West Bend Superintendent Lectures Reporter for Asking Questions
This really pisses me off. Here is an email that the West Bend Superintendent sent to Judy Steffes in response to an inquiry. Herdrich copied everyone and their dog, including the media, so I think she meant for it to be public. It also went from her public account, which is subject to public record requests. I won’t tell you where I got it.
rom: Pat Herdrich
Subject: response to Judy Steffes for my W2
To: “Deb Roensch”
, “Pat Herdrich”
, “judith steffes”
Cc: “LeadershipTeam”
, “Board_Members”
, “Jason J Penterman”
, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), “Steve Ciccantelli”
, “Bob Bonenfant”
, “Shelly J Krueger”
, “Kim Will”
, “Wickland, Jeff”
, “Joe Donovan”
, “Mark Lustig”
, “Craig Farrell”
, “Jim Hodges”
Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 11:12 AM
Judy,
My contracted salary is $147,347.
The administrative team as a whole recommended to the board that our salaries be frozen for the 2009-10 school year. And they were. Therefore this is the same contracted amount as the 2008-2009 school year. The administrative team also recommended to the board the higher level of co-pay for insurance based on the budget recommendations we framed for the current year. So we did. The entire leadership is working with the same pay and higher health care costs as they did in the 2008-09 school year.
On my W2 you will find an amount of $152,206 and here is the difference
Less the tax sheltered annuity dollars I set aside annually
Less the flexible spending dollars (medical) I set aside annually
Less Health Insurance Dollars I pay pre tax
Less Vision Insurance I pay pre tax
Less Cost Health Insurance paid
Less the taxable fringe benefit of the car lease through the school system
Thus resulting in the total taxable compensation level of $152,206.
I would be happy to share with you also the amount of taxes I pay state and federal every year once my returns are completed by my tax adviser should you be interested in that information as well.
The lease of the car for my role has been assessed as less expensive in comparison to paying me mileage on an annual basis.
You asked on the phone for my W2 questioning a compensation rate you were stating was $168,000. I stated to you that was inaccurate. You asked me how you got that amount and I responsed [sic] I did not know. The W2 record has been printed and redacted for confidential information (social security numbers etc) that would not be accessible through open records. You may pick that up with Deb Roensch, my assistant to verify the information. She will charge you for the open record request.
You asked me if I had been contacted by recruiters for other positions. I indicated that I had, but I have not submitted any resumes and I am not pursuing any employment opportunities other than my current job as the Superintendent of the West Bend Public Schools.
You asked if the evaluation process also results in conversations of pay raises. I stated to you that I do not ask the board independently for compensation during my evaluation process that is conducted annually. We have an administrative compensation process for the entire leadership team that examines the benchmark data for positions in the market as well as performance. We freeze the salary of administrators who are not performing to their job expectations. We will also shorten the number of years a contract will be issued in accordance with their performance. We examine the benchmark data for the number of administrators we employ in comparison to the benchmark districts and the job scope and responsibilities to ensure the span of control is appropriate.
Our focus is to sustain a balanced budget and sound fiscal decision making for team compensation for retention and replacement.
You asked if you may quote me.
I indicated yes as long as the responses are accurate and used in context. I am sharing this with the board, the leadership team and our Citizen’s Financial Advisory Committee, prior to your article, so they inturn [sic] may understand the context of our conversation.
I would expect that your reporting follow the ethical standards for appropriate journalism which I have forwarded to you in the past which is provided by your national association.
If they are not Judy, I am indicating to you now that as a leadership team we will no longer respond to your requests other than the public information requests specifically required by law.
I work regularly with reporters from print media, TV, and the radio and have for decades. I have always been committed, and remain committed, to strong working relationships.
I expect the same, however, when I work with media representatives and writers who publish their work within regular media venues. Fair reporting on hard issues I will never debate. Skewed reporting is a concern I have discussed with you prior. I recognize you are a freelance writer and do not represent the West Bend Daily News. I am copying their leadership, however, as they are the entity who inturn pays you for your work. I want everyone to understand my position with respect to our ongoing working relationship.
