Or at least allow it under her nose? Questions upon questions abound.
659:44-a Electioneering by Public Employees.
I. No public employee, as defined in RSA 273-A:1, IX,shall electioneer while in the performance of his or her official duties.
II. No public employee shall use government property or equipment, including, but not limited to, telephones, facsimile machines, vehicles, and computers, for electioneering.
III. For the purposes of this section, “electioneer” means to act in any way specifically designed to influence the vote of a voter on any question or office.
IV. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
And now, a second time.
As you all know, I get stuff (like all of us Groksters). All the time. Can’t always (seldom?) use it all but sometimes when said stuff either catches my interest or rises in importance. Which one is this? Well, both.
THese voters (in particular) have a very important decision to make – withdrawing from the cooperative SAU21. It seems that the kids aren’t all right as far as student achievement is concerned – that standard test scores (e.g., NEAP) are not only in the toilet, they’re on their way to the septic tank. And guess who is supposed to be responsible for that “achievement”? That’s easy – look up. It’s Meredith Nadeau.
She was the Superintendent of SAU1331 in Newmarket whenn this occurred – from Foster’s Daily Democrat (emphasis mine):
The attorney general’s office recently found school officials in violation of electioneering law.
NEWMARKET — An assistant attorney general has found the Newmarket School District in violation of electioneering laws in relation to the $38.9 million bond approved by voters in March to renovate the Junior-Senior High School. The complainant said he is “undecided” on whether he will take further legal action regarding the vote.
In a letter to Superintendent Meredith Nadeau on Wednesday, Brian Buonamano of the attorney general’s civil bureau said his office received an election law complaint on March 1 submitted by Jeffrey Clay, a former Newmarket school district employee. The complaint alleged Newmarket school officials and faculty had been posting electioneering communications on the school district website, in violation of RSA 659:44-a, which states “no public employee shall electioneer while in the performance of his or her official duties.” The RSA defines electioneering as “to act in any way specifically to influence the vote of a voter on any question or office.”
“I have reviewed the Newmarket school district website identified in the complaint and have observed a collection of videos linked on the website that show administration officials, faculty and students providing statements and information intended to influence voters at an upcoming town election,” Buonamano wrote. “The website also contains a message from you, the superintendent (meaning Meredith Nedeau, Ed.D), that indicates that the videos and website will explain how Newmarket school facilities ‘need immediate attention’ and that also states, ‘Our schools are in need of upgrades and if they don’t happen, the students suffer.'” Nadeau went on to say school officials hoped voters would support the project come March.
“Caught red-handed” doesn’t begin to describe it.
Let me paraphrase RSA 659 under my rubric of “Follow the Law “—keep your yap shut if you draw a gubbmint check.” Or simply, just “shut up” when it comes to elections, voting, issues, and voters. Period. I think even someone holding an Ed.D could understand such a stricture: No means NO!
However, it seems, those in the Edumacation field fer our young’uns ain’t getting the drift. Or, more to the point, they believe they are above the Law. How else to explain this activity?
But WAIT (as the infomercial sings loudly), there’s more!
“I have reviewed the Newmarket school district website identified in the complaint and have observed a collection of videos linked on the website that show administration officials, faculty and students providing statements and information intended to influence voters at an upcoming town election,” Buonamano wrote. “The website also contains a message from you, the superintendent, that indicates that the videos and website will explain how Newmarket school facilities ‘need immediate attention’ and that also states, ‘Our schools are in need of upgrades and if they don’t happen, the students suffer.'” Nadeau went on to say school officials hoped voters would support the project come March.
It’s the old trick of using kids as political pawns to get what someone wants. Like in the parallel track in Education when TransAuthoritarians are trying to pressure parents to mutilate their children using the emotional bludgeon of “Well, what do you want – a dead son or a live daughter?”.
Both are disgusting, and right-minded adults should lay into both kinds of emotional/political abusers REAL hard. So, they tried to influence the voting. Did they use government property as government-paid employees? What did the State’s legal eagles find?
Ayup, your first guess is spot-on:
Buonamano said after reviewing the content, his office concluded the videos were produced during school operations and that public property (the district website) was used to disseminate the videos, which is electioneering communications, contrary to the RSA.
Nadeau was “specifically seeking to influence the vote of the voters,” Buonamano wrote. Buonamano ordered the district and faculty to “cease and desist” any further electioneering communications and to remove the videos posted on www.newmarketschoolprojects.com.
As well as who was the “front-woman” for this electioneering. And the website is dead (I looked for grins and giggles).
And the “hammer” part of Buonamano’s admonishment? If you read all from the Fosters piece, did you see anything about charges being laid in against Nedeau? No, you didn’t but there was this – and it is when this whole thing gets real for Dr. Meredith Nedeau:
“In the event of future violations, this office will take further action,” Buonamano said, stating violations of the RSA are criminal misdemeanors.
Well, guess what? In learning about this sordid matter and despite the very poor decision making by Nedeau (blatant, in your face variety), nothing happened. I’m not surprised. GraniteGrok has had dozens of stories about the AG’s office doing little when it came to elections, voter fraud, and electioneering. This was yet another instance of going through the motions with nothing done except words. Guilty in deeds but the legality of the malfeasance just sublimated into the ether.
I think that Gomer Pyle, an actor and singer that you have to be “this old” to remember his famous tag line:
Well GOLLLLYYYYY, Sargent!
It seems, from the whispers in my ears, she’s gone and allowed/done it again. Could I categorize it as “Queen of her own fiefdom” and the Law be damned? Thinking that her ticket wouldn’t be punched the second time around in another District?
The withdrawal from the cooperative district, SAU1621, may not happen. And with that, a School Board bound and determined to raise the academic abilities of its students, an opportunity gone to waste.
Is it because she might believe that she benefits in being part of a larger District? That her $300K/year for watching over poor performance while laying the blame on other factors completely? Other reasons?
Well, all those “Skip Whisperers” sent receipts if you doubt me. And I intend to post them. And contact the AG’s office. And I some other actions as well. However, since this has gone long, that will wait for Part 2…
Tomorrow.
