Ludington School Board Chooses Superintendent Finalists, Hears Concerns

[XLFD]

Throughout Monday afternoon and evening, the Ludington School Board held a special meeting with a few purposes.  Primarily they were there to review the candidates for superintendent who applied for the position,   They would do this after a lengthy closed session, a session where they also reviewed two disciplinary hearings for students. 

In the early part of the meeting they would also decide whether to modify their quarantine process for students who are identified as close contacts to positive Covid cases and are asymptomatic.  This was passed unanimously, such students and staff will now have the option to test negative by rapid antigen testing each school day prior to attending class for 7 days past the date of their last exposure, instead of the alternative quarantine for two weeks. 

While it will be effectively unclear to the general public what were the facts and disposition of the student disciplinary hearings held in the closed session, the board did announce the three finalists to be the next superintendent, they are:

Kyle Corlette, superintendent of Delton-Kellogg Schools

William Roderick, senior director of student services, Lakeport, California

Jason Misner, (pictured below) superintendent of Parchment School District

In two more open special meetings where the public is invited, Corlette will be interviewed next Tuesday at 5 PM, Roderick and Misner will be interviewed next Monday beginning at 5 PM.  Like this meeting, the interviews will be held at the administrative office boardroom at 809 E Tinkham.

Each candidate has prior experience as teachers and principals, with Corlette having the additional distinction of losing out to Ludington's former Superintendent Jason Kennedy when they both applied to be Fruitport's next superintendent and were finalists.  None of them appear to have any controversies in their past careers that might taint their brand.  They will likely take over the position at the beginning of next year if everything goes according to schedule at about the same time the new elementary will be ready.

At this late-called special meeting in the close-quarters of the administrative boardroom, about a half dozen concerned citizens and parents showed up.  A couple of those would speak up.  One was a father of a senior at LHS who related a personal story of the difficulties he has had with the school district's mitigation policies, primarily with the intrusive aspects of regular testing just for his son to participate in the football program and other activities.  For him and many other parents of local high school students who are in sports or in advanced learning programs it's a very hard decision to make to either comply with the odd protocols local schools burden students with or yank them out of the craziness.  His wife is a member of our sister group on Facebook, the Ludington Pitchfork (she posted about this meeting being held), so perhaps she can share that comment with a larger audience.

His speech ran about 5-6 minutes and may have wore a little on the patience of the board chairman, who knew they had a long night ahead of them.  I would be the only other member of the public to speak, with a comment that was only a little over two minutes long, after which the board voted to go into closed session to discuss the two disciplinary issues and review applicants:

XLFD:  "I was emotionally touched by the twenty or so LHS students who peacefully protested outside the auditorium before the last board meeting for their right to choose whether to mask up or not.  When the six young ladies from LHS commented at the beginning of the meeting, delivering a message of mental anguish, physical agony, and spiritual suffering, I can only hope it emotionally touched each of you at least half of what I felt.  

The district is eligible for and has received a lot of ESSER funds from the federal government for dealing with pandemic issues.  There is effectively a financial benefit for keeping these pandemic issues alive in our schools.  LASD has been taking advantage of those benefits, as evidenced at this last meeting in the discussion over a new position of health liaison officer, and by other purchases made since last year that I reviewed after receiving a FOIA response. 

I can present you with over a dozen longstanding peer reviewed randomized control trials that indicate face coverings do not significantly affect community spread of respiratory viruses like Covid-19.  I can present you with dozens of LASD students who have suffered definite negative effects from mandated mask wearing.  I have presented you with 2020 statistics from Sweden showing that open schools without mask mandates had no effect on school age children dying, and a significant positive effect when less teachers died than expected for a normal year.   

An honest risk benefit analysis of mandated mask wearing in our schools will always point towards relaxing the mandate to allow for choice.  Unfortunately, there's no ESSER money available for our school if they don't buy into the fear, anxiety, and hysteria running viral throughout American schools.  [END comment]

While the millions of dollars of ESSER money the district is eligible is definitely a seductive carrot on a stick for the LASD Board, it is essentially only a catalyst for the progressive forces on the board (Nagle, Autrey, Reed, and Carlson) that actively desire to exert more control over your kids than you could ever lawfully exercise.  

[XLFD]

RK, even deeply progressive fact checkers concur:  Trump never called Covid a hoax.  Ergo, since he never said that, nobody has died because of what he said.  If you want to blame a president for a lame response, take heed.  Biden's been president for about as long as Trump had to deal with the coronavirus, and more people have died under Clueless Joe's reign, even when there's multiple vaccines, more immunity, and therapeutics now available.  

[RK Hubbard]

I stand corrected. He was referring to the Democratic attacks on his connections to Russia. But he (and his supporters) have been on a relentless campaign against masks and vaccine mandates based on a misreading of the law and the Constitution, as well as disregard for the health of our fellow citizens. The Constitution gives the federal government the power to pass and enforce laws that "promote the general welfare." Your touching sympathy for the poor teenage whiners at LHS who are suffering "mental anguish, physical agony, and spiritual suffering" because they had to wear masks made me laugh. C'mon, man! But I'm confident they'll grow up eventually. 

