Posted: Monday, August 6, 2012 6:00 am | Updated: 3:46 pm, Fri Aug 3, 2012.
Have you ever opened a piece of mail that gave you a chill and crept into your nightmares?Well, that happened to me last month and from the most unlikely of places. I received a letter from the insurance company that holds a policy with the Morrisville School District to cover school board members from personal liability while fulfilling their duties as a school board director.
I had to sit down. I am being sued by a division of the federal government, Head Start, Inc. My mind flashes forward to a collage of needy, underweight, sunken-eyed Oliver Twist street urchins with outstretched arms holding a tin cup asking for "More please."
Hey. I served as a Morrisville School Board director from December 2007 to December 2011. I was instrumental in stopping the new school which most residents agree would have bankrupt our town. It was a volunteer position and, even though I received a stipend of $250 bucks, I donated every penny to charity. My efforts helped to significantly reduce taxes in 2008 and 2009 and kept taxes stable in 2010 and 2011. I lost last November's election to the Morrisville Matters members because they promised to lower school taxes for senior citizen homeowners and to reopen Manor Park School for young parents who did not want their children bused across town. How quickly voters forget.
Serving your community on a school board that pays zero could never put you at risk for personal liability, right? Wrong! I have a judgement filed against me in Doylestown that is affecting my credit. Head Start is asking for over $300,0000 from prior and present Morrisville School Board directors.
Sure, I could whip out my check book and write Head Start a check for $22,000. After that the federal government would have to feed, clothe, and house me.
I devoted my time, energy, heart and soul to the people of Morrisville. Why would anyone in their right mind want to follow in my footsteps?
Marlys Mihok
Morrisville Borough
91 comments:
Before they terminated Head Start's lease of Manor Park, Marlys told me she and the board were "on it". They were "on it" all right.
At this point, she's used 3 different dollar amounts. She said $18,000 in her public comments at the 7/18 meeting. I think she said 16,000 on her way out of the 7/18 meeting. Now she's using $22,000.
Can you at least settle on 1 number?
Would you rather have the taxpayers of Morrisville be liable for your inability to evaluate and comprehend the terms of a lease?
Marlys' footsteps are the footsteps of a bull(y) in a China Shop. No one should follow in them.
Ha! Enjoy court. Don't forget to thank your lawyers, Marlys.
Here's where the bully turns into a sniveling victim.
Wow. That karma just ran over your dogma in a major way. Serves you right, Marlys. You preyed on the fears of seniors and bullied your way through thirty years of McCarthyism. Time to pay up.
Wasn't it former Congressman-former solicitor-current Congressman Michael G. Fitzpatrick Esq. (R-PA 08)the lawyer who provided the Head Start legal advice?
haha Marlys what a joke. for someone who cant figure out why anyone would want to be on the board or follow in your footsteps why are you trying to get back on so bad and fill the seats with your cronies. get your facts straight and man up to what you and your team started. your fellow cronies dont seem to worried bout this $, why are you? and you sure have many of them stil on the board and tried to get your other one back on at the last meeting. or are you just trying to deter anyone from running in 2013 ? hmm sounds like that might be your only ploy, try try try marlis but you have been beat, replaced and tossed to the curb no matter how hard to you try to crawl back onto it you have been had and so is your team and jane might as well give up casue nobody is interested in running under your mess
Nobody who comes onto the board now or came on the board in 12/2011should be personally liable. They had nothing to do with this. Depending on timing Steve Worob and Ruthrauff too. They probably would have fallen in line and supported it though.
This should be on the board members directly involved with ending that lease. Would love to know what advice the lawyer and the Business Manager gave them and if they ignored it.
Will court proceedings be public???
I would love to attend.
Attention passengers: The last of the rats are abandoning the sinking ship. Let's see how many SOC cronies who aren't named in the lawsuit stand up to defend their actions.
I don't remember the details of how this went down. When they (SOC) said they wanted to break the contract, did Fitz (and/or his firm) advise them otherwise and they chose to ignore the advice? Or did he say they could/should do it?
If they ignored the advice of legal counsel then this is all them.
