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April 29, 2005
At least kids will have the Mall!
In March 2004, the SVUSD passed a $142 million bond issue to modernize, upgrade and enhance Simi Valley schools. Well, it's April 2005 and I don't know about you, but not one hammer, drill bit or forklift has appeard at my local school except to install new whiteboards in classrooms.
WHITEBOARDS?
Meanwhile, a month later, the City broke ground on the $300 million Simi Valley Town Center. Anyone driving down the 118 can see the progress, with Robinsons and Macy's along with the rest of the stores rising from the dirt that once was Simi Valley Days.
So the City, utilizing market techniques and cost incentives is bringing in the mall on time and on budget. How's SVUSD doing? Insiders tell me there has been no cost containment on the bond funds spent so far at Simi & Royal, and they're promising to do a better job next time. These same insiders also tell me that staff knows it's overspending, is doing it anyway and that the bond funds won't last through the project lifecycle.
Just another example of what works, and what doesn't. Well, at least our kids will have the Mall!
What say you?
Posted by Tim Keaney at 01:27 PM
April 28, 2005
Shouldn't Protesting Kids be in school?
Today is the "Caravan for Kids", sponsored by the State PTA in Sacramento. It's a huge rally on the capitol steps during the PTA State convention. Teachers, Parents and kids will all be participating.
Um, shouldn't those kids be in school?
I understand the passion of the moment. We must stand up against the Governor! We must FIGHT for our Prop 98 Funding! We MUST take our kids out of school to make a stand!
I think this is something Parents and Teachers (who are apparently taking authorized vacation days) could do on their own.
You see, School Funding is based on ADA - Average Daily Attendance. If kids are out of school, the school doesn't get funded for that kid for that day. To take kids out of school to protest budget issues in Sacramento means that those kids aren't in school - which means their school districts get LESS money.
With me?
Protest all day long as you wish, but taking your kids out of school to do it seems a little contrary to the goals...doesn't it?
What say you?
Posted by Tim Keaney at 10:33 AM
April 18, 2005
What exactly does prop 98 guarantee?
If you've been watching TV lately, reading the paper or listening to the radio, then you have been witnessing the dissembling of the Governor over his budget, and particularly the fact he "won't give the money back" that he owes the schools.
Prop 98 is a piece of government work for sure... Full of VARIOUS methods of funding the schools, suspension policies and payback methods. It was enacted into law into 1988 by California voters, after being campaigned for and sponsored by the California Teachers Association (The largest teacher's union in the state). The CTA knows very well how 98 works.
Do you? Here is an EXCELLENT primer on Prop 98 - it is a MUST read from the Department of Education. Read it - and then tell me...
What say you?
Posted by Tim Keaney at 09:17 PM
How much? And for what?
California..
It used to be the golden state, with beautiful beaches, cheap housing, plentiful jobs, great schools, excellent infrastucture and Americans moving in in droves.
The potential seemed limitless, and when California grew so much that it alone became the world's 6th largest economy, well then the dream that was California was indeed golden.
The shine is off now, isn't it? Look at the list...
Crowded freeways and long average commutes
Crumbling infrastructure
Internicine warfare in Sacramento
Closing hospitals
Failing schools
California now spends almost 50% of it $100 Billion annual budget on education. Over 80% of these funds go to salary and benefits of teachers, administrative staff and support staff. We spend more in per pupil funding that ever before, we receive more federal dollars than ever before and yet, here we are. 50% of California high school grads need remedial help when they get to California universities.
We need solutions - not protests. We need leadership, not legislation. And we need to get to work!
What does it take to run a school financially?
How are books and supplies purchased?
What grants are available?
How can we better evaluate success?
How can we more successfully spread successful programs that work?
How can we get more people at the table?
Should we start over???
As taxpayers and parents, these are our kids in our schools. What would you do to bring them up to par?
Excellent schools that turn out educated and thinking adults are the future of our state. How do we get there?
What say you?
Posted by Tim Keaney at 08:36 PM
April 15, 2005
Ventura Schools are "Wow Worthy"
Have you seen the latest test scores from Ventura Schools? Ventura Unified Schools are kicking B#$&*tts and taking names! Their individual school scores are going through the roof, and their schools when compared to schools of similar demographics are equally as good.
Amazing...
Look at Foothill Technology High School. This is a school that caters to students interested in science and technology. This school scored a 10 out of possible 10 on the API. When compared to schools with similar enrollment demographics - A winner again with a 10!
What's going on at Foothill and other Ventura Schools?
They follow the same state standards as other districts...
They have the same budgetary run-ins with the state as other districts...
The City is ethnically as diverse or more diverse than most other county districts save maybe Oxnard...
