Student loss projections

Whisleblower Suit

Livonia:

School officials hit with lawsuitLivonia Public Schools Superintendent Randy Liepa and Finance Director Lisa Levesque were served with a "whistleblower" lawsuit from the district's former controller last week. Margaret Flower, who served as controller for 21 years, has been on a medical leave of absence since November 2006, when she was suspended for three weeks on insubordination claims. Her suit claims she was suspended for speaking out about improper accounting practices. A spokeswoman for the district denied the claims and said Flower continues to receive medical benefits and can apply for other vacancies when she returns from her leave. Her job has been absorbed by others.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...D=2007712190359

Every Day Math, an every day disaster.

Superbug in the Classroom
A mathematical epidemic.

By Michelle Malkin

Do you know what math curriculum your child is being taught? Are youworried that your third-grader hasn't learned simple multiplication yet?Have you been befuddled by educational jargon such as "spiraling," which isused to explain why your kid keeps bringing home the same insipid busyworkof cutting, gluing and drawing? And are you alarmed by teachers whoemphasize "self-confidence" over proficiency while their students fallfurther and further behind? Join the club.

Across the country, from New York City to Seattle, parents are wising up tomath fads like Everyday Math. Sounds harmless enough, right? It's cleverlymarketed as a "University of Chicago" program. Impressive! Right? But thenyou start to sense something's not adding up when your kid starts secondgrade and comes home with the same kindergarten-level addition andsubtraction problems - for the second year in a row.

And then your child keeps telling you that the teacher isn't reallyteaching anything, just handing out useless worksheets - some of which makeno sense to parents with business degrees, medical degrees, and Ph.D.sspecializing in econometric analysis. And then you notice that it's theUniversity of Chicago education department, not the mathematics department,that is behind this nonsense.

And then you Google Everyday Math and discover that countless moms and dadsjust like you - and a few brave teachers with their heads screwed onstraight - have had similarly horrifying experiences. Like the Illinois momwho found these "math" problems in the fifth-grade Everyday Math textbook:

A. If math were a color, it would be -, because -.
B. If it were a food, it would be -, because -.
C. If it were weather, it would be -, because -.

And then you realize your child has become a victim of "Fuzzy Math," the"New New Math," the dumbed-down, politically correct, euphemism-fillededu-folly corrupting both public and private schools nationwide.

And then you feel like the subject of Edvard Munch's The Scream as you takeon the seemingly futile task of waking up other parents and fighting theedu-cracy to restore a rigorous curriculum in your child's classroom. NewYork City teacher Matthew Clavel described his frustration with EverydayMath in a 2003 article for City Journal:

The curriculum's failure was undeniable: Not one of my students knew his orher times tables, and few had mastered even the most basic operations;knowledge of multiplication and division was abysmal....what would you do,if you discovered that none of your fourth-graders could correctly tell youthe answer to four times eight?

But don't give up and don't give in. While New York City remains wedded toEveryday Math (which became the mandated standard in 2003), the state ofTexas just voted before Thanksgiving to drop the University of Chicagotextbooks for third graders. School-board members lambasted the mathprogram for failing to prepare students for college. It's an importantsalvo in the math wars because Texas is one of the biggest markets forschool textbooks. As Texas goes, so goes the nation.

Meanwhile, grassroots groups such as Mathematically Correct(mathematicallycorrect.com) and Where's The Math? (wheresthemath.com) arealerting parents to how their children are being used as educational guineapigs. And teachers and math professionals who haven't drunk the p.c.Kool-Aid are exposing the ruse. Nick Diaz, a Maryland educator, wrote aletter to his local paper:

As a former math teacher in Frederick County Public Schools, I have astrong interest in the recent discussion of the problems with the mathcurriculum in our state and county. . . . The proponents of fuzzy mathclaim that the new approach provides a 'deep conceptual understanding.'Those words, however, hide the truth. Students today are not expected tomaster basic addition, subtraction and multiplication. These fundamentalskills are necessary for a truly deep understanding of math, but fuzzy-mathadvocates are masters at using vocabulary that sounds good to parents, butmeans something different to educators.

Members of the West Puget Sound Chapter of the Washington Society ofProfessional Engineers also stepped forward in their community:

For 35 years, we have been subjected to a failed experiment, 'new math.'Mathematics depends on individual problem-solving ability to arrive at thecorrect answer. Math does not lend itself to 'fuzzy' answers. The solutionis to recognize the failure of the Constructivist Curriculum as it relatesto mathematics and science, eliminate it and return to the hard core basicsusing texts like the Singapore Math.

