Parma, Ohio Scandal

[Guest guest]

This from www.ohioschoolwatch101.com

WAKE UP PARMA! THE DISTRICT IS A TARGET OF THE CORRUPTION SCANDAL, AND

THE SCANDAL IS EXPLOSIVE.

Everyone in Cleveland is following the corruption scandal in Cuyahoga

County, which appears to be focused on three government officials,

Dimora, Russo, and Kelley, who appear to have been involved in some

sort of kickback schemes and quid pro quo shenanigans in which they

abused the public trust. The FBI raided their offices and homes and

executed search warrants, including Kelley's office at the Parma

City School District where he was the Board of Education President.

As recently reported in Education News (www.ednews.org) this

corruption has been linked to the Parma City School District. Everyone

needs to read

Parma City Schools are in rough budgetary shape. They currently are

trying to pass a levy that will increase taxes significantly. The

Board is rightly concerned that the levy will not pass because of the

public being outraged by the Parma Board's and Administration's link

to the corruption. Board Vice President Rosemary Gulik and other

board members are campaigning for the levy, trying to divert attention

from their culpability in the corruption scandal. Yes, we said " their

culpability. " It did happen under their watch, and this board did

allow Kelley unusual control of decision-making, which by the way he

continues to wield. Why?

One of the dynamics of the Parma Board is that Kelley is the only male

member. The other members are older women, who Kelley has taken to

bullying. Even in recent executive session, when some of these women

attempted to suggest Kelley resign for the good of the District,

Kelley became verbally aggressive, which stifled the women. At that

point, Kelley quickly changed the subject to forcing an internal

audit, as he believes this a move that will help cover his tracks. He

knows that an internal audit is not going to show that he and his

fellow conspirators were given anything directly by the District.

Once this internal audit is complete, he intends to waive it around in

attempts defend himself. But as was laid out in the Education News

piece, the corruption involved benefits that do not show up in the

books of the entities being ripped off.

Parma School Board Vice President Rosemary Gulik recently was a guest

on WTAM 1100 campaigning for the levy. She explained in the interview

that Parma's special education budget is $800,000 under what it needs.

How does this happen, when a great percentage of special education

money comes directly from the State and the Federal governments?

Well, it's simple. Litigation costs. Parma has been in continuing

litigation with one family and has spent nearly $3,000,000 on that

litigation, equating to about $500,000 each year. Yet the program

that they are litigating over for this child only has a value of about

$60,000 per year. Why would any entity pay ten times the amount of a

program to lawyers instead of providing the special education services

to the child? There is a great deal of talk that Kelley was getting

kickbacks from the firm. (Squires and Dempsey is the firm

representing the district.) And as is pointed out in the Ed News

piece, Carbone (convicted of bribery recently and now alleged

to be in the protection of the FBI due to affidavits provided to them

as part of his plea deal in which he ratted out Kelley, Dimora and

Russo) was a board member in the Orange City School District and

special education litigation costs there shot through the roof, also

with Squires and Dempsey being the firm involved. And all of

Cleveland has observed that this firm seems to be linked to the

" players " in nearly every scandal that breaks into the news, whether

it is a construction related, a bond issue, or something else. The

interview of Ms. Gulik can be heard on the following link:

http://www.wtam.com/cc-common/mainheadlines3.html?feed=122520 & article=4107388

What makes these legal costs particularly suspicious is that the Parma

Schools, throughout most of the litigation, has had insurance. The

insurance company Ohio Casualty (formerly Indiana Insurance) has

provided the school district an attorney to defend against the parents

claim, and the insurance company has paid Britton, , Kahail and

s to provide one of their partners, s as the attorney.

Yet still, Peer of the Squires firm sits at every day of

hearing billing, and the Squires firm has had over 20 attorneys

working on the case duplicating the work of the Britton firm. This is

highly unusual. One of the primary purposes of this type of insurance

is to protect a district from the cost of having to pay an attorney to

defend it. What financial protection has this arrangement provided

the Parma District? None. They are paying for the high cost insurance

AND the attorney fees. And why has the Parma Board made this

arrangement? Because it was instigated by Kelley! Does anyone really

think that the scandal is only related to construction contracts?

Take a look at the double-dipping of the Parma superintendent. This

superintendent is an empty chair. Kelley and the Board had complete

control over administrative decision-making, including contracts,

hiring, legal issue, etc. Zatik has no authority in the

District, as supers do in other Districts. All she has done is agreed

to sit quiet while these shenanigans go on. Her payoff? Well, when

her contract expires they allow her to retire to collect her pension

and then rehire her on a salary. She brings in nearly half a million

dollars a year with this double dipping arrangement at taxpayer

expense. A payoff for her keeping quiet about the corruption? That's

what we are hearing.

Kelley made very clear that he is not resigning from

the Board, despite attempts to discuss it in executive session by

other Board members. Why? Because Kelley knows that he needs to stay

close to Parma so he can anticipate where the investigation is going

and be in a position to cover his tracks—just at Russo and Dimora have

no intention of going anywhere. They have their networks of others

who are involved in the corruption, and should they lose their holds

on these networks, they will fall apart, and new individuals will come

in and be able to expose more of the scandal.

Kelley is deathly afraid of the special education

scandal coming to light, which involved the Squires firm. One of the

key players in that scandal is the Director of Special Education

Nolan. Nolan was brought into the District by the Board when

Kelley was president. She came from Lakewood School District where

she was an ill thought of low level special education administrator.

Sources there indicate she had been relegated to a back room and

menial tasks because of her general inabilities. Out of nowhere, and

without the legally required posting for the position, she gets hired

as the Special Education Director in Parma. Since then, she has been

integral in driving up the District's legal costs. Well, what might

the payoff have been to Nolan? She gets brought into Parma and

special arrangements had been made to allow her to take a medical

leave almost immediately after she is hired. Then she returns to work

and engages in a pattern of conduct that appears intended to drive up

legal fees. Kelley must stay on the Board to try to protect the

others who are integral players in the shenanigans. Kelley will not be

stepping down from the Board.

On Kelley's old radio show and in interviews he has had with the press

in the past, he was known to often quip, " It's for the children. " We

should now be asking Mr. Kelley what part of this scandal was for the

children. It really seems as if these schemes were well orchestrated

by and for Mr. Kelley and the connections he has with organized crime.

If Kelley really wanted to do something for the children, he'd step

down from the Board of Ed, disclose all of this corruption to the FBI

so that all those responsible can be held accountable.

Parma taxpayers, do you really want to funnel more of your hard earned

money into the hands of organized crime?