It Ain't Just Bill Adams Anymore- like it ever was
They're all a bunch of hypocrites. By a unanimous vote, the Board passed a resolution to ask the state to rescind all of Chapter 4 (Academic Standards and Assessment). Led by an ambitious solicitor's pursuasive political diatribe, board members swelled with pride as they voted against standards for our children. And what a political decision it was. There is no doubt now where this Board stands.
Opposition to Chapter 4 took over where OBE left off (we all know the standards are just OBE in sheep's clothing), but it was more organized. A right wing conservative movement - against anything "progressive". Our Board has bought into this hook, line and sinker.
The most fundamental belief of that movement is parents' rights - the inalienable right of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their children. The Board's words and actions consistently contradict that belief. I'm glad that everyone showed their true colors at Monday's meeting - and taught us a great deal about the political beliefs of all our elected officials.
Vandalism on the Rise!
Bill Barnett, Director of Environmental Services, set the tone for the meeting with an impassioned report that 18% of the District's work orders are to clean up vandalism (could be up to 20%, the national average is 12%). Parents aren't supportive when their children are caught. Sentencing offenders to community service to clean up the mess isn't too effective either (too many regulation/mandates). Bad parents? Bad mandates?
Coming Soon to YOUR Kitchen Table
A committee of 15-20 teachers, counselors, and administrators (parents were conspicuously absent) under the fine leadership of the Curriculum Director, Dennis Spinella, has completed the mandatory homework guidelines. According to Spinella, homework is not a suggestion, it's required. The issue is "enforcement" - making sure the teachers will follow the guidelines. Why would he think the teachers wouldn't? It's a mandate, isn't it?
Times (per night)
(Grades 1-3) 30 minutes (Grades 4-5) 45-60 minutes
(Grades 6-8) 60-90 minutes (Grades 9-12) 90-120 minutes
And parents, you're part of this, too. One of your responsibilities is "to maintain a balance between school and family or outside events". Let's see. The District would like to mandate what our children will do outside of school - a decision made without any parental input. Nothing like a little governmental intrusion into my family life. The joys of local control....
Just Say No to Standards
Standards - who needs them? Deborah Wells spoke to the Board asking members to make sure they had all the facts before they voted to pass a resolution against Chapter 4: Academic Standards and Assessment. She asked the Board to recognize that passing a resolution against Chapter 4 is more than a legal issue - it is clearly political. The Commonwealth Education Organization (CEO) has been very active in lobbying against Chapter 4. (Did you see District Solicitor King testifying before the House Education Committee along with representatives from the CEO? Is an elected office in someone's future? Heck, they all look alike).
If you follow the CEO's website's links, it reveals an organization with ties to all of our Board's favorite right wing issues. The links are anti-OBE, anti-paganism, anti-environmentalism/eco-despair, anti-teachers' unions, anti-bilingual, anti-standards, anti school-to-work, and anti-government in schools. They seem to favor vouchers, homeschooling, charter schools, Core Knowledge, English only and abstinence education.
Wells asked the Board to have a town meeting before passing any resolution. Parents were supposed to receive a "tabloid" from the State explaining Chapter 4, but it was never distributed in this District.
If parents received this information, they could have informed opinions to share with the Board. Right. More parents to listen to.
The plea for community input fell on deaf ears. King agreed that the resolution was both legal and political. His legal argument was a fear of religious profiling of students who had religious objections to the PSSA (A concern Wells introduced to the Board last month). But then the politicking began. Solicitor King had lots of reasons for opposing Chapter 4. I guess he's an expert on standards and the PSSA. He certainly knows that performance incentives are bad. But his greatest area of expertise is guarding against the loss of local control.
It's the Quiet Ones Ya Gotta Watch
The most interesting comments came from SR Borough representative Brad Smith - he wanted to challenge Chapter 4 in court (And just how much would THAT cost the taxpayers?). Would we have to comply with Chapter 4 during the legal challenge, he asked (King's advice - follow the law). Smith would not be dissuaded, and asked how this would compare with the Grove City College case and Title IX? King replied that the District was not in the position to stop taking federal and state monies. Bill Adams agreed wholeheartedly with Smith's legal challenge idea, so this should tell you where Smith is coming from.
You may recall that Title IX bans sex discrimination in all programs receiving federal funds. In 1976, Grove City College refused to sign a Title IX compliance form and does not receive federal funds. Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex. This includes access to academic and athletic programs and facilities. It includes discrimination against married or pregnant students. And it includes sexual harassment as a form of discrimination.
