“Fed Up With Tom”
POTTSTOWN, PA – That was the exasperated phrase uttered at the conclusion of last night’s Pottstown School Board Committee of the Whole meeting by School Board President Rick Huss.
And doesn’t Mr. Huss’ words ring true for 99.9% of the population of Pottstown?
We’ve been fed up with Tom Hylton for a long long time…and believe us…there are much better things we’d like to be doing that being a watchdog for his wacky tax-increasing quality of life damaging stunts.
Last night’s meeting was a long one. Our sources tell us that the best part of the meeting was at the very end, when Tom “Grandstand” Hylton announced his intention to close 10 modular units (which he plans to detail at the June 17 general board meeting – and most likely after several more Mercury infomercialatorials). His latest scheme was met with disdain and caution by several of the other board members. Michele Pargeon chided Hylton and stated that the district needs to consolidate as we can no longer sustain five elementary schools and that closing the mods would increase class sizes that are already increasing due to teaching positions lost with the budget. Polly Weand and Robert Hartman echoed those sentiments. Huss told Hylton that his plan was “all wet” and that he has done nothing thus far to help the children of the district. Huss also told Hylton that he needs to settle down and start working with the other board members.
Huss is absolutely correct. As everyone knows, there’s no “I” in team (hint hint Tom).
Since Hylton took office last year, just what, exactly, has he done to better the educational environment for our children?
Absolutely nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
The only plan Tom Hylton can seem to focus on involves two things: himself and old buildings.
It’s time for Tom Hylton to put aside Tom Hylton’s personal agenda and start acting on behalf of the children and their overtaxed parents whom he was elected to represent.
Perhaps my comments I left on another post would be better suited for this one. I’ll copy and paste it so the message is not lost.
‘Our lesson for today, class, is on Grandstanding.
When someone is said to be “grandstanding,” it means that he or she is putting on an ostentatious performance with the goal of impressing people, and that the performance includes a great deal of exaggeration. Essentially, someone is putting on a show when he or she is grandstanding, often to the detriment of the message that he or she is trying to convey. A wide number of people can be accused of grandstanding; generally, any public figure who abuses his or her position to get a point across may be considered to be grandstanding, and private citizens who indulge in a bit of hyperbole may also find themselves accused of grandstanding.
The term references a grandstand, a large amphitheater used for performances. The idea is that when people perform in an amphitheater, they are forced to over-act so that they can be seen by people in the upper levels; without being extremely vocal and obvious, the nuances of the performance might be miss. When someone is accused of grandstanding, it means that a show is being put on which is perhaps a bit too excessive for the venue.
Often, grandstanding involves a great deal of exaggeration, often out of a genuine desire to promote a cause with passion. Grandstanding techniques can also be used in an attempt to intimidate people; for example, a prosecutor might grandstand in the hopes of cowing a witness on the stand, or to encourage a suspect to consider making a plea, rather than going to court.
Political grandstanding in particular can be quite dangerous, especially when a talented orator uses exaggerated techniques to get a point across. It is often easy to sway the will and ideas of the public with a few well-chosen words, so a politician could have undue influence over a situation simply by speaking well, and grandstanding tactics could be used to push citizens into a particular opinion, rather than allowing them to draw their own conclusions.
It can be easy to slip into grandstanding, especially when you are talking about something that you feel passionately about. Especially when you’re given a chance to prepare remarks for an event, read the remarks over first, and ask yourself how you would feel if you heard those words coming from someone else. If they seem appropriate to the setting and cause, the remarks will probably be received well, but if they seem a bit ostentatious and elaborate, you might want to tone them down so that you are not accused of grandstanding.’
‘This lesson expresses the personal views of Pottstown Guy and does not represent the views of any organization with which he is affiliated.’
Class is in session:
What this suggests to me is that this elected official is HAPPY to bring about turmoil and controversy just when there seemed to be a point of calm water on the horizon. He is the rock that tries to skip along the surface…no matter how many times it skips one thing is certain – IT WILL SINK!!!
IF this is the approach this I-ndividual must take (presumably to sleep better at night?) then it is true he is the I clearly NOT in the word TEAM.
Each SB member is a fraction of the WHOLE SB…they are 1/9th of it’s brain and policy making charge. So…9/9 = 1 WHOLE but when 1/9 is counterproductive or self-serving they can never be a unified (should I say consolidated) intersection of thoughts and ideas.
A little science, spelling and math – now do your home work, sir – this is a graded group project!!
Here endth the lesson.
Here’s another lesson that I’d like to be able to teach Mr. Hylton:
Every job – and I mean EVERY job… be it paid, volunteer, or elected – has three parts to it:
The TECHNICAL part… that is basically KNOWLEDGE and SKILL. You can be the most intelligent, most skilled person in the world and still not be able to do your JOB well, if you don’t have some success in the the other parts.
