Special Note: The author would like to thank Keith Ball, Principal of Woodstock Middle School in Cherokee County, Georgia, for all the extra traffic he has been driving to this site.
If Mr. Ball referred you to this blog, please understand that his actions are the result of his personal vendetta against my fiancee’, Allison Burnes. For the record, Allison Burnes does not write, edit, approve, or support what is published here. I alone am responsible for this content.
Mr. Ball’s problem is with me, but he can’t seem to muster the courage to take me to task directly. Instead, he is referring all of Allison’s prospective employers here, hoping to sabotage her career by blaming my writings on her. It’s wrong, and you deserve to know his motives and the relevant facts. If you would like to read all of the articles related to Mr. Ball as of 2-15-2010, please use this link. The posts are displayed in reverse chronological order, so read from the bottom up. Thank you for visiting.
As a part of my effort to see that the problem at Woodstock Middle School is properly addressed, the following letter was sent to all seven members of the Cherokee County Board of Education. When I remembered that there are three contested seats on the school board this year and that there’s an election in mid-July, I sent it to all of the candidates for those three seats as well.
Honorable school board members:
I am a citizen of Cherokee County, and I write to bring to your attention a serious situation. Cherokee County’s school system has an excellent track record and has historically employed some of the finest teachers and administrators in the state. This reflects positively upon your strong leadership, and when something threatens that reputation, I know you will want to be aware of it.
Last year, the principal of Woodstock Middle School, one Richard Landolt, was replaced. I was extremely happy and relieved when I heard of this action, because Landolt had put into place some policies which were at least unethical, and at most illegal. One of these was a 65% “minimum grade” policy, where teachers were required to falsify a nine week grade if it fell below a 65% threshold. This also required falsification of IEP documents. Landolt still works within the school system, but I understand he has not re-implemented the illegal policies at his new school.
I had hoped that Landolt’s replacement, Keith L. Ball, would represent a return to sanity and would bring quality leadership to Woodstock. Sadly, this has not been the case, and there is some fairly serious trouble brewing at the school this spring.
In my opinion, Ball shows clear signs of inexperience and overconfidence. A quick look at personnel records will show you that teacher attrition (retirements, resignations, and transfers) were extremely high during and after Ball’s first year of leadership. This is not a coincidence. Good teachers are jumping ship. Ball seems intent on aggressively establishing himself as an authority figure, but does not seem to understand even the most basic tenets of management. He stifles and ignores experienced teachers from whom he could learn a great deal. He does not listen to his people, even when they warn him that serious trouble might be ahead.
Ball’s priorities are inexplicable. He says that there’s no money in the budget for such things as classroom bulletin boards, even when they’re required under his own policies. He then sends out a flyer to parents and to the community in general, asking for donations not for vital classroom equipment like this, but for repair of tired landscaping, purchase of front office rugs, replacement of window blinds, and the like.
Ball seems to have little or no knowledge regarding special education and the handling of special needs students, and apparently does not care to learn. He was warned by someone expert in this area that his inaction in one particular case could easily lead to a lawsuit. The case involved a child with a diagnosed and documented developmental disorder. He ignored the warning, and now a parent is on the verge of suing.
Perhaps more frightening than the mistakes is Ball’s tendency to duck and cover rather than simply fix a problem. When the open records request was filed, Ball ordered his employees to destroy e-mails which were required to be delivered. He then announced his own formal inquiry (into a situation he essentially caused) and threatened employees with disciplinary action. He so upset these people that one showed up at the inquiry represented by counsel.
Confidentiality prohibits me from knowing the names of the student and parent involved in the above action, nor any more detail than I have already revealed. I believe that the board would be in a better position to investigate such sensitive matters, and I hope I’ve given you sufficient information to begin such an inquiry should you choose to.
I am aware of this situation because my fiancee’ is one of the teachers who decided to leave Woodstock Middle School this year rather than work under Ball another year. I am also the author of a personal blog which came under attack, indirectly, by Ball earlier this year. Unable or unwilling to speak with me directly about some writing he objected to, he instead harassed my fiancee’ and threatened her with disciplinary action if she did not convince me to censor myself. She has no connection to the blog at all. This deplorable action clearly shows that Ball has difficulty respecting boundaries.
In short, honorable board members, the principal who will presumably be leading Woodstock Middle School’s staff next year is in my opinion dangerously unqualified for his position. I would strongly suggest that the board take a close look at Ball’s performance and qualifications before allowing him to cause further damage to the county’s sterling reputation for educational excellence.
Scott Johnson
Special Note: The author would like to thank Keith Ball, Principal of Woodstock Middle School in Cherokee County, Georgia, for all the extra traffic he has been driving to this site.
If Mr. Ball referred you to this blog, please understand that his actions are the result of his personal vendetta against my fiancee’, Allison Burnes. For the record, Allison Burnes does not write, edit, approve, or support what is published here. I alone am responsible for this content.
Mr. Ball’s problem is with me, but he can’t seem to muster the courage to take me to task directly. Instead, he is referring all of Allison’s prospective employers here, hoping to sabotage her career by blaming my writings on her. It’s wrong, and you deserve to know his motives and the relevant facts. If you would like to read all of the articles related to Mr. Ball as of 2-15-2010, please use this link. The posts are displayed in reverse chronological order, so read from the bottom up. Thank you for visiting.
