Do you mean to students or to the parents of the kids? Or to the school board? I think it depends on who they are dealing with.

Oh yeah. When my DS was in the 5th grade he had special needs and I wished to do an inter-district transfer. Actually I wanted to just move him to a different classroom. The principal lied and told me there was no room. I knew she was lying because my neighbors had just moved away and their kid had vacated the class which was below capacity.

Then she collaborated with the principal of the nearby school we were trying to move him to and tried to sabotage the transfer. The principal there tried to do a power play overstepping his authority. Lies and more lies. We finally went in and I caught him with a hidden tape recorder. I took it to the district office and demanded to see the superintendent of schools who was conveniently "out". A number of hurried CYA phone calls were were made and we suddenly found ourselves with a choice of absolutely any classroom in the entire district. A map was pulled down and all the stats on every classroom and every teaching style were given to us. We ended up choosing a traditional class at a school our previous principal was at. DS attended happily until he went on to middle school in the seventh grade.

Incidentally the principal whose "new" school we choose was a womanizer. I pretty much "knew" my married neighbor was having an affair with him at one time. Fast forward several years and my son happens to date a girl who is related. When she found out where we lived she told son that her grandpa once had an affair with a lady who lived on our block. LOL Small world.

In high school the principal conspired to embezzle funds from certain sport funds into his pet projects. He was simply moved to another school and later promoted.

Rogue school administrators are like rogue cops. They are seldom fired. They just move them around.

They're politicians and feeding at the public trough.

I have known some fine, honorable ones but there are definitely a certain percentage of rogues in the larger districts.

Oh yeah - a lot! We came across it when our son was in special ed. Even when confronted with it, they would keep lying and be backed up by their peers. And it didn't just happen once with one teacher, but it was basically the ways things were in the whole district. We had to threaten to bring in lawyers to get them to do what was right by law. I'm sorry but I lost a lot of respect for teachers and the whole education system then. It was politics.
Clare

That's why I refuse to this day to throw more money at the system. The corruption is rampant. They need to trim the fat at the top so the money goes to the classroom and the kids. Until then I vote NO on every proposition to raise taxes for the schools that comes along.

I was wondering if lying was common in school systems by the principals and teachers to others including students, parents, teachers, etc.

I'm starting to see a few CYA actions among certain people at my children's school. I've also seen a hint of lying/backstabbing/cheating going on with some of the parents that I volunteer with. Several of these people are substitute teachers. So far, there has been nothing concerning my kids, but I simply am learning not to trust some of these people. Last night's Survivor made we wonder how wide spread the problem is and if it is common in school systems.

To clearly state my response...

HELL YES! lol

I knew things that were going on as a parent INVOLVED in a school day in and day out. I grew up in this same school district and attended everyone of the schools my boys have attended.

Don't get me started on PTA/PTO's...

I see and know even more as an oncall classified staff sub now.

Often decisions are personal, not "student" or even staff driven!!

What is a CYA?

Don't get me started... GRRR!!!

CYA = Cover Your A$$

Principals and teachers are just people and people in general seem to find it easier to lie these days so I'm sure that many do. Look how many teachers are having sex with their young students? Just in this state we've had a teacher who sent innappropriate text messages to students, teachers caught having sex with students, a superintendent arrested for accepting bribes for awarding contracts, a principal caught with meth, sex toys and porn in his office and I could go on and on and that is just what I've read about in PA.

Maybe I shouldn't respond to this post. But, here goes. Who among us have Never lied? (in you whole life?) How can we sit here and single out a group of people that we feel have wrong us so badly? Have the majority of principals and teachers done more harm than good, or are they just people like ourselves where there are good and evil among them? Are we so self-righteous in our behaviors that we can cast the first stone? Food for thought.

Maybe lying is rampant in some of your schools...not in mine. I have been a school volunteer for more then 14 years now. Helping out in the classroom with the students, serving on fundraisers, committee meetings, etc. I just don't see it. I know these teachers, students and parents...and by far the ones that cause the most trouble are the parents. Especially the ones that I never see at school volunteering or at any of the meetings, etc. Teaching is hard enough as it is and I doubt most people would be able to last a day in today's classroom. So to answer the question no...from personal experience it is not common for principals or teachers to lie.

I don't think this thread is about lying per se as much as it's about the often corrupt nature of public school systems these days. Add me to the list of those who have seen first-hand school administrators saying whatever they need to say to get what they want at that moment.

I saw a lot as a parent, as the wife of a school board member, and as a newspaper reporter.

In our local school district, we had some wonderful teachers and some real atrocities. Unfortunately, both were paid the same. One of the teachers was so bad, so damaging, that we and several other parents took legal action against him. The school district's response was to grant him tenure.

I could go on (and on).

Everything changed in our state when a law was passed that
superintendent were no longer elected but appointed by the school board. The board brought in new superintendents, who brought in lot of new teachers and coaches from other areas. These new people knew nothing about the people or community. They had no interest in being a part of it. We had 5 principals in 6 years. Before the law most of the superintendents, teacher and coaches were from this area. They knew most of the families and their background.

Oh and the yellow-belly superintendent who hid from us during the above post of mine is now one of our State Senators. So now we have a lying self-serving representative who used "for the children" (NOT) as a political springboard. Lying scum.

We need to get politics out of our schools. Teachers and parents used to do a great job in the past (pre 60's) without a dozen school administrators breathing down their necks. One principal per school and several students counselors were the norm. Now it's more like 5 or 6 principals, vice principals and associates, several assistants and one student counselor per hundreds of students, many who never even get to see their counselor in 4 years of high school.

We need to get rid of the NEA, and get government out of education and make teaching an honored profession again with parental oversite. Involved parents know who the good teachers are. Politics allows the bad apples to stay. From bad teacher to bad administrator.