If, however, their counsel said it was ok to do then it seems that Fitz and Co should be on the hook.
Either way, Head Start seems to have a legitimate case. You can't break a contract without ramifications. Question is, against whom do (should) they have a case?
"Karma moves in two directions. If we act virtuously, the seed we plant will result in happiness. If we act non-virtuously, suffering results."
~Sakyong Mipham
Good thing they kicked them out so they could... ummm... do something... with...
Wait, what is it that they did with that building?
Good thing we evicted HS. Otherwise we would've continued collecting rent on that now-vacant space. We wouldn't want that.
"Either way, Head Start seems to have a legitimate case. You can't break a contract without ramifications. Question is, against whom do (should) they have a case?"
Anyone not on the board when this occurred should NOT be included in the lawsuit.
In my mind (pea-brain that it is), anyone that voted AGAINST breaking the contract should also be excluded from the lawsuit. Anyone know if any fall into this category?
I just want to know how you have a judgement when it hasn't even gone to trial. I'm no lawyer but you have to have a trial first right?
wish manor park could reopen but it was just left to run down over the past four years and would take millions to reopen what a shame Thanks again SOC
Good posts, Peter. Same things I was thinking. The Business Meeting where I think the Board had some sort of vote on the Manor Park lease (March 24 or 31, 2010 - not sure which date is correct, but the associated agenda meeting was March 17) is not posted on the district's website. It's just about the only one that's missing from the 2009-10 school year. Hmmmmmm.
Currently, official public opinion is overwhelmingly in Marlys' favor, 2-0. The devil is in the details, which they don't know and Marlys left out.
2 comments:
Independentvoter2 posted at 1:37 pm on Mon, Aug 6, 2012.
Posts: 600
I agree with woodsplitter. I don't know if this director was a Republican or Democrat, but unless they knowingly did something to violate law and put the township at risk, they should not be held personally liable. I find it appalling that the federal government would allow someone to lose money over something they did for free.
This is why government corruption exists. Why would anyone with any sense of service read this article and still want to participate as a politician? Only people with alternative motives wants to involve themselves in this mess. This is a disgrace and I wish this person luck in solving their problem.
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Woodsplitter posted at 12:15 pm on Mon, Aug 6, 2012.
Posts: 163
The devil's in the details, but on the surface this could be chilling for those interested in community service. This is especially troubling as it implies that the Federal government, the most powerful and politicized institution on earth, gets a pass.
This begs for an investigation and explanation in a credible news piece.
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where did those last two posts come from that sounds like Steve W
"The devil's in the details, but on the surface this could be chilling for those interested in community service."
It should, and I hope it does, put a chill onto the type of community service Mihok and Worob provide. Self-promoting, self-righteous, self-congratulating rabid partisan hacks who never take responsibility for their own blatant screw ups like this. Self-proclaimed community watchdogs effing up royally, then crying like babies when there are consequences.
Blame the big bad Federal Goverment this time. That's a good dog whistle. The big, bad Federal Government would be foolish and wasteful not try to recover monies that were clearly specified in the lease.
I saw the a federal government van moving $24000 into Mihok's bank account.
Doesn't the federal government already for the most part feed, clothe, and house Mihok?
I think you all missed the most important factoid in her rant.
"Sure, I could whip out my check book and write Head Start a check for $22,000. After that the federal government would have to feed, clothe, and house me"
She actually has that much money in her bank account? Savings for Crocs?
no Crocs in the world can contain those toes
EEEWWWWWW
The big problem with this is that the nine SOCs deserve to have their pants sued off. The four newly elected MM directors have to share in the filth they left behind.
Whatcha got, Marlys, SOC??? Anything? You blew it! Whatcha got? Now vote to have us all bail you out for your utter stupidity. Your votes will be remembered.
Mihok, Worob, Hellman, etc would have given their left and right nuts to put someone they don't like into the position they're in.
Suck on it, Trebek!
Consider This posted at 10:12 pm on Mon, Aug 6, 2012.