The SALES part… this involves different things in different jobs. When it comes to retail, it’s obvious. When it comes to things like public service, running a public school system, it might mean being able to obtain consensus for the plan that you were able to dream up due to your highly honed TECHNICAL skills. Even if you are great at sales – having access to and the ability to manipulate media outlets, being able to pay for slick brochures, etc., you might not be really good at your JOB if you don’t also have the TECHNICAL skills and – last but not least…
The INTERPERSONAL part. This means PLAYING WELL WITH OTHERS. Knowing how to get along. Making people feel good about themselves (and to feel good about you as a by-product – not the primary focus).
You might be brilliant (TECHNICAL)….
You might be king of infomercialtorials (SALES)….
If you can’t play well with others (INTERPERSONAL), you can end up a complete and total, utter failure.
Is it too late to teach an old dog a new trick? Is it even worth trying after so many, many, many bridges have been burned?
Kudos to Pres. Huss for publicly putting Tom Hilton in his place, simply by voicing the obvious truth. I cannot imagine how frustrating Hylton’s constant obstructionism is for the rest of the Board, the District Administration, and the staff.
I also can’t imagine what Tom Hylton has in mind with this latest half-baked scheme. What is easier to imagine is the reason why he doesn’t follow established procedures and bring his great idea up to the Facilities committee for discussion before bringing it to the entire Board.
Hylton is clearly grandstanding so as to attempt to gather public support for prospective board members for next year’s election who will blindly follow him. That is the only way he can regain his power over the Board and the District.
Fortunately, as a result of blogs like this, and word of mouth, the voters of Pottstown are slowly learning the truth about Mr. Hylton’s motives. The Disarray that followed the last election, which prevented the Board from making any progress for several months, just hurt everyone – the District, the children, and the tax payers. Let’s hope the voters have learned their lessen and NOT support “Hylton candidates” in next year’s election.
WAYFTP, you may a VERY good point. Tom will NEVER learn the last lesson about personableness, and working as a team member. It just isn’t in his nature. And while you are correct in that that will prevent him from succeeding, it will NOT prevent him from disrupting everyone else’s progress. He is good at the first two points. He uses his knowledge and writing skills to his advantage, and he’s got the “sales” part down pat. However he uses all of these skills to disrupt. That is what he has been doing for years behind the scenes at the Borough and with respect to any economic development effort for Pottstown.
For the reason you state, Tom will NEVER succeed in seeing any of his plans to fruition except for one. That is his plan to constantly disrupt and kill any progress in Pottstown that does not support his “master scheme”, whatever that may be.
Yes, a huge KUDOS to President Huss for saying exactly what needed to be said. It’s wonderful to hear that he is taking ownership of his Board. Enough is enough already but sadly, I think the tricks are far from over. There’s still a lot of time left in Tom’s term to endure.
WAYFTP – another excellent posting. I am an avid fan of your comments and profound breakdowns. We really need to find a way to get together for a cup of coffee and chat sometime.
FoP – I sure hope you are correct in saying the voters are slowly learning the truth. It would be a damn shame for him to get another majority hold on any governing body in this town EVER again!
‘This opinion expresses the personal views of Pottstown Guy and does not represent the views of any organization with which he is affiliated.’
Maybe this is an example of what drives Mr. Hylton. I found this on the blog “Renovate or Replace Community Schools? “ posted by Eric Fredericks on Feb 12, 2008 “… On a more local level Tom got five members of the school board booted off when they planned on shutting down five of Pottstown’s schools in order to build an 1800 student mega-box for elementary school age children. The new board supporting renovating the neighborhood schools came on with an 82% plurality vote.” All of this seems to be used to promote his lecture circuit. Granted this is in 2008, but I really believe this could be the core of his obsession. What he does in Pottstown is fodder for his speaking engagements.
I would like to add, Mr. Hylton is involved with trees, he is not an arborist, he is on the planning commission, is not a civil engineer or a contractor, and examining in detail the school budget, is not an accountant. He is a well qualified journalist.
east1ender, you are absolutely, unequivocally correct.
TH is a well qualified journalist, but don’t forget to add campaign manager and spin-doctor to his list of talents.
Interesting spin you cite, East1Ender…. What made the centers concept of THREE buildings on a single campus a “mega-box?” Oh – wait! I know! The fact that it wasn’t what Tom Hylton wanted made it whatever sounded the most evil and nefarious! Next thing you know, we’ll be educating students in an abandoned Wal-Mart.
Pottstown Guy… How do you know we haven’t had coffee already?