Akron School Moms: Does It Swing Both Ways?

Get set for another wave of Kelley Williams-Bolar stories. We're going beyond "The Talk" and "The View" so the big gun can weigh in. It's Dr. Phil time -- just as another Akron mother heads to a stretch in the county lockup for faking her way to benefits undeserved.

The Dr. Phil Show lists Friday as showtime for it's program highlighting "How Far Would You Go For Your Kids?" It will include some of the faces, voices and names you are very familiar with at this point. From the Dr. Phil website - the highlights are strictly mine as noted below:

Friday - March 4, 2011

How Far Would You Go for Your
Kids?

Would you risk breaking the law for your children’s education? What about for their safety? Kelley, a single mom, was prosecuted, convicted and sent to jail for listing her father’s address as her daughters’ residence, so they could attend a better school in a safer neighborhood. Kelley says she was working during the day and going to school at night, and after her house was burglarized, she wanted her children in a safer neighborhood for afterschool care. Kelley was convicted of two felony counts for tampering with government documents and spent nine days in jail. Did her punishment fit the crime? And, what other lies did she get caught in? Joining the discussion are Reverend Al Sharpton, columnist Bob Dyer, Kelley’s attorney David Singleton and a fellow single mom in the same school district. And, meet a mother who made her 15-year-old son stand on a street corner wearing a sign that declared his 1.22 grade point average and read “Honk if you think I need an education.” Is embarrassment a good parenting technique for motivating kids?

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Once again, the "better school" argument. Time and time again the point is raised -- even by Williams-Bolar -- this wasn't about "better schools." Time and time again, the selling point used by newspapers, columnists and commentators uses "better schools" to hang their arguments on. At least Dr. Phil's producers added some balance with the Beacon Journal's Bob Dyer. Advance plug: followers of this case will want to shell out for Dyer's column Friday and a likely addition Sunday. AkronNewsNow also provided producers with audio from some of our coverage, and in our conversations the Los Angeles-based staff seemed honest in their approach to focusing on facts. It's a shame the New York-based staff at CBS, ABC and CNN (among others) couldn't expend the same energy.

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While the Williams-Bolar story draws the most attention, a somewhat similar case unfolded in a Summit County courtroom today that saw a mother sent to jail for falsifying records to collect benefits connected to her children. This case, I predict, will not garner the same attention from the thoughtful out-of-town media minds or the National Action Network. It doesn't quite fit the narrative they need for their own agenda.

From the Prosecutor's Office:

Valerie Ziemba, 41, of North Canton, was found guilty by a jury of Illegal Use of Food Stamps or WIC Benefits and Tampering with Evidence, both felonies of the third degree, and Theft, a felony of the fifth degree.

Valerie Ziemba falsified government documents to claim that her children resided with her in order to illegally obtain approximately $14,427 in food stamp and cash assistance benefits. The children do not live with her, but with their father.

Judge Thomas Parker sentenced her to pay restitution in the amount of $14,427 to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, four months of house arrest, two years community control, and to serve 10 days in the Summit County Jail.

Sound familiar?

Valerie Ziemba reportedly collapsed in the courtroom when the verdict and sentence were delivered. There likely won't be cries of racism here; Ziemba is Caucasian. It's unlikely we'll hear an outcry of support to free Ziemba, complete with calls to overhaul the food stamp program. Rev. Sharpton and the host of the truly-concerned probably won't be making a bee-line for Akron. Don't expect Governor Kasich to weigh in with a plea to the Parole Board to decide if she should get a pass.

Ziemba will be portrayed as a welfare cheat who lied to steal benefits we all pay for. Williams-Bolar was a residency cheat who lied to take benefits the taxpayers of Copley-Fairlawn paid for.

Ziemba needs an agent.

Failed Lessons In The Williams-Bolar Case

Ever notice how the phrase "personal responsibility" has been sorely missing from those who would support giving Akron school mom Kelley Williams-Bolar a walk?