My concerns continue with your focus of reporting Judy. And here is why. At no point in time has your work focused in the same way on the other leadership teams in the region, or school boards, that the newspaper covers. At no point in time has your work focused on the other municipal leadership teams or boards in the same way as you have the public school system of West Bend. Yet, the West Bend School are recognized for being more fiscally responsible and higher performing than our counterparts. Our team and our results are nationally recognized as programmatically strong, financially sound and we are ranked in the top 7 percent of all school districts in the state for sound fiscal management. At no point have you covered that information. Rather your work has repeatedly targeted this team, this board, this district negatively.
This leads me to conclude that the specific elements framed within the ethical standards for journalism are compromised within your current focus.
I have stated to you directly that we will continue to work well with each media representative. We remain committed to the community and families we serve. We face hard issues on a daily basis head-on. This leadership team is recognized collectively and individually. We have strong work ethics and serve with a strong code for professional conduct. We have actively worked to better the context of funding for this system with the state while sustaining strong programming for our students.
I would again ask that you too engage your work on the issues, the critical issues, facing public schools and this community. Your work has not represented that to date. We would be happy to work with you if that in turn is your focus.
Short of that, if your articles focus on responses inaccurately, continue to focus solely on this system, and in a skewed manner; we will respond solely to the open records required by law.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding my email or the information you requested.
Sincerely,
Pat Herdrich
Deb please copy to CFAC as well.
Superintendent of Schools
West Bend Joint School District #1
735 South Main Street
West Bend, WI 53095
With all due respect… WTF? I have sent countless requests to Herdrich and district and NEVER received such a condescending response like this. Is Herdrich berating Steffes because she’s a woman? Because she reports regularly on the district? I don’t know. I think the entire response is condescending, bullying, and downright unprofessional. For a public official to lecture a reporter on journalistic ethics and the focus of their reporting is utterly unethical and unprofessional.
Is this how Herdrich treats all inquiries? Not to me, but is this how she treats other folks who ask questions? Didn’t the district just make a stink about bullying in the schools? Did Herdrich not attend these sessions?
This kind of behavior by the Superintendent is utterly unprofessional and condescending to a qualified reporter who was asking relevant questions about how the district spends our money. I hope that the school board takes proper corrective action regarding their out of control superintendent. If this is how the Superintendent responds to a mild request, is Steffes on to something?
She has a degree. That means she’s better than the rest of us proles.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 17, 2010 at 2308 hrs
The school district and certainly the superwoman, have placed themselves as an area of extreme interest in the past few years. A good reporter would be remiss if he or in this case she didn’t take advantage of the target they offer. This in my estimation is not the way for Pat to keep a low profile, or happy relationship with the press. On the other hand, she may be upset sehe hasn’t made the major media wire. YET
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 17, 2010 at 2317 hrs
Respectfully, a reporter for what?
A very informative Saturday column about who’s moving into an abandoned shop downtown?
It is disingenuous to say that Judy"s agenda is anything other than what it is- a thinly veiled but so far 100% unsuccessful campaign to discredit the district and Dr Herdrich.
And the results of this quest? The District had a dinner and the superintendent makes what we knew she did already.
Woodward and Bernstein it ain’t
Dr Herdrich bought a house .
Who made the down payment?
Was it a 15 year loan or 30?
Did AIG insure it? was that loan put into a credit default swap by Citibank?
Was the very idea of exotic financial instruments that nearly bankrupted This fine country
actually started on the kitchen table where Dr Herdrch made the offer on that house ?What kind of car does she drive? foreign or domestic?
Do district personnel cut the grass?landscape?remove snow?
Does she have a receipt for that rug?that lamp?
Do you two have a life?
I love Judy personally but that’s what it is with her and the superintendent - personal- and yet she keeps coming up dry.
Why is that?
Because there is no “there” there-just white noise from the ” i have certainty-but zero proof that something bad is going on ” crowd
I disagree 100% with the opinion stated about Dr Herdrich"s professional behavior.
She is a SUPERIOR superintendent, fully capable of running a school district 10x our size -and every reasonable person in West Bend knows that to be true.
She is a 100% saleable product outside our district -and would never have to seek a job.The job would seek her.
( since we’re now using mild profanities on the blog , let me beat the dumb ass to the punch 4 responses down who will cleverly chime in “I want her to let a job seek her someplace else-huh huh “)
Brilliant!
Judy is on to nothing-except doing the bidding of a select group of people in town who don’t actually get dirty playing the game-but do a great job of officiating from the stands.
All it takes is a tax bill and a computer.
