... the plaque has been removed (October 4, 2010).Today, a commenter claiming to be Julie McArdle's husband, posted on Peoria Chronicle that Mary Davis has been honored with a bench at Lindbergh School.
The post:
"A bench was permanently installed near the front entrance of Lindbergh Middle School on Friday Oct 1st 2010. There is a nameplate attached to the bench that reads, “Simply the Best, Ms. Davis”.
As Julie McArdle’s husband, I am disappointed that given the circumstances, “the powers that be” would allow this to happen."
In October of 2009, Mary Davis, who had been on paid leave since September from her position as District 150 academic officer, was fired with a BOE vote of 5-0. Board members David Gorenz and Jim Stowell were not present for the vote. The BOE vote came four days after Davis, pleaded not guilty to 16 felony counts of official misconduct and theft. While principal at Charles Lindbergh Middle School, Davis is alleged to have taken money from the school two times in 2005, four times in 2006 and two times in 2007.
Davis served as Lindbergh principal five years before becoming District 150 academic officer in 2008.
Questions have been raised as to who authorized the bench to be installed on school grounds. After a quick review of the Lindbergh website, the only reference I could find to a bench is an April, 2010 notation in the PTO minutes under New Business:
NEW BUSINESS - Class gift/letter-MELANIE GRAY
For the 8th grade class gift, a suggestion was to collect money for landscaping and possibly a bench. Melanie and Bill Gray are purchasing a decorative rock and paying for the engraving for the Class of 2010.
Was the purchase and installation of the bench simply an 8th grade class wanting to commemorate a Principal for whom they had fond memories? Hopefully the Police line tape will be removed before the children return to school on Monday.
Hat tip to Sharon Crews for the photos.
28 comments:
I didn't take the pictures--just passed them on to Emerge. Also, I have heard that a Lindbergh teacher saw the bench without the plaque--it "appeared" at a later time.
If the bench is from the 8th grade class, I believe it is customary to put that information on the plaque--so that the 8th grade would get credit for the gift. The lack of an identification of a "donor" seems strange, indeed. Monday's agenda should give all the data (giver and cost) for the gift.
No. The 8th grade class that year raised money to purchase new athletic banners for the gym...Oh, they were never ordered by Davis, but the money disappeared(the PTO knows this). Story is that the Fab Five bought the plaque to "honor" their leader....
Perhaps Ms. Davis purchased the bench and had it engraved "Simply the Best"? She was always a cheerleader for Lindbergh school.
I love that someone put crime scene tape on it!
I hope the plaque stays up. It will be a source of great entertainment!
Perhaps she purchased it with the money she "allegedly" stole....
Nice bench. I would imagine that as long as the bench and plaque are there, it will be vandalized.
Principal Plunkett appears to have a pretty good handle on his school; I'm thinking this thing went through the proper channels before he approved it. If not, it presents the Superintendent and BOE with an interesting dilemma.
Look, someone go out there and hook up 2 5000 kilo-volt wires to the legs of the bench, invite Ms Wonderful for a seat. Problem solved.
I'm thinking that this DID NOT go through the proper channels Emerge. That bench was placed outside the door of the school by the PTO right after Mrs. McArdle was hired. During construction of the new entrance it found a "home" in the library with Ms. Broms (Davis' Lindgergh confidant). Now that construction has concluded, they are finishing up with landscaping. Low and behold, the bench comes BACK OUT of the library and right at the front doors. My guess, the principal failed to mention that there was a plaque(and it's contents) on the "bench". He has made a poor decision in my estimation. That bench belongs down at the South Side Mission, where it will get plenty of use.
It's a bit unclear to me. Has the bench actually been at the school for more than a few days? If so, about how long? If it's not newly acquired, has it always had the same plaque attached?
I guess that all we know for sure is that the bench has recently been placed in front of the school. We don't know who bought it. We don't know when the plaque was put on it or who put it on. It does seem as though the bench is not "new." To me, the inscription doesn't make much sense. Who is simply the best? If Ms. Davis bought it, was it with her own money? Who recently placed the bench in its present location?
