Open Letter to Dr Will Harden

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Paul Rushing

Below is an open letter to Dr Will Hardin the Superintendent of the Camden County Schools.  I hope he decides to reply in an open fashion.  If he chooses to reply privately and asks that his response not be published here I will honor that request if he does so civilly.  If he does not reply at all then I will assume that he does not wish to address the real problems in the Camden County Georgia School System and feels that his actions and poor judgment are acceptable.

Dr Will Hardin, Superintendent of Camden County Schools,

I feel like you were not happy with my open records request based on the tone of the email you sent to your staff to comply.

“….. prepare yourself emotionally for this intrusive but legal action.”  – Dr Will Hardin in an email sent to staff members regarding open records request.

Dr Hardin what you need to realize is when you work inside of a public body you have to answer to those you serve and when a request for records is made you must comply if it is within the guidelines of Georgia Law.

The request that was delivered to the School Camden County School Board on 9/18/2010 was not properly filled and the delay in responding was in violation of the Georgia Open Records Act.  Based on the tone of all interactions I have had with you and the administration of the Camden County School Board, including them intentionally not filling a properly executed request for documents, it would appear that it is the goal of the School System is to not be open with parents of children in the school system and you are personally trying to frustrate my efforts.

Dr Hardin you hold a public position and you need to realize that it is not intrusive when a member of the community makes a request such as mine, there are laws in place due to the fact individuals in positions like yours would rather conduct business in a cloak of secrecy and that was not the intention of our Founding Fathers.

If you do not wish to be met with “intrusive” request such as mine I suggest the following to you:

  • Most importantly learn the definition of constituency (most notably b : the people involved in or served by an organization) and realize that if the governing body in which you answer to does not do their job in policing the Camden County Georgia School System’s activities others in the community will.
  • Become transparent in how the School Board conducts business and how you fulfill your obligations to the community.
  • Lose the smug attitude with parents that attempt to bring issues to your attention.  Not only have you been indignant with me but others have communicated with me how you have conducted yourself in dealing with their problems in the Camden County Georgia school system.  One of the many events that was shared with me was how you dismissed a parents complaint when a first grade child with autism came home from school with shoe laces tied around her ankles in a punitive and demeaning fashion.  The mother of this child states that you told her “That solves the child’s problem in keeping her shoes tied”.  This is unacceptable behavior on your part.
  • Realize that the current education system by whatever mandate is a broken institution and we are no longer in the industrial age.  Strive to make the curriculum more than teaching repetition, quality and conformity instead concentrate on creativity, leadership and problem solving.  Children should be allowed to think, create, visit amazing places, relate to others and cultivate interests in connecting and contributing to society in a more meaningful way not following a rigid set of rules and meaningless benchmarks.
  • Make it your problem too when parents have issues with a school, teacher or administrator inside of Camden County, GA School System.  Lest parents will continue to make it a personal and “intrusive” for you as well.
  • If you do not want your performance, conduct and contract of employment public knowledge find a job in the private sector where your activities cannot be scrutinized or go into business for yourself, then you can learn real accountability.

Right now I feel you are in severe violation of your contract with the citizens of Camden County Georgia and most importantly the children of the community.  I have personally gone from being an upset parent to that of a member of the community who wishes to fix our broken school system in Camden County, Georgia.  I have made statements in the past of moving my business from Camden County to another community with a better school infrastructure but have abandoned that thought process.  If I were to do that then those that are scared to address the real problems would not have a voice in the community, if I were to leave the community then those left and the transient military population may not have anybody to champion their cause.

Warmest Regards,

Paul Rushing
912-266-1629
www.dealerbytes.com
SEGA Systems, LLC
“Without Traffic Everything Fails”

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If you are a teacher, parent or student who would like an open letter published to any board member, administrator or teacher in the Camden County School System please use the contact form on the “Share Your Experiences” page and we will arrange to have it published here for you.

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Illegal Activities by the Camden County School Administration

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Paul Rushing

The Camden County School Board has failed to act on my open records request that was properly submitted and receipt acknowledged.  The request was faxed and emailed on 9/18/2010 and Mrs Arnett acknowledged they were in receipt of my request on the morning of 9/20/2010.  The law is very clear that they only have three business days to reply to the request.

