the raise. Then you raise holy heck when he declines the raise. Seriously, what difference does it make why he gave the raise back--this issue should be over.

Congratulations to Johnny Tidwell...he will be an asset to Anderson.

Mr. Valentine should have never let his "raise" go to a vote if he wanted to prove his "heartfelt gesture" to the people of Lauderdale County. He thought it would go without saying that his raise would not stir up this kind of reaction...boy tells how smart he is. He gave it back with conditions...WITH CONDITIONS THAT WILL ALLOW HIM TO HAVE IT IF THE STATE GIVES OUT RAISES -- he didn't say that until proration is over -- that is very smart and he probably called the Governor to see how long he'd have to wait -- just until Gov Riley comes up with some extra cash to pass down...He knew that when it came election time again it wouldn't matter what things he had done in his tenure -- the only thing most of us would remember is that he took money for a raise while our schools were in proration...Sorry, I'm not buying his act...He's still a snake in the grass to me...

quote:

Originally posted by Sleepyshoals:
Readthis--I don't think anything BV does will make you happy. You're mad he got the raise. Then you raise holy heck when he declines the raise. Seriously, what difference does it make why he gave the raise back--this issue should be over.

Actually, the way he handled the whole thing shows a lot about his inability to truly be a leader...had he shut the vote down to begin with and not let it ever go any further -- he would have shown himself to be a leader...as it is...he got his hand caught in the cookie jar and knew he had to do something to save his reputation...Yes, this particular issue is over with, but will he learn his lesson and the be leader you voted him to be? Time will tell...

quote:

Originally posted by Sleepyshoals:
Readthis--I don't think anything BV does will make you happy. You're mad he got the raise. Then you raise holy heck when he declines the raise. Seriously, what difference does it make why he gave the raise back--this issue should be over.

SleepyShoals, why don't you and sb07 get back on Mr. Valentine's coat tails and get off this forum?

Not once did I say I was mad he got the raise. It was the way that Mr. Valentine has handled everyone else's approach to getting a raise. Any worker, group, or organization that has inquired about a raise, citing the same reason that he used to get his raise, (that Laud. Co. employees are not paid the same as other counties in the state)

Every person that has tried to indicate that to him, Mr. Valentine has turned a "deaf ear" to everyone's plea. Now all of a sudden, we are suppose to be in support of his raise!!! In a pig's eye!!

If Mr. Valentine would have said to every group or ornanization that approached him about a plan for a raise.... "Let me see what I can do for you. I will try and make sure that OUR COUNTY employees are paid what other COUNTY EMPLOYEES are paid and I will fight for you!"

Not good ole Mr. Valentine... His thinking process is "I didn't come up with the idea for you to have a raise so you won't be getting a raise. It has to be MY IDEA and no one elses. (I wonder whose idea it was for his raise??)

Also, let's see if Mr. Valentine donates that raise every year, for the next four years to the schools. That will be almost $50,000!!

Like I said earlier, he should have kept the money, because ALL of his employees know the TRUTH that He and Ms. Cornelius had a "SHADY" deal in place so he could get a raise and her son could get the Anderson job.

Thank Goodness for Anderson that this scandal was exposed and they hired Johnny Tidwell!! I would have withdrawn my chldren from Anderson if EC would have gottnen the job.

Hello all. I know I don't have a dog in this race, but here goes...

The mere fact that Mr. Valentine has said he would split his raise up between the schools is GREAT, no matter the circumstances. Bitter about it? Perhaps. Railroaded into doing it? Again, perhaps. At least he listens to you all. He pays attention to the rumblings and grumblings of the public. That's more than most of us in other districts get. We can rumble and grumble til the cows come home and they don't give a hoot. They don't care what the TD says. They don't care, period. Fact is, it doesn't matter one bit WHY he declined the raise. The end result is he DID and the schools and your kids will get the benefit of his raise. I don't know of any other superintendents in any other school systems around here that would do that. Be glad you all get to elect your board. Some of us don't get to.

quote:

Originally posted by SaltyDog:
Hello all. I know I don't have a dog in this race, but here goes...

The mere fact that Mr. Valentine has said he would split his raise up between the schools is GREAT, no matter the circumstances. Bitter about it? Perhaps. Railroaded into doing it? Again, perhaps. At least he listens to you all. He pays attention to the rumblings and grumblings of the public. That's more than most of us in other districts get. We can rumble and grumble til the cows come home and they don't give a hoot. They don't care what the TD says. They don't care, period. Fact is, it doesn't matter one bit WHY he declined the raise. The end result is he DID and the schools and your kids will get the benefit of his raise. I don't know of any other superintendents in any other school systems around here that would do that. Be glad you all get to elect your board. Some of us don't get to.