The list of supporters is pretty extensive, albeit not so much here at home where Akron and Copley-Fairlawn parents and citizens are no doubt suffering from reader's fatigue at this point.

But it is the story that won't go away, partly because these issues large and small run so deep and personal.

My friend Steve Hoffman of the Akron Beacon Journal -- and yes, I still consider him a friend even while I call out their editorials -- did the best job yet of laying out the big picture case. It's the second paragraph from Thursday's column I'm having a bit of trouble digesting:

"The first, learned the hard way by Williams-Bolar, the Copley-Fairlawn schools, Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh and Judge Patricia Cosgrove, is that the punishment (felony convictions) far outweighed the crime (tampering with documents)." - Akron Beacon Journal February 3, 2011

Steve's point is the lessons learned from this whole fiasco. Unfortunately, it highlights just how much further Williams-Bolar apologists need to go in learning their lessons.

Just to review -- again:

• supporters think it wasn't "proportional" to charge Williams-Bolar with felony counts, apparently ignoring Ohio law that defines records tampering as a felony. There's no doubt she lied on records again and again. That's records tampering;
• supporters think Prosecutor Bevan Walsh and Judge Cosgrove should have stepped in and ignored the state law and bumped the charges down to misdemeanors, apparently ignoring the willful, continued and tenacious refusal of Williams-Bolar to show even the slightest contrition for breaking the law;
• even if a plea bargain deal had been arrived at -- and it didn't come up, sources tell me, until the week before the three-year old case went to trial -- let's remember it takes more than one to tango. Williams-Bolar still doesn't admit to wrongdoing, shows no remorse, and when pressed says she should be exonerated.

Copley-Fairlawn schools investigated, held hearings, presented Williams-Bolar with their evidence, sent multiple invoices for tuition, offered a payment plan most parents would have killed (as opposed to lying) for and spent the better part of three years trying to work out the issue as adults. Put an ear to the speaker and listen to the residency hearing for a taste of just what tenacity sounds like. It's not the schools; it is those who broke the law and wouldn't take individual responsibility for their actions.

Attorneys working for Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh didn't make up the felony records tampering charges; they were doing their job, following the law and the evidence you can see with your own eyes. It included an absolute decision from Juvenile Court Judge Linda Tucci Teodosio rejecting a petition for power of attorney request from Edward Williams. Note in the paperwork you can read for yourself: Williams used the petition as evidence in his exchanges with Copley-Fairlawn schools, even though it was never true.

Judge Cosgrove, who along with Prosecutor Bevan Walsh has suffered the worst injustice to their reputations through this entire sordid affair, certainly showed far more compassion and respect for the defendant than Kelley Williams-Bolar showed for the justice system.

Critics say the sentence and felony charges weren't "proportional" to the crime.

Cosgrove could have sentenced Williams-Bolar to five years in prison; she didn't choose five, four, three, two or even one year. Cosgrove didn't sentence Williams-Bolar to six months, 90 days or even 30 days in prison. She sent an unrepentant and in-denial Williams-Bolar to the Summit County Jail for 10 days -- and even worked to let her out after nine days. She expressed the opinion she wished there had been a deal for a misdemeanor. The Judge might want to reconsider in light of continued revelations on the depth of the lies of this case.

There could have been an order requiring Williams-Bolar to pay at least some of the tuition benefits taken by fraudulent means from Copley-Fairlawn schools, yet not one dime of restitution was ordered. Probation of two years will cost the State of Ohio far more to administer than the inconvenience to Williams-Bolar.

The Williams family should thank God they had Cosgrove hearing the case.

Much has been made of the felony convictions now part of Williams-Bolar's record. She earned them. A jury found her guilty, and voted 11-1 to convict her of theft. Could these have been dealt down to misdemeanors? We won't know because one of the first steps of a plea deal -- admitting guilt to something, anything, was not part of the strategy Williams-Bolar has followed since Day One. Admission and apology are part of a plea deal.

