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S04.E18: Audit

chitowngirl

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Galileo908

Galileo908

(edited)

Holy quick change, Ava! I was dying at that cold open. It was inevitable that Janine would eventually wear the same dress as Ava. And Ava wouldn't have it.

"Dr. Evil. Mini-Me. Good morning." Loved Mr. Johnson. Also, I couldn't help but notice that the top of his mop was awfully sharp...

Of course the guy coming to audit the school is Dean Pelton Jim Rash. Of course they sell out Mr. Morton first, thinking he'd be served divorce papers and flee on foot (since he's got no car). Classic. And Mr. Bribe Man just HAD to show up at the single worst time with Janine's stuff. Ava had to spill about her secret basement bathroom! She couldn't get fired now! Especially since she fell on her sword to save everyone else! That's character development for ya.

Ooh, they're setting up next week with Barbara and music class. But I'm sad now, but at least it was so sweet that the little kid was excited to have her as a teacher again.

Edited by Galileo908
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Annber03

Annber03

25 minutes ago, Galileo908 said:

Holy quick change, Ava! I was dying at that cold open. It was inevitable that Janine would eventually wear the same dress as Ava. And Ava wouldn't have it.

"Dr. Evil. Mini-Me. Good morning." Loved Mr. Johnson. Also, I couldn't help but notice that the top of his mop was awfully sharp...

I got such a good laugh out of this whole opening scene :D. Everyone's reactions to Ava and Janine dressing alike made it that much funnier, as did Gregory trying to navigate the awkwardness of it all. 

I also loved the bit with Mr. Johnson and Gregory and the mop. Especially the way Gregory just....kept on mopping even after Mr. Johnson left. 

I liked seeing how everyone worked together to try and hide all the stuff from the auidtors. But of course leave it to gof course dude to come in and blow the whole plan. 

Ava taking the fall for everyone, though, to the point where she's let go from the school because of it. Damn. That's quite the ending to leave things on. Will be very curious to see how she winds up coming back, and what efforts the others will take to help try and get her back. 

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txhorns79

txhorns79

(edited)
2 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Ava taking the fall for everyone, though, to the point where she's let go from the school because of it. Damn. That's quite the ending to leave things on. Will be very curious to see how she winds up coming back, and what efforts the others will take to help try and get her back. 

Honestly, I'm a little mixed on this because she did what she was accused of doing by the district.  Sure, she made it so the teachers wouldn't go down with her, which is a kind gesture, but it's not like her punishment is unjust. 

1 hour ago, HyeChaps said:

I thought for sure everyone would come forward one by one to claim responsibility and district couldn't fire them all.

I think they said the teachers would only be suspended.  That was why Ava took the blame, because she thought she'd only be suspended.  Instead, as an administrator, she was fired.

Edited by txhorns79
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Empress1

Empress1

The mopping, Jacob falling in the parachute, the librarian saying “This isn’t my first raid!” and Mr. Johnson going full Grandpa Simpson to distract the district cracked me completely up.

8 hours ago, Boofish said:

I found it pretty disturbing you would defund school programs/ benefits for kids because of bribing allegations.

Me too. Taking away the contraband and firing Ava, OK, but pulling funding?

Loved the little boy saying he was so happy to have Barbara as a teacher again. And my mind went to Sister Act 2 when I saw Sheryl Lee Ralph and a ragtag music class.

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peeayebee

peeayebee

(edited)
21 minutes ago, PokerDot said:

I wonder if the golf course will bail Ava out. She's still got intel on them. (Hope I'm remembering this correctly.) 

To be honest, I was trying to remember how the bribing started. Wasn't it when Ava faked the endangered species eggs being where the golf course was going to build?

Loved the CO when Janine and Ava were wearing the same dress. "Doctor Evil. Mini Me." That was perfect.

Loved when the teachers suggested the District start with Morton's classroom, and when the one guy said, "We're not here to judge," Jacob then said, "You haven't met him yet."

I was surprised they had managed to hide everything. I had actually forgotten about Janine's spellers coming that day. That golf guy is the worst. Worse than Morton.

I doubt anyone needed to "hold" that big ladder. 

