And she once served with Ron Angle! She's been a Director for 16 years, and served for the last three as President.
Steve Bussenger, who is VP of the Board, though his election as President was automatic. And he was. ... For about four minutes. The Board instead installed Mike Goffredo.
Colton had been rumored to be a Controller's candidate against incumbent Steve Barron, but she never circulated a petition.
Her resignation is below:
I have thought long and hard about this and although part of me believes I should stay on as board president until the December 7, 2015 reorganization meeting, I have decided to resign from the board effective immediately. My decision is based on the fact that after 16 years of working very hard for this district, I no longer want to be connected to the unprofessional approach that some board members have adopted when dealing with our staff, nor am I able to support the lack of accountability I am witnessing every day.
Throughout my 16 years I have never served in such a divisive environment, and I have served with some very opinionated school board directors. Now board members task administrators with their own agenda items rather than making sure it is the will of the majority. Board members dig for information on staff members rather than letting supervisors handle situations. Board members railroad meetings with their own personal agenda. Nothing I have done to advise otherwise has changed the behavior. The staff is now operating from a position of weakness, not strength.
I have given 100 percent of my help and support to this administrative team when asked. I have always been available to answer questions, attend meetings, or just talk through a situation. I hope whoever is chosen to replace me by the remaining eight board members treats you as well. I wish you the best going forward.
Sincerely,
Pam Colton
Who will Directors appoint to succeed her? My guess would be Ron Angle. His heart has always been in the Bangor School Board, and I think the votes are there. But he would only be serving until the end of the year. That's when Pam's term on the Board expires. She never sought re-election.
43 comments:
But...but...can he hold that office and still be county Controller?
I think not.
Would he drill open any more file cabinets to read confidential teacher personnel files?
Ask him. You;d have to tell him who you are.
The NorCo chi wa wa uses Boonie to do his bidding, what's in it for you besides apple products and attorneys fees? Oh a place to spend the holidays...
"I don't cover School Boards."
As a retired teacher myself, I can tell you she was known for HER OWN self serving antics to benefit herself, my family and her "click" friends.....Was known for being a jock supporter.
Best thing to happen at Bangor in years!
"Classy" Way to Leave...... then again consider the source.... Classy? NOT
Hey, retired teacher? It's "clique"
Good riddance! That board needs a complete overhaul. Colton set the district back twenty years worth of unneeded debt for capital projects. Adios and fare thee well.
RON ANGLE may not serve two masters. He can serve on the School Board while running for Controller, but he may not serve on the school board while serving as County Controller.
Here is my prediction.
If asked, he will serve as a school director until such time as he is elected to County Controller. He will then take the controllers job (because of the high pay involved) and resign the school board position. He will serve four years as controller, make a name for himself as a financial guru (altering his present image along the way)then he will run for County Executive. Either way, for pension purposes, after he is controller, he can buy any military time, he can buy his county council time, and he will have his controller time giving him a County pension worth more than three thousand dollars per month. Ron is dumb like a fox.
Gary W. Gorman writes...
The Bangor School Board just lost a great leader. Take heed of her words. They are true. Sadly, her letter rings true, not only in Bangor, but in many other school districts and other local municipalities throughout this region. While some of her school board colleagues might be rejoicing in cheers of, "good riddance", the true luminaries recognize the dark cloud that just cast over this district.
I reiterate..Good riddance!
""I don't cover School Boards."
I generally do not.
There is no conflict with Ron sitting on the school board. He would only be there until the end of December, when Colton's term expires.
My only knowledge of Colton was when the Renew Board put her in as Exec Director there. She in far over her head, and had an incompetent board to boot. Of course, Joyce Marin, her successor, is no better, and has the same group of incompetence on the board. But I digress.
Anyone who volunteers to be on a school board is either a glutton for punishment or truly dedicated to the cause of community service. That job sucks. I'm thankful people are willing to volunteer, even the people I disagree with. If she served on the school board for 16 years, she's earned the right to go out with a bang.
