You Knew I Was a Snake

I know most people have heard the story of the monk who met a snake going up a mountain that was freezing to death.  The shivering snaked begged the monk to carry it up the mountain so it could warm itself in the monastery. The monk argued that it could be deadly to be bitten by a poisonous snake.  But the pleading snake promised not to bite him, if he would just be so kind as to save his life. Of course as soon as they were at the monastery and getting all warm; the snake promptly bit the monk.  To the shocked monk, the snake replied, "But you knew I was a snake when you picked me up."

Well as a School Board, we choose to "work" with a charter school and its board of directors, who are members of our community.  But like most people who are trying to make a profit off of public education; ethics and perhaps laws are rarely a top concern. As I read the following article in yesterday's local paper I could not help but think about the monk and the snake story.  We know Charter Schools are the poisonous snakes in "public" education.

Governor Jindal: Killing public education one school at a time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coates Bluff Wright Island files suit against city, charter school

Shreverport Times picture.

 http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013130326058&nclick_check=1
. . .  Coates Bluff Wright Island — developed by U.L. Coleman — filed suit against Shreveport Charter Foundation and the city of Shreveport, saying the city illegally allowed the foundation to construct Magnolia on River Parkway Boulevard right of way.  . . .

This final statement speaks of the confidence the Charter's Board of Directors have that they are above the law. “We have every intention to open Magnolia at the beginning of August just as was the plan,” Rozeman said. “This suit doesn’t change that for us.”   

I hope that my shaky faith will be restored in Louisiana's judicial system.  But politics, not honesty, often prevails here.  And for the record, I did not vote to play with these snakes.

Accountability for Dentist

Governor Bobby Jindal

With all the crazy teacher accountability, voucher and charter school laws that are being passed this week in Baton Rouge, someone posted this story on Facebook and I had to use it tonight for my blog.  Governor Jindal has wrecked every government job for which he has ever drawn a paycheck provided by tax payers. He even seems to have some grandiose dreams of being President. But hopefully, for our state and country, he will have to look to the private sector for his next job. He will go down in Louisiana history as the worst governor our state has ever had; and we have had some duzies.

My dentist is great! He sends me reminders so I don't forget checkups. He uses the latest techniques based on research. He never hurts me, and I've got all my teeth, so when I ran into him the other day, I was eager to see if he'd heard about the new state program. I knew he'd think it was great.

"Did you hear about the new state program to measure the effectiveness of dentists with their young patients?" I said.

"No," he said. He didn't seem too thrilled. "How will they do that?"

"It's quite simple," I said. "They will just count the number of cavities each patient has at age 10, 14 and 18 and average that to determine a dentist's rating. Dentists will be rated as Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average and Unsatisfactory. That way parents will know which are the best dentists. It will also encourage the less effective dentists to get better," I said. "Poor dentists who don't improve could lose their licenses to practice in South Carolina."

"Cavities are the bottom line, and you can't argue with the bottom line. It's an absolute measure."

"That's terrible," he said.

"What? That's not a good attitude," I said. "Don't you think we should try to improve children's dental health in this state?"

"Sure I do," he said, "but that's not a fair way to determine who is practicing good dentistry."

"Why not?" I said. "It makes perfect sense to me."

"Well, it's so obvious," he said. "Don't you see that dentists don't all work with the same clientele; so much depends on things we can't control?

"For example," he said, "I work in a rural area with a high percentage of patients from deprived homes, while some of my colleagues work in upper-middle class neighborhoods. Many of the parents I work with don't bring their children to see me until there is some kind of problem and I don't get to do much preventive work.

"Also," he said, "many of the parents I serve let their kids eat way too much candy from a young age, unlike more educated parents who understand the relationship between sugar and decay.

"To top it all off," he added, "so many of my clients have well water which is untreated and has no fluoride in it. Do you have any idea how much difference early use of fluoride can make?"

"It sounds like you're making excuses," I said. I couldn't believe my dentist would be so defensive. He does a great job.

"I am not!" he said. "My best patients are as good as anyone's, my work is as good as anyone's, but my average cavity count is going to be higher than a lot of other dentists because I chose to work where I am needed most."

"Don't get touchy," I said.

toothbrushestoothbrushesspacer  "Touchy?" he said. His face had turned red, and from the way he was clenching and unclenching his jaws, I was afraid he was going to damage his teeth. "Try furious. In a system like this, I will end up being rated average, below average or worse.

"My more educated patients who see these ratings may believe this so-called rating actually is a measure of my ability and proficiency as a dentist. They may leave me, and I'll be left with only the most needy patients. And my cavity average score will get even worse.

"On top of that, how will I attract good dental hygienists and other excellent dentists to my practice if it is labeled below average?"

"I think you're over-reacting," I said. "'Complaining, excuse making and stonewalling won't improve dental health '... I am quoting that from a leading member of the DOC," I noted.

"What's the DOC?" he said.

"It's the Dental Oversight Committee," I said, "a group made up of mostly lay-persons to make sure dentistry in this state gets improved."

