Sunday, August 4, 2019

SCPR & CANTON REP EDITORIAL BOARD AGREE: RESNICK CONTINUING AS CCS BOARD MEMBER IS NOT A GOOD THING FOR THE SCHOOLS; NOTWITSTANDING HIS PASSION!



On Thursday, The Canton Repository Editorial Board (Executive Editor Rich Derosiers) wrote a scathing editorial on the unsuitability for Canton City Council member (currently, the vice president of the Board) to be re-elected to another term.

Be sure to read the editorial.  Here is a LINK.

The SCPR takes Resnick as to his word ("you be the judge" as repeated numerous times in Resnick's response, all of which is published immediately after these SCPR comments) and on the basis of having covered Resnick and his political activities and elected/appointed office record, sides with The Rep editorial board and its Thursday editorial.

Need this blogger say that the SCPR has taken exception to the management/editorial practice (i.e. "the official newspaper of the HOF"), style and substance since March 12, 2008?

No doubt there is something positive to be said about Resnick's passion.  But he has now become a distraction to sorely needed re-direction of the CCS to pull itself out of being one the very poorest performing school districts in Ohio and possibly in the nation.

Resnick, who has been on the board, on-and-off, for a good part of the past ten years (though only one of five board members) owns a share of not providing enough of effective leadership that the CCS has desperately needed to avoid the state the school system is currently in.

Long before The Rep recognized that Resnick and his passion and zeal for whatever comes out of his mind/mouth makes him, in an overall sense, a detriment to the effective functioning of any public board (elected or appointed);  SCPR blogs over the past eleven plus years has tracked Resnick's involvement in public matters.

Now Resnick's FB response:

I thought I had seen just about everything when the Repository editorial board seemed unhappy that my Board colleagues and I did our jobs too well, inferring that protecting the districts assets was "dangerously close to extortion" in its July 14 editorial. (Keep in mind that our negotiating opponent was Hall of Fame Village and the Repository is "the official newspaper" of the Hall of Fame.)
But today THEIR agenda, comes into clearer focus than it was then, and I suppose I can channel President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who asked Americans to "to judge me by the enemies I have made."
Today's editorial is case in that point.
I am a bit flattered that the editorial board has to take much out of context to do what they think will be a hit piece on me. Rest assured this won't be their last between now and the election.
You all saw the video of my comments to Canton City Council on Monday and can judge for yourselves.
I have posted my testimony each time I have testified at the statehouse, and those comments are part of the public record. I make no apologies for advocating for public education nor looking out for the Canton City School District. It goes along with the job. Again, judge for yourselves.
(The senate Education chair was a little unhappy that I called her out for hearing a graduation requirement proposal for the first time at 1:30 on the afternoon senate budget amendments were due at 4:00, and her fellow senator for saying in open hearing that the proposal would be "the only one in the budget." Of course that kind of sleazy backroom dealing behind the public's back should be called out, in my opinion. Again, you can judge that for yourselves.)
But perhaps the most telling display here by the editorial board is their objection to my objection that Canton City School District personnel (not merely "I") were not credited with our participation in the press conference opposing Academic Distress Commissions in their June 30 editorial, which followed my complaints that they had not covered the matter, which is of critical importance to this community, as news.
Note:  (Resnick "for you to judge" enlarged print and underline added for emphasis sake)
I post here, for you to judge, 
the very e-mail the editorial board objects to, 
and 
it is followed by Rich DeRosiers' response. Again, judge it for yourselves:
Good afternoon.
I can't let the day conclude without commenting on your editorial today.
I love the conclusion.
I have been one of the leaders among my peers fighting the academic distress commissions and state takeover.
I testified against Cupp-Patterson, exactly because it is so unfair to districts like ours, which you know because your sister paper to the north reported it.
I also testified twice against what they did with graduation requirements.
Again, I agree with your conclusion 100 percent.
I shared the editorial with my colleague and friend Mohamed Al-Hamdani of the Dayton school board, and I agree he was a star performer Wednesday.
My objection is around how hard you had to work to fail to mention the names of the Canton City School District people who were there, and who represented their community very well.
I was fortunate, when I worked in the newspaper business, to have worked for an editor was OCD, and one of the things he was obsessive about was drilling it into us that every article has to stand on its own. Every article has to be treated as if it is the only thing reported about something, and a person passing through, only reading one thing, should get the whole picture.
The Repository has yet to report on the effort to eliminate academic distress commissions as a news item. I have talked to Kelly twice about this, so I know you have the material. I don't understand the reluctance to go there. Jim and Rich signed the letter spearheaded by the Canton Professional Educators Association in opposition to academic distress commissions, so I know you know something about it.
You have ignored what Dr. Jeff Graham has been doing behind the scenes and out front last week, having the distinction as an expert on state takeovers because he lived it personally.
The Canton City School District joined the Youngstown City School District Board of Education in their suit against the state in the Ohio Supreme Court. We are the only school district to do so.
My point is, the Canton City School District has been leading and out front among Ohio school districts on this from the beginning, yet your readers would not know that from reading the Repository, and I find that unfortunate. You fail my former editor's test.
Our community, our stakeholders and employees deserve to know what those who represent them are doing in their name.
I am tired of talking about this around the community and being asked what we're doing about it. Your readers -- our stakeholders -- should already know. That should be your mission.
No school district had as many representatives at the event Wednesday that we did, and we were all there by invitation, because of the leadership we have shown.
No other school district had a teacher speak, and Mr. Geraghty really does represent the future of teachers in the Canton City School District, and does not deserve to be ignored.
CPEA's leadership on this has raised the bar among unions that represent Ohio's teachers. That's worth our community's awareness.
Instead, you worked real hard to avoid mentioning their names or what they have done.
Finally, if this is emblematic of your continued grudge against me, shame on you.
That's all.
ERIC
------------
To which DeRosier responded:
Mr. Resnick:
Thank you for your letter and your compliment.
It is not the newspaper’s position to print or not print news based on perceived “grudges.”
If academic distress commissions are abolished, due credit will be given to those involved.
Until then, a news story on the work behind the scenes does nothing to make a difference in Columbus. That’s a role for the Editorial Board at this time.
All things in due time, Mr. Resnick.
Go enjoy the sunshine.
Long emails on a day as glorious as today are a misuse of God’s gift to us today.
Rich D