The Banker
She hasn't been the same since Pat Mulroy left
No need to put Ron on the Board...he can disrupt the meeting from any chair.
This board has followed her lead for way too many years. We are left in debt up to our eye balls and all because of her penchant for writing huge checks for what ever she wanted. No one on this board ever said boo! Fearless leader is now gone. Who has the guts to take the wheel?
If you want to launch this kind of personal attack, but are unwilling to take responsibility for them, them your remarks and you are both worthless pieces of shit.
Chris Marrozzi would be a better choice to lead this board right now. At least he has children and understands what the education system looks like from that perspective and his Mom was a really good district teacher for a long time. My 2 cents.
9:48 knows what the issues are within the Bangor sch. Dist. The cover up needs to now be exposed to the light of day. Out with the old guard. Vote them out!
Actually, 9:48 is an anonymous coward with no integrity.
For those commenting on Pam being "self-serving," I can ensure you of just the opposite. My mother watched my three siblings and I complete kindergarten through twelfth grade at Bangor, and she is incredibly knowledgeable about the district and conscious of its needs. She spent countless hours at meetings and on the phone with administrators, teachers, and community members discussing various issues-- no matter how big or small they were.
Being a Bangor alumna, she understands the community and has connections throughout it-- from family members, friends, and fellow dedicated parents. Whether or not you agreed with her decisions, it is unfair to anonymously make comments about her 16 years of service for a school district which she truly cares about as selfish. I will be teaching in DC, and she is someone who I would be proud to have on my board. Her commitment to the community and willingness for dialogue is what I am looking for in my board members, and I am proud to have witnessed my mother lead the board in that way.
Lindsey, your comment is proof that your mother raised honest and independent-minded children. She should be very proud of you. The anonymous personal attacks are being deleted as I see them. Those people, unlike you, are cowards.
You pay school taxes in this district Lindsey? Your thoughts are wonderful but you are out of touch with the reality of what we working class people have to deal with. Your biased view means little to us who pay the freight. Thanks for standing up for your Mom but we beg to differ.
Says an anonymous coward. She has demonstrated for for integrity at her young age than you seem able to muster.
You can disagree with my sister and say what you want, but at least know what you are talking about before you do it. My mom has nothing to do with your school taxes in this district. She does not write any checks to build new things or buy new equipment, so it is not her fault you aren't happy with your taxes. She also isn't the only person who votes on issues and whether things get passed or not. She is one of nine votes on the board. Hers doesn't count more than the next person. You can point fingers, but you also have probably never been to a meeting to voice your opinion because going there wouldn't convenience you. She was on the board before I was in kindergarten because she wanted to get involved in the school and help not just us but everyone we went to school with the best education possible. She wouldn't vote yes to something that costed money to make her own school taxes go up if they weren't beneficial, would she? I don't know of many organizations or school districts that make improvements while saving money, it just doesn't happen. But to say my mom was the reason for your taxes going up is wrong and your comments reflect that. They would not even vote on a project if they didn't get the go ahead from the business department. My parents are working class people just like everyone else. She also has spent more hours at the schools in these 16 years than I probably have. She got more phone calls regarding school issues in a week than I can count on my fingers and toes. She had no control directly over any of them because she was not in a position to make executive decisions. And you know how much she made doing it all? Not a dime. My mom is very selfless and to see people putting blame solely on her is unfair. Obviously people have their opinions and they can differ, but at least understand the situation before anonymously posting your "two cents."
She will be running for controller in 6 days
The "classy" way she resigned and damaged the reputation of the School District and took shots at her fellow elected Board Members was cowardly on her way out and speaks volumes of her commitment and integrity.....Someone who brags of her commitment to quit four months before her term ends and leave like that? Class? Integrity? Noooo.
She damaged her own integrity and reputation and would not get elected dog catcher let alone County Controller. The School District has already moved forward from what I read with a new President and going to interview a short term replacement.... No elected official with integrity resigns and leaves like that if they had qualities of integrity and class. On a good note... the skeletons will remain in the closet and life moves on.... GO SLATERS!
