Ord Talk

SCROLL DOWN FOR NEW UPDATES!

New updates will appear at the TOP of this page. If it gets too long I will start a new front page, but for now we'll leave this one go for awhile.

I have not yet received anything from Our Kids 1st but have pieced together what we can including a link to their website at the bottom of this page.

We received the following from Ellen Novak this morning and she asked us to put it up. Nothing from OurKids 1st but I am still hopeful, its a long way to Nov.

What is C.A.R.E. 5 hiding from voters and why are they trying to get taxpayer funding for their smear campaign?

Ord School Superintendent, Max Kroger received a request for a significant volume of records dated September 30, 2009 directly from Paul Dorr of Copperhead Consulting Services, a consultant for C.A.R.E. 5.

Paul Dorr undoubtedly knew the request would require the Ord School Staff to spend a considerable amount of time to fulfill this request. In fact C.A.R.E. 5 acknowledges that they anticipated several of the items might not even be currently available and that other records might take time to compile.

Because of the significant volume of documents requested, Max Kroger responded directly to Mr. Dorr, in the manner provided by Nebraska state statute.

When Ord Public Schools under Nebraska law told Paul Dorr the cost to gather the documents, he decided he did not want to pay.

C.A.R.E. 5 wants taxpayers to subsidize their campaign.

When Paul Dorr found out the cost of paying for the Ord School Superintendent and staff’s considerable time to gather the information he decided he objected and did not want to pay the full amount. He suggested the amount should be less than the cost and wants the taxpayers to pick up the difference.

C.A.R.E. 5 makes false charges.

Because they did not want to pay now CARE 5 has made false charges that Ord Schools are hiding something. Paul Dorr and CARE 5 have falsely accused Max Kroger and attacked Max and the Ord School Board. The truth is no records have been denied, nor information withheld. Paul Dorr and CARE 5 simply do not want to pay the full cost. They are in effect looking for a taxpayer subsidy.

Max Kroger and the Ord School System has followed Nebraska statutes in answering this request. Ord Schools is ready to spend the extensive time to locate and assemble the requested documents. The issue is whether Mr. Dorr and his consulting business, Copperhead Consulting Services, is willing to pay the charges provided for in Nebraska state statutes. If Mr. Dorr will pay the expenses the information will be provided. Included in his request Mr. Dorr asked for copies of emails addressed to numerous parties that stretch back for nearly one and a half years.

What is Paul Dorr Hiding?

Paul Dorr has refused to fully disclose the scope of his request for information. In fact he would rather mislead and disingenously downplay the amount of information he requested. Paul Dorr asks for public information and disclosure from the School administration but Paul Dorr asked that his request be hidden from the public. Plus in an email from C.A.R.E. 5 they attempt to downplay Paul Dorr’s control of their campaign. So its obvious that while Ord Schools is willing to disclose to the public – Paul Dorr is the one hiding.

Why is C.A.R.E. 5 Deceiving Ord voters?

Keep Paul Dorr’s outrageous actions and smear campaign in mind when you see further information from C.A.R.E. 5. Remember the deceptions put forward by Paul Dorr in this matter and judge whether he and C.A.R.E. 5 are talking about the true issues and what is important for our kids and our community’s future or is Paul Dorr simply a hired gun who could care less about the future of Ord. There is sure to be more lies and deceptions coming from Paul Dorr. Further, if you are willing, please make a donation to fight the underhanded negative campaign of Paul Dorr and C.A.R.E. 5. You can send donations to: Sandy Bartholomew, 206 S. 13th Street, Ord, NE 68862

Please feel free to forward this on to family and friends who care about the Ord School and our children.

If you would like to see for yourself the extensive request made by Paul Dorr go to our website: www.ourkids1st.com

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What is the Ord School Administration hiding from voters and why are they hiding behind a $700 fee?

We are the CARE #5 committee of Ord and we’ve asked the district for some public records to help us get clear, straight-forward information out to you voters - leading up to the $9,800,000 school bond election!

We do not anticipate that they will have several of the items we asked for, but we asked simply to confirm that. Other records may take a couple of hours to pull together. Most of the records are relative to the proposed school project and are likely sitting in a file on top of the Superintendent’s desk. The total request of photocopied records should not be over 75 pages.

We are prepared to pay a fair price. At $0.10 a page for the photocopy charge plus two hours of staff work, it shouldn’t cost more than $40 for these records – a fee we are willing and pleased to pay the school district. More so, consider our request in the following context.

When voters asked school administrators for similar public records in Ponca and Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca, Nebraska school districts those administrators charged nothing to provide the records. Throughout the Midwest, the few small districts who do charge - have charged up to $75. Yet, the estimated charge Superintendent Max Kroger has quoted our committee representative is $700, not $70 but $700!

Something smells fishy! Why are they trying to punish voters by making access to routine records so prohibitive?

