No it’s not an ugly rumor. The CF BOE actually had federal mediators come in (for free!) to help us learn how to function together. You see some of us are concerned that the constant friction present is doing this school district no good. I want to see us move into the 21st century. Follow global trends. Send kids into the world prepared for life, not just college. We have another meeting with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services in January. Just enough time to ponder what we’ve discussed thus far. To try and sum it up- we all come from different places. Different morals, ethics, beliefs, and backgrounds. Besides looking for flaws, look for some positives, some strengths that person has and appreciate them.
An interesting conversation took place among friends the other day. Do we have enough family time during the school year? I think complaints about homework have been around since homework has been issued. But today there is a valid argument that too much is coming home. We have after school sports and church and girl/boy scouts and music programs and practices, not to mention family activities suchas birthdays and shopping and doctor appointments and the rest of life. And most teachers do not plan homework and assignments around these things. I’m not saying they should but the amounts of homework that come home can be overwhelming. I hear of 2 hours and more and I’ve experienced it myself. My son had 3 reports dues in one weeks time. That’s a lot for a fourth grader. I like the 10 minutes per day and day per week rule. That means in first grade you have 10 minutes of home work once a week. In second grade you have 20 minutes of homework 2 days per week. But it should never exceed 4 days per week. Homework should not come home on Fridays in my opinion. Weekends are my time for family. School work should not dominate peoples lives. I have actually read about districts that issue no homework! Can you imagine that? I’m not necessarily saying that is a good idea, but it’s worth looking into. I’d revamp our whole system if it were up to me. Core classes would be 50 minutes. Art and music would be 45 minutes every other day. Gym class would ½ hour every day. That’s right-every single day. Obviously the high school would have to be different. But the focus should be on future trends not past practices.
That’s the end of my day dreaming today. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the policy committee will consider looking into some of these items next year. No meetings this week. What will we do with ourselves? I’m planning on shopping. Only 13 days left!
Monday, December 11, 2006
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
How good do you have it?
The Plain Dealer did us a favor. If you haven’t seen Sunday’s PD you must check it out. It has a list of every districts pay scales in our six county area. The article points out that our teachers don’t have it so bad. In fact a new teacher in CF makes the same annual wage as our city’s medium income. Add in the benefits and time off and we have first year teachers out pacing the average taxpayer paying the bills by 50%. It also says that there is not a teacher shortage. One of the lowest paying districts in northeast Ohio had over 150 applications last year. The article also says to me that our pay is on par with our community. The higher the community’s medium income, the higher the teachers pay. Ohio is 14th in the nation for average teacher pay. Not bad.
I often hear the argument of what is a teacher worth. I’m the first to admit that it depends on the teacher. Some teachers are worth their weight in gold. Others aren’t worth the paper their degree is printed on. So instead of trying to decide what a teacher is worth at this point, let’s discuss what people are worth in general.
Most of us come out of college or technical school in debt to some degree. And I hope we can agree that most professions have their own unique challenges and levels of brains needed to perform. Most of us pay out of our own pocket for continuing education. Many of us must get our C/E hours on our own time as well to keep our licenses. Most of us take work home. Most of us work 238 days per year. (I gave everyone weekends, 12 holidays and 2 week’s vacation.) Most of us can’t demand a raise because we feel cheated in pay from the profession we chose. Most of us don’t have free insurance. In fact most of us pay 50% premiums or more. Most of us can’t earn $5000 to $15,000 on top of our wages with supplemental and extra duty contracts. Most of us don’t have tenure. Most of us have to prove our worth through performance to keep our jobs. Some of us have mandatory overtime. Some of us must take vacations when the shop shuts down for maintenance. Some of us haven’t had a raise in years. A few of us have taken pay cuts, layoffs, elimination of positions, wage freezes, and no benefits at all. Some of us are held to 30-hour workweeks. Some have had their names on the delinquent tax list. Most people live paycheck to paycheck and carry some debt. If you think any of this is off base, let me know.
Someone asked about the survey. The survey has been put on hold. With the holidays here and the hustle and bustle of all that comes with it, it was decided that it would get lost in the junk mail and Christmas cards. I have been asked about the cost. It seems some board members have been spouting about the huge expense of this survey. Let’s put it this way. It cost $10,000. That’s less than the raises and benefits this same board member handed over to our top two administrators. Hardly an amount to sneeze at yet in the scheme of things it’s really a drop in the bucket. I can guarantee we will get a better idea of what this community want’s from this survey than from the people who got raises. Another reason it was put on hold is the board cannot agree on a direction the survey should take. Some want it centered on the “Plan for Excellence”. A plan most people who pay taxes here know nothing about. OK. Let’s waste ten grand asking people about a plan they don’t even know exists. Another smart move from the Cuyahoga Falls Board of Education.
Speaking of the Plan for Excellence, I have an update. A third co chair has been added to the redistricting committee. Cuyahoga Falls’ Molly Benedum was asked to join the two Silver Lake chairs. Thank goodness! It will be an uphill battle for equity but I have faith in Molly. She knows the numbers in this school district better than anyone. If you have never looked at her blog, you really should take a peek. She puts the numbers, facts and info behind all the things I complain about. She also has a vested interest in our district for at least the next 20 years with generations W, X, Y, and Z at her house.
As for the board meeting this week, should be long but informative. Part 3 of school finance from our CEO. A presentation on the 07/08 program of studies for the HS. The regular business of appointments and such. Approval of an agreement for a property tax valuation reduction from 15 million to 11.3. Hope to see you there!
I often hear the argument of what is a teacher worth. I’m the first to admit that it depends on the teacher. Some teachers are worth their weight in gold. Others aren’t worth the paper their degree is printed on. So instead of trying to decide what a teacher is worth at this point, let’s discuss what people are worth in general.
Most of us come out of college or technical school in debt to some degree. And I hope we can agree that most professions have their own unique challenges and levels of brains needed to perform. Most of us pay out of our own pocket for continuing education. Many of us must get our C/E hours on our own time as well to keep our licenses. Most of us take work home. Most of us work 238 days per year. (I gave everyone weekends, 12 holidays and 2 week’s vacation.) Most of us can’t demand a raise because we feel cheated in pay from the profession we chose. Most of us don’t have free insurance. In fact most of us pay 50% premiums or more. Most of us can’t earn $5000 to $15,000 on top of our wages with supplemental and extra duty contracts. Most of us don’t have tenure. Most of us have to prove our worth through performance to keep our jobs. Some of us have mandatory overtime. Some of us must take vacations when the shop shuts down for maintenance. Some of us haven’t had a raise in years. A few of us have taken pay cuts, layoffs, elimination of positions, wage freezes, and no benefits at all. Some of us are held to 30-hour workweeks. Some have had their names on the delinquent tax list. Most people live paycheck to paycheck and carry some debt. If you think any of this is off base, let me know.
Someone asked about the survey. The survey has been put on hold. With the holidays here and the hustle and bustle of all that comes with it, it was decided that it would get lost in the junk mail and Christmas cards. I have been asked about the cost. It seems some board members have been spouting about the huge expense of this survey. Let’s put it this way. It cost $10,000. That’s less than the raises and benefits this same board member handed over to our top two administrators. Hardly an amount to sneeze at yet in the scheme of things it’s really a drop in the bucket. I can guarantee we will get a better idea of what this community want’s from this survey than from the people who got raises. Another reason it was put on hold is the board cannot agree on a direction the survey should take. Some want it centered on the “Plan for Excellence”. A plan most people who pay taxes here know nothing about. OK. Let’s waste ten grand asking people about a plan they don’t even know exists. Another smart move from the Cuyahoga Falls Board of Education.
Speaking of the Plan for Excellence, I have an update. A third co chair has been added to the redistricting committee. Cuyahoga Falls’ Molly Benedum was asked to join the two Silver Lake chairs. Thank goodness! It will be an uphill battle for equity but I have faith in Molly. She knows the numbers in this school district better than anyone. If you have never looked at her blog, you really should take a peek. She puts the numbers, facts and info behind all the things I complain about. She also has a vested interest in our district for at least the next 20 years with generations W, X, Y, and Z at her house.
As for the board meeting this week, should be long but informative. Part 3 of school finance from our CEO. A presentation on the 07/08 program of studies for the HS. The regular business of appointments and such. Approval of an agreement for a property tax valuation reduction from 15 million to 11.3. Hope to see you there!
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
What can we expect?
It’s Saturday night about midnight. Right now about 20 teenagers are hanging out around the corner from me. Trash in the street, bikes lying everywhere. Cussing like Hells Angels at a truck stop. Do they have parents? How can the people living on that corner put up with the noise and trash? I’m disgusted. I wish some of the people on the Plan for Excellence would come and take a look at what they’re up against. When I say all children will not learn, these are the kids I’m talking about. They know I’m on the school board, yet willingly tell me they have left school. One asked me if it was OK to leave the HS because she had a headache. Two boys from Bolich left for the day because they “didn’t feel like being there anymore.” If we don’t find a way to reclaim these kids we will never achieve excellence. They do not have guidance from home on what it takes to survive in the world. Yet we expect them to take tests, bring up our scores for the state, graduate and become productive members of society.
As idealistic as it is to say parents need to do their job, the reality is many don’t. Whether you like it or not, these kids go to school with your kids. They smoke, they drink, they do drugs and they have sex. They are also a part of our scores to the state and federal government. We need to do something for these kids so that regardless of where they come from, they know where they are going. Out into thr cruel, harsh world. If our schools do not show them what it takes to survive, who will?
My fourth grader was taught last week how to write a check. That’s nice but first he needs to understand how the money gets into the checking account. Fourth grade isn’t too early. We need to add to our curriculum financial literacy, maybe even an overhaul of the “home ec” course. These children do not understand what a resume is. They do not have a clue what it takes to get into college at an early enough age. We do not spend enough time steering kids in directions that suit them individually. We spend an inordinate amount of time teaching things the children of this generation will never use. Computer literacy should be it’s own class in each grade in this day and age. And why do we force music class on kids? Some kids just are not cut out for singing or playing an instrument. Some are born with it. My opinion- it should always be an elective. Phys ed on the other hand should be mandatory daily. I can get up the stairs faster than some of our fifth graders. Nutrition is another area we lack in. We preach the food groups and healthy eating and all, yet we serve pizza and French toast and rarely anything that resembles beef, pork, or chicken. It’s all processed and frozen. I realize this is a real money saver. But it is at the expense of our children’s health. Don’t even get me started on the pop at school. Millions of people have survived by only being offered milk at school. OJ is available for those with allergies.
I guess what I’m getting at is we have to be examples and teachers of what life is all about in the classroom. Because unfortunately this is the only place many of these kids are going to get it. We need to use our imaginations and incorporate real life into our curriculum. Otherwise ours will never be an excellent district. The kids around the corner have no desire to learn. I want them to. What I’d like to know is this- what areas of education do you think need adjusted or a complete overhaul?
As idealistic as it is to say parents need to do their job, the reality is many don’t. Whether you like it or not, these kids go to school with your kids. They smoke, they drink, they do drugs and they have sex. They are also a part of our scores to the state and federal government. We need to do something for these kids so that regardless of where they come from, they know where they are going. Out into thr cruel, harsh world. If our schools do not show them what it takes to survive, who will?
My fourth grader was taught last week how to write a check. That’s nice but first he needs to understand how the money gets into the checking account. Fourth grade isn’t too early. We need to add to our curriculum financial literacy, maybe even an overhaul of the “home ec” course. These children do not understand what a resume is. They do not have a clue what it takes to get into college at an early enough age. We do not spend enough time steering kids in directions that suit them individually. We spend an inordinate amount of time teaching things the children of this generation will never use. Computer literacy should be it’s own class in each grade in this day and age. And why do we force music class on kids? Some kids just are not cut out for singing or playing an instrument. Some are born with it. My opinion- it should always be an elective. Phys ed on the other hand should be mandatory daily. I can get up the stairs faster than some of our fifth graders. Nutrition is another area we lack in. We preach the food groups and healthy eating and all, yet we serve pizza and French toast and rarely anything that resembles beef, pork, or chicken. It’s all processed and frozen. I realize this is a real money saver. But it is at the expense of our children’s health. Don’t even get me started on the pop at school. Millions of people have survived by only being offered milk at school. OJ is available for those with allergies.
I guess what I’m getting at is we have to be examples and teachers of what life is all about in the classroom. Because unfortunately this is the only place many of these kids are going to get it. We need to use our imaginations and incorporate real life into our curriculum. Otherwise ours will never be an excellent district. The kids around the corner have no desire to learn. I want them to. What I’d like to know is this- what areas of education do you think need adjusted or a complete overhaul?
Sunday, November 19, 2006
If It Weren't For Bad Luck, I'd Have No Luck At All
What a week! If you think you’ve had a bad day, allow me to make you feel better about yourself. First Saturday. Hold B-Day party for my 96 month old baby. Secretly wish I had 4 more babies. Then other kids invade my house and I’m grateful I didn’t. Feed children donuts, ice cream, soda pop, and other sugar-laden goodies. At 1 AM I wonder what the hell I was thinking. At 2 AM I wonder why my kids are asleep and the others aren’t. At 3 AM I contemplate leaving for Columbus now rather than waiting until 2PM. Wake at 7 AM to automatic machine gun fire and Nerf bombardment. Wonder why they say kids need 8-10 hours of sleep but these ones only need 4.
Leave for Columbus at 2:30. Decide to be lead car in a 2 person caravan. Realize that 80 miles per hour is not fast enough for Miss Leadfoot. Wonder if cop will believe I was forced to go this fast. Probably not. Arrive at check in with my printed out reservation from September CLEARLY showing my smoking room. Informed that the hotel is 100% non smoking as of last May and my minority butt can stand outside if I wish. She also informs me that my blue and yellow outfit was not a good fashion statement this weekend. Huh? Whatever.
Go to dinner. The first clue should have been when the hostess directed my companion to not sit in a particular seat because of the vent above. So she moved to the seat the hostess suggested instead and I sat down. Long story short, froze the entire time and my food was cool after my first three bites. And I should have known that chicken pizza would suck.
Depressed Monday cuz it’s my baby’s actual birthday and I’m not with him. Call baby and tell him the story about the day he was born with a tear in my eye. Baby reply’s that he was playing Spyro Year of the Dragon on his new Nintendo DS Lite and forgot (?) what I was saying. And wants to know why I didn’t name him Spyro. And if he can change it to that. Go to bed wondering why my mom didn’t name me something cooler too.
Tuesday fairly uneventful. Except for the fact that I got up ungodly early to attend a meeting that was supposed to unveil the legislation to solve all the states education and property tax problems. Had to get presentable, pack, check out, get bell to put bags in storage, take shuttle to conference for- NOTHING! That’s right. The plan that brought everyone together, that mayors, and just about every educational entity is a part of, get this- wants us to donate money and get petitions signed for a piece of legislation we still haven’t seen any part of!
Wednesday. Take kids to school and pull back in driveway. Hope the green antifreeze all over the driveway is from someone else’s car that was at my house while I was gone for 5 minutes. Nope. Call Tarzan and listen to 20 minute tirade about car repair people, cost of radiators, and the fact that we will have to use our furniture funds to pay for car repairs. (The furniture isn’t due for delivery for 6-8 weeks.), told to not answer the phone if Wayside Furniture calls. Laugh because of this outrageous staement. Like furniture ever comes early! Get ride to Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Miss winning 50-50 raffle by one number. Get free hand sanitizer and a ride home. Realize my car is gone. Hope it was stolen only to find out it’s already at the repair shop. With all my stuff in it. Listen to messages. Wayside called. Furniture is in. I can call call them anytime to pay the balance and set up delivery. Repair shop message says they think they can fix it for only $350. Only?!
Computer repair guy is scheduled to come at 5PM and repair shop has finished and closes at 6. So I take Tarzan’s car to shop while he stays home to meet techie. Leave home at 5 and get to shop only realize his car needs gas and I don’t have time to get it. Leave shop in my car and race to board meeting. Get there with one minute to spare. Gotta pee but I guess it can wait. Take my car home and get ride to Kent from Miss Leadfoot to pick up Tarzan’s car. Argue the entire way about teaching and learning and if people come to games for the team or the band, when we all know it’s for the band! Oh and did I mention the air conditioner was on the entire way to defog the windows? This must be how they do it down south. Finally in Tarzan’s car and driving home. Car starts dinging at me. I instinctively hit the brakes because that’s what you do when the car dings. Realize the brakes are barely there. Debate whether to go home and tell Tarzan or go to bar and drink. Decide to go home and drink and then tell Tarzan. Realize I have broken two cars in one day and hysterically laugh and cry the whole way home and why the hell wont the car stop dinging? I know already for God’s sake! Does it think I can just stop and walk home? Besides even if it wants me to I’m not sure I could since it’s the brakes!
