School Board Member’s Attack Is Not Fair
BY BUDDY NEVINS
School Board member Abby Freedman lashed out this week, charging that her opponent Bob Mayersohn had used mail advertising to attack her children.
Is the piece accurate? I believe its a stretch because Mayersohn’s mailer did not attack Freedman’s children.
As you can see below, Mayersohn only pointed out what the Sun-Sentinel already said in a story – that Freedman sent her son to a private school.
That isn’t an attack on Freedman’s children. Its an attack on a School Board member for abandoning the public school system.
A parent can not be blamed for sending her child to the best school available.
A School Board member can be criticized for believing her son could not get a good education in public school.
Mayersohn’s piece did not attack Freedman’s children.
Actually, I’m told that Mayersohn’s ad was in reaction to an earlier Freedman piece which stated that the School Board member was the “only” candidate with children in public school. She actually dragged her children into the race first!
So the Freedman’s piece is wrong, wrong, wrong.
However, it is voters in Northwest Broward who will decide.
Freedman’s piece is below which is a reaction to Mayersohn’s ad below it.:
August 7th, 2014 at 10:38 am
I already voted for Abby, and I’m happy to support her because she’s one of the toughest women on the school board.
August 7th, 2014 at 10:44 am
I’ll keep voting against school board incumbents that allow unfettered construction spending and unchecked abuses by the superintendent
August 7th, 2014 at 10:45 am
That Freedman attack piece looks a lot like the attack piece Judge Rosenthal did against Jahra McLawrence.
August 7th, 2014 at 11:15 am
Abby Freedman is a flat out liar.
Anyone who watches the videos of her at the School Board meetings knows that she lied to her colleagues to their face — after throwing them under the bus at a meeting with 500+ parents in North Broward in October.
The entire school board then voted to implement a policy change to prevent members from interfering with the boundary process — as a response to Abby’s reckless and improper actions.
I can’t say whether Bob will make it this time, but Abby is just another bad news crook on the School Board who should be run out of town on a rail.
August 7th, 2014 at 11:21 am
Bob Mayersohn is a fabulous man who cares about the needs of children and will do what is in the best interests of children and the community. I know that he would never attack another person’s kids. I don’t know how so many people were fooled into voting for Abby in the first place. Now that there aren’t 5 or 6 candidates running, let’s hope that everybody who voted for other candidates besides Abby last time can team up and vote for Bob!
August 7th, 2014 at 12:12 pm
Looks like Bob seriously has his shit together this time around. I doubt Abby expected all this.
August 7th, 2014 at 12:21 pm
The only commonality between the piece against McLawrence and this one against Mayersohn is they’re both pointing out that these people are perennial candidates who continue to run and lose. This cycle we may actually have a record going in Broward for the number of candidates running for the 2nd, 3rd, even 4th time.
How foolish and arrogant can you be to think that YOU’RE the best choice for an office again and again, when the voters have told you otherwise each and every time! there was that old quote about the definition of insanity — doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Let’s take a look at the sample ballot for the list of Broward’s biggest losers: Steve Perman (at least his 4th time running!!), Joe Geller, Charlotte Rodstrom, Terry Williams, Ken Keechl, Jahra McLawrence, Rhoda Sokoloff, Julie Shapiro, Mark Rickard, Nick Saknofsky, Bob Mayersohn
August 7th, 2014 at 1:37 pm
Buddy’s blog column on Mayersohn’s behalf is deceiving. He implies that Abby took the first shot in the campaign. The truth is that it was Bob Mayersohn who went negative first. Bob Mayersohn in his piece flat out talked about Abby’s child. Talk about hitting low. Maybe Buddy think its in bounds for Bob to take that hit and its out of bounds for Abby to respond and defend her family. But, I think he will discover that most voters, especially parents would disagree with him.
August 7th, 2014 at 1:58 pm
I received Bob’s piece first. It was also leaked all over the universe before that. Freedman’s piece is clearly in response to his.
Personally I think a school board member should be honest and have an interest in the long term success of our community and schools, not just students in the school. That being said, BOB LIED TO ME. He told me that he had children in public schools and that Freedman did not. She does and he does not and that is the truth. No mail piece will make me forgive that.
August 7th, 2014 at 2:25 pm
@goabby
You mean “disliked ” instead of strong. She has to go! District 4, we deserve better, vote for Bob!
August 7th, 2014 at 2:43 pm
Good to see that Abby could find at least one person to blog on her behalf.
Bob’s son graduated from Broward County Public Schools recently – the fact that his child is not school age isn’t a basis for Abby’s attack.
