Patch Expose': Derelict Duo

 We talk about how unscrupulous these people seem to be, but it isn’t often that you actually get to hear a recording of them talking about their own surreptitious plans. A webcast of the last school board meeting is available online at the school district website http://sdhcwebcasts.com/index.html . Advance it to 76 minutes. You will see the administrative appointments are being dismissed from the school board auditorium, but Superintendent Elia’s microphone is still on and you can hear the conversation between school board attorney Tom Gonzalez and Superintendent Elia while Chair Griffin is shown still on camera. Listen closely to what they say:

Elia: “I have to start getting some people here at everyone of the pre-board things. So, it’s got to be at the beginning, speaking to an agenda item.”

Gonzalez concurs and criticizes Chair Griffin for allowing the speaker the latitude to speak freely.

Elia says: “I know. I can’t do anything about it but I can make sure I got balance. That’s the problem; all I got is people beating us up.

Gonzalez: Yep. It’s Bull (expletive)! 

They apparently include some of the school board in that group of “people beating us up”. We can just imagine that a similar conversation might have occurred at the now infamous Valentine’s Day 2012 board meeting where parent Veleria Fabiszak spoke at and warned: “It’s about accountability and justice and training…My daughter nearly died at the hands of Hillsborough County School District.” Another School Board video that you have to see to believe (this occurs at about 1:48:30).

This Valentine’s Day 2012 board meeting was Elia's first opportunity to openly and honestly inform the board and the public and discuss it at a board meeting. Typically, the Superintendent is given the opportunity at each meeting to bring up any important issues. At this one Elia talks about SAFETY but instead recounts an entirely different event at Bloomingdale High School and never mentions the death of Isabella Herrera.

Elia likely would have been concerned about “people beating us up” when they heard that special needs student Isabella Herrera died from respiratory distress on a school bus ride where the bus aide and bus driver failed to call 911 or even seek assistance at the pediatric clinic that they were parked in front of.

Perhaps they strategized about what to do about that monumental disaster to control public perception. Elia would have been in the midst of her interim performance self evaluation. In this scenario it would have again been a matter of what might be best for the Superintendent versus what might be best for the school board to know so they could take appropriate action.

 9 months later the school board (except for then Chair Olson) claims they were unaware of the death of Isabella Herrera. The public was also virtually unaware of the death of Isabella Herrera for 9 months until a second special needs student Jenny Caballero drowned at Rodgers Middle School; a death that arguably could have been prevented had action in the form of training and updated procedures been taken after the first death of Isabella Herrera.

Here at the Juxtaposed news we’ve often wondered how it is possible for school board attorney Tom Gonzalez to be both the attorney for the school board and the attorney for Superintendent Elia. How does that work? Apparently it does not work very well.

Recall that Tom Gonzalez rendered his original resignation to the school board in April of 2012. This is only 2 months after this infamous Valentine’s Day 2012 Board meeting where the Superintendent had one of her first opportunities to inform the board about the death of Bella Herrera but apparently chose not to. A board meeting where the school Board attorney and the Superintendent arguably would have had a lot to talk about. Too bad their microphone wasn't on then.

The next school board meeting is July 30 at 5 pm. We hope you have something to say about this atrocity.