The new rules at the Natatorium have got me to thinking. Are our children so naughty that they need to be banned? I would say that the real story is probably the few ruined it for the masses. But the kids are not the only ones at fault in this situation, we all are. Most have all taken a back seat to behavior correction and discipline. Especially when it comes to other peoples children.
Hillary Clinton isn’t one of my role models but she did get one thing right years ago. It does take a village to raise a child. It used to be that any adult not only corrected ANY child that misbehaved in their presence, they felt it was their duty. In fact they would question your upbringing as they corrected you. “Were you born in a barn?” “Didn’t your parents teach you any manners?” Kids were afraid to misbehave in front of the neighbor, grocer, librarian, teacher, or just about any adult they had contact with, because they would tell your parents and your parents would, without a doubt side with them. You slowly learned societies rules this way. No matter what the rules were at home. And you didn’t question any of it. If you asked why, “Because I said so” was as good as it got.
For example, my dad frequently read at the kitchen table. Morning paper, newest Stephen King novel or JFK conspiracy book, whatever. So once while on an outing with a friends family, it got kind of boring at lunch so I whipped out my latest Little House on the Prairie paperback and went through a wicked 19th century blizzard with Laura Ingalls-Wilder. I was soon made to realize by my friend’s family that not only was this unacceptable, they also found it offensive. Not only that- when they dropped me off and “told” on me, my dad lectured me in front of them on my rude behavior at lunch. Of course I didn’t say a word about his table reading. I just accepted that these two adults obviously knew society rules and I didn’t. I was ashamed of myself.
I was paddled in second grade. My offense? Running in the hallway. To this day, I cannot run in a hallway. Anywhere. I’ll walk fast, and even take a couple bursts of a jog if no one is around. It obviously made an impact. I’m not (necessarily) advocating paddling, but discipline. It should be on the food pyramid with servings per day requirement. I’ve watched so many parents try to reason and compromise and bribe their children for compliance it makes me want to vomit. Fear of dire consequences builds character. You cannot reason with a 15 year old girl that thinks she’s in love or a 14 year old boy that found a Zippo. Reasoning is for adults that actually have brains that understand other points of view.
I don’t think any of us can deny that there has been a shift in society propriety. Many people see offensive behavior as a constitutional right. Kids today need to be made aware that acceptable behavior at home is not necessarily acceptable public behavior. But that’s where things have changed. We walk away, ignore or ban these kids, instead of being a village. There is no shame because no one is made to feel ashamed of themselves.
Kids don’t understand the business point of view on this Natatorium decision. But I would bet you a donut that if they start seeing other teens being escorted off the property for smoking, rowdiness, etc. you’d see a change in the element of teens attending. The Nat isn’t suffering because teens are there. It’s suffering because it allowed a few bad teens to stand out and be noticed instead of booting them off the property and telling them why. Maybe even they could have suggested that the bootees inform their friends of the acceptable behavior rules at the Nat.
Going to extremes is much easier than a few weeks of cracking down followed up with monitoring. There are not many places for teens to go these days on a Friday or Saturday night. “The Light”, a teen dance held at the Nat gets out of hand because they let it. And because they let it, decent people don’t want to go. Society rules are the same as parenting rules. You need to let kids know that there are behavior expectations and consequences. And in some cases we need to let their parents know too.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Take a Seat and a Nerve Pill
I have a sneaking suspicion our administrators were attempting to do me in last night. I’m not sure if they were trying to give me a stroke, heart attack, or just give me a mere nervous breakdown. Either way, they almost succeeded.
The first presentation of the evening was on RTI. That stands for Response To Intervention. Believe it or not, that is the politically correct term for saying, helping kids that need extra help. But for some reason, when we talk about the kids that bring our scores down or have behavior issues, we must use terms that are ambiguous or acronyms that you need a decoder for.
Anyway, it’s obvious we need to help kids that need help. But at what cost? Three years ago we “RIFed” 90 people. Translation- 90 people were let go. Lost their jobs. Canned.
But over the last three years, and in addition to the hiring’s proposed last night, about 1/3 of those job cuts will be negated. Between that and paying off the loan early, I’m really starting to question how dire the circumstances were back in ’05…Back to the presentation. This additional staff in total will be an additional $ 460,641 per year in salary and benefits. It will most likely be a little lower, as the analysis was done assuming everyone hired will take full family benefits.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the next presentation was the next phase of the bus garage/warehouse property. I don’t want to tell you the cost yet. First I want you to take a trip down memory lane with me. So hop in the Wayback Machine with me and the Professor and let’s go back to 2006. We have landed at FirstMerit bank and saw the District deposit over $800,000 into our bank account for the sale of the Bode building. Whatever will they do with all that money? Here were my thoughts.
