So just spill it already and tell the people WHAT is going on and why a guy gets paid " to do whatever crap" he wants to.

Frogger seems to think he/she has hard facts to work on. Since anything he/ she might be referencing has not been proven, it sounds like someone has bought into the rumors that have been circling.

To grant a person "paid leave" means you are trying to compensate for something bad that happened. Garrow might be to blame, but MAYBE he is the victim.

When the TRUTH gets out, if it ever does, you all will be so let down that it isn't as juicy as the rumors you've heard. But you WILL be voting for new board members...

Lemke:

If you were directing that at me, I don't understand your point. How does that article relate to a discussion of the failure of the Constitution to apply to private businesses or to the enforcement provisions of Wisconsin open government laws?

Well to respond to that Gazette/bully comment, give this a read.
http://gazettextra.com/news/2012/dec/03/...

Stubby:

"Gazette's bullying tactics," really? The Milton School District is a governmental unit bound to Wisconsin's open government laws. Those laws provide the mechanism to enforce compliance. That mechanism is a lawsuit. Such action is open to any person or organization. Unfortunately, it's usually only the news media that has the resources to bring such lawsuits...or to threaten them.

Rather than bashing the media (Gazette), you should be praising them. They are doing what most of us can't afford to do on our own. They are forcing the governmental bodies to abide by the very law that they're obligated to observe.

As to the frequent complaints about The Gazette's comments policy being an abridgement of First Amendment rights of free speech, I will expand on Scott Angus' earlier explanation in this section. The right to free speech is guaranteed of our goverment. No govermental unit may infringe on our right to such free speech. The Gazette is most certainly not a govermental unit. The First Amendment doesn't force The Gazette to allow free speech. I wish they would allow comments on more stories than they do, but to accuse them of denying my First Amendment right by precluding comments would be absurd! It would show a complete lack of understanding as to the application of the Constitution.

@JoyM: Care to explain the me why it is the Gazettes job to be "dogging" your board. I think it's ridiculous that a newspaper has to go to these lengths. The taxpayers of Milton need to get off their duffs, attend board meetings, demand accountability & vote accordingly.

via sangus "Comparing our efforts here and our decision to not allow comments on some stories shows a total lack of understanding about the First Amendment and open records issues. We are pursing public information about public employees and the expenditure of tax dollars. Conversely, we are a private company and can make whatever decisions we want about our website. No First Amendment rights or free speech issues whatsoever. Those only deal with the government."

A crime is committed which is investigated by police that I pay with my tax dollars. The accused to goes to court and is prosecuted by the D.A. who I pay with my tax dollars. The court is run by a Judge again paid by my tax dollars. Court proceedings are open to the public and their records are also generally public information. However I can't comment on that, but I can comment on some guy who might have done something, and watch it turn into a news spectacle for all the wrong reasons. If you want a story about corruption and deceit, write a piece about where all those fines the courthouse collects goes to or how much advertising costs consumers on the products they buy.

My many thanks to Mr. Angus, Mr. Schultz, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Peck, Mr. Eyster and all at the Janesville Gazette for not letting the "mess" in Milton fall by the wayside and be yet another cover-up in the district. As taxpayers we have the right to know what our elected officials are doing with our money. As a parent I feel like I have a right to know what is going on in my childrens school district and this is all part of what I feel is my "right to know". Since no crime was committed (as far as any of us are aware) then keep the updates coming, Gazette!!
As far as Milton School Board is concerned...election season is around the corner. I CANNOT WAIT.

"analertcitizen
Dec 3, 2012 at 11:26 p.m.
Suggest removal

In the absence of criminal or serious personal inappropriate behavior by a public employee, the open records law could be ruining this man's life. In this day and age of instant ability to access anyone's name, this better be worth it to those who are in the need to know."
I guess then he shouldn't have done what he did or whatever the thing was.

"sangus
Dec 3, 2012 at 9:57 p.m.
Suggest removal

dodgeco,
Gazettextra has a policy to not allow comments on stories that involve crimes, courts, accidents, race or sex. We try to be consistent, but there is gray area. Several people monitor comments, and they might make different decisions depending on circumstances. I'm not sure about the subpoena story."
lol- my guess is sex but that hasn't been released.

Misscarlet what does worthless Scott walker have to do with this article He Should have one of his own as to his alias John Doe. This article should be open for comments as he is a paid person by tax payers and is in a sense a public figure as to his position in a PUBLIC SCHOOL

Well as a taxpayer in Milton this is what I am worried about now, We will have to at some point compensate the new intern till the end of the school year to do the job that Mr. Garrow what hired by the district to do. Problem two is this is only a short term solution to this situation till and are still having to deal with what to do next year: A do we retain Mr Garrow or B go with someone else. Now if the decision is B then the district is going to have to do another search for Mr. Garrow replacement. So this process will be far from done. The other thing on my mind is what exactly are the facts all we have is here say till the evidence is made public all we have is speculation and rumours. So the problem will still remain what to do next?