It’s one thing for a school board candidate or member to have older children who aren’t in the schools any more — it’s a whole DIFFERENT ball of wax for a sitting school board member to yank her kid out of public schools. It shows not only a lack of faith in the system that she is responsible for but also shows that the public schools are “good enough for your kids” — just not good enough for hers.
Abby Freedman is an awful human being. She has told parents that she doesn’t care about them or their kids because they weren’t in District 4 in 2012 to vote for her. She has told parents and kids that her boundary plan was specifically made because they were the worst schools that she could send their kids to.
Abby calls everyone that criticizes her a bully. What a load. A bully is someone who uses their actual or perceived power to hurt those who can’t defend themselves.
Clearly, a school board member using her power to try to harm hundreds of innocent kids (including 5 year old kindergardeners) solely because they are the “new kids” in her district is the textbook definition of what a bully is.
So it’s clear she can dish out the punishment and pain on a bunch of innocent kids and blindside their parents, but she can’t take any criticism.
If she has such thin skin, maybe she should go back to the practice of law (oh wait, I don’t think she ever passed the bar), or back to teaching (oh wait, did she really ever teach).
August 7th, 2014 at 2:46 pm
Obviously Buddy, you did not read the Sun Sentinel article before you posted your one-sided story. According to the Sun Sentinel, “Her concern isn’t with her son’s former school, Westglades Middle in Coral Springs, or the county school district. Instead, she said she’s fed up with state-mandated testing, especially the standardized end-of-course test given when students finish algebra, geometry, biology, U.S. history and civics.” If you ever heard her speak, you would see how passionate she is to fight against these high stakes tests that are now 30% of a child’s overall course grade. We need Abby Freedman on the school board to stand up for the people, not someone who will sit idle and let the world pass them by!
August 7th, 2014 at 4:51 pm
I guess the public schools are good enough for your children — just not Abby’s kids.
How is she “standing up for the people” — seems more like she cut and run because she didn’t want to have that fight over end of year testing. And now that she doesn’t have any kid that’s impacted by it, I’ve never heard her say another word on the topic.
She was able to buy her way out of having to work on this issue — the same way she bought her seat on the school board and is trying to do it again.
Being a school board member shouldn’t be to stroke your ego – it’s about working for all of the kids that are in the schools. Something that Abby has no ability to do.
August 7th, 2014 at 5:30 pm
Just for the record.
FACT: Abby’s oldest son graduated from Douglas, a public high school.
FACT: Her middle boy is currently a senior there now.
FACT: Mayersohn does not currently have any children of his own in public school.
August 7th, 2014 at 6:36 pm
>> We need Abby Freedman on the school board
Someone just got back from Colorado!
August 7th, 2014 at 6:39 pm
Gawd I hope that Bob wins. He’s such a nice guy.
I do not agree at all, whatsoever that anybody who runs or who has run multiple times should be disparaged for doing so. I admire people who run for office. It takes bravery and putting up with an campaign system that absolutely sucks. We should appreciate that people are willing to throw their hats into the ring.
There are many individuals who have won their seats after multiple attempts. It’s a tough system, and beating any incumbent is very, very tough. So, no, that argument against a candidate does not work for me.
Individually, we see candidates who try again and again despite being unqualified or perhaps are entirely self-interested, but I recommend never disparaging anyone just because they hadn’t succeeded in prior runs for office. That’s not only a weak argument, but it’s not a healthy way to look at our electoral system. There’s only a few of us who are willing to put up with it by participating as a candidate. Good for Bob for trying to unseat an office holder when he genuinely believes that the district could do better.
August 7th, 2014 at 6:44 pm
I received a call from Abby after a Democratic meeting where she accused me of saying bad things about her children. I informed her I did not nor would I, as I believe children are off limits in campaigns. She then informed me that she knows where Margate is because I had worn a Margate t-shirt in case she had shown up at the meeting(she did not)No one has seen her since she was elected. She informed me that she does not have any of the schools in Margate and I said that is correct but you have a large majority of the taxpayers, you would think you would show up for events that they had. She then said I did not invite her to them, I said I don’t invite any of the SB members to the events but they somehow seem to know when they are(including Bob Mayersohn. She then threatened to put on all her mailers that Margate Mayor doesn’t invite me to events on her campaign info. I said Go For it Abby. At one point in the conversation she said her aide goes to different things for her because she has x amount of schools and she can’t get to everything. Never met her aide, don’t remember an aide being on the ballot. I have had a few calls since that mailer went out and I explained Bob’s child recently graduated. I don’t get into where her kids go to school. At a Coral Springs event she informed me she was going to win the election that people that voted for her before would vote for her again and that she didn’t NEED any of the others. I gave her the time after she was elected to prove herself. She failed.
