Barry Bernhardt is Home
From the TIB Network:I have heard from Mr. Bernhardt's brother Dave (a former Captain in the USAF himself) and wanted to share some of his email to help spread Barry's side of the story.
I wanted to let you know the issue was never really about the money. Barry realizes that the Kenowa Hills school district did go beyond what the law requires. They didn't have to pay him any of his teacher salary except for the days where he took comp days or personal days. He just felt it was unprecedented and insulting that the Superintendent would then send him a letter telling him he also had to pay for his substitute for the remaining 6 days. Heck, if I were a part of the teacher's union, I'd raise a stink too! If Jim Gillette thinks making a reservist pay for his substitute is acceptable what about people on vacation? What about Jury Duty? What about sick days? Where will it stop.Here are some highlights from a followup note from Dave:
To make matters worse, when Jim Gillette was questioned about this, he decided to take it to the web and the papers. He proceeded to publish all the details of Barry's salary and compensation all over the Internet and news. Okay, but the figures were massaged to make it look like Barry was making money on the deal when, in fact he isn't. Jim Gillette posted Barry's bi-weekly salary as $3484 when, according to all Barry's paystubs (yes - I've seen them) he only gets paid $2505 bi-weekly. That dramatically changes the picture that Gillette painted for the press and the public. It was Gillette's way of making him look like a good, supportive person while, in reality, he's never been supportive of Barry's reserve duty. In fact, when Barry first approached him concerning the possibility of getting deployed, Gillette told Barry that his pay and benefits would stop the minute he started on active duty. So when Barry got the letter from Gillette stating the school district would pay his normal teacher's salary (after he took comp and personal days) minus his military pay and minus the cost of the substitute, Barry actually felt like he was getting a deal. However, the cost of the substitute came as a surprise in the letter from Jim Gillette. Barry never discussed this beforehand. To add fuel to this situation, Gillette told everyone he had crafted this deal to benefit Barry when, in fact, he was scrambling to get his military compensation numbers the day after the board meeting. Barry has a record of Gillette calling Selfridge to get this information. All in all, Jim Gillette did a razzle-dazzle numbers game with the press and public to salvage his appearance before the public. In doing so, he made Barry out to be someone who was attempting to benefit at the taxpayer's expense, which is the last thing Barry would ever do.
We Bernhardt's come from a military family and firmly believe that serving our country is an honor and a privilege. We value integrity and honesty above all things and were appalled by the actions of Jim Gillette and the press. We also thank the people and students of Kenowa Hills and all the people on the Internet who have shown Barry such tremendous support over the last week. We are grateful that Barry didn't have to take a significant financial loss to serve his country but would have preferred some honesty from the Superintendent. In fact, if Gillette had just gotten up and said that, due to budget constraints he had to require Barry to pay for his substitute, Barry would have thanked him for his concern and shaken his hand. The twisting of the numbers and the deliberate misrepresentation to the public is now the issue.
Thank you so much for your support and compassion for Barry during his deployment. We are all grateful for your assistance. Please help educate the readers as to the true nature of this financial arrangement so that Gillette doesn't have the chance to make good on his threat to make sure "he won't get off so well next time".
Sincerely,
Dave Bernhardt
Barry is back now and I can tell he's struggling not to be depressed by the whole situation. I think the staff at Kenowa also did some fund raising. One of the highlights of the week was how the students were going to sponsor a "hat" day for Barry. Pay some money (not sure how much) and wear a hat to show support. I'm not sure if they were able to pull it off or not. The parents and students of Kenowa Hills are exceptional people!
I know Barry has been given advice to just ignore what happened and it will eventually go away. Maybe so. We're not sure if this is something we (as a family) are willing to do. We'll have to wait and see and follow Barry's lead.
Thanks for your concern and for helping shed some light on this. I hope your readers are able to piece the truth out of all this.
Matt's Chat
Please donate if you are so inclined via the banner at the top of our website.I'll be contacting Barry directly now that he is back and arranging the transfer of funds.