The fact that Pat Herdrich had the courage to state that she’s not going to respond to every dopey conspiracy theory Judy and comes up with is all I need to hear.
The board needs to take my version of corrective action
—————-give her a new contract- right away.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 17, 2010 at 2330 hrs
“For a public official to lecture a reporter on journalistic ethics and the focus of their reporting is utterly unethical and unprofessional. “
Mr. Robinson, public officials have lectured reporters since the two were forced to coexist. Besides, you’ll get a bunch of comments on this blog stem, so my bet is you’re giddy with anticipation to have this salty piece of “gold”.
Which brings to mind Judy Steffes’ cut: Ms. Steffes has provided B&S a few nuggets: This calls for a Poplar Inn steak dinner: Spicy Tuna Tar Tar, 20oz Porterhouse, and the Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley. As you’re buying, I’d hit you up for dessert too.
You don’t get it, huh? A comparison of WB Daily News reporters’ school district reports may illuminate the superintendent’s position, but that requires…
Classy trolling in the last line. Slow down.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 17, 2010 at 2343 hrs
I don’t follow this much, not my school district, but the email was unprofessional, petty, condescending, and childish. If she feels the reporter has a slant, then she should simply do what she said she would, and stop responding to anything but FOI requests.
You do have a board that has rolled over for WEAC and the administration, which probably helps explain the tone of this letter.
Mr Maley’s response was even more childish, and by the way, I think it is VERY safe to say that if there was a plan to discredit the school district, it has been somewhat more successful than “100 % unsucessful” From what I’ve seen the West Bend School district does not have much credibility at all, so obviously this “campaign” or their own incompetence has not convinced 100 percent of us that they walk on water.
JPenderman is very correct that this behavior is not new, and has existed forever. But that doesn’t mean that is was professional and not a childish snit. The popular dinner sounds nice though (man I love that place)
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 0212 hrs
Does anyone have a problem with the fact she makes $152,000 a year ? I am sure she is not “working” more than 20 hours a week. 3 months off for summer. What’s that about $200 an hour? To do what raise property taxes. And don’t give me that crap about all people in her position make that much money. That does not make it right.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 0537 hrs
Reaper,
Try 60-70 hour and 12month contract. no 3 month vacation for Superintendents. It is clear you know verylittle about schools
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 0738 hrs
Even if Judy Steffes had richly deserved a public dressing-down, this was a silly way to do it.
Reaper, do you know how to do the job as well as she does?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 0821 hrs
I find it interesting, that a wage of this type and size is even in question. Pat has worked hard and was recieved with open arms when she applied for the position. Because many of us don’t agree with her on certain issues is no reason to drift away from the issues and attack her on meaningless items that are a matter of contract. It’s difficult to find a newspaper with ethics, integrety or honesty these days. So I wouldnt start looking in West Bend. She has been able to bend the board to her way of thinking. Pay attention ! When a diversion is created in one olace, the real issue is probably going to happen around the bend. If we can work together and leave the ego’s on the playground the district would certainly benefit. We will see when the new board gets under way.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 0824 hrs
Few additional thoughts…
I don’t have any problem with her salary. It’s appropriate for managing an organization of that size.
I also don’t have any problem with a reporter trolling for stories. I wish more reporters did it.
I think it is a bit troubling that the Superintendent would send out a letter to the school board, media, etc. that is so rife with misspellings and grammatical errors. This person is in charge of educating our kids and had a doctorate but can’t spell “responded?” Can’t the district afford a spell checker on their email system? Is Herdrich seriously supposed to be some sort of Godsend to the citizens of West Bend? Grow up. She’s an employee of the taxpayers whose behavior is unacceptable.
Also for those of you who complain about the cost of ORRs, the superintendent has made it clear that she will no respond by any other means if she does not like the “slant” of the reporter’s stories.
Finally, Herdrich’s entire response irks me because it is her JOB to respond to the public about the district’s doings. Even if Steffes were just a private citizen asking questions, Herdrich should respond with factual information and a bit of respect. In Herdrich’s response she is trying to bully a member of the media into submission. This just makes me want to dive deeper because it’s obvious that Herdrich doesn’t like to be questioned about her management of the district.
Posted by Owen on March 18, 2010 at 0905 hrs
Well I am suprised everyone is ok with $152000 a year. Must be a lot of weathy people on this board. It seems like a lot of moeny in my world. 60-70 hours a week please.
