Chris Fitzsimon is calling the Wake County school board policy committee's decision Wednesday not to recommend the proposed student assignment policy changes "a small, but important move in the right direction."
In a column today, Fitzsimon, executive director of the liberal N.C. Policy Watch, praises board member Debra Goldman for not seconding Chris Malone's motion. But he says his optimism is tempered by the "glaring omission" from Wednesday's discussion about how 94.5 percent of the parents in the calendar survey said they're satisfied with their child's school.
"That fact alone ought to give every member of the Gang of Five pause, but even Goldman continues to ignore it, at point Wednesday asking why the board should keep the diversity policy in place when 'so many people are so unhappy,'" Fitzsimon writes.
Fitzsimon chides board member John Tedesco for comparing the school system to troubled automaker Toyota.
"Wednesday he said it was like Toyota, which doesn't fit either unless maybe he meant the board's new majority is like the carmaker, with its ideological accelerator stuck, endangering the well-being of the school system and the 140,000 students in it," Fitzsimon writes.
Fitsimon makes fun of the press release sent Wednesday by the conservative Americans for Prosperity that criticized Goldman for not voting for the new policy.
"Dallas Woodhouse of Americans for the Prosperous described it as a nightmare that people have seen before, where school board members don't do what they promised during the campaigns," Fitsimon writes. "The real nightmare is a school board majority that rejects any thoughtful debate or consideration of any evidence that contradicts the rigid right-wing dogma that would dismantle public schools and set Wake County back 40 years."
Comments
yeah I can see why people
Thu, 02/25/2010 - 13:18 — carson79yeah I can see why people laughed at Goldman's comment now, I wasn't thinking in terms of 95% of parents satisfied or very satisfied with their child's school.
That is kind of funny. She could have said, "a good portion are unhappy" or something vague like that but come on with 95% satisfied with their school who exactly is she talking about? He has a good point. I am pretty surprised Sutton didn't bring it up.
Support, I can see that
Thu, 02/25/2010 - 13:23 — shearertwSupport,
I can see that carson79 also needs some re-education about the 95% satisfied fallacy.
Support, this is where we need you to step up and show you're not a hypocrit....I'm also still waiting on that apology from you regarding my [behind] and the fact that NC is one of the higher tax states in the country and perhaps THE highest in the SE US.
huh?
Thu, 02/25/2010 - 15:12 — supportwcpss95% are happy with their current school. Is that not true?
No apology forthcoming. All you said was that i was right regarding the 20-25th ranking but hey, they just raised a bunch of taxes. Apologies for missing your post where you have the documented website with the listof states and NC listed in the top 5 or 10. Send that along.
support: Here's one of
Thu, 02/25/2010 - 16:37 — shearertwsupport:
Here's one of you previous post (entitled NOT THE PURPOSE) regarding the survey:
________________________________________
Wed, 02/17/2010 - 14:25 — supportwcpss
The purpose of the survey, as directed by the Board, was not to determine satisfaction with the system. It was a calendar survey.
__________________________________
Now you are using the same CALENDAR SURVEY data to claim that 95% of the parents are happy with their schools. That is a FLAT OUT LIE and you know it.
As to the NC taxes, NC income tax (as of 2008) ranks 12th highest in country. Total tax burden in 2008 ranked NC 20th, but rankings 4-20th were within 1 percentage point (that was according to the ref you provided). Then, in 2009, NC raised taxes by over 1.1 billion or 6% over the previous tax structure! That's a huge increase undoubtably putting us in the top 10 for tax burden in the entire country and one of if not THE highest taxing SE US states. These are the facts. So let's sum this tax arguement up. You and user want Wake Co. to raise property taxes to increase funding for local schools in Wake Co. At the same time, your buddy BO is letting the Bush tax cuts expire and raising taxes on top of that, then NC, one of the highest tax states in the SE US, raises taxes on NCarolinians by 6% AND you still want an additional increase in local property taxes. Many of us are now paying nearly 50% of our income in taxes (between local, state and federal taxes and fees). When is enough enough for you people?
I'm all for raising taxes to fund local schools when necessary. However, one of the consequences of having liberals in charge of the federal and state government is that pretty soon, there's no way to raise taxes to support local requirements, even public education. The money is simply not there.
......http://www.jwpcivitasinstitute.org/media/publication-archive/policy-reports/north-carolina-s-fy-2009-10-budget-1-1-billion-new-taxes-in
And you can't read
Thu, 02/25/2010 - 22:18 — supportwcpssor choose not to.
The survey question said this:
How satisfied are you with this child's school w/o regard
to the calendar?
94.5% said very satisfied or satisfied.
In the post you quoted I said "not determine the satistfaction with the system"
In my most recent post I said "happy with their school"
Do you understand that school and system are two different words or are you glossing over that to pick a fight.
The Question Should Have Also Stated....
Fri, 02/26/2010 - 11:45 — JanisTangoDo you care what calendar your school is on?