Note:  Readers can refresh themselves on the Resnick/Rinaldi "Knock-Down, Drag-Out" 2013 head to head CCS BOE race at this LINK.

To provide readers with "in-depth" background on the SCPR's assessment of Resnick as a political figure, elected and appointed public official, here is an encore rendition of a January 19, 2019 blog:

Now turning The Report's attention to Mister Resnick as the SCPR's latest addition to "The Bottom 10 List!

Congratulations, Eric.  Resnick is a former CCS BOE member having been elected in 2009 to fill the unexpired term of John Rinaldi (how ironic is that) who abruptly resigned earlier in the year.



Canton City Schools have had quite a lot of negative publicity over the past year and a good part of the negativity came from Resnick as he seems to the SCPR as having been the lead in opposition to the successful effort by school officials with BOE approval of the merger of Resnick's alma mater Timken High School with McKinley with the McKinley name surviving the consolidation.









If Superintendent Adrian Allison thinks having Resnick as an "outside-the-beltway" opponent was a bad trip; having him working his Machiavellian politics from the inside will likely the outright nightmare for the Super.

The SCPR is prone to be supportive of folks like Resnick because of their willingness "to shake the trees" of establishment political and government circles.

But yours truly finds it hard to abide him for his utter arrogance and vitrolic ways. Undoubtedly, does some good in a Devils' advocate role.  But in the end, The Report thinks he does more harm than good in an official capacity.

He seems to like to present himself as the paragon of righteousness in his functioning as a public official.  But The Report for one questions whether or not he adequately protected Canton Joint Recreation Board (CJRB) taxpayers during his stint on its board and in particular as the board's president.

