Remember the secretive marketing plan that was to showcase Gilbert Public Schools as the *District of Choice* for parents and students in the East Valley? The reason taxpayers came to know about the infamous marketing plan is that we persevered in requesting public records until we finally were granted access to four audio cassette tapes of *minutes* of a Gilbert Public Schools Work Study Session, which we helpfully shared by putting them online. We made public records requests for the actual *Marketing Plan* itself, but so far, all we hear from GPS is crickets.
First, let’s take a look at the current marketing GPS is doing in an online magazine that doesn’t even have its own URL. Heck, the magazine seems to have a history of only two issues, so it must be a great place to advertise [snark]. There are a couple of articles in the May issue that are truly cringe-worthy. First, Jeff Gadd and Jill Humpherys pat themselves on the back for not RIFfing GPS employees, starting on page 4. Second, Irene Paige-Mahoney-Paige has an almost unintelligible editorial in favor of an override on page 46 (lecturing to “one,” as in “an investment in one’s home and community, whether or not one has school aged children”). High school students can’t get away with such terrible writing, but this is supposed to be professional marketing, so it must be okay.
Look at the attractive and effective marketing charter schools are doing with ads in the same magazine. They make GPS’s half-page ad look amateur and unfocused, especially if you look at the ad on the page facing the GPS ad (pages 33-34). Once again, GPS has been outsmarted and outclassed. Which would you choose?
The GPS ad appears below. Keep in mind that Superintendent Christina Kishimoto was threatening parents and legislators about cutting Kindergarten back in February 2015. “The district will need to look at taking drastic measures beyond our proposed cost reduction strategies, which could include reducing the number of employees, including classroom teachers; consolidating and closing schools; or reducing full day Kindergarten to half day.” A *mixed message* is putting it mildly; it’s really just more Tone-Deaf Leadership from the top level of GPS.
You can click the ads to see larger images.
Charter school full page ad, facing the GPS ad:
Now we see some really smart marketing aimed directly at the Achilles Heel of Gilbert Public Schools:
You would think that a marketing plan for a multi-million dollar school district would be slick, full of metrics and details about audience reach per dollar spent. A smart marketer would even be able to measure effectiveness of a professional marketing plan, but we know better than to expect such diligence and efficiency* from the highly paid staff at the GPS White Castle. Here’s the story behind the GPS marketing plan that hasn’t yet seen the light of day:
Kishimoto stated that the marketing plan was being developed “at no cost” by “silent partners who are working with me right now, who are experts.” Kishimoto also said, “We have engaged some of these folks. We are putting a plan together…so the board will be able to see where the funds are going.” It’s alarming to hear that initiatives for spending potentially millions of dollars are being developed in secret by “no cost silent partners.” Their conflicts of interest could be enormous. Are these silent partners consultants who are already “engaged” being paid with public funds? What’s happening behind closed doors?
If you thought the Good Old Boys and their “Gilbert Way” of doing business were bad, you ain’t seen nuthin yet: discussing closing schools, outlining budget framework for future school years and developing potentially multi-million dollar spending plans with “silent partners” while evading public scrutiny.
To give you an idea of what appears to constitute good marketing in this superintendent’s eyes, we helpfully located a copy of an advertising contract that Christina Kishimoto signed while she was in Hartford, Connecticut (apparently, it was one of many). You can see what Hartford got for spending almost $200,000 with an advertising agency:
Here’s another ad Superintendent Christina Kishimoto wangled out of Hartford taxpayers:
Do you wonder why the folks in Hartford got upset about spending so much taxpayer money on these ads? Now Superintendent Christina Kishimoto and her bought-and-paid-for board members are asking Gilbert voters to approve a 10% override and a $98 Million bond. Can you trust the Joker Superintendent who approved this monumental mishmash and total waste of money before she got booted out of a job in Hartford? She’s known as 7-0 Kishimoto for a very good reason!
So which public school district in the East Valley won the Reader’s Choice Award? Higley Unified School District. Gilbert was #3. Wonder why.
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*Big Fat Asterisk: When board member Julie Smith called out GPS administrators for mistakes in board packet documents on May 26, 2015, Board Clerk Jill Humpherys immediately swooped in to rescue said mistake-makers by lecturing Julie Smith about asking those embarrassing questions before board meetings. Julie Smith said she had done so; she added that volunteer board members should expect administrators pulling down six-figure salaries to do accurate and efficient work. Alas, this is Gilbert Public Schools, where the Superintendent forms plurals of nouns by adding an apostrophe followed by the letter S. Sesame Street must be so embarrassed for Christina Kishimoto, Ed.D.
[Keyboard: My Sesame Street favorites are Letter B and L Toreador and Katy Perry!]