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Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones?
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What a clusterfuck! I don't think anything gets parents worked up more than fucking with their school.

I understand the need to make adjustments due to growing population etc... but the maps they proposed where a complete joke to maintain the correct demographic in our area.

Not sure why anyone would want to be on a school board when you have to tackle these issues every few years. Tough job
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [SkipG] [ In reply to ]
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Went to a school board meeting about one issue but another came up, developmentally disabled kids “taking two classrooms away from our school and only our school”.

Some parents were pissed that “valuable classroom space” was being taken by “special needs” kids.

The kids they were talking about were, for the most part, severely disabled both physically and mentally; some with Down syndrome.

I flew off the handle at these parents and ended up getting kicked out of the meeting.

Selfish pricks.

Civilize the mind, but make savage the body.

- Chinese proverb
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [Duffy] [ In reply to ]
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There were some pretty heated moments but no one got booted tonight. The superintendent was on the ropes a few times, he gained my respect, he handled it pretty well. No way in hell would I want that job!
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [SkipG] [ In reply to ]
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I went to one a year ago. They were supposed to add a new high school to my area, but they have bickered about it long enough that the money isn't available now. They had difficulties making it diverse enough, for race and income. Now it looks like the whole area will get screwed.

The part that was toughest for me was the dishonesty. The superintendent had valid reasons for not wanting to create the second school, but instead of just going with that and letting people decide, he came up with poison pill.
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [SkipG] [ In reply to ]
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Just happened here. Went through a year-long process and had plenty of angry parents. Best part...the system failed to get permits done (supposedly during construction)...lost 86 days and are now pushing everything back a year. A friend was set to be the principal at a school based on a current principal getting the new gig...oops you can either wait or reapply!
Last edited by: littlefoot: Oct 10, 17 20:53
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [SkipG] [ In reply to ]
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This is somewhere in the long list of reasons why I haven't spawned.
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [trail] [ In reply to ]
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trail wrote:
This is somewhere in the long list of reasons why I haven't spawned.

Thanks. Sounds like a win win for all then.

;)

Seriously, as the commercial says, "just do it." This is one thing you cannot experience or even comprehend vicariously.

________
It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [H-] [ In reply to ]
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H- wrote:
trail wrote:
This is somewhere in the long list of reasons why I haven't spawned.


Thanks. Sounds like a win win for all then.

;)

Seriously, as the commercial says, "just do it." This is one thing you cannot experience or even comprehend vicariously.

LOL, post of the day, for so many reasons!
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [Duffy] [ In reply to ]
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đź‘Ť

___________________________________________
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2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [littlefoot] [ In reply to ]
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littlefoot wrote:
Just happened here. Went through a year-long process and had plenty of angry parents. Best part...the system failed to get permits done (supposedly during construction)...lost 86 days and are now pushing everything back a year. A friend was set to be the principal at a school based on a current principal getting the new gig...oops you can either wait or reapply!
tough luck for the friend. They listed a few options short of re zoning tonight including adding temporary solutions like spending $5million on mobile units, having multiple sessions. But with the time line they are working with those options were fluff knowing damn well the only real option is to scramble all the kids around a bit to make sure they keep the demographics in line.We bought a house in great neighborhood located 3 miles from a terrific elementary school. Under the new proposed plan they would move our neighborhood into a really shitty school located 20 miles away In the opposite direction.
Last edited by: SkipG: Oct 10, 17 22:46
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [SkipG] [ In reply to ]
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Yep. A few. But, I was the attorney for the Board providing legal advice.

SkipG wrote:
Not sure why anyone would want to be on a school board when you have to tackle these issues every few years. Tough job

Yep. I have represented school districts for the past 16 years and have said this many times. I have no idea why anyone takes that job.

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [JSA] [ In reply to ]
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JSA wrote:
Yep. A few. But, I was the attorney for the Board providing legal advice.

SkipG wrote:

Not sure why anyone would want to be on a school board when you have to tackle these issues every few years. Tough job


Yep. I have represented school districts for the past 16 years and have said this many times. I have no idea why anyone takes that job.
how big of a shit storm is it for the school board if they let the demographics of the schools get out of line... how closely is this monitored? And other than potential loss of funding what other consequences are on the table?
Last edited by: SkipG: Oct 10, 17 23:18
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [SkipG] [ In reply to ]
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SkipG wrote:
JSA wrote:
Yep. A few. But, I was the attorney for the Board providing legal advice.

SkipG wrote:

Not sure why anyone would want to be on a school board when you have to tackle these issues every few years. Tough job


Yep. I have represented school districts for the past 16 years and have said this many times. I have no idea why anyone takes that job.
how big of a shit storm is it for the school board if they let the demographics of the schools get out of line? Other than potential loss of funding, how closely is this monitored?

