More budget bad news

My Choice for Wake Co. School Board
Today, March 16, 2009, 1 hour ago | (Venita Peyton)
As some are slowly beginning to realize, all persons running for the four open seats on the Wake County School Board will not be elected by all voters. As an East Raleigh resident, no school board candidates will be listed on my ballot.

But since the search is on for the perfect candidate, I’d like to throw in my thoughts on the best qualifications.

-Someone with backbone. A person who can stand his or her ground, when necessary. Sometimes it takes one lone voice of reason to run the lava back up a volcano.

-Someone who is not a party insider. Of either party. With the volume of distrust against both parties, the media will surely use that person’s contacts either for or against others.

-Someone who is human enough to say “I was wrong” when the occasion speaks for it.

-Someone with a degree of cultural awareness. Enough, at least, to hunger for more, as the population of children and their needs, increases daily.

-Someone who isn’t afraid of the rain. I’d rather work with a school board member having a bad hair day, than someone who is high on self adulation.

-Someone who cares about children. Even a childless couple can be known for doing tremendous community involvement activity with other people’s kids.

-Someone who can read behind a smile or a frown. Some parents are under tremendous stress and may be missing parent-teacher conferences because they are intimidated or are overworked. Occasionally, a third party, with empathy, can suggest a small community gathering with other parents involved, just to diffuse some of the negative energy.

One has to be motivated to make the world a better place, when running for political office. No matter how polished or well prepared, there will always be one or more people who won’t vote for a particular candidate, for no particular reason. At the conclusion of a Wake County candidates forum at a senior assisted living center last year, I was approached by a woman, appearing to be well over 70. She said she liked what I had to say, but that she would not be voting for me.

It’s during times like this that a candidate must be armed with enough self respect to respond kindly and, perhaps, change the conversation. Because an abrupt walk-off might be considered rude, no matter how much one person can accidentally, or on purpose, hurt your feelings.

But you must remember that it’s not about you. It’s about serving an entire community of people whose needs must still be met.

OT Debate on Bi-lingual education.
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/educating-immigrants-voices-of-experience/?hp

I know some of you might die before reading the NYT but this is a debate that is well balanced with no academics talking only people that have lived through the educational system of Bi Lingual education. You will like it.

user1234--Charlotte isn't really just a 'neighborhood schools' system. They have magnets and the have the 'choice' system. I'm still trying to figure out exactly how all that works with the busing, but Char-Meck is not just busing to 'neighborhood' schools.

When Wakefield Elementary converted to year round one of the first things I noticed was a lack of sufficient Teacher Assistants. I had Dr Burns on camera answer that he knew it was a problem but money was not budgeted. That was when the money was there. This to me was the number one reason for the downhill slide in the academic area; not to mention the increase in ESL students. I bet this will never happen a Leesville...Right.

I took the cost per student published at

http://www.schooldatadirect.org/

It is 2006 data.  I included Charlotte because many people hold them up as where Wake should be.  (not me).

Notice Charlotte spends more per student for transportation than Wake so neighborhood schools do not equate to lower transportation cost for them.

Wake spends less than the State average for Staff Support, General Admin, and Food Services which would indicate overhead is not out of line.

Having attended one of the PAGE meetings, I learned that for every - can't remember the exact amount - it was around $32 - spent on No Child Left Behind, the amount for AG was $0.03.

Not sure what they'd save even if they cut the whole program. Seems like G88 is right - busing is where the fat is. And I've been long suspicious that somebody's bubba is in charge of that contract.

geeky--what school are you referring to?

So let's see, the budget gloom & doom gets worse, no surprise there, I expect it will get much worse, and remember, diesel is at a discount for the moment,

YET, we are going to reassign 145 kids out of an ES school, not send any new kids to that school, drive the total number of children to well below capacity, force the children left to different tracks when many of the tracks collapse, totally restructuring their lives AGAIN, not have the need or money to keep some of the Teachers or TA's around, cut programs, drive the F&R #'s up...

ALL while paying to cool, heat, operate, maintain, and transport to, empty classes, JUST so Chuck and his gang can keep another school on a forced year round schedule THAT IS CERTAINLY NOT NEEDED NOW!

Perfect way to help manage the budget crisis!

Perfectly STUPID!!!!

Our elem school only offers the big 3 specials that they are required to offer so I'm not sure where they are going to cut back in that category. We already have fewer AG services than we had last year. Can't wait to see how/if they cut that one even further.