If Fuzzy Math were a color, it would be neon green like those Mr. Yuklabels warning children not to ingest poisonous substances. Do not swallow!

Problems at Coolidge

Dear Mr. King,

Coolidge Play Ground:

When the North parking lot was widened this summer to create a drop-offloop, 8 swings were destroyed. My understanding is when the swings weremoved they fell apart. It is also my understanding that once schoolplay-ground equipment is removed, it may not be reinstalled.

For this reason, many do not understand why the swings would not be replaced at thecost of the district as part of the initial project budget. Should the costto replace these swings have been included in the original budget toreconfigure the parking lot? With recess, health and exercise playing an important part of ourchildren's school day, many feel it is extremely important to replace theswings.

Since the removal of the swings was not at the fault of theCoolidge staff, many feel they should be replaced as soon as possible.Children at this age really enjoy swinging. We would love to see the 8 swings replaced as soon as possible. We appreciate any help you can offerwith this matter.

Another safety issue is the need of a crosswalk lines across PurlingbrookStreet. At this time, the crosswalk guard is concerned for the children'ssafety because many drivers stop so close to crossing children. Thecrosswalk lines would provide a much needed safety barrier. Thank you for making the Coolidge parking lot safer.

Also, last Friday, a third grader in my daughter's class at Coolidge possibly had a knife on the school bus or at school. He has since not been at school. What can you tell me about this situation. Our teachers and principal will not tell me what happened or where. The boy is a good boy, but was being harrasssed at school. All goes back to anti-bullying.

Election Perspective

The surprise primary win of Maureen was a harbinger for what was to come. While many of her supporters were happy that she beat Jack in the primary I felt it would galvanize his supporters and they would pull out the stops to crush her. Jacks pack, put up so many signs it created sign fatigue and in essence, negated all of the signs that just became an optical irritation over time.He then proceeded to make this election a referendum on Jennifer Granholm. I even received some anti Brosnan literature with Kwame Kilpatricks name on it. What? The only person that the majority of Livonia voters hate more than the Governor is the Detroit Mayor. Remember during the recall battle when voters were told at the polls that if the recall succeeded Detroit would be running our district? Detroit pols aren't the only ones that play the race card. Jacks support starts with a very large base of school employees, and most of his workers come from that pool. Check out the picture in the observer newspaper of woman for Jack. Recognize anyone affiliated with LPS? Jacks roots are in education and they run very deep. He also pandered to the Pro Life supporters something the winning council candidates did as well. Although I don't believe the new deja-vu mayor and council will be overturning Rowe v Wade anytime soon. It is a sizable group of one issue citizens that do vote.I do not fault anyone for running to win and once again Jack showed what a seasoned politician he is. When Kirksey entered the race I said he will be mayor again unless some one can beat him. Joe and Maureen were simply not able to do that. The nail in the coffin came during the weekend prior to the election with the saturation of the TV add with Granholm and Maureen posing like sorority sisters with the devastating voice over tag line, " While she was raising your taxes she was bankrolling Brosnan." A reference to not only the Lansing fiasco but the ten thousand dollar campaign contribution. Maureen could have defused the criticism by returning the money and going on the attack. I would have done a mailer linking my opponent to Osama Bin Laden and any other nefarious person that resonates with voters, just to point out the absurdity of it all. The real shame of this campaign was the inability of voters to get anything of substance from the questions and answers at the forums. I hope in the future we move to real debate formats allowing for give and take among the candidates. It's been said we get the government we deserve and we now hold the distinction of having the oldest mayor in the country. As a boomer I only have one thing left to say. Senior Power!

And The Mountain Moved

At Mondays board meeting something unprecedented happened. Two no votes were cast during the vote on items on the consent agenda. It was very dramatic. As the secretary called the vote"Mr. King?," .. "NO. "Mr. Oke?"... there was a long pause........and then it happened. The very person that ostracized me during his first week as a board member, for my solo no votes, took a breath and let the most powerful two letter word fly. "NO." I smiled as the roll call continued with the usual outcome. For one second, however I was more proud than usual to be a BOE member. Kudos to Greg for doing what he felt was right. The item in question was the food purchase proposal that we placed on the regular agenda at the last committee of the whole meeting, but mysteriously ended up on the consent agenda for Mondays meeting. We also asked for the nutritional data on all of the products and that information was not given for all of the items to be voted on. Based on those facts alone, never mind the lack of nutritional value of the food stuffs, everyone should have voted NO. At the very least a strong president would have removed the item in question for future discussion.