Their kids have equal the distractions with TV, Video Games, the Beach, extracurricular activities and the like.
Yet, their scores are through the roof.
County Superintendant Charles Weis even took some time off from bashing the Governor to comment that other schools: "...can look at what strategies they're using, what materials, then adopt those and bring them back to their school".
As a parent, I want my schools adopting the strategies and tools needed to bring about successful and educated students. I would also want to be at the table when those are decided. Wouldn't you???
What strategies are Ventura schools using, and why aren't the other districts taking field trips to observe? What do you think your schools are doing, and/or not doing to improve?
What say you?
Tim
Posted by Tim Keaney at 10:46 AM
April 07, 2005
Arleigh's Army
The article in the Simi Valley section today about the protests from Simi's teacher's union is an interesting one. The union is going to be picketing each school (after school) and the offices of the local State Assemblymembers to protest the state budget and prop 98 suspension.
In the article, Arleigh Kidd, the newly re-elected president of the union suggested a solution to the stalemate over the budget. Higher taxes. He said he "just didn't buy that money isn't an issue" and wants higher taxes on the negotiating table.
I think he's right, in that, it's time for a real debate and real discussion on the issues facing education in California. I don't think he's right on taxes, but certainly in how we spend education tax dollars. Here's what I mean:
1. Why does California have two departments of education? One, the State Office of Ed is headed by Richard Riordan. The state office of Public instruction is headed by Jack O'Connell. These offices have many redundancies that could save a lot of money if eliminated.
2. Look at school construction. Millions of dollars in cost overruns when prototype school designs are right on the State Board web site.
3. What services could school districts outsource if given the legal right to do so? Dollars saved could be put back into the classroom.
No real, honest debate on school funding and restoring school supplies budgets can be had without discussing outsourcing. But the unions won't discuss it because they would betray the classified (non-teaching) unions. If a job doesn't directly affect learning or classroom instruction, then I think outsourcing it should be on the table, just like tax increases are. It's not intellectually honest to not at least discuss it.
The other part of the discussion the union seems to ignore is this. What part of the state budget would you cut to restore the money to education? You'd have to take it from somewhere? So what other constituency would get hurt? Ed Budget is already the State's largest line item.
Lastly - increasing taxes doesn't necessarily mean that those taxes would indeed go to education. Look at the transportation tax, and our transportation needs. We have 70,000 Caltrans employees on the payroll with no transportation budget, because it got raided by the legislature. Um, what are these people doing all day?
Let's do this. Let's ask the kids and get them involved. I think we could have a real interesting list of solutions if we shared with the high school kids:
- What the issues are
- How much money there is and where it goes
- What the challenges are facing teachers and schools
Wouldn't it be great to hear their solutions? This would get them involved in the process, engaged in a debate critical to their future and learning the critical thinking skills they need for the next step in their education.
Wouldn't this be GREAT? I'd like to suggest Arleigh and his army could do a lot more with their time than picket, and we all (especially the kids) would be a lot better off.
What say you?
Posted by Tim Keaney at 07:51 PM
April 02, 2005
Faux Gun Fire Helps Nobody
School shootings are in the news again, and they are unbelievable and incomprehensable tragedies for the victims, students, families and communities. Indeed, when something like what happened in Minnesota in March happens on a public school campus, it's a tragedy for our nation.
With open lines of communication though, many such incidents are avoided when kids take the responsibility to go to authorities and alert them to such plans. This is a good thing, and the reality is that last year there were 3,000 gun-related deaths in the U.S. last year, but just 1 percent happened on school campuses.
This brings me to a concern I have about recent activities in Ventura, and I want your suggestions about what can or should be done in the future. According to an article in the April 2 Ventura County Star, Ventura School Officials decided recently to have "lockdown drills" at high school and middle school campuses. Ordinarily these drills are begun with a bell ringing or some other alarm.
The Ventura drills started with gunfire, coming from guns on campus, and adminstrators firing them with blanks. Um... YIKES!
Needless to say, kids were scared by the gunfire, made to feel uncomfortable - Many even ran. A police officer across the street from one of the campuses even heard the gunfire and saw kids running. This officer did not know about the drill!
Is this kind of drill, with blanks being fired, really necessary? Helping kids to understand the situation and what to do in the event of an emergency is one thing, but simulating an emergency with faux gunfire is quite another.
When traveling, we're taught before the place takes off how to get out, or what to do in the event of an emergency. They don't simulate crashing the plane just to make sure we're paying attention!
Ojai Superintendent Tim Baird said it best:
"We would never simulate something like that," Baird said. "You don't practice a fire drill in a crowded room by screaming, 'fire.' ... It needs to be real ... but you don't want panic."
Right....
What say you?
Posted by Tim Keaney at 03:00 PM
