Milton School Board stays mum on whether district is paying for Garrow's leave
MILTON--The Milton School District has no legal basis to withhold information about whether Superintendent Mike Garrow is being paid while on leave, a media attorney told The Gazette today.
“There should be no question that the public is entitled to know whether he is being unpaid or if he’s sitting at home with taxpayers paying for it,” said Bob Dreps, a Madison attorney who advises media on records and access issues.
School District officials are being mum on whether Garrow is being paid while on an “approved leave of absence.”
School Board President Rob Roy refused Monday to tell reporters whether Garrow is being compensated during an approved leave that started Oct. 15 and the board and Garrow agreed Monday to extend to June 30, 2013.
The Gazette today filed an open records request with district officials seeking to obtain payroll records that would show whether Garrow has been paid for his leave since his leave began Oct. 15.
In the request, The Gazette also asked for records outlining the board and Garrow’s agreement for his ongoing leave, as well as records relating to his request for leave.
The Gazette in addition requested Garrow’s full employment contract as well as performance evaluation materials for Garrow since he started work in the district in 2011.
For more on this story, read Wednesday's Gazette, The Gazette's e-edition, or check back at Gazettextra.com
Nov 14, 2012 at 3:30 p.m.
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No matter what happens... remember it is for the children... that excuse sounds more ridiculous all the time, yet the clueless keep using it.
Nov 14, 2012 at 2:47 p.m.
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Possibly Mr Garrow isn't the only person involved in this situation.
Nov 14, 2012 at 10:21 a.m.
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If he wasn't being paid, why not just say so and avoid making it a bigger issue resulting in open records requests and more news stories? It seems like the board is allowing him to continue to collect pay and benefits on the taxpayers dime, while not doing the job he was hired to do. Maybe not, but that's certainly how it looks. If that isn't what they're doing, then the fact that they chose not to disclose any of the basic information and allowed it to become a big issue was pretty stupid.
Nov 14, 2012 at 9:52 a.m.
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Yada, what the school board says about the reason for his leave isn't necessarily the truth. Why take them at their word? It's convenient timing, but that's all, and it's being used to cover up the truth. This head in the sand mentality is only going to hurt the district in the long run.
Nov 14, 2012 at 8:40 a.m.
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Yada: I totally agree. This is a slippery slope that needs to be handled legally. I do find it reprehensible that the BOE is withholding information the public should be entitled to considering the information put forward by the Madison attorney. I applaud the Gazette for requesting the information no one seems to be able to get from elected officials on the Milton School Board.
Nov 14, 2012 at 7:09 a.m.
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If this is truly a personally-requested leave, then why is the Board hiding the matter of compensation, except for the part where it should NOT be paid. If it's a personnel matter (IE related to performance or on-the-job behavior), then there may be a legal limit to what we may be told BUT whether he is being paid and what the contract provides for should be open to us. I hope the Gazette's actions do force the Board's hands on this one.
Nov 14, 2012 at 6:55 a.m.
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Spoken like ONLY --> WISLADY would. Easy to say fire him, but this needs to be handled correctly. Keep in mind he did have a death in the family.
"Milton Supt on Approved Leave"
http://gazettextra.com/news/2012/oct/30/...
Oct 30
Also - Info from Milton Courier Newspaper
http://www.hngnews.com/milton_courier/ne...
Best to get all the facts first - He was on approved leave due to the death of a family member. We all handle the death of a family member or close relationship in our own way and it is best if we allow the Milton school District to handle it.
Nov 13, 2012 at 8:42 p.m.
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Why wait, fire him now.
Nov 13, 2012 at 7:26 p.m.
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Uh oh, another shell game in Milton. When will them little towners ever learn?
Nov 13, 2012 at 7:21 p.m.
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I believe the Milton school board at least owes the taxpayers an answer to the question of whether or not this is a paid leave.
If they will not answer that question...they should be replaced.
Nov 13, 2012 at 7:08 p.m.
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Isn't it convenient that Garrow's leave ends on the same date his contract does? And why no reasonable explanation why his school district e-mail account was completely shut down when his leave began? That's not something an employer does when it expects an employee to return. Plenty of people know the true reason he's not on the job right now. More will find out the truth in spite of the school board's diversionary tactics.
Nov 13, 2012 at 6:52 p.m.
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Go get 'em Gazette!
Nov 13, 2012 at 6:24 p.m.
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The Milton school board should have learned (from the current Petraeous issue) that withholding info illegally is not likely to be to their benefit.
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