I work a real 60-70 hours a week punch in at 5:00 am home at 5:00 pm. 6 days a week. 1/2 hour for lunch. And I am getting tired of paying more and more in taxes so public employees can live better than I do.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 0920 hrs
What I dont understand is the purpose of her cc: J Penterman, she does not copy any other teachers or library personel? Jason perhaps you can educate me, is library media services required to take part in public relations, or do you also have a part time job with the district in this capacity?
Just wondering why you made her list Jason?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 0935 hrs
The reporter accomplished what she wanted to. I don’t condone the way Pat responded. The only reason questions that are meaningless and already a matter of record are throwen out there in this mannor is to aggrivate someone. If this is what this playground bull _ _ _ _ is all about it’s a waste of print. True and pertinent statistics could be put out to help us understand why decisions are being made and allow us to counter and question. When people stop micromanaging and start rolling up their sleeves, we may be surprised at the outcome. Back seat drivers are rarely nothing more than aggrevating.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 0940 hrs
Steffes deserves a dressing down. she is at best a crappy reporter. she trumps up stories and is looking for any way that she can make the district look bad. I went to a meeting last fall and her focus was on the trees on the Badger property. What? Trees? is that the best she could do? She stinks as a reporter and is not much of a human being.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 0950 hrs
Short of that, if your articles focus on responses inaccurately, continue to focus solely on this system, and in a skewed manner; we will respond solely to the open records required by law.
“Skewed Manner” Pat, that’s a great line -You’re the Expert at Skewing!
What do you think were in for at the next “Joe and Pat puppet show”!?Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 0959 hrs
Anon, you could not be more wrong (as usual). No reporter, taxpayer, whatever deserves to be publicly dressed down in that manner. The aggravation from the Distric lies in the fact that she has broken real stories that have made the District look bad - remember her story about Board Members not answering voicemails or emails? District officials actually met with the Daliy News to complain. Why? How about dealing with the problem and not trying to silence a critic.
Are all her stories “meat and potatos”? No. But many of her stories provide real insight as opposed to the fluff stories the actual school beat reporters have put out over the past 5-6 years. As for “is not much of a human being” - how moronic of a statement.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 1035 hrs
Just saying she works 60 to 80 hours a week does make it true, You be lucky if she works 20hours a week, unless you count being at home or on vacation work.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 1158 hrs
I have this theory that anon is a teacher sending messages from his/her cell phone during class…
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 1207 hrs
Pat’s just the Alpha-Female squatting and marking her spot.
I have this theory that anon is a teacher sending messages from his/her cell phone during class…
Or a School Board Member…... Go back and read ANON’S Posts.
Try 60-70 hour and 12month contract. no 3 month vacation for Superintendents. It is clear you know verylittle about schools
Steffes deserves a dressing down. she is at best a crappy reporter. she trumps up stories and is looking for any way that she can make the district look bad. I went to a meeting last fall and her focus was on the trees on the Badger property. What? Trees? is that the best she could do? She stinks as a reporter and is not much of a human being.
Some have stated that there haven’t been any posts from our School Board Members lately…...... Hummmmmmmmm I wonder.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 1236 hrs
12. I made the list because I am a union officer – yay. No district compensation for anything outside of district lib contract. Union stipend is a moot point.
10. “H. should respond with factual information and a bit of respect.” What’s not factual? Respect? The superintendent wrote to Ms. S. what she expected would become of the investigation based on her past experiences with Ms. S.’ reporting, she (tersely) explained to Ms. S. what would happen if Ms. S. chose to use the information in Ms. S.’s traditional manner, Ms. S. (likely) gave the letter to Mr. Robinson (furthering their mutual campaign to put WBSD in a negative light) and the deal is sealed; thus, Mr. Robinson owes Ms. S. a good meal as Ms. S.’s district investigating just got more difficult.
Quite black and white. No sob story here: Mr. Robinson is a fuzz responsible for the public dress down of said reporter putting this once contained letter on a blog likely posted with S.’ permission and encouragement:
Internet instant martyr.
…and for this a dinner is owed.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 1245 hrs
anon’s messages are typically pretty short during school hours… like they are being typed on a phone…
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 1250 hrs
I work with a small group of reporters for a local newspaper that often focuses on school issues. The first rule of thumb for a reporter is to cover your subjects ethically in a way that does not alienate good, dependable sources.