Le
(real person real name)
August 7th, 2014 at 8:36 pm
I will admit, even a Genius such as myself can make a mistake.
To wit:
Last election, I didn’t realize it was dumb versus dumber.. Abby versus the other twit (name slips me at the time).
So focused on the twit, I didn’t realize I was supporting a twat.
Abby, is it possible I can have my vote back?
August 7th, 2014 at 9:56 pm
Abbey was a horrible candidate when she first ran and is worse today. Mrs. Pentagon is one nasty, dirty and bully campaigner just like Sheriff Israel and everyone else Amy Rose handles. They are all the worst representative of public servants being paid with taxpayer dollars. I high recommend everyone vote for Bob and tell everyone they know not to vote for Abby. Just by looking at the pieces she mailed which is Amy’s and any of her candidates MO because they try to intimidate and relentlessly dirty attack good candidates by mail and robo calls.
Abby just go and is just a hasty miserable person. Vote for Bob.
August 7th, 2014 at 10:21 pm
So Abby is only concerned about High Stakes testing for only
One child? It doesn ‘t make any sense! She is an elitist, pure and simple. She treats parents, teachers, staff, fellow board members horribly and only cares about herself. Please District Four wake up and don ‘t let her buy another election. Vote Bob !
August 7th, 2014 at 11:30 pm
I think it’s pretty obvious that Bob’s piece was a low blow. It basically says that once Abby received her $40,000 a year job, she was now able to afford private school for her son. It’s BS. Everyone knows how wealthy she is; and it’s unfair that Bob made it look like she needed the School Board job to afford to send her kid to a private school.
I only received Abby’s response piece (I guess I’m not on Bob’s list), but now it makes total sense why she responded the way she did.
I have met Bob a few times and thought he was a nice guy. I wish his campaign told me why he was qualified for the job, instead of why he thinks Abby is no good.
After all of this nonsense, I have to go with the mom who is defending herself, and her children. Shame on you Bob, I really thought that you were better than this!
August 8th, 2014 at 10:48 am
Mr. Mayersohn has already received my absentee vote. Freedman is an incumbent who should be defeated.
August 8th, 2014 at 11:58 am
@21
Nowhere does Bob imply that once Abby got a salary she could afford to pull her kid out of public school.
EVERYONE knows how rich Abby claims she is. She ran her last election on the “I’m rich vote for me because I’m rich and pretty” platform.
If you knew even the slightest about Bob you would know his credentials.
Bob has been involved with the public schools for years and years. He was active with his son’s schools, but also with other public school organizations such as the District Advisory Committee, North Area Advisory, school advisories, ESE Advisory, and other groups I can’t think of now, where he held multiple leadership positions including Chair. What had Abby done prior to buying the election last time?
Bob has paid his dues. Abby paid for her election with all her husbands money but what accomplishments has she had since winning her seat? I can’t name even one.
August 8th, 2014 at 12:30 pm
I fully support public schools. I also have no issue with parents who think that their child will be better off at a private school. Your offspring will not all be the exact same clones of the parents
I need to read the facts where she did something which harmed the schools in her district or were of gross error.
The impression I received from talking to her about the Parkland Wedge was that the developer’s sales team was stating that school children of new buyers were going to go to local Parkland schools, regardless of existing children from older developments who attend same schools now.
If the numbers of projected kids was correct, than this would force established kids in Parkland to be rezoned into other schools. I think this issue has been settled as far as boundaries go today.
All I know is that this reminded me of a developer 15 years ago in the West Palm Beach area whose sales team was not being exactly honest about the local schools .Thinking that I just came off the boat, they smiled at me and made a bus ride and a few years of Riviera Beach as a bonus.
August 8th, 2014 at 1:08 pm
>>> I have to go with the mom who is defending herself, and her children.
Funny, I thought Abby was supposed to represent all of the kids.
That’s her problem in a nut shell … thanks for clarifying that for us.
August 8th, 2014 at 1:55 pm
@Ex –
Unfortunately, if the only impression you get is from talking with her, you are getting false statements and out and out lies.
Before the most recent developments were approved for Northwest Parkland (The Wedge), the developers and City went to the School Board to address impact fees and determine space in the local schools.
The School District not only approved but put into writing that there were adequate seats in the local schools for the children that were expected for those developments. The School District extracted millions of dollars in impact fees from these developers as well as a transfer of a large tract of land that was to be used to construct a future public school for when the student influx would require that one is constructed.
