Love this...thanks Jeff!

WHY the need for a Uhaul truck? I sure hope the police went through and took pics. My money is on that items were taken that belong to the school..or should I say..the taxpayers. Hey PTO..I think some of your stuff just got stolen...the stuff we all work so hard for.
Oh, Jeff, I applaud your work last night and wish I could have been there!

Also, do teachers who enter the school have the same passcode for the alarm or do each have their own code? Surely the principal knows who entered that building. Jeff, was there a police report made? That is public record and should contain names. If they took anything besides personal items, they should be arrested for theft. This should NOT be dismissed! There would be NO need for a Uhaul...c'mon!! How many white minivans are in the lot today @ Heartland?

Julie,

Oh yeah! You all love me now, but just wait till I write another column about Swedish Days! Then it's back to kill the columnist!

And though we all appreciate compliments, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves - I looked out a window at the right time. This ain't exactly all the presidents men.

Since I did not recognize the individuals last night, I called the police. It's exactly what any prudent citizen would do.

And teachers do have 24/7 access to school building via keycard. The district will know who let themselves in (or at least which keycard it was) today.

Jeff

I'm sure you've repented of those Swedish Days articles of the past Jeff. We forgive you.

oh...that is rich! Jeff ala TMZ! LOL!

A U-Haul? Probably more than one teacher's "personal" stuff...

Sturm and drang. . .sturm and drang . . .

STEP carefully off the curb under cover of darkness as you load your personal possessions in the u-haul parked in the fire LANE

step in it, step in it...keep on stepping in it.

Fire and Hire....Fire and Hire.....

Not with the GEA blinders on, you won't.

Tom, in your opinion do you feel the two sides can come to an agreement in which the GEA gets some sort of increase in compensation, yet takes into account the Board and taxpayer's wishes not increase pressure on property taxes and budgets. Do you think there can be a fair compromise can be reached regarding Step and Lane?

Very disappointing news. I was hopeful a resolution would be reached. Ouch.

Oh, Melissa....don't you realize that the ONLY wonderful, caring, super duper loving and educated teachers work in GENEVA? There aren't any others out there...
I'm being sarcastic of course...but I really think that is what the union and some teachers think. GET REAL! Start interviewing and replacing. I'm fine w/a few weeks of striking...my kids will survive and learn a good lesson.

Jen,

Not true. Harrison and all other Geneva teachers are on the job today.

Jeff

The irony of that statement.

CBS News recently did a story about Khan Academy. Bill Gates was pretty impressed and has brought Mr. Khan on board as an education consultant to his foundation. Good luck with the home schooling.

agree! Any printer friends in Geneva willing to help? I'd be willing to pitch in...I have extra money I usually send to the PTO that I won't be sending anymore!

I agree. This game of cat and mouse needs to stop. The board has the support
of the taxpayers.Lets not waste anymore time. Begin the hiring process.

Hey, is it me or do some of these "new" posters sound very familiar? This is my opinion...but...John Smith just might be a man named Carl who might work at a 304 elementary school who might be married to someone at same school. MIGHT being the key term, of course. You guys are so hostile in your posts I find it comical. Do you all teach language arts in the same team and therefore have the same writing styles? Oh, and that is NOT the same story I got from the Batavia Police Department. They agreed that if anyone notices anything suspicious, they should call 911. Why is it only your side? What if it was someone vandalizing the school and Jeff was responsible for HER arrest? Then we would be even more thankful, including you, sir! Bringing your child to a school after 10 PM to clear out personal items kinda makes you scratch your head and ask where this teacher's priorities are.

John,

Your real name I'm sure. My job is to get the story and that's exactly what I did.

1. People are not in the building at all hours and especially not at 9:40 at night. Unless it's the Boy Scouts, in the entire existence of that building, I've never seen any vehicles there that late.

2. Typically I'd just call the police, but given the current situation and the U-Haul, I thought it might be union folks emptying the classrooms. When I didn't recognize the individuals, I called the police. I'd do it again in a flash.

