Rick Huss Needs to Go
Pottstown School Board President Rick Huss
POTTSTOWN, PA – It’s about time!
In today’s print and online editions of The Mercury, the sun has finally shown its blinding rays into the dark room where the Fiscally Irresponsible Five have been cowering among themselves for the past several months.
You can read the article (and watch the video) here.
Board member Thomas “I’m pretty familiar with the Sunshine Law” Hylton has been in violation of Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Law according to Melissa Melewsky, a Media Law Counsel with the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association and an expert in state Open Records Law and the Open Meetings Law, in reference to Hylton’s undeniable non-public meetings he held with fellow Neighborhood Schools Committee members Valerie Harris and Nat White.
A bouquet of thorns goes to Hylton, who, as a retired 20+ year Mercury employee, should have known better (a lot better). Where is Hylton’s ethics? Is it Hylton’s own unique purpose to lie to and cheat the taxpayers of Pottstown? This is the guy who ran on a platform of open government and placed an advertisement in The Mercury on his perceived Culture of Secrecy?? What a total and complete hypocrite! The only Culture of Secrecy is being spearheaded by Hylton and blessed by Board President Rick Huss.
The emails referenced in today’s Mercury article all point back to Board President Huss. Huss has obviously wore out his welcome in Pottstown. As a Pottstown School Board member for 14+ years, Huss really should have known better as well. For this reason, it’s time for him to go. Huss’ absence of ethics is inexcusable. And his communication skills stink too. Who voted this guy board president??
What leadership ability has Huss shown over his 14 year tenure? The fact that he knowingly held secret meetings at his Feist Avenue home, having only invited select members of the board, is failing behavior of a board president.
So what was Huss’ response to The Mercury for this article? Didn’t Huss want to share with us “happy people of Pottstown” the reasoning behind why he did what he did?? Yes – we’re all waiting with bated breath Rick. Oh pretty please…explain your reasoning behind your decisions. Tonight’s Committee of the Whole meeting offers you the perfect opportunity to publicly explain your actions.
What are the odds that Huss won’t attend tonight’s Committee of the Whole meeting? Who wants to wager that he can’t stand the heat he created in his own kitchen and won’t even attend?
The Fiscally Irresponsible Five (board members Hylton, Huss, Harris, White, and Dennis Wausnock) all need to be introduced to Pennsylvania’s legal system for their blatant acts of treason against the Pottstown taxpayers and voters who elected them.
What a complete and utter sham!
It’s time to show Rick Huss the door.
Rick Huss was approached weeks ago by a concerned citizen and questioned about his positions. Huss was also warned that the pressure was going to be steadily increased on him to modify his positions. That he would not be re-elected next time. That people would flood him with emails and phone calls, even picket his house. What was his response? He didn’t care. He snubbed the person. What’s that tell you??
Tells me he feels COMPLETELY protected by the voting block! Shows me that someone else’s arrogant attitude has rubbed off on him. Makes me feel sad for all the time he has spent on the SB keeping us from taking that ‘next step’ and stepping into the sunlight!!
Hope you, IF you attend, remember to pack your SPF 100+, Mr. Huss…the sun(shine) is closer that you think!
If a meeting had been held at the home of one of the board members who is NOT a member of the 5-member “preserve our 5 neighborhood schools” group, you can be sure that Mr. Hylton and Mr. Huss would be quite clear about their displeasure, and loudly accusing that group of violating the spirit and/or letter of the Sunshine Law! The point is: The way this was handled smells very, very bad.
Kudos to Mr. Hartman for bringing this to light and for standing up for what is right! I don’t know if he reads this blog, but someone please let him know that he is applauded for doing the right thing. Enough is enough….and he had the strength to do something about it.
look at all those big binders sitting on the desk in front of hylton. i bet he had 12 of those put together. figure on $50 per binder – per 100 pages. that’s easily $600. did hylton write himself a check from his trees account to pay for that? who authorized hylton to put all those binders together? did those approvals come up during a board meeting? or was that discussed over a couple of beers at huss’ house??
I never thought about that, angel…you are SOOO right?!? Those handy little discussion papers must have cost ‘someone’; I wonder who??? Who paid for the lengthy fax from PDE???
More important than all that is WHO,INDEED, gave him the authority to prepare such a ‘report’??? Did I miss where the WHOLE SB authorized the committee to begin an ‘in-depth’ study on this ‘idea’? When will this end…
A presentation of ideas and some broad strokes is one thing BUT this was a seminar on ‘The (square footage) Benefits of Sheer Genius, courteousy (your friend and mine) Czar Hylton’ with ‘nifty’ take home bags for some?!? In the spirit of Oscar, I do feel like I got a ‘good snow, I mean show’.
The plan is a slight variation from a plan presented to the SB about 5 years ago. The presentation indicated at that time that it was paid for by a private foundation. Anyone want to speculate who that private foundation was?
I think it’s now time to see the financial records of each of the school board members to determine where each of them got the money to run for office. As a citizen I want to know who funded all of their campaigns in the last election. They campaigned on transparency and openness, let the sunshine on their records!!
I agree with you jwl003. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough time and immediate action is required.
Tom Hylton is moving toward encumbering the citizens of Pottstown with 15 million dollar$ of debt by asking for a loan by April 1 (at least I think that is the amount, every time he talks it is a different number) without any notice of how the money will be paid back. Although I sound like a broken record…the Pottstown School District does not have the money – they will be $1 million short in the 2011-2012 budget – that is not speculation, it is a fact and all the sitting Board Members have been told. Adding additional debt is fiscally irresponsible and criminal (of course they are already criminal…maybe that is why it doesn’t matter to them).
The voting bloc must be stopped — they are acting against the law and are ethically bereft. Remember, these are the people that will also choose the next Superintendent. We need a very fast solution to get them out of office…NOW!
Here’s one for tonight’s meeting. Or the next time Adolph allows the plebes to speak:
If – PSD is forced to borrow $15,000,000.00.
And if – the terms are 20 years to pay back.
Then – the annual loan repayment will approach $1,000,000.00.
Since – there are 5 SB members who are drooling to do this deal.
And since – the homeowners cannot afford one more dollar in taxes.
Then – it seems only right that Hylton, Huss, Harris, White, and Wausnock should each agree to personally payback $200,000.00 per year for the next 20 years.
Meanwhile, maybe we could get our students to stand along the streets wearing sandwich boards reading: “WILL WORK FOR BOOKS”.
Since the parents are too lazy to go to SB meetings to protect their children’s education, maybe it’s time for our sincere students to PROTEST outside the Huss Private Party House !! That would make a nice photo op for the Mercury Photographer.
Minor correction…I think he wanted to get a 15yr bond…so they are each on the hook for a bit more!!
PLUS…the unkonown ‘X’ factor of the fees to borrow the money…trifles, just trifles…
Private Party House…I like it!! I think the party outside would be WAY more fun than the one inside, tragically for them – I suppose?!?