I'm a Morrisville resident. As is typical for her, Mihok left out some key details in her story. In 1999, the Bucks Co. Head Start program entered into a 20 yr. a lease with the Morrisville School District for Manor Park, an elementary school the district had previously closed. In 2010, Mihok & her board cohorts terminated the lease early. Head Start vacated and found space elsewhere. The lease clearly state sthat if the district terminates the lease like this, the district must reimburse Head Start 40% of the rent it had already paid (which equates to $142,000), plus a portion of costs for any improvements it made to the building (which Head Start claims is $167,000). Mihok and her board cohorts paid Head Start $0, zip, nada. Whether they got no advice or bad advice from their solicitor or advisors, or if they willfully ignored it, is anybody's guess. But they terminated the lease, and the lease requires Head Start to be paid. So Mihok is not nearly the victim she now makes herself out to be. Wouldn't you find it an example of federal government waste if Head Start didn't try to recover money a lease entitled them to? From where I sit, Mihok and her board allies brought this on themselves, and Head Start is only trying to recover what the lease entitles them to. The board kissed off $28,000/yr in rental income from Head Start too, in a now vacant school that's not really good for much of anything else. I'm not sure how I feel about holding board members personally liable for their incompetence, but make no mistake, this is incompetence.
Bill Hellmann, C.P.A., August 2009:
"For the most part, we are a school board with a philosophy that sees the school district "checking account" with a fresh eye and most of us try to treat it like our own household account."
Gee, they really do! We didn't realize you took your analogies so literally.
Independentvoter2 posted at 9:36 am on Tue, Aug 7, 2012.
Posts: 604
Well formulated argument Consider. I didn't know the particulars and I'm not sure I still agree with being held individually liable for a decision while a board member, however, I will grant you that I don't think it is fair that the district has to pay for a mess that was caused because of incompetence. I'm not sure where I would stand on this if I was a judge.
"I don't think it is fair that the district has to pay for a mess that was caused because of incompetence. I'm not sure where I would stand on this if I was a judge."
I am ambivalent on this one. I do believe that it is the fault of the individual(s) if s/he willfully and knowingly broke a contract. If, however, it was truly incompetence, then, like it or not, it falls on the taxpayers for putting such incompetence in power.
I tend to think it is the former, that they willfully and knowingly broke the contract. I think they felt like they were above the law, that they could do what they wanted, contracts be damned.
"My efforts helped to significantly reduce taxes in 2008 and 2009 and kept taxes stable in 2010 and 2011."
Sorry, Marlys, "reducing taxes" by breaking contracts, partial renovations, and not paying monies owed (e.g. tech school) is not the same as actually reducing taxes. As always, penny-wise and pound foolish. This kind of financial slight-of-hand always ends up costing more in the end.
Yes. I for one can't wait for PDE's decision on the Tech School non-payment saga. Then again, we've all waited this long. Even if PDE only requires payment of the withheld funds, how much will the lawyers get paid on top of that? Marlys & Co. never seem to withhold payments to the lawyers. I suppose they think they're smart enough to know who they can screw and get away with it. The way their minds work, why not? Their M.O. is to just blame someone or something else when the crap hits the fan.
"My efforts helped to significantly reduce taxes in 2008 and 2009 and kept taxes stable in 2010 and 2011."
Let's revise that. "My efforts stopped a brand new school for K-12 from being built and substituted the same old crappy school for 3-12 and pre-K, another one for K-2, and a third one blown up."
The new school is dead, but what a short sighted ditch.
I'm going to pay for this sin when I go home to Jesus but I am happy that all these ungodly people are getting there just reward.
I listened to them on my doorstep tell me how evil the other people were and they lied right at me especially the woman who wrote the letter. I'm God fearing and when the wrath of Jesus is brought down on sinners i rejoice in the Lord.
The innocent board members should not have to pay dime one for this debacle.
The decent thing to do would be for the jackasses to pick up their shares too.
The sure fire way you can tell when the woman who wrote the letter is lying is her lips are moving. Oh, or she's writing something. Ah, skip it, basically, as long as she's breathing, she's lying. I don't know how you can go through life lying as much as she does, and that's no lie. If she hasn't lied to you yet, it's only a matter of time. When is she going to lie to you? Is it okay as long as she's YOUR liar, lying to achieve whatever ends you feel the means justify? A liar is one thing; a liar enabler is another and possibly even worse.
