Zink Community Forum Speech

7/25/2019 Zink Community Forum Speech

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Hello everyone, my name is Lance Zink. Before I begin, I would like to pass along my

deepest condolences to the family of Irma Schaub. Irma was a longtime resident and

graduate of !uyahoga Heights and a lifetime member of the alumni association. She

passed away last week.

I moved to "alley "iew when I was in #rdgrade and I graduated from !uyahoga Heights

in $%%#. &fter college, I moved back to "alley "iew where I live with my wife 'rin, who

is also an alumnus of !uyahoga Heights, my three daughters, who all attend !uyahoga

Heights and my son, who will attend !uyahoga Heights in the future. (y mother as well

as my grandmother graduated from !uyahoga Heights. )his has been a very important

place for me and I plan on living here until the day that I die.

)he reason we wanted to have a community meeting is because many people have

become increasingly frustrated with the board*s behavior. )here*s been a pattern of

attacks on residents, staff and administrators for more than a year now, and e+cessive

spending of our ta+ dollars for things like public relations, at $,%%% a month, legal

spending at over --,%%% a month and a secretive investigation that cost us ##,%%%, and

what did that lead to &nd then there*s the # different versions of the September legal bill

that first included board member names, then deleted board member names and ended upon another law firm*s letterhead and it all started when the board wouldn*t let the

)reasurer see the original copy of that bill and instead had the attorney send the bill to

their private email. /ur )reasurer resigned in 0ebruary after basically saying it was

impossible to work with our board and our Superintendent is actively looking to leave

after only 1 months on the 2ob even though he is an alumnus and had wanted to retire

here.

)he more people have 3uestioned the board the less transparent they have become

stalling public records re3uests, decreasing and now eliminating public comments at

board meetings for the rest of this school year and prohibiting their fellow board member

Lyndie Schuckert from getting to see the applications for the new )reasurer. 4emember,

Lyndie is a board member. 5hy would they limit her access to that information &gain

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she is a board member she has a right to see the applications. 5hen she showed up at a

recent )reasurer Search !ommittee meeting hoping to get the applications of the

)reasurer candidates and to be invited to sit in on the meeting, 0rank (ahnic 6r. called

the Independence 7olice 8epartment and filed a report against her. 8id you also know

that an 9anonymous9 person called the /hio 8epartment of 'ducation recently to

complain about Lyndie Schuckert and ask for her to be investigated for the public records

she obtained about our board members trying to go after her teaching license 5ho

could that anonymous person be 5hile Lyndie was legitimately following up on

complaints about the board and looking at district records to see if board members were

using personal email to conduct board business and to find out why there are # different

versions of the same legal bill for the month of September, some of our board members

were having their spouses, and even their son, submit public record re3uests on Lyndie at

her day 2ob asking for her personnel file and her work emails. 5hat are they looking

for she 2ust 2oined the board in 6anuary. )hankfully, Lyndie isn*t intimidated by bullying

and harassment. But I think we can all agree that this conduct or misconduct has to

stop. )he point of tonight*s meeting is to present the facts about what e+actly has been

going on and to go over some of our options to try and change things to finally take

back our schools.

:ou might not know it watching our board in action but we as ta+payers do have laws in

place to make sure we know how our money is being spent. )hey are called Sunshine

Laws because the government didn*t want elected officials to operate in the dark. So 2ust

about everything the board does is a public record that the public has a right to see. &ll

board decisions or actions have to be made at a public board meeting. So, for e+ample,

you can*t decide as a board to hire a forensic auditor in e+ecutive session. If you think

there is a need to start investigating work done for the school nearly a decade ago, you

need to discuss that at a public board meeting so the residents and tuition parents know

why you are doing it what new evidence you have, how much you are planning on

spending, what you think the return on that e+pense will be e+actly. ;o matter how

noble you think your cause is you have to follow the Sunshine Laws and /pen (eetings

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&ct. :ou have to let people know how you are spending their money. )hat*s the whole

point of the laws,%%% a year

with no other bids on the table. /r a few weeks ago when Holly )hacker waited until the

last second to pull out ?athy (artin*s continuing contract to vote on it separately. 5as

she afraid that the public might comment if they knew her intentions ahead of time &nd

there*s only a few reasons why the board would need to meet behind closed doors in

e+ecutive session but that too has become a constant occurrence for our board @ this has

happened after nearly every board meeting for several years now. &s Lyndie has asked

her fellow board members multiple times, "What are we hiding?"

