Editorial: Who Gets The Blame?
The budget is bunk, but who's blunder is it?
So there I was, sitting on my balcony, soaking up the Florida sun, not sure whether to believe these stories about a winter storm reaching us on the Emerald Coast, when Holly handed me the latest issue of the Tecumseh Herald. “Let’s see what our friends are up to” I said, cracking the paper open like my grandfather used to. The front page was as milquetoast as could be expected. A few pages in, my heart sank.
Like many of you, I read David’s article, then read Anthony’s coverage of the meeting, then went to Facebook to snoop on what folks were saying in the groups. It was the usual range of comments, anywhere between “vote them all out!” to “I didn’t read the article but I’m angry!”. That’s when I saw it. The comment to summarize all comments. The excuse to cover all excuses. The mentality of this district for the past eight years, summarized by one of their own.
Avoiding Accountability
Mary Tommelein is a recently retired board member, and former school counselor. So many of my students loved to tell me about trick-or-treating at her house because apparently her treats were among the best. I hate to pick on Mary here, but when we publish comments on social media, they become subject to scrutiny. Her comment below somehow represents every single excuse that we have heard from the TPS administration, in which she was a part, since the 2018 recall. It is breathtakingly tone-deaf and worth unpacking as it covers all the likely excuses you will hear in the coming months.
Ignoring for the moment Mary’s belief that the Herald is a free publication, is she suggesting that the Herald is an extension of Tecumseh Public Schools? It has been rumored before, but never confirmed. I am joking, of course. David Panian is an excellent journalist and not at all affiliated with the district. Still, why does she mention “increasing transparency” as though the district should take credit for his work?
Mary then states that the problem is already being solved since Mr. Lenar is looking through the books. You’ll hear this excuse from many in the administration in the coming weeks. While we’re all certainly grateful for Mr. Lenar at this point, he is only here to solve one problem: knowing how much money we actually have. We still have the problems of 1) how did we miss this and 2) how can we afford this?
Mary then goes on to say that schools all over Michigan are struggling. She’s partially right, some of our neighboring districts are struggling with enrollment. Unfortunately, TPS is the only district continually causing our own struggles. Bungling the budget was an unforced error that other districts aren’t dealing with. Once again, it’s just Tecumseh.
The next excuse we see is that, “things happen” in life. I’ve heard this same excuse from others on the board. The administration is just a victim of an unpredictable, chaotic world. And yet, if we are to compare ourselves to neighboring districts, why does Tecumseh seem to always be the victim? Why did we pay Kelli Glenn a six figure salary to prevent these “things” from happening if they keep happening?
Finally, she states that it’s a hard job to keep up with the ever-changing process of school financing. It’s hard for me to keep up with the ever-changing process of defense contracts, and yet I do, because it’s my job. I once spent an entire day chasing down $2 that went missing on a $15m contract. Mary might have used this excuse to console her former students about a tough math quiz, but it does not work in the real world.
Finger Pointing
We may find that every budget problem traces back to the former DOO Kelli Glenn. Even if that were true, is it fair to rest all the blame on one person? If I handed my five year-old niece the keys to my car, is it all her fault when she plows it into my neighbor’s house? Kelli was clearly in over her head. People noticed, people spoke up, but it fell on deaf ears. At my company, we always say “process, not people” when it comes to blame. If the right process was in place, we’d have identified Kelli’s mismanagement and possibly prevented this mess.
Facebook groups stir with resentment for “the board”. Can we blame them? While not all members sit on the finance committee, Trustee Simpson has led it since I can remember. Board president Lewis was recently on the committee even though he admitted his financial experience was as a teacher who only balanced a checkbook. Unlike Kelli Glenn or Matt Hilton, board members are elected. If we blame the board, we must also blame ourselves.
Those angry at the direction of the board must accept that its three longest-serving members (Simpson/Lewis/Brooks) received the highest vote count in the 2024 election. The majority of Tecumseh, like our friend Mary Tommelein, believe we’re doing the best we can, weathering yet another storm, always right around the corner from recovery. So we can blame board members if we want, or blame the whole board, but Tecumseh keeps voting for them.
Perhaps there are questions we should be asking of the entire administration rather than seeking to put all the blame on a single entity. I noticed a comment on Anthony’s recent meeting notes that I thought summarized this best:
How did we not ask harder questions? Did BOE ever question the decisions rolling out of little committees? Who is critically examining all expenditures? Isn’t this the sups job.
-Shellie Moore
I can answer the question about examining expenditures. Years ago, when then-superintendent Hilderley had Joe McInchak’s job on the chopping block, two strangers both spoke publicly at that meeting offering to give their finances a look. The first stranger was Heather McGee. McGee’s offer was ignored, which likely contributed to her successful run for a board seat. She then used her position on the board to raise her concerns.
The second stranger was me. My offer was also ignored by the board, but I did meet with Glenn to better understand what she was dealing with. We had a wonderful conversation, but she stopped all contact after I sent her this email:
I quickly realized that no one was examining expenditures. At the meeting I referred to in my email, Trustee Lewis reassured Ms. Glenn that no one was questioning her expertise, while other board members reminded McGee that we need to “trust the experts”. Glenn may not have been the best at her job, but in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Trust, it seems, was misplaced.
The Buck Stops At The Top
I once spoke with Mr. Hilton in his office about the sinking fund we hoped to pass. I was a candidate at the time, so I asked him how to address concerns in the community that the funds would be mismanaged. He told me to assure voters that he would personally oversee how the funds were spent and, even though they may not agree with his priorities, he would be as transparent as possible. As far as the sinking funds go, I believe he’s kept to his word so far. While I’m inclined to give him a pass for his role in the blunder, three problems arise.
The first problem is that a former Director of Elementary Education is only as good as his advisors when it comes to matters of finance specifically. If his Director of Operations says that guessing is the best she can do, and the board that holds his fate in their hands tells him to trust the DOO, what else can he do? Who can question what they don’t understand?
The second problem is his expectations for himself and those under him. At a salary close to $200k/year, one would expect him to understand the budget enough to know that line items can’t be vague, and monthly reports are mandatory. By his own words, a director is responsible for the finances of their operation. I would give him a full “rookie” pass on his inexperience if he had not preached to others about accountability for misconduct.
The final problem is culture. I liked Hilton at first because I liked what he said about the importance of culture in his initial interview. The honeymoon phase is over now, and the results are in. The resentment in this administration for anyone outside of preferred circles is shameful. It was shameful long before he accepted the role, but after two years, he owns it now. Whether he is part of it or powerless to stop it makes little difference at this point.
Conclusion
In the clip above, you can see Hilton’s secretary, Veronica Moore (in the pink, walking towards and away from the mixer board) purposefully muting board comment immediately following a closed session. This happened at the last meeting on January 25th. In the last meeting I attended, press tables were flipped upside down to prevent Anthony from sitting in the press section. They know that this blog is the only publication keeping them accountable.
There’s plenty of blame to go around, and I am certain that it will go around. At the end of the day, the buck stops with Hilton. He must now choose whether to continue spinning his way out of this mess, or call for a forensic audit and let the chips fall where they may. If Hilton truly is a “culture guy” like I believed him to be, it’s time we start seeing results, not muted audio.