Feldmann: 'It's Been a Year of Board Bashing'

vice president Robert Feldmann called it “blowing off steam” during his comments at Monday night’s board meeting when he expressed his disappointment at the year in review.

“This has been a year of board bashing, no two ways about it,” Feldmann said. “Some of the things we’ve done haven’t sat well with the public.”

While Feldmann expressed his pleasure at seeing such a large slate of candidates running for the three open seats on the board, he appeared unhappy with some of the public comments they have made.

Feldmann quoted board candidate , who said in an earlier interview with Jefferson Patch, that she feels students in the district are getting a substandard education. Editor's Note: Feldmann did not quote Corrao by name, saying only that he had read the "substandard education" comment made by a "potential board member."

“A comment like that coming from a potential board member is completely out of line, in my opinion,” Feldmann said. “It’s a slap in the face to all the great teachers in Jefferson.”

Corrao clarified her comment.

“What I said was not meant as a knock against the teachers,” Corrao said. “I think the teachers don’t have all the resources they need, and we need to use the money we have to make sure the teachers, and therefore the students, are getting what they need.”

Feldmann further addressed rumors that he has heard.

“I’ve heard that one potential board member is going to bring back this teacher and get rid of that supervisor,” he said, adding emphatically, “The board does not run this district. She (pointing to superintendent Dr. Kathaleen Fuchs) does.”

Feldmann noted that, “transparency seems to be a buzzword in this election.

“I don’t know what we’ve kept from the general public,” he said. “We’ve tried to be honest, but unfortunately, sometimes the general public doesn’t want to accept our opinion.”

The was also on Feldmann’s agenda.

“We’ve beaten this issue to death, but I just don’t understand why we can’t get the point across that we’re better off owning a building than renting it.

“This is a bare bones project,” he continued. “We are all taxpayers in this town. We’re not going to give them carte blanche to do whatever they want.”

Finally, he spoke about running a school district.

“When the new board members go to their board member orientation, they will learn quickly how you have to respond to the running of a school district. The dos and don’ts become quite evident. May the best people win.”