I know nothing of the parties involved in this dispute. But it seems the school supt. has a history of dealing with a wide range of press representatives. Her reputation doesn’t include (before now) this kind of behavior. Owen says he’s never been treated this way before. If Judy were my reporter, I’d first ask her to look back on her stories and see what she might have done to draw out this response. A source is not likely to treat a reporter this way if they’ve only been dealt with fairly.
If the reporter and I were able to document a consistent track record of fair, accurate, unbiased reportage, then she’d have my support. Otherwise, she’d come to know that she may have just lost a valuable source and from here on out would have to work a lot harder to get information from this district.
I thought the supt.‘s response was clear and direct and in that sense professional. I do not know the rationale for the copious CC’s.
p.s.my submission word was 55outside which is also the weather, currently!
Posted by Mike on March 18, 2010 at 1253 hrs
Jason,
Ms. S. (likely) gave the letter to Mr. Robinson (furthering their mutual campaign to put WBSD in a negative light)
Did you not see how many people were copied on this email? What makes you assume how I got it? Isn’t it a bit ironic that you are spending your time bashing me and Steffes for a “campaign” when you can’t back up your own statements? And even if Steffes did send it to me, what of it? Isn’t the public entitled to see how the Superintendent of West Bend treats people (with bad spelling and poor grammar)? She sent it from her school account about school business, so it’s a public record. Your obsession about the flow of information is a poor attempt at a distraction.
Speaking of a “campaign”... bullshit. I don’t have any campaign other than to hold our public officials accountable for how they spend our dollars for the education of kids. If that’s some sort of nefarious campaign in your eyes, then you’re in the wrong profession.
Posted by Owen on March 18, 2010 at 1325 hrs
I guess I never equated “columnists” with “reporters.” Maybe the school district doesn’t either? If I want news I read the articles in my paper - whether it’s the Journal-Sentinel or USA Today. If I want (hopefully) educated opinions I read columns. To me they seem to be distinctly different animals. That being said, I hope Judy was able to give her blessing to the reprinting of this letter because I wouldn’t have known about it otherwise (the real “public” part of the “public undressing” happened here).
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 1432 hrs
I am an opinion columnist. Steffes is a straight reporter. Her Saturday feature is straight reporting and she regularly does straight news for the radio and paper. And no, she did not give me permission to post this nor did I ask her. Given that Herdrich sent it to the entire board, union, editor of the paper, local radio guy, etc., I considered it fair game.
Posted by Owen on March 18, 2010 at 1502 hrs
It seems Dr. Herdrich understands the difference between a straight news reporter, who should by all means report in as balanced and unbiased a manner as possible, and an opinion columnist, who by definition will be expected to write with a bias and expressing an opinion. That is a likely explanation for the differing treatment between you and Ms. Steffes.
Still, though, not unprofessional at all, in my view. A little tough, maybe, but if you wanna run with the big dogs, you gotta learn to lift your leg.
Posted by Mike on March 18, 2010 at 1546 hrs
If the superintendent were super-conservative fiscally and was constantly receiving criticism from a freelance columnist/reporter while others in the area were given a free pass, conservatives would be up in arms about drive-by media this and bias that and blah blah blah. On and on. And if the conservative superintendent sent an email like this one to said reporter, you’d all be standing up and rejoicing that someone finally told a reporter where to shove it.
But since the roles are reversed and the shoe’s on the other foot, you’ll all carp and moan and complain that the superintendent is out of line and unprofessional and should take her lumps without fighting back. That’s a load of crap too. If she wasn’t aggressively defending herself, her positions, and her district to reporters, she wouldn’t be doing the job she was paid to do.
I get that some you appear to not like her positions on issues, but she’s just doing her job. If at any point the school board, as representatives of the community, feel that she is not doing her job well, they’ll send her on her merry way.
Conservatives have made a cottage industry out of blasting a journalist’s intentions, motives, or biases, often without any merit whatsoever, for the last generation. But the second someone you don’t like throws down in the same manner, you all cry to mommy about how unfair the bad superintendent is being to the nice reporter. That’s some of the tastiest and most delicious inconsistency you’ve served up in quite awhile.
