I'm glad to see the video generating such spirited debate. I wish the commenters would identify themselves so I could respond, but anonymous criticism is just as valid. 3 points of clarification: 1) a video that defends the public's right to free speech is hardly conservative; and 2) a video in which board members have the first, last and, often, only word can hardly be called libelous; and 3) you can't blast me as conservative AND compare me unfavorably to Michael Moore. That doesn't compute.
It isn't rude to hold elected officials accountable for their actions - or inaction. The board has unearned the public trust with so much controversy generated under their watch. It's unfortunate that a member of that board remains; it would've been much better to replace everyone. Congratulations to Mr. Lipton and Dr. Treyz; don't let the voters down. No such kudos for Mr. Breslin. I wish to say, "Good riddance" to the Gavel Queen, but I'm sure she'll be working the sidelines.
I would suggest a more mature and civilized response to this "problem" than posting clearly one sided and libelous videos on the internet...Don't forget, these are parents as well, who live in the same school district as you. With all due respect, doesn't it seem like you're being a little rude?
I don't recall ever mentioning Michael Moore or applauding him for his work. In fact, I believe the majority of his viewers recognize his work as blatantly biased material. It is hardly an effective way to prove a point. It only emphasizes the creator's ability to criticize rather than pose solutions. Maybe this is why we shouldn't people like Michael Moore on our school board?
This is probably the sleaziest form of video editing anyone could indulge in. This video consists of clips meticulously plucked out of context in an effort to negatively portray members of the Katonah-Lewisboro school district.
Generally, I take no interest in the dealings of our administration and school board. However, upon viewing this compilation, I found myself eager to express my feelings and the feelings of many of my fellow classmates.
We, as a student body, have no interest in being led by a board of educators that promote themselves through harassing their competition. This video does nothing besides attempt to embarrass the current members of our school board. I must offer my applause, the maker of this video managed to seize hours upon hours of footage and select which twenty second pieces reflect negatively on our school district.
The majority of the footage, in which our school board successfully conducts productive meetings, is seemingly irrelevant.
Personally, my favorite piece of this video was the first clip. Peter Breslin states (in a much more polite way than the majority of our student and teacher body would have themselves) that the advice of the "public" was ignored.
Now, the general public referred to in this particular statement happens to be a very small group of conservatives who, very coincidentally, cause all of the issues within the school board to begin with. Unfortunately, this specific group of people happens to be the loudest and most obnoxious within lower Westchester. It is seemingly impossible to ignore them, but somehow, Peter Breslin and Donna Walsh succeed.
I would like to take my time and mention that I admire their abilities to do so and encourage the true general public to follow suite.
I am going to offer a simple solution for those who have issues with our current board of education. If you would like to restrict our education with your conservatism, please do us a favor and move somewhere where your ideals will be shared by those around you. You're fighting a loosing battle.
You may want to consider moving a bit westward where there is no such thing as evolution. Or, if you happen to be the creator of this video, you may want to consider moving down south, where segregation is now being stressed within school districts.
Or you can try making a compelling argument with facts instead of material you pulled straight out of your ass.
We need school board members who put effort into things that matter, and who focus on moving the system forward - not harp on the past and refuse to be constructive.
When you make a video telling me what you've done that's POSITIVE, I'll listen. All this video has done has proven that some members of the current board are bold leaders who are not afraid to stand up to dissenters and move in the right direction.
Video editing is extraordinarily time consuming. Editing clips of videos and adding subtitles for 9 minutes of edited video will take many hours of work. So, clearly, Tara has put a tremendous amount of effort into making this video, which neither provides me with any reason as to why she should be considered a legitimate candidate nor does anything whatsoever to improve our school district.
I was in attendance at all of the meetings depicted in the video tape. I can say unequivocally that this clip represents exactly what happened and continues to happen at every board meeting. It's an eye opener. Shocking to be reminded that ourtrustees conduct themselves in this manner. More disturbing is how unfortunate for the community to endure this treatment at every session. One gets the feeling that they don't live in America.
First of all, a lot of this is propaganda intended to make fun of the school board, specifically Peter Breslin. However, our school district is consistently rated one of the highest in the nation
As a second point, I am also a member of campus congress, and the representative sent speaking was not the usual one, and is one who usually exaggerates, as she did in the video.