It's an overly complicated process, but, basically, school districts receive a "score card" that includes a number of factors (e.g., demographics, drop-out rates, expulsions, standardize test results, graduation rates, etc.). These "score cards" are used to determine state and federal funding. In addition, lack of diversity can exclude a district from certain federal grants.

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [SkipG] [ In reply to ]
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But with the time line they are working with those options were fluff knowing damn well the only real option is to scramble all the kids around a bit to make sure they keep the demographics in line.We bought a house in great neighborhood located 3 miles from a terrific elementary school. Under the new proposed plan they would move our neighborhood into a really shitty school located 20 miles away In the opposite direction.

Yikes, that would never fly here. The issue is so taboo, that they only touch zoning lines every couple of decades. In my district (one of the best in the state), they had to build a new elementary school. Rather than split the district into two K-5 schools serving neighborhoods with slightly different demographics, they made two mega-schools K-2 & 3-5 to maintain all the district lines. Of course, the present zoning is utterly unfair. with one of the poorest districts in the state adjoining several affluent districts.
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [JSA] [ In reply to ]
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JSA wrote:
SkipG wrote:
JSA wrote:
Yep. A few. But, I was the attorney for the Board providing legal advice.

SkipG wrote:

Not sure why anyone would want to be on a school board when you have to tackle these issues every few years. Tough job


Yep. I have represented school districts for the past 16 years and have said this many times. I have no idea why anyone takes that job.
how big of a shit storm is it for the school board if they let the demographics of the schools get out of line? Other than potential loss of funding, how closely is this monitored?

It's an overly complicated process, but, basically, school districts receive a "score card" that includes a number of factors (e.g., demographics, drop-out rates, expulsions, standardize test results, graduation rates, etc.). These "score cards" are used to determine state and federal funding. In addition, lack of diversity can exclude a district from certain federal grants.
He mentioned tonight that our area here in SC has the lowest % of state funds at 14% the next in line was at 32% I believe. This is due to the fact that we live in a pretty well off area but the numbers don't factor in the extreme number of retired wealthy residents we have. Really hard to understand everything that goes into the public school system. We have some pretty good private schools in the area, this may be the direction we take.
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [oldandslow] [ In reply to ]
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oldandslow wrote:
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But with the time line they are working with those options were fluff knowing damn well the only real option is to scramble all the kids around a bit to make sure they keep the demographics in line.We bought a house in great neighborhood located 3 miles from a terrific elementary school. Under the new proposed plan they would move our neighborhood into a really shitty school located 20 miles away In the opposite direction.

Yikes, that would never fly here. The issue is so taboo, that they only touch zoning lines every couple of decades. In my district (one of the best in the state), they had to build a new elementary school. Rather than split the district into two K-5 schools serving neighborhoods with slightly different demographics, they made two mega-schools K-2 & 3-5 to maintain all the district lines. Of course, the present zoning is utterly unfair. with one of the poorest districts in the state adjoining several affluent districts.
They are having trouble keeping up with the growth in the area. It's probably the fastes growing town in SC, I think it was 11% last year alone and over 50% since 2010. We are still a small town around 19,000 currently.
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [SkipG] [ In reply to ]
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Growth was the issue here behind building a new school. Switching to K-2/3-5 was a way of finessing all of the re-zoning issues. It results in some folks driving 2-3 miles extra when their kids age out of one school, but it kept all school and district lines and maintained a status quo with regard to demographics and economic disparities and avoiding "flight" to private schools, which has gutted many districts.
Last edited by: oldandslow: Oct 11, 17 0:07
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [oldandslow] [ In reply to ]
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Where I am the issue is declining enrollment and they are closing schools. One day you kid could be walking to school and the next busing an hour. That goes over well...

They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [JSA] [ In reply to ]
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JSA wrote:
Yep. A few. But, I was the attorney for the Board providing legal advice.

SkipG wrote:

Not sure why anyone would want to be on a school board when you have to tackle these issues every few years. Tough job


Yep. I have represented school districts for the past 16 years and have said this many times. I have no idea why anyone takes that job.

I did it for a couple of years, when I had a tumor that needed to come out of my neck, I used that as an excuse to bail. It just wasn't fun but was interesting at times, too few people looking for solutions. Part of the time I did it was during a contract negotiation with the teacher's union. It was great to have teachers coming to the board meetings to vent their frustrations at the board for stuff their own union had agreed to.