Freedom of Information Act Request from Paul Rushing to the Camden County Board of Education

When I contacted Mrs Arnett on 9/22/2010 ~ 2:30 pm she told me that Dr Will Hardin had not acted upon the request and I reminded her that they had only three business days to respond which she affirmed that day was the end of the three business day requirement.  As of close of business on 9/22/2010 they have failed to act upon my request.  All members of the School Board administration have access to my cell number, office number, fax number and email address to advise me of the status of this request.

The law is very clear that not releasing these records is a criminal act albeit a very minimal one at best:

50-18-74. Penalty for violations; procedure for commencement of prosecution.

(a) Any person knowingly and willfully violating the provisions of this article by failing or refusing to provide access to records not subject to exemption from this article or  by falling or refusing to provide access to such records within the time limits set forth in this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $100.

(b) A prosecution under this Code section may only commence by issuance of a citation in the same manner as an arrest warrant for a peace officer pursuant to Code Section 17-4-40, which citation shall be personally served upon the accused.

The defendant shall not be arrested prior to the time of trial, except that a defendant who fails to appear for arraignment or trial may thereafter be arrested pursuant to a bench warrant and required to post a bond for his or her future appearance. (Code 1981, § 50-18-74, enacted by Ga. L. 1999, p. 552, § 5.)

I will visit the School Board on 9/24/2010 after taking my children to school who are still in attendance of Camden County Schools to give them the opportunity to give me the information requested.  If they do not provide it or a detailed timeline of when the documents requested will be available the next visit is the Camden County Court House to secure warrant applications for Dr Will Hardin, et. al. and to possibly file suit for injunctive and declaratory relief against the Camden County School Board.

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Lost Job Opportunities in Camden County Georgia

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Paul Rushing

I just concluded a long negotiation on a new contract for my business that will require my firm to hire 20 people over the next 12 months to support the work load this has created.  Most of these positions will not be full time jobs however it would provide employment opportunities for many of the stay at home Navy spouses and retirees in the community.  With that being said it will create five full time jobs that I would have to recruit personnel for.

Unfortunately I cannot in good conscious seek to bring new people into this community if the full time positions cannot be filled by local residents especially if they have children who would have to attend Camden County Schools.  If you are looking for work in Camden County Georgia and can fill any of these positions use the comment form below to contact me and I will reply with an email address for you to submit your resume.

  • Network Administrator with thin client deployment experience.
  • Human Resources
  • .php programmer
  • .net programmer
  • Django and Ruby Application Development

I will also run ads in the local paper to see if there any qualified candidates in this market area.  If not I will have to set up a satellite facility to service this contract in a larger metropolitan area and have all positions filled in that location.

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Accountability in the System

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Paul Rushing

Voluntary accountability and the Camden County School System really should not be used in the same sentence.  I have yet to see a “leader” in the system display the level of accountability that should be expected by those they lead.  The administration leads the teachers and our children and to some extent the parents, that is the job they were hired to do and positions that they demand respect for.

In business the best definition of accountability I could find is:

…..it means that you accept responsibility for the outcomes expected of you—both good and bad. You don’t blame others. And you don’t blame the external environment. There are always things you could have done—or still can do—to change the outcome.  - Michael Hyatt

I have yet to experience an administrator inside of the Camden County School System accept this level of accountability.  The administrations in the Camden County Georgia School System will always demand accountability of the parent in their child’s education, rightfully so, however their idea of accountability on their part really differs from what we as parents should require.  As a parent of children and business owner with employees who have children in the broken Camden County School System I feel it is now my duty to hold the system accountable as they refuse to hold themselves accountable.  Other parents must also hold the school system accountable as well.

Things that parents can do to help hold the Camden County School System accountable:

  • Request copies of employment contracts of your child’s teacher and administrators at their school.  (info on how to do that)
  • Find out by what yardstick the teachers and administrators are measured for the school year and ask them how they plan on meeting those goals.
  • Question every decision they make about your child without your input.
  • If your child is served by an IEP be very proactive in the formulation of your child’s plan and require a schedule for them to deliver progress reports on a weekly basis.

Teachers and subordinates inside of the school system can do the same things as parents to hold their direct supervisors responsible.

Please add your comments below if you have other ideas or opinions on how to hold the School System Accountable.