I bet the response would have been some really don't care as long as they stay in that school! You can be statisfied with your school calender, but you want to be there regardless.
In your previous post, you
Fri, 02/26/2010 - 09:27 — shearertwIn your previous post, you were pointing out (correctly) that the purpose of the survey was to determine parents calendar preference, not satisfaction with the school, system or anything else. The survey was not designed to do that and there was no intention to design it that way. Therefore, you cannot make any conclusions from the survey other than about CALENDAR CHOICE. You clearly recognized that when it benefited your arguement, now you're acting stupid when it helps your cause. I call that hypocritical.
READ
Fri, 02/26/2010 - 10:19 — supportwcpssAre you capable of that?
I said that the survey was not satisfaction with the system. that's it. I didn't go on any other diatribe so don't put words in my mouth.
The first question said "SATISFACTION WITH SCHOOL IGNORING CALENDAR".
I call that illiterate, narrow minded, and with no interest in objective discourse.
Are you capable of putting
Fri, 02/26/2010 - 10:48 — shearertwAre you capable of putting two thoughts together or can you only handle one stream at a time? As has been established, there are many, many reasons why people would check "satisfied" or even "very satisfied". In order to truly determine how happy people are about their current school would take a survey specifically designed for that purpose. You cannot take results from a survey designed for a different purpose (calendar preference in this case) and cherry pick answers to specific questions to make you own conclusions. That's faulty logic....oh and "illiterate, narrow minded, and with no interest in objective discourse".
Judging from your responses to this issue and your inability to put 2 and 2 together regarding NC taxes, I'm beginning to think having an intelligent discussion with you is nearly impossible.
sorry - you lose this one.
Fri, 02/26/2010 - 10:56 — supportwcpssYou initiated this one by calling me out in your response to carson. I never said it was a simple black and white response nor was the survey sufficient to capture information.
But you have obviously backpedaled from your accusations regarding my 'wording'. What's funny is that you are the one nit-picking exact words and you accuse someone else od not putting 2 and 2 together. That's funny.
I will end this inane conversation with the fact that this one question seems to indicate that an overwhelming number of people are okay with where they physically are right now. They might not like the system, schedule, track, educational opportunities, and so on, but they are okay with their current location.
[Banging head on
Fri, 02/26/2010 - 11:31 — shearertw[Banging head on desk]
You, User and this Fitzsimon character ARE all trying to use this 95% statisfied statistic to say people are happy with WCPSS, not just physical location. That was the point of Fitzsimon's statement. He's trying to claim that 95% of the people are happy with the diversity policy in place so why change it. That is a total misuse of that statistic. You know it, user knows it and Fitzsimon's knows it. You have run out of logical arguements so you resort to misusing data, lying and trying to mislead people. Shamless.
Finally, in your last paragraph you get closer to the truth with one exception. People may not be okay with their current location but just afraid of the alternative.
don't hurt yourself
Fri, 02/26/2010 - 11:59 — supportwcpssDon't hurt yourself shear
http://www.dragonflightstudio.com/banghead.gif
I never used the 95% to say people are happy. So stop saying it
[Icebag on forehead] So do
Fri, 02/26/2010 - 12:49 — shearertw[Icebag on forehead]
So do you agree that it is misleading with Fitzsimon puts that out there in this context (i.e a discussion about the diversity policy)? I started this thread by simply asking you to condemn Fitzsimon for doing so. This is a serious discussion and misleading people with data like that is destructive and doesn't help children get a better education.
Gotta be careful...
Thu, 02/25/2010 - 23:44 — Bob_SconceThat was a very general question. Nobody can say "well, 95% of the parents in this survey said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their school" and make any conclusion about how those parents feel about any specific change. The question didn't ask for specifics and I suspect that most people took it as a vote on the teachers in the school. (Further, note that most surveys were not returned. We can't make any conclusion about those parent's thoughts.)
Heck, *I* said that I was satisified with our kids' school, even though I'm dissatisfied with the calendar and a number of other things about the school and even more things about the school system.
Very good points, Bob.
Fri, 02/26/2010 - 09:00 — jenmanVery good points, Bob. I'll add that there was no 'neutral' answer, which is what i would have selected instead of satisfied for our elem school.
Support,Will you please
Thu, 02/25/2010 - 13:18 — shearertwSupport,
Will you please call your buddy Fitzsimon and tell him he's an IDIOT for using that "94.5 parent's are satisfied line" from the CALENDAR SURVEY!?
It is kind of funny really.
Thu, 02/25/2010 - 15:14 — woodstockIt is kind of funny really. It is the only thing they have to hang their hats on. They misrepresent the survey because they have nothing else. They certainly can't talk about graduation rates or test scores.
When you don't have a leg to
Fri, 02/26/2010 - 08:45 — changewcpssWhen you don't have a leg to stand on you will pull out a crutch. This is all they've got. Sad.
Hmm...
Thu, 02/25/2010 - 15:13 — supportwcpssA little embellishing never hurt anyone. It sure worked for groups supporting the current candidates.