Also dealt with the potential dismissal of a very popular (or disliked depending on who you talked to) teacher. Amazing what the public believes and think they know, when the administration side can't say anything because of privacy concerns. All kinds of nonsense was out there.
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [ThisIsIt] [ In reply to ]
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Re: Parents not having a clue about what they think they know.

A popular teacher was not going to have his contract renewed and he got some parents to defend him. My wife (interventionist at the school) informed me he a. Let 3rd graders play xBox for an entire day b. Came to school drunk, had enough sense to know he was in deep shit and blamed it on a bad reaction to medication c. Singlehandedly accounted for half of the schools "failure to meet expectations" on the state test.

The parents said their kids loved him and "learned sooo much!"
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [JSA] [ In reply to ]
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JSA wrote:
In addition, lack of diversity can exclude a district from certain federal grants.

Impossible. Systemic racism wouldn't allow such a thing.

How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [SkipG] [ In reply to ]
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SkipG wrote:
There were some pretty heated moments but no one got booted tonight. The superintendent was on the ropes a few times, he gained my respect, he handled it pretty well. No way in hell would I want that job!



Wish I could say this about my superintendent. They had a SPLOST survey back earlier in the year that was a clusterf**k. The whole process was rigged to get the outcome the superintendent wanted. We were given 3 options to choose from with the ability to add suggestions. Surveys were pushed out heavily to one or 2 schools that would go along with the board's/super's plan to the point where 2 schools accounted for 75% of the survey responses. We were told the entire process was just for discussion/idea generating purposes and non-binding. Then when the results came out a large number of items under the winning choice were adjusted and when parents started complaining(especially parents from the 2 schools who suddenly figured out they were swindled) the board/superintendent took the stance of "well, we gave everyone a choice and the community chose Option B, so that is what we are doing." Going to be an interesting next few years as they try to implement this and the inevitable redistricting that will take place.

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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [ajthomas] [ In reply to ]
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ajthomas wrote:
Re: Parents not having a clue about what they think they know.

A popular teacher was not going to have his contract renewed and he got some parents to defend him. My wife (interventionist at the school) informed me he a. Let 3rd graders play xBox for an entire day b. Came to school drunk, had enough sense to know he was in deep shit and blamed it on a bad reaction to medication c. Singlehandedly accounted for half of the schools "failure to meet expectations" on the state test.

The parents said their kids loved him and "learned sooo much!"

In our case, a teacher was told you need to get this done to be certified before next year (he had been being provisionally certified year to year for over decade, even though it was suppose to be something you could only do for a year). He didn't do it. Year 2 a specific plan was put in place with mentoring/training to help the person get certified. He went to one meeting and did nothing else. So as the deadline was approaching he was told if you don't pass the test you're not going to be certified this year. The spouse and others made a big stink, board meetings where the public came to voice their concern, meanwhile no one knows why he might be let go because we can't say anything.

In the end, he took the test, passed it and was certified. Much ado about nothing.
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [JSA] [ In reply to ]
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JSA wrote:
Yep. A few. But, I was the attorney for the Board providing legal advice.

SkipG wrote:

Not sure why anyone would want to be on a school board when you have to tackle these issues every few years. Tough job


Yep. I have represented school districts for the past 16 years and have said this many times. I have no idea why anyone takes that job.

I'm a member of the local school board, and every time I come up for re-election I do nothing, yet somehow I'm now on my 4th term.

School zones are nothing. Try sitting through a common core debate (not an option here), or listen to the cream puff parents complain that the facilities crew ran a temporary garden hose to 2 water fountains in one corner of the school and they are now worried that their little one's might get sick.

Or better yet, a 45 minute discussion on the color of the new artificial turf on the $7.8 million football field. (why was light green chosen? It should look like natural grass.)

"...the street finds its own uses for things"
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Re: Ever attended a school board meeting on reworking school zones? [AutomaticJack] [ In reply to ]
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AutomaticJack wrote:
JSA wrote:
Yep. A few. But, I was the attorney for the Board providing legal advice.

SkipG wrote:

Not sure why anyone would want to be on a school board when you have to tackle these issues every few years. Tough job


Yep. I have represented school districts for the past 16 years and have said this many times. I have no idea why anyone takes that job.

I'm a member of the local school board, and every time I come up for re-election I do nothing, yet somehow I'm now on my 4th term.

School zones are nothing. Try sitting through a common core debate (not an option here), or listen to the cream puff parents complain that the facilities crew ran a temporary garden hose to 2 water fountains in one corner of the school and they are now worried that their little one's might get sick.

Or better yet, a 45 minute discussion on the color of the new artificial turf on the $7.8 million football field. (why was light green chosen? It should look like natural grass.)

It SHOULD look like natural grass. Why did you pick light green?
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