I began attending board meetings on a regular basis last summer. Let=s start with the

)ony 4inella situationA

)here is evidence that Holly )hacker personally targeted )ony 4inella months before the

0raud Solutions investigation ever began. In an email to )reasurer 6oy !lickenger on

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&pril $-, $%->, Holly )hacker made the accusation that )ony and then current board

member 4eno !ontipelli were somehow related and therefore there may be an ethics

issue involving conflicts of interests. Holly )hacker does not provide any details as to

why she believes that )ony and 4eno are related. I can tell you without a doubt that )ony

is not related to 4eno, but they both are of Italian descent. )hen, in an email chain from

(arch $, $%-C, 6ay Lucarelli, the !'/ of (inute (en Human 4esource System

mentioned to the school board members of !uyahoga Heights that at a meeting on (arch

$C, $%-C, Holly )hacker made, disparaging remarks about my family and my

company, again in front of my staff and s. !lickenger. he referred to the

#ucarelli family as The afia and being thie$es. &lthough Holly )hacker disputed

these accusations in her response to (r. Lucarelli, she does admit to stating in that

meeting that she had, heard rumors of mob associationsin reference to the

Lucarelli=s and 4eno !ontipelli being good friends. 8id Holly target )ony simply

because he is Italian

In that &pril $-, $%-> email, and well before the 0raud Solutions investigation began,

Holly )hacker also re3uested that the work completed by )ony 4inella and !oliseum

!onstruction be reviewed. 6oy !lickenger had head custodian ;eil 7eterson verify the

work. He reported back that all the work was completed and that )ony had done good

work. 6oy reported these findings to Holly.

In spite of these findings, 2ust a few months later during the summer of $%->, Holly

separated )ony contract renewal from the other coaches without giving an e+planation.

0ortunately, )ony was approved by the board >- with Holly )hacker being the only

board member to vote against )ony.

In 0ebruary $%-C, the board began a secret investigation. ;obody in the public was

aware of this investigation because they hired the forensic auditor in '+ecutive Session.

5hy was this decision made in '+ecutive Session rather than in public )he only reason

we found out about this investigation was that the investigator called )ony directly.

)here was no reason for this secrecy because the alleged actions took place nearly a

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decade earlier. )he board had 2ust paid for an internal control audit and stated that there

should be no reason for another audit for the ne+t couple years. &nd yet, $ months later,

0raud Solutions was hired by the board and paid through the through board=s attorney.

5as this done in an attempt to keep the public in the dark about what they were doing

and how much it was costing the district 5hen I asked why a secret investigation was

being conducted, I was given a variety of vague e+planations by the board 7resident )im

/den that made no logical sense to me. /den stated that the 0raud Solutions

investigation was based on a Special 7ro2ects &udit. I have been unable to find any

record of a Special 7ro2ects &udit at all. Later he said it was based on an Internal !ontrol

&udit performed by 6ames D. Zupka. Zupka=s report never mentions )ony or !oliseum

!onstruction. 0urthermore, the 0.B.I. and the State &uditor both investigated !uyahoga

Heights Schools after the 7alaEEo embeEElement scandal. 'ven though )ony did work

directly for the )echnology department, neither the 0.B.I. nor the State &uditor ever

mentioned any wrongdoing that they uncovered by )ony or !oliseum !onstruction. 5as

there really a need to hire an outside organiEation, using ta+payer money to investigate

)ony 4inella further 8id the board think they could do a better 2ob investigating than

the 0.B.I. and the State &uditor

&t the (ay $%thboard meeting, all fall supplemental contracts were pulled from the

agenda. 5hen asked why, then Superintendent 6oe Bergant stated that Holly wanted to

pull )ony=s name from the agenda. So as to not embarrass )ony, Bergant pulled all the

supplemental contracts together.

&t the 6une -%, $%-C board meeting, all other supplemental contracts were renewed.

)ony name is not even listed.

&t the end of 6uly, incoming Superintendent )om 'vans completes his own investigation

into )ony 4inella and !oliseum !onstruction Fincluding bringing in an outside general

contractor to review the workG. Based on that investigation, 'vans tells )ony and other

that he is going to put )ony up for renewal at the &ugust #rd board meeting. Before that

board meeting, 'vans ends up pulling )ony=s name from the agenda. 5hen 3uestioned

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why he pulled )ony=s name from the agenda, 'vans says that board 7resident /den

threatened to terminate him if he didn=t remove )ony=s name. 'vans also said that board

member Holly )hacker told 'vans to get his resume ready.

