Friday, March 09, 2012

Fayette superintendent launches transportation department review

at the Herald-Leader:
Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Tom Shelton says he's working on a wide-ranging plan to address continuing employee complaints and concerns in the district's transportation department.

"We are looking at everything, including the organizational structure within transportation," Shelton said. "Does it fit, is it working, is it part of the issue?"

Shelton said the plan would be part of a broad overview of policies and procedures across the district, but he gave no time line for completing it. He said he "couldn't elaborate" on personnel matters.

Shelton said he received an email from unnamed transportation department employees last month, raising personnel issues and complaining about the work environment in the department.

The anonymous message, which came soon after Shelton visited transportation department offices and talked with some workers there, used the email address of someone who does not work for the school system, according to the superintendent.

Shelton sent an email reply, telling the workers "you can be assured I am developing a plan to deal with these issues." He also said school board members "are aware" of the concerns.

Transportation employees have been making similar anonymous complaints about working conditions in the department for more than a year. Shelton said he began hearing them shortly after being named superintendent in June.

News of the latest, emailed complaints surfaced last week on Kentucky School News and Commentary, a Lexington-based education blog.

Late last year, Shelton planned to conduct an investigation into issues at the transportation department. But that plan was suspended on the advice of attorneys after Sherry King, a former Fayette County school bus driver, sued the school system alleging she had been sexually harassed. King also alleged that she was bullied and intimidated by transportation officials after filing a grievance.

The suit, which names transportation director John Kiser, other department officials and members of the school board, is pending in Fayette Circuit Court.

Shelton said this week that with the planned transportation department inquiry suspended, he intends to look at the department as part of a broad overview.

"It's (an) overview of the entire district, and specifically about transportation. Are we meeting our objective, which is to provide safe rides to and from school for our students," he said.

"We're looking at policies and procedures, particularly ones that deal with employee discipline. We are looking at committee structures, such as committees that could maybe help us develop or revise policies for incentives, discipline and safety procedures."

In their email, the anonymous employees cited some instances of transportation employees who, they alleged, do little or no work.

Shelton said he already was aware of those situations, "but, obviously, I couldn't elaborate."
"When you hear enough concerns and complaints, it justifies an investigation," Shelton said.
He said that while the pending lawsuit precluded the possibility of such an inquiry now, "that can't stop us from making sure we have an efficient and effective department with the best policies and procedures."

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/03/09/2102797/fayette-superintendent-launches.html#storylink=rss?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#storylink=cpy

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

The anonymous message, which came soon after Shelton visited transportation department offices and talked with some workers there, used the email address of someone who does not work for the school system, according to the superintendent.

The above is a quote from Shelton?! Dr Shelton needs to consider how many people approached him the day he visited the transportation division. For every person that spoke to him there are 20 that were to fearful to approach him. Keep in mind there are over 17 cameras just at Miles Point alone (employees were informed of this fact in a weekly sheet published by management, they were kind enough to print that cameras were not in the restrooms) It is well known that Mr. Kiser transportation Director uses "his cameras" at his will. I personally could talk Dr. Shelton's ear off but would be too fearful of the backlash that would surely come.

To be even more insulting Steve Lane, (Kiser's flunky) is unwilling to refer to the cameras when employees have issues.

Richard Day said...

March 10, 2012 7:54 AM: The commenter "issy5" said:

"Mr. Shelton, I have read many of your comments and you seem to want to do the right things for your Employees who are afraid to speak up because of 'Fear of Retaliation'. Do you have a place Separate from the Human Res Dept that the FC Employees can go to, to make Reports, Complaints Anonymously? If so, are your Employees aware of this place? I ask because it could cut down on Lawsuits within our City. We are Happy that your Policies and Procedures will be Implemented and are not just papers hanging on the wall. When Employees feel a sense of their Constitutional Rights being Respected, they react differently. Accolades to our FCS Superintendent and Staff."

Well said.

Anonymous said...

I pray for social justice within our Fayette County Public School system.

I pray for an anonymous way to "sound the alarm" that would allow employees to bypass the chain of command when they have concern.

There seems only to be a sense of forgiveness for the misdeeds at Central Office. Melodee, our HR coordinator, and Mr. Kiser seem to have diplomatic immunity.


The much-vaunted "100 Days" have not witnessed the promised reforms at Central Office.

Anonymous said...

"Does it fit, is it working, is it part of the issue?" Oh, the power of rhetoric! Oh, how it diverts us from teh real problems.

