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I have to start being more careful. I have been around 44 W main too long and the frustration of dealing with them is starting to influence my judgement. If anything these last ten months have taught me is that there are a lot of good people working for us! Dr. Gary Brooks is one of them as well as the Amelia School Principal and I am sure many others. Honorable people attract honorable people and the impression that Dr. Brooks has given me makes me believe that our School District is in good hands. That does not mean that I agree with every decision they make because I don't! But you find in life that disagreement happens quite a bit. Just think about your wife and teenage kids! But in terms of our elected officials and those who work for us at the schools and other facilities the most important things as far as I am concerned are trust and honesty. Dr. Brooks and his staff have shown both of these traits that I that I respect above all others. When I first found out about these flyers I was furious. I really don't like to be mad at anyone for anything and usually I do not express anger. I try my best but in this case I failed miserably. I associated the school with the Village and that was my first mistake. When I sent the emails to both Amelia Elementary and the Board of Education my mind set was on the Village and for that I would like to apologize to both the principal at Amelia Elementary, Stephanie Walker, to Dr. Brooks and anyone else who may have read my emails. I would hope that both of these people would please pass on my humble apologies. What I expected and what I received were two very different things. What I expected is what I would have received from 44 W Main. What I received was 180 degrees away! Below is what Dr. Brooks sent me via email in letter form. Please read it. TO: Mr. John Toren FROM: Gary Brooks, Ed.D. Superintendent West Clermont Local Schools DATE: April 22, 2009 RE: Summary of phone conversation of Tuesday April 21, 2009 Mr. Toren and I began our telephone conversation at approximately 8:00pm. I introduced myself, thanked Mr. Toren for returning my earlier call. I indicated that I would be happy to respond to the questions he had raised about a flyer announcing two meetings hosted by the Amelia Village Council at Amelia Elementary in an email sent to the general WC electronic in-box. I informed Mr. Toren that the flyers in question had been sent home without authorization of the building principal or, as is customary, the superintendent’s office. The flyers had been distributed to teachers/students by the building secretary, who erred in judgment. That situation has been addressed through appropriate measures by the personnel department. West Clermont Local Schools does not now, nor have we as a matter of record sided with a candidate, issue, or utilized students as “couriers” for political propaganda. I informed Mr. Toren that a representative from Village Council had contacted the school earlier Tuesday offering to cancel the two meetings if it (the meetings) had become an issue. Since the Village had submitted appropriate paperwork (Facility Use Permit), use of the building was not the issue and the first of two meetings was on-going as we spoke. We both believed that the offer to cancel was a wise and appropriate gesture on the village’s part. Mr. Toren indicated that he would so state that on his web commentary, The meeting, however, was not the concern. The dissemination of flyers that could be construed as supportive of a ballot issue through student book bags was the issue. I informed Mr. Toren that we would send a letter from administration via student book bag (Wednesday Packet) to all parents on April22 notifying them that the flyer they received the previous week was sent w/o the knowledge or approval of building/district leadership. We offered both an apology and a brief explanation (A copy of that flyer has been sent electronically to Mr. Toren). As a secondary means of notification, I directed the principal to auto-communicate via telephony to all student households replicating the same message Wednesday afternoon (A copy of that script has been sent as well). Mr. Toren requested and has received a copy of the district “Facility Use Permit and a User Fee Schedule.” Facility Use fees are required to be completed by groups/organizations that use district facilities such as gyms, cafeterias, fields, etc. The superintendent has been given discretion by the school board to waive some, but not all fees for organizations such as PTO’s that have a linear relationship to building students. All organizations pay custodial fees and are required to provide certificates of liability insurance when requested. After review and signature of the building principal and organization representative, the completed forms are forwarded to the district office. Required fees are payable to the district treasurer and are deposited in the general fund. Mr. Toren requested a summary of our amiable and informative phone conversation. He informed me that he would post the documents requested, email, and other documentation to his web site. We agreed that he would contact me if the information sent was incomplete. After some general conversation about our nearly half-century of shared experience in Amelia, mutual acquaintances, and village history, we concluded the conversation on a positive note. geb What you see here is what honorable people do. They communicate with each other and work things out. There is no arrogance, no yelling and screaming, no threats, no deceipts and no mistrust. An unfortunate mistake was made. There was no attempt to cover it up. It was admitted to. The wrong was righted not just by a letter in the Wednesday packet but over the phone as well! What more can a person ask for? NOTHING! My heartfelt thanks to Dr. Brooks for his efforts in this matter and for providing us with this letter. Additionally I will be posting all the other documents that he sent me on another informational page so that you all can see how the system works. If the powers to be, with the exception of Chief Sucher, at 44 W Main had the integrity that Dr. Brooks and all his staff have shown we wouldn't be sitting here today trying to dissolve Amelia. This is the letter that went home with the children 
This is the script of the phone call made. 
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