I'm saying that cheating is not the greatest problem facing John Jay. And the proposal process goes through the High School principal first, not to the school board. The campus congress representatives were just announcing what occurred in the past meeting, it is the High School administrations job to curtail cheating, not the school boards.
I just posted a link to this video on The Hall Monitor, the education blog of The Journal News. Please check it out. Comments are always welcome. There's a bunch of other Katonah-Lewisboro school news on there and I'm sure many of you have already seen all the dreaded "vagina" posts....
As a parent of KLS students I expect the best from those who serve our children- clearly we can do better. Organizations and the culture they develop are, in large part, shaped by their leadership. With the departure of the current Superintendent, KLS parents and taxpayers have an opportunity to put the past where it belongs.
I completely concur with mfeierman - These really are dedicated people. They deserve support not this attempt to further undermine school leadership for seeming sport.
Dedicated to what? Censoring the community? Suppressing freedom of expression? Ignoring public concerns? Discarding letters & petitions? Treating citizens disrespectfully? Considering themselves above the law? You call this leadership that a community should rally behind? That's a real smart choice. You must be kidding!
Unfortunately if you live here you'd know there's nothing funny about this. If the school board made half an effort to communicate it's intensions to the public, instead of treating them like imbeciles, people wouldn't have to resort to these kind of efforts.
This is drop dead hilarious! Very well done. But I don't recognize any of the actors. Is it a summer stock show? Any way, very cool satire on public education.
Utterly outrageous behavior from a school board who ought to have the school and the community's best interest at heart! They ought to resign or be ousted from office... good luck Katonah-Lewisboro...
Leadership is about helping well-intentioned and hard-working people to succeed, not about tearing them down in a cleverly-edited, biased video that claims to tell years of a complex story in less that 9 minutes. Spend you time trying to help, not hurt.
As one who has actively participated in Board meetings and observed this Board respond to its critics, I can say that this video represents well the treatment by the majority of those who have different opinions: they are arrogant, dismissive and brook no disagreement. Leadership is also about listening, bridging views, and looking for common ground. Those who try to shut down their opponents create the backlash.
There is a wealth of clips for a video to make the other side of the community look just as bad.
No one is saying that we are the perfect school district. We have had our share of problems and what we need going forward is Board of Education members who are willing to move forward and NOT make videos like this one -- cherry picking clips to slam the district. Yes, Sunshine Member and Board of Education candidate, Tara Owen has taken credit for the making of this video.
What we need is openness and a willingness to listen. Anyone who questions decisions by the administration or who disagrees with the Board about a course of action is viewed as anti-school. That just isn't true. I had hopes that the attitude would change with time and with new faces, but it hasn't. I just don't understand why the Board hasn't even tried a more open approach.
As someone who has also actively participated in Board Meetings, I witnessed the "critics" behaving badly. I do not think they are "anti-school." However, they seem to think that just because the board disagrees with them, the board is not listening. This is simply incorrect. My main point is that we have made progress over the years and anyone can cut and paste a few clips together to mislead the public. I could do the same, but I choose to focus on issues that are more important.
Hi Sherri King. Yes, I have taken credit for this video, and I am pleased to see it generating this kind of open dialogue. I specified in the video upload settings that ANYONE could comment, not just "friends." These are actual clips (undoctored and undubbed) of the BOE at work. If you don't like what you see, you can 1) shoot the messenger; 2) respond with your own video or 3) advocate for change in the way our board deals with the public. You've chosen #1, as is your right and privilege.
Tara, I am not shooting you, the messenger. Anyone can use video clips to blast whomever they perceive does not share their opinions without providing the necessary context to those clips. We need Board of Education members who are willing to see the mistakes of the past and move forward so we do not make the same mistakes twice. Making videos such as this one, in my opinion, does not promote productive dialogue. Perhaps you will explain your purpose in producing this video
"We need Board of Education members who are willing to see the mistakes of the past and move forward so we do not make the same mistakes twice". This is precisely the point: the present Board members (most of them) are UNwilling to "see the mistakes of the past"; they want to move forward and repeat them. The video shows repeated "mistakes".
The only reason to post them would be to make those people look stupid. I will not go down that road. I value everyone's opinion. We need to get back to what is important - making our school district the best it can be at a level that taxpayers are willing to support. We need to stop the infighting and name calling in order to find a way to come together as a community and support the education we all value.