8uring this period, board 7resident /den is telling the public that it is not the board=s

fault that )ony has not been renewed because it is Superintendent 'vans= responsibility to

place )ony up for renewal. &dditionally, /den is telling the public that the board fully

supports Superintendent 'vans and will support his recommendations. However, at the

same time, in private /den is threatening 'vans 2ob if he places )ony up for renewal.

0inally, at the /ctober $-, $%-C board meeting, )ony=s assistant girl=s basketball coaching

contract is put up for approval by Superintendent 'vans. ?eep in mind that by this time,

)ony has already missed the entire football season. )he board votes on Superintendent

'vans= recommendation and the motion fails >- against )ony. &gain, the board offers no

e+planation as to why they voted against )ony. Dary Suchocki is the only board member

who voted in favor of )ony.

0inally, after an eightmonth delay, at the 0ebruary - thboard meeting, )ony was

approved by the board as an assistant football coach. )he vote was #--. Holly )hacker

voted against )ony=s renewal and )im /den abstained. Lyndie Schuckert, Dary Suchocki

and 6im Lawrence voted for him. 0urthermore, when asked in 6anuary $%- about

whether or not he would support the renewal of )ony 4inella, current board member 6im

Lawrence said, There is nothing in the %raud olutions report that would stop me

from $oting for Tony &inella. I have seen the report and 6im Lawrence is actually

correct. )here is nothing in this report that should have stopped the board from hiring

)ony in the first place.

)ony and others have asked for months to see the unedited final version of the 0raud

Solutions report. )he board recently approved by a #- vote to publish the report on the

school=s website. Is this a further attempt to smear )ony=s reputation ?eep in mind that

this report, although it costs our district ##,%%%.%% has not lead to a single charge. 5e


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have no evidence that any agency that has received this report found it even worthy of

investigating further.

I personally submitted a public records re3uest for all purchase orders, invoices and

checks related to !oliseum !onstruction during the time period in 3uestion. I toured the

school with Superintendent 'vans and documented the work completed by !oliseum

!onstruction. Based on the information I reviewed, I was able to complete a #page

report and ->minute :ou)ube video that documents that all the work that )ony was

compensated for is completed in full.

In the 0raud Solutions report ;elder states that, 'ppro(imately )*+,. was for

electrical work that could not be substantiated. !oliseum !onstruction is not a

licensed electrical contractor, and it could not be confirmed during a walkthrough

on ay -, /-+, with 0eil 1eterson, !ustodian2uper$isor that the work on these

pro3ects was actually performed and by whom. )ony 4inella has never stated that he

is a licensed electrician. )hat is why he subcontracted the electrical work out to a

licensed electrician. )hose electricians were 0rank Baraona from &ll Brite 'lectric and

&nthony Datto from Datto !ontracting 'lectrical Services Inc. &s of September $%-C,

both of those individuals= licensures were still current.

&lso in the 0raud Solutions report ;elder states, %raud olutions, ##! ne$er

4uestioned the work was done. ;elder continues, 5t could not be confirmed during

a walkthrough on ay -, /-+, with 0eil 1eterson, !ustodian2uper$isor that the

work on these pro3ects was actually performed. )hese two 3uotes are completely

contradictory. In the first 3uote, ;elder says that he has never 3uestioned that the work

was completed. In the second 3uote, ;elder says that he cannot confirm that the work

was actually performed. So in one sentence ;elder says that the work was confirmed. In

the other, he says that he can=t confirm that the work was completed. )om 'vans verified

that the work was completed. ;eil 7eterson verified that the work was completed. I

personally verified that the work was completed. How come Steven ;elder couldn=t

verify that the work was completed 0urthermore, at a 6une #%thmeeting with )ony


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4inella, Steven ;elder states, 1art of the problem Tony, is that nobody saw you

doing the work. )his is not a true statement. (ultiple people saw )ony doing the

work, including a custodian, summer workers and several faculty members. 6ust because