"Spare me," he said. "I can't believe this. Reasonable people won't buy it," he said hopefully.

The program sounded reasonable to me, so I asked, "How else would you measure good dentistry?"

"Come watch me work," he said. "Observe my processes."

"That's too complicated and time consuming," I said. "Cavities are the bottom line, and you can't argue with the bottom line. It's an absolute measure."

"No one would ever think of doing that to schools."

"That's what I'm afraid my patients and prospective patients will think. This can't be happening," he said despairingly.

"Now, now," I said, "don't despair. The state will help you some."

"How?" he said.

"If you're rated poorly, they'll send a dentist who is rated excellent to help straighten you out," I said brightly.



"There you go again," I said. "You aren't acting professionally at all."

"You don't get it," he said. "Doing this would be like grading schools and teachers on an average score on a test of children's progress without regard to influences outside the school — the home, the community served and stuff like that. Why would they do something so unfair to dentists? No one would ever think of doing that to schools."

I just shook my head sadly, but he had brightened. "I'm going to write my representatives and senator," he said. "I'll use the school analogy — surely they'll see my point."

He walked off with that look of hope mixed with fear and suppressed anger that I see in the mirror so often lately.

Go to FB page Recall Bobby Jindal as Governor of Louisiana and click like.  It looks like someone is getting a recall petition together.

Nasty Cigarette Kiss

The other night when I read all the comments made by our "Representatives" about why they did not vote to over ride Jindal's veto of the cigarette tax renewal, it made me double angry and sick.  I don't like politicians who don't vote their beliefs, but choose to compromise their integrity for political deals.  There was nothing good in Jindal's motives or those representatives'.
It might not be dead!! Read this.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/06/cigarette_tax_renewal_may_surv.html

Also, I really can't stand cigarette smoke or taste.  So here's my bad high school cigarette experience.  First, when I was in ninth grade at Ouachita High School, they bused all the Freshmen to the Civic Center for this huge anti-smoking campaign.  I know there was a lot of scarey talk about addiction and cancer, but none of that really grabbed my attention.  It's really kind of silly what did.  Somewhere during all the talking, the statistic was given that a smoker's IQ is 5 points lower than the average none smoker's.  Though today, I would challenge that statement and want to see what research it was based on; that statement has stuck with me for 42 years.
 http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/02/23/us-smokers-smarter-idUSTRE61M3UQ20100223

http://www.webdoctoradvice.com/medical-news/smokers-have-lower-iq/

   I found the research!!

In tenth grade I was in the marching band.  The practice field was across campus from the band room. A group of us were sitting out of practice. It was probably the small group of us who had to carry a rock in our right hand so when band director yelled rock instead of right, we would not turn the wrong way and go crashing into the rest of the band; but that's another bad high school experience.

Anyway, the best looking guy came riding up in a car. Then he walked up to us and sat down and starting talking to me.  He was a couple of years older than I was, so that was a self-esteem boost.  He did this everyday that week. So on Friday, he offered to drive me around to the band room.  Wow!  I jumped right in the car.  I did notice that it didn't smell good.  But all I was thinking about was how cute he was. Then he asked could he kiss me.  So I said, "Sure."  I had never been French kissed. From that experience I would say it was like licking an ashtray.  I opened the car door and threw-up.    I later found out he had dropped out of school after his 11th grade year. He was just cruising the school looking for girls. So that just solidified my belief that smokers' have a lower IQ.
And I got a little smarter.

When I was teaching 4th grade, I always told a very modified version of that experience as my anti-smoking campaign.   I told them not to ever smoke, because when they grew up and wanted to kiss someone, if they had smoked, it would make that person throw-up.  I knew that was true because that was what happened to me.  It at least always got a very big YUCK from the 4th graders.
Whether it was a reaction to the mention of kissing or throwing-up; I believe it made a "smoking is bad" impression.

Whose Fault Is It?

I see several comments on my posts and Facebook page that Dr. Dawkins must go.  Though I did not vote for his contract renewal, it really won't help to get a new superintendent.  It's like getting a divorce. Many times when one remarries somehow they end up with the same problems or in some cases worse.  We are still a part of the new partnership. Most Superintendents want to do what is right by the students, of course there are exceptions, but the politics with Board Members bend his/her actions all out of shape.  The superintendent put forth a Vision 20/20 Plan that reflected the lack of vision found in the self-serving attitudes of at least 7 board members.  Then last night he proposed raising the teacher/pupil ratio because he could get at least 7 board members to go along with it.  We must cut 20 million dollars. How did we get in this shape?
From the messages the Superintendent gets from the majority of the Board Members.
Here are a few from the past couple of years.

1.  Problem: We have 3 high schools in Caddo with about 300 students with a capacity for over 1000. They are all in the city, so distance to another school is not a problem.
   Solution: None of them can be closed.  These 3 high schools are represented by 3 board members.   Millions of dollars just to keep them staffed and running. This is what Vision 20/20 plan became.  Save these 3 schools by sending 7th and 8th graders there to increase enrollment and let them also get an academically unacceptable education and maybe even increase their chances of becoming a 12 year old mother.
Costs: Lives, safety, and education of our students.  Don't have money total but in the millions. Mr. Hooks and I voted, No.