Steve,

Do you know if LPS will be hiring a replacement for Kirksey (Cooper site),or is the position not needed any more, since Kirksey will be getting a newpaycheck from the city? He has to at least wait until his 4 year term isup before he can go back on the LPS money-train again, right?

I didn't have a chance to see the last 2 meetings, has anything beenpublicly announced regarding Jay Young's "re-hiring"? Do we have any idea roughly how many bill-able hours per year he is anticipated to turn in to the district doing "whatever it is he will be doing".

Has anyone else on the board had any concerns about the rapidly declining enrollment (only since LI)? Will there ever be a BOE meeting in the"no-spin" zone so we can actually figure out what happened and how to getback on track? I mean, I remember Leipa kept "increasing" his predictionof how many students we would lose this year, and in the end he was stilloff by 100. This is a heck of a lot outside the 1/4 of 1% error marginthey bragged about pre-LI. These people can't possibly still believe it'sjust the economy (especially since PCCS enrollment keeps increasing, andour private schools enrollment isn't dropping). I mean, anyone with anysense would at least admit that there is a strong possibility there is a correlation between LI and the student loss, right?

Community conversations

Mondays community conversation meeting was attended by just six citizens. This format allows for some good discussions and I think we should take this show on the road. If we get it out of the administration building and into the community I think more people would attend. This week the focus was on finances and Lisa and Randy were present to deflect any hard hitting questions. When the topic of Jay Youngs remuneration for his foundation work came up it was discovered he is getting paid his old per Diem rate. Although Randy would not voice the actual number I believe it's 440 dollars per day. This is an awful lot of money to be paid to someone without a specific, definable task to be accomplished. I do not support the revolving door policy that allows former administrators to come back and feed from the public trough. If they want to give back for all that this district has given to them they can volunteer like so many parents do.There was in attendance a new parent to LPS with a ninth grader from a home school background and when he asked about saving money by looking at alternative means of providing ancillary services Randy went into full employment mode explaining how the safety of the students would be compromised if we should do anything other than what we our doing. This is just absurd! How do you explain the fact that 60% of districts in MI have privatized one or more ancillary services with a 90% percent satisfaction rate. To be unwilling to even have a discussion, or compare what other districts are doing illustrates the focus of this district is employment not education. There is no doubt in my mind that we will have to look at the future of food service if they continue to burn through the programs fund equity and start draining money from the general fund. In the glory days of that department we were providing food service for the Garden City schools and making a healthy profit. Those days are gone, as that district has privatized food and custodial service saving millions of dollars and getting better service in return. We need to at least have some information on alternatives if it ever becomes necessary to move in a different direction.

How to be top

Ann Arbor to use LEDs

Michigan city of Ann Arbor to replace street lights with energy-saving LEDs


DETROIT - How many Ann Arbor city workers does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Soon, none. Instead, they will be installing fixtures - light-emitting diodes, or LEDs - to replace about 1,400 street lights.

The eco-friendly city about 50 kilometres west of Detroit that's home to the University of Michigan says it will be the first in the United States to convert all of its downtown street lights to the technology that uses less than half the energy of traditional bulbs and could save the community $100,000 a year over the long haul.

"LEDs pay for themselves in four years," said Mayor John Hieftje, who announced the city's plans this week as it joined Raleigh, N.C., and Toronto in the LED City initiative, an industry-government group working to evaluate, deploy and promote LED lighting.

"They provide the same light, but they last 10 years. We had to replace the old ones every two years."

LEDs, small chips usually encased in a glass dome the size of a matchstick head, have been used in electronics for decades. Those LEDs usually were red or green, but a scientific breakthrough in the 1990s paved the way for the production of LEDs that produce white light.

Lighting consumes 22 per cent of electricity produced in the U.S., according to the Department of Energy, and widespread use of LED lighting could cut consumption in half. By 2027, LED lighting could cut annual energy use by the equivalent of 500 million barrels of oil, with the attendant reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide, the gas believed to be responsible for global warming.