Finally, I question the wisdom of putting the bench with the plaque on display in front of the school at this particular time.
Who are Melanie and Bill Gray and what is their relationship to David and Lindbergh?
As I posted earlier on another site, I drive right by it. I'll toss in the woods next chance I get.
The bench had been purchased by the PTO and placed in the school quite a while ago (close to 3 yrs). It was a bench intended for outdoor use, and when the 8th grade class gift involved a landscaping project it was moved outside for that purpose. The "police" tape is to prevent damage to freshly poured concrete. No one thought anything of it when the bench was moved outside since it had already been a school fixture for an extended period of time without any complaints. If the school finds that it does, in fact, offend anyone they will just take down the sign. Not a big deal.
IMO and many others, IT IS A BIG DEAL. I don't care if Moses carried that bench across the Red Sea, it has NO business sitting in front of a school where very impressionable children pass each day. Even "subtle" messages are conveyed to our children and that bench sitting there tells them that they too can make extremely poor choices yet still be "honored" with a plaque on a bench. Shameful
"Simply the best" was a slogan used by the former principle to describe the school. It's not honoring her. Even though it was said by someone who left the district on dishonorable terms, should they ban all use of this phrase? School district employees shouldn't have to waste time worrying about offending a few people for two days before the sign is taken down, let them do their jobs. Also, msot of the kids who would (and have for almost 3 years) pass that bench won't know why the former principle left or even who she is at this point in time. The bench has been installed in plain sight for a long time with no complaints, and only now someone has complained. That's probably because someone was mad about another issue and wanted to take a shot at the administration. This is such a minor issue causing the staff at the school to waste time appeasing angry people instead of focusing on education.
I am reminded of the theme song from a TV show many years ago.
The plaque should read "Don't do the crime, if you ain't got the time".
The plaque has been removed.
The bench has been inside the school for three years with that plaque on it? Astonishing, to say the least, that someone didn't have the brains to have it removed or at least changed, sooner. "Simply the Best" is a fine phrase, but not with Ms Davis's name attached to it. Somehow it just doesn't hold true with her name on there. The sad thing is that the bench sat there for three years while children who knew exactly who she was, saw it on a daily basis. Glad the plaque has finally been removed, as it should have been long ago. Too funny the tape was added however. I was sure it was a nighttime prank. Pretty funny that the workers did it themselves. No one can make this stuff up!! Truth is usually always better than fiction.
The tape was there to protect freshly poured concrete and landscaping. Not really that interesting. The fact of the matter is that people simply didn't pay any mind to the sign, and when they found out that people were offended it was removed. Best course of action they could take, and the class contribution and bench from the PTO still get utilized.
Crime scene tape! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
It is a very nice bench and much needed. A place for parents to sit while waiting for their children. Hopefully there is no stigma attached to sitting on it.
If I were to sit on it every day, would that be an indicator that I am a Mary Davis supporter? Or, does it mean, I just want to sit while waiting?
I am still confused as to when the plaque actually was put on the bench and when the plaque was removed--it had to some time yesterday since it was there when the pictures were taken.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with having the bench there--still don't know who paid for it.
The bench was purchased by the Lindbergh PTO shortly after Mary was promoted to the district office. The bench with the plaque have been at the school ever since. It has been moved because of construction but evidently the PTO thought they could "slip in" the bench without anyone noticing. Please remember Mary treated a very few people well. The rest were tossed aside like chattle.
All aside, when was Mary Davis CONVICTED of a crime? I must have missed the article.
Anti-Pundit, I haven't read where anyone here besides you mentioned the word "convicted." Tsk! Tsk! Trying to make drama where there isn't any!
No, but if you read all the hubla about this bench which has a name tag on it which says; "Ms Davis" and all the people who seemed outraged by this bench, you'd think it honored a convicted killer.
I'm waiting to see if and when they do convict Ms Davis of those charges against her. Maybe, like I said, I missed it.
Wow, the plaque has been removed from the bench. Maybe now we can all resume the regular bashing of District 150.
Please hurry as my property values surely can sink lower.
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