Posted by Recess Supervisor on March 18, 2010 at 1636 hrs
If the superintendent were super-conservative fiscally and was constantly receiving criticism from a freelance columnist/reporter while others in the area were given a free pass…
this is just speculation
I get that some you appear to not like her positions on issues, but she’s just doing her job.
many, many people think she’s doing a horrible job…
...without any merit whatsoever…
now that is funny
- - - -
This woman deserves all of the criticism she is taking. The school district’s problems are solvable. It takes leadership…
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 1650 hrs
I have sent countless requests to Herdrich and district and NEVER received such a condescending response like this. That fact alone should tell you something. Dr. Herdrich is nothing if she is not professional. She treats everyone with respect. The methods that Judy has employed to “do her job” don’t deserve respect. Just because something is legal does not make it right and Judy has stepped over that line.
Is Herdrich berating Steffes because she’s a woman? No, it has nothing to do with that.
Because she reports regularly on the district? No, frankly she doesn’t report all that often on the district.
I don’t know. See, there is the problem. You are making assumptions based on a very small amount of information and because of that your conclusions are incorrect.
For you to fully understand the reasoning for this type of response you have to know the history that Judy has with the district. Judy has been reporting in a negative manner on the district for many years. 7-8 years ago when Ross Anderson was the President of the board she would call him between 4:30 and 5:30 in the morning. Wake him from a dead sleep and then record his answers. She would play them on the radio that day. If this would happen once in awhile it would be one thing, but it was a regular occurrence. She had to be told no more.
When an employee was let go she reported that the FBI was involved and he was led from the ESC in cuffs. She also said that he had stolen money. All of which were absolute bald faced lies.
The list goes on until now. She insists that her coverage is negative to the district. I honestly do not know why.
Last night, she called me to confirm some things for her story. Here is one of her professional and in-depth questions, “Does Dr. Herdrich get paid a salary?” What kind of question is that? It is the kind of question that someone asks that is trying to ingratiate themselves to you and do so by playing dumb.
Ultimately your biggest criticsm of this whole thing is that Dr. Herdrich made some spelling and grammar errors.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 1856 hrs
Sorry,none of my italics made it through to the comment. I had intended to have Owens word italicized. You’ll have to work to read.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 1859 hrs
NEVER received such a condescending response like this… Dr. Herdrich is nothing if she is not professional. She treats everyone with respect.
Obviously not.
frankly she doesn’t report all that often on the district… Judy has been reporting in a negative manner on the district for many years.
Hmmmmm…
So in other words, you and Herdrich don’t like Steffes so it’s OK to respond to her with a “condescending response like this”? And you think that’s professional?
Seriously, I’ve been much harder on the district, and you, than Steffes ever has. Why don’t y’all treat me like this? Is it because I have a venue in which I can respond and Steffes, as a reporter and not an opinion writer, does not? Is it only OK to beat up on people who can’t respond in a public fashion?
See you on Monday.
Posted by Owen on March 18, 2010 at 1906 hrs
Owen, is it your contention that this reporter has reported accurately and ethically and professionally in her work relating to WBSD?
Posted by Mike on March 18, 2010 at 1948 hrs
Actually Owen I have said for a long time that yoiu have well thouhgt out opinions. I don’t always agree with you but your opinions are well thought out.
No I don’t like Judy but that is another topic. she is a journalist and has a professional code of ethics. She, in my opinion, does not live up to that code of ethics. She has in the past created stories. that is out of bounds for a journalist. If she were a columnist then it would be different.
It has nothing to do with the venue. I am disappointed you would think so.
See you on Monday Not if I see you first
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 1952 hrs
Kris, Recess and Jpend
I don’t think it matters at all what the tone of her stories has been. The response was childish, unprofessional, and stupid. The best thing the superindentent could do, was to answer the response as shortly as possible. She gained nothing by throwing a temper tantrum, except piss off a reporter covernig her, and making herself look less than professional. Not a big deal really in the scheme of things, but does not reflectg well on her.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 1952 hrs
Well said Curt -
Kris, a simple response to the request addressed to Judy and Deb Roensch would have sufficed. If Herdrich was not being petty and unprofessional then why cc a number of people - including the head of the WEAC negotiations, both CFAC groups, the radio media and the publisher and editor of the Daily News? To me that is as unprofessional as the things you allege about Judy. To be honest, of what business is this to any of them—other than trying to silence yet another critic of the District. I certainly hope an apology to Judy is being worked on.
