Michael1942's Blog

Most of us are familiar with the “Star Wars” saga. I have observed an activity which parallels the Star Wars story in some part. A Non-Profit in Springfield, IL hired a retired state worker to administer one of its many programs. This person, through some machinations much like those of the Senator from “Naboo,” rose to the position of COO within six months. Once in that position, the real personality emerged in the form of the “Dark Maiden”. This new seemingly omnipotent entity has almost singlehandedly gutted the Head Start Program. This has been accomplished by firing tenured teachers and other seasoned workers. There are also the cases of health issues in the buildings that have caused grievous harm to teachers and　children. Unfortunately, the “Union (Freedom Fighters)” does not have a hero to lead them, and the fear of the “Dark Maiden” lays heavily over the Head Start program like a blanket. The underlying problems are as deep and pervasive as gas leaking from a broken line. The costs to run the program have been subverted to legal fees to fight the Union instead of using those same funds to improve the program and services to its clients. To date, over 30 workers have been eliminated with one poor excuse or another while the Non-Profit is still racking up huge legal fees to the detriment of the program. The general public is unaware of the extent of the problem as the “Evil Empire” has taken great pains to contain all information that would illuminate their process. Yet, there are still other forces at work that might at some point expose the true nature of this beast. To date the regional Head Start office has begun to look into allegations of mis handling funds and underserving the clients of Head Start. What will it take for the client base to resist this “hostile” takeover of a vital program?