The pilot-operated relief valve (RC RV 2) at Three Mile Island was supposed to open at 2255 PSI. It did. It was supposed to close at 2205 PSI. It didn’t.
I don’t know how to quantify at what point my personal relief valve let go, but it is open now. It may close again. It may not. I do not attempt to hide here the fact that I am very angry.
This piece is written as an open letter to Keith Ball, principal of Woodstock Middle School. He will probably hear of it by way of a third party, and as you will read below, I consider that fitting as a response in kind.
Keith,
Let me be the first to congratulate you. You’ve managed to lose the finest teacher you have ever had the privilege of failing to appreciate. She has accepted a new position with a school system that will consider her an asset and allow her to apply her knowledge and her talents to the fullest, rather than suppressing her as you have.
I’m confident that you won’t see this as a loss. Your delusions of grandeur will turn this into a victory in your mind. The rest of us know better. As of yesterday, though, my fiancee’ has been released from her contract at her own request, and I rejoice in this.
I gave you the benefit of the doubt when you entered my fiancee’s work environment last year. You were young for the job and inexperienced. There were also rumors of a less than stellar past at a school system in an adjoining county. These things seemed minor at the time, probably because I was so happy to see your predecessor, Richard Landolt, leave. His departure relieved me of the responsibility of calling for an investigation into his grading policies.
Now I’m sure I was mistaken to have put any confidence in you. The doubts began to creep in when you proved yourself incapable of writing something as simple as a principal’s message for your school’s web site without committing (and failing to correct) one or more errors in grammar and usage.
Confidentiality prohibits me from knowing more than the very surface layer of what’s been going on at WMS of late, but I’m quite astute and it’s not at all hard to guess. I will refrain from discussing my theories — for now. The emotional and physical impact that recent events have had on my fiancee’ tells me a more factual and somewhat unsurprising story. In short, it tells me that you’re a coward without a shred of conscience, honesty, or integrity.
Of course, we knew this, didn’t we? A few months ago, there were two blog entries posted here which referenced you directly. I didn’t expect you to like them very much because (aside from some sarcasm concerning yacht maintenance) they were true; no incompetent likes to have his blunders displayed for others to see. Your reaction, though, really raised the bar and set new standards for unethical behavior.
A man of integrity, a man of honor, a man of principle, or for that matter, a man would have contacted me directly to discuss the nature of those posts. If he wanted them taken down, he would have made his case reasonably and logically. After all, there is no question as to the author of anything here. I write this blog, and I am solely responsible for its content.
You took the path of a true poltroon. I received not a single e-mail from you, nor did I get a single phone call. There was not even so much as a voicemail message or a comment on the blog. Instead, you called my fiancee’ into your office. As we both know, she has no responsibility at all for the material. You reprimanded her verbally, caused her to feel her career was being threatened, then encouraged her to pressure me into taking those posts down. Even after she told you in no uncertain terms to take your complaints to the source, you couldn’t find the courage. Instead, you continued to make her life difficult until she finally did ask me to take them down.
I complied, not because I have anything but contempt for you but because I was not going to give you further reasons to harass her. In doing so I compromised my own principles against allowing outside influences to dictate what I write or post here. This was the lesser of two evils and the less selfish of the two alternatives. The posts were never completely gone, of course. They were made private, and access to them was given to a very exclusive group — anyone who asked. A surprising number did ask.
Recently, it has come to my attention that there are copies of those very blog entries in my fiancee’s personnel file. That’s actually kind of nice to hear, because I thought you’d wanted those entries to go away. If you’re preserving them in her personnel file, though, it seems unfair that you and your colleagues and superiors can read them, but that no one else can. You must think they’re worth saving! In light of this, those blog entries have been made public again. I’m even adding updates to reveal a few details that weren’t in the original posts. Those entries are “A Bulletin of Importance” and “A Further Bulletin.”
Oh, by the way, you might also wish to observe the notice on my sidebar which specifically denies you and your colleagues, superiors, and subordinates the right to maintain copies of my work. I would advise destroying your copies before I take the next step, but that’s your call.
Your actions toward my fiancee’ in recent days yet again prove to me that you, sir, are not qualified for the job you now hold. In fact, I don’t think you’re competent to manage a laundromat, let alone something as vital as a school. Your actions remind me of the Wizard of Oz, hiding behind an image of authority and desperately saying, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” You’ve made the same mistake as the Wizard, believing that authority can be assumed. It can’t. It must be earned.
It’s time for the curtain to be pulled back. Call me Toto. As a citizen of Cherokee County, it is not only my right but my responsibility to bring this issue to light.
I freely admit that I am not an experienced investigative reporter, but I have several qualities that recommend me for such a task. I’m an engineer; it’s in my nature to look at a system, find the faulty part, determine exactly why and how it failed, and write complete and detailed reports that will ensure the prevention of such faults in the future. I’m also extremely resourceful and knowledgeable, and when I see a wrong that needs to be righted, particularly when it involves someone I love, I am absolutely relentless.
Have a great summer.