Home › Opinion & Editorial › Editorials
Editorial: Baker settlement only pleases those who want case finished
More Editorials 
Share and Enjoy 
An issue that started with finances as the furthest thing from the minds of three Collier County School Board members ends with them and a fourth member having finances as Priority One.
We would have preferred trial for former superintendent Ray Baker’s civil lawsuit against the School Board so that the whole story could come out, but what’s done is done. The case has reached a conclusion that is neither successful nor satisfying. It’s just over.
The board members who voted to oust Baker — Linda Abbott, Steve Donovan and Richard Calabrese — were joined by Kathleen Curatolo in favoring the $555,000 settlement rather than risking at trial as much as $2.67 million, by the estimate of School Board attorney Richard Withers.
Only board member Pat Carroll disagreed.
Citizens caught the irony of Abbott, Donovan and Calabrese talking about wanting to reduce the school system’s financial exposure.
If those three members had been thinking about that when they rushed to fire Baker last July, they would not have exposed the school system to even a dime’s worth of risk.
Comments
This site does not necessarily agree with comments posted below. Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. Break our rules, and we will ban you. No exceptions, no second chances. Read our privacy policy & user agreement.
Thank you Pat Carroll for taking a stand!
#1 Posted by dooley on May 17, 2008 at 7:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How ironic,
Naples Daily News is focused on fiscal responsibility in this article. They say they would prefer trial and only refer to the financial aspect, completely leaving out discussion of the education of our young people. How strange given the circumstances. Memories are so short. They supported Richard Calabrese in his bid to make change in the district. They even called him the "spark plug". Yet they bailed when impropriety was suggested and local business leaders were implicated.
I completely agree that all of the issues should have come out. The total mismanagement of the CCPS over the last 5 or so years is appalling. I think that it is an absolute crime that the people responsible will now get away without paying the price. All of you that want to hang the school board will be wanting this issue to be reopened when they find out where the money went. Because both sides have made declarations and have settled, it is doubtful it will be reopened. Soon we will be seeing administrators faces on the news regarding the Faerber case. The tip of the iceberg is emerging and NDN is solely focused on money. How many students careers and lives have been affected by the poor decisions of previous administrations? Why did the past board members rush to support the settlement with the protection clauses? That is too easy. It is called investigative journalism.
#2 Posted by ww2vet on May 17, 2008 at 12:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Post your comment
(Requires free registration.)