Steven ;elder didn=t ask the right 3uestions of the right people doesn=t mean that )ony

didn=t complete the work. )hat proves nothingC,%%%

in electrical work was done )he electric work didn*t 2ust magically

appear in the ceilings and power poles$%-% was $-,-%$.less than $,%%%.%% per

month. In &ugust of $%-C, we spent in e+cess $-,%%%.%% for general counsel in that one

month alone< 8uring the 1month period from 6uly $%-C (arch of $%-, the board

spent -%C,C%-.#> on Deneral !ounsel. )his number does not even include the

##,%%%.%%K spent on the 0raud Solutions investigation. Dary Suchocki and Lyndie

Schuckert have consistently been asking the board to put a policy in place to help reduce

board legal spending in the future @ like setting up a policy where only the

Superintendent can call the attorney for the board instead of the current system where any

board member can call at any time. In response, Holly )hacker stated that legal spending

is only - of the budget and that district spending is under budget. )hat being said, I

think all of us would agree that spending over -%C,%%%.%% on general counsel over a 1

month period is outrageous and fiscally irresponsible. 5hen pressed about why legal

e+penses have increased, Holly )hacker has tried to confuse the public by referencing

how much money lawyers have helped us recover from the 7alaEEo embeEElement. Let=s

make this point very clear, the money the board is spending on general counsel has

nothing to do with the money being recovered in regards to 7alaEEo. )here are attorneys

who handle the 7alaEEo recovery and attorneys who handle general counsel. )hey are

completely different and separate. 7utting the two in the same sentence is simply a ploy

to confuse you. So really what we want to know is this, how is all the money that we are

spending on general counsel benefitting the students of our district

8uring the fall of $%-C, the board started receiving public records re3uests wanting to

know specifically which board members were contacting the attorneys and how much it

was costing the district which is part of the reason why we ended up with # different

versions of the same legal bill for the month of SeptemberA

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-G )he original is on Dary !. 6ohnson letterhead dated /ctober thand the invoice

includes specific board members names and how much it cost when they

contacted the attorney.

$G Bill M$ is on &llain Legal letterhead dated /ctober -Cthand on this invoice the

detail showing board member names has been deleted.

#G Bill M# is the final version which is back on Dary !. 6ohnson letterhead which

now doesn=t even reference an invoice date and the board member names are still

missing from this version.

&t the &pril $%thboard meeting, )im /den tried e+plaining why we now have # versions

of the same legal bill. If you listen to what he says, he seems to implicate himself and the

school=s attorney for unethical if not criminal behavior for -G trying to trick the treasurer

into paying the wrong law firm and $G creating a new bill that deleted board member

names before the bill was released as part of a public records re3uest that specifically

focused on board members legal spending.

)he most disturbing revelation /den made is that the reason the board*s new law firm

&llain Legal 9created9 a new version of the Dary !. 6ohnson*s September legal bill and

put it on &llain letterhead is because they were hoping the school )reasurer would pay

them instead of 6ohnson*s estate even though the $ firms are completely different law

firms and &llain has no legal right to collect money earned by 6ohnson*s firm.

)im /den said, "8ric 'llain decides because they didn>t get payment, now ary !.

t know what the legal term is, if it>s in escrow or whate$er, the

firm>s dissol$ed, anything is going to the estate at this particular point. :e turns

around and has


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owner of 6ohnson*s law firm, so if 7etronelli wants to get paid for the work he did with

6ohnson he has to handle that with 6ohnson*s estate. He can*t try to get the school to pay

his new boss. 5hat would 6ohnson*s widow and children think about that )hat*s not a

gray area. )hat was money the school owed to the 6ohnson law firm, period. /den admits

the only reason the school didn*t pay &llain is because our former )reasurer, 6oy

!lickenger, wouldn*t go along with it. &s a result, /den says, &llain then cut and pasted

the bill back onto 6ohnson letterhead, creating a third version of the bill.

/den says,"o rs. !lickenger points out that, wait a second here, 5>$e got an

itemi=ation on one letterhead and 5 got a summary on ary !. s what she originally got. 5 can>t pay this. This will be caught by the

auditors. They>ll say, 5>m paying a different firm. o, what ends up happening is

8ric 'llain, he takes this in$oice that was created by


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'arlier this year at the 6anuary $%th board meeting, there was a motion to approve one of

these newsletters. )he motion failed -> with Holly )hacker being the only board

member who voted in favor of distributing the letter. &fterwards, instead of working with

her fellow board members to edit the Letter to the !ommunity and gain approval of the

entire group, Holly )hacker approved the newsletter without the consent of the rest of the

board and had it distributed to the community.