Evil exists and manifest itself in many forms in this world, and the lady who wrote the letter is one of them. I don't know how or why she got that way, and at this point I don't much care, but she is evil.
AS A CPA Mr Hellman should be knowledgeable in the subject of contract law. The study of Business Law (or Bitniz Law as Mr Hellman so eloquently pronounces it), including contract law, is a vital part of the subject matter required to become a CPA.
I believe he willingly and knowingly broke the contract. He should losehis CPA license and be barred from the accounting profession. He should also be held financilly responsible for the mess he and his cronies created. Wheter in full or in part.
By no means should the burden fall to the taxpayers. There is no incompetence on Mr Hellman's part. He, willfully and knowingly broke the contract. I agree with Peter's comment above that he/they felt like he/they were above the law, and that he/they could do what they wanted, contracts be damned.
If Ferrara, Deangelo, and/or Profy advised against this, or counseled them on the finanical implications, & board went ahead despite it, they really need to pipe up in some way, shape, or form, because right now they look terrible too. Good points about Hellmann,CPA. I'm buying it that at the very least Hellmann CPA, with his vaunted bitniz background,knew the deal & intentionally flipped the bird on Headstart & this contract.
"I devoted my time, energy, heart and soul to the people of Morrisville."
I bet. That much vile nastiness probably took a lot of time.
"Why would anyone in their right mind want to follow in my footsteps?"
I wholeheartedly agree.
No thanks for all the harm you've caused. Marlys, remember how you said there are no coincidences? Do you still believe that? Did you ever?
"I devoted my time, energy, heart and soul to the people of Morrisville."
Oh, so that's why she has no soul. I thought the Devil and a sale were involved.
The pattern of deliberate rule and contract breaking by Hellmann and his Board Cronies is there for all to see, including Head Start, and all other plaintiffs and attorneys.
Wick Fisher White unauthorized hire.
Tech School non-payment.
Yonson contract rip up.
If someone else had done this, Steve Worob would be calling it things like corruption, robbery, and worse.
What do you call it Steve, just good people doing good things? 4 long years of a rookie board making some harmless mistakes?
Little Underdogs and Sweet Polly Purebreds standing up to the Big, Bad Powers That Be?
EAT. MY. SHORTS!
The Devil went down to Mo'ville looking for a soul to steal...
He was in a bind, cause he was way behind..and he was lookin to make a deal.
Wait, is that how that horrible tan happened?
What is not being addressed here or in the BCCT is exactly what the rationale was for kicking out Headstart in the first place. They were paying rent and we weren't using the space. So what specific reason was given to break the lease and expose ourselves to liability? I can speculate about it being a TeaBag inspired tantrum about Guvment and libruls, which is what I think really happened,but I'd like to hear the reasoning (or lack thereof ) behind such a bonehead move.
Also...with a mouseclick or two,this could easily be made into a national issue."Congressman moves to destroy Headstart" "Teabaggers go after breakfast program for poor kids" "Heartless anti-school school board seeks to wreck the lives of kids outside their school district" etc. etc..
Let's blow this up and put it on the front page of HuffPo. Let's see how they like a bit of national scrutiny.
Look at who in the first ward fought so hard to end this lease, and I think you may find some of the impetus behind this move. And what of the capitol view school? Why not that too?
WHo would that be? Eileen Manor Park Dreisbach School Manor Park???
How and when did she fight for this? I never saw her at public S.B. meetings.
Ya happy now? It's sitting vacant now, not very marketable and generating no income. I reiterate, ya happy now?
The lost rent and lawsuits will overwhelm what it's worth. Good job, Marlys, or do you blame Bill (aka Your Emperor)? He's not your daddy, you didn't have to follow him like sheep, SOC sheeple.
" I never saw her at public S.B. meetings."
