High School Football

I try and take in a football game every week. I do it mostly to watch people. That's what I do...and I think I mentioned that in an earlier post. Most of the time it just reminds me of the awkward time High School was. Something else manifested though a few weeks back.  I was sitting in a section of the stands and before I realized it, I was surrounded by female teenagers. As I slowly made my way to another section, mostly to avoid any complications associated with a 40 year old hanging out with the teenagers, I came to a realization.

Why was I so intimidated by girls when I was younger? Clearly, the girls surrounding me that night were complete idiots. They weren't any different than the boys, who were also complete idiots. Wow. Did I waste a few years there not dating. I could have had a lot more fun.

Perhaps the problem was that I was a troll. And I'm not just talking about living in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan (trolls live under the bridge....get it? Michigan joke.) I was sitting there in the football game watching these kids and how they acted and how it was different than my time growing up. Most had cell phones and many had cell phones with earphones in their ear. That made me wonder what in the world they were doing there, if they weren't even paying attention to those around them. I know I watched one kid who had a very pretty girl sitting next to him. I wanted to slap him aside the head and bring it to his attention that he had a stunner sitting there and he was texting his friend Bill about how he liked the last MP3 he was sent. Excuse Me! Look around you, you moron. Idiot. Girls are the most important thing in the universe and you have one RIGHT THERE!

Being a troll, I can see things like that now. And girls still make me nervous. Luckily I'm married to one that works her way past that.

Entry for October 03, 2007

I can't believe how incompetent our school district is.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/585069,3_1_EL03_A1U46_S1....

Parents: U46 wasting cash on interim chief

October 3, 2007

BY ERIN CALANDRIELLO Staff Writer

ELGIN -- Some parents in Elgin School District U46 say the district should have saved itself some money by naming one of its own administrators to fill in for Superintendent Connie Neale while she is on medical leave.

Hiring retired school executive Mary Jayne Broncato last week as interim superintendent is a waste of taxpayers' money, they charge.

But according to the district, there was no U46 employee who was second in line for the superintendent's position.

"If the president of the United States falls ill, the vice president steps in for the period of time required. If a pastor at a church falls ill, the assistant pastor steps in," parent Cindy Carvey said at Monday night's school board meeting. "Please explain to me why our assistant superintendent (Lalo Ponce) did not step in when our superintendent announced she was going on disability. Isn't our assistant superintendent familiar with the district?"

Ponce is the district's assistant superintendent of administrative services, dealing with issues ranging from class size and teacher hires to school building information.

District spokesman Tony Sanders, however, said that "there never has been one second in command" in U46.

He pointed to an organizational chart that shows 10 people directly below Neale, but no one administrator serves as just an assistant superintendent.

Besides Sanders and Ponce, those "cabinet" members are Barb Bonner, the district's chief academic officer; Pat Broncato, chief legal officer, who also is Mary Jayne Broncato's son; Deb Dimke, executive director of educational programs; Tom Donausky, executive director of secondary education; Karen Fox, special projects assistant; Jeff King, executive director of operational services; John Prince, chief financial officer; and Tina Radomsky, executive director of elementary education.

Organization questioned

Carvey was joined by several other parents at the meeting who questioned that setup.

"How can this be?" Carvey asked. "What kind of company or organization functions this way?"

Neale's 10 cabinet members in 2006-07 each earned anywhere from $130,386 to $181,419, which includes their pensions, according to U46 documents. A total of $1.4 million was spent on the cabinet alone in 2006-07. However, none of them took over Neale's position.

"Instead, the taxpayers are again being burdened with the wasteful spending of $1,100 a day for a contractor, who coincidentally is related to U46's chief legal officer (Pat Broncato)," Carvey said in reference to Mary Jayne Broncato's contract costs per day.

She could accumulate $132,000 over the course of 120 days, the maximum time she can work under state law because she is a retired state superintendent.

Carvey said she's not impressed by the interim superintendent's résumé.

"I read this individual's qualifications were that she had worked with the district in the past and was familiar with the district. This individual has never been a superintendent of a district anywhere close to the size of U46," Carvey said in reference to Broncato's former position as superintendent of Joliet School District 86.

In 2006, District 86 had population of a little more than 10,000 pupils, according to district data. U46 is the second largest district in the state with more than 40,000 students.

However, after she left District 86, Broncato spent 12 years working in high-level positions within the Illinois State Board of Education, including a stint as interim state superintendent.

U46's total superintendent pay this school year could be more than $550,000: Broncato's potential $132,000 salary for 2007-08 and Neale's $263,000 salary and benefits this year.