But, it’s too late to for shoulda, coulda, woulda. Now that we own the new property, we might as well finish what we started. So we slowly acquire the neighboring properties for parking. Sorely needed parking. I will not deny that. But it’s never that simple. It also needs fenced in. And now a fancy schmancy awning. And electric gate. And salt barn. And of course landscaping that will get ruined by snowplows.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not necessarily against the above improvements. IF and that’s a big if, the administration can show significant savings. For instance, I was told that we now buy salt by the bag. Not very cost efficient for the amounts we use. Also not very convenient for the guys and gals using it. Truck hoppers must be loaded by hand. With a salt barn we could use our front loader and bada bing and awayyyy we go. But the problem is there was no data to back up the alleged savings. The same thing with the awning. Now this isn’t your typical awning. It would cover two rows of busses facing each other with a walk way and outlets to plug in the engine blocks in the winter time. Yes- plugging in the busses is a must for all of you that just questioned that one. It’s wonderful idea. The time saved not having to remove snow and ice from vehicles can’t be argued. In addition it would have lighting for added safety and security. But again I was told it would save us time and money but no data.
Show me how much we save on salary and benefits by not cleaning off snow and ice. Prove to me that the cost of the salt barn is worth it. Is the electric gate a need or a convenience? I have a strong suspicion that much of this could have been justified with a cost benefit analysis but none was provided. Another piece of data I’d like to see is insurance and accident costs. The current bus parking situation is atrocious. Our drivers currently must back into the parking lot and then to their spaces. That’s right they can’t even pull in and park. This happens 40 times a day. Imagine how lucky we’ve been that nothing catastrophic has happened.
Lastly, show me how long you anticipate this project serving the community. The last bus/warehouse is over 140 years old. So the savings in salaries and benefits and the operations efficiencies are only realized if this is a lasting investment. Does the administration expect this building and lot to sustain the public for 10 years or 50? Are the existing gas tanks on our property of that much importance in a day and age when alternative fuels are becoming more common? Forward thinking tells me that our dependence on gasoline for bussing will change in the next twenty years.
I guess you want to know the cost of all the above. Keep in mind, there is much more involved than what I have mentioned. And much of it has to be done whether we like it or not. And I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t see anything in the plans that was over the top. But I hope you are sitting down and have taken your blood pressure medication, prozac and have your nitroglycerin nearby. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly and then scroll down…
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Phase One: $ 420,000
Phase Two: $ 160,000. This involves tearing down the existing 140+ year old building L ,paving and landscaping. Apparently the city is insisting on landscaping so the salt trucks can kill it. There must be a salt truck driver-forsythia farm connection.
Total cost of Wednesday's proposals? One million forty thousand six hundred and forty one dollars. It doesn't look as bad when you write it like that.
Did I mention that there were whisperings along the lines of something about a new levy?
The first presentation of the evening was on RTI. That stands for Response To Intervention. Believe it or not, that is the politically correct term for saying, helping kids that need extra help. But for some reason, when we talk about the kids that bring our scores down or have behavior issues, we must use terms that are ambiguous or acronyms that you need a decoder for.
Anyway, it’s obvious we need to help kids that need help. But at what cost? Three years ago we “RIFed” 90 people. Translation- 90 people were let go. Lost their jobs. Canned.
But over the last three years, and in addition to the hiring’s proposed last night, about 1/3 of those job cuts will be negated. Between that and paying off the loan early, I’m really starting to question how dire the circumstances were back in ’05…Back to the presentation. This additional staff in total will be an additional $ 460,641 per year in salary and benefits. It will most likely be a little lower, as the analysis was done assuming everyone hired will take full family benefits.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the next presentation was the next phase of the bus garage/warehouse property. I don’t want to tell you the cost yet. First I want you to take a trip down memory lane with me. So hop in the Wayback Machine with me and the Professor and let’s go back to 2006. We have landed at FirstMerit bank and saw the District deposit over $800,000 into our bank account for the sale of the Bode building. Whatever will they do with all that money? Here were my thoughts.
But, it’s too late to for shoulda, coulda, woulda. Now that we own the new property, we might as well finish what we started. So we slowly acquire the neighboring properties for parking. Sorely needed parking. I will not deny that. But it’s never that simple. It also needs fenced in. And now a fancy schmancy awning. And electric gate. And salt barn. And of course landscaping that will get ruined by snowplows.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not necessarily against the above improvements. IF and that’s a big if, the administration can show significant savings. For instance, I was told that we now buy salt by the bag. Not very cost efficient for the amounts we use. Also not very convenient for the guys and gals using it. Truck hoppers must be loaded by hand. With a salt barn we could use our front loader and bada bing and awayyyy we go. But the problem is there was no data to back up the alleged savings. The same thing with the awning. Now this isn’t your typical awning. It would cover two rows of busses facing each other with a walk way and outlets to plug in the engine blocks in the winter time. Yes- plugging in the busses is a must for all of you that just questioned that one. It’s wonderful idea. The time saved not having to remove snow and ice from vehicles can’t be argued. In addition it would have lighting for added safety and security. But again I was told it would save us time and money but no data.
Show me how much we save on salary and benefits by not cleaning off snow and ice. Prove to me that the cost of the salt barn is worth it. Is the electric gate a need or a convenience? I have a strong suspicion that much of this could have been justified with a cost benefit analysis but none was provided. Another piece of data I’d like to see is insurance and accident costs. The current bus parking situation is atrocious. Our drivers currently must back into the parking lot and then to their spaces. That’s right they can’t even pull in and park. This happens 40 times a day. Imagine how lucky we’ve been that nothing catastrophic has happened.