I am sure this exchange will make it oh so comfortable for some of the more soft spoken critics of the district to attend and talk at Monday’s meeting.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 2018 hrs
You know Curt I guess that is really the question here. Is she a reporter or an opinion columnist? We presume that she is a reporter because that is how she presents herself. In our opinion she does not follow the journalists code of ethics. truthfully what judy does is not all that big a deal. Somebody else on this topic pointed out that this kind of exchange is not new to the reporting profession. Public figures have been lighting up reporters for a long time. Think how guys who covered Bobby Knight must have felt after an Indiana loss.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 2023 hrs
Truthfully Rich Judy has made her bed in town and people know her for who she is and what she does. Nobody that comes to the meeting Monday night has anything to be concerned about.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 2025 hrs
So as a Board Member, you are comfortable with the way Herdrich handled this? Its not left over resentment for the report about Board Members not returning voice mails or the extravagant taxpayer funded dinner? “Making her bed” does not call for embarrassing her in front of peers and other non-involved people. I think most of us left that behavior on the playground. A face-to-face or personal corrsepondence would have been more mature.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 2047 hrs
No Rich this is the result of about 10 years of being professional with Judy and not having favor being returned. Most people saw that story for what it was and many said so on this very blog. As for face to face Judy has been invited to come in to the ESC and has refused.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 2102 hrs
23. “I don’t have any campaign other than to hold our public officials accountable for how they spend our dollars for the education of kids. “
You are selective vs. objective, Mr. Robinson. For example, I recall when JCarlson came to speak to and take questions from Common Sense Citizens, you sat 2-3 seats to his left and didn’t say one word, not one question. Never opened your laptop, scratched a pencil note or mentioned it on your site. I believe you were overwhelmed by Greek catharsis (which quickly dissipated).
A medal for this sacrificial lamb reporter, Mr. Robinson?
You owe her. You’re buying.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 18, 2010 at 2330 hrs
Speaking of inaccuracy, what the hell is this about?
http://wissup.blogspot.com/2010/03/complaint-filed-with-da-against-corazzi.html
The author of the letter is not identified (although the post comes after this one:
(http://wissup.blogspot.com/2010/03/letter-to-lynn-corazzi.html)Anyway, the author best be left unidentified to spare him/her any public embarrassment, because the person must be an absolute moron to put this in a letter to the DA:
.[1] Mr. Corazzi was appointed by the Mayor of West Bend due to the resignation of former board member John Duwell; he was never elected.
As I recall (from media source like the Daily News), the process of seeking appointees, interviewing, selecting, etc was done by the West Bend School Board. I am not aware of the City of West Bend (or Town of Trenton, also part of the West Bend School District, for that matter) deciding who would fill a West Bend School Board vacancy,
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 19, 2010 at 0704 hrs
We’ve had the opportunity to hear from Pat, and now Kris on their position with Judy. No surprise there.
Joe, Kathy and Lynn will support their buddy no matter what.
But I’m curious how the other Board Members feel.
Tim?
Bruce?
Todd?Do you agree that Judy should be slapped down by our Superintendent that way?
Will anyone on our School Board have a different opinion?Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 19, 2010 at 0922 hrs
“You know Curt I guess that is really the question here. Is she a reporter or an opinion columnist?”
Not sure why that matters in the least. She could be either, or a blogger, or a voter, or a complete nutcase, that just loved asking questions. A professional would not throw a childish temper tantrum, depending on who asked a question. Whether she is an opinion columist or a reporter (I’m not sure there is a real difference, by the way) is a different topic. Or are you suggesting that is ok to be rude and condescending to certain people, but not others.
This really isn’t a big deal, but it certainly is not defensible either. The super threw a temper tantrum, and came off looking like a pedulant child. Could be a one time thing…everyone has a bad day. But you really can’t defend that email.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 19, 2010 at 1007 hrs
Mr. Horse is absolutely correct. My typo as I was sent a corrected copy and did not destroy the first copy. I’ll take the hit for that one. I have corrected the appointment issue on the blog. Corazzi was appointed by the school board. The name of the letter-writer is published.
