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Fly on the Wall Cam: Richard Gaines

By Antonio D. French

Filed Wednesday, June 20, 2007 at 7:47 PM

One of the downsides for many of the roughly 120 people who attended last night's Special Administrative Board (SAB) meeting was that, because of the unique format (see our earlier post), if you weren't one of the lucky ones seated at a table Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Gaines, or Ms. Adams came to, you could very well have spent over an hour at the meeting and not heard one question or one answer.

Good thing you've got the Internet and PubDef.

From across the crowded room, thanks to a wireless microphone, we followed the conversation at one of those tables.



UPDATE:  Some commenters have asked what Gaines meant when he said, in response to a question about what he'd do if he found that others were not including him in decision-making, "I get a very small salary for doing this and I don't mind giving that salary up." Gaines' salary is indeed "very small." Zero, in fact.

Gaines tells PubDef he was merely making a joke about his volunteerism. SAB members, like the elected board members, will not be paid for their efforts.

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10 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Very enlightening. I have grown very pessimistic about anything the City does, and I had completely written off any possibility that the city school system could turn itself around. If the other two members of the transition board are of Mr. Gaines' mettle, perhaps there is a glimmer of hope. (That is, of course, if the elected board doesn't first completely distract them from their mission.)

6/20/2007 9:10 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Did Gaines say he was getting a small salary? What salary? Are elected members paid?

6/20/2007 9:55 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I was wondering about that salary comment. Section 162.1100.2(1) RSMo states in part, "The members of the governing board shall serve without compensation..."

("governing board" refering here to the transition board)

6/21/2007 12:31 AM

 
Blogger Tom Leith said...

Good job, PubDef.

t

6/21/2007 8:00 AM

 
Blogger Antonio D. French said...

Glad you like, Tom. BTW, did you attend the meeting?

6/21/2007 9:13 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Elected board members are not paid.

If the city schools turn around, you can thank Dr. Bourisaw--who was brought in by an elected board.

6/21/2007 10:08 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I thought Sullivan was supposed to be paid, but he declined accepting any salary.

6/21/2007 12:50 PM

 
Blogger Tom Leith said...

> BTW, did you attend
> the meeting?

No, unfortunately. I had duties to attend to. As it turned out not to be a shout-fest, I might've actually enjoyed it and found it useful.

But thanks to PubDef I have had the opportunity to appreciate Mr. Gaines' forthright comments and admire his public meeting skills; and to have seen in action the organizational skills of Mr. Sullivan. I have not heard anything from Ms. Adams (whom I would encourage in future not to leave early), but presuming she can play in the same league with Messrs. Sullivan and Gaines, I'd say without the least disrespect to the members of the elected board, that it appears we have an impressive SAB. (SAB. I feel like such a political junkie now.)

And now, I have more duties to attend to. Thanks again.

t

6/21/2007 1:04 PM

 
Blogger Antonio D. French said...

UPDATE: Some commenters have asked what Gaines meant when he said, in response to a question about what he'd do if he found that others were not including him in decision-making, "I get a very small salary for doing this and I don't mind giving that salary up." Gaines' salary is indeed "very small." Zero, in fact.

Gaines tells PubDef he was merely making a joke about his volunteerism. SAB members, like the elected board members, will not be paid for their efforts.

6/21/2007 1:45 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

tOM PLEASE GET YOUR FACTS CORRECT. mS. ADAMS DID NOT LEAVE THAT EARLY. ONLY A FEW MINUTES EARLY AND BESIDES NO ONE LEFT TO TALK TO BU THE UNION. MS. ADAMS HAS BEEN VERY AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC. MORE THAN THE OTHER TWO.
LET US THANK THEM ALL FOR DOING THIS. I THOUGHT I HEARD GAINES SAY HE WAS GETTING A SMALL SALARY. SEE VIDEO???

6/23/2007 12:44 AM

 

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