The only 'real' reason to post them (if they exist)is to address mistakes and bring about changes having to do with honesty and respect going forward. It clearly shows the sense that the board is not willing to listen nor act in the best interest of all concerned citizens. The gavel is an instrument to silence the public in attendence and that it what we see. The 'queenie of infighting' should take her own advice and value others' opinions, please.
All the clips in this video are continuous shots of the KL BOE public meetings. The content speaks volumes about the priorities and agenda of the current board. They ignore petitions. They suppress dissenting opinions of fellow board members and speakers in public comment. They hide information with negative findings (civil service report). They ignore whistle-blower information. If you call that "well-intentioned", than your intentions are not for the improvement of the KL BOE.
Mr. Feierman, (neighbor of Mr. Breslin) who is running for the school board, is of the opinion that this video is cleverly edited. Maybe if he had attended meetings regularly he'd know that he dead wrong. School board leadership is about listening to the community you promised to serve. If you continually dismiss well intended citizens, you promote division. The cavalier attitude and arrogance is shameful. The communiyt would benefit greatly if they stepped down.
I'm glad to see the video generating such spirited debate. I wish the commenters would identify themselves so I could respond, but anonymous criticism is just as valid. 3 points of clarification: 1) a video that defends the public's right to free speech is hardly conservative; and 2) a video in which board members have the first, last and, often, only word can hardly be called libelous; and 3) you can't blast me as conservative AND compare me unfavorably to Michael Moore. That doesn't compute.
taraowen 4 years ago
It isn't rude to hold elected officials accountable for their actions - or inaction. The board has unearned the public trust with so much controversy generated under their watch. It's unfortunate that a member of that board remains; it would've been much better to replace everyone. Congratulations to Mr. Lipton and Dr. Treyz; don't let the voters down. No such kudos for Mr. Breslin. I wish to say, "Good riddance" to the Gavel Queen, but I'm sure she'll be working the sidelines.
jayralston 4 years ago
I would suggest a more mature and civilized response to this "problem" than posting clearly one sided and libelous videos on the internet...Don't forget, these are parents as well, who live in the same school district as you. With all due respect, doesn't it seem like you're being a little rude?
justnact2u 4 years ago
why we shouldn't elect people like Michael Moore for our school board.*
emilio312 4 years ago
what does everyone have against conservatives in the first place?
timtim898 4 years ago
I don't recall ever mentioning Michael Moore or applauding him for his work. In fact, I believe the majority of his viewers recognize his work as blatantly biased material. It is hardly an effective way to prove a point. It only emphasizes the creator's ability to criticize rather than pose solutions. Maybe this is why we shouldn't people like Michael Moore on our school board?
emilio312 4 years ago
hahaha you shun this type of video editing yet Michael Moore is applauded for using the same tactics: hypocritical?
ronhopihs7 4 years ago
...and yet Michael Moore was neither mentioned nor praised by recent posters.
So let's agree - If what Michael Moore does is complete bullshit, then so is the video.
Deal.
ufoboy90 4 years ago
This is probably the sleaziest form of video editing anyone could indulge in. This video consists of clips meticulously plucked out of context in an effort to negatively portray members of the Katonah-Lewisboro school district.
Generally, I take no interest in the dealings of our administration and school board. However, upon viewing this compilation, I found myself eager to express my feelings and the feelings of many of my fellow classmates.
itsemilio312 4 years ago
We, as a student body, have no interest in being led by a board of educators that promote themselves through harassing their competition. This video does nothing besides attempt to embarrass the current members of our school board. I must offer my applause, the maker of this video managed to seize hours upon hours of footage and select which twenty second pieces reflect negatively on our school district.
itsemilio312 4 years ago
The majority of the footage, in which our school board successfully conducts productive meetings, is seemingly irrelevant.
Personally, my favorite piece of this video was the first clip. Peter Breslin states (in a much more polite way than the majority of our student and teacher body would have themselves) that the advice of the "public" was ignored.
emilio312 4 years ago
Now, the general public referred to in this particular statement happens to be a very small group of conservatives who, very coincidentally, cause all of the issues within the school board to begin with. Unfortunately, this specific group of people happens to be the loudest and most obnoxious within lower Westchester. It is seemingly impossible to ignore them, but somehow, Peter Breslin and Donna Walsh succeed.
emilio312 4 years ago
I would like to take my time and mention that I admire their abilities to do so and encourage the true general public to follow suite.