Mr Johnson: I'll go hide the white kid. Anybody have bronzer?

I was surprised I was tearing up when the District said Ava was fired. I have no idea how this will resolve. I wonder if O'Shon will have anything to do with it.

Edited by peeayebee
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jah1986

jah1986

I don't know how this gets resolved with Ava coming back. I do NOT want to see Crystal ever again, but especially not as an interim principal. I did love the librarian's "this isn't my first raid". I am really surprised at being sad to see Ava go, she has grown as a character and on me. I hope this is resolved this season and not a cliffhanger.

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dmmetler

dmmetler

What does it say that I’m impressed by Abbotts music room? That’s probably about 10k of instruments. Either they forgot to remove the bribes, or at some time in the past the district actually funded it, or the former music teacher spent a lot out of pocket (probably the latter. I personally own thousands of dollars of classroom instruments.)

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kathyk2

kathyk2

2 hours ago, jah1986 said:

I don't know how this gets resolved with Ava coming back. I do NOT want to see Crystal ever again, but especially not as an interim principal. I did love the librarian's "this isn't my first raid". I am really surprised at being sad to see Ava go, she has grown as a character and on me. I hope this is resolved this season and not a cliffhanger.

Ava and Janine are my favorite characters on the show. Ava isn't mentioned in the summary for the next episode. If the district gave Abbott what they needed the staff wouldn't need to bribe anybody. Janine was asking for new computers in season two. Ava took the blame because she knew she had been scammimg for a long time.

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Night Cheese

Night Cheese

4 hours ago, Empress1 said:

And my mind went to Sister Act 2 when I saw Sheryl Lee Ralph and a ragtag music class.

Same! When she walked into the classroom I started humming "if you wanna be somebody, if you wanna go somewhere, you better wake up and payyyyy attention". I also just recently treated myself to a Sister Act double-feature so the songs from both movies have been stuck in my head for days now.

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Sailorgirl26

Sailorgirl26

(edited)

So . . . this sets Gregory up to get the principal job he wanted from the beginning and resolves his money issues so he doesn't have to work the side gig. It does introduce a new storyline of Gregory being Janine's boss and whether its even allowed, and if so, any awkwardness that might arise if he has to give her notes on her teaching. 

No idea how they'll bring Ava back -- I'm sure she'll find some loophole to get hired into a role that's union-protected.

Maybe Mann hires her at the district so she can help all the schools -- legally? Remember, they've had her keynote for her innovative approaches, and when she's not being full-on Ava, she's very good at what she does for the kids. Manny is one who would actually act to help someone like that because it benefits the schools. 

Does anyone know if Quinta has a timeline for sunsetting this show (for example, Ted Lasso was a planned three seasons; Good Place was a planned four seasons). 

If so, it seems like things are heading toward a logical conclusion -- Gregory becomes principal, Barbara heading toward retiring, Melissa in a settled relationship, Jacob likely heading toward a new relationship. . . 

Edited by Sailorgirl26
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tennisgurl

tennisgurl

(edited)

Wow, that went just about as badly as it could have. They not only lost all of the cool stuff they got from their scheme, they lost that sweet funding they got from the District AND Ava was fired. And she even lost her secret bathroom. Where do we go from here? How does Ava come back? I actually thought that Barbara might take the heat and take this as a reason to retire. Ava really has grown a lot from the asshole in the first season who blew all of their money on a giant mural of herself. 

I almost didn't recognize Dean Pelton with that mustache, if only he was dressed as Lady Gaga instead. 

Everyone running around hiding stuff was great, especially the librarian. This isn't her first raid!

I love them weaponizing Mr. Johnson's weird stories to district the district people, and he even still has his pointed broom from when Abbot was almost chartered. 

That was one impressive quick change. 

Edited by tennisgurl
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kathyk2

kathyk2

44 minutes ago, Sailorgirl26 said:

So . . . this sets Gregory up to get the principal job he wanted from the beginning and resolves his money issues so he doesn't have to work the side gig. It does introduce a new storyline of Gregory being Janine's boss and whether its even allowed, and if so, any awkwardness that might arise if he has to give her notes on her teaching. 