Hieftje said the lighting conversion will reduce greenhouse gases by the equivalent of taking 400 cars off the road for one year. He said it will cost about $450 to replace each globe and fit the new fixture into an existing pole, and the two-year project is being paid for by a $630,000 grant from the city's Downtown Development Authority.

Durham, N.C.-based Cree Inc. makes the components that are inside the lighting units Ann Arbor is using.

"LED lighting can provide all the capabilities required to do any lighting," said Greg Merritt, Cree's director of corporate marketing. "The hurdle, obviously is the cost. As we improve the technology, the economics make sense for more and more applications."

Hieftje, who said the city successfully has tested LEDs during a three-year pilot project of 25 lights on one block, says the LED replacement is part of a larger plan he launched two years ago to use 30 per cent renewable energy for all operations by 2010. That includes solar power, conservation and converting its bus fleet to hybrid-electric.

"We're trying to be a sustainable city and that's the bottom line," he said.

Audit Haze

Tonights meeting with the Plante Moran auditors was long on show and short on detail. Hey wasn't that Fred at the table? I thought Lisa told us he retired last year. Reading documents aloud that I can read myself is not my idea of an audit review. Seeing these documents for the first time tonight, at the table, does not allow for informed questions. I would like to go through the chart of accounts in detail, especially the things that are not booked properly. This document is what the audit is based on. I asked for the chart of accounts for six weeks before I finally received it just last week allowing me very little time to prepare for the annual audit dog and pony show. The same firm has been looking at the books for many years and has built a very cordial relationship with the district and the director of finance. I wonder if they are auditing or helping Lisa to pass the audit? I know I can meet with Lisa behind closed doors and have her explain to me any concerns I may have with the ledger but I think it is imperative that we discuss all finances in public. There are so many large dollar amounts for services in the chart that it would make your head spin. These things need to be discussed in public and I will put some of them on my blog.

Jay is back

When Jay Young retired from LPS I asked Randy to consider not replacing him in order to save money. Ford and many other corporations have been reducing the size of their work force through attrition. When a person leaves they are not replaced and their workload is distributed among the remaining employees. This has been going on for years in other districts and at times even at LPS. When Jay left however not only were his hard to define responsibilities spread out but also his salary thus defeating the purpose of not replacing him. I was recently surprised to see that Jay has come back to work for the district as a consultant working on the Livonia Foundation that has a grand total of thirty thousand dollars in it. Where will the funds come from to pay him and what is the amount?This scenario of retiring and then coming back as a consultant is not new. John Rennels , Jack Kirksey, and a long list of other administrators have worn a path to the public coffers of LPS. What disturbs me is that the BOE has no control over who ,what for, or how much money is spent under the guise of consulting. As an oversight body that is held responsible for the fiscal health of this district we must have a say in how the money is spent.

Everyday Math

I have been contacted by many parents concerning the new math program. As always, I bring your comments forward to the appropriate administrator. Having read all of the comments on the LN forum it is apparent there are still many parents that are concerned about particular aspects of EM. I have also heard from many parents that like this program. This has been a huge investment for the district over the last few years in both time and treasure and I for one would like to see if we can't add to this program whatever we need to in order to address any percieved shortcomings some parents feel exist. I would also like to have ongoing group discussions with all the stakeholders.

Security proposal

This item was pulled from the agenda and sent to a building and sight sub- committee meeting for further study before coming back to the board for a vote. This is where it should have gone in the first place instead of being fast tracked for approval.

NJROTC

The presentation at the board meeting emphasized what many would perceive was the positive attributes of the program. What I am concerned about is the cost.Almost three hundred thousand dollars of cost above what the feds contribute to run this program for a small number of students.There are many excellent programs that do not receive this kind of monetary support.I would like to see this program continue with a smaller impact on the budget.

Board Expenses 05-06

Board Expenses 04-05

Board Expenses 03-04

Budget Reduction Considerations

Letter on Everyday Math

Steve,

I don't know if you have read the Everyday Math thread on LivoniaNeighbors Forum. It's really pretty informative. Anyway, our teachers arenot going to supplement Everday Math with any basic math skills. I thinkthey should. Read this post from Larry Martin on Livonianeighbors.com. Hehas been fighting EM in Plymouth -Canton for 5 years.........