The Report has done some blog work re:  Resnick when he was a member of the CJRD, the legitimacy of which was brought into question by some when he continued on in that capacity as an appointee of the Canton BOE even after he lost his place on the BOE, but is not done with that matter just yet.

It had to be a huge disappointment to the likes of John Rinaldi (current vice president of the Canton BOE) and the highly regarded Richard Milligan and perhaps relatively new member Will Grimsley (a fellow union member with Rinaldi) to see the results of election night November 3, 2015.



It has been tough enough for the Board in Resnick's absence from BOE officialdom over the past four years, for example (in part):
  • Convincing CCS constituents of the viability of implementing the system's Brighter Tomorrow program
  • The merger of Timken and McKinley High School (which Resnick opposed in his capacity as a citizen and alumni of Timken),
  • Financial uncertainty,
  • Substandard (as compared to other Stark County school districts) academic performance,
  • The controversy between the CCS treasurer and the Stark County Educational Service Center (of which yours truly is a member) over reimbursement to the SCESC of payments made by the Center to Alison's wife working at the CCS as a SCESC employee, and
  • The resignation of board president Ryan Brahler over some controversial remarks directed towards game officials he made at a McKinley girls basketball game,
November 5th was not tough to exiting board members from the standpoint of the election of Corey Minor Smith.  Optimism abounds that she will be a productive board member.

Resnick's narrow victory in light of his past board member performance had to be troubling going forward.

A mere 27 votes separated Canton having a totally productive board to one in which The Report thinks that there will be acrimony generated by mostly by highly emotional Resnick.



Two years ago, Rinaldi handily defeated Resnick in a knock-down, drag-out political fight (LINK) in which Resnick in the opinion of The Report placed himself in the political gutter.



What a reprieve for the Canton City Schools, no?

Resnick originally as indicated above was elected to the CCS BOE in 2009 but could not get his gathering petition signatures act together in order to qualify for a place on the ballot in 2011.



Resnick, who the SCPR thinks fancies himself as being smarter than everybody else in the room failed to get the required 150 signatures to qualify for the ballot in his quest to be re-elected in the November, 2011 general election.

He submitted 197 signatures, but 50 did not qualify as registered voters.

Amazing, truly amazing!  Of his submitted signatures, 26% of them didn't qualify as valid signatures.

A guy who once ran for the United States Congress.  Wow!

The SCPR can say for sure from direct experience that getting nearly all if not all of one's signatures to be signed by validly registered voters is a very, very, very simple and an on-the-spot (called "walking-lists") verifiable process.

And he thinks he is the smartest guy in the room?  Running for the Board of Education?

In any event, the CCS were spared having him on its board.

The only significant productive thing the SCPR thinks Resnick has done on the CCS BOE is to push for a sorely needed tax issue on the 2011 ballot.  And to his credit, he took the pro-levy stance in his campaign to be elected to the board in 2009.



It passed and was critical to CCS staying financially solvent.

Other than that, the SCPR sees Resnick as nothing but trouble and look for him to get ugly with any on the board as presently constituted who have the audacity to differ with him on a controversial matter.

Allison and his fellow board members have to be bracing themselves for what they suspect is about to come.

Some readers might think it is unfair to place Resnick on "The Bottom 10 List" on his having just begun his term.

But this guy in no novice to politics and government.

The Report thinks that enough is known about Resnick from how he has handled himself in the public arena (including his abbreviated two year plus on the board previously) that justifies his #10 ranking coming out of the gate.

Had he been successful in running for the board in 2011 and/or 2013, The Report thinks he would have made a place for himself higher up on the list when it first got rolling and before the November, 2015 election.

For The Stark County Political Report blog, having Resnick in an elected position in a Stark County Political Subdivision is a godsend.

Hopefully, for the sake of the well being of the CCS, he proves The Report wrong in having highly negative expectations for him as a board member going forward.

Regrettably, the SCPR thinks such is not going to be the case.

The person who makes #1 on the list in this periodic update ought to be looking over his/her shoulder because it could be that Eric Resnick will some how manage to challenge for being the SCPR's Stark County absolutely worst elected official sooner than one might think, no?

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