You may not like the way she resigned, but there was nothing cowardly about it. She signed her name. How about you?
"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people." -Eleanor Roosevelt
It is more than disheartening to belong to a community of people who find pleasure in constructing negative, anonymous posts behind a phone, tablet, computer screen, etc. Yes, this happens in every town, city, and forum in our world, but why not be better than that?
Despite the fact that Pam is my mom and I have watched her pour thousands of thankless hours into the Bangor Area School District, these personal attacks on her are not what upset me the most about this comment section. Why not? Because these personal attacks are not a direct reflection of her or her character. Rather, this reflects the character of the spineless cowards who choose to spread such hate and animosity in an anonymous fashion.
If you have commented on this post, it is because you have some type of tie to the school district. You could be a former teacher, a tax payer, or even an alumni. What that means to me is that we are all connected in some way, and there is a level of care expressed by each of us for this school and this area. Rather than tear down fellow members of our community, why aren't we building each other up? Rather than wasting energy to comment your hate toward an individual, why not volunteer your time at a local event? There are so many positive and productive ways to contribute to this community. Why are we, instead, sitting back, pointing the finger, and placing blame?
My mom spent 16 years dedicating her time, energy, and efforts to improving the school district. Whether or not you agree with school board decisions is completely irrelevant unless you are willing to get up and effect change. I encourage each individual who took the time to post a negative comment to think about what you are willing to do to make Bangor better.
Though I am proud to have been taught that my opinion matters, I am even more proud that I was taught to own that opinion and stand by it. Finally, I am most proud to have such a selfless mother who thoroughly educated herself on the issues of the district and strove every day to make the Bangor community better.
I can't not stand how people can bluntly say "you have no idea what we working class people have to deal with" You can't pin Pam's name to the responsibility of your school taxes especially if you cant pin your own name to your comment/post. For all we know you're probably one of the many people who collect welfare and disability yet still classify yourself as "we working people". Everyone has to pay taxes! (unless you're Al Sharpton) You cant pin Pam's name to that responsibility, so don't because she's not accountable for that. I could on and on however my blood pressure is spiking because of irrelevant opinions and personal agenda theories. Its sad that the people who have so much to say are those who haven't got the slightest idea of what it takes to run a school district also what it entails, none the less have no contribution to the district or community. Pam made a great decision, Also there are two types of people in this world... people who wait for things to happen & people who make things happen. Pam and Ron MAKE THINGS HAPPEN! #ProPam #ProRon
Sincerely,
the reason why I chose to stray from the political path of coaching and teaching at bangor!
Russ Horn
Russ, Thanks for your comment and saying who you are. I don't know if Ron can handle someone saying nice things about him. I'll sit him down first.
Alex, I missed your comment earlier. Like your sister, I wish to commend you for coming forward, like a man, and taking responsibility for your words. It's a lesson that some others could learn. Your mom must be doing something right to have raised such great kids.
So is it true that Pam Colton cut a deal with her friend Ron Angle to run for Controller or not? And Ron Angle is supporting her run?
Like the insistent way that an anon demands information.
Then remove the anonymous option and watch your posts drop to next to nothing. Can't take the heat and we all know why.
What we all know is that people like you are cowards.
Mr. O'Hare,
I was curious if you knew when the Express Times would be posting their annual list of delinquent property tax-payers in the county? If I'm not mistaken typically it is published around this time of year.
That being said, it is a known fact that in the past the interim named president of the Bangor School Board has been on that certain list. This is not a personal attack at this individual in any way. I believe that individual to be quite a knowledgeable, and proven leader who is certainly capable of the task at hand regardless of personal financial issues. Regardless, it is not the best example to be made to be on that said list while at the same time occupying a seat on the school board. Though I am entitled to my opinion and others may disagree, others may certainly be in agreement if it were brought to light.
Also, congratulations on the affirmation of your ruling.
I don't believe Pam Colton will run for Controller but if she did why would ANYONE want Ron Angle's support or endorsement?
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