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!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
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.
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