Lastly, show me how long you anticipate this project serving the community. The last bus/warehouse is over 140 years old. So the savings in salaries and benefits and the operations efficiencies are only realized if this is a lasting investment. Does the administration expect this building and lot to sustain the public for 10 years or 50? Are the existing gas tanks on our property of that much importance in a day and age when alternative fuels are becoming more common? Forward thinking tells me that our dependence on gasoline for bussing will change in the next twenty years.
I guess you want to know the cost of all the above. Keep in mind, there is much more involved than what I have mentioned. And much of it has to be done whether we like it or not. And I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t see anything in the plans that was over the top. But I hope you are sitting down and have taken your blood pressure medication, prozac and have your nitroglycerin nearby. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly and then scroll down…
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Phase One: $ 420,000
Phase Two: $ 160,000. This involves tearing down the existing 140+ year old building L ,paving and landscaping. Apparently the city is insisting on landscaping so the salt trucks can kill it. There must be a salt truck driver-forsythia farm connection.
Total cost of Wednesday's proposals? One million forty thousand six hundred and forty one dollars. It doesn't look as bad when you write it like that.
Did I mention that there were whisperings along the lines of something about a new levy?
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Is Virtual a Reality?
I will assume that if you are reading this, you are familiar with the internet and its many capabilities. We are a society that expects to Google a word and have 5 million resources at our fingertips in about 3 seconds flat. Notice how the word Google has replaced “search”. And notice how spell check likes Google, but not google. It will be in Merriam Webster before this decade is done. It used to be that people gathered in the town square and waited for the Pony Express to deliver weeks old, sometimes month’s old news. Now we can watch congress with a ten second delay.
Many cities and townships broadcast their council and school board meetings through the cable systems local access channels. But that leaves out satellite users. And the five people that still use antennas.
The internet solved these problem years ago, but government bureaucrats have been slow to embrace this “new” way of community outreach. It’s simple and cheap to broadcast meetings via the web. If you want it to be.
But what about the things that are behind the broadcast? The contracts, the resolutions, the financial transactions? There is more paperwork involved in school business than you can imagine. I’m sure an entire forest in southern Ohio has been cut down and turned into documents I have received over the last two years. On top of that, the tax payers never see 99% of these public documents. Oh, they could. They could go down to the board offices, request and pay for copies. Or they could set up an appointment and inspect records all day with a district employee.
Or we could start using BoardDocs.com. Please check out their web site. To attempt to sum it up, any and all information could be available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 day a year, plus leap day. Meetings are recorded electronically and vote counts can be posted instantaneously. Paperwork can be, but doesn’t have to be, non existent. But the best part I think is the public access. I have always been a proponent of open government and easy access.
We want involvement but at what price? People cannot structure their lives around government meetings. But they can and do look for info on the internet at their leisure. Does not going to meetings mean you do not care about the state of affairs? Or does it mean you have a busy life? I fully support implementing this program. It embraces everything I feel open government, transparency, public access, and open records should be. When you want it. At a cost of $10,000 a year. A drop in the bucket is a phrase I commonly hear about amounts such as this.
A powerful tool for the public, as well as the board and administrators. I’ll put it in levy terms. That’s 50 cents per household per year. Or about 20 cents per person. It’s an expenditure I fully support.
Many cities and townships broadcast their council and school board meetings through the cable systems local access channels. But that leaves out satellite users. And the five people that still use antennas.
The internet solved these problem years ago, but government bureaucrats have been slow to embrace this “new” way of community outreach. It’s simple and cheap to broadcast meetings via the web. If you want it to be.
But what about the things that are behind the broadcast? The contracts, the resolutions, the financial transactions? There is more paperwork involved in school business than you can imagine. I’m sure an entire forest in southern Ohio has been cut down and turned into documents I have received over the last two years. On top of that, the tax payers never see 99% of these public documents. Oh, they could. They could go down to the board offices, request and pay for copies. Or they could set up an appointment and inspect records all day with a district employee.
Or we could start using BoardDocs.com. Please check out their web site. To attempt to sum it up, any and all information could be available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 day a year, plus leap day. Meetings are recorded electronically and vote counts can be posted instantaneously. Paperwork can be, but doesn’t have to be, non existent. But the best part I think is the public access. I have always been a proponent of open government and easy access.
We want involvement but at what price? People cannot structure their lives around government meetings. But they can and do look for info on the internet at their leisure. Does not going to meetings mean you do not care about the state of affairs? Or does it mean you have a busy life? I fully support implementing this program. It embraces everything I feel open government, transparency, public access, and open records should be. When you want it. At a cost of $10,000 a year. A drop in the bucket is a phrase I commonly hear about amounts such as this.
A powerful tool for the public, as well as the board and administrators. I’ll put it in levy terms. That’s 50 cents per household per year. Or about 20 cents per person. It’s an expenditure I fully support.
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