"If they are really being told to "teach from the box", administrationshould be truly ashamed of themselves. During the presentation I saw onyoutube, the speaker said that LPS should adopt EM in part because in worksin P-CCS. They should make a short drive west and ASK how P-CCS isimplementing the program. It is not "from the box".P-CCS has a supplement process. They have been using it for years. Theyknow where the holes are in EM from experience. Why not take advantage ofthose years of experience? I don't know the whole supplement process, but Ido know that teachers consistently use "Mad Minutes" through 4th grade.

I went to a curriculum committee meeting last year when they discussed theMEAP results. They get detailed classroom level data showing what skillsare deficient. P-CCS was deficient in some of the basics and woefully so in division. I have a copy of that document. The Math and Science curriculum director made a big deal about how theyhave been tweaking their supplemental materials and will be doing even more"when the 3rd edition is approved." There wasn't any chance of abandoningEM, though. All it takes is a phone call from Livonia administration to Janet Kahn(P-CCS math and science director) to confirm this. Janet is a staunchdefender of constructivist education, but still understands that EM doesn'twork "from the box".

If there is any doubt, I can scan and forward the documents from last year."I think you should call PCS and look into this. If we are not supplementingfor one year to work out the bugs, it is one year too long for me. It isone year lost for too many kids.

Letter from a parent on security

Steve,

Came across this article doing a random google search about school securitycameras. (This is exactly what I believe would happen in LPS even if weinstalled the security system.)

http://www.kfor.com/Global/story.asp?S=1514604

There are also many examples of school violence (even in elementaryschools) where students have brought in weapons into school (there is oneexample in Michigan where a student was killed on the playground by anotherstudent who brought a gun to school). Maybe we should really be focusingon this type of thing, metal detectors, etc... instead of cameras? Maybemore training/communication/procedures for school personel to recognizeconflicts between students as potential issues, or to be more proactive inquestioning anyone that is not recognized that walks within the schoolunaccompanied by staff.

New Ideas?

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EDUCATION REFORM GROUP LOOKS TO BRING BACK "LOCAL CONTROL"
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DEARBORN, Mich. - A report created by a committee of parents, teachers and students in Dearborn presents the components of an ideal school system based on local control and less government regulation, according to the Dearborn Press and Guide. The 50-member group created the Model District Project and analyzed policy changes that would lead to more local investment in education and minimize the amount of money going to feed state and federal government bureaucracies.

Dearborn Public Schools is planning on sending the completed, 47-page document to legislators and other school districts in hopes of spurring interest in creative reforms. The district also plans to incorporate as many of the ideas as possible into its strategic plan for next year, the Press and Guide reported.

Key suggested changes include bidding for benefits and other services and re-examining the school funding system. The group believes the state and federal government should remain in charge of levying and distributing tax money, but should do so in a more "equitable" way, the Press and Guide reported.

The plan also finds problems with current accountability measures like the No Child Left Behind act, Adequate Yearly Progress, and the Michigan Merit Exam. "There will always be a need for assessment and for government to set general guidelines for objectives," Earnie Oz, a parent and member of the Dearborn Parent Teacher Student Association, told the Press and Guide.

"But as for actual implementation of programs, that should fall to local school districts. Government needs to be active, not dictatorial. In many cases it doesn't provide funding (for mandated programs) and creates a scenario for failure."

______
SOURCE:Dearborn Press and Guide, "Local group delivers report on ideal school district," Oct. 3, 2007
http://www.pressandguide.com/stories/100307/loc_20071003005.shtml