Much has been made of the felonies prohibiting her from working as a teacher, yet the law doesn't prohibit her from working. It's Akron's policy regarding teachers with a felony, and in point of fact the Akron Public Schools will welcome Williams-Bolar back to the fold without even a hearing.

I'm not one of those who think she shouldn't be hired back. To the contrary, I don't believe this crime -- even as a felony -- warrants dismissal. That would be too severe, but not even a personnel hearing? It is disturbing the Akron school administration ignores its own policies regarding employees with felony convictions. Talk about lessons learned; will that outlook still hold true for the next APS worker in a jam? Is the lesson to teachers, students and workers to deny everything? Is cherry picking discipline really the lesson you want to send the children?

We hear much about personal accountability, but in a case where it would have avoided so much heartbreak there has been none.

To the apologists, I'd appreciate your answer to these questions:

• do you really think this case would have gone this far had Williams-Bolar not dug in her heels and piled lie upon lie atop a foundation of lies?
• does it impact you in any way that Williams-Bolar still refuses to accept responsibility?
• if you had been in the same shoes as Williams-Bolar, would you have taken responsibility?

Note I'm not asking how you feel about school choice, open v closed enrollment, equality in education, or school funding. This case isn't about any of those issues. Williams-Bolar says it wasn't about quality of education, it was about finding a safer place for her kids when they weren't in school.

The lesson plan is: what would you do?

Sunday Morning Blues

Used to be these Sunday mornings were exciting times; up early, get some stuff done, park in front of the TV for pregame or head down to the stadium for the in-person experience.

But those days seem to have had the life sucked out of them the past few years.

It's game day in northeast Ohio, what used to be reason to celebrate. Regardless of weather it was Browns Day, but now even the sunniest, clearest Sundays seem to be gloomy. There's just no fun left in the morning, and afternoons now become just another weekend day -- just without college football. Maybe the answer is in recording a college football game and watching on Sunday.

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It isn't often we see a healthy dose of journalism schizophrenia, but this morning's Akron Beacon Journal provides an example. I think it's a good thing, too -- seeing more diversity of opinion from columnists from the editorial pages adds to the public debate rather than detract. What makes this so interesting is the interesting choices of headlines: Friday's editorial remarked "spare us the rhetoric" when noting the Strickland plan to delay a tax decrease was really a tax increase. "Not a tax increase" said the editorial. Flash forward to Sunday where ABJ writer Dennis Willard shares his observation that the Strickland plan is a tax increase; "Strickland tax freeze a tax hike."

It's nice to see different opinions make it into print.

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For those of you who missed it: yes, Western Reserve Public Media, former known as PBS 45/49, moved NewsNight Akron to a different time. The programming folks are in a moving mode and figured the loyal viewership of the Akron area's only regular broadcast television news discussion program would be strong enough to play musical chairs with NNA and other programs. If you have DVR then it's easy -- just tell the recorder to find the show. There's an early Saturday morning replay in the event you don't want to skip Jay Leno.

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We ran into an interesting situation when trying to plan coverage of this Thursday's first forum featuring all of Akron's school board candidates. The now-eight person field is holding an event sponsored by the League of Women Voters at Resnick Community Learning Center, formerly known as Fairlawn Elementary. The LWV was in favor of our offer to broadcast the event live on 1590 WAKR and possible stream video on AkronNewsNow.

Then federal regulations stepped in.

The school gets phone and Internet service at greatly reduced rates thanks to FCC regulations but those same regulations put limits on the services being used for "school purposes only," and the schools hold that even a forum for school board candidates doesn't meet "school purposes only." Even, we are told, presidential visits bar the Secret Service from using those services.

We'll do a workaround; not live audio or video unless we get a little more faith in wireless broadband. It does spark some thought on how community learning centers function in conjunction with public schools navigating the complicated regulations often found in help from the feds.

A reminder everyone deals with red tape...even the folks living in red tape world.