No idea how they'll bring Ava back -- I'm sure she'll find some loophole to get hired into a role that's union-protected.

Maybe Mann hires her at the district so she can help all the schools -- legally? Remember, they've had her keynote for her innovative approaches, and when she's not being full-on Ava, she's very good at what she does for the kids. Manny is one who would actually act to help someone like that because it benefits the schools. 

Does anyone know if Quinta has a timeline for sunsetting this show (for example, Ted Lasso was a planned three seasons; Good Place was a planned four seasons). 

If so, it seems like things are heading toward a logical conclusion -- Gregory becomes principal, Barbara heading toward retiring, Melissa in a settled relationship, Jacob likely heading toward a new relationship. . . 

Gregory wanted to be principal until he discovered he liked teaching.

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ItCouldBeWorse

ItCouldBeWorse

15 hours ago, Boofish said:

I found it pretty disturbing you would defund school programs/ benefits for kids because of bribing allegations. I hope Ava friend is not the one who told. If it was her, she can go to the island with teachers aide Ashley, Judy from Family Matters,Richie Cunninghams brother Chuck and my red prescription glasses. 

I don't think she was the tipster. It might actually have been the golf course guy, getting revenge for the extortion now that the course has been built. And that's the reason he showed up with the spellers when the audit was going on (although he cut it close.)  We've seen he has the ability to lie with a straight face.

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I actually thought that Barbara might take the heat and take this as a reason to retire.

I thought she was preparing to confess, too.

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txhorns79

txhorns79

1 hour ago, Fostersmom said:

I feel like the last scene with Barbara was setting it up for her to become principal and the obvious first decision will be her hiring Ava as a teacher….

I don't know that it works like that.  I'm not even sure Ava has teaching credentials, and given her attitude towards actual work, I don't think she would make a good teacher.  

 

6 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

And that's the reason he showed up with the spellers when the audit was going on (although he cut it close.)

How would he have known there was an audit going on? 

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ItCouldBeWorse

ItCouldBeWorse

4 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

How would he have known there was an audit going on? 

If he tipped the District off, they might have told him.  Not saying it's definitely what happened.

I agree that Ava doesn't seem to have teaching credentials. And Barbara has no administrative experience.  There are people in the system in line to be promoted to principal once a space opens up.

 

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Empress1

Empress1

2 hours ago, BAForever said:

In my state, a public school administrator is not REQUIRED to have a valid teaching license.  However, I have never heard of an administrator who did not have a valid teaching license. Ava will end up on her feet, she always does. Maybe she'll get a job at her dad's barber shop in the interim. 

She also clearly does not live solely on the money she makes as a principal; she’s a hustler with more than one source of income. She said her favorite thing to do was take her money to the bank, so I think she’ll be fine.

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DearEvette

DearEvette

The show has been really cagey about what Ava's actual credentials are.  I wonder if she has teaching credentials but never actually taught or only did student teaching?  It feel like there has to be some adjacency there or even what her degree as in. 

Just out of curiosity I did a search for any PA principal jobs and all of them require a Principal Certification or provisional certification.  Some of the Assistant Principal  jobs I saw did not require the certification but required degrees in several related areas. So she could have gone that route.

I can foresee the show doing something similar to what Brooklyn 99 did when Wunch got Captain Holt moved to an admin position out of the precinct.  There was a revolving door of bad captains until Holt was able to return.

It would be interesting to see if in her absence, everyone realizes that Ava, in her own way, did grow into being an actually good Principal that made Abbott work.  Since the show has been good about involving parents, I wonder if there will be some community or parental fallout.  Especially because of the spiteful way in which the district is punishing them. Not only removing the contraband but taking away the money they gave Abbott.  It is a punishment of the students, not just of Ava. I imagine the parents had gotten a little used to the better tools and materials the students had access to and might not take it sitting down.

It'll be interesting to see what they have in store for her and how they work her back in, because we know they will.

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ribboninthesky1

ribboninthesky1

(edited)
8 hours ago, Fostersmom said:

Didn’t Ava only get the job because she knew the superintendent was cheating on his wife or something? I can’t remember exactly, but I don’t think it was skill or credentials based. 