Thursday. Volunteer in Library. Tell Library buddies I feel like Schleprock. Informed that Schleprock must be from the OLD Flintstones because no one but me remembers him. For anyone who doesn’t know, Schleprock was a guy on the Flintstones that had gloom and doom follow him where ever he went. Go home and find out Tarzan’s car will cost $1000 to fix AND they will have it for a WEEK. Wonder why I didn’t become a school administrator so I would never have money problems.
TGIF. Friend stops by and tells us she’s leaving town for 2 weeks and want’s to leave her car in our driveway. Wishes one of us would drive it while she’s gone because she doesn’t take it out enough as it is. Um, OK. Maybe I won’t need a drink after all.
Leave for Columbus at 2:30. Decide to be lead car in a 2 person caravan. Realize that 80 miles per hour is not fast enough for Miss Leadfoot. Wonder if cop will believe I was forced to go this fast. Probably not. Arrive at check in with my printed out reservation from September CLEARLY showing my smoking room. Informed that the hotel is 100% non smoking as of last May and my minority butt can stand outside if I wish. She also informs me that my blue and yellow outfit was not a good fashion statement this weekend. Huh? Whatever.
Go to dinner. The first clue should have been when the hostess directed my companion to not sit in a particular seat because of the vent above. So she moved to the seat the hostess suggested instead and I sat down. Long story short, froze the entire time and my food was cool after my first three bites. And I should have known that chicken pizza would suck.
Depressed Monday cuz it’s my baby’s actual birthday and I’m not with him. Call baby and tell him the story about the day he was born with a tear in my eye. Baby reply’s that he was playing Spyro Year of the Dragon on his new Nintendo DS Lite and forgot (?) what I was saying. And wants to know why I didn’t name him Spyro. And if he can change it to that. Go to bed wondering why my mom didn’t name me something cooler too.
Tuesday fairly uneventful. Except for the fact that I got up ungodly early to attend a meeting that was supposed to unveil the legislation to solve all the states education and property tax problems. Had to get presentable, pack, check out, get bell to put bags in storage, take shuttle to conference for- NOTHING! That’s right. The plan that brought everyone together, that mayors, and just about every educational entity is a part of, get this- wants us to donate money and get petitions signed for a piece of legislation we still haven’t seen any part of!
Wednesday. Take kids to school and pull back in driveway. Hope the green antifreeze all over the driveway is from someone else’s car that was at my house while I was gone for 5 minutes. Nope. Call Tarzan and listen to 20 minute tirade about car repair people, cost of radiators, and the fact that we will have to use our furniture funds to pay for car repairs. (The furniture isn’t due for delivery for 6-8 weeks.), told to not answer the phone if Wayside Furniture calls. Laugh because of this outrageous staement. Like furniture ever comes early! Get ride to Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Miss winning 50-50 raffle by one number. Get free hand sanitizer and a ride home. Realize my car is gone. Hope it was stolen only to find out it’s already at the repair shop. With all my stuff in it. Listen to messages. Wayside called. Furniture is in. I can call call them anytime to pay the balance and set up delivery. Repair shop message says they think they can fix it for only $350. Only?!
Computer repair guy is scheduled to come at 5PM and repair shop has finished and closes at 6. So I take Tarzan’s car to shop while he stays home to meet techie. Leave home at 5 and get to shop only realize his car needs gas and I don’t have time to get it. Leave shop in my car and race to board meeting. Get there with one minute to spare. Gotta pee but I guess it can wait. Take my car home and get ride to Kent from Miss Leadfoot to pick up Tarzan’s car. Argue the entire way about teaching and learning and if people come to games for the team or the band, when we all know it’s for the band! Oh and did I mention the air conditioner was on the entire way to defog the windows? This must be how they do it down south. Finally in Tarzan’s car and driving home. Car starts dinging at me. I instinctively hit the brakes because that’s what you do when the car dings. Realize the brakes are barely there. Debate whether to go home and tell Tarzan or go to bar and drink. Decide to go home and drink and then tell Tarzan. Realize I have broken two cars in one day and hysterically laugh and cry the whole way home and why the hell wont the car stop dinging? I know already for God’s sake! Does it think I can just stop and walk home? Besides even if it wants me to I’m not sure I could since it’s the brakes!
Thursday. Volunteer in Library. Tell Library buddies I feel like Schleprock. Informed that Schleprock must be from the OLD Flintstones because no one but me remembers him. For anyone who doesn’t know, Schleprock was a guy on the Flintstones that had gloom and doom follow him where ever he went. Go home and find out Tarzan’s car will cost $1000 to fix AND they will have it for a WEEK. Wonder why I didn’t become a school administrator so I would never have money problems.
TGIF. Friend stops by and tells us she’s leaving town for 2 weeks and want’s to leave her car in our driveway. Wishes one of us would drive it while she’s gone because she doesn’t take it out enough as it is. Um, OK. Maybe I won’t need a drink after all.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Lady Luck Doesn't Live Here
I’ve had some interesting conversations lately. A relative in South Dakota tells me that their teachers pay is 49th in the United States. Yet they are ranked one of the best school districts in the nation. Oh yeah, and their property tax bills laugh at ours. Taxes levies fail resoundingly over and over. Guess what I suspect funds their schools. Gambling. Let’s look at Nevada. Per pupil spending in Nevada is some of the best in the country. I think you all know what funds it. In fact Nevadans aren’t real clear on what taxes are. Now a conversation from Iowa. For over 20 years the state of Iowa tried to legalize gambling. The issue finally passed a few years back. To quote the source- “Once people realized what a cash cow it was for the state, gambling issues passed faster than prunes through Grandma. We pass gambling issues to fund just about everything.”
Now I’m not saying issue 3 was perfect. But I would like to take at look at what other states, especially Nevada, to allocate so much funding to schools from gambling proceeds. What I find perplexing about this issue is that the people who wanted property tax relief and legal way of funding our schools, seem to be the same people that voted against issue 3. Without an alternate source of funds, property owners will continue to foot the bill. Strickland’s “Learn and Earn” is going to cost the tax payers money. Whether its income tax or sales tax or a reduction in Medicaid funding to reallocate to Learn and Earn programs, we all will pay for it one way or another. Unfortunately it won’t be through gambling proceeds. So in order to help out our freshly minted State Representative, tells me folks, how should we pay for education AND reduce property taxes? Or how about one better. Until someone in the state figures out how to pay for the mandates they issue, and make the playing field fair, public school districts should not have to abide by them. The same could be said to our federal lawmakers. Let expensive court ordered special treatment centers come out of the court’s budget not the school districts. And please legislators stop trying to tell us that local dollars do not follow a child to a charter school. When we must pay a charter school more money than the state pays us for that child, the difference is local dollars. If you want to send money to charters schools, let the district send ONLY what we get for them from the state.
The Ohio School Board Association’s capitol conference is next week. The whole gang is going. I will learn all the new and improved ways to spend our money. There will also be legal lectures as well as educational issues. The room of vendors peddling their wares rivals the IX center. Some are truly valuable products. Most are consultants. Surprise. But I always learn something at the seminars offered. The free highlighters and stress releasing squeeze balls make it all worth it. Bonus- our very own Plan for Excellence team will be there filling other districts in on how we saved ourselves from financial ruin and brought the community together.
Stay tuned, if time allows, I’ll be posting from Columbus.
Now I’m not saying issue 3 was perfect. But I would like to take at look at what other states, especially Nevada, to allocate so much funding to schools from gambling proceeds. What I find perplexing about this issue is that the people who wanted property tax relief and legal way of funding our schools, seem to be the same people that voted against issue 3. Without an alternate source of funds, property owners will continue to foot the bill. Strickland’s “Learn and Earn” is going to cost the tax payers money. Whether its income tax or sales tax or a reduction in Medicaid funding to reallocate to Learn and Earn programs, we all will pay for it one way or another. Unfortunately it won’t be through gambling proceeds. So in order to help out our freshly minted State Representative, tells me folks, how should we pay for education AND reduce property taxes? Or how about one better. Until someone in the state figures out how to pay for the mandates they issue, and make the playing field fair, public school districts should not have to abide by them. The same could be said to our federal lawmakers. Let expensive court ordered special treatment centers come out of the court’s budget not the school districts. And please legislators stop trying to tell us that local dollars do not follow a child to a charter school. When we must pay a charter school more money than the state pays us for that child, the difference is local dollars. If you want to send money to charters schools, let the district send ONLY what we get for them from the state.
The Ohio School Board Association’s capitol conference is next week. The whole gang is going. I will learn all the new and improved ways to spend our money. There will also be legal lectures as well as educational issues. The room of vendors peddling their wares rivals the IX center. Some are truly valuable products. Most are consultants. Surprise. But I always learn something at the seminars offered. The free highlighters and stress releasing squeeze balls make it all worth it. Bonus- our very own Plan for Excellence team will be there filling other districts in on how we saved ourselves from financial ruin and brought the community together.
Stay tuned, if time allows, I’ll be posting from Columbus.
Monday, November 06, 2006
It's Getting Deeper
I need a question answered. Maybe I am being unreasonable. I asked that our survey indicate where the responder lives. Some think this aspect is unimportant. But whether you have DSL vs. high speed cable internet service is. Don’t get me wrong. “Do you have internet service?” is a good question. But is the type really going to help us any? I also am a little worried at the direction the survey is taking. Seems a few people think it should focus on the “Plan for Excellence”. I hate to be the realist once again but most residents of CF do not have a clue what the PFE is nor do they give a crap. BUT they do know how they want their money spent. And they DO have opinions on our schools and what is important. I want to know if athletics are a high or low priority here. I want to know what the people paying our bills want. Not what they think of committees they know nothing about and don’t understand.
I am disturbed by the happenings on Molly’s blog. Why any of this mattered to anyone anyway, I will never understand. And how was this a topic of discussion? I can’t even imagine how the subject came about. Let’s pretend.* We’re all sitting around sipping our cosmopolitans listening to each others rings clink the glasses.
MargaretKatherine: So Buffy did you hear Jane open enrolled her kid to our building?
Buffy: You’re kidding! Do you suppose she wanted $1500 per pupil more spent on her kid?
(Laughter)
MargaretKatherine: Maybe she wanted to benefit from the amplified sound system throughout the building, or the air conditioners, after all the schools in the city don’t have them.
Buffy: Well then her kid would just be costing the district more money then. After all we don’t get reduced electric rates like they do in the city.
Steph: Now ladies, everyone knows it had to be because of our low class sizes. Who wouldn’t want a student teacher ratio of 15:1? My child wouldn’t be so exceptionally gifted if the teacher had to spend her time with 25-30 kids!
(Gasps of horror and disbelief)
Buffy: Well if most if the city’s residents would send their kids to private schools like we do, they could have small class sizes too. It’s not our fault we don’t have an over crowded building.
MargaretKatherine: I heard if the district keeps pushing all open enrollment to our school we might have class sizes of 17:1 next year!
Buffy: Thank goodness we are the grand ring masters of the district wide reconfiguration! I hope our idea of making our school building the districts school for elementary aged geniuses goes over well. I mean who wouldn’t want that?
Everyone: Shhhhhh. Buffy!
MargaretKatherine: Buffy, you can’t talk about that! We haven’t figured out what to do with the rest of the district yet! There are a lot of kids in the city you know. We need to figure out a way to make ours a magnet school for talented kids and appease the city folk as well. It wont be easy. They actually think they deserve as much as we do!
Buffy: But they actually haul their own trash. To the curb!! I don’t understand how you can do this without getting some sort of debris on yourself. Besides my nail technician would die if she knew I was handling trash.
Steph: I hear they make their kids haul the cans back to the garage. Like my little Stanford is going to walk from the curb to the garage. It’s all he can do to ride his electric motor scooter to the lake and walk to the sand.
MargaretKatherine: I’m not sure why Jane didn’t enroll her kid here, I just thought I would bring it up. I really have no details or actual information just rumor and innuendo. I could ask Jane about it, but that wouldn’t be nearly as fun as figuring it out for ourselves. After all we have all the answers to the districts problems.
Steph: Refills anyone? Oh and I made the stuffed pumpkin soufflé that was on Martha the other day.
Buffy: Steph you are so talented.
OK. I better stop there. I feel myself getting out of hand. If this much time was spent working on the problems that face us we might actually move forward. But petty BS keeps occupying otherwise smart and talented peoples minds. The work that the PFE sub committee is doing has already been done. By Mayor Robart’s KIDS committee and the CEO of our district as well. I have been assured that the reconfiguration is being handled fair and impartially. But I must question why it is headed by two people from SL. Is it wise to have people from a small outside wealthy community making the decisions for a much larger much poorer part of our district? Can you be objective when it would so adversely affect your child’s education? I sure hope so. But the gossip on my friends blog makes me wonder where peoples priorities are. Molly’s priorities are with the facts and inequities in our district. Where she enrolls her kids has nothing to do with what we need. So how does community get togethers sound once some preliminary plans have been proposed? Or will we once again be handed a plan that a few have been involved with and no feed back from the community affected?
I haven’t talked about tomorrow’s election because I am so burned out on politics I could puke. My recycle bin is stuffed full of smiling faces telling me why the other guy is a bad person. One thing I have noticed. The History Channel doesen't play poitical ads. Please get out and vote. If there is anyone who understands how one vote can make a difference it’s me! So please go and make a difference.
* The people and names depicted here are fictional characters and not meant to portray any actual characters you may know. The author apologizes for any similarities between these fictional characters and any people the reader may know to be real.
I am disturbed by the happenings on Molly’s blog. Why any of this mattered to anyone anyway, I will never understand. And how was this a topic of discussion? I can’t even imagine how the subject came about. Let’s pretend.* We’re all sitting around sipping our cosmopolitans listening to each others rings clink the glasses.
MargaretKatherine: So Buffy did you hear Jane open enrolled her kid to our building?
Buffy: You’re kidding! Do you suppose she wanted $1500 per pupil more spent on her kid?
(Laughter)
MargaretKatherine: Maybe she wanted to benefit from the amplified sound system throughout the building, or the air conditioners, after all the schools in the city don’t have them.
Buffy: Well then her kid would just be costing the district more money then. After all we don’t get reduced electric rates like they do in the city.
Steph: Now ladies, everyone knows it had to be because of our low class sizes. Who wouldn’t want a student teacher ratio of 15:1? My child wouldn’t be so exceptionally gifted if the teacher had to spend her time with 25-30 kids!
(Gasps of horror and disbelief)
Buffy: Well if most if the city’s residents would send their kids to private schools like we do, they could have small class sizes too. It’s not our fault we don’t have an over crowded building.
MargaretKatherine: I heard if the district keeps pushing all open enrollment to our school we might have class sizes of 17:1 next year!
Buffy: Thank goodness we are the grand ring masters of the district wide reconfiguration! I hope our idea of making our school building the districts school for elementary aged geniuses goes over well. I mean who wouldn’t want that?
Everyone: Shhhhhh. Buffy!
MargaretKatherine: Buffy, you can’t talk about that! We haven’t figured out what to do with the rest of the district yet! There are a lot of kids in the city you know. We need to figure out a way to make ours a magnet school for talented kids and appease the city folk as well. It wont be easy. They actually think they deserve as much as we do!
Buffy: But they actually haul their own trash. To the curb!! I don’t understand how you can do this without getting some sort of debris on yourself. Besides my nail technician would die if she knew I was handling trash.
Steph: I hear they make their kids haul the cans back to the garage. Like my little Stanford is going to walk from the curb to the garage. It’s all he can do to ride his electric motor scooter to the lake and walk to the sand.
MargaretKatherine: I’m not sure why Jane didn’t enroll her kid here, I just thought I would bring it up. I really have no details or actual information just rumor and innuendo. I could ask Jane about it, but that wouldn’t be nearly as fun as figuring it out for ourselves. After all we have all the answers to the districts problems.
Steph: Refills anyone? Oh and I made the stuffed pumpkin soufflé that was on Martha the other day.
Buffy: Steph you are so talented.
OK. I better stop there. I feel myself getting out of hand. If this much time was spent working on the problems that face us we might actually move forward. But petty BS keeps occupying otherwise smart and talented peoples minds. The work that the PFE sub committee is doing has already been done. By Mayor Robart’s KIDS committee and the CEO of our district as well. I have been assured that the reconfiguration is being handled fair and impartially. But I must question why it is headed by two people from SL. Is it wise to have people from a small outside wealthy community making the decisions for a much larger much poorer part of our district? Can you be objective when it would so adversely affect your child’s education? I sure hope so. But the gossip on my friends blog makes me wonder where peoples priorities are. Molly’s priorities are with the facts and inequities in our district. Where she enrolls her kids has nothing to do with what we need. So how does community get togethers sound once some preliminary plans have been proposed? Or will we once again be handed a plan that a few have been involved with and no feed back from the community affected?
