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Mr. School Board President:
It is with great regret that I must forthwith tender my
resignation as superintendent of the Toledo Public Schools.
I do so with a heavy heart and can only hope that my
severance package will be pretty sweet!
As you know, I have spent considerable effort in
displaying the coolest ever embroidered shirt collars with
the letters, "TPS" boldly monogrammed on them.
And even though I was the best, Rah-Rah! cheerleader
for TPS, I am disappointed that the school board did not
have the wisdom to make me superintendent for life!r life!
I deserve it! I earned it! I want it!
To my astonishment, the State of Ohio Department of
Education report card (what do they know about educating
kids!) states that our recent educational endeavors merits a
current grade of, "F"!
What is wrong with those dolts? Did they not read the
full page Blade ad of last week Thursday issued by the
school board and on which the taxpayers spent some serious
bucks?
In that ad, it was deftly demonstrated that we know how
to shuffle the deck and make ourselves look good!
Why, if you did not know it, you would think that we
were talking about Toledo Public Schools being an "A" plus
performing district! Numbers don't lie! (only people do!).
Well, it has been a good run. I am a little amazed that
I was not shown the door years ago when our district was
consistently pulling down straight "D" s' and "F" s' on its
report card from the state education department.
Yeah, I crossed my fingers when I was first interviewed
for the job. I was convinced that the school board would
eventually tap an outside person for this coveted job, but I
was wrong.
It still appears that Toledo Public likes to promote
from within and not venture out of their comfort zone and
hire a gifted administrator from a large urban center.
Oh well. Their myopic visioning was good for me! I
ain't complaining...just explaining.
Ok. So you finally looked behind the curtain and tagged
me! But what about the others in my administration? Why are
they being allowed to hang around and rake in the big bucks?
They were in collusion in getting this "F" grade! It was
not just me! Come on...we were a team!
And what about the hundreds of teachers who draw a
paycheck from Toledo Public but send their kids to private,
parochial schools or schools in the toney burbs?
Why aren't they being penalized? If they teach in
Toledo Public, they should be required to both live in the
city and send their kids to public schools!
Hmmm. I wonder if all of the past school board members
and supers and administrators put their kids in public
schools in Toledo?
Just wondering out loud. If they didn't, they did not have
any faith in the quality of their work product! So much for
Toledo Proud!
Well, that is it for now. You got me. I will go quietly
into the night and will apply elsewhere for a superintendent
job. I hope I will find another school system that starts
with the letter, "T" so that I will be able to wear all of
my monogrammed shirts with the letters, TPS.
Hey! How about giving me a good reference? After all, I
was Toledo's best
supporter! Doesn't that count for something?
(Long pause)...You know. Come to think of it, I am not
going to resign! Matter of fact, I saw a sale on gold and
silver TPS cuff links and I am going to load up on them and
come back with a vengeance!
Hey, what's in a, "F" letter grade anyway? It just
means that the sky is the limit on going from the bottom to
the top!
It simply means that kids who get a regular diploma
from TPS will just have to hit the books a little harder and
longer than that pampered kid from Ottawa Hills or
Perrysburg.
Matter of fact, if you look at it from another angle,
if you just add a leg or a line to the other side of the "F"
letter, you will get a squared letter, "A"!
Now we are on to something! I believe that this "F"
grade is FAKE NEWS! and you should not believe anything that
you read or hear about it!
There are worse things in life than getting a "F"
report card.
So, to everyone I say, "Let's keep things as is and maybe in
one year (or more?) we will figure out this educational mess
and get the public school kids on the right track and have
them move on up to a "D" grade report card!
Now tell me, isn't that progress?
All The Best!
Romules Durant, Superintendent Toledo Public Schools
Ghost written by: Lafe Tolliver, Attorney
Comments to: tolliver@juno.com
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