Like the action really happens in the public eye? Since when is that how things get done around here? The meetings are all dog and pony shows.
perhaps you should pay attention to the new board and see that they actually pull things to the forefront and demand answers, watch a video or two, attend a meeting like I do and see for yourself how much ground those MMers have covered in a short time. I am glad I voted MM all the way and will continue to for they tell the truth and ask the tough questions and I see more now up front than ever maybe every decision is not popular but from what I see they are left with alot of baggage to clean up and are holding people accountable as best they can
MM keep up the good work! Lots of people support you and the job you're doing. You held the line on taxes and you're holding people accountable, asking good questions, and proving the liars wrong. You'll only get better as you gain experience. Don't let the haters drag you down. When you mud wrestle with pigs you both get dirty and only the pigs enjoy it.
True colors..."held the line on taxes". Any group that manages to "win" a seat in this borough commits political suicide by raising taxes while the rest of the world does. Hellman, Mihok, Worob, Stout, Buckman, DeWilde, Marone, Ruthrauff, Radosti, et al...have made it impossible to care for my children. As a result, any normal person that realizes we as a district are forever behind, can't do anything about it but CUT. Wake up people. If we want a community to live in, we have to invest in our damn schools.
Amen to that!
The elementary principal has resigned.
Now isn't that interesting?
"Sure, I could whip out my check book and write Head Start a check for $22,000."
Please. Do it. Take responsibility for your half assed decisions. Be an adult for a change instead of a evil whiner poisoning everything you meddle in.
Check the rest of the blog. You've been doing this for decades, attacking people and driving good people out of politics and driving business out of Morrisville. The real bill is far more than $22,000 and only one judge is going to obtain that judgement from you.
"After that the federal government would have to feed, clothe, and house me."
Nope. You don't believe the government has a role in caring for people in that way. You preached that Tea Party line time after time in board meetings. If you don't want to take care of the children, why the hell would they want to take care of you in your old age.
Is it true that Mihok gets federal and/or state disability payments and lives in housing at least partially subsidized by government? I believe this to be true. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Where does that money come from?
I don't begrudge her receiving these benefits. I realize she would not be able to hold any kind of job to support herself because wouldn't be able to get along with people except for more than a short burst of fake charm.
I mention Mihok's heavily government subsidized life as an example of blatant twisted hypocrisy and irrationality on her part. There also could be self loathing involved. There should be.
Is it official that Ruffing quit?
"At this point, she's used 3 different dollar amounts. She said $18,000 in her public comments at the 7/18 meeting. I think she said 16,000 on her way out of the 7/18 meeting. Now she's using $22,000.
Can you at least settle on 1 number?"
Hey, there are 3 kinds of people in this world. Those who are good at math, and those who aren't.
Marlys claims Morrisville Matters promised to reopen Manor Park School. What a frickin' liar!
She lies so much she makes politicians look honest.
Oh, she is a politician. Never mind
Really interesting article on the cover of this morning's Parade Magazine. It's entitled, "Special Report: Rebuilding America's Schools".
http://www.parade.com/news/2012/08/12-rebuilding-americas-schools.html
Key quotes (I think):
“We know that when the heat gets up to 78, 80 degrees, the learning curve drops precipitously"
"Earthman, who has studied the link between infrastructure and student performance since 1993, has found that children attending schools in subpar condition score up to 10 percentile points lower on standardized tests, even after controlling for poverty. Outmoded facilities not only inhibit learning but also drive away good teachers, who would rather work in schools where the thermostats function and the air doesn’t sicken them."
While I agree with the Parade article, I would not advocate for a new building at this point. Instead, further (more complete) renovations should be considered.
Like installation of actual air conditioning for classrooms instead of SOC School board advertised air conditioning in the building that only ended up happening in small parts of the building.
The small parts that just so happen to be the parts where the people with all the self given raises and perks? Weird.
Wow, how about that. That is weird. The LGI can be impressively chilled down for public board meetings too.
I could see some form of modest add on at Grandview to address long term if preK and elementary enrollment remains at current levels or increases and maybe to get a few grades back out of HS and loss of trailers which weren't a permanent solution. That's about it. I agree the renovations to date were incomplete and more resemble repair, replacement, & mainteance that should have been done long before.