I haven’t talked about tomorrow’s election because I am so burned out on politics I could puke. My recycle bin is stuffed full of smiling faces telling me why the other guy is a bad person. One thing I have noticed. The History Channel doesen't play poitical ads. Please get out and vote. If there is anyone who understands how one vote can make a difference it’s me! So please go and make a difference.
* The people and names depicted here are fictional characters and not meant to portray any actual characters you may know. The author apologizes for any similarities between these fictional characters and any people the reader may know to be real.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Git Yer Boots On
WOW! My comment to Sarah wasn’t even up for 2 hours and my phone rang. I gotta give the guy credit. Mr. Widowfield made his case pretty well. AND he apologized for not responding to the boards’ request to attend candidate’s night. He also says that Sarah never contacted him. I find the comments from Sarah strange anyway considering only one candidate actually knows me. So if Ms. Hanna wanted to invite me to a mental health forum, I’m sure it was to help me understand some of the people I serve with.
Mr. Widowfield pointed out to me that it is not easy to legislate. While I only have to deal with 4 other points of view, he must deal with 99. He has a point. But then again that’s why we hired him. He told me he has done much to increase state funding and protect local dollars since taking office. But he did defend charter schools. He claims that there a many charter schools outperforming public schools, I pointed out that are a few that are outperforming local "Big 8" districts but generally publics outperform. He also claims that David Brennan’s money has no effect on his decision making in congress. I must be suspicious of that comment until he stops taking his money. How could you take someone’s hard earned cash (she said with a snicker) and not feel some sense of partiality? When I posed the solution of closing all failing charters now and allowing new start ups that must succeed within a 3 year period he said that's how it is now. Except for the closing the already failing ones. And except for preventing them from reopening down the street. Read this article for more on this issue.
As for the judgeship comments I made, he says I’m off base on this one. To sum up what he told me in a nutshell, The juvenile court had said for years they needed a judge. Summit Co. Common Pleas was also yelling for more judges. Mr. W asked the most independent person he knew, Justice Moyer, to look into each request and decide what was needed where. Later the power shifted at juvey and the demoncrats said another judge was not needed. It is my understanding that cases move fairly quickly through the system at juvey. Not the case at Summit Co. Common Pleas. So I have a feeling politics play into this a smidge. But I’ve gotta give him credit too. His kids are enrolled in public school and they do and will continue to feel the effects of funding deficiencies. He does understand DeRolph and asks people this question: What is your formula or answer to fund schools? It’s a good question. There is no easy answer. But then again that’s why we hired them (legislators). If he is re-elected I expect him to find the answer to this question. I’m not paid enough to find that answer.
The Plan for Excellence comment stems from the fact that there is one parent from CF on the building reconfiguration committee and the rest are SL parents, teacher/SL residents, and administrators. The committee chairs both hail from SL as well. This is not fair and balanced. Madam Kellie is going to make another prediction. Madam Kellie predicts that nothing will change. Instead of going to grade level based buildings, a proven winner, we will keep our "neighborhood" schools. Well some of us will. Some of us will continue to trek across town to our neighborhood school. Unfortunately not many people were aware that our district was reconfiguring. I place blame on many people for this, including myself. But I gave up on the Plan for Excellence after my first meeting. You see the committees were set up and one was labeled "facilities and resources". Common sense would dictate that building reconfiguration would happen on this committee. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the "teaching and learning" committee would be handed this task. That’s when I began to realize that the whole process was flawed. Is this committee looking at the financially beneficial configuration? Hmmmm… It’s obvious our district needs all day kindergarten. Look at the percentage of two career households and single mothers in our district. Did this topic really require a committee? Along the same lines, I hope they look into letting middle school aged children out 15 minutes before the elementary aged kids. After all they are the baby sitters of these kids.
People are throwing their hands in the air. I remain hopeful that the community survey will provide some guidance for these committees as to where the taxpayers want to see our money spent and what we expect in return. Please O please return your surveys!
Mr. Widowfield pointed out to me that it is not easy to legislate. While I only have to deal with 4 other points of view, he must deal with 99. He has a point. But then again that’s why we hired him. He told me he has done much to increase state funding and protect local dollars since taking office. But he did defend charter schools. He claims that there a many charter schools outperforming public schools, I pointed out that are a few that are outperforming local "Big 8" districts but generally publics outperform. He also claims that David Brennan’s money has no effect on his decision making in congress. I must be suspicious of that comment until he stops taking his money. How could you take someone’s hard earned cash (she said with a snicker) and not feel some sense of partiality? When I posed the solution of closing all failing charters now and allowing new start ups that must succeed within a 3 year period he said that's how it is now. Except for the closing the already failing ones. And except for preventing them from reopening down the street. Read this article for more on this issue.
As for the judgeship comments I made, he says I’m off base on this one. To sum up what he told me in a nutshell, The juvenile court had said for years they needed a judge. Summit Co. Common Pleas was also yelling for more judges. Mr. W asked the most independent person he knew, Justice Moyer, to look into each request and decide what was needed where. Later the power shifted at juvey and the demoncrats said another judge was not needed. It is my understanding that cases move fairly quickly through the system at juvey. Not the case at Summit Co. Common Pleas. So I have a feeling politics play into this a smidge. But I’ve gotta give him credit too. His kids are enrolled in public school and they do and will continue to feel the effects of funding deficiencies. He does understand DeRolph and asks people this question: What is your formula or answer to fund schools? It’s a good question. There is no easy answer. But then again that’s why we hired them (legislators). If he is re-elected I expect him to find the answer to this question. I’m not paid enough to find that answer.
The Plan for Excellence comment stems from the fact that there is one parent from CF on the building reconfiguration committee and the rest are SL parents, teacher/SL residents, and administrators. The committee chairs both hail from SL as well. This is not fair and balanced. Madam Kellie is going to make another prediction. Madam Kellie predicts that nothing will change. Instead of going to grade level based buildings, a proven winner, we will keep our "neighborhood" schools. Well some of us will. Some of us will continue to trek across town to our neighborhood school. Unfortunately not many people were aware that our district was reconfiguring. I place blame on many people for this, including myself. But I gave up on the Plan for Excellence after my first meeting. You see the committees were set up and one was labeled "facilities and resources". Common sense would dictate that building reconfiguration would happen on this committee. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the "teaching and learning" committee would be handed this task. That’s when I began to realize that the whole process was flawed. Is this committee looking at the financially beneficial configuration? Hmmmm… It’s obvious our district needs all day kindergarten. Look at the percentage of two career households and single mothers in our district. Did this topic really require a committee? Along the same lines, I hope they look into letting middle school aged children out 15 minutes before the elementary aged kids. After all they are the baby sitters of these kids.
People are throwing their hands in the air. I remain hopeful that the community survey will provide some guidance for these committees as to where the taxpayers want to see our money spent and what we expect in return. Please O please return your surveys!
Friday, October 20, 2006
As the Board Turns, a new soap to watch.
I should be used to this by now. But I keep thinking that that this board is making strides to cooperate. Then I am brought back to reality. Wednesday nights meeting was going smoothly. At board comment time I mentioned that I had heard from Paul Colavecchio, one of the candidates for the Ohio House of Representatives. He was the only candidate for house or senate that I heard from regarding an invitation to a board hosted candidates’ night. Since he bothered to respond, I offered him the opportunity to speak to the board at our Nov. 1st board meeting. Silly me. I actually believed your board of education would want to see where this man stood on the issues facing our school district. I didn’t even think it needed a vote! But I was forced to put it to a vote when someone raised concerns of what was fair and handing a candidate an open mic. I assured her that the opponent had been given several opportunities to respond to the request. But he was too busy to take 2 minutes to get back to me. One board member even stated that he would like to hear what Mr. Colavecchio had to say but turned around and voted no to hearing what Mr. Colavecchio had to say! I don’t know what I should think of that. Nothing like an alliance to confuse you. But then again when you vote the way you are signaled to vote by others, it can be confusing. I feel like we are third graders and need to stand folders up on the desks so we can’t see what each other is doing.
I also find it very disturbing that a union president approached a board member after the meeting and congratulated her on the fine job she had done. What the hell is so fine about blocking information? After all our current state representation has done very little for public education, but smiles while David Brennen, the charter school Don, lines his pockets with tax-payer money. I’m sure he wouldn’t use any of that money for campaign contributions now would he? I am so sick of watching people try to play both sides of the fence. Public education has suffered because of our current congress people. Why does everyone bitch about it at luncheons and meetings but not speak about it publicly? Mr. Colavecchio is not taking money from people to run his campaign and I respect that. His hands are clean and he can think about the citizens wants and needs, not wants and desires of a small, wealthy portion of our population with special interests. I do not know the man except for our short 5-minute conversation regarding the talk to the board meeting and what I’ve read and heard about him. But I feel the people that live here have been ignored by our current representation. Too many in Columbus have this attitude that they know better than the common folk. We’re not stupid. We can see what’s going on. Common folk do not want their hard earned money funding failing charter schools and making a few private citizens' millionaires along the way. And stop spending our money on test consultants and test preparers and test printers and tests, tests, tests. Our state dollars need to come to the buildings not to test companies. It’s disgusting the amount of tax payer money goes to companies "specializing" in education issues.
Lastly, yes I did say special education inclusion needs a looksy. I do not apologize for this statement. I had a severely handicapped father so please do not yell that that I do not understand. I do. I also understand that are certain limitations and prohibitions involved in a special needs persons’ life. I will once again use the example of the screaming autistic child being included in an advanced reading class. Who benefited from this action? I’m sure it was not easy to read a chapter book with this type of commotion in the classroom. I feel the 25 "typical" children in this classroom have the right to a peaceful, productive learning environment. I am also not sure what the autistic child got out of this. I saw this child in the hallways and playground often and witnessed many screaming fits and literal lying on the floor screaming kicking fits. I had the distinct impression this child did not like inclusion in the classroom. And you don’t even want to hear what happened when they tried to bring the entire autism unit outside for field day with 300 screaming hyper maniacs we call students. All I can say is Duh!
And then there is the violence. It seems that while we want these children to be treated just like any other child, that is not the case when it comes to behavior and discipline issues. If a "typical" child strikes another child, throws objects at teachers and others kids, or otherwise disrupts class, he or she will be disciplined. But the special needs label gets you a free pass 99% of the time. So I feel like it’s treat this special needs kid like every other kid except when they are not acting like every other kid. I want to do everything we can for the children of our district. But not at the detriment of the majority of them. If inclusion is possible without disruption of education, go for it. But use a dose of common sense when placing these children in a main stream classroom.
Sorry if that offends anyone but I tend to see the reality in situations. The reality is there really are some kids who cannot and will never learn. My father could return to work with his peers after his injury. To think that he could have preformed at their level is ludicrous. His co-workers could not wait for him to perform his job so they could complete theirs.
One more thing. The Plan for Excellence committee has been formed that is charged with reconfiguring our districts' buildings. It is so unbalanced and not representative of our community that I have washed my hands of it. I think the only hope of knowing what this community wants is through the community survey. Be sure to let people know it's coming.
I also find it very disturbing that a union president approached a board member after the meeting and congratulated her on the fine job she had done. What the hell is so fine about blocking information? After all our current state representation has done very little for public education, but smiles while David Brennen, the charter school Don, lines his pockets with tax-payer money. I’m sure he wouldn’t use any of that money for campaign contributions now would he? I am so sick of watching people try to play both sides of the fence. Public education has suffered because of our current congress people. Why does everyone bitch about it at luncheons and meetings but not speak about it publicly? Mr. Colavecchio is not taking money from people to run his campaign and I respect that. His hands are clean and he can think about the citizens wants and needs, not wants and desires of a small, wealthy portion of our population with special interests. I do not know the man except for our short 5-minute conversation regarding the talk to the board meeting and what I’ve read and heard about him. But I feel the people that live here have been ignored by our current representation. Too many in Columbus have this attitude that they know better than the common folk. We’re not stupid. We can see what’s going on. Common folk do not want their hard earned money funding failing charter schools and making a few private citizens' millionaires along the way. And stop spending our money on test consultants and test preparers and test printers and tests, tests, tests. Our state dollars need to come to the buildings not to test companies. It’s disgusting the amount of tax payer money goes to companies "specializing" in education issues.
Lastly, yes I did say special education inclusion needs a looksy. I do not apologize for this statement. I had a severely handicapped father so please do not yell that that I do not understand. I do. I also understand that are certain limitations and prohibitions involved in a special needs persons’ life. I will once again use the example of the screaming autistic child being included in an advanced reading class. Who benefited from this action? I’m sure it was not easy to read a chapter book with this type of commotion in the classroom. I feel the 25 "typical" children in this classroom have the right to a peaceful, productive learning environment. I am also not sure what the autistic child got out of this. I saw this child in the hallways and playground often and witnessed many screaming fits and literal lying on the floor screaming kicking fits. I had the distinct impression this child did not like inclusion in the classroom. And you don’t even want to hear what happened when they tried to bring the entire autism unit outside for field day with 300 screaming hyper maniacs we call students. All I can say is Duh!
And then there is the violence. It seems that while we want these children to be treated just like any other child, that is not the case when it comes to behavior and discipline issues. If a "typical" child strikes another child, throws objects at teachers and others kids, or otherwise disrupts class, he or she will be disciplined. But the special needs label gets you a free pass 99% of the time. So I feel like it’s treat this special needs kid like every other kid except when they are not acting like every other kid. I want to do everything we can for the children of our district. But not at the detriment of the majority of them. If inclusion is possible without disruption of education, go for it. But use a dose of common sense when placing these children in a main stream classroom.
Sorry if that offends anyone but I tend to see the reality in situations. The reality is there really are some kids who cannot and will never learn. My father could return to work with his peers after his injury. To think that he could have preformed at their level is ludicrous. His co-workers could not wait for him to perform his job so they could complete theirs.
One more thing. The Plan for Excellence committee has been formed that is charged with reconfiguring our districts' buildings. It is so unbalanced and not representative of our community that I have washed my hands of it. I think the only hope of knowing what this community wants is through the community survey. Be sure to let people know it's coming.
Monday, October 16, 2006
A Taxing Situation
Our new 5-year forecast is out. Looks like we may not be getting out of fiscal watch after all. It never ceases to amaze me how 4 months can make such a difference in our bottom line. I am waiting for an appointment to have explained to me how we go from an ending cash balance of $1, 324,570 to $5,541,000 for this fiscal year. For fiscal year ’08 it was a negative $1,562,768 to a positive balance of $5,383,000. But strangely enough, by fiscal year 2011 we have a cash balance of… brace yourself… negative $20,980,000. It’s no wonder to me why people are so distrusting of our governmental entities. Even the drafts of the current forecast, given days apart have differences of several million dollars. I realize that forecasting is a guessing game but geez there are some radical differences. I will try to blog more on this as details become available.
I want to touch on Sunday’s Plain Dealer article regarding school district legal services and fees. The main point of the article was that school districts in most cases (including ours) can use the city law director or county prosecutors office for legal advice free of charge. This is something that I asked our CEO about last January. I learned about this legal loophole through my service on the KIDS committee in ’05. Now I feel the need to tell you that the City of CF’s law department had no problem getting answers to the KIDS committee in a timely manner. Our CEO felt that the law director was not well versed in school law and would not have the time or want to assist with school issues. But I couldn’t get past the free part so I asked our cities fine law director about the issue this past spring. He told me that school issues were not outside his realm but he is a very busy man and the district could be better served by using our own separate council. Since I have great confidence in our current attorney, this didn’t bother me much. His fees are below other firms approaching us for business. The biggest plus is I trust him. He is fair and unbiased and bonus- he pays property taxes to us! He is one of our own and has a personal stake in decisions made. He’s been our attorney since I was in kindergarten. I’d say he probably knows our district’s policies, history, and people better than most. In my humble opinion, we are much better off keeping our current attorney. While I think the City of CF has a top notch law director, I don’t think he could devote the time and attention this school district needs. He’s got eminent domain issues to worry about!
Let me tell you about another positive thing our current attorney is doing for us FREE OF CHARGE. I put that in caps for a reason. I generally put attorneys in the category of blood sucking, lazy (we know paralegal's do the real work!), sedimentary parasites. But there are a few exceptions. Very few. Luckily our attorney is one of those exceptions. He has at his own time and expense attempted to do what this board desperately needs. Bring in mediators. The Federal Mediation Services Center will try, for free to help the board get along merrily. But it seems some members just can’t seem to find the time. I think it’s sad that members can find the time to campaign, attend events that their kids are involved in and their own schools boards and committees but can’t seem to find the time to meet with a much needed gro9up. In fact I believe our board president a months ago made the statement "this board is too divided to spend money on mediators". So our attorney finds one for free and no one wants to cooperate. No wonder so many board members in this area resign. How much petty BS is one person supposed to take?