)im /den and Holly )hacker seem to be doing everything in their power to avoid public

criticism. In their tenure as board 7residents, they both decreased public comments to

only $% minutes total Fthey used to be #% minutesG and # minutes per speaker at public

board meetings. Holly is so busy timing the # minute clock and te+ting on her phone

she*s not even listening to what the public is saying. )hen when Holly )hacker took over

as board 7resident in 6anuary, the board decided to limit public comments to only the

second board meeting of each month. )hey e+plained this decision by saying that the

first board meeting of every month would be a work session with no action taking place

during those work sessions. If you access the agenda from the first meeting of this month

which was last 5ednesday you will see that board action is taking place and these are not

2ust work sessions. 0or instance, the board approved 6! 7owers for another year at last

weeks meeting. Since that is the case, why are public comments still being suspended at

these board meetings )hen, beginning this month, the board removed the public

comments section from the second board meeting of the month. If you missed your

opportunity to speak at the &pril $%thboard meeting, the earliest you may have a chance

to speak at a board meeting will not be until the end of 6une. )hat is not acceptable, that

is not transparent and it directly violates their own board Bylaws N 7olicies. Here are a

few direct 3uotes from the board=s Bylaws N 7oliciesA

The 7oard of 8ducation recogni=es the $alue to school go$ernance of public

comment on educational issues and the importance of allowing members of the

public to e(press themsel$es on school matters of community interest.

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5n order to permit the fair and orderly e(pression of such comment, the 7oard

shall pro$ide a period for public participation at e$ery regular meeting of the 7oard

and publish rules to go$ern such participation in 7oard meetings.

The 7oard declares and, thereby, reaffirms its intent to maintain two2way

communications with citi=ens of the Aistrict. The 7oard shall keep them informed

of the progress and problems of the chool Aistrict, and the citi=ens shall be urged

to bring their aspirations and concerns about the Aistrict to the attention of this

body.

8oes it sound like Holly )hacker and )im /den are following the procedures put in place

by the board=s Bylaws N 7olicies )o me, it sounds like they are doing the complete

opposite. /ver the past -% months that I have been attending board meetings and

reaching out to the school board about my concerns, the following has happened to meA

-G (embers of the board urged the school district=s attorney to send me a letter

threatening legal action if I continued to send emails vocaliEing my frustrations

with the board.

$G 5hile I was speaking at a board meeting on &ugust -%, $%-C I was interrupted by

Holly )hacker and the meeting was abruptly stopped so that the board could

retreat into '+ecutive Session. )his happened roughly $ minutes into my allotted

# minutes of speaking time. 4emember that at that time, Holly )hacker was not

the board 7resident and therefore had no authority to stop the meeting and silence

my comments. )he acting board 7resident )im /den sat idly and said nothing

until Holly )hacker began slamming her fists on her desk and demanding that the

police in attendance remove me from the auditorium.

#G 4ecently, the !uyahoga Heights 7olice 8epartment was contacted because a

single board member who accused me of being threatening toward him and cyber

bulling him. )o this day, I have never been contacted by the !uyahoga Heights

7olice 8epartment and I have been told that the investigation has been closed due

to lack of evidence of wrongdoing. ;ot agreeing with a board member is not the

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same as a threatening a board member, asking the community to email their

opinions to a board member on a board issue is not cyber bullying. If you*re

getting inundated with community opinions, maybe you should listen to them and

vote accordingly.

&s many of you are aware, Superintendent 'vans was recently one of # finalists being

considered for the opening at (idview for Superintendent. &s I mentioned to

Superintendent 'vans a few days ago, I felt bad for him that he did not receive the

position but selfishly I was thrilled that he was not leaving us. I have no doubt that he

would have done a terrific 2ob at (idview, 2ust like he would do at !uyahoga Heights if

he was left alone to run the school rather than being micromanaged constantly. (idview

scheduled a public meetandgreet with the # candidates before the board would make a

final decision. In an article in )he !hronicle)elegram on &pril $th, (idview board

7resident )om )omasheski stated, Bur community is full of knowledgeable, engaged

citi=ens, so we would be remiss if we did not ask for their assistance in this process.

(r. )omasheski continued, We belie$e that their opinions are $aluable and should be

considered when we choose a new superintendent, and we encourage anyone who

would like to be part of the process to attend. I cannot tell you how refreshing it was

to read (r. )omasheski=s comments. Imagine a board 7resident who truly values the

opinions and concerns of the voters that elected him to that position in the first place.