A letter from a concerned parent

Steve,
I just wanted to apologize for not following up with you about the EverydayMath research. I attended the EM parent night at Cass a couple weeks ago, andlistened to Ms. Abler talk about how exciting the program was, and they talked aboutall the games etc. To be honest, I guess I have made my mind up, that I thinkit's just a disservice to the kids of Livonia that the program has been implementedmerely to align with the MEAP (which from what I have read, is not exactly settingthe bar very high). Some of the information Ms. Abler shared seemed to contradict whatour son's teacher and especially one of our daughter's previous teacher's impressions of the program were. My son's teacher plans to supplement the math with "traditional" concepts (something that Ms Abler said would not be taking place, because it is important for the success of the program to teach from the box). Our daughter's previous teacher thought the EM program was horrible for student learning, and told us that the "good teachers" that were older and experienced would see through this, and supplement the teaching with traditional concepts so that kids didn't fall too far behind, while she expected that younger inexperienced teachers would simply teach right from the box (and her feeling was that EM would leave them unprepared for higher math). It was also obvious that the parents that attended had absolutely no idea (besides that there would be games and the kids would have FUN) what the EM program was. It is also clear that thepresentation was merely a PR move as what most of the LPS presentations are... I feltthat I had completely wasted my time attending it. At any rate, the decision has been made, and we cannot afford privateschool (or our kids would already be enrolled due to the LI debacle) so I will justplan on spending a great deal of time teaching math to my kids. (I wasn't a bigfan of the connected math program either, so I have already been helping my daughterwith math all along. I don't think any research you could provide me wouldchange my mind at this point, so I won't waste your time with this any longer. Butplease know that I greatly appreciate your offer to get together to discuss.
NEW TOPIC (sorry this is long, I just couldn't stop typing) I also wanted to share with you my thoughts about last night's meetingregarding the security system that is 99.9% certain to be implemented in the nearfuture regardless of cost based upon the overwhelming support of the sheeple onthe BOE (you excluded of course). As usual, you asked the importantquestions, and I completely agree with all of your points. It is a "false" sense ofsecurity (like a car alarm)... If someone wants to do something horrible, they are just going to do it. A camera is going to just make it easier to identify the person after thefact, but won't make kids any "safer". Just cause "other neighboring districts" have it,doesn't mean that their kids are safer than ours. I thought we were in a budgetcrisis? (Oops, I meant FUNDING crisis <- sarcasm) We can't spend money on solar parking lights that might save us tons of $$$ over the long-haul, but we can spend hundreds of thousands on cameras and security cards, etc. just so that wecan watch to see when someone isn't at their desk and call their cell phone torazz them.... hmmmm. (I thought that was a very awkward way of supporting theneed for this especially from a person getting paid a 6-figure salary. andLessard sounded like he was running for President with his theatrical "kids safetyis worth every penny, no matter how much it costs...". I am more concerned about my kid’s safety walking to a bus stop than aboutthe possibility of a whacko bringing a gun into school. (And how would thesecameras, locking doors etc. prevent a student from bringing in a bomb or gun/knifeto school???) The LI eliminated the crossing guards, safetys program, etc. Since the LI, our kids walk to a bus stop that is on the opposite side of a verybusy street. Cars are parked all alongside this road (from Stevenson kids), there are nostop signs anymore, so my kids simply would have had to cross whenever there isa break in traffic. The posted speed limit is 25, but cars routinely blow byour house between 30-40 mph (especially since the stop sign down the street waseliminated this year). Is this a "safe" situation for kids, standing out therewaiting for a bus?
We moved to Livonia specifically to attend Marshall school, we are maybe 8 houses away from the school (same distance as their bus stop is now). Mykids IMHO would have been safer to walk to school, than to cross the busystreet, or have to stand outside waiting for a bus, that may or may not be on time....It's off-topic, but my daughter's bus was over 25 minutes late to Riley lastweek. I don't bother complaining about this stuff anymore, because it is no use. Wouldn't it be almost as effective to install "fake" cameras at all entrydoors etc. hallways etc. as a deterrent? Lock all the doors during class time exceptthe front door (umm that would be free). Who are we "protecting" the kids from? Strangers? Strangers would see the cameras and assume they were real and recording. Maybe that would deter them from doing something wrong, or maybe not. Parents? Parent's would likely be recognized and welcomed inside by staff,the camera would not be of any help here, if they wanted in, they have everyright to be inside... To me, no difference here than a LPS teacher snapping one day and bringing a gun or bomb into the building. A security system cannot protectkids from these people. I understand the money is burning a hole in Lessard (and therest of the BOE's collective pockets), but I just wish it could somehow bechanneled into something more worthwhile. I'll tell you what, I got to the point (before you came on board) where Ithought I couldn't possibly stomach to watch another BOE meeting on TV, because Iwould get so darn upset and frustrated. I mean, just yesterday was anotherexample of Freeman babbling on and on, with no point (hey, maybe that's what I'mdoing.... sorry), asking absolutely stupid questions.... Lessard is an oxygen-thiefif there ever was one. And Mr. Oke appears to be the quintessential "yes" man. I can'tbelieve the spins these (and most all of the administrators and especiallyLevesque) puts on things... I like how Liepa is already spinning the student count numbers..."looks like they are coming in right where we expected... " and "we are graduating 1500 students, but only 1000 kindergartners coming in...." ...As I yell at the TV, " what the heck does that have to do with anything??" But Idigress.... I don't know how you manage to not strangle any of these people at these meetings. My hat's off to ya, and I am so thankful for the job you aredoing. I will keep an eye on your blog (I am a frequent lurker in LivoniaNeighbors.com). While we may be on opposite sides of the EM issue, I find that the other 99.9% ofthe time, you are practically voicing all the concerns/questions I have regarding what is going on with the district and the decisions being made. Which means either we both have common sense and logical thought processes, or we are both equally brain-damaged. Either way, it's sure great to have someone on our side. I've wasted enough of your time (again). I just felt I needed to provideyou some feedback, and to let you know despite all the opposition you face on theboard, that there are people watching that really appreciate your taking on thedifficult task of fighting for what is right. I only wish that there were more people likeyou on the board, then we could really make some positive changes to the district.

