Ahhhh back from a cruise and reading the stacked up papers (yes, I’m an old person who still likes the feel of newspaper in my hand!) Anyway it’s hard to decide which is the dumber story, the City and its fantom school closing, or Pittsylvania County and supervisors and their crossed fingers behind their back.
If it wasn’t so sad it would be funny. But I gotta admit the City story is much juicier! So let me get this straight , a superintendent makes up a fake story about closing a school to force council to give them more money. The weirdest part was that the council fell for it!
Lets dissect this conspiracy first. The superintendent, with the school board, conspired to announce that they were going to close Gibson. Why Gibson? Well that school has the heaviest minority population, is headed by a popular principal, is one of the last schools named after a black leader, and is located in a high minority neighborhood. Result, maximum pressure and disruption to the city council. Everyone saw this one coming…..except city council. They never realized they were set up. Some councilmen even ran on a platform of NOT giving the extra money to the schools. So much for their word…
So in the midst of this passion play they suddenly come up with a plan to LEND the schools the money they say they need. As every accountant in a grave starts rotating they develop a plan to lend the money to the schools and they pay in back over 5 years. Hmmm, so next year they will still be short the $2.1 million AND $500,000 for the first payment. Now what economics class was this taught in? Besides being financially ridiculous, it puts the schools in an even worse position next year.
Why has this crisis come about? Because despite numerous warnings and data provided to them years ago the school board has refused to address the issue of declining enrollment. DPS has been losing students at a steady rate since 2000 yet no plans were ever made to address this issue. Despite these warnings the board turned a blind eye to the issue. Instead they created a bloated central office, a flash in the pan high school, and wasted money on frivolous projects. A impeccable inside source has identified some major money debacles perpetrated by this administration. Those will be identified in later blogs.
Now let’s recap what happened. A manufactured crisis, creative posturing to bring pressure, and a swoop in for the financial kill. Have to give it to them, it worked. But next year the same problem will still be there. What’s next holding the GW eagle hostage? They better hurry, only ten months left to manufacture a crisis. And city council get ready to have your leg jerked….again.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
The Votes Are In!!
Thanks to many who contributed to the annual "What Should Be Cut" contest! The entries were well thought out, imaginative, somewhat cruel, and downright funny. Whatever, here they are in no particular order except the first two which had the most votes.
1. Cut Superintendents Salary. By far the number one entry. One person wrote, "She needs to pay back all the years she did nothing for us....." A little cruel but these are the feelings.
2. Close Schools. Most writers realized that this was inevitable based on the population of the district however the schools were the real surprise. Glenwood and Woodrow got the most votes. Gibson and Langston received a few votes. The real surprise was 10 votes to close Galileo! as one reader put it, "A private school fraud perpetraded at the expense of all the others." Also a few votes for Forest Hills. Surprisingly not one vote for W. Townes Lea.
3. Scale Back Preschool Several readers mentioned that this program appeared to have no measureable success.
4. Fire Anyone with an Assistant in their title.
5. Stop middle school athletics programs.
6. Drop Asst Superintendent for Human resources back to a Director position and reduce that department.
7. Higher deductable for insurance.
8. Eliminate all curriculum director positions.
9. Eliminate afterschool programs.
10. Eliminate Gifted/Security position.
11. Reduce Assts. at GWHS by one position.
12. Drop Governors School
13. Close GED program and move to DCC.
14. Eliminate year round schooling.
15. Move central office to a closed school.
The remainder were person specific and were rather cruel so I chose not to print them. My daughter thought thry were funny but I felt it was a little much.
So the tribe has spoken. Come forward and extinquish their torches. Come school board, grow a pair.
Keep the letters coming to savetheschools2@aol.com.
1. Cut Superintendents Salary. By far the number one entry. One person wrote, "She needs to pay back all the years she did nothing for us....." A little cruel but these are the feelings.
2. Close Schools. Most writers realized that this was inevitable based on the population of the district however the schools were the real surprise. Glenwood and Woodrow got the most votes. Gibson and Langston received a few votes. The real surprise was 10 votes to close Galileo! as one reader put it, "A private school fraud perpetraded at the expense of all the others." Also a few votes for Forest Hills. Surprisingly not one vote for W. Townes Lea.