(idview obviously has a leader on their board who actively engages the community in an

attempt to unify rather than divide, someone who knows that different opinions and

outlooks can be beneficial. (idview has a board 7resident who understands that there

are other members of the community who are knowledgeable.

Here are some other e+amples of where )im /den and Holly )hacker have used their

power inappropriatelyA

-G Holly recommended appointing her husband, )om )hacker to the 0inance

!ommittee.

$G Holly recommended appointing )im /den=s father, )om /den to the &udit

4eview !ommittee.

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#G Holly supported 0rank (ahnic 6r. being appointed as our board liaison to the

!"!! and (ahnic recently appointed Holly=s husband to the !"!! &udit

!ommittee. (ahnic is also now on our )reasurer=s Search !ommittee.

>G Holly has not allowed certain board members to get items placed on the

agenda that they want to discuss at public board meetings. 0or e+ample,

Lyndie Schuckert has mentioned multiples times that she would like to discuss

board legal spending and Holly has blocked that re3uest multiple times.

CG )im /den has appointed 6im Lawrence, "ictoria Bowden, 0rank (ahnic 6r.

and 6im 'llis to the )reasurer=s search committee. Let me remind you that

"ictoria Bowden stepped down from the board during her term last year,

0rank (ahnic 6r. wasnever mind, 2ust Doogle 0rank (ahnic 6r. and Bennie

Bonanno when you get home. &nd finally 6im 'llis. 6im lives in "alley "iew,

sends his children to private school and is a former board member who was

never elected into office. He was appointed by the board after 4oylene

Sample resigned. 6im works for the !leveland !linic, the same hospital that

employs Holly )hacker and the same hospital that purchases drugs from

&straZeneca, the company that employs board member 6im Lawrence.

G 0inally, both Holly )hacker and )im /den have voted in favor of

discontinuing the contract of ?athy (artin.

&gain, it wasn*t on the original agenda to do this, so you wouldn*t have known what

Holly*s plan was ahead of time, but at the &pril $%thboard meeting, Holly )hacker

separated ?athy (artin=s name in order to vote individually on approving her continuing

contract. Superintendent 'vans was vocal in his disapproval and lack of support of Holly

)hacker=s actions. Holly )hacker=s e+planation was that legal counsel, the Interim

)reasurer and )reasurer=s Search !ommittee advised her that the board should, :old off

on making any continuing contracts in that small office. 8uring that same rambling

speech, Holly )hacker states, This is a $ery important search. This is a $ery

important position. We need that person. We think we are close to ha$ing a

Treasurer. We ha$e se$eral more weeks and there are lots of options. &t the time

Holly )hacker made this statement, the board had not even begun interviewing

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candidates. 5hy would Holly )hacker know for certain that the new )reasurer would

want to come in and clean house if they were still several weeks away from deciding on

which candidate to hire &s board member Dary Suchocki pointed out at that board

meeting, can you imagine taking a brand new 2ob at a new company only to find out that

you have no staff, no one who was carried over from the previous regime who would be

able to offer valuable information about past activity and procedures 0urthermore, since

Holly )hacker=s comments at that board meeting, Interim )reasurer Bruce Basalla has

informed multiple individuals that he did not advise Holly )hacker that she should non

renew any of the employees in the )reasurer=s office. 5hat Basalla actually told Holly

)hacker was that the )reasurer=s office is shortstaffed and could use a third staff member

and that the board should hold off hiring that new employee until the new )reasurer was

hired. He never told Holly )hacker to nonrenew ?athy (artin.

?athy has worked in the )reasurer=s office for # years as 0inance !lerk. /n her $%-> 6ob

7erformance 'valuation 0orm, ?athy was graded on multiple 2ob responsibilities. )here

were - categories that were applicable to her position. She received -C ratings of

O'+cellentP Fthe highest rating possibleG and $ grades of O"ery DoodP Fthe $ndhighest

rating possibleG. /n her $%-C 6ob 7erformance 'valuation 0orm, $ categories were

applicable to her position. She received $C ratings of O'+cellentP and - grade of

O&cceptableP Fthe #rdhighest grade possibleG. )o clarify, the category that she received

the O&cceptableP rating was for O!L'&;S Q7 5/4? &4'&P.