Now I know that mandates are unpopular with our Board, but would they really consider giving up state and federal money just to have local control? What mandates would they like to avoid? The ones that prohibit discrimination based on sex, race, religion or ethnic background? Or how about the Constitutional manadates against unreasonable search and seizure? Or maybe the mandates for due process in employment matters? Due process rights for students? We certainly could get rid of the Special Education mandate. And hey - that Sunshine Act is pretty cumbersome. I'll bet that Board could get a lot more done without all those pesky citizens.
Maybe one of the anti-public education financial wizards on the Board could do the math for us and find out exactly how much would taxes have to be raised to make the District self-supporting. The ultimate in local control.
Anyway. The resolution asking that all of Chapter 4 be rescinded (not just the "illegal" part) passed, with a UNANIMOUS vote. After it was over, Mr. Adams summed it up,"We have a weenie-free Board". (Translation - well, you fill in the blank....)
The Bussing Saga Continues
Mr. Youngman gave a report on the recent transportation committee meeting with, as he put it, the "lady" who made the request and her "colleagues out of the trailer park". You may recall that a parent spoke to the Board earlier this month, sharing her exasperation that no District administrators had been responsive to her concerns. She was strongly discouraged from taking her concerns to the Board - it's been reported that her name was removed from the agenda the night she was scheduled to speak.
During the transportation committee meeting, parents asked that a new driver be assigned to their route. They asked for audio to be added to the present videotaping on the bus (King said there was a problem about consent and whether or not parents could give consent for children. Well, it seems like parents give consent for most everything else when a child is a minor - I guess an audio tape of a bus ride is somehow different....). And they asked whether or not a bus driver had the authority to create punishment for a child (Bonfield said some did, but it wasn't "universally" used).
Apparently the Board ain't too happy about this situation. Bob Watson began his lecture - Some forget that riding a bus is a privilege (True. Districts don't have to provide bussing at all. But if they do, the mandate says they have to provide it for everyone within a certain distance of the school.They even have to provide bussing for kids to a private or religious school. Yep, it has to be provided for all - except of course kindergarten children who are only bussed one way. And yes, it even has to be provided to children "out of the trailer park").
That wasn't the real issue though. Watson sounded almost angry at the "special process" afforded to these parents. The board can't look at every issue that comes forward in the mind of parents, he said. Apparently Watson believed this was an administrative issue, and even if the parents weren't satisfied with the administrators' responses, a Board meeting and special transportation committee meeting was not the place for these issues.
Ok. Let's review here. With local control, we're supposed to call our Board members, right? That's why we don't need parents on any committees. So calling a Board member privately is all right - but be advised - if you bring up an issue at a public meeting, you do so at your own peril.
But that wasn't all. Adams and Duryea have a solution. Adams suggested that if there was a problem on a bus, we should get a list of all the students who are on Ritalin that ride that bus. Guess he wants a look into their medical records. Board President Dr. David Duryea wanted to know how many of the children on that bus eat breakfast at school. Guess he wants a look into the parents' financial records to see if it's a free breakfast. (If I remember correctly, some our current Board members were on the Board when the issue of offering breakfast at school first came up - and there was a strong sentiment against it).
But I'm sure the Board will find a solution that satisfies everyone - well everyone except those who come "out of a trailer park", exercise their right to speak to the Board, take Ritalin, or eat breakfast at school.
Buddhist Monks - Gone But Not Forgotten
Adams had Dr. Bonfield scurrying back to his office to get Board members copies of an advertisement sent to Adams (I'm sure that produced a "warm and fuzzy feeling") from a friend in Florida (Where's Jim Roberts, anyway?). Adams thinks they might be the same monks who were here in March 1999 and performed their sacred dances (the deer dance and the bunny hop according to Adams) at SRU. He explained that the group is charging $18 for a ticket to the performance - quite a lucrative operation for a group that says they want to spread their culture for the good of the audience.
Executive Session
An executive session was held for:
Labor negotiations (hey, teachers, doesn't mandatory homework increase your workload?)
Personnel (Still no new English teacher)-delay, delay,delay
A Complaint filed with the PA Labor Relations Board by a part time payroll clerk
Other matters exempt from public discussion (after watching Adams' lengthy sidebar with King, I'll bet it's about that Ritalin list)
Oh, I almost forgot, Dr. Edwin P. Christmann never took the Oath of Office. Huh.
One last note. Last time I told ya'll that Mr. Breth, Board Solicitor, revealed that there was an ongoing "computer investigation" . Through the magic of the Right to Know Act ( the district sure isn't going to tell ya'll anything about this) I have acquired 'new" information. Click here for details
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THIS JUST IN!