The times, they are a changin’. No, I’m not talking about the times we live in. I’m talking about school start and stop times. Looks like those rumors of this happening have proved to be true. Funny how you get lambasted for “spreading rumors”, yet time and time again they aren’t really rumors. The proposed time changes are 9AM til 3:30 at the elementary level and 8AM til 3PM at the middle school level.
So far we have had two public meetings regarding the time changes. We used the super-sized Post-It notes that so many meetings have. Silly me assumed that the positives and negatives were being noted. I questioned why the comments were noted as “Strengths” and “Opportunities for improvement”. When I questioned it another board member told me that the facilitator of the meeting doesn’t believe in negatives or weaknesses. Now I’m not of the yarn toed hippy generation so I was a little perplexed by this slant on things. Especially when most of the parent comments seemed to be how these changes would negatively affect them.
A few things concern me. The main negative effect I heard about was drive time to work and explaining to the boss that 9:15 or 9:30 will be the new starting time. I know that is going to go over well. In fact I know an attorney that is going to be thrilled to tell a judge that court can’t start until 10 AM because his paralegal can’t get to court with him until then. And I’m sure the judge wont mind telling the jails to hold the prisoners an extra hour and having the prosecutors office change their hours as well. And what about doctors offices and the post office and every other business and governmental entity.
“Get morning childcare in addition to after school care” they said. Yeah, that’s a walk in the park. I just lovvvve having other peoples kids at my house in the morning. It makes getting my kids ready for school so much easier. Oh yes, there are people you can pay. That’s an extra $25- $50 per week. More than the cost of a levy!! And I can tell you right now that this school district cannot be involved in setting up morning parent provider networks as suggested. I don’t know many people that will leave their kids with just anyone, but I assure you that this district cannot shoulder the liability. Please don’t try to convince me that someone wouldn’t sue us if a morning provider turned out to be a bad person. I don’t even want to touch morning parent providers with someone else’s ten-foot pole.
Another negative was the 1-hour difference in start times between elementary and middle school. This means middle schoolers who might typically help with getting younger siblings off to school when mom and dad leave for work would now have to leave with mom and dad, leaving little Sally to watch out for herself.
“But this will make it easier on bussing:” they said. But an excellent counter point was made when a gentleman asked, “what percentage of our students are bussed? Are we inconveniencing 90% of parents for a mere 10% that are bussed?” Oddly enough it was a question that for the first time in administrative history no one had an answer to. Apparently once again, no one thought about what segment of the community would be most affected by this. When we closed Sill and Newberry, it was sacrificing the few for the greater good. Now the sentiment seems to be let’s turn an entire cities schedule upside down for the few that are bussed.
“Well… actually we are doing it to improve academics” they said. This proposal adds 15 minutes to the elementary day and 20 minutes to the middle school day. OK. I can go for that. But how about leaving the middle school proposal as is and starting elementary at 8:30 AM or the current 8:45 and dismissing at 3:15 or 3:30? Parents have expressed to me that the earlier drop off time is crucial to them. After school care is much easier to come by. But then another voice piped up and stated that middle schoolers need more sleep, not less, to excel academically. So I say how ‘bout middle school from 8:30 to 3:30, elementary from 8:45 to 3:15, and use neighborhood bussing where middle schoolers and elementary kids ride together.
“Oooooh scary” they said. Children do it across the US and the rest of the world for that matter. Kids ride with their siblings. My cousins do it and much to everyone's amazement- live through it every day. There are even districts that add high schoolers to the mix! Oh and guess what there is a bonus! You fill each and every non special education bus up with kids. No more running big giant busses with 2 – 10 kids on it. You assign each bus to its capacity. Then the 15 minutes between elementary and middle school start and end times works for bussing, but more importantly works for parents who drop off and pick up as well. I also feel it is the most cost efficient way to bus. If you add to it designated stops rather that curbside pick up you save even more! I guess if everyone is on this school board to push an agenda, I might as well push one too. Mine is the taxpayer-stake holder-funder agenda. I push the agenda of that very important majority. And that majority seems to conflict with the Cuyahoga Falls Board of Education majority most of the time. Where is the fiscal prudence that was promised? I think it got lost in the agenda schematics.
Is this a done deal? Don’t ask me. I’m always the last to know. Besides I’m the same person who was told that “Newberry wasn’t closing” and “rumors get started over the dumbest things” Only to have someone show up at Newberry the next day and announce it was closing. I was also given false information regarding building student populations that were slanted to under populate Newberry and Sill. Am I leery, distrustful, and cautious? You better believe it. I have no reason to feel otherwise.
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11 comments:
Kellie, you didn't mention the bussing exception that the district provides. If we enforced the bussing policy and everyone lived by the same rules it is possible to free up busses and time to get the job done. We do have more walkers and car riders than those that are bussed and their needs should considered as a 1st priority. I look forward to bussing study that is going to be presented to the board.
I'd kind of like to know why Silver Lake knew about this before it was made public?