Comment Response Loyalty Oath Post

I never said I would sign this document at any time. As for working on the wording I did rewrite it, but I did not share it with my fellow board members because of the wording that they may have interpreted as confrontational. In an attempt to avoid fighting at the table I kept it to myself. I may post it at a later date and you can judge for your self. However, from the tone of your comment it is obvious you have already drank the kool -aid. This is the last time I will respond to you. As I mentioned in previous posts this is not a forum, you may want to read the Livonia neighbors forum it provides an excellent give and take.

False Security

After last nights meeting I received an e-mail from a parent about the security system and how it was presented to the board. I will post this letter, without the name, for all to read. I did not appreciate the fact that the packet I received on Thursday was the first opportunity to examine this, then asked to move this forward on Monday. This should have gone to a sub-committee meeting prior to the committee of the whole so it could have been closely examined. Obviously I want the school environment to be safe for our children, and I believe it is. Just as there is no correlation between money and student outcomes, the same holds true for security. Spending large sums of money does not guarantee any ones safety.

Loyalty Oath

Once again at Mondays meeting we looked at board policy BHA(3) also known as the loyalty oath. Once again I honored my campaign pledge and did not sign it. It is not necessary for me to sign a document to be a fully committed board member. When I took office I swore an oath to the constitution and I was very clear during my campaign exactly what my concerns were and what I was going to try to accomplish. I feel I have been diligent in my duties, especially when it comes to asking question, and trying too enact some fiscal accountability. The first line of the pledge states "Student learning and the success of all of our students will drive my decisions." How do those that signed this document square that with the implementation of the legacy debacle. During that contentious time the entire school community was thoroughly disrupted. Millions of dollars squandered on poorly planned additional transportation, coupled with the millions lost from families leaving LPS that continues into this year. The loss of revenue and trust will harm the district for many years. How did any of this chaos enhance student learning?

Blogosphere

When I decided to create my blog it was because of things I have learned while on the board. In particular, "misconceptions often overwhelm the truth" and "culture eats strategy." There are many misconceptions about LPS and I will address them over time. The culture of an organization is important because in essence its the way we do things around here and the way we have been doing things, will not bode well for our future. This blog will look at our district without rose colored glasses and void of the spin I have been subjected to at many of the public meetings. Are there good things that happen in our schools? Absolutely! But those things will take up the lions share of every board meeting and newsletters sent to the community.Rarely will we have the crucial conversations that are necessary to improve the district. My blog will show the other side of things, in an attempt to offer some kind of balance to the dialogue. This is not a discussion forum, but I do read all of the comments and do learn from them. I generally will not respond to comments but they do help me ask questions and move forward on things that need to be addressed. There were several comments however I will comment on. To say that our back to school event did not cost anything is inaccurate. Hundreds of LPS man hours went into preparing for this event as well as some of the in house promotion we did. That time could have been spent making sure projects were completed and that the bus routes were accurate as well as a myriad of other things that really needed to get done for a smooth start to school. Residency is another issue. This district has turned a blind eye to this problem ever since the legacy initiative drove so many students out of our schools. Since the money follows the student, enrollment numbers are very important. I feel for the students from urban districts but residency is very simple, either you live in our district or you don't. I personally know of students that attended our grade schools using their grandparents address while living at their parents home in another city. Apartments can be problematic as well. For these reasons we are well within our authority to do random bed checks as Grosse Pointe and many other districts do. Livonia taxpayers must not be disenfranchised because we do not have the will to do what is right.