I don’t know where to go next. The abortion airplane or the levies on the ballot next month. Ok let’s do the plane first. Last week while picking up my darlings from elementary school I was shocked to see an airplane overhead pulling a banner the size of a two story building with the words "10 week abortion" and an accompanying picture of one. It was the most disgusting display of free speech I have ever seen. Luckily my kids didn’t see it as they were so excited to see me after a torturous day. But today we weren’t so lucky. As I was pulling up to a middle school to pick up one of my besties (that’s slang for a great friend), one of the youngins’ in my car said "Oh my God, What is that?" Then my 7-year-old said- "It’s a detached arm" First I want to say I did not know my 7 year old knew the word detached. I was impressed at his vocabulary. Then I realized it was not a Halloween display. I had to listen for the next 60 seconds as the three innocents in my car tried to sound out the word abortion. Finally they decided it was abolition. Should I have to explain something like this to my kids? How do I explain it to someone else’s kid? But problem solved when Miss Middle Schooler jumps in the car and says "Ohmigod didya see the abortion thingy"? My 7-year-old said "abortion"? I did the 50’s thing and said that it was something they didn't need to know about for a few more years. I need some little old lady advice on this one. Speaking of little old ladies…
The library levy. Boy did that endorsement tick some people off. Just to set the record straight I want to say that I am not the anti-levy. I do not want to see a school levy any time soon. I would hope no one would vote for or against a levy just because I said so. The question was asked why didn’t I ask the voters what they thought of this levy. I did. I may not have asked each and every one of you personally, but I did talk to people. I also felt I should consider the students of this district, as they also became my responsibility when I was elected. So I talked to them as well. I would rather give a little to the library, metro parks and zoo, and let a school levy expire. Not that I could ever get the board to go for that but it would be my personal ideal. I don’t want to see services that he entire community enjoys and benefits from lose out when they are not the reason our property taxes are what they are. Our schools have an over reliance on property taxes. This is what the state has declared unconstitutional. An over reliance on property taxes. It did not declare all property taxes illegal for schools as some people think.
Please try to state your reasons for or against issues without the personal attacks. We all have a right to our opinions. You can get your point across without explaining why everyone else is wrong. It really doesn’t matter who’s who because most are using fake names anyway. Stick to your point and people will take you seriously.
I want to touch on Sunday’s Plain Dealer article regarding school district legal services and fees. The main point of the article was that school districts in most cases (including ours) can use the city law director or county prosecutors office for legal advice free of charge. This is something that I asked our CEO about last January. I learned about this legal loophole through my service on the KIDS committee in ’05. Now I feel the need to tell you that the City of CF’s law department had no problem getting answers to the KIDS committee in a timely manner. Our CEO felt that the law director was not well versed in school law and would not have the time or want to assist with school issues. But I couldn’t get past the free part so I asked our cities fine law director about the issue this past spring. He told me that school issues were not outside his realm but he is a very busy man and the district could be better served by using our own separate council. Since I have great confidence in our current attorney, this didn’t bother me much. His fees are below other firms approaching us for business. The biggest plus is I trust him. He is fair and unbiased and bonus- he pays property taxes to us! He is one of our own and has a personal stake in decisions made. He’s been our attorney since I was in kindergarten. I’d say he probably knows our district’s policies, history, and people better than most. In my humble opinion, we are much better off keeping our current attorney. While I think the City of CF has a top notch law director, I don’t think he could devote the time and attention this school district needs. He’s got eminent domain issues to worry about!
Let me tell you about another positive thing our current attorney is doing for us FREE OF CHARGE. I put that in caps for a reason. I generally put attorneys in the category of blood sucking, lazy (we know paralegal's do the real work!), sedimentary parasites. But there are a few exceptions. Very few. Luckily our attorney is one of those exceptions. He has at his own time and expense attempted to do what this board desperately needs. Bring in mediators. The Federal Mediation Services Center will try, for free to help the board get along merrily. But it seems some members just can’t seem to find the time. I think it’s sad that members can find the time to campaign, attend events that their kids are involved in and their own schools boards and committees but can’t seem to find the time to meet with a much needed gro9up. In fact I believe our board president a months ago made the statement "this board is too divided to spend money on mediators". So our attorney finds one for free and no one wants to cooperate. No wonder so many board members in this area resign. How much petty BS is one person supposed to take?
I don’t know where to go next. The abortion airplane or the levies on the ballot next month. Ok let’s do the plane first. Last week while picking up my darlings from elementary school I was shocked to see an airplane overhead pulling a banner the size of a two story building with the words "10 week abortion" and an accompanying picture of one. It was the most disgusting display of free speech I have ever seen. Luckily my kids didn’t see it as they were so excited to see me after a torturous day. But today we weren’t so lucky. As I was pulling up to a middle school to pick up one of my besties (that’s slang for a great friend), one of the youngins’ in my car said "Oh my God, What is that?" Then my 7-year-old said- "It’s a detached arm" First I want to say I did not know my 7 year old knew the word detached. I was impressed at his vocabulary. Then I realized it was not a Halloween display. I had to listen for the next 60 seconds as the three innocents in my car tried to sound out the word abortion. Finally they decided it was abolition. Should I have to explain something like this to my kids? How do I explain it to someone else’s kid? But problem solved when Miss Middle Schooler jumps in the car and says "Ohmigod didya see the abortion thingy"? My 7-year-old said "abortion"? I did the 50’s thing and said that it was something they didn't need to know about for a few more years. I need some little old lady advice on this one. Speaking of little old ladies…
The library levy. Boy did that endorsement tick some people off. Just to set the record straight I want to say that I am not the anti-levy. I do not want to see a school levy any time soon. I would hope no one would vote for or against a levy just because I said so. The question was asked why didn’t I ask the voters what they thought of this levy. I did. I may not have asked each and every one of you personally, but I did talk to people. I also felt I should consider the students of this district, as they also became my responsibility when I was elected. So I talked to them as well. I would rather give a little to the library, metro parks and zoo, and let a school levy expire. Not that I could ever get the board to go for that but it would be my personal ideal. I don’t want to see services that he entire community enjoys and benefits from lose out when they are not the reason our property taxes are what they are. Our schools have an over reliance on property taxes. This is what the state has declared unconstitutional. An over reliance on property taxes. It did not declare all property taxes illegal for schools as some people think.
Please try to state your reasons for or against issues without the personal attacks. We all have a right to our opinions. You can get your point across without explaining why everyone else is wrong. It really doesn’t matter who’s who because most are using fake names anyway. Stick to your point and people will take you seriously.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Zippidee Do Dah
It seems last Fridays football game had a little more excitement than we realized. This is that lovely time of year when the leaves are turning, the air is crisp, and the politicians are swarming like bee’s on a smashed peach. Our State Senator had some people at the game handing out peanuts with his name on the bag. No biggy. Well at least you would think. It seems the president of the board of education ordered the peanut pushers to vacate the property. Strange considering our board president himself campaigned in the stadium last September and October. I’m really ticked because he kicked them out before I got my free peanuts. But even more interesting is how I found out orders were issued. Tuesday the board received an Email from our state senator saying this action was illegal. I’m not sure it actually is but I will agree with him that if his people were not causing a problem, why boot them? But then the disturbing part of the letter happens: "it was unwise to target a member of the legislature for such an action"... "a legislator of lesser temperament may have carried that with him when considering policies impacting the Falls schools."
I think a better legislator would have not said this. Taking money from David Brennan whom makes millions of dollars from our taxes, and touting charter schools as supporting educational choice for parents doesn’t sit well with me. I am for educational choice myself. But a majority of charter schools are not performing well, are not held to the same standards as public schools and have tainted the purpose behind the legislation. They cater to throw away kids and do nothing to prepare young men and women for life beyond graduation. I want representation that understands the problems the people in Cuyahoga Falls face. Not someone who would threaten the funding for my kids because of a skirmish with the pres. Both of these guys need to grow up.
I’m sure it was a shock to see a 5-0 vote on several agenda items this week. I’ll try to go in order and explain without getting off track.
First we amend and approve the agenda. I added an item to employ the Santa Rita Collaborative. It was also amended to appoint a library board member and a resolution to support the library levy. The library appointment went well as it should have. The man we appointed has wonderful ideas for library programming and facility operations, as well as a firm grasp of finances and the need for public transparency. He has experience having served on a neighboring community’s library board, as well as many other professional and civic boards. His appointment is one of many reasons I also supported the library levy resolution.
Do I want to pay more taxes? No. Do I think our library needs a little restructuring and better public relations? Yes. But I also know that if this levy fails hours will be cut even further and I feel it will directly impact the educational quality offered in Cuyahoga Falls. It will cost the average homeowner in Cuyahoga Falls about $5 per month. A small price to pay for what you can get. It will be the first time the property owners in Cuyahoga Falls will be levied for the library.
The Santa Rita Collaborative is in the business of surveys. I have long wanted a survey of the entire community because I feel it is the only way your board of education can understand who we are representing. We all claim we know what the people think but in reality we only know what the people we talk to think. For some reason this item caused quite a bit of discussion, with some members quite concerned about the cost. I proposed a $10,000 cap. The CFO said $12,000 was possible. I find it odd that some of the board members that handed over raises on a silver platter, negotiated not with but for the CEO and CFO for annuities and Medicare and such during their contract negotiations, were the same board members hesitant to pay for a survey that will cost the same as the aforementioned items. Anyway after much ado it was finally put to a vote and much to my amazement, passed 5-0. The "Plan for Excellence" calls for community input. So does the "Pledge to the Community". I’m starting to think that it’s not community input that is desired, but insider input. The Plan for Excellence committees are stacked with teachers and administrators. They need to get used to the fact that the taxpayers of the Cuyahoga Falls School District should have the loudest voice in where our dollars are going. If we want our dollars in the classroom or in a stadium. In an innovative program or in the administrative offices. I think I know but I can’t wait to get results back! Make sure you tell your friends, neighbors, coworkers, and grandma that it’s coming. We were told the typical return on surveys mailed citywide is 10-12%. I’m hoping our community will set a new standard.
Sorry this was so long but there was a lot to talk about. School is back in and volunteering has started. Building tours, late night executive sessions, and general family responsibilities have kept me from posting as much as I’d like. I’ve got my mojo back and Barberton looks like it’s going to give me some blogging fodder. From the looks of my last blog, educational topics are not of much interest.
I think a better legislator would have not said this. Taking money from David Brennan whom makes millions of dollars from our taxes, and touting charter schools as supporting educational choice for parents doesn’t sit well with me. I am for educational choice myself. But a majority of charter schools are not performing well, are not held to the same standards as public schools and have tainted the purpose behind the legislation. They cater to throw away kids and do nothing to prepare young men and women for life beyond graduation. I want representation that understands the problems the people in Cuyahoga Falls face. Not someone who would threaten the funding for my kids because of a skirmish with the pres. Both of these guys need to grow up.
I’m sure it was a shock to see a 5-0 vote on several agenda items this week. I’ll try to go in order and explain without getting off track.
First we amend and approve the agenda. I added an item to employ the Santa Rita Collaborative. It was also amended to appoint a library board member and a resolution to support the library levy. The library appointment went well as it should have. The man we appointed has wonderful ideas for library programming and facility operations, as well as a firm grasp of finances and the need for public transparency. He has experience having served on a neighboring community’s library board, as well as many other professional and civic boards. His appointment is one of many reasons I also supported the library levy resolution.
Do I want to pay more taxes? No. Do I think our library needs a little restructuring and better public relations? Yes. But I also know that if this levy fails hours will be cut even further and I feel it will directly impact the educational quality offered in Cuyahoga Falls. It will cost the average homeowner in Cuyahoga Falls about $5 per month. A small price to pay for what you can get. It will be the first time the property owners in Cuyahoga Falls will be levied for the library.
The Santa Rita Collaborative is in the business of surveys. I have long wanted a survey of the entire community because I feel it is the only way your board of education can understand who we are representing. We all claim we know what the people think but in reality we only know what the people we talk to think. For some reason this item caused quite a bit of discussion, with some members quite concerned about the cost. I proposed a $10,000 cap. The CFO said $12,000 was possible. I find it odd that some of the board members that handed over raises on a silver platter, negotiated not with but for the CEO and CFO for annuities and Medicare and such during their contract negotiations, were the same board members hesitant to pay for a survey that will cost the same as the aforementioned items. Anyway after much ado it was finally put to a vote and much to my amazement, passed 5-0. The "Plan for Excellence" calls for community input. So does the "Pledge to the Community". I’m starting to think that it’s not community input that is desired, but insider input. The Plan for Excellence committees are stacked with teachers and administrators. They need to get used to the fact that the taxpayers of the Cuyahoga Falls School District should have the loudest voice in where our dollars are going. If we want our dollars in the classroom or in a stadium. In an innovative program or in the administrative offices. I think I know but I can’t wait to get results back! Make sure you tell your friends, neighbors, coworkers, and grandma that it’s coming. We were told the typical return on surveys mailed citywide is 10-12%. I’m hoping our community will set a new standard.
Sorry this was so long but there was a lot to talk about. School is back in and volunteering has started. Building tours, late night executive sessions, and general family responsibilities have kept me from posting as much as I’d like. I’ve got my mojo back and Barberton looks like it’s going to give me some blogging fodder. From the looks of my last blog, educational topics are not of much interest.
Friday, September 29, 2006
ABC- Easy as 123
I had a chance to attend the districts’ presentation of our new math program this evening. Everyday Math is the name and having fun is the game. I’ve always believed that children learn the same concepts in different ways. This math program promotes these different ways of learning for each child. They will naturally start using the concepts he or she is most comfortable with. It uses games and a lot of interactive materials. The most important part of this program is it makes math fun. I know the old school thinking is "school shouldn’t have to be fun" but I think everyone can agree that if it’s fun, kids are eager. I wanted to plat with some of the stuff I saw on the demonstration tables. I didn’t get to play with dominoes and cards and fancy rulers when I was in school. It looked as if all of our teachers were there to help explain what our kids are doing. A big thanks to all of our elementary teachers that helped out at the events held throughout the district.
I’d like to hear some feedback from parents who attended any of the Everyday Math events. I found it very engaging. I hope to see more of our curriculum move to programs like this. This is what I think our tax dollars were intended for. Books and materials. Let the academic conversations begin!
I’d like to hear some feedback from parents who attended any of the Everyday Math events. I found it very engaging. I hope to see more of our curriculum move to programs like this. This is what I think our tax dollars were intended for. Books and materials. Let the academic conversations begin!
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Gray Hair Meter Currently 35%
I am not in the best spirits. I want to explain how things work in the world of school boards. You do what you can with what you’ve got. We have a divided board attempting to run a school district. But in reality the CEO runs the district and tells the board what to do. All over Ohio I see good people run for and win school board seats only to resign months later because they soon realize they cannot make a difference. They realize nothing changes. The people running our schools only want board members that are yes men.
I am going to attempt to explain what has happened in chronological order. Maybe you can understand why things happened the way they did. I read in the paper thatour CFO had applied for the job in Hudson. The board president asked the CFO what it would take to keep her. Contract negotiations begin. I tried to convince the board from the get go that if we allow one employee to hold the board hostage in this manner, others will follow. I then realized that as usual, what I think really doesn’t matter. But the one thing that was important to all was a mutual agreement was desired. A five O vote would make everyone a happy bunch. I decided that I would use this aspect to negotiate out of the wish lists all I could. Let the games begin.
We also began building tours. It was an eye opening experience. We started with elementary buildings in the Falls and went to Silver Lake last. Somewhere in the middle of tours CEO approaches the board with ultimatum. Here’s my wish list, let’s talk or I’ll walk. It was like I was dealt two nines on the black jack table and now had to split them, but the dealer has a ten and play both hands at once. But let’sget back to the buildings. Like I blogged earlier, the differences were striking. Crowded buildings and class rooms in the Falls buildings, while SL enjoys average class sizes of 19. Don’t even get me started on the cost of rewiring the building and providing the additional costs of electricity for the current and future window air conditioners. Then it is mentioned in the hallway that we bus students from SL less than a half mile away to a daycare. I can’t think of any other building in CFCSD that we do this for. But the real pisser is this. One third of SL enrollment is open enrollment. Here’s the kicker. We bring in a lesser amount of money for these kids from the state than it costs to educate them at SL elementary. Our tax money is paying to educate "outside" children when we push them to our most expensive per pupil school. I mentioned it before, but I’ll mention it again, our district would have had to shut down the SL kindergarten program had we not pushed open enrollers there. People requested buildings in the Falls but were pushed to SL. I didn’t notice any special ed programs either. Hmmm. Our largest elementary school (Lincoln) in the district has one book scanner in the library, our smallest school (SL) has three.