I am going to offer a simple solution for those who have issues with our current board of education. If you would like to restrict our education with your conservatism, please do us a favor and move somewhere where your ideals will be shared by those around you. You're fighting a loosing battle.
emilio312 4 years ago
You may want to consider moving a bit westward where there is no such thing as evolution. Or, if you happen to be the creator of this video, you may want to consider moving down south, where segregation is now being stressed within school districts.
Or you can try making a compelling argument with facts instead of material you pulled straight out of your ass.
Please excuse my French.
Thanks.
emilio312 4 years ago
and not afraid to steal money from taxpayers
ronhopihs7 4 years ago
We need school board members who put effort into things that matter, and who focus on moving the system forward - not harp on the past and refuse to be constructive.
When you make a video telling me what you've done that's POSITIVE, I'll listen. All this video has done has proven that some members of the current board are bold leaders who are not afraid to stand up to dissenters and move in the right direction.
ufoboy90 4 years ago
Video editing is extraordinarily time consuming. Editing clips of videos and adding subtitles for 9 minutes of edited video will take many hours of work. So, clearly, Tara has put a tremendous amount of effort into making this video, which neither provides me with any reason as to why she should be considered a legitimate candidate nor does anything whatsoever to improve our school district.
ufoboy90 4 years ago
Yay for Dougie Both and the other criminals running the Katonah-Lewisboro school district
ronhopihs7 4 years ago
I was in attendance at all of the meetings depicted in the video tape. I can say unequivocally that this clip represents exactly what happened and continues to happen at every board meeting. It's an eye opener. Shocking to be reminded that ourtrustees conduct themselves in this manner. More disturbing is how unfortunate for the community to endure this treatment at every session. One gets the feeling that they don't live in America.
1951109 4 years ago
First of all, a lot of this is propaganda intended to make fun of the school board, specifically Peter Breslin. However, our school district is consistently rated one of the highest in the nation
As a second point, I am also a member of campus congress, and the representative sent speaking was not the usual one, and is one who usually exaggerates, as she did in the video.
applejakg5 4 years ago
Are you saying there's no cheating going on?
quee1956 4 years ago
I'm saying that cheating is not the greatest problem facing John Jay. And the proposal process goes through the High School principal first, not to the school board. The campus congress representatives were just announcing what occurred in the past meeting, it is the High School administrations job to curtail cheating, not the school boards.
applejakg5 4 years ago
What? This is real? No way! People really act like this? Westchester County, rich dudes on parade, take a chill pill!
1truelebowski 4 years ago
I just posted a link to this video on The Hall Monitor, the education blog of The Journal News. Please check it out. Comments are always welcome. There's a bunch of other Katonah-Lewisboro school news on there and I'm sure many of you have already seen all the dreaded "vagina" posts....
dbellett 4 years ago
...
dbellett 4 years ago
As a parent of KLS students I expect the best from those who serve our children- clearly we can do better. Organizations and the culture they develop are, in large part, shaped by their leadership. With the departure of the current Superintendent, KLS parents and taxpayers have an opportunity to put the past where it belongs.
klsparent 4 years ago
I completely concur with mfeierman - These really are dedicated people. They deserve support not this attempt to further undermine school leadership for seeming sport.
smartchoices 4 years ago
Sometimes "dedicated" people go about things in an unhealthy way.
quee1956 4 years ago
Dedicated to what? Censoring the community? Suppressing freedom of expression? Ignoring public concerns? Discarding letters & petitions? Treating citizens disrespectfully? Considering themselves above the law? You call this leadership that a community should rally behind? That's a real smart choice. You must be kidding!
1951109 4 years ago
Unfortunately if you live here you'd know there's nothing funny about this. If the school board made half an effort to communicate it's intensions to the public, instead of treating them like imbeciles, people wouldn't have to resort to these kind of efforts.
chcole1 4 years ago
This is drop dead hilarious! Very well done. But I don't recognize any of the actors. Is it a summer stock show? Any way, very cool satire on public education.
