Waukesha School DIstrict Tackles Le'veon Bell

By Jeff Simpson

The Wonderful City of Waukesha!   We have pointed out before, that while Waukesha seems to currently be running our state, that is NOT a good thing!  

Well, Waukesha is at it again, this time via their local school district.

Ava Tarantino, a local high school junior is (for some reason) a major Pittsburgh Steelers fan and by default a fan of their best player Le'Veon Bell. 

One of the benefits of this era of social media, is you are a computer keyboard away from contacting your heroes.    Ms. Tarantino did just that and reached out via twitter!

 Le'Veon Bell‏

Verified account @L_Bell26  Mar 11

Le'Veon Bell Retweeted Ava Tarantino

600 & it's a deal

Le'Veon Bell added,

Ava Tarantino 

@L_Bell26 500 rts and you'll go to prom w me

69 replies1,451 retweets2,178 likes

 

 

Ms, Tarantino ended up with over 1500 retweets and as Mr, Bell put it: 

Le'Veon Bell‏Verified account @L_Bell26  Mar 11

welllll, a deal is a deal @avatarantino26 ......see youu at your prom

 
A deal is a deal and all is well that ends well.  A local junior asks her celebrity hero to her junior prom, he says yes and she gets to have one of the most memorable experiences of her lifetime.  

A quick disclaimer, Mr. Bell, obviously posted 600 retweets without truly thinking it through and once he did, decided he would live up to his deal and enjoy the moment.   Mr. Bell had already made plans to bring his mother with him and his fiance was going to join him also and do Ms. Tarantino's makeup.   

What a great experience and fun for all.   Including the rest of the attendees of Prom who can say they were at the same Prom as an NFL Superstar.   

This feel good story even made national headlines.     

However there was one glitch,  Waukesha School District will not let him attend.   

Waukesha School District spokeswoman Terry Schuster said Bell could attend the public events with 17-year-old Waukesha West junior Ava Tarantino, but she said district policy bars from the dance guests who have been involved in drug, alcohol or violent criminal incidents.
"You can Google Mr. Bell," Schuster said, an apparent allusion to the 2014 incident that earned Bell a two-game suspension. District policy also bars guests who are older than 19.
Bell, 25, has completed his probation program related to those transgressions. He’s also served not one but two suspensions related to the incident. (He missed time in early 2016 after missing subsequent drug tests.)

 While Ms. Schuster's "google him" comment, was incredibly unprofessional, I decided to take her up on that!

A quick google search tells me that you allowed Wild Bill Kramer to visit an elementary class of all places!  

Ok I get it, he was a predator who was finally jailed for his actions, but he was your elected rep, so you let him around the kids.  Hopefully someone was with him at all times!

Maybe it is the fact that it is a high profile athlete with a well publicized past that makes you nervous in terms of the publicity you would receive by his being involved at your school.

Well a quick check of the "google" look what I found!

Mark Chmura, a former Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl tight end and now the tight ends coach at Waukesha West,

I guess a city that voted overwhelmingly for this guy, does not find sexual assault to be as egregious as smoking marijuana.  

Or perhaps there is a difference that is causing the change of heart that I just can not see:

Nah! Couldn't be.   

Support Ms Tarantino in having a memorable Prom with people doing good deeds not one where she remembers the paranoia!  

Contact the school and tell them to stop blocking Le'veon Bell! 

Gray, Todd

Superintendent Lindholm Administration Building

(262) 970-1010

tgray@waukesha.k12.wi.us

And the School Board!  

• 

  Barbara Brzenk, Vice President

  1903B Springbrook North
  Waukesha, WI 53186
  (262) 896-0956
  E-Mail Address: bbrzenk@waukesha.k12.wi.us

  Term Expires: 2017

• 

  William Baumgart

  612 Elk Lane
  Waukesha, WI 53188
  (262) 547-2854
  E-Mail Address: wbaumgar@waukesha.k12.wi.us

  Term Expires: 2019

• 

  Joseph Como, Jr., President

  331 S. Greenfield Avenue
  Waukesha, WI 53186
  (262) 524-8639
  E-Mail Address: jcomo@waukesha.k12.wi.us

  Term Expires: 2017

• Greg Deets

  612 Minaka Dr
  Waukesha, WI 53186
  (262) 544-9715
  E-Mail Address: gdeets@waukesha.k12.wi.us

  Term Expires: 2019

• 

  Patricia Madden, Clerk

  317 Cheviot Chase, #2
  Waukesha, WI 53186
  (262) 896-1744
  E-Mail Address: pmadden@waukesha.k12.wi.us

  Term Expires: 2018

• • 

    Patrick McCaffery

    1010 Belmont Drive
    Waukesha, WI 53186
    (262) 524-8254
    E-Mail Address: pmccaffe@waukesha.k12.wi.us

    Term Expires: 2018

  • 

    Kurt O'Bryan, Treasurer

    W251 S4439 Oakview Dr.
    Waukesha, WI 53189
    (262) 549-6439
    Email Address: kobryan@waukesha.k12.wi.us

    Term Expires: 2018

  • 

    Karin Rajnicek

    W220 S3864 Crestview Dr.
    Waukesha, WI 53189
    (262) 574-7677      
    Email Address:krajnice@waukesha.k12.wi.us

    Term Expires: 2017

  • Amanda Roddy

    100 E Main Street, #206
    Waukesha, WI 53186
    (262) 470-0058
    E-Mail Address: aroddy@waukesha.k12.wi.us

    Term Expires: 2019

Scenes From An Education Convention

Last week, Scott Walker returned to Milwaukee County to speak to a convention of school administrators, board members and business managers. He came to boast of his so-called reforms (remember: reforms can be negative as well as positive) to Wisconsin's educational system.

One problem though. He forgot to include the state's top educator in his plans:

An Evers spokesman said he hadn't been apprised of the package of reforms before they were released on Thursday.

"Policy and legislation are two different things. I'm a little bit in the dark on the legislative piece," Evers said.

Evers released a statement saying that while he worked in a "collaborative spirit" on various reform-oriented initiatives, he wasn't involved in the creation of Walker's plan.

"Despite my leadership in these arenas and constitutional authority, I have not been involved in the drafting of the education proposals that have been announced. Clearly, it is essential to see the details of this proposed legislation and ensure they match the intent and spirit of all the work that so many groups and individuals put into improving schools and academic achievement for all students in Wisconsin," he said in the statement.

As one might suspect, I knew someone who was in attendance at the convention.

My friend gave me some insight that was not reported in any of the traditional mainstream media venues.

For example, Walker was very much on edge and looked like "a scared little boy." (Was this Walkergate or just the fact that he knew they knew he was going to implode the educational system?)

Walker also said, "I don't want to talk about the past." Heh, my guess is he doesn't want to talk about the present or the future too much either.

My friend also had the, um, "opportunity" to experience the wit and wisdom of Karin Rajnicek, the clueless school board member from Waukesha.

Rajnicek takes her job very seriously, even if she apparently doesn't understand quite what her job is. She said that she spends her day wandering "around the halls of the schools keeping an eye on the teachers."  I don't know, but maybe she's a wannabe correction officer?

Rajnicek also appears not to do as well without a teleprompter to read from.  She couldn't iterate the points that she made in her commercial, much less show an understanding of what she is about to face when they look at next year's budget.

But she was able to complain that the hot lunches at the schools she oversees are so bad that she would only let her kids have one three times a month.  The irony of that sentence cannot be overstated.