The board was able to meet several times on the CFO’s contract, work out an agreement that was agreeable to all and vote on it Wednesday night 5-0. I like our CFO and I believe she does a good job and works well with our CEO. I think she truly tries to work with all board members and wants us to understand what she does and how she does it. Much was negotiated out and in return I voted yes. I did what I felt was the best I could do for tax payers under the majority circumstances. As we saw with the raises handed over, the majority will do what they want regardless of how tax payers or fellow board members feel about it.
Unfortunately the CEO’s wasn’t quite so smooth. It was no fault of any one person. The board was given a deadline that was short to begin with and unforseen circumstances made proper negotiations difficult. A majority of the board was willing to give CEO more than I was comfortable with. I was told by one member on Monday that it was going to be on the agenda Wednesday whether I liked it or not. We entered executive session Wednesday and I was handed a revised copy of the contract and informed the board I was not voting on a contract I was just handed and had not reviewed and have not had a conversation with the CEO since negotiations started. I was then informed that the board would make hand written changes and strikes and vote on it this way! I couldn’t believe my ears. Some seriously wanted to vote on a scribbled on, language altered by a bic pen document. Can you say "yeah right"? I asked our CEO to withdraw his name from consideration at Copley and give us a few days to hammer out the fine points. A concern among some board members and the CEO was that if his name became public applying for this job, it would undermine employee morale. I said I would not vote no if we were granted extra time to come to an agreement that was acceptable to all as we did with the CFO’s contract. I emailed our CEO with the changes I wanted but I guess he was so busy talking to the Beacon Journal on Thursday that he couldn’t be bothered to reply to my Email. I knew then that things will remain the same. I had already given my word that I wouldn’t vote no, but I could not in good conscience vote yes.
The changes I asked for were simple. That our district stop favoring certain buildings, that unethical behaviors not be tolerated, and equal treatment and rules for board members. Not getting a reply coupled with the Beacon Journal article only reaffirmed for me what I had been trying to convince the board of all along- The board was held hostage. It worked because several board members were terrified of losing our CEO and he was well aware of this. Get it while you can, but wouldn’t a five 0 be dandy? I feel like nobody quite kept their promises and I’m tired of being one of the few people that actually tries to work with others open and honestly. Emails exchanged encouraging the hiring of friends (that end up with the job), board members hanging out in administrators offices having giggle fests, performing office duties, and forming friendships shouldn’t be tolerated. We were told in January it wouldn’t be.
I abstained so I could be true to myself and true to my word. The CEO gets a 4-0 vote for the record and all is well.
The CFO’s contract is not a renewal, just changes to the current allowing insurance to be accessed, board paid medicare (currently 1.45%) and a 2.5% annuity. The CEO’s changes from the current to the 4-year renewal are: a 3.5% annuity, board paid medicare, clarification of the duties of the CEO, an agreement that unused vacation days will not be bought out if the CEO engages in teaching during that contract year, and an agreement for the board to pay all professional and civic membership dues.
I am going to attempt to explain what has happened in chronological order. Maybe you can understand why things happened the way they did. I read in the paper thatour CFO had applied for the job in Hudson. The board president asked the CFO what it would take to keep her. Contract negotiations begin. I tried to convince the board from the get go that if we allow one employee to hold the board hostage in this manner, others will follow. I then realized that as usual, what I think really doesn’t matter. But the one thing that was important to all was a mutual agreement was desired. A five O vote would make everyone a happy bunch. I decided that I would use this aspect to negotiate out of the wish lists all I could. Let the games begin.
We also began building tours. It was an eye opening experience. We started with elementary buildings in the Falls and went to Silver Lake last. Somewhere in the middle of tours CEO approaches the board with ultimatum. Here’s my wish list, let’s talk or I’ll walk. It was like I was dealt two nines on the black jack table and now had to split them, but the dealer has a ten and play both hands at once. But let’sget back to the buildings. Like I blogged earlier, the differences were striking. Crowded buildings and class rooms in the Falls buildings, while SL enjoys average class sizes of 19. Don’t even get me started on the cost of rewiring the building and providing the additional costs of electricity for the current and future window air conditioners. Then it is mentioned in the hallway that we bus students from SL less than a half mile away to a daycare. I can’t think of any other building in CFCSD that we do this for. But the real pisser is this. One third of SL enrollment is open enrollment. Here’s the kicker. We bring in a lesser amount of money for these kids from the state than it costs to educate them at SL elementary. Our tax money is paying to educate "outside" children when we push them to our most expensive per pupil school. I mentioned it before, but I’ll mention it again, our district would have had to shut down the SL kindergarten program had we not pushed open enrollers there. People requested buildings in the Falls but were pushed to SL. I didn’t notice any special ed programs either. Hmmm. Our largest elementary school (Lincoln) in the district has one book scanner in the library, our smallest school (SL) has three.
The board was able to meet several times on the CFO’s contract, work out an agreement that was agreeable to all and vote on it Wednesday night 5-0. I like our CFO and I believe she does a good job and works well with our CEO. I think she truly tries to work with all board members and wants us to understand what she does and how she does it. Much was negotiated out and in return I voted yes. I did what I felt was the best I could do for tax payers under the majority circumstances. As we saw with the raises handed over, the majority will do what they want regardless of how tax payers or fellow board members feel about it.
Unfortunately the CEO’s wasn’t quite so smooth. It was no fault of any one person. The board was given a deadline that was short to begin with and unforseen circumstances made proper negotiations difficult. A majority of the board was willing to give CEO more than I was comfortable with. I was told by one member on Monday that it was going to be on the agenda Wednesday whether I liked it or not. We entered executive session Wednesday and I was handed a revised copy of the contract and informed the board I was not voting on a contract I was just handed and had not reviewed and have not had a conversation with the CEO since negotiations started. I was then informed that the board would make hand written changes and strikes and vote on it this way! I couldn’t believe my ears. Some seriously wanted to vote on a scribbled on, language altered by a bic pen document. Can you say "yeah right"? I asked our CEO to withdraw his name from consideration at Copley and give us a few days to hammer out the fine points. A concern among some board members and the CEO was that if his name became public applying for this job, it would undermine employee morale. I said I would not vote no if we were granted extra time to come to an agreement that was acceptable to all as we did with the CFO’s contract. I emailed our CEO with the changes I wanted but I guess he was so busy talking to the Beacon Journal on Thursday that he couldn’t be bothered to reply to my Email. I knew then that things will remain the same. I had already given my word that I wouldn’t vote no, but I could not in good conscience vote yes.
The changes I asked for were simple. That our district stop favoring certain buildings, that unethical behaviors not be tolerated, and equal treatment and rules for board members. Not getting a reply coupled with the Beacon Journal article only reaffirmed for me what I had been trying to convince the board of all along- The board was held hostage. It worked because several board members were terrified of losing our CEO and he was well aware of this. Get it while you can, but wouldn’t a five 0 be dandy? I feel like nobody quite kept their promises and I’m tired of being one of the few people that actually tries to work with others open and honestly. Emails exchanged encouraging the hiring of friends (that end up with the job), board members hanging out in administrators offices having giggle fests, performing office duties, and forming friendships shouldn’t be tolerated. We were told in January it wouldn’t be.
I abstained so I could be true to myself and true to my word. The CEO gets a 4-0 vote for the record and all is well.
The CFO’s contract is not a renewal, just changes to the current allowing insurance to be accessed, board paid medicare (currently 1.45%) and a 2.5% annuity. The CEO’s changes from the current to the 4-year renewal are: a 3.5% annuity, board paid medicare, clarification of the duties of the CEO, an agreement that unused vacation days will not be bought out if the CEO engages in teaching during that contract year, and an agreement for the board to pay all professional and civic membership dues.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
The Magical Mystery Tour
The board has started touring the buildings. It’s interesting to me to see the differences to me just in the four we have toured so far. Nearly all of the kids I saw were engaged and well behaved. Our schools are clean and well maintained. The teachers were teaching and the kids were paying attention. I have to give the kids credit, it had to be hard to pay attention and give answers to the teachers questions with all the "suits" in the room. One child was extremely impressed that we had a doctor (Ph.D.) with us. Only two things disturbed me. One was the fact that one of our elementary schools is so crowded that a child was getting physical therapy in a closet. The other was a conversation I overheard. It seems that enrollment is so low at Silver Lake elementary that if our district hadn’t pushed most of the kindergarten open enrollment there, we would have had to shut down the Silver Lake kindergarten program. The pledge to the community says that a district wide reorganization is to be completed by the 07/08 school year. I’d say it’s time we got started. Most of the buildings in Cuyahoga Falls are busting at the seams. Our bussing system has too many exceptions and too little riders. I see huge busses with 10 –12 kids on them. I have had parents complain to me that mostly empty busses go past their house to schools their own children attend but can’t pick up their children. We have kids walking over or on mounds of ice on Graham Rd. to get to Lincoln Elementary and Bolich Middle School.
And finally I can tell you what all the executive sessions were about. The board has been negotiating renewing our CFO’s contract. It’s on this Wednesday’s agenda. Strangely enough no attachment was with the agenda. I’m sure the media will appreciate that. I find it curious that I am expected to vote on a resolution Wednesday without having seen it. What I was sent last week through my Email and what’s handed to me Wednesday in the board room could be two totally different documents. I think an attachment would have been prudent, if not necessary in this case.
The changes are as follows: (edited to remove contract details) The attorney has suggested that it might not be a good idea for me to post the contract details until after we have voted on it so I've taken them down.
Anyway, in case you’re wondering, I’m OK with this. We have a really smart CFO that has a way with charts and spreadsheets. I appreciate her enthusiasm and zest. And I want stability and understanding of where we are financially when entering union negotiations in a few short months. Our CFO wanted to feel secure in her employment and I can’t fault her for that. Hopefully we all got what we wanted.
There is a special board meeting executive session only on Monday evening, as well as one at the end of Wednesdays board meeting. If we have many more special meetings I’m going to ask for a raise. Better yet, maybe some one will just throw one on the agenda for me.
And finally I can tell you what all the executive sessions were about. The board has been negotiating renewing our CFO’s contract. It’s on this Wednesday’s agenda. Strangely enough no attachment was with the agenda. I’m sure the media will appreciate that. I find it curious that I am expected to vote on a resolution Wednesday without having seen it. What I was sent last week through my Email and what’s handed to me Wednesday in the board room could be two totally different documents. I think an attachment would have been prudent, if not necessary in this case.
The changes are as follows: (edited to remove contract details) The attorney has suggested that it might not be a good idea for me to post the contract details until after we have voted on it so I've taken them down.
Anyway, in case you’re wondering, I’m OK with this. We have a really smart CFO that has a way with charts and spreadsheets. I appreciate her enthusiasm and zest. And I want stability and understanding of where we are financially when entering union negotiations in a few short months. Our CFO wanted to feel secure in her employment and I can’t fault her for that. Hopefully we all got what we wanted.
There is a special board meeting executive session only on Monday evening, as well as one at the end of Wednesdays board meeting. If we have many more special meetings I’m going to ask for a raise. Better yet, maybe some one will just throw one on the agenda for me.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Whose Money Is It?
Tsk, tsk. I thought I could leave you to talk amongst yourselves but I guess I was wrong. First let me explain what auditors do. They come in and look at a particular moment in time. They do not look back at our finances, and they do not look forward. They look at the information provided and tell us where we stand at that moment in time. Think about how your finances may look at any one moment in time. Sometimes we look like we we’re rolling in dough, other times it looks like we’re robbing Peter to pay Paul. Right now the auditors could probably certify me a deficit. But next week is payday.
I will preface this by saying that school finances are a monster of it’s own kind and both our CFO and my consultant make very compelling cases. Let’s first talk about what set asides are. Set asides are monies that are "reserved" for particular purposes. According to the rules of school financing we must spend at least 800K on textbooks and instructional materials and 800K on capital improvements. There are lines on our five-year forecast to account for this money. Above that we have "expenditures". This is where it gets tricky. Much of the set aside money is already accounted for in the expenditure lines in our five-year forecast. Mainly in supplies and equipment. Our CFO contends that she was conservative in these areas and would rather have leftover money, than not enough money. My trusted consultant says it’s money spent twice. Thing is, as a friend pointed out to me, leftover money is never used to the benefit of taxpayers. To some this leftover money was the difference between lowering the heat, cutting off cable and other budget cuts to cover a tax increase. The medium income in CF is $30K and some odd change. This is not an amount that can support another tax increase. Did I say levy? If "leftover" money is there, the taxpayers of this district have a right, and dare I say a need to know. For many elderly people I talk to, another tax increase could put them out of their homes. Homes they have owned 40 years or more. Social Security cost of living increases are lucky to go up $40 per year. Not nearly enough to cover the $40 per month increase the last new levy taxed them.
I was told the forecast will be updated in October. The auditors are here now. I checked my notes and know what I was told during my meeting with our CFO. Our bottom line should show a drastically better outlook in the next few years. While I respect the work of the districts Financial Forecasting Advisory Committee, I also am aware that they are not familiar with the ins and outs of school financing. A school treasurer offered to help me. A school treasurer who also happens to be a stakeholder in our district. Since I keep having policy and bylaws sent to me, I figure I should return the favor and cite bylaw 1320 part 2 letter I: In addition the treasurer shall help interpret the budget and district affairs under his/her supervision to interested members of the community.
I promised I would do what ever it took to see fiscal transparency and accuracy. I never claimed I could solve all our problems myself. I do not regret accepting help from someone who is an expert in the field of school financing. I am grateful the assistance was offered. I also think we have a wonderful CFO. I was told at our meeting that she was told to put the set aside money in the forecast and leave expenditures where they are at. I believe she was told to do this. I’m sure October will show an agreeable picture of where we stand financially.
Lastly, some quick notes. Another special board meeting, executive session only was held Sunday. No action taken. At least it was a quickie. In at 2PM out at 2:30PM. As I understand it, action will be taken at next Wednesday’s board meeting. And I didn’t want to have to do this but….If the name calling and personal attacks, assumptions about who’s who, and mud slinging doesn’t stop, I will have to start censoring posts. I goes against my grain to do this but you guys are worse than my children. Since I cannot put you in the corner or ban you from the playstation 2, I will start removing posts that are attacking people. Discuss and offer ideas and insight. Views on issues and debate. But please stop the pettiness. It serves no useful purpose.
I will preface this by saying that school finances are a monster of it’s own kind and both our CFO and my consultant make very compelling cases. Let’s first talk about what set asides are. Set asides are monies that are "reserved" for particular purposes. According to the rules of school financing we must spend at least 800K on textbooks and instructional materials and 800K on capital improvements. There are lines on our five-year forecast to account for this money. Above that we have "expenditures". This is where it gets tricky. Much of the set aside money is already accounted for in the expenditure lines in our five-year forecast. Mainly in supplies and equipment. Our CFO contends that she was conservative in these areas and would rather have leftover money, than not enough money. My trusted consultant says it’s money spent twice. Thing is, as a friend pointed out to me, leftover money is never used to the benefit of taxpayers. To some this leftover money was the difference between lowering the heat, cutting off cable and other budget cuts to cover a tax increase. The medium income in CF is $30K and some odd change. This is not an amount that can support another tax increase. Did I say levy? If "leftover" money is there, the taxpayers of this district have a right, and dare I say a need to know. For many elderly people I talk to, another tax increase could put them out of their homes. Homes they have owned 40 years or more. Social Security cost of living increases are lucky to go up $40 per year. Not nearly enough to cover the $40 per month increase the last new levy taxed them.
I was told the forecast will be updated in October. The auditors are here now. I checked my notes and know what I was told during my meeting with our CFO. Our bottom line should show a drastically better outlook in the next few years. While I respect the work of the districts Financial Forecasting Advisory Committee, I also am aware that they are not familiar with the ins and outs of school financing. A school treasurer offered to help me. A school treasurer who also happens to be a stakeholder in our district. Since I keep having policy and bylaws sent to me, I figure I should return the favor and cite bylaw 1320 part 2 letter I: In addition the treasurer shall help interpret the budget and district affairs under his/her supervision to interested members of the community.
I promised I would do what ever it took to see fiscal transparency and accuracy. I never claimed I could solve all our problems myself. I do not regret accepting help from someone who is an expert in the field of school financing. I am grateful the assistance was offered. I also think we have a wonderful CFO. I was told at our meeting that she was told to put the set aside money in the forecast and leave expenditures where they are at. I believe she was told to do this. I’m sure October will show an agreeable picture of where we stand financially.