1truelebowski 4 years ago
Utterly outrageous behavior from a school board who ought to have the school and the community's best interest at heart! They ought to resign or be ousted from office... good luck Katonah-Lewisboro...
dccymbal 4 years ago
Leadership is about helping well-intentioned and hard-working people to succeed, not about tearing them down in a cleverly-edited, biased video that claims to tell years of a complex story in less that 9 minutes. Spend you time trying to help, not hurt.
mfeierman 4 years ago
As one who has actively participated in Board meetings and observed this Board respond to its critics, I can say that this video represents well the treatment by the majority of those who have different opinions: they are arrogant, dismissive and brook no disagreement. Leadership is also about listening, bridging views, and looking for common ground. Those who try to shut down their opponents create the backlash.
jaeuchner 4 years ago
There is a wealth of clips for a video to make the other side of the community look just as bad.
No one is saying that we are the perfect school district. We have had our share of problems and what we need going forward is Board of Education members who are willing to move forward and NOT make videos like this one -- cherry picking clips to slam the district. Yes, Sunshine Member and Board of Education candidate, Tara Owen has taken credit for the making of this video.
queenie31 4 years ago
What we need is openness and a willingness to listen. Anyone who questions decisions by the administration or who disagrees with the Board about a course of action is viewed as anti-school. That just isn't true. I had hopes that the attitude would change with time and with new faces, but it hasn't. I just don't understand why the Board hasn't even tried a more open approach.
jaeuchner 4 years ago
As someone who has also actively participated in Board Meetings, I witnessed the "critics" behaving badly. I do not think they are "anti-school." However, they seem to think that just because the board disagrees with them, the board is not listening. This is simply incorrect. My main point is that we have made progress over the years and anyone can cut and paste a few clips together to mislead the public. I could do the same, but I choose to focus on issues that are more important.
queenie31 4 years ago
Hi Sherri King. Yes, I have taken credit for this video, and I am pleased to see it generating this kind of open dialogue. I specified in the video upload settings that ANYONE could comment, not just "friends." These are actual clips (undoctored and undubbed) of the BOE at work. If you don't like what you see, you can 1) shoot the messenger; 2) respond with your own video or 3) advocate for change in the way our board deals with the public. You've chosen #1, as is your right and privilege.
taraowen 4 years ago
Tara, I am not shooting you, the messenger. Anyone can use video clips to blast whomever they perceive does not share their opinions without providing the necessary context to those clips. We need Board of Education members who are willing to see the mistakes of the past and move forward so we do not make the same mistakes twice. Making videos such as this one, in my opinion, does not promote productive dialogue. Perhaps you will explain your purpose in producing this video
queenie31 4 years ago
"We need Board of Education members who are willing to see the mistakes of the past and move forward so we do not make the same mistakes twice". This is precisely the point: the present Board members (most of them) are UNwilling to "see the mistakes of the past"; they want to move forward and repeat them. The video shows repeated "mistakes".
quee1956 4 years ago
I challenge you to post them! While you're at it, take off the blinders and take out the ear plugs.
1951109 4 years ago
The only reason to post them would be to make those people look stupid. I will not go down that road. I value everyone's opinion. We need to get back to what is important - making our school district the best it can be at a level that taxpayers are willing to support. We need to stop the infighting and name calling in order to find a way to come together as a community and support the education we all value.
queenie31 4 years ago
The only 'real' reason to post them (if they exist)is to address mistakes and bring about changes having to do with honesty and respect going forward. It clearly shows the sense that the board is not willing to listen nor act in the best interest of all concerned citizens. The gavel is an instrument to silence the public in attendence and that it what we see. The 'queenie of infighting' should take her own advice and value others' opinions, please.
1951109 4 years ago
All the clips in this video are continuous shots of the KL BOE public meetings. The content speaks volumes about the priorities and agenda of the current board. They ignore petitions. They suppress dissenting opinions of fellow board members and speakers in public comment. They hide information with negative findings (civil service report). They ignore whistle-blower information. If you call that "well-intentioned", than your intentions are not for the improvement of the KL BOE.
sonorelli 4 years ago
Mr. Feierman, (neighbor of Mr. Breslin) who is running for the school board, is of the opinion that this video is cleverly edited. Maybe if he had attended meetings regularly he'd know that he dead wrong. School board leadership is about listening to the community you promised to serve. If you continually dismiss well intended citizens, you promote division. The cavalier attitude and arrogance is shameful. The communiyt would benefit greatly if they stepped down.
1951109 4 years ago
Peter is not just my neighbor, but also a friend and someone I respect a great deal.
mfeierman 4 years ago
Wow. Surely we can do better than this....
statesevidence 4 years ago
hard to believe
tlc3pe 4 years ago