2. Problem: The state is going to take over these 3 high schools because they have been listed as academically unsuccessful for 5 years. 
Solution: We can't let the state take them, so let's send the state about a million dollars a year for 5 years per school.  The state will send consultants.  Synonym for Consultants-Cronies. \
Costs: There goes around $15,000,000
Board member Tammy Phelps and I were the only 2 who voted NO.  We said, Tell the state to take them, if they think they can do better. We knew the state would not take them.  They were bluffing to get money.

3.  Problem:  A group outside the school system didn't get their grant funded this year. They do work with children in Caddo Parish.  Also, very bad problem for Dottie Bell's daughter-in-law because she works for them and she has been told she will be laid off if the school board doesn't fund them.
Solution: Superintendent says we have a budget shortfall, so we can not fund their program for them.
Dottie Bell leads the charge to get them funded.  She actually said that at the board meeting. Lawyer gets up and informs Mrs. Bell it is not legal for her to vote on this issue.
Costs:  $260,000 for 1 year and 3 months.
Board member Tammy Phelps and I were the only 2 who voted NO.  Dottie Bell abstained after she lead the charge to fund it.

4.  Problem: We have 13 schools that are labeled academically unsuccessful.
Solution:  Hire consultants (refer to synonym above).  Best consultants are from Michigan where the Superintendent is from.  The majority of board members will vote to do anything to keep these schools open.
Costs:  We spend almost twice as much money per student in these schools. $8,000,000 was spent on various consultants the past 2 years.
 I do believe I messed up and voted for several of these.  I never said I was perfect. I wanted to believe.  And we did have money, then.  But you don't after you spent it.

5.  Problem:  Our schools need to have technology upgrades.
Solution:  Get a $17,000,000 interest free loan from the Federal Government. Take $17,000,000 out of our General Fund and set it aside in a separate fund to pay back the note at $1.1 million a year.  But instead of using money from the set aside fund to pay back the loan, our Finance Director decided to take the payment for the past 2 years out of the General Fund.
Costs: $19,000,000 to our General Fund. The $17,000,000 we set aside and the 2.2 we paid back.
I have requested at every budget meeting that we use $6,000,000 to cover our budget shortfall.  I do realize this is 1 time money.

6.  Problem: Our district's enrollment has dropped a little and shifted a lot.  In some schools the classes have 10-14 in a class and in other schools there are 28-40 in a class in grades 2-12. Too many schools and too many employees in our school system as a whole.
Solution:  Revise staffing formula, in other words, increase teacher/pupil ratio. We will then have 18 students per class in the under populated schools and 33 in the crowded schools.  Remember, we can't close any high schools.  We did close 4 elementary schools. But there are at least 15 that are under populated.
Savings: $6,000,000.
Costs: But where will we increase the ratio.  Only in the already crowded schools.  You can't create students where there are none.  And because a lot of those classes are already at capacity, they will be cutting music, art, band, Advance Placement Classes, and other none core subjects. By raising the T/P ratio at the under populated schools, there will not be enough teachers allocated to fund any classes but the core subjects.  All students lose, but the over populated lose the most.

7.  Problem:   We have a $14,000,000 budget deficit. Is anyone surprised?
Solution: Let Central Office Staff prepare list of proposed lay-offs
Lay-off 300 employees all but a small number at the school sites.  Central office needs to keep all of their high paid positions. They will be needed later to propose future layoffs at school sites.  They can cut 3 secretaries.

I have several proposals that have not been proposed by our Superintendent, because he can't get 7 board members to vote for them or maybe he thinks they are bad ideas.
Mostly, I don't want to make suggestions, I just want to not cut the classrooms that have the correct number of students.  I want the Superintendent and highly trained staff to make proposals ie. cut programs (not talking about classes like art, music)  We have millions of dollars of "programs"--like stuff sitting around in your house.  Every director and supervisor has several pet programs, move funds for set aside accounts, cut the 255 staff cars and trucks, cut all consultants and MOUs with the state, etc.

1.  Close 2 high schools. Leave the middle schools alone, except Bethune.  It's been on the academically unacceptable list for the most years, with the least improvement and the most money spent on it.

2.  Open another Middle Magnet School to keep us from losing those students to private schools. 

Explains how his leadership has caused most of  LA crisis?

3.  Roll forward the property taxes.  Collecting an additional $6,000,000 of taxes due the school board each year.  Problem is the property tax payers' children are in the over crowded schools and see that the school board wasted a lot of money already.

4.  Go to 4 day school week.  Estimated to save about 5% of our budget.  That's $17,000,000.

5.  Vote for a new Governor (anybody but Jindal) who supports public education and is not always cutting our funding and blackmailing us to hire his friends as consultants. We've already hired enough of our own. (I know that is not funny-it's true.)

If all else fails, get the hell out of Caddo Parish School System and make 2 new school districts called North Caddo and East Caddo.