Off the Editor’s Desk 8-4-2024

It happened on your watch!

If I could for a moment draw your attention to three names that have left their mark on history. See if you can tell yourself who these three are? If you can you have a great memory.

 First is the name of Walter Short and then Husband Kimmel and last is Kimberly Cheatle.

Something bad happened on their watch that cost them their jobs.

Rear Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and Lieutenant General Walter C. Short were in command of the Army and Naval forces in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. Following the Japanese attack on that day, both officers were relieved of their command.

In July, of this year, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatie, resigned after being pressured to do so by Congress following the assassination attempt on presidential candidate Donald Trump. It happened on their watch.

Now I am going to make a big leap and try to compare those world events to what has happened at the Glenwood City School District, where, apparently some $308,000 is missing because of fraud. 

To those school board members I would say, it happened on your watch. But, I am not going to ask that those who were board members during this time to step down. The electors of the Glenwood City School District can do that come the April elections.

There are two heroes in this matter and they are Nicole Miller and Amy Dopkins. Those two were the ones that started asking questions about former Superintendent Tim Johnson’s billing the school for classes he said that he had taken.

Dopkins addressed the school board at their Monday, August 19th meeting asking the board to “communicate with the district attorney and try to get the criminal case against Johnson on a fast track.” She continued telling the board, “After all this community has been through, what Nicole and I and our families have been put through, by people on this board and by people in the community because of things that were said. I would hope and expect that the board would want charges filed sooner than later.”

I am happy to report that representatives from Intellex Forensic will be presenting their audit report at a school board work session that is scheduled for Wednesday, September 25 at 6 p.m. The meeting is open to the public and those attending will have an opportunity to ask the board questions. So here is the time to question away for “Your right to know.”

If you are interested in reading the 68-page report, it can be found on the district’s website (www.gcsd.k12.wi.us).

Thanks for reading!     ~Carlton