2001 Student follow-up comments

Outdoor lighting information

http://www.darksky.org/resources/information-sheets/pdf/is052.pdf

http://enolar.com/products05.htm

http://www.darksky.org/resources/information-sheets/pdf/is026.pdf

Student comments from 1999 (nothing has changed).

Letters from the public

High School Musical Hype

We were told there was two purposes for the Laurel Park Place mall event featuring Drew Seely from HS2. One to celebrate the start of school and two, our ramped up marketing effort. I attended this event and thought the only redeeming feature was the jumprope station. Any time you can get kids moving and having fun it is a good thing. Those in attendance came to see Drew and stood in a very long line to get an autograph and really were there for just that reason. This had nothing to do with the start of school and I do not share the administrations enthusiasm for this event. As educators we compete with a vapid culture on a daily basis. High School Musical 2 is not the kind of thing I want to promote. The female star of this movie recently showed up on the internet nude. Lets not forget Disney is the company that brought us Britney, Lindsay and many other tabloid creatures. If we want to promote the start of school lets have an event at our schools not the mall. Kids should be excited to come back to school because it is such a rewarding experience not because of the pop star frenzy.

Tonights Meeting

There was a time in this district that it was not necessary to create hype for what was happening in our schools. The story was told through word of mouth by parents and students. I am troubled over the use of education dollars being spent on promotion not education. I asked Donna how much we kicked in towards the $8000.00 30 second spot that we viewed tonight promoting the City of Livonia and she said we put up $5000.00. I also asked where the money came from and she said she did not know. So I asked Randy and he said it came out of his budget. Apparently he has money in his budget for discretionary spending. I will follow up on this for clarification.

More Open House

During the Buchanan OH I was taken to task by some of the teachers bacause of something they were told I was responsible for. They were told that they could not use screens on windows and doors because Mr. King said it was a fire hazard. Not true! Individual Board members have no authority to implement such an edict and I personally have suggested the use of screens and ceiling fans to alleviate the extreme temperatures in the classrooms. This is an ongoing problem in the district and teachers need to come forward with parents to insist on a viable solution.

When I left the school that evening it was pitch black in the parking lot because none of the new parking lot lights were working. I observed people faliing off of the curb because it was so dark. This is a safety issue. Not one summer construction project was finished on time. Many teachers treked through mud and dirt loaded with supplies when they reported to school preparing their rooms for the start of the new school year. Workers had all summer to complete these pojects and some were not even started until the end of August. This is poor planning and we can do better.

Buchanan Open House

Using a very old computer makes it very challenging to post to my blog. I have written many things without spellchecker and other writing tools, but have been unable to post them. There is a learning curve to every thing and in short order I will post on a regular basis.

listening tour

I have been attending as many school open house events as possible throughout the district to hear from parents, teachers and students concerning their feelings about the start of the new school year as well as their overall impression of the district as a whole. This is important to show support for LPS and because I believe the farther you get from the power (Central Administration) the closer you get to the TRUTH.It is in these conversations with stakeholders you find what is really happening on the ground. As a teacher I am well aware of the need to self assess my lesson plans and teaching continually. It is very important that the district do the same. It is a little unsettleing that teachers are so afraid to speak out about their concerns if they feel what they say might be perceived as critical of existing policies. The same holds true for parents. One on one they are willing to share their concerns but hesitate to come to the board meeting and speak during audience communication. This is your district and you must tell the people that work for you if something is not working. What does it say about the culture of this district that critics are so fearful of reprimand? Honest disagreement is healthy for growth and should be encouraged not stifled. The mother that spoke about the insufferable classroom temperatures in the elementary schools made a very powerfull staement and is to be commended for her effort. It takes public pressure to get this district to act. These public statements empower me as a board trustee to seek solutions to these problems. But quite honestly until someone comes forward publicly things that need to be fixed will be ignored.I need your help with letters and phone calls to keep me informed of what is not working.

Thoughts

I have decided to put my thoughts about LPS concerns on the web to stimulate conversation and alleviate some of my frustrations with the status quo.

I will be posting regularly but especially after meetings when my frustration level may be elevated.

Please feel free to contact me with any ideas you may have to help improve LPS operations.