What don’t they want Ord voters to see? Keep this outrage in mind when your ballot arrives in the mail. Further, if you are willing, please call Superintendent Kroger (Ph 308-728-5013) and ask him what it is he is hiding. If he says, “Nothing!”, then insist he charge a fair fee for these records.

Also remind him - if our kids are supposed to be taught to play fair during recess and play by the rules in football or volleyball, how are they going to learn by his example? Shouldn’t he practice what he preaches?

If he refuses, then you’d better start looking for what they are hiding!

Please feel free to forward this on to family and friends who care about the Ord School and our children.

For More Information Contact: 728-7920 or caredist5@gmail.com

Paid for by Citizens’ Association for Responsible Education committee 81161 466th Ave., Ord, NE 68862

UPDATE

CARE #5 needs to apologize. We never intended to send our recent email out open courtesy copy for everyone to see your e-mail address. (Not all were sent open courtesy copy, but many were.) We send these out as if they are public mailing. Any one email address on our list does not imply support for our cause. Your support we hope to earn. Meanwhile, the removal notice at the bottom makes it possible for all who no longer wish to receive this mail, to be removed from the list. Again we apologize and will not make that technical mistake again.

UPDATE

Meanwhile, the CARE #5 committee challenges you to consider the disingenuousness of Superintendent Kroger's recent reply to our e-mail.

He tries vainly to divert the issue over to the consultant we have employed. This is not about Paul Dorr, this is about members of the Ord community being denied access to some rudimentary records unless, that is, we are willing to be fleeced! Our consultant made it clear that he wrote the letter to Mr. Kroger on our behalf. In the second paragraph he wrote, "To that end, could you, as custodian of public records for Ord Public School, provide C.A.R.E. #5 with the following information..." Off the list (number 7) he wrote, "CARE #5 would like a copy of...." On number 9 he wrote, CARE #5 would like a copy of any..." Number 11 he wrote, "CARE #5 would also like the name..." In the last paragraph he wrote "CARE #5 thanks you in advance...."

It was clear by this letter our consultant was employed by CARE #5 and was asking for these records on our behalf. He even provided a CARE #5 officer name and phone number if Kroger needed to confirm his employment with us.

Yet, in response Superintendent Kroger wrote, "...Mr. Dorr and his firm are objecting to paying for the cost that Ord Public Schools would incur in providing them the information." Later he wrote, "..the issue is whether Mr. Dorr and his consulting business, Copperhead Consulting Services, is willing to pay the statutorily authorized charge ." That's like saying "the" reason we need to waste nearly $10 million on a new school building is because of the Fire Marshal's report! Max Kroger is making this up. Mr. Dorr isn't objecting as Mr. Dorr's firm never directly requested them, nor agreed to pay for them. Local Ord voters want these records. We object to being fleeced and that is why we sent out the e-mail Tuesday.

Have we submitted to the District's fleecing before? Yes we have, as we had little knowledge of this process before nor how fair so many other small school districts in Nebraska and the Midwest have been to very similar requests. Candidly our budget is limited, we can't afford it anymore and we recognize that if the Ord school administration can get away with fleecing us that the average taxpayer in Ord stands little chance of getting basic information from them anymore. Accessibility to records, which we pay for with our property and income taxes, are being "locked up" in the 'vault of unaffordable fees' to the general public.

But Kroger compounds the deceit by implication when he writes, "I do not believe that the school district, nor the taxpayers, should foot the bill for responding to the requests of a person or group that do not directly benefit our students." Neither do we! So who is asking you to do that Max? Not us. As our e-mail said, "We are prepared to pay a fair price." We also take offense at how he implies CARE #5's interest in this election does "...not directly benefit our children." We think our involvement better benefits the community's children than his extravagant plan and are preparing to illustrate that to the community.

Finally, Max refers to the "...significant volume of documents requested" and writes "the time of locating and assembling the responsive documents will be extensive." Keep in mind who is making these assertions! It is the man who will be heavily involved in spending your $9,800,000.

Why is this not an extensive process for other small Nebraska and Midwest schools? We have every confidence in the professionalism of the District's office staff. We asked Kroger for a break-down of the estimated time it would take and the copy expense. He hasn't given us an answer! Isn't there a ready calculation sheet demonstrating how he arrived at $700?

There is no way they need this much time, when other small Nebraska districts do not. Why are nearly identical requests not considered a "significant volume" by other rural school districts? Why do many schools charge nothing, many charge no more than $75 and yet, Max insists we need to spend $700!

We are convinced he is hiding something. But you can call and ask him yourself. His number is 728-5013.

If Kroger is going to manipulate the truth and try to waste $700 of our money, ask yourself what he will do if you hand him $9,800,000.

CARE #5

Paid for by CARE #5, 8161 466th Ave, Ord, NE 68862