Are their wants and needs more important to this district than the parents in Cuyahoga Falls?
Bussing.....why is it this was not a need until they closed Newberry and overcrowded the schools....all except one who sits with their 15-18 in a class. Why is it when you see a bus that seats 30+, there is only 2-6 on a bus? They claim they need to pick up children in so many parts of the city. Why can't they get little mini vans instead of using these massive busses? Do we need so many bus drivers????? Are we in need of all the busses? Of the busses being run, how many of them or for the private schools, and how many are actually falls public school children?
Over crowding of schools: You go into many of these buildings, there are 25 to 28 children in the early primary classes. Of course, these buildings don't have the excellent rating,however, is this fair? Should Newberry have been closed? Many buildings do not have any rooms to spare if they add sections. What happens next?
Air conditioning: Will all the buildings get this luxury, or is this only for the rich and famous?
Administration: Why do we need an ass. superintendent, 2 curriculum specialists, a personnel person, a secretary for each of them, 4 principals at the High school, each with a secretary. Also, the little note in the Falls News a few weeks ago, "Administrators will adjust their salaries to fit the other districts". Lets pass the levey to raise these salaries AGAIN.
CFHSparent-----Silver Lake knew about the school closings long before the schools who were being closed knew. They need to remember, they still are the most expensive school to keep maintained. How many of the children arrive on buses at this school? Now, we will get to pay for their air conditioning? Is is true, the only way they were able to have a full day Kindergarten, was to fill the spots up with OPEN enrollment? Interesting!
Time change: When you don't have to make Tee time at the golf course until 10:00, I guess this won't affect everyone. But they will be the first to pass the levy.
Wonder why if this is a done deal I just got a phone message invite from Eddie to two information sessions on the subject. They SAY they want input from the residents? Is that just a smokescreen?
Considering that Mrs. Gunter did not violate any state laws, by laws or policy and complied with the agreed evaluation procedure procured by the BOE majority; for what reason would she be required to resign? There is nothing in BOE Policy 1240 that requires a majority of the BOE give the CEO good scores, in fact it's the composite score of each board member that has been historically accepted until now. One has to remember that each board member and the CEO has a public face and a private face. What is seen in public does not directly equated to what is said and done in private. Unless one knows all the facts one should not throw stones, and if he chooses to throw stones he should have the courage and respect to talk with the victim in person to understand the private face issues before stoning in public. Not to do so shows a lot about the accusers character, what little he may have.
On the other hand the BOE president has failed to uphold his oath to defend the bylaws and policy and has unilaterally ignored them. After the results of the evolution were in he took actions to change them with not informing the full board, withheld the evaluation beyond the required date in the policy and cried foul. This is inductive of his leadership and one of the main reasons there is little trust between the members. Agreements made are only good if the president and vice president say so and if the results do not suite them they cry foul; "damn the rules full speed ahead".
"Trust is the miracle ingredient in organizational life - a lubricant that reduces the friction, a bonding agent that glues together disparate parts, a catalyst that facilitates action. No substitute -neither threat nor promise - will do the job as well". The actions of the president in the handling of the CEO's evaluation has clearly shown he can not be trusted to uphold his oath of office and to pare phase John Turney "Without objectivity and a clear sense of right and wrong the president is of no use to the children and taxpayers of this district".
Well this game plan is easy to see. Dunphy is counting on 4k to 6k votes to get elected. If she can get those same people to vote for for Turney she's got it made. She will have another neutered male to lead around and will maintain control.
Holland will still be able to be prick to Barb and Kellie so that if things get bad enough they may resign.
The bastards have their game plan. Let's make sure we have ours.
Another set of nuts bites the dust.
What a shame.
fallsbigdaddy is right. when are we going to rise up and put an end to the silver lake reign over us? the voters of this district are the only ones that can make a difference this time. we need to rise up and support the people that are going to free us from the status quo.
how many of you are willing to step out of your comfort zone and help with this one?
TO add insult to injury, Silver Lake HOGGED up all the time at the City Band Show. Bolich 6th grade played one song and Roberts played what 3 or 4. Bolich 7th & 8th grade 1 song, Roberts 2 or 3 EACH. The high school bands all got shut down on time beccause the Lakers STOLE THE SHOW and took up ALL THE TIME! What a disappointment for all the Falls kids that wanted to show case some talent. And how disappointing to the other parents who sat there all night to hear the Silver Lake Band play instead of their own kid's band. I sure would have enjoyed hearing our Symphonic band play more than their one little piece. Shame on you Silver Lake band director!
Technically the Roberts' bands each played one piece but they had multiple movements that made them alot longer. No other band including the high school played pieces that were as long.
I would like to see Duvall limit each band to a certain number of minutes. When you have that many bands playing each should get their fair share of the time.
The Roberts band may have played longer but the Bolich band was by far more entertaining. They had the wow factor that Roberts was missing. The High school bands were great as well and should have played longer.
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