Lastly, some quick notes. Another special board meeting, executive session only was held Sunday. No action taken. At least it was a quickie. In at 2PM out at 2:30PM. As I understand it, action will be taken at next Wednesday’s board meeting. And I didn’t want to have to do this but….If the name calling and personal attacks, assumptions about who’s who, and mud slinging doesn’t stop, I will have to start censoring posts. I goes against my grain to do this but you guys are worse than my children. Since I cannot put you in the corner or ban you from the playstation 2, I will start removing posts that are attacking people. Discuss and offer ideas and insight. Views on issues and debate. But please stop the pettiness. It serves no useful purpose.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Busy weeks ahead....
Several people have asked me about the special board meeting that was held Tuesday August 29th. What happened? What was the meeting about? Was any action taken? The answers are CONFIDENTIAL, CONFIDENTIAL (I am allowed to say personnel), and no. We have another special board meeting, executive session only scheduled for this coming Tuesday. Yes you read right. Tuesday. Yes there is still a regular board meeting this Wednesday. But the time has changed. It is now at 6 PM. You are welcome to come to both, but you will be asked to leave Tuesday shortly after you arrive. With the price of gas these days, I’d hate to see you show up Tuesday for nothing. I felt bad for the two ladies that showed up this past Tuesday and had to wait outside until we adjourned at 10:30ish. Didn’t anyone tell them it was only an executive session? Anyway, I can’t promise no action will be taken Tuesday. You never know with us!
The next question I am being asked the most is why did our CFO apply for the job at Hudson? Only she can answer that. I suggest you call or E-mail her and ask if you’re wondering. A few people have asked me if it is something I have done. If you mean finding utilizing outside help that found over 1.6 million dollars extra for our district for each of the next four years, then yes. It seems the same money was expended on two separate lines in our five-year forecast. I made a promise to the voters of this city that I would be a responsible steward of your money. I will use whatever means available to me to do that. One of the Roosevelt’s once said, "I am not a very smart man. But I surround myself with very smart people." Our five-year forecast needs adjusted and maybe we can put off asking for new money a little longer. We’ll see if that ever happens!
The stakeholders in our city expect and deserve to have a critical eye in their money. I think the vote turn out said this loud and clear. I ran on a platform of fiscal accountability and less levy begging. I can’t convince most of my fellow board members to look for savings, cut waste and streamline our central office, but I can continue to try. I am of the mind set that it is my money we are spending. It’s your money we are spending. I am aware of the rising costs of heating, gas, and "supplies" in my own household. I can’t get as many cappuccinos, pedicures, and visits to the chiropractor like I used to. The kids don’t get as many Poke-Mon cards, Water Works passes, or trips to Chuck E. Strep throat. I had to make cuts to adjust my budget. We have to keep the heat on. I want our school district to run the same way. Before we paid a lot of last minute debt this year, which is a commendable thing, our bottom line was 2.1 million. We actually ended with a balance of 726,526.
Don’t get me wrong. I am glad we were able to retire the musical instrument, athletic equipment and the boiler for Sill debt. It seems we have accomplished a miracle turn around in one year unlike any other. Our leaders should be proud. I just hope they remember whose backs it was on. Teachers, support staff, kids, parents, and property owners.
I have faith in our curriculum and pupil services departments that test scores, AYP, and enrollment will continue to rise. In my experiences with teachers and other staff I have noticed much enthusiasm and passion for seeing our kids succeed. We are getting the kids the extra help they need even at buildings that do not qualify for funding. You don’t hear me talk about academics much because I am comfortable with the direction we are going.
Bussing is another story…
The next question I am being asked the most is why did our CFO apply for the job at Hudson? Only she can answer that. I suggest you call or E-mail her and ask if you’re wondering. A few people have asked me if it is something I have done. If you mean finding utilizing outside help that found over 1.6 million dollars extra for our district for each of the next four years, then yes. It seems the same money was expended on two separate lines in our five-year forecast. I made a promise to the voters of this city that I would be a responsible steward of your money. I will use whatever means available to me to do that. One of the Roosevelt’s once said, "I am not a very smart man. But I surround myself with very smart people." Our five-year forecast needs adjusted and maybe we can put off asking for new money a little longer. We’ll see if that ever happens!
The stakeholders in our city expect and deserve to have a critical eye in their money. I think the vote turn out said this loud and clear. I ran on a platform of fiscal accountability and less levy begging. I can’t convince most of my fellow board members to look for savings, cut waste and streamline our central office, but I can continue to try. I am of the mind set that it is my money we are spending. It’s your money we are spending. I am aware of the rising costs of heating, gas, and "supplies" in my own household. I can’t get as many cappuccinos, pedicures, and visits to the chiropractor like I used to. The kids don’t get as many Poke-Mon cards, Water Works passes, or trips to Chuck E. Strep throat. I had to make cuts to adjust my budget. We have to keep the heat on. I want our school district to run the same way. Before we paid a lot of last minute debt this year, which is a commendable thing, our bottom line was 2.1 million. We actually ended with a balance of 726,526.
Don’t get me wrong. I am glad we were able to retire the musical instrument, athletic equipment and the boiler for Sill debt. It seems we have accomplished a miracle turn around in one year unlike any other. Our leaders should be proud. I just hope they remember whose backs it was on. Teachers, support staff, kids, parents, and property owners.
I have faith in our curriculum and pupil services departments that test scores, AYP, and enrollment will continue to rise. In my experiences with teachers and other staff I have noticed much enthusiasm and passion for seeing our kids succeed. We are getting the kids the extra help they need even at buildings that do not qualify for funding. You don’t hear me talk about academics much because I am comfortable with the direction we are going.
Bussing is another story…
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Blackwell vs. Strickland. Round One
Taxin’ Ted or Conservative Ken. Eenie, meenie, miney, moe. This year is gonna be toughie. I am basing the following opinions solely on educational issues that I listened to all the livelong day on Thursday. Just because I agree with certain issues does not necessarily mean I am voting one way or another. The comment that concerns me the most is one made by Strickland. When asked by reporters to elaborate on his plan to satisfy the DeRolph ruling Strickland’s response was "I will do that if I win this election." Hello- I don’t want to know after the election. What am I supposed to do? Cross my fingers and hope he actually has a plan? I mean there has only been about a thousand people with an actual plan that haven’t been able to solve this problem but he want’s us to vote for him with a plan only to be revealed if he wins this election. I’ll have to think about that one. But let’s move on to some of his other ideas. TURNAROUND OHIO. First it will create the Ohio Knowledge Bank. It will deposit money into every Ohio child’s college savings account (529 accounts). Establish tuition guarantees, Offer grants to teachers, rural areas, and lofty school programs. Revamp our testing and educational delivery system once again. What he couldn’t answer was where the money to pay for all this will come from. That’s because it’s a tough answer to give. Tax payers.
Plus Strickland read from cards and notes as opposed to Blackwell who spoke very well and was educated on the issues without notes. Don’t get me wrong, I live by my notes and charts, but I’m not running for Governor of Ohio.
The Beacon Journal kind of twisted something Blackwell said. You see the questions that were asked of the candidates we submitted from the audience on orange note cards to an official from the Ohio School boards Association or an official from the Business Association of School Administrators. Two very unbiased groups (she said snickering). The two women then selected which questions to ask of those submitted. The woman from the school board association asked Blackwell the same question 3 different ways and he answered it three times. But all the Beacon reported was his final comment after being asked to explain his way of funding once again his response was " I can’t tell you again."
I will tell you what he said he would do for education. First of all his wife is the superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools so it’s not as if he isn’t aware of the need for a funding fix. Or the impact of charter schools. Blackwell said he supports "educational choice", or what we commonly call charter schools. But he clarified it by saying he thought they should be held to the same standards as public schools. This same comment drew applause for Strickland but when I raised my hands to applaud Blackwell for it, I quickly put them back in my lap. It became apparent to me at that moment I was in a room full of Ken lovers. But back to property tax relief. The first major part that the media failed to report on was the blueprint for Medicaid reform. According to Blackwell, when he gets this out and ‘dusts it off" and implements it, it will free up 3 billion dollars through waivers from the federal government, that he will use for education. I know I heard him right. Whether he can actually do it is a question for another day. The other half of his plan to replace property tax money with money already in the till is the "65 Cent Solution" This is a plan used in districts across the country that forces schools to use 65 cents of every dollar directly in the classroom. This is an idea that has intrigued me for more than a year. The reason administrator’s hate it is because it effectively forces districts' to cut administrative positions and streamlines central office operations.
Blackwell laid out his plan. Strickland tap-danced around his. Blackwell had facts, Strickland had catch phrases. The following are comments I jotted down during the morning session with Blackwell (7 pages of notes) and Strickland in the afternoon (2 pages of notes). My opinions and observations are in parenthesis.
Blackwell says:
9% of public education monies are from lottery sales.
47% of public education monies are from the States general l revenue fund.
Ohio is losing 25-49 year olds faster than any other state
Declining student population is being funded more and more by older fixed income residents.
He feels that progress made in public schools is a result of competition from charter schools.
Ohio is 50th in new job start-ups.
Wants to change to flat income tax system of 3.5%.
Wants to reform collective bargaining. (Something school officials should have liked but no one blinked an eye. He might win my vote based on this argument alone.)
Said that TEL would have eliminated un-funded mandates. (Something school officials should have liked but no one blinked an eye.) He also said on this subject- Tel would have put more money in the classroom but too bad you people shut that down. (Didn’t like his ‘tude when he said it that way. "You people"? To whom is he referring? I was sitting there and I don’t consider myself one of those people.)
Said that state can fund up to 64 % more with out losing local control.
Strickland says:
Will create an administration that is inclusive.
Public dollars should not be used without public oversight.
Charters should be held to same standards as public schools. (Hearty round of applause. Hmmm.)
Invest in early childhood development.
Will bring many Ohio organizations together to come up with a law abiding system.
Our cost for public university’s and private universities are 45 and 52 percent higher respectively. We need to put more money into higher education and early preparation. Education is the only hope for Ohio.
He will not make false promises. (It doesn’t appear to me he’s made any promises except to spend money with no explanation of where the money will come from.)
Return Ohio to "The Heart of It All" (Puke)
Wants the Peace Corps mentality in his administration. He will ask them "What can you do today to make Ohio better?"
Ohio is facing a moral crisis. (He didn’t say what the moral crisis was though?)
When asked for his thoughts on the 65-cent solution, Strickland’s only reply was that it is a "goofy idea". Not one aspect of it deserved contemplation? Some of us who haven’t made up our minds yet might find some aspects of the 65-cent solution intriguing.
If you want a change in the way schools are funded without a tax increase, it looks like Blackwell has the lead on this one. Now like I said these are my opinions on each candidate’s educational platforms. There obviously are many different issues people base their votes on. I just hope people take the time to read what these people stand for and believe in and vote for what’s closest to your own convictions. I’ve never been able to pick a party because I’ve never been able to conform to the "our party knows best" mentality. Knowing that the best person for governor is probably a write in candidate that doesn’t have a chance, I toss my vote to the person I hope will make some decisions favorable to me.
Now to touch on an issue that recently came to light. I can’t really comment on the reasons because I was made aware the same way as the general public. I read it on the blog, then in the Falls News. I wish our CFO the best if she gets the job in Hudson.
Plus Strickland read from cards and notes as opposed to Blackwell who spoke very well and was educated on the issues without notes. Don’t get me wrong, I live by my notes and charts, but I’m not running for Governor of Ohio.
The Beacon Journal kind of twisted something Blackwell said. You see the questions that were asked of the candidates we submitted from the audience on orange note cards to an official from the Ohio School boards Association or an official from the Business Association of School Administrators. Two very unbiased groups (she said snickering). The two women then selected which questions to ask of those submitted. The woman from the school board association asked Blackwell the same question 3 different ways and he answered it three times. But all the Beacon reported was his final comment after being asked to explain his way of funding once again his response was " I can’t tell you again."
I will tell you what he said he would do for education. First of all his wife is the superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools so it’s not as if he isn’t aware of the need for a funding fix. Or the impact of charter schools. Blackwell said he supports "educational choice", or what we commonly call charter schools. But he clarified it by saying he thought they should be held to the same standards as public schools. This same comment drew applause for Strickland but when I raised my hands to applaud Blackwell for it, I quickly put them back in my lap. It became apparent to me at that moment I was in a room full of Ken lovers. But back to property tax relief. The first major part that the media failed to report on was the blueprint for Medicaid reform. According to Blackwell, when he gets this out and ‘dusts it off" and implements it, it will free up 3 billion dollars through waivers from the federal government, that he will use for education. I know I heard him right. Whether he can actually do it is a question for another day. The other half of his plan to replace property tax money with money already in the till is the "65 Cent Solution" This is a plan used in districts across the country that forces schools to use 65 cents of every dollar directly in the classroom. This is an idea that has intrigued me for more than a year. The reason administrator’s hate it is because it effectively forces districts' to cut administrative positions and streamlines central office operations.
Blackwell laid out his plan. Strickland tap-danced around his. Blackwell had facts, Strickland had catch phrases. The following are comments I jotted down during the morning session with Blackwell (7 pages of notes) and Strickland in the afternoon (2 pages of notes). My opinions and observations are in parenthesis.
Blackwell says:
9% of public education monies are from lottery sales.
47% of public education monies are from the States general l revenue fund.
Ohio is losing 25-49 year olds faster than any other state
Declining student population is being funded more and more by older fixed income residents.
He feels that progress made in public schools is a result of competition from charter schools.
Ohio is 50th in new job start-ups.
Wants to change to flat income tax system of 3.5%.
Wants to reform collective bargaining. (Something school officials should have liked but no one blinked an eye. He might win my vote based on this argument alone.)
Said that TEL would have eliminated un-funded mandates. (Something school officials should have liked but no one blinked an eye.) He also said on this subject- Tel would have put more money in the classroom but too bad you people shut that down. (Didn’t like his ‘tude when he said it that way. "You people"? To whom is he referring? I was sitting there and I don’t consider myself one of those people.)
Said that state can fund up to 64 % more with out losing local control.
Strickland says:
Will create an administration that is inclusive.
Public dollars should not be used without public oversight.
Charters should be held to same standards as public schools. (Hearty round of applause. Hmmm.)
Invest in early childhood development.
Will bring many Ohio organizations together to come up with a law abiding system.
Our cost for public university’s and private universities are 45 and 52 percent higher respectively. We need to put more money into higher education and early preparation. Education is the only hope for Ohio.
He will not make false promises. (It doesn’t appear to me he’s made any promises except to spend money with no explanation of where the money will come from.)
Return Ohio to "The Heart of It All" (Puke)
Wants the Peace Corps mentality in his administration. He will ask them "What can you do today to make Ohio better?"
Ohio is facing a moral crisis. (He didn’t say what the moral crisis was though?)
When asked for his thoughts on the 65-cent solution, Strickland’s only reply was that it is a "goofy idea". Not one aspect of it deserved contemplation? Some of us who haven’t made up our minds yet might find some aspects of the 65-cent solution intriguing.
If you want a change in the way schools are funded without a tax increase, it looks like Blackwell has the lead on this one. Now like I said these are my opinions on each candidate’s educational platforms. There obviously are many different issues people base their votes on. I just hope people take the time to read what these people stand for and believe in and vote for what’s closest to your own convictions. I’ve never been able to pick a party because I’ve never been able to conform to the "our party knows best" mentality. Knowing that the best person for governor is probably a write in candidate that doesn’t have a chance, I toss my vote to the person I hope will make some decisions favorable to me.
Now to touch on an issue that recently came to light. I can’t really comment on the reasons because I was made aware the same way as the general public. I read it on the blog, then in the Falls News. I wish our CFO the best if she gets the job in Hudson.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Hi Ho - Hi Ho - Off to Columbus I Go.
I guess it’s time I got back to business. This weeks agenda is a lot of contracts for services and personnel. I see tons of special education services. Unfortunately the only gifted services we are approving are for a private school. But the one that disturbs me the most is the new position added last year. Parent Mentor is the position. My biggest problem with it is the fund used to pay for this position ran a deficit last year. My next problem with it is the fact that is described as a facilitator between parents of special education children and district personnel. This is one of the new positions I commented on last fiscal year that everyone denied being a new position. Why do we need to pay another body to help parents of special needs children fill out paperwork? We are supposed to be saving money not looking for new and improved ways of spending it. Special education eats up our budget while our gifted programs are the first ones threatened when cuts loom.
