Report Inappropriate Comments

Phil Thornton is a dangerous man.

Why?

Because he is a temporary superintendent. He doesn't know our students, our families, our teachers, and he doesn't care to know them. He never stays anywhere more than a couple of years. He is here to make big dramatic changes- and leave before he has to deal with the aftermath.

He is completely changing the entire school system- and he has NO idea what he is doing. Nothing is really ready for next year. Teacher schedules, student schedules, bus schedules, building renovations, curriculum- nothing is ready. The only thing he is successfully creating are massive legal bills and new administrative jobs.

But he will have it all ready by the fall- just trust him.

Did I mention that all of his plans are based on illegal actions? He can't violate the contract with the teacher's union, but he is just pretending that he magically can. It doesn't matter whether you like the contract or not- it still has the force of law. Only a moron would believe that he can just ignore a contract, do what he wants, and that he will get away with it.

But Phil Thornton is not a moron- he just doesn't care. He is planning to be somewhere else while our children go to school in the god-awful mess that he is creating.

Why are we trusting a man who has a proven track record of making big promises and then cutting and running to another school district, where he repeats the same pattern.

These are OUR schools and OUR children that he is playing with to try to further his career. Why are we letting him do it?

Once upon a time, we had superintendents like Bob Shapiro. He spent his entire career in Warwick, including decades as superintendent. You knew that every decision he made was one that he believed wholeheartedly was for the good of the students, families, and teachers of this city. I am not saying that everything he did was right- but I am saying that everything he did was for what he believed was the right reasons.

You also knew that he would be around to deal with the aftermath of the decisions he made.

Can we please have that kind of superintendent again?