The central idea that everyone in FCPS is working for children must be scrapped. First of all, it is not true. We have seen this time after time. If this were the case, the director of personnel would have resigned long ago. If this were the case, children would not be overtested in practice test after practice test. If this were the case, more anti-bullying in-services would be given to employees and principals. "It's about kids" is a costly scam, and Lexington's citizens have been duped into believing it is the case.

The idea, that everything is about kids, has resulted, most recently, in the disrespect our bus drivers face on a daily basis. It has allowed Mr. Kiser to abuse and rob his drivers of their dignity. It has resulted in the eerie silence of our school board members on the issue. It has resulted in an unholy alliance between the superintedent and the local newspaper, which, by and large, does not cover negative aspects of our school system. It resulted in the dismissal of in-house attorney Brenda Allen, who has gone from defending the school district, to leading its employees and former employees into filing costly lawsuits.

We must understand, and this applies to the moderators of this column, that each employee in FCPS is a stakeholder, and that drivers, teachers, and custodians --- and their concerns---are equally as important as the needs of the children.

Richard Day said...

March 10, 2012 7:54 AM: I call 'em as I see 'em and that means that the district will be defended here more often than not. Why not? While the district is not perfect (who among us is?), but overall, FCPS is a fine bunch of folks who have chosen to serve the children of our community in a vital state function. They do a lot of good.

March 10, 2012 11:37 AM: It seems like Shelton has gotten your message.

March 10, 2012 4:03 PM: Setting up a safe and on-going avenue for faculty and staff to report concerns is a good idea. Some inside central office have been pushing that idea for a few years now. It's what I imagine a Civil rights officer doing.

March 11, 2012 11:46 AM: I've worked for several different superintendents (and have studied hundreds more) and I haven't mistaken any of them for Super Man. That includes Shelton. It take a while to overcome years of inertia and anyone desiring a quick fix is likely to be disappointed. Shelton can't do the jobs of his employees. But he can slowly begin to change the culture.

This is all going to take some time to shake out. For me, it bears watching - to see if my optimism for the future is truly justified.

Anonymous said...

I think Marcus Dobbs should be in charge. Get rid of all the other
managers and supervisors

Anonymous said...

Justice for teh drivers. No union. No tenure. No respect. Conditions have gone from bad to worse.

Anonymous said...

Through the years I've watched good people lose their jobs, and bad people keep theirs. Especially when you get close to retiring, they will harrass and bully you until you quit.

Anonymous said...

Please call Dr. Shelton to stop the problemes in Transportation. We are not certified employees. We are not unionized. We need your help!

Anonymous said...

I really empathize with the plight of our drivers. They are great people , but they never seem to have anyone looking out for them? Will you help them, Richard?

Richard Day said...

Help? Sure. That's the idea.

I hope the light we have been able to shine on the situation has, and will continue, to lead the district to make positive changes.

Anonymous said...

Dear Richard,


I am pleased that we have this forum.

I do want you the public that many people are listening to and I suspect READING this blog. I do want to remind your readers that Dr. Shelton serves at the request of the Board. They, too, are all public servants and I feel confident they will orchestrate change. Employees in the schools most be treated with dignity and respect.

Although I'm very distressed at what seems to be the level of discontent I see on these pages, please assure your readers that I suspect the Board is doing more than looking into the problems facing school employees.

Richard Day said...

March 14, 2012 8:13 PM:

According to Ice Rocket, the blog has has had 4,293 hits since the first story posted on the 3rd of March....so, yes, I think we can say that the story is being read by "education folks" and news outlets.

When the Herald-Leader picked up the story it reached an even larger number of readers in the general public, about 208,000 per day.

I haven't talked to any board members in recent months, but I do know that at least two, and probably three members, are well aware of the concerns - and share them. While the superintendent owns the problem, I suspect they are glad something is being done.

It takes time to establish oneself as superintendent, and longer to change a culture, but I suspect a sincere effort is underway. My secret wish is for something dramatic to come from it - for the superintendent to demonstrate emphatically that this is not how we do business in Fayette County. Citizens ought to support that effort, in my view. We have challenged the administration to do better, and it seems to me that we ought to support the change we hope to see.

The exact nature of the negative comments we receive at KSN&C is difficult to gauge since so many folks post anonymously. It's not possible to accurately establish the breadth of discontent by studying comments posted here, but they surely reflect some measure of how district employees feel about how they are treated.

Still, we value our democratic freedoms and we're happy to provide a small forum for expression about the various important topics related to our schools.

Thanks for your comment.