Also on the agenda is a field trip for Roberts’ 8th graders and board business that comprises appointing a delegate to the Ohio School Board Association annual business meeting with the power to vote and discussion of board expenses. It seems we had a budget of ten thousand dollars for the calendar year 2006 and have already spent it. It seems unbeknownst to the board many dues are paid from this account as well as the recorder used for the meetings. I’m shocked to see that I am in the lead for class attendance. I have attended five seminars and have two more scheduled. Everyone else has none, one or two. Our CEO assures me that he will do his best to find funds for the group to attend the Capital Conference in Columbus mid-November. I guess I should ask for a notation on the agenda when dues for particular organizations and equipment are coming out of the board fund. The latest dues paid out of the board fund was for an organization Taxpayer mentioned. The Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy in the amount of $2487.50. Our CEO was hot on this group and when I questioned him the reasoning seemed sound. But the board was not informed these "dues" were coming from board funds. Live and learn.
The most exciting part of Wednesdays’ meeting will be the board discussing our individual, long and short term goals. Starts at 6PM. This should be interesting with our group of people. Seems a little late but- whatever. At least we are finally doing it.
Lastly I want to mention that one of my above scheduled work shops is a meeting with the gubernatorial candidates Blackwell and Strickland. Any questions you’d like answered? Post them quick because I leave Thursday morning.
Also on the agenda is a field trip for Roberts’ 8th graders and board business that comprises appointing a delegate to the Ohio School Board Association annual business meeting with the power to vote and discussion of board expenses. It seems we had a budget of ten thousand dollars for the calendar year 2006 and have already spent it. It seems unbeknownst to the board many dues are paid from this account as well as the recorder used for the meetings. I’m shocked to see that I am in the lead for class attendance. I have attended five seminars and have two more scheduled. Everyone else has none, one or two. Our CEO assures me that he will do his best to find funds for the group to attend the Capital Conference in Columbus mid-November. I guess I should ask for a notation on the agenda when dues for particular organizations and equipment are coming out of the board fund. The latest dues paid out of the board fund was for an organization Taxpayer mentioned. The Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy in the amount of $2487.50. Our CEO was hot on this group and when I questioned him the reasoning seemed sound. But the board was not informed these "dues" were coming from board funds. Live and learn.
The most exciting part of Wednesdays’ meeting will be the board discussing our individual, long and short term goals. Starts at 6PM. This should be interesting with our group of people. Seems a little late but- whatever. At least we are finally doing it.
Lastly I want to mention that one of my above scheduled work shops is a meeting with the gubernatorial candidates Blackwell and Strickland. Any questions you’d like answered? Post them quick because I leave Thursday morning.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
The Power of the People
This is gonna be short. The sound of my typing is hurting my head. Too much celebrating last night. I've been asked many times why I continue to beat my head against a brick wall. Why do I continue to torture myself at board meetings by asking questions, making points , just to be voted against by the board majority? Last night was why. Because I have faith that the people can make a difference.
Many people walked up and thanked me last night. Really I did not deserve this. Many people were responsible for the success last night. Molly Benedum and her relentless researching skills, mikeb with his ominous threats of ethics violations, Chip with his knowledge from working in the field, Mary Nicols-Rhodes who used her own time and money to distribute fliers and inform people, Lou Schott for constantly making us think about working together in an orderly fashion, but most importantly to all the regular citizens who showed up to voice their opposition to this endeavor. I also owe a thank you to my mom and dad for raising me to believe that the government belongs to us, the people. Oh and I almost forgot- a big thank you to our CEO for doing the right thing.
I owe all of you a thank you for doing what I knew you would all along. People here care about our city, our neighborhoods, our kids. Congratulations to the Newberry/Bolich neighborhood for a "well" deserved victory. Please pardon the pun.
Many people walked up and thanked me last night. Really I did not deserve this. Many people were responsible for the success last night. Molly Benedum and her relentless researching skills, mikeb with his ominous threats of ethics violations, Chip with his knowledge from working in the field, Mary Nicols-Rhodes who used her own time and money to distribute fliers and inform people, Lou Schott for constantly making us think about working together in an orderly fashion, but most importantly to all the regular citizens who showed up to voice their opposition to this endeavor. I also owe a thank you to my mom and dad for raising me to believe that the government belongs to us, the people. Oh and I almost forgot- a big thank you to our CEO for doing the right thing.
I owe all of you a thank you for doing what I knew you would all along. People here care about our city, our neighborhoods, our kids. Congratulations to the Newberry/Bolich neighborhood for a "well" deserved victory. Please pardon the pun.
Monday, July 31, 2006
How much to enjoy the view?
What is your price? Is it twenty grand? Is it two grand? What is the amount of money it would take for you to put a gas and oil well in your back yard? Now imagine you make forty-five million dollars per year. Is twenty grand still as enticing? Is two grand? The reality of the situation is this: 2 weeks of 24-hour-a-day drilling, twenty years of pumping, worries and property value depreciation for wells that if we are lucky will produce twenty-thousand dollars per year for the district. But if we are like typical wells in the area, they will generate about two thousand dollars per year. Two thousand dollars added to a forty-five million dollar budget. Is that worth the drawbacks?
I hear the supporters already. They are like drones in my head. "We promised we would look for alternative revenues" Let me put this in simple terms. This is the amount of money that one $100,000.00 house in CF generates with a years worth of property taxes. This is not a viable source of alternative revenue. When we were promised a looksy at alternative revenues, I expected something like the income tax on wage earners, or the shared county sales tax, or charging a real fee for pay-to-play (current pay-to-play collections amount to about half of the athletic directors salary). Someone referred to the board as a "bunch of lay people". Sometimes it takes someone looking in from the outside to notice the waste, mismanagement, and middleman overload. There is a larger administrator to teacher ratio and administrator to pupil ratio than there was 20 years ago with twice as many students. Why do we need more management for fewer students? There is a saying I keep hearing over and over. Bad teachers become administrators, and bad administrators become consultants. There, I said it. Of course I generalize. There are some good administrators out there. We even employ quite a few. But why do administration numbers go up and up with student population declining? Remember? Student population declined to the point that we had to close two schools. And guess what? Add one more new position to the "bring 'em back" from project recovery list. I see it this way, the positive balance we ended with this year before the last minute debt was paid, could have kept Newberry and Sill open this year. I know, I know, get over it Kellie. Ironic how last week I read an article from an education organization in my packet from the district. It dealt with problems children experience when changing schools.
What I'm trying to point out is this- Whether it's putting oil and gas wells on public property, closing schools, or putting towers up in somebody's skyline, our district is making decisions that affect some peoples personal lives. Sometimes money isn't the only thing at stake. Property values, emotional well being, and being able to enjoy your own neighborhood without looking at an eye sore and worry about a safety hazard for me is worth more than the little bit of money earned or saved. And I can't tell you how angry I was writing a check to the Summit County Fiscal Officer last week knowing we had enough money left over this year to have kept my sons' school open and saved us the emotional turmoil its closing caused. And bonus for all you Kellie haters- you wouldn't be hearing my contraire views all the time. I'd have sat down and shut up.But I have learned the hard way that if you support levies and always pay your taxes on time and believe the promises made to you, you can still get screwed. I feel robbed. People living on the edge of the proposed gas and oil wells have the gun to their head right now. You could be the next victim.
Click here for more photos of local wells and the locations where our school district would like to put them.
I hear the supporters already. They are like drones in my head. "We promised we would look for alternative revenues" Let me put this in simple terms. This is the amount of money that one $100,000.00 house in CF generates with a years worth of property taxes. This is not a viable source of alternative revenue. When we were promised a looksy at alternative revenues, I expected something like the income tax on wage earners, or the shared county sales tax, or charging a real fee for pay-to-play (current pay-to-play collections amount to about half of the athletic directors salary). Someone referred to the board as a "bunch of lay people". Sometimes it takes someone looking in from the outside to notice the waste, mismanagement, and middleman overload. There is a larger administrator to teacher ratio and administrator to pupil ratio than there was 20 years ago with twice as many students. Why do we need more management for fewer students? There is a saying I keep hearing over and over. Bad teachers become administrators, and bad administrators become consultants. There, I said it. Of course I generalize. There are some good administrators out there. We even employ quite a few. But why do administration numbers go up and up with student population declining? Remember? Student population declined to the point that we had to close two schools. And guess what? Add one more new position to the "bring 'em back" from project recovery list. I see it this way, the positive balance we ended with this year before the last minute debt was paid, could have kept Newberry and Sill open this year. I know, I know, get over it Kellie. Ironic how last week I read an article from an education organization in my packet from the district. It dealt with problems children experience when changing schools.
What I'm trying to point out is this- Whether it's putting oil and gas wells on public property, closing schools, or putting towers up in somebody's skyline, our district is making decisions that affect some peoples personal lives. Sometimes money isn't the only thing at stake. Property values, emotional well being, and being able to enjoy your own neighborhood without looking at an eye sore and worry about a safety hazard for me is worth more than the little bit of money earned or saved. And I can't tell you how angry I was writing a check to the Summit County Fiscal Officer last week knowing we had enough money left over this year to have kept my sons' school open and saved us the emotional turmoil its closing caused. And bonus for all you Kellie haters- you wouldn't be hearing my contraire views all the time. I'd have sat down and shut up.But I have learned the hard way that if you support levies and always pay your taxes on time and believe the promises made to you, you can still get screwed. I feel robbed. People living on the edge of the proposed gas and oil wells have the gun to their head right now. You could be the next victim.
Click here for more photos of local wells and the locations where our school district would like to put them.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Pressing Issues
Ahh the press. Don't ya just love 'em? Let's start with the Beacon. First they print an inaccurate article regarding the proposed gas wells. Then they print an inaccurate retraction. I wont go into detail here. Check out Molly Benedum's blog for details. I am hoping the public forum August 9th will clear up the confusion. If confusion is what you want to call it.
Now to touch on the Falls News coverage. A quote from the board president stating "the board used the December 2005 evaluations" of the CEO and CFO is absolutely untrue. In executive session June 28th the board was handed a paper prepared by a fellow board member and told "this is what I think we should give them". She wasn't even using the proper base salary for our CEO until I pointed it out to our CFO Monday.
The board was working on our own evaluation format and preparing goals to use for an evaluation. If you listen to the tape of the July 19th meeting (public request) you will hear the explanation of how the board member responsible for the raises came to the amount proposed. You will hear a lot of I checked this and I compared that. You will not hear about anything the board checked into or compared. Since three people seemed prepared for these raises at Wednesdays' meeting but not Monday when I talked to them, I can only assume that some board members did discuss a raise. When and where I have no idea. I wasn't invited to that meeting. I also know that another board member was on vacation from our last meeting through this week, so I can safely assume she wasn't discussing previous evaluations with other board members. So the question is when did the "board" of three discuss these evaluations? Or did the Falls News make a mistake? Even the CEO and CFO both admitted to me that they were surprised to see this item on the agenda considering they had not asked for raises.I'm really tired of playing this game. Voters and tax payers should know that three board members are making all decisions and according to statements made to the press, having meetings and discussing matters unbeknownst to anyone except themselves. Is this the transparency you were promised?
Another subject I'd like to touch on is the assumption that once a decision is made by the board it should be supported by the entire board regardless of a personal vote. This is not in my nature. I cannot vote no on raises and then pretend I like the idea and be supportive of it. Who does this benefit? The only way for voters to make informed decisions is to be clear on whom supports what ideas. I refuse to confuse people by pretending I support a decision I voted against. I'll blog about gas wells later this week. I must prepare for the jolly agenda meeting. Ta ta.
Now to touch on the Falls News coverage. A quote from the board president stating "the board used the December 2005 evaluations" of the CEO and CFO is absolutely untrue. In executive session June 28th the board was handed a paper prepared by a fellow board member and told "this is what I think we should give them". She wasn't even using the proper base salary for our CEO until I pointed it out to our CFO Monday.
The board was working on our own evaluation format and preparing goals to use for an evaluation. If you listen to the tape of the July 19th meeting (public request) you will hear the explanation of how the board member responsible for the raises came to the amount proposed. You will hear a lot of I checked this and I compared that. You will not hear about anything the board checked into or compared. Since three people seemed prepared for these raises at Wednesdays' meeting but not Monday when I talked to them, I can only assume that some board members did discuss a raise. When and where I have no idea. I wasn't invited to that meeting. I also know that another board member was on vacation from our last meeting through this week, so I can safely assume she wasn't discussing previous evaluations with other board members. So the question is when did the "board" of three discuss these evaluations? Or did the Falls News make a mistake? Even the CEO and CFO both admitted to me that they were surprised to see this item on the agenda considering they had not asked for raises.I'm really tired of playing this game. Voters and tax payers should know that three board members are making all decisions and according to statements made to the press, having meetings and discussing matters unbeknownst to anyone except themselves. Is this the transparency you were promised?
Another subject I'd like to touch on is the assumption that once a decision is made by the board it should be supported by the entire board regardless of a personal vote. This is not in my nature. I cannot vote no on raises and then pretend I like the idea and be supportive of it. Who does this benefit? The only way for voters to make informed decisions is to be clear on whom supports what ideas. I refuse to confuse people by pretending I support a decision I voted against. I'll blog about gas wells later this week. I must prepare for the jolly agenda meeting. Ta ta.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
If I Were A Rich Man, Deedle Deedle, Diedle Dum
This will be short and sweet. I am weary but I felt I should share the news ASAP. 3.3% raises for the CEO and CFO are in effect as of August 1, 2006. I swear I saw union members licking their chops. This totally negates the savings gained in Project Recovery. It's like this- the pay freeze voluntarily taken last year was just made up for.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Beam me up Scotty….
Below are Emails and scanned copies of the documents I received regarding the proposed wage increases for the CEO and CFO. Tell me if you can decipher the proposed increase from the information provided. I have been accused of spreading misinformation. I believe my previous blog stated “As of posting time, I have not received a return phone call from the board president to clarify this issue. It looks as if the raises will be 4.5%.” Before reading on, please scroll down and click on Agenda Attachment #12. Let me know what you would have assumed from reading the information provided. This is the only agenda I’ve been provided where the yearly amount was not provided.
First I asked a bookkeeper, an accountant, and a really smart dude that I know to take a look. They all assumed 4.5%. Next, I called our board president. He informed me he was surprised to see this item on the agenda upon returning from vacation. He said he looked over the enclosed attachment and could not figure out what the proposed raise was. I then called our veteran board member. He thought it looked like the raise was 4.2 or 4.5%. But no one was sure. I called our CFO. She told me that she was baffled by the chart as well. But then she highlighted Akron and it became clear to her it was 3.3%. Our board president then called me back and verified it was 3.3%. I then heard from the board member that proposed the raises and was given the figure 3.3% “In terms of CEO’s salary, that would be an increase of $3470. For CFO, it would be $2706.” Why the total yearly amounts I requested was omitted from the response is left to conjecture. I also asked why this information wasn’t included on the agenda. Response- “ The board item regarding…proposed raises is framed the same way the motion for other administrative raises was.”
Ummmm I don’t know when she was voting on raises tied to the consumer price index for wage earners and clerical workers (for urban districts, no less), but I never did. Every administrative raise I have voted on so far has had an attachment with the exact yearly amount or the exact yearly amount printed directly on the agenda. The language on all other raises is very clear. See below for the language of the proposed raises. But the most telling part of all this is the fact that 4 of 5 board members were surprised this is on the agenda. Why you ask? Because we have had almost no discussion on this issue. This was concocted and proposed by one member, knowing another would be absent for the upcoming meeting. It will be a travesty if this is approved on Wednesday.
As I said before and the board attorney clarified- We need to give our employees goals, evaluate their performance regarding those goals, and most importantly- allow union negotiations to take place before handing them a trump card. They’re already ticked off about the previous administrative increases. And then there was this letter from the CEO rebutting the union president's comments at a Board meeting that won't help matters any (see link below). Why add fuel to the fire? How can our CEO successfully attempt to negotiate with a 3.3% raise on his back going in? Not to mention how this amount totally negates any savings gained in project recovery concessions. We bypassed giving raises last year to make up for it this year? That’s some savvy thinking.
I must stop here before my head explodes. I’m sure this will prove to be a very interesting meeting.
Agenda Language for “Board Business” Item A:
Adjust the 2006-2007 school year salaries for the Superintendent and Treasurer according to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), effective August 1, 2006. Increases will be based on the most recent (May 2006) annual local area (Cleveland-Akron, OH) data. Details may be found in attachment #12.