With this in mind, Carvey asked, "With the issues that our district faces -- large class sizes, split classes and programs being cut -- why would the board take more money away from our kids by hiring a contractor?"

Entry for September 15, 2007

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/557602,3_1_EL14_A1CONNIE_...

ELGIN -- Elgin School District U46 officials are defending Superintendent Connie Neale and the employment contract they signed with her earlier this year, saying she abided by all physical examination requirements and signed the document in good faith.

Neale announced Monday that she is taking a medical leave of absence starting Sept. 21. Neale last spring negotiated the controversial contract with the district that provides her with lifetime medical benefits with no deductible for herself and her family, more than 430 days of sick leave, money for the purchase of extra disability insurance, and money for long-term care insurance should she retire.

» Click to enlarge image

Elgin School District U46 Board member Ken Kaczynski announces Supt. Connie Neale's medical leave of absence Monday afternoon.

(MARINA MAKROPOULOS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

» Click to enlarge image

Connie Neale

"Dr. Neale has complied with all physical examination requirements outlined in her contract," district spokesman Tony Sanders said Thursday.

"She has also provided the board of education with proper documentation from a physician regarding her need to take medical leave."

Neale's contract states that she must "submit to a comprehensive health examination by no later than Jan. 15 of each contract year. Such health examination shall include tests deemed necessary by the doctor or required by the board" of education.

This health exam for U46 superintendents is a routine process, Sanders said.

"It has been a standing practice for the superintendent to undergo a physical examination like any other employee upon being hired," said Sanders. "It is done to ensure the superintendent is able to fulfill the duties required by the position.

"Dr. Neale and past superintendents have been asked by the board to also submit to annual physical exams," Sanders continued.

"Pursuant to the contract, and state law, the reports are treated as confidential information by the board."

Illness not disclosed

Due to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations, as well as state personnel laws, the district says its cannot comment on Neale's illness, nor when it began. Neale did not say what illness prompted the decision to take medical leave when she made her announcement Monday, although she was seen last week using a walker at a district function.

Neale's latest contract included a $20,000 raise and a 10 percent tax-free bonus, pushing her total compensation to more than $400,000 next year, including use of a cell phone and car, health benefits, a contribution to the state Teachers' Retirement System, and other benefits, according to school board documents. U46 is the largest district in Illinois outside Chicago.

Many of the clauses that were modified in Neale's latest contract revolve around insurance benefits, sick leave and disability.

Her original contract with the district in 2002 stated, "The board shall provide full hospital, surgical, major medical, and dental insurance coverage for the superintendent and eligible dependent members of the superintendent's immediate family during the term of this contract."

Now the contract not only states this, but it also has added a clause stating, "The Board shall provide the Superintendent with an allowance of Four Thousand Eight Hundred and No/100 ($4,800.00) Dollars per year, paid to her in lieu of reimbursement for her long-term care insurance. Upon the Superintendent's retirement or the end of this Contract, the Board shall continue to pay the allowance for long-term care insurance to the Superintendent and also shall pay the cost of full hospital, surgical, major medical, and dental insurance coverage for the Superintendent and eligible dependent members of the Superintendent's immediate family until her death."

The 2002 contract stated, "the Superintendent has accumulated 50 days of sick leave. For each subsequent Contract year, the Superintendent shall be granted 12 days of sick leave annually, the unused number of which, when combined with any of the foregoing unused sick leave from the previous contract years, shall be accumulated without limitation."

Sick days added

The 2006-07 contract states the same benefits, except it has upped the number of sick leave days. It states, "the Superintendent has accumulated 430 days of sick leave."

In Neale's 2005-06 contract, a clause was inserted stating, "the Board shall provide the Superintendent with a payment of Four Thousand Eight Hundred and No/100 ($4,800.00) Dollars per year, to contribute towards her purchase of extra disability insurance," and the amount is "to be allocated among the Supplemental Retirement Plans as described therein."

It goes on to state, "Further, these provisions regarding extra disability insurance shall be retroactive to July 1, 2004, such that the Board will contribute the disability insurance payment for the 2004-2005 Contract year to the Supplemental Retirement Plans." This clause has remained in place since 2005-06.

Ken Kaczynski, board president, said Neale was unaware of her medical condition when she signed the changes to her original contract.

"I was not a board member when she signed her original contract" in 2002, said Kaczynski, who became a board member in 2003, "but there is no doubt in my mind the subsequent amendments she has signed while I have been on the board were signed in good faith."

I can't tell you how outrageous this is. What kind of money are we paying this woman? This is a failing school and we are giving her $$$$$!