3. Scale Back Preschool Several readers mentioned that this program appeared to have no measureable success.
4. Fire Anyone with an Assistant in their title.
5. Stop middle school athletics programs.
6. Drop Asst Superintendent for Human resources back to a Director position and reduce that department.
7. Higher deductable for insurance.
8. Eliminate all curriculum director positions.
9. Eliminate afterschool programs.
10. Eliminate Gifted/Security position.
11. Reduce Assts. at GWHS by one position.
12. Drop Governors School
13. Close GED program and move to DCC.
14. Eliminate year round schooling.
15. Move central office to a closed school.
The remainder were person specific and were rather cruel so I chose not to print them. My daughter thought thry were funny but I felt it was a little much.
So the tribe has spoken. Come forward and extinquish their torches. Come school board, grow a pair.
Keep the letters coming to savetheschools2@aol.com.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Budget Time Fantasies
As the new budget is getting ready for discussion the school board is preparing their fantasy proposal and their “draconian” budget cuts. It is an indication that spring is on the way as the ground around city hall will not be covered with snow but tons and tons of BS.
As is their usual procedure the board and administrators will moan and groan about “the children” when in reality they are trying to protect their sacred programs. One such program is the pre-school which they claim is the answer to all their problems. In reality it is a glorified babysitting program that produces no sustainable results. The school board cannot point to one single peer review based analysis of the preschool program that would show that it works. Children in this program may gain a little in the beginning but by grade four they have lost all benefits of the program. But the administration not only clings to this failure program but actually invested quite heavily in it with the construction of a new, and might I say, ugly addition to Johnson School.
DPS has a little over 6,000 students and is dropping at the rate of roughly 100 students a year with no end in sight. Yet the budget continues to rise and decreases in personnel do not match the drop in enrollment. In addition buildings are being kept open that are underutilized and need to be mothballed. Reducing overhead and personnel is the only way DPS will reach a balanced budget.
Unless the board takes a serious look at these issues there is no chance of cutting what needs to be cut. They need to wake up, look at the figures, and realize some drastic reductions are needed.
Attention potential school board candidates! Here is your platform. It will ring clear with the beleaguered citizens of Danville. Reduce, cut, and better use the money they have.
Now for our third annual “What to Cut” forum. Send in your suggestions for cuts to savetheschools2@aol.com by February 15. The best will be printed and discussed. As always no one will be identified since we are all aware of the revenge nature of DPS. If the school board can’t do their job I guess it’s up to the citizens and employees of DPS to do it for them.
As is their usual procedure the board and administrators will moan and groan about “the children” when in reality they are trying to protect their sacred programs. One such program is the pre-school which they claim is the answer to all their problems. In reality it is a glorified babysitting program that produces no sustainable results. The school board cannot point to one single peer review based analysis of the preschool program that would show that it works. Children in this program may gain a little in the beginning but by grade four they have lost all benefits of the program. But the administration not only clings to this failure program but actually invested quite heavily in it with the construction of a new, and might I say, ugly addition to Johnson School.
DPS has a little over 6,000 students and is dropping at the rate of roughly 100 students a year with no end in sight. Yet the budget continues to rise and decreases in personnel do not match the drop in enrollment. In addition buildings are being kept open that are underutilized and need to be mothballed. Reducing overhead and personnel is the only way DPS will reach a balanced budget.
Unless the board takes a serious look at these issues there is no chance of cutting what needs to be cut. They need to wake up, look at the figures, and realize some drastic reductions are needed.
Attention potential school board candidates! Here is your platform. It will ring clear with the beleaguered citizens of Danville. Reduce, cut, and better use the money they have.
Now for our third annual “What to Cut” forum. Send in your suggestions for cuts to savetheschools2@aol.com by February 15. The best will be printed and discussed. As always no one will be identified since we are all aware of the revenge nature of DPS. If the school board can’t do their job I guess it’s up to the citizens and employees of DPS to do it for them.
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