Then, two years later, when those sales were already approved, and the District still had space for the next 2+ years, Abby Freedman decided she would rather there have been a prison or airport built on the land (this is a direct statement from her) and decided that she would propose a plan to pluck the two communities in Northwest Parkland and ship them off more than 90 minutes away to schools SHE said were “the worst” she could find (her words to multiple residents).
This was an unprecedented act by a School Board Member. She said she didn’t care about the “new people” because they didn’t vote for her in 2012.
There was no plan by the District to remove a single Parkland student from any of the Parkland schools, nor would there have been any need to move a single student for at least 5 years.
BUT FOR the representation of the District in 2011 that approved these communities and took millions of dollars in impact fees and took millions of dollars in land — there would have been no development. For one School Board member to try to overturn the promises of the District was not only wrong, but constitutes in my opinion malfeasance.
And as an aside, as someone who cares about fiscal accountability, I wondered what happened to the roughly $14 million in impact fees that the School Board took from those same developers (which is essentially a tax paid by the purchasers in those communities as part of their sales prices) that are intended to offset the cost of the new students coming into the local Parkland schools.
Guess what Ms. Freedman’s School Board chose to do with those impact fees? Instead of using the impact fees to “offset the impact” of the new students (which is what they are intended for), they used the majority of those fees for debt service on PRIOR DEBT the school board incurred.
So in a nutshell:
1. The School District promised students seats in the local Parkland schools in exchange for millions of land and more than $10 million in impact fees.
2. When the students were getting ready to come, the School District was ready with a plan to keep all Parkland students in Parkland Schools.
3. Instead of fulfilling the promises made by the District, Abby Freedman, the School Board member that is supposed to represent that part of the Community, out of spite and a dislike for the fact that there was development happening in her community, came up with a punitive plan to harm innocent students and ship them more than 90 minutes away to the “worst schools” she could think of.
Is there any wonder that Abby Freedman was called out for being a liar by her colleagues on the School Board?
Is there any wonder that the School Board had to amend the long-standing policies of the Board to prevent a rogue member like Abby Freedman from interfering with the boundary process — the kind of micromanagement the grand jury reamed the district for just a few years ago.
The woman isn’t qualified to be dog catcher. To my knowledge, but for buying a school board seat, she hasn’t held a real job in years. And from what she’s shown since joining the Board, she isn’t up for this job.
August 8th, 2014 at 10:11 pm
Mayor Peerman is one of the most honest people I’ve ever met. Bob gets my vote !!!
August 9th, 2014 at 7:37 am
I did not know that one’s knowledge expires when their child graduates from the school system.
Bob has such a vast knowledge of school issues and a long history of volunteerism that qualifies him
as a School Board member who would
bring empathy and experience to
represent our students.
August 9th, 2014 at 1:23 pm
Give me a BREAK! She is being bullied!!! BOO freaking HOO! This is just ANOTHER example of how ridiculous these women are! It is bullying to point out that a PUBLIC OFFICIAL of the school board doesn’t have their child in public school! Ok, she has a right to do this…of course, but the people have a right to know!!!!! She sees people that are bullied on their jobs…to the point of total destruction of these people….and she does NOTHING!! Oh, but this is bullying. What about her attempt to ship students to OTHER school, WHILE hers were UNDER ENROLLED? That is abuse of HER power and BULLYING of a community! Whiny babies! Like Dr. Osgood, who did have her record ex-sponged, but DID go to jail for a felony and she claims (to me personally) that people lied about her too….HERS WAS TRUE….SHE WAS A FELON I did NOT contribute to anyone’s homosexuality!!! These women are self serving, self righteous, brainless, weak schoolgirls impressed by the quarterback (Runcie). They are disgraceful, but I am thankful to see several, at least asking the questions. Hoping the bloom is off the rose, once Runcie is GONE the real work begins. Repairing all he has destroyed!
August 9th, 2014 at 5:40 pm
runcie’s gotta go..abby too..
August 11th, 2014 at 9:13 am
@Ex –
Unfortunately, if the only impression you get is from talking with her, you are getting false statements and out and out lies.
– See more at: http://www.browardbeat.com/school-board-members-attack-is-it-fair/#sthash.ea1Yr22D.dpuf
Thank you for this summary.
Here is some more from Coral Springs Talk.
http://coralspringstalk.com/parkland-mayor-to-abby-freedman-pull-your-proposals-by-noon-monday-6046
http://coralspringstalk.com/frustrated-parents-angry-at-school-board-member-abby-freedman-6115