Here are comments made by 6oy !lickenger on ?athy=s $%-> 4eviewA

Cathy accepted the challenge to work in the Treasurers office at a time when

e$eryone else had left. he was not only a 4uick learner, but was able to figure most

things out on her own. Cathy has sharp critical thinking skills. he knows when

something doesnt look right and is able to track solutions. Cathy also ser$es as

the receptionist for the office and treats students, staff and others with respect, is

always willing to go the e(tra mile to help, is the worlds best multi2tasker and does

it all with a smile. 5 ha$e only positi$e things to say about Cathy artin.

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and from $%-C=s 4eviewA

Cathy e(cels in e$ery aspect of her position. Cathy goes abo$e and beyond,

looking into anything that crosses her desk including old contracts, leases and bills.

5 ha$e nothing but positi$e commentsD

?eep in mind that 6oy !lickenger came to !uyahoga Heights with over #% years of

e+perience. I=m sure she knew a good 0inance !lerk when she sees oneeven if ?athy=s

desk tended to become messy at certain times. Superintendent 'vans has stated that

?athy, Aoes the work of * people. Lyndie Schuckert pointed out at the &pril $%th

board meeting, Interim )reasurer Bruce Basalla also has had only e+cellent comments

about ?athy (artin during his time at !uyahoga Heights. &t the &pril $%thboard

meeting, even Holly )hacker called ?athy (artin an e+cellent employee. &dditionally,

at a board meeting earlier this year, ?athy was recogniEed for her work in saving the

district over -%%,%%% on their &)N) phone bill.

&t the end of last year, ?athy (artin emailed Superintendent 'vans to evoke whistle

blower protection. &s Superintendent 'vans stated at the &pril $%thboard meeting, rs.

artin reported allegations by two board members and she asked for 7oard 1olicy

whistle blower protection at that time. 5 want to remind the board that non2

renewing rs. artin at this time will put the district at legal risk for a retaliation

lawsuit. 5 want that on record.

&t that &pril $%thboard meeting, the motion to renew ?athy (artin=s continuing contract

failed by a vote of $$-. Holly )hacker and )im /den voted against the renewal while

6im Lawrence abstained from the vote. So ?athy (artin reported allegations against $

board members, according to 'vans and $ board members voted against renewing her

contract I can see why 'vans is afraid of a lawsuit... I know there are rumors that 'vans

offered ?athy an e3ual 2ob with e3ual pay and she turned it down. )his is not true. I can

tell you this, 5histleblower law also clearly state that you can*t transfer a whistleblower

to another department. I hope that wasn*t the advice their attorney gave them at a cost of

-$,%%% a month. 5hen I contacted 6im Lawrence a day before the vote, he told me that

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he still needed to do more research into ?athy (artin. &t this point 6im Lawrence had

been on the board for months. 5hy were the other > board members informed enough

to place a vote and he was not. 6im Lawrence served in the Qnited States &ir 0orce for J

years. (y uncle was a pilot in the &ir 0orce and attended the &ir 0orce &cademy. I

know firsthand that members of our armed forces are trained to make difficult decisions

at difficult times. :et despite his background and training, 6im Lawrence was so

uninformed that he was unable to render a simple vote. )hat makes no sense to me 6im

Lawrence was never voted in by the public to serve us. He was appointed by a board

controlled by Holly )hacker and )im /den. If he is unable to vote, why is he still on the

board If he is unwilling or unfit to serve in a full capacity on the board then he should

step down immediately and allow someone else from the community to fulfill the

re3uirements of being an active board member for our district.

I referenced an article earlier in this speech that talked about )om 'vans being in the

running for the Superintendent position at (idview. (r. 'vans was hired as

Superintendent at !uyahoga Heights last summer. He is a graduate of the class of -1

from !uyahoga Heights and he has stated to multiple people on multiple different

occasions that the Superintendent position at !uyahoga Heights Schools was his dream

2ob. )he problem we face now is that Holly )hacker and )im /den have turned

Superintendent 'vans= dream 2ob into a nightmare. If this treatment continues, we will

soon be searching for another Superintendent. Holly )hacker and )im /den e+hibited

the same behavior while interacting with former )reasurer 6oy !lickenger. ?eep in mind

that Holly )hacker was instrumental in bringing 6oy !lickenger to !uyahoga Heights. I

believe their relationship may have taken a turn for the worse when )reasurer !lickenger

refused to reimburse Holly )hacker for attending a conference. Holly )hacker had not

received preapproval to attend the conference and therefore was not owed

reimbursement. In fact, "ictoria Bowden, )im /den and Dary Suchocki all agreed that

Holly )hacker should not be compensated for her e+penses. In the end, Holly )hacker

made such a big deal about getting reimbursed that the board caved and she was awarded

her reimbursement. I think that since )reasurer !lickenger forced the issue to be

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discussed out in public at several board meetings instead of 2ust 3uietly paying Holly

)hacker now meant that the target was placed s3uarely on )reasurer !lickenger=s back.