Lemke10 and Cheeseboard,
Comparing our efforts here and our decision to not allow comments on some stories shows a total lack of understanding about the First Amendment and open records issues. We are pursing public information about public employees and the expenditure of tax dollars. Conversely, we are a private company and can make whatever decisions we want about our website. No First Amendment rights or free speech issues whatsoever. Those only deal with the government.
As for The Gazette's supposed dislike for public education, I could not disagree more. Cheeseboard, can you provide examples, please?

Scott Angus
Editor

Lemke10 - You do not have the right to free speech if it is slanderous or libelous, and the potential for this is probably a primary reason that some posts are closed to comments. I am not sure why you think that closing the posting boards is really any different from the Gazette choosing NOT to print a written letter to the editor or the transcript of a phone message in Sound Off, or when the Gazette removes an inappropriate comment.

I always enjoy how news companies hold their freedom of the press and open record requests privileges so high, yet they will censor or not even allow you to comment on some articles. The Gazette is one of many news outlets that won’t allow you to comment on any crime related story. So much for your right to free speech, I guess.

analertcitizen - when you take a job in the public sector, you should be fully aware that the open records law applies to you and everything you do that has anything to do with your job. Even if it might be something you consider part of your private life, if it impacts your job (even the public's perception of your performance or behavior on the job), then you need to expect it might be open to scrutiny. If indeed he was cleared of any misdoings, then both the accusation and the information clearing him should both come out together with this release.

While I disagree with anyone getting a "paid leave" for such a length of time, I am even more appalled by the Gazette's bullying tactics to obtain the information. And make no mistake - it is bullying. Publicly and loudly threatening a lawsuit against an organization that clearly does not have the financial means to defend itself against such a suit is using intimidation to get your way. Shame on the Gazette.

oldvet, they have to let Garrow include another rebuttal before they release these. As long as I know the information is coming, then I will wait. But if the Gazette doesn't have the information or a hard date by next Tuesday, then they better get back to dogging the Board. At least the Board figured out they better not make us pay for a lawsuit, which by the way I feel would thoroughly be warranted if the records were not released.

dodgeco... your exactly right. I think we both know the answer to that question!

The Gazette is not responsible for "ruining Mr. Garrow's reputation." He is solely responsible but obviously refuses to take that into consideration. He must have missed the lesson about actions having consequences. That, plus an ego the size of a city certainly contriubted to this siutation.

Thanks Gazette
Now we should hope that Roy sends all (not part) of the requested records so that we can see why Milton taxpayers are paying someone to sit at home. Should it take up to seven days to comply? I thought the law says Roy has five days to comply? "Roy estimates the records will be available early next week by the latest."

In the absence of criminal or serious personal inappropriate behavior by a public employee, the open records law could be ruining this man's life. In this day and age of instant ability to access anyone's name, this better be worth it to those who are in the need to know.

We can thank the Gazette for forcing this issue that is important to both taxpayers and voters. A BIG "Thank You" Gazette for doing this ... and a BIG "Thank You" Governor Scott Walker for everything else.

dodgeco,
Gazettextra has a policy to not allow comments on stories that involve crimes, courts, accidents, race or sex. We try to be consistent, but there is gray area. Several people monitor comments, and they might make different decisions depending on circumstances. I'm not sure about the subpoena story.
This story involves a decision by elected officials to pay a public employee with tax dollars for not working. Extreme public interest, and a worthy topic for discussion. We have committed to watching comments closely and removing those that are objectionable.
Scott Angus
Editor

Why is this thread open to comment? A thread last week about subpoenas to reporters was not left open. Odd.

Northman, Sometimes it's worthwhile to put things simply and briefly, especially when writing a shorter version of the story, as this one is. But to be sure, the editorial threatened legal action.
==================
I should add that reporters don't have a voice in what is written in the paper's editorials. That's standard and proper procedure for newspapers, but some don't seem to get it. --Frank Schultz, the Word Badger.

Wait till you hear the answer....its a tad bit shocking for some...it will infuriate others that we waste money and all this time on this garbage...another 60k for this stupidity...it should open up some seats on the school board though.

“Roy’s announcement comes on the heels of a strongly worded editorial in The Gazette’s Sunday edition…” Oh, come now. It was a bald-faced threat. Put up, or we sue your butts. Not that you were wrong to take that approach, but let’s not start mincing words now. The better sentence would be,
“Roy clearly blinked after the Gozer staff threw down the gauntlet and threated legal action …” I’m sure the Word Badger would approve.