How about simple proper care and maintenance? Updating for the second decade of the new millennium from the days of 8 tracks? How about figuring out a way to utilize 5ish district buildings to ensure the simple expectation of separation of 7yr olds and 20 yr olds. Instead of cramming everyone into 2 buildings?
Wait, last year there were 2 buildings fully maxed plus trailers? Now this year, with more students, we have 2 buildings extra fully maxed and no trailers?
Yep. With 15 less teachers. Class sizes up! Education down! Maybe more Seniors will date more Middle Schoolers bc they weren't close enough before. Awesome. Good planning. Happy I pulled my daughter.
Points noted, but what are the 5ish district buildings. Grandview and H.S. are 2. Reiter's a ruin. Manor Park is not much better and has logistics, staffing, & cost issues. Yes cost. It shouldn't be the only object, but money is always an object. What's building #5?
Is building #5 the former Capitol View?
Yes, building #5 is the old Capitol View, which is leased to Magic Cottage.
Unless someone can factually persuade me, I think we have to stay at 2 buildings and do the best we can with 2 buildings.
I don't see the practicality or cost-effectiveness of opening up Manor Park, reviving Reiter, or bringing Magic Capitol Cottage back.
Ok only 2 buildings. I'll play along. So do the third graders stay at MHS or do you expand on GV and move them back into that school?
Ask the all powerful Oz!
"Ok only 2 buildings. I'll play along. So do the third graders stay at MHS or do you expand on GV and move them back into that school?"
Reply hazy. Need more credible info. Sorry.
What come around goes around, and somehow no one ever learns.
Shower us with wisdom, or are you among the unlearned?
When wisdom is presented, it is all too often scorned by those who could most benefit from it. Just look backwards with that 20/20 hindsight and review the many missed opportunities to have avoided the current state of affairs.
Mergers
New School
Excellent Super and principals.
What's the common demoninator in this? SOC ideologue activists in positions of power, and uninvolved parents and community at large.
Getting parents and community at-large to become more involved is a super tall order. A slightly easier order is to help not put SOC ideologue activists into positions of power.
"What's the common demoninator in this? SOC ideologue activists in positions of power, and uninvolved parents and community at large. "
Old news. The parents dont have the time because they have real lives and work the 2 and 3 jobs they need to to make sure their children do better. The people who meddle and create divisions are retired or under employed and have the time to create and sustain the chaos.
"Good posts, Peter. Same things I was thinking. The Business Meeting where I think the Board had some sort of vote on the Manor Park lease (March 24 or 31, 2010 - not sure which date is correct, but the associated agenda meeting was March 17) is not posted on the district's website. It's just about the only one that's missing from the 2009-10 school year. Hmmmmmm."
OK. Just for the record, I fished out my copy of the 3/24/2010 Board Business Meeting Minutes. Item 3.8 was "Approval, Head Start Lease Option". My notes show the board vote was 6-0 to terminate the Manor Park lease. My notes show Brenda Worob, Robin Reithmeyer, and Gloria Heater were absent. That means the 6 yes votes were:
Bill Hellmann (C.P.A.)
Marlys Mihok
Al Radosti
Jack Buckman
Ron Stout
John DeWilde
Unfortunately, those are facts. And facts don't work with board or admin.
I think you have just identified the 6 people who should split the bill for the lawsuit.
I think you're right.
Board members who came after shouldn't be held liable when they had nothing to do with the decision that led to the lawsuit.
Maybe Buckman can show the rest how its done in paying their share of the lawsuit. He has vast experience in not paying his water & trash bills. Or they could follow Hellman who also has decided to stiff all of us by not paying the trash bills for the properties he owns in the town.
Contracts and bills mean nothing to these deadbeat bozos.Hellman took the extra step of deliberately not paying and sending a letter to the town saying so.This is the family that's controlling the town's fiscal transactions.Unbelievable.
Send copies of Hellman's CPA deadbeat letter to the main credit reporting agencies. They may have interest in this.
•Experian
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com
P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
•TransUnion
1-800-916-8800
www.transunion.com
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
•Equifax
1-800-685-1111
www.equifax.com
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
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