If you are referring that you live in Florence City, than you are probably the reason we have Mr. Valentine because for some unknown reason, Florence City gets to elect our superintendent. Check the votes... if it hadn't been for Florence City, he wouldn't be superintendent. Anyway... you like him so much you can HAVE HIM!! I would rather have one that is appointed and then you don't have to worry about all this underhand politics they do in order to secure votes. We will trade you for Dr. Behrends ANY TIME!!

quote:

Originally posted by ReadThis:

quote:

Originally posted by SaltyDog:
Hello all. I know I don't have a dog in this race, but here goes...

The mere fact that Mr. Valentine has said he would split his raise up between the schools is GREAT, no matter the circumstances. Bitter about it? Perhaps. Railroaded into doing it? Again, perhaps. At least he listens to you all. He pays attention to the rumblings and grumblings of the public. That's more than most of us in other districts get. We can rumble and grumble til the cows come home and they don't give a hoot. They don't care what the TD says. They don't care, period. Fact is, it doesn't matter one bit WHY he declined the raise. The end result is he DID and the schools and your kids will get the benefit of his raise. I don't know of any other superintendents in any other school systems around here that would do that. Be glad you all get to elect your board. Some of us don't get to.

If you are referring that you live in Florence City, than you are probably the reason we have Mr. Valentine because for some unknown reason, Florence City gets to elect our superintendent. Check the votes... if it hadn't been for Florence City, he wouldn't be superintendent. Anyway... you like him so much you can HAVE HIM!! I would rather have one that is appointed and then you don't have to worry about all this underhand politics they do in order to secure votes. We will trade you for Dr. Behrends ANY TIME!!

You obviously didn't pay any attention to the "Location" description that appears at the bottom of all my posts. Why would you think, if Florence City gets to vote, that my kids go to school there if I said, and I did, that WE DON"T GET TO VOTE and you said Florence city DOES get to vote???? Maybe you should think a little before you spout off instead of doing the opposite.

I have to agree that the bottom line is that Mr. V is "donating" the raise to the Laud. Co. schools, no matter what pushed him into doing it. I hope that in the future that he will think about "the people" before he does himself. Maybe this little donation will allow our children to have toilet tissue and soap in the bathrooms an extra month or two without us parents having to send it. We can only hope that there are not a lot of important programs dropped and great teachers lost during this economic crisis that we are facing.

Perhaps if tenure was done away with, we could keep the good ones, and just lose the bad ones.

There also needs to be able 3 schools closed. Anderson, Cloverdale, and ATCC could easily be closed and save the county money.

I also think the board should be done away with. At least that way, things will get done, and not be gridlocked by conflicting opinions and politics. The public would actually have someone to hold responsible, instead of the blame bouncing back and forward between the board and super. And if we didn't like the way things were run, it'd be easier to replace one person, than a whole board of corrupt politicians.

Also, the legal problems with teachers...there's nothing a super or the board can do about it. As far as the law is concerned, those bad teachers and the county school system are on the same side. The child and the parents are on the other. If nothing is done, then its because the parents haven't pursued it.

It is amazing to me that when we the people wake up and pay attention we accomplish great things. Our political figures have forgotten that they serve us. Had the community not been outraged by the super and the boards actions nothing would have changed. I am beginning to have faith in my community again. If we have learned anything from this it is GET INVOLVED!!

Its not me its us!!

CT--I agree with you about the school closings. I have wondered why Anderson and Cloverdale haven't been incorporated into other schools. At the very least, Cloverdale should only go to 6th grade, then funnelled to Wilson (or another school).

I agree that if its given back, then its for the good. Just mighty poor timing, but I live in Colbert so no one cares what I think.

I care Shuga...:-)

I hope that others have learned from this fiasco -- that if you do something and voice your opinion -- it can right a very bad wrong as was the case with this raise. I was asked the question over the weekend -- do you really think he will give the money to the schools? How will he choose which one gets the money every month? How will he "prove" that he donated the money? How will the school have to account for that money? I hope you will stay involved and hold him accountable for this new "promise".

Does Mr. Valentine have children in the system?

Mr Valentine doesn't have any children at all.

I think that if they put JT at Anderson they have a plan to replace him at Lauderdale County with EC. That would make since as to why he wasn't chosen for the Anderson job. So the footsie under the table may still be going on and BC might get her way yet.

This was a three man race, with Mr. Jones, Mr. Hill and Mr. Valentine running for the same office. According to DixieChick, Mr. Jones and Mr. Hill got more combined votes than Mr. Valentine. Now, if this had been the case, in a three man race, the top two vote getters would be in a "run off" election. Mr. Valentine had to get more than 50 % of the vote to go into office without a run off election. DC, how did Mr. Jones and Mr. Hill combined effort get more votes than Mr. Valentine??

And for those who are unhappy with Mr. Valentine, even after he refused the raise...it is not about the money, it is because your man lost...