3. The "teacher" never saw me take pictures and there was no confrontation because I retreated as they came out.

4. There certainly was a consciousness of guilt wasn't there. The time of night. Two classroom lights left on. The cell phone call and leaving immediately after seeing me. The whole call to the principal thing is an outright lie because I spoke with that individual shortly after they left.

5. There was no chase. They did the speed limit and so did I. My job is to get the story and if it was outside union folk, then I wanted the story. And if you don't want to be part of the story, then perhaps discretion would dictate not emptying your classroom while people are sitting at the negotiation table.

5. Let's say your undocumented omniscience about the Batavia Police is correct. They have a history of eschewing the press and I'm certainly not one of their favorites. I don't give a flying bleep what they think.

I think everyone is jumping to conclusions on this situation because we have only heard one side of the story. Something isn't adding up here. Sounds to me that the BOE suggested all teachers remove their personal belongings prior to end of school on Friday IN CASE a strike occurred. Don't know exactly what the letter said because, to my knowledge, it has not be posted. If that is true, the teacher did nothing wrong. As to the U-Haul, no one knows what personal items she had in the classroom. Maybe there was furniture that was bulky and wouldn't fit in the minivan. No one has seen or said what exactly was taken out of the classroom. Maybe the U-Haul was not empty prior to her going to the school. Maybe her husband works for U-Haul and they got it free and had to use it after normal hours. Maybe her husband works till 9:00 pm and that was the only time they could get her personal belongings. There are two many unanswered questions for anyone to know exactly what happened. People are accusing this teacher of stealing, stealing what? What does the police report say? Was anyone arrested?
Due to the questions around this situation and because of the tension in the community, the district should release a full accounting of this incident. If the teacher did nothing wrong, she is owed an apology from several people. And it should be a public apology just like the accusations were made public.

In a move so transparent even a ghost would be jealous, Bob McQuillan is suddenly the defender of Geneva teacher's everywhere? And instead of the FACTS, he's making it up as he goes along.

But, if nothing else, I'm magnanimous. So I'll encourage all the folks here who accused this teacher (we don't even know if actually was a teacher) of theft when Bob publicly apologizes for all the times D304 caught him an outright lie (and it's more than once), wasted our money by using unnecessary FOIA's as a weapon, and his utter failure to ever grow up.

C'mon! Fair is fair. At least I'm willing to admit when I'm harboring a middle school mentality.

Well said. Given that, should moving out while there are ongoing negotiations should be considered mistrustful?

John, please tell me why any teacher...or even 3-5 would need a Uhaul van to clear out their items. No way, no how...unless it was all of their homework from working on their Master's Degree and all of those awful papers they must grade each night. I thought since you spoke poorly to me, I would return the favor. Bottom line, and you're a fool if you feel otherwise, is that teacher knew there would be a strike. That in itself is wrong. I know teachers can access the building and each have their own passcode and I realize some do go in outside of school hours to work. I'd bet my life that this teacher wasn't doing anything school related at 10 PM w/a Uhaul truck. Again, C'MON!! We'll see who is on the police report..maybe it will be you! Oh, and Jeff looking out for the safety of the school? We should be thankful. Ever heard of Neighborhood Watch? It's a very successful program, John.

I think the High School had 5 LCD projectors worth over $1000 ea "walk away" last year.

Maybe...or maybe not

John, I appreciate your comments, really. I also understand what you say about Jeff's actions but I truly believe that most of us feel so very wronged by what has come to light in the last few months that we are just sick and tired of it all. I certainly am! I still think it's quite odd that a Uhaul truck was used because if I needed to clear my area out at work I know I could fit most of it in a medium box. Now, I also know that some teachers use their own money to supplement their classrooms to better our children, but even w/that a Uhaul? I too it all gets settled, but not at our expense. I feel the BOE has presented 2 offers that are superior, IMO, and now it just seems like a game being played. Again...soooo sick and tired. The worst part of all of this is that I'm not so sure how quickly the community and parents will forget this mess and the green shirts. Those should have never been worn for the students to stare at all day on Thursdays. If they want to wear them out in public or at board meetings, but not at school. That makes me lose a lot of respect for the teachers...no matter who they are. Have a nice weekend.