Agenda Attachment #12
Email to board members and the response
Holland's letter to the CFEA
First I asked a bookkeeper, an accountant, and a really smart dude that I know to take a look. They all assumed 4.5%. Next, I called our board president. He informed me he was surprised to see this item on the agenda upon returning from vacation. He said he looked over the enclosed attachment and could not figure out what the proposed raise was. I then called our veteran board member. He thought it looked like the raise was 4.2 or 4.5%. But no one was sure. I called our CFO. She told me that she was baffled by the chart as well. But then she highlighted Akron and it became clear to her it was 3.3%. Our board president then called me back and verified it was 3.3%. I then heard from the board member that proposed the raises and was given the figure 3.3% “In terms of CEO’s salary, that would be an increase of $3470. For CFO, it would be $2706.” Why the total yearly amounts I requested was omitted from the response is left to conjecture. I also asked why this information wasn’t included on the agenda. Response- “ The board item regarding…proposed raises is framed the same way the motion for other administrative raises was.”
Ummmm I don’t know when she was voting on raises tied to the consumer price index for wage earners and clerical workers (for urban districts, no less), but I never did. Every administrative raise I have voted on so far has had an attachment with the exact yearly amount or the exact yearly amount printed directly on the agenda. The language on all other raises is very clear. See below for the language of the proposed raises. But the most telling part of all this is the fact that 4 of 5 board members were surprised this is on the agenda. Why you ask? Because we have had almost no discussion on this issue. This was concocted and proposed by one member, knowing another would be absent for the upcoming meeting. It will be a travesty if this is approved on Wednesday.
As I said before and the board attorney clarified- We need to give our employees goals, evaluate their performance regarding those goals, and most importantly- allow union negotiations to take place before handing them a trump card. They’re already ticked off about the previous administrative increases. And then there was this letter from the CEO rebutting the union president's comments at a Board meeting that won't help matters any (see link below). Why add fuel to the fire? How can our CEO successfully attempt to negotiate with a 3.3% raise on his back going in? Not to mention how this amount totally negates any savings gained in project recovery concessions. We bypassed giving raises last year to make up for it this year? That’s some savvy thinking.
I must stop here before my head explodes. I’m sure this will prove to be a very interesting meeting.
Agenda Language for “Board Business” Item A:
Adjust the 2006-2007 school year salaries for the Superintendent and Treasurer according to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), effective August 1, 2006. Increases will be based on the most recent (May 2006) annual local area (Cleveland-Akron, OH) data. Details may be found in attachment #12.
Agenda Attachment #12
Email to board members and the response
Holland's letter to the CFEA
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Let's Give Away the Farm
Wednesday’s agenda was delivered to me today. Pretty mundane stuff. Oh, except for the raises for the CEO and CFO. The strangest part is at least two board members were not a part of the process. On June 28th during executive session we were handed a pay scale that a fellow board member had made up. I was informed that it was based on the administrative salary schedule our CEO formulated two months ago. I questioned the timeliness of this move considering number one- we had not given our CEO and CFO goals, two- we have not come up with an evaluation form, let alone evaluated them, and three- we have negotiations with three unions coming up in March. How can our CEO manage successful negotiations that would be advantageous to the taxpayer, after handing out raises to the administrative staff and getting a raise himself.
I would love to be able to tell you what the proposed raises are, but this information was sent in the form of a consumer price index chart for wage earners. As of posting time, I have not received a return phone call from the board president to clarify this issue. It looks as if the raises will be 4.5%. I know that’s just like the raise you got this year right? You see the amount was veiled for a reason. Someone doesn’t want the average Joe to know how much they are getting. I mean, every other contract we approve has the yearly wage plainly visible.
But the real kicker comes earlier in the agenda. We are laying off two food service employees "due to a lack of funds and a projected deficit". So, as you can see, as I’ve stated many times in the past, it’s not the kids that are important. It’s how much money people can earn of our tax money. So next year, you will pay more for your kids breakfast, you’ll pay more for your kids milk, you’ll be short two employees, but our employees will be paid well.
Oh and the board will be back to the voters for more money next year too. See you at the polls.
Table 6. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): Selected areas, all items index Scroll down about 2/3 of the page to the line "Cleveland-Akron, OH." This line was highlighted in the information in our packet.
I would love to be able to tell you what the proposed raises are, but this information was sent in the form of a consumer price index chart for wage earners. As of posting time, I have not received a return phone call from the board president to clarify this issue. It looks as if the raises will be 4.5%. I know that’s just like the raise you got this year right? You see the amount was veiled for a reason. Someone doesn’t want the average Joe to know how much they are getting. I mean, every other contract we approve has the yearly wage plainly visible.
But the real kicker comes earlier in the agenda. We are laying off two food service employees "due to a lack of funds and a projected deficit". So, as you can see, as I’ve stated many times in the past, it’s not the kids that are important. It’s how much money people can earn of our tax money. So next year, you will pay more for your kids breakfast, you’ll pay more for your kids milk, you’ll be short two employees, but our employees will be paid well.
Oh and the board will be back to the voters for more money next year too. See you at the polls.
Table 6. Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W): Selected areas, all items index Scroll down about 2/3 of the page to the line "Cleveland-Akron, OH." This line was highlighted in the information in our packet.
Friday, July 14, 2006
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Truth
I am dedicating this blog to all who doubt my intentions, predict my agenda, or question my integrity. I am asked by many people why I want to close Silver Lake Elementary. I am also asked once in a while when I'm going to reopen Newberry. Neither is going to happen. I will however once and for all try to put this to rest.
But let's start at the beginning. I was just a normal old Mom, volunteering at my sons' school when one day a friend ran out of the school and said- "Did ya hear they're going to close Newberry?" Needless to say I knew nothing of the sort. I was shocked. I wanted to know why any school was being closed and more importantly to me, why Newberry? After all, the school originally designated for my address was already closed (Bode). So I decided some research needed to be done. I couldn't believe that yet again the same neighborhood had to be affected by school closings. I went into this thinking that if a school needs to be closed, I needed to be sure that Newberry was the right one. After much public request, report gathering from the ODE, and much help from a dear friend of mine and her skill at making the confusing understandable, it became apparent that cost savings was not the true reason Newberry was picked. Before I go on, I want you to realize that ALL CF City schools were researched, not just Newberry and SL. The same criteria were used for each and every building.
The links below will provide you the very same information I used to come to the following conclusions. Our district has consistently spent an average of $1500.00 per pupil more on SL than any other elementary school in our district. This is not due to salaries, wages, and benefits. Newberry was a newer, handicapped accessible, more cost efficient building. FallsMom put together reports that made much of this public information understandable. If there is an outcry for these dummy proof reports, I will resurrect them. They basically cut out the BS and all info can be verified.
What most people failed to see was that SL was the most inefficient school to run in utilities, bussing, per pupil expenditures, I could go on and on. I did the homework once. This is the last time I will "prove" myself to the set of people that think I have some sort of evil plans for the school district. My decision to run for the board of Education was based largely on the fact that I feel my kids are getting the short end of the stick and I want to see it stop. Not just in the per pupil spending area, but in the teacher to student ratio area, district services area, bussing area…
You see, for me it does all come down to the tax rate issue. We all pay the same millage rate to the schools. Why should more of my dollars year after year after year go to any particular area in our district? And while we're on the tax talk, I also want to point out that another reason I chose to run for this position is because I am painfully aware of the issues many CF residents and a few SL residents face when property taxes go up and incomes don't.
And yes I am a bit cynical when it comes to SL. You see I have lived the inequities. I went to school here. And while some may say I'm paranoid, the numbers in the links show that for the ten years reported our district has favored SL elementary over all others. So the recorded history and my own experiences tell me it probably always has. Would you have me pretend this doesn't exist? The piece I found most telling is this. When the numbers we reported to the state were made available last fall (well after Newberry closed) there was a glaring discrepancy between the enrollment numbers used in project recovery and the numbers reported to the state of Ohio. It seems Newberry and Sill were the only schools with underreported students. You may not find this odd but I do. You see enrollment was one of the issues affecting the closings. Newberry actually had more students than reported and all other elementary schools had less than reported. 'Scuse me for being cynical.
On the subject of mentioning other Board members by name, I have been told by those people that if I do, I risk getting slapped with a libel and/or slander suit. In fact, I shouldn’t have even alluded to any of them in my statements. I apologize for that.
As for the drilling issue, I pointed out and it was reprinted here by ratpick that I have a contact in SL that is already involved with surveying for drilling in SL. I don't understand how this makes it a CF vs. SL issue. I have a contact there that could offer insight as to the viability of gas and oil on a property we own near his current surveying. What a terrible idea that was. I also asked about Roberts, which is in the Falls and a school I attended. What is my ulterior motive there?
Lastly to clear up any hurt feelings I may have caused, I respond everyone in comments with one posting. They are assumed by most to be individual comments. I did not realize the need to clarify this for newbies. When a new name starts your response ends. Also generally you are referred to as your blogger name. Most people don't have a Who's Who of blogging. So if you picked ratpick, well, sorry.
Ohio Department of Education Reports
Enrollment by Building (95/96 - 04/05)
Expenditures per Pupil by Building (95/96 - 04/05) use the zoom tool for this one!
Teacher Counts by Building (00/01 - 04/05)
Average Teacher Salary by Building (00/01 - 04/05)
Enrollment by Building (2004/2005) to compare with the project recovery figures
Enrollment Figures from Project Recovery (2004/2005)
Complete Project Recovery Tour use this to remind yourself of all the cost savings that we're not taking advantage of anymore
But let's start at the beginning. I was just a normal old Mom, volunteering at my sons' school when one day a friend ran out of the school and said- "Did ya hear they're going to close Newberry?" Needless to say I knew nothing of the sort. I was shocked. I wanted to know why any school was being closed and more importantly to me, why Newberry? After all, the school originally designated for my address was already closed (Bode). So I decided some research needed to be done. I couldn't believe that yet again the same neighborhood had to be affected by school closings. I went into this thinking that if a school needs to be closed, I needed to be sure that Newberry was the right one. After much public request, report gathering from the ODE, and much help from a dear friend of mine and her skill at making the confusing understandable, it became apparent that cost savings was not the true reason Newberry was picked. Before I go on, I want you to realize that ALL CF City schools were researched, not just Newberry and SL. The same criteria were used for each and every building.
The links below will provide you the very same information I used to come to the following conclusions. Our district has consistently spent an average of $1500.00 per pupil more on SL than any other elementary school in our district. This is not due to salaries, wages, and benefits. Newberry was a newer, handicapped accessible, more cost efficient building. FallsMom put together reports that made much of this public information understandable. If there is an outcry for these dummy proof reports, I will resurrect them. They basically cut out the BS and all info can be verified.
What most people failed to see was that SL was the most inefficient school to run in utilities, bussing, per pupil expenditures, I could go on and on. I did the homework once. This is the last time I will "prove" myself to the set of people that think I have some sort of evil plans for the school district. My decision to run for the board of Education was based largely on the fact that I feel my kids are getting the short end of the stick and I want to see it stop. Not just in the per pupil spending area, but in the teacher to student ratio area, district services area, bussing area…
You see, for me it does all come down to the tax rate issue. We all pay the same millage rate to the schools. Why should more of my dollars year after year after year go to any particular area in our district? And while we're on the tax talk, I also want to point out that another reason I chose to run for this position is because I am painfully aware of the issues many CF residents and a few SL residents face when property taxes go up and incomes don't.
And yes I am a bit cynical when it comes to SL. You see I have lived the inequities. I went to school here. And while some may say I'm paranoid, the numbers in the links show that for the ten years reported our district has favored SL elementary over all others. So the recorded history and my own experiences tell me it probably always has. Would you have me pretend this doesn't exist? The piece I found most telling is this. When the numbers we reported to the state were made available last fall (well after Newberry closed) there was a glaring discrepancy between the enrollment numbers used in project recovery and the numbers reported to the state of Ohio. It seems Newberry and Sill were the only schools with underreported students. You may not find this odd but I do. You see enrollment was one of the issues affecting the closings. Newberry actually had more students than reported and all other elementary schools had less than reported. 'Scuse me for being cynical.
On the subject of mentioning other Board members by name, I have been told by those people that if I do, I risk getting slapped with a libel and/or slander suit. In fact, I shouldn’t have even alluded to any of them in my statements. I apologize for that.
As for the drilling issue, I pointed out and it was reprinted here by ratpick that I have a contact in SL that is already involved with surveying for drilling in SL. I don't understand how this makes it a CF vs. SL issue. I have a contact there that could offer insight as to the viability of gas and oil on a property we own near his current surveying. What a terrible idea that was. I also asked about Roberts, which is in the Falls and a school I attended. What is my ulterior motive there?
Lastly to clear up any hurt feelings I may have caused, I respond everyone in comments with one posting. They are assumed by most to be individual comments. I did not realize the need to clarify this for newbies. When a new name starts your response ends. Also generally you are referred to as your blogger name. Most people don't have a Who's Who of blogging. So if you picked ratpick, well, sorry.
Ohio Department of Education Reports
Enrollment by Building (95/96 - 04/05)
Expenditures per Pupil by Building (95/96 - 04/05) use the zoom tool for this one!
Teacher Counts by Building (00/01 - 04/05)
Average Teacher Salary by Building (00/01 - 04/05)
Enrollment by Building (2004/2005) to compare with the project recovery figures
Enrollment Figures from Project Recovery (2004/2005)
Complete Project Recovery Tour use this to remind yourself of all the cost savings that we're not taking advantage of anymore
Monday, July 10, 2006
The Wishing Well
Wow. We got more press this week than I know what to do with. Let's start with Saturday's Beacon. I guess the Canadians don't have a high standard of fact checking. First let's start with the well installation. The drilling goes on 24 hours a day for 5 to 10 days. It is a very noisy disruptive experience involving lots of dust and debris as well. Have you heard of an automatic jack pump? It's the thingy that goes up and down on a well. Some dude who really digs wells was telling me that he can't believe the wells he services has never had a child killed. Seems these pumps will be sitting there off and peaceful, and kick on with no warning. He also added that they are always fenced in but Newberry is a pretty kid friendly place. There are fumes and generally the landscaping can't survive the muck and fumes. Weeds seem to thrive at them though. Go figure. And just because you wont have to wake up and look at it… someone will.
I can't wait 'til Monday so I can find out where the $50K savings each month is happening. I checked Bolich's gas usage in FY 04. The entire year was $36K. Me thinks somebody misled the Beacon before he left for Alaska. Yes the truth will be hard to get to for a couple weeks. Maybe some sled dogs can race us a retraction. The board was told that the building on the site would receive free gas. Not both, but one or the other. Both sites marked are Newberry territory. Or are we going to run a pipe through Newberry hill and the track to Bolich? Free gas for Newberry is hardly beneficial to the taxpayer. We already give the Akron children attending Summit Christian school free water courtesy of the CF taxpayers. And reduced electric. And they have the nerve to brag that they "let" CF Park and Rec use "their" water! They let our city services use the free water our city gives them. How gracious of them. Rant over.
The board was also told that the wells could generate between $7K and $70K per year. Year. For anyone not listening I'll say it again. $7K to $70K per year. As it stands right now, even that piddly amount of money would go to the CF Foundation. Hardly beneficial to little old Fannie FixedIncome.As for the CF Foundation receiving the funds… I suspect this is an effort to keep something alive that is not self-supporting. Recent minutes from meeting's show problems with fundraisers and finances. Efforts are currently underway to bring the fund back into the fold of the District. I'm tired of wasting time on ventures like this that will do little to benefit the taxpayer and make an eyesore out of a wonderful piece of real estate. I can really save us $50K per month- by cutting about 7.5 administrators.
I can't wait 'til Monday so I can find out where the $50K savings each month is happening. I checked Bolich's gas usage in FY 04. The entire year was $36K. Me thinks somebody misled the Beacon before he left for Alaska. Yes the truth will be hard to get to for a couple weeks. Maybe some sled dogs can race us a retraction. The board was told that the building on the site would receive free gas. Not both, but one or the other. Both sites marked are Newberry territory. Or are we going to run a pipe through Newberry hill and the track to Bolich? Free gas for Newberry is hardly beneficial to the taxpayer. We already give the Akron children attending Summit Christian school free water courtesy of the CF taxpayers. And reduced electric. And they have the nerve to brag that they "let" CF Park and Rec use "their" water! They let our city services use the free water our city gives them. How gracious of them. Rant over.
The board was also told that the wells could generate between $7K and $70K per year. Year. For anyone not listening I'll say it again. $7K to $70K per year. As it stands right now, even that piddly amount of money would go to the CF Foundation. Hardly beneficial to little old Fannie FixedIncome.As for the CF Foundation receiving the funds… I suspect this is an effort to keep something alive that is not self-supporting. Recent minutes from meeting's show problems with fundraisers and finances. Efforts are currently underway to bring the fund back into the fold of the District. I'm tired of wasting time on ventures like this that will do little to benefit the taxpayer and make an eyesore out of a wonderful piece of real estate. I can really save us $50K per month- by cutting about 7.5 administrators.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)