Yeah, if I recall, she blackmailed him to get the job. 

On 3/19/2025 at 11:06 PM, txhorns79 said:

Honestly, I'm a little mixed on this because she did what she was accused of doing by the district.  Sure, she made it so the teachers wouldn't go down with her, which is a kind gesture, but it's not like her punishment is unjust. 

Agreed. I would have felt bad for Ava if she covered for the teachers and hadn't benefited from the scam herself.      

I appreciated that Dia set Ava straight as she was leaving.  Ava isn't just mean as a defense mechanism - she often insults people she perceives as beneath her.  In any case, no doubt she'll return.  

I thought the brief cafeteria scenes were funny.  The auditors were super suspicious because it smelled so good.  Heaven forbid the kids get some delicious food!  

Edited by ribboninthesky1
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DearEvette

DearEvette

3 minutes ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

Agreed. I would have felt bad for Ava if she covered for the teachers and hadn't benefited from the scam herself. 

I do kinda feel bad for Ava.  The only reason they got caught was because she felt bad for the other schools that weren't getting any resource money from the district and made sure to spread the wealth.

Abbott already had all the stuff they needed.  They were getting the one slice of the pie the district was giving out this year because of Janine's connections.  Ava could have just kept her mouth shut,  taken the money with smile, and her Soror nemesis would not have been any the wiser. But Ava gave up that slice so that other schools who were in need got the money. 

In the end, the real indictment should be on how poorly the district serves the students.  Ava is a scapegoat for doing what the district should be doing.  If they don't have the money to get the students the resources they need then they should come up with creative ways to get it. 

This  has been a recurring theme in the show that started with the pilot.  Which also demonstrates how much Ava's character has changed.  In the pilot, all Janine wanted was a rug for her class.  She got approved for the money to get the rug, but Ava pissed it away on stupid stuff.  They finally did get the rug  but only because Melissa 'knows a guy who knows a guy' who was working on the Eagles Stadium renovation  and delivered  Eagles rugs from the back of a van.

 I am sure there are correct ways to get resources,  but I wonder if, say, a parent of one of the kids donated the bean bags or the scoreboard to the school or if they had done what they did in season one where they put their supplies list online and crowdsourced the things on the list, outside of the blackmail (which the district did not know about when they descended) how is this different?  Is it the scale of the equipment -- computers vs. crayons?  Is there a price ceiling? Is it the cover-up and not the crime?

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kathyk2

kathyk2

2 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I do kinda feel bad for Ava.  The only reason they got caught was because she felt bad for the other schools that weren't getting any resource money from the district and made sure to spread the wealth.

Abbott already had all the stuff they needed.  They were getting the one slice of the pie the district was giving out this year because of Janine's connections.  Ava could have just kept her mouth shut,  taken the money with smile, and her Soror nemesis would not have been any the wiser. But Ava gave up that slice so that other schools who were in need got the money. 

In the end, the real indictment should be on how poorly the district serves the students.  Ava is a scapegoat for doing what the district should be doing.  If they don't have the money to get the students the resources they need then they should come up with creative ways to get it. 

This  has been a recurring theme in the show that started with the pilot.  Which also demonstrates how much Ava's character has changed.  In the pilot, all Janine wanted was a rug for her class.  She got approved for the money to get the rug, but Ava pissed it away on stupid stuff.  They finally did get the rug  but only because Melissa 'knows a guy who knows a guy' who was working on the Eagles Stadium renovation  and delivered  Eagles rugs from the back of a van.

 I am sure there are correct ways to get resources,  but I wonder if, say, a parent of one of the kids donated the bean bags or the scoreboard to the school or if they had done what they did in season one where they put their supplies list online and crowdsourced the things on the list, outside of the blackmail (which the district did not know about when they descended) how is this different?  Is it the scale of the equipment -- computers vs. crayons?  Is there a price ceiling? Is it the cover-up and not the crime?

Abbott is still understaffed. A large school should have a counselor librarian or a nurse. The teachers should bill the district for everything they have done on their own.

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