[Willy]

I wasn't going to get personal but your senseless and unwarranted attack on students demands a fitting rebuttal to let you know just what an a_s you are. You stand for more than being corrected. You stand for those supporting the corruption, lying, deceit, dishonesty, and out right criminal acts committed by the left on citizens of not only America but the World. People like you willingly promote chaos by believing what those evil doers say without checking the facts. You and all of the other useful idiots deliberately  collude with the left while remaining blissfully ignorant. 

You haven't even taken the time to look past your nose to see where the Left is taking us with this Covid situation. Where does it end? At what point will the Left stop their freedom robbing tactics. Will this continue until there is a cure for the flu, the common cold, maybe we should give up our freedom and rights until a cure is found for hangnails. Use your head to see where the Left is taking the Country.

[AQUAMAN]

Here is another interesting story that is true: I know of 7 ppl. in Fl. that signed up for COVID testing last year. Only 1 took the test, and they said she tested positive as usual. The other 6 did not even test, some forgot, others got too busy with business stuff. All were sent emails saying they tested positive, when the majority didn't even test, strange coincidence, or intentional deception? The lady that tested went to Walgreens for a second test, then tested negative for COVID, she was happy, as she is good. I also know Hospitals and DRs. reporting positive tests are getting a $16,000 check from the Feds., for each report. If they report a negative test, they get $0. So what is the incentive for reporting patients negative? Nothing. These two true stories tell us the common public anything?

[RK Hubbard]

Aquaman, neither hospitals nor doctors get paid much for positive tests. Hospitals only get paid after a positive diagnosis and treatment of a Covid patient and upon receipt of a discharge certificate or a death certificate. The average cost of a Covid test is $167, and almost all of them are covered by insurance. (A few clinics in that arsenal of capitalism, Texas, were charging up to $1,000 for quick testing.) 

And Willy, FYI, I worked for the federal government in Washington DC for 26 years, including work for the White House and under five presidents, and I saw nothing but hard-working people. Of course, there are agendas, but there is nothing resembling what you assert. Nothing. I'm sorry that you have so little faith in your fellow citizens, who are trying to help us all get over Covid (and hundreds of other medical issues.) Your theories are in the same vein as the "flat earth," the "moon landing hoax, and the "Twin Towers" hoax. Without the federal government, we would still be dealing with smallpox and polio, vaccines which were invented by "useful idiots" and wiped out a generation ago. 

[AQUAMAN]

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRK , your FOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RK Hubbard]

Please identify which fact I cited that you disagree with. Do you have an intelligent response, or are we stuck with scatological schoolyard name-calling using bad grammar?

[RK Hubbard]

Aquaman, What you described is Medicare fraud. Please report it to the Medicare fraud division so that it can be stopped. https://www.medicare.gov/forms-help-resources/help-fight-medicare-f...

[AQUAMAN]

The $16,000 check has nothing to do with Medicare at all. It's been all over the news for over a year now. It has to do with a warped administration and gov't. gone wild on the Covid scheme. There have also been thousands of ppl. given death certificates for Covid, when they actually died from a number of other typical causes, so the fraud is rampant at many levels, and only keeps expanding daily. RK, you obviously get your news from CNN and MSNBC, it's quite evident.

[RK Hubbard]

Aqua, I get my news from The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Washington Post, Drudge, OAN, Fox, and a number of other sources. Where did the $16,000 come from? Please cite a source for this information. Once again, millions of people live with conditions that, absent Covid, they get along with just fine. if someone is positive for Covid and dies in hospital of pneumonia, sepsis, or some other cause, the death certificate will state that Covid was the cause of death, because if they had not caught Covid, they would not have been in the hospital in the first place. 

[Willy]

Aquaman. I know folks who work at a large medical complex. They informed me that their hospital received up to an additional $9000 for any patient admitted for a Covid related medical condition. The money came via a pipeline courtesy of the Federal Government. Quite the incentive to add "Covid" to as many patients intake records as possible.

CDC Admits Financial Hospital Incentives Drove up COVID-19 Death Rates   

"Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been inconsistencies in the reporting of COVID-19 cases. Hospitals have been incentivized to mark deaths as COVID deaths, even in cases where it may not be the primary cause of death."

RK. You do a very good impression of Sargent Schultz "I saw nothing". Add that to the fact that you forgot to acknowledge the biggest hoax of all. The Hubbard Hoax.  Which is about an individual who claims to have worked for the White House and saw nothing but hard working people. The Hubbard Hoax essentially tries to convince people that the Government is their friend so there's "nothing to see here folks." Not even a hint of subversive activity or under the table politics. RK, your blinders would most likely fit a Clydesdale. It's not that I don't have faith in my fellow citizens, it's the crooked politicians and those who support them. It isn't the Government that creates the science and medical wonders it's private individuals and companies some of which may use grants or other financing that is generated from private citizens tax dollars. The Federal Government is an anchor around our necks and is limited by the Constitution but people like you just don't understand that.

    

[RK Hubbard]

Well, Willy, I guess your opinion "Trumps" my entire federal career experience. I'm sorry the government is such a burden for you. Did you ever work a government job?