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Georgia’s Sunshine Law – They Can’t Deny Information

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Paul Rushing

We have on numerous occasions asked for copies the special education budget and expenditures in Camden County Schools and it has never been forthcoming nor was I given the procedures for requesting such information.  After doing a little research I discovered that the School Board cannot deny giving this information to me.

Under Georgia’s Sunshine law they have to provide any citizen of the State this information if requested and they have three days to comply with that request.  The Attorney General for the Sate of Georgia, Thurbert Baker, stated:

It is the public policy of Georgia that all agencies of our State should conduct business in the open and employ records that are available to every citizen.

What this means to me is that they do not have a justifiable reason for not producing the special education budget for Camden County Georgia.  I formally submitted a request via email and fax today asking for these documents and others.

9/18/2010

Records Custodian

Camden County Board of Education

311 South East Street

Kingsland, GA 31548

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Law (O.C.G.A § 50-18-70 et seq.) (the “Law”), you are hereby requested to make available for review and copying all files, records and other documents in your possessions that refer, reflect or relate to the Special Education Budget for School Year 2010-2011, Contract of Employment for Thomas McClendon, Contract of Employment for Doctor Dugger, Contract of Employment for Dr Will Harden and communication involving Alexander Rushing and/or Preston Rushing and/or Tyler Rushing and/or Paul Rushing and/or Melissa Rushing

This request includes, but is not limited to, all communication and correspondence in whatever tangible medium, which includes electronic mail (Email), between and among Dr Will Harden and Mr Thomas McClendon or any other administration in reference to Alexander Rushing, Preston Rushing, Tyler Rushing, Paul Rushing and Melissa Rushing.

If this request is denied in whole or in part, you are required by O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(h) to cite in writing the specific statutory exemption upon which you have relied, as required by law. I also ask that you release all separate portions of otherwise exempt material.

Please waive any costs associated with this request, or first inform us about such costs as required by Georgia law.

As you know, the Law requires a response by you within three business days of your receipt of this letter and provides sanctions for non-compliance. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Paul Rushing

I will personally deliver a copy to their office on Monday the 20th of September 2010 and publish my findings here. If you want to find out more about Georgia’s Sunshine Laws and Freedom of Information Act here is a .pdf document that explains it to you in laymen terms.

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Demanding Transparency – Will it Happen?

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Paul Rushing

We are in the process of moving our son out of the Camden County School System into the Georgia Cyber Academy.  This was not a measure that was taken lightly by our family.  It requires a serious commitment on the behalf of parents to use this educational platform.  This still does not remove the requirements for the Camden County School Board to provide a level of service to our child with Aspergers Syndrome.

They will still be required to deliver services based on his IEP which include speech services and occupational therapy.   We have requested a meeting with the school board to see how they plan to deliver these services and are demanding transparency from them.  This is not something they are prepared to provide.

On numerous occasions we have asked for a copy of the special education budget and for the school to give our disabled child a fair shot in a classroom setting and both of these request have been ignored.  So now we will go from requesting fair treatment to demanding that the school board provide the services in which our child is entitled in a very transparent fashion.

For them to operate in a transparent fashion will require them to change the way they do business.  No longer will they be able to say “That is the way it is”.  They will have to be held accountable to us the parents to provide the services to make sure that our child receives an education free from discrimination and persecution.

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An Awakening – Maybe?

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Paul Rushing

We have been in a confrontational status with the Saint Marys Elementary School since after the first week of school.  We have been dealing with what we feel are discriminatory issues due to poor judgment by the principal Thomas McClendon and vice principal Dr Gail Dugger.  Through numerous attempts to bring the issue to the attention of the Camden County School Board it looks like we finally have someone willing to listen although we are not sure how willing they will be to make changes within the school system to alleviate these discriminatory issues.

Today I met with Dr. Will Hardin, the school superintendent.  The first meeting was less than amicable and he instructed me to keep my children out of Saint Marys Elementary and later asked for a personal meeting with me.  While he was the only administrator in the school system to answer the question “What is the job of the school system  teach kids to pass test and annual yearly progress (AYP) or teach them to be productive members of society” with any form of clarity he still eluded to the fact that test passing and AYP are the main goals of the school system.

