Report Inappropriate Comments

I waited for the Beacon to post my original letters; since I Have not seen them, to show I am not a revisionist, here are my original two emails along with Nadeau's response:

Hello,

Initially I was going to write each of you individually but then I decided that one email could represent my feelings of last night's events.

Last night I could not sleep. I lay awake thinking of the display of disrespect by the school committee and superintendent. I cannot believe that you walked out during the public forum- when a concerned parent was at the podium. I cannot believe that discussions regarding the teacher contract are not public. Parents should be aware of the concessions for which the administration is requesting of teachers and by the same token, we should know if the teachers are unreasonably refusing to negotiate on issues of little matter. This is an issue that is much larger than teacher salary. As a parent of two elementary students, I am very concerned about the lack of transparency in the school committee and the processes put forth. I am concerned about class size, school consolidation, Special Ed integration, science in elementary schools, too much standardized testing. By the same token, I want to understand the reason for eliminating seniority and the system that will replace it. Will it be a merit system? Are teachers still protected if they do not agree with the administration? Does experience matter or will it come down to the ability to pay lower salaries?

Each and every one of you who walked out last night owes every teacher, student, parent and community member of Warwick an apology. It is your responsibility to hear our concerns. You were elected by us and speak for us. How can you do that if you refuse to hear our voices?

Karen Bachus, thank you for remaining to hear all concerns. It means a lot that you respect the teachers, the students, the parents and all those present to hear their concerns.

Dr. Holland, I was initially excited to hear that you were working hard to meet the needs of the district, including the teachers and students. However, by walking out last night I have lost faith that you are able to help select the next superintendent who can bring unity to the WPS.

School Committee members, I will remember this at election time and I vote.

Please feel free to call me at phone number removed email me. I would be happy to hear the rationale you have for walking out of a situation you created.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Shelton

Concerned Parent

Email 2

Dear School Committee,

When I wrote this email two weeks ago, only two of you responded and one of you was not present for the school committee meeting.

I am writing again to let you know that as a parent, I am still waiting for an apology, especially after I listened to the audio of the last school committee meeting. While I am not privy to the details of the contract, I believe that it is much more than just money and definitely more than "entitlement" as one of you stated.

http://www.warwickschools.org/media/audio/09082015wpsm.mp3

What upsets me the most about the banter before the meeting was the "we just have to get through public comment" and then the jokes about limiting public comment to 30 seconds. Perhaps you forget that you were elected by us and it is your responsibility to listen to public comment. The fact that you were prepared to limit comments before you had even heard from anyone is appalling and shows that your act of walking out on parents and teachers during public comment was premeditated. I find your actions even more deplorable than I had originally thought.

Please stop using Connect Ed to send out messages that do not speak to the truth of the situation. This is so much more than money and had you listened to the public comments from both parents and teachers, you would know that. And if you feel that Connect Ed is how you will communicate with the public, please allow the union to present their case in the same manner. Parents deserve to hear both sides of the story and we cannot do so if you refuse to remain for public comments.

You wonder why people are outraged, it is the attitude presented by you. Your comments at the beginning of the school committee are very disturbing. The fact that you use a service that is to give information to parents about school situations to present your agenda without offering the same courtesy to the union does not show that you are negotiating the contract in good faith. Again, you owe each and every teacher, student, parent and Warwick community member an apology.

Terri, I realize that you were not there, this email is not directed at you. However, I have still included you in this email trail because you and Dr. Holland were the only ones who sent me a response.

Dr. Holland, I really hope that it is not your voice on the recording that states something about entitlement. You know how hard the Warwick teachers work. You stated that you work for the school committee, however, I would think that you actually work for the Warwick community.

I would like to think that I will receive a response from each and every one of you, but in the past I have written to each of you and am lucky to receive a response from even one of you. When I email my children's teachers, they respond to me as soon as they can and will continue a discourse. Perhaps you could provide me the simple courtesy that every Warwick teacher with whom I have ever interacted has provided me.

However, at the very least, why not use the ConnectEd and send an email out apologizing for your comments before the meeting and for walking out on parents?

Sincerely,

Stephanie Shelton

Eugene Nadeau's Response: Ms. Shelton, your 'DEPLORABLE' comments towards us doesn't deserve a response, let alone, an apology. Please do me a favor and not vote for me during my next election in 2017.

I am happy to oblige and to show that I did not revise the events that transpired through email.