Posted by GAMazy on March 19, 2010 at 1110 hrs
, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), “Steve Ciccantelli”
, “Bob Bonenfant”
, “Shelly J Krueger”
, “Kim Will”
, “Wickland, Jeff”
, “Joe Donovan”
, “Mark Lustig”
, “Craig Farrell”
, “Jim Hodges”
Pat seems to feel strongly that you needed to be copied, are you glad she dragged you into this? Or, did you know?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 19, 2010 at 1230 hrs
Nobody here has defended the reporter’s tactics as journalisticly ethical. Was she reporting fairly, accurately, in an unbiased way? Or was she regularly slanting her news reporting to cover only one (negative—and occasionally inaccurate) view of the district’s operations?
Some with first hand knowledge (Pat Kris) have indicated her reporting to be ethically suspect.
Assuming no defense is forthcoming (an original post and 44 comments have yet to yield one), a perfectly reasonable response for the sup’t. would be to clearly state the consequences of continuing to act in violation of the SPJ’s ethical standards. Barring any new information, the original post and its supporting comments begin to sound more and more like babyish whining.
Posted by Mike on March 19, 2010 at 1235 hrs
Mike,
I’ll defend Steffes. I’ve only seen her run a couple of stories about the school district over the last several years and I don;t think they were biased except in that they portrayed the district negatively, but in those cases the district deserved it. For example, Steffes disclosed that the board members and leadership team were buying themselves dinner with taxpayer money during a recession and when they were asking for tax increases. Steffes also compared that behavior to Slinger, which makes their folks buy their won meals. Negative? Perhaps. True? Yes. I would also point out that this story was part of Steffes’ Saturday column in which she also covered several other stories.
Steffes also writes for another publication about the school district quite a bit and almost every story is a positive piece. In balance, she’s written far more positive things about the district than negative. And in this case, Steffes is asking for the super’s W2 in a year where she is up for a new contract. That’s hardly out of the ordinary or unethical.
Posted by Owen on March 19, 2010 at 1457 hrs
Mike,
I still don’t see why the reporters slant would matter. But if you feel she slants in general negatively, it makes the email just that much dumber. The letter accomplished nothing, except to insult someone in the media who reports on your entity, and to gives reason to question the professionalism and judgement of the superintendent. Should have stuck to the couple of facts that were in question. Doesn’t matter at all what the tone of the request was, she had an opportunity to answer it professionally or with a tantrum.
We’ve all sent one of these emails before, makes you feel better when typing it, then like an idiot once you have sent it.
The email really isn’t that big of a deal, we all act stupid once in a while and it doesn’t appear to be her norm, but I’m at a loss to see why anyone would think it an appropriate response.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 19, 2010 at 1638 hrs
Owen, thanks for the thoughts on Steffes’s coverage of the district. The truth of that statement makes this a very interesting story. Have fun pursuing it.
Curt, I have to reiterate that the email seems very measured and closely considered. While it evidently came as a result of some frustration with the supt’s prior dealings with the reporter, it seems far from a “temper tantrum”, a term you’ve used a lot to describe her email/letter. Could “temper tantrum” be deliberately inflammatory language here?
Posted by Mike on March 20, 2010 at 1509 hrs
Temper tantrum is what I thought when I read it. I reread it, and I think the same thing, although condescending comes in a close second. In any case completely unprofessional.
The gist of the email is because you don’t write about the talking points I want you to write about, you are unethical, and I won’t talk to you ever again. Sounds like a 5 year old wanting to take their ball and go home, because they aren’t winning. Silly, childish, unprofessional…tempter tantrum.Still fail to see how anyone can defend the email. That hurts my head much more than the email did. As I said, it appears that this isn’t the norm for her, and everyone sends a stupid email in the head of the moment on occasion. I’ve sent a few of my own over the years. This is one she should have saved overnight and reread when she wasn’t as angry.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 20, 2010 at 1628 hrs
Well, if I could figuratively hand you a couple of aspirin, I would.
I agree with you that waiting overnight is always a good idea when you write an email in anger. Wise people adhere to the ‘never write an email when you’re angry’ rule.
Posted by Mike on March 20, 2010 at 1647 hrs
It’s interesting that I stumbled upon this blog entry today considering in the past few days I have had a back and forth email communication with the Board members and Dr. Herdrich regarding a similar experience I personally had w/ Dr. Herdrich… hmmm..
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on March 30, 2010 at 2348 hrs
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