Anonymous said...

This is the type of comment that makes you sound like an educational leader---enlightened and progressive---not a defender of the status quo, Dr. Day.

Most of the faculty with whom I have spoken say, "What's with the Dr. Shelton's 100 days?" We have seen little change. The FCEA Uniserve officer is still working overtime to protect teachers from principals, we still have a personnel officer who was never held accountable for her drunk driving, we still have testing overkill, Mr. Kiser is still at the helm in Transportation.

This forum is excellent because of the diversity of its viewpoints. I think we cannot underestimate how empowering it is that drivers, FCPS employees, and teachers can write anonymously.

I honestly do hope change is in the air. Fayette County Public Schools must respect its personnel.We need the superintendent to demonstrate "emphatically" that he is in charge and will not tolerate the abuses that have been carried out in the name of "It's about kids."

Anonymous said...

This is the type of comment that makes you sound like an educational leader---enlightened and progressive---not a defender of the status quo, Dr. Day.

Most of the faculty with whom I have spoken say, "What's with the Dr. Shelton's 100 days?" We have seen little change. The FCEA Uniserve officer is still working overtime to protect teachers from principals, we still have a personnel officer who was never held accountable for her drunk driving, we still have testing overkill, Mr. Kiser is still at the helm in Transportation.

This forum is excellent because of the diversity of its viewpoints. I think we cannot underestimate how empowering it is that drivers, FCPS employees, and teachers can write anonymously.

I honestly do hope change is in the air. Fayette County Public Schools must respect its personnel.It certainly did when my hero Guy Potts was in charge. We need the new superintendent to demonstrate "emphatically" that he is in charge and will not tolerate the abuses that have been carried out in the name of "It's about kids." He needs to stand behind behind his employees like Dr. Guy Potts did.

Richard Day said...

Thanks for the very kind comment.

"What's with the Dr. Shelton's 100 days?"

100 day plans have become de rigueur in recent years especially for leaders of large organizations. In my opinion it is foolish and potentially counter-productive for a new superintendent to wade in and begin making sweeping changes before he or she has gained a pretty solid understanding of the district and the culture of its people. No matter what the changes were, (unless a crisis existed and specific changes were already widely perceived to be needed) they would likely produce more concern over the superintendent's motives than they would comfort that some white knight had arrived.

I don't believe in superheroes. I do believe in hard work and sober considerations based on reliable evidence.

The benefit of a 100 day plan is that it formalizes the opportunity for many citizens and school folk to interact with the new superintendent while he or she learns valuable information about conditions in the district.

I had the opportunity to spend some time with Dr Shelton and review his plan before he announced it. I found it very ambitious (too ambitious - except that his family was out of town and much of his time was his own). It was a right idea, but I never expected sweeping change to come from it. I do expect that it will prove to have been helpful in speeding his acclimatization (and ultimately, effectiveness) in the district.

KEA is still KEA. I'm reserving judgment on the others until next fall. I have a much firmer opinion about what should happen in one case than I do the other.

I was sorry to hear of Dr Potts's passing this morning. I believe he will be remembered as one of Fayette County's top superintendents. But he was superintendent in a different time with a very different political climate. His tactics would likely face many obstacles today. Still, there is great value in a superintendent who respects his faculty and staff. The only place I would quibble, is that teachers ought to be supported when they are doing what they have been hired to do - not universally. You probably did not mean to infer that. I just think it's important to support folks who are doing the right stuff, but not to support folks no matter what they do.

Anonymous said...

Fayette County used to have a CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICER. She was a big joke. We don't need another like her, God help us. She didn't investigate. She talked to the administrators and their flunkies and then filed whatever lies they told as fact without true verification. I filed a complaint with her once and it has haunted me ever since. Debbie Allen was just as guilty as Melodee and Silberman and until she got mad at the district helped them set up and get rid of many employees via hook or crook. Our so called Civil Rights Officer worked in Allen's office. What a blasphemy on the word Civil Rights. She now works in the Equity office and probably doesn't do any more now than she did then.

Anonymous said...

mr day it looks like kiser is going to be back for 12-13 school year. the time for shelton to learn as he called it is over.he learned that i mean we all learned that he does not care enought about the bus dept employees to get rid of someone like kiser . could you please see if iam wrong about this and please tell us all the next thing is a sisk out by all bus employees to come soon. will be waiting for a update on kiser. and one other thing were is the sherry king lawsuit now .i know shelton offered her her job back and some money . but dont know how much . your the voice of the truth ,pleas keep it up .