In the fall of last year, the )reasurer=s department was told by both Holly )hacker and

)im /den to pay attorney invoices without being given the backup for those invoices.

Basically, the )reasurer=s office was only provided the summary page of the invoices

which lists the total due but they were never given the details of what services were

actually being charged for. 5hen I asked )reasurer !lickenger if anyone from the school

board had every instructed her to pay attorney invoices without substantial backup, her

response was, 5 was instructed to pay attorney in$oices without the backup by both

:olly Thacker and Tim Bden. 5ho here thinks that is a good idea

/n 0ebruary Jth, the board held a special board meeting to accept the resignation of 6oy

!lickenger as )reasurer, effective (arch -, $%-. &fter that motion had passed, the

board voted #$ to accept 6oy !lickenger=s resignation and place her on paid

administrative leave effective immediately. /nly Lyndie Schuckert and Dary Suchocki

voted against this motion. 5hat followed were unnecessary and demeaning behaviors by

Holly )hacker and 6im Lawrence. )hey forced 6oy to pack up her belongings, made

Superintendent 'vans count the petty cash in front of the attorney and then they made 6oy

e+it the building immediately. )hey both treated her like a criminal.

5hat happened to 6oy !lickenger is happening right now to Superintendent 'vans.

8on=t think for a second that (idview is the only 2ob that he has looked into. Holly

)hacker and )im /den have taken a man who said that the Superintendent position at

!uyahoga Heights was his dream 2ob and in roughly 1 months they have forced him to

look for employment elsewhere. 5hen will this finally stop How many more

administrators have to come and go before we put a stop to this madness

I know that I have presented a lot of information tonight and for those of you that are 2ust

beginning to get involved with this situation, I know that this is probably overwhelming.

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20/21

0or that reason, in closing, I want to leave you with the following main pieces of

informationA

-G Since Holly )hacker has been a member of our school board, the district has

employed C different Superintendents and we are currently hiring our C thdifferent

)reasurer.

$G )he average annual spending on general counsel during the years of $%%>$%-%

was $-,-%$..

#G 8uring the 1month period of 6uly $%-C @ (arch $%-, the board spent

-%C,C%-.#> on Deneral !ounsel. )his number does not even include the

##,%%%.%%K spent on the 0raud Solutions investigation.

!ertain members of this school board have tried everything in their power to silence their

harshest critics. I am standing up here today to guarantee to all of you that they will not

silence me. But I am only one voice. (y one voice has not been enough to manufacture

change to this point. 5hile there have been many vocal community members other than

myself, we need your help.

If you have not done so already, I would ask that you please provide your name and email

address on one of the signin sheets before leaving tonight so that we can continue to

contact you with updates on this situation as we move forward. )he fact that you have

taken time out of your busy schedules to attend tonight=s meeting shows that you are at

least interested in what we believe is happening to our school district. &s I mentioned

before, I am only one person working to help correct the wrongs that have been

committed by Holly )hacker and )im /den in the past. & group of concerned citiEens

are retaining legal representation for the purpose of removing both Holly )hacker and

)im /den from their positions as board members. 5e are still in the process of

completing that procedure but at a certain point soon, we are going to need signatures

from registered voters in the school district who also feel that these $ board members

should be removed from their positions on the board.

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)he first step is to have a lawyer create a petition that documents the acts of misconduct

and malfeasance by the board members. )his petition needs to be signed by -C of the

total vote cast for Dovernor in the most recent election for the office of Dovernor in our #

communities. )his amounts to getting at least $$ signatures.

&gain, thank you for your time and your shared concern for our community and school

district. 5e hope to gather again in the near future to provide you an opportunity to sign

this petition and read the specific details.

&re there any 3uestions or does anyone else want to say anything at this time

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