Commissions
24 P.S. §10-1078 states that a School District Superintendent and Assistant District Superintendents shall be commissioned by the Secretary of Education. A commission shall be issued that includes the name, School District or IU, and term of office.
COMMISSIONS
A commission will be issued under the following circumstances:
The election or appointment of a properly qualified person,
1. The re-election or reappointment of a properly qualified person, or
2. The extension of an incumbent Superintendent or Assistant Superintendent’s term.
To be commissioned, the properly qualified person must submit the following to the PDE:
· A valid letter of eligibility
· Evidence that a majority of the Board has voted in the affirmative for this candidate (such as minutes indicating approval or vote tally)
· Form PDE 5529 APPLICATION FOR COMMISSION - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OR SUPERINTENDENT
In addition, the applicant must swear under oath to discharge the duties of the office with fidelity.
From PDE 5529:
May 1997: Dinnen remained employed at New Brighton using taxpayer money to fight the PDE to keep his Letter of Eligibility and Superintendent Certificate that were issued due to a clerical error.
Because his qualifications were under question, Dinnen was not able to receive his superintendent commission.
In his suit against the PDE, Dinnen demanded the PDE issue his commission.
Civil Action No 97-0067, Dinnen –v-PDE
Motion to Dismiss, May 20, 1997
Entire document at end of post
In September of 1997, Dinnen testified regarding his “experience in basic (K-12) schools”.
In March of 1998, five months after Dinnen’s testimony, Secretary of Education, Eugene Hickok issued his adjudication of the case.
Dinnen remained employed as a noncommissioned superintendent at New Brighton while awaiting Hickok’s decision.
September 5, 1997: Excerpt from Dinnen’s testimony to the PDE:
Note: Dinnen also described his “experience in basic (K-12) schools” in detail in the fax he sent to his attorney, Mike Levin, dated March 17, 1997 (fax on previous post).
To keep his certification, Dinnen had to show that he was properly qualified with experience in the basic (K-12) schools.
· March 17, 1997: Dinnen submitted a faxed letter to the PDE through his attorney, Mike Levin, showing “detailed information” of his experience at Mattoon (copy of faxed letter shown in previous post).
· September 5, 1997: Dinnen testified under oath that he provided “administrative oversight” of the “JROTC program at Mattoon High School”, “counseled students”, and “instructed students” at Mattoon Senior High School.
2011: A Right to Know request submitted to the PDE produced this document which indicates that from August 1989 to August 1994, Dinnen provided “administrative and professional assistance” to the Mattoon Senior High School JROTC while employed at Eastern Illinois University.
What exactly does “administrative and professional assistance” mean? How extensive was Dinnen’s involvement in the Mattoon High School JROTC program?
The following Freedom of Information Act requests were submitted by citizens of the Fort Cherry School District to Mattoon Community Unit School District No. 2, requesting confirmation of Dinnen’s claims of K-12 experience at Mattoon High School.
Note: Lt. Colonel Ron Yelk, Senior Army Instructor, Mattoon High School, responds in this FOIA.
Lt. Colonel Yelk has been with the JROTC program at Mattoon Since 1989. Colonel Yelk started working at Mattoon High School one month before Major Dinnen started working at Eastern Illinois University. The Colonel outranked Dinnen.
Lt. Colonel Yelk retired this year. More information on Lt. Colonel Yelk can be found here:
To review:
To keep his certification, Dinnen had to show that he was properly qualified with experience in the basic (K-12) schools.
· March 17, 1997: Dinnen submitted a faxed letter to the PDE through his attorney, Mike Levin, showing “detailed information” of his experience at Mattoon.
· September 5, 1997: Dinnen testified under oath that he provided “administrative oversight” of the “JROTC program at Mattoon High School”, “counseled students”, and “instructed students” at Mattoon Senior High School.
The information from Mattoon disputes Dinnen’s claims.
In November 2009, and again in May 2010, Board members Brant Miller and Ray Miller were personally handed documentation attesting to the above information. The current Fort Cherry School Board is well aware of the information presented in this post.
Knowing this information, the current Fort Cherry School Board concurred with Dinnen’s recommendation and voted to furlough truthfully and legally certified teachers while leaving the administration intact.
In November 2009, and again in May 2010, Board members Brant Miller and Ray Miller were personally handed documentation attesting to the above information. The current Fort Cherry School Board is well aware of the information presented in this post.
Knowing this information, the current Fort Cherry School Board concurred with Dinnen’s recommendation and voted to furlough truthfully and legally certified teachers while leaving the administration intact.
Civil Action No 97-0067, Dinnen –v- PDE
Motion to Dismiss
To be continued. . .