We are to have a meeting with several administrators later this month to discuss possible resolution to an issue that really has no resolution, until the school system learns that kids are not test scores.

At this time I will still follow Dr. Hardens advice and keep my children out of SMES until after this meeting.

We will be updating this site to share more of our experiences of having a child with Aspergers Syndrome in the Camden County Georgia School System and the things we have faced.

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Kingsland Elementary – What’s Happening?

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Paul Rushing

A recent report says there is trouble inside of the Kingsland Elementary Pre Kindergarten.  The report stated:

“I believe  the parents at Kingsland Elementary need to be aware that their children are knowing being placed in danger daily. The fact is one of their pre-k teachers sleeps continuously in class leaving the children unsupervised as well the same teacher has boisterously admitted and bragged about illicit drug use to a high school student that was assigned to student teach in her class. All of the indiscretions were shared with both the principle and Will Hardin and to no surprise they again have brushed issues under the rug………”

We filed an open records request to get copies of emails regarding this matter and was met with what appeared to us as the school board is really trying to sweep this matter under the rug. The reply that we received from Jonathan Miller, Director of Personnel, was more comical than shocking:

“…….The incident involving another student is currently an open investigation and therefore will not be provided.  We will make every effort to provide you with the other requested information within a reasonable timeframe.  The information you requested will require a review of records.  (I only asked for emails)  A reasonable charge will be collected for search, retrieval and other direct administrative cost for complying with your request based on the salary of the lowest paid full-time employee who has the necessary skill and training to perform search and retrieval.  Approximately 9 hours will be required to complete this process though no charge will be assessed for the first quarter hour.  The cost will be $334.98 plus $.25 for each copy you wish to make.  I will notify you when this information is available.  You may visit the Camden County Schools central office complex to collect the information when it is available. “

Yes you read it right, the lowest paid full-time employee that has “the necessary skill and training to perform search and retrieval” of copies of emails makes $37.22 and hour or $77,417.60 a year. 

The tax payers are being robbed, if the only person who knows how to retrieve a few emails makes 77k plus per year, and our children are not safe in the hands of the Camden County School system.

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Case No 2010-0902070 GORA Non Compliance

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Paul Rushing

I have filled a police report for the Camden County School Boards violations of the Georgia Open Records Act with the Camden County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Gregory was very supportive of my efforts to hold the Camden County School Board administration accountable under the Georgia Open Records Act.

Fortunately for the Camden County School Board they were able to fax to the Sheriff’s office their attempt at compliance under the Open Records Act. This possibly negated a potential criminal complaint against Dr. Will Hardin. It will depend on the post mark date of their reply to my Open Records Request as whether or not this is still pursued through the criminal court system.

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Intervention is Needed – Camden County Georgia Elementary Schools

Posted on May 21, 2011 by Paul Rushing

We are resigned to the fact that the Camden County School System does not have the staff or training to deal with a child with Asperger’s Syndrome, nor can the administration and teachers look past the personal prejudices they hold against children who are “different”. Due to these facts we have registered our child with Asperger’s into the Georgia Cyber Academy.  Since the Cyber Academy is a public funded school we will still have to rely on the Camden County School Board for certain services for our child.  Most notably speech, occupational therapy and continuing IEP services.

On three different occasions in meetings with administrators about our objections to poor decision making and discriminatory actions  by Thomas McClendon (principal) and Dr Gail Dugger (assistant principal) of Saint Marys Elementary have lead to nothing more than denigration and inaction by those that supervise these individuals.  The problems we have faced are multifaceted and have possibly placed the Camden County School System in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Title I.

These problems are not isolated to just one school in the system.  We faced the same challenges at Kingsland Elementary and David L. Rainer Elementary but none as glaring as what has been presented to us at Saint Marys Elementary School.

The Camden County Georgia School System has failed our child miserably and probably has failed even more children whose parents for whatever reason have not taken as proactive stance as we are now taking.  The administration needs to be educated on how to deal with a child with these special needs albeit they are reluctant at this point.

Other parents have faced the same issues inside of school systems across the country.  I have one personal friend that is facing the same problems in California and here is an article that shows the special challenges we face as a parent of a child with Asperger’s.

Posted in Camden County School Board, Saint Marys Elementary School | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments