Transportation Update from School Board Mtg
Finally at this discussion at 9:15 p.m.
Basically, there is one proposal plus two alternatives. I haven't seen alts but staff doesn't seem enthused.
Staff says there were 21 start times and this would get it down to 8.
As well, this current proposal would be "temporary" in service to later/better bell times in 1-2 years. That sounds great but what happens when we get there and whoops? Can't change those times then?
I would want a guarantee that any changes for 2012-2013 are TEMPORARY with a set endtime.
Update: Dorothy Neville says that Transportation said the EXACT same thing three years ago when the NSAP was rolled out. Meaning, "this is temporary, we'll save money, better service, will have a taskforce." No taskforce ever came about and they say there is one now.
There are "civil twilight" issues which I can't speak to but it is a legal issue around children being out in the dark during certain hours and at certain ages.
Olga Addae, SEA, spoke to this in her remarks because if some students get to school earlier, even 10 minutes, that means adults have watch those children and it impacts teacher/staff contracts.
Marty McLaren worried about lack of Metro routes and lateness of students to schools in West Seattle. One Metro bus is so full that students are standing there and bus passes them by. Metro did not respond so SPS had to put in yellow bus for them.
Betty Patu asked about when parents would know about this issue. She said we need to start involving parents and community.
DeBell says we are in final stages for budget and may have to go to RIFs if they don't find the savings to cover Transportation costs.
Carr likes alternative #2 so far.
This is a "short-gap shot" for next year and knew they would not have time for public input for 2012-2013 but would from Transportation Taskforce for future. (So this was a go-around for public input and staff obviously was hoping this wouldn't matter to the Board.)
Board seems understanding to staff but concerned for students and parents.
I will try to get links to the alts tomorrow.
Basically, there is one proposal plus two alternatives. I haven't seen alts but staff doesn't seem enthused.
Staff says there were 21 start times and this would get it down to 8.
As well, this current proposal would be "temporary" in service to later/better bell times in 1-2 years. That sounds great but what happens when we get there and whoops? Can't change those times then?
I would want a guarantee that any changes for 2012-2013 are TEMPORARY with a set endtime.
Update: Dorothy Neville says that Transportation said the EXACT same thing three years ago when the NSAP was rolled out. Meaning, "this is temporary, we'll save money, better service, will have a taskforce." No taskforce ever came about and they say there is one now.
There are "civil twilight" issues which I can't speak to but it is a legal issue around children being out in the dark during certain hours and at certain ages.
Olga Addae, SEA, spoke to this in her remarks because if some students get to school earlier, even 10 minutes, that means adults have watch those children and it impacts teacher/staff contracts.
Marty McLaren worried about lack of Metro routes and lateness of students to schools in West Seattle. One Metro bus is so full that students are standing there and bus passes them by. Metro did not respond so SPS had to put in yellow bus for them.
Betty Patu asked about when parents would know about this issue. She said we need to start involving parents and community.
DeBell says we are in final stages for budget and may have to go to RIFs if they don't find the savings to cover Transportation costs.
Carr likes alternative #2 so far.
This is a "short-gap shot" for next year and knew they would not have time for public input for 2012-2013 but would from Transportation Taskforce for future. (So this was a go-around for public input and staff obviously was hoping this wouldn't matter to the Board.)
Board seems understanding to staff but concerned for students and parents.
I will try to get links to the alts tomorrow.
Comments
We will NOT let the lack of compentence of the underachieving downtown staff or the woe is me faces of DeBell and his board mean our kids are getting on a bus at an insane 6:30 or getting home at ridiculously after 5. NOT EVEN FOR ONE YEAR. BECAUSE IT IS THEIR FAULT THEY HAVEN'T DEALT WITH IT OR INFORMED UMMMM THE PARENTS AND KIDS. What????Did they think they'd just sneak something this pathetic through on a late night meeting?
This is anti-student and anti-family and it is completely wrong. "Just one year" is bull)(@#*#@.
SPITTING MAD
Parent
SPS parents are sick & tired of this money game being played out at their children's expense.... budgeting is not rocket science...there are multiple ways to save money in this district;
SPS people are lacking in basic project management skills/feedback loop understanding; we'd save millions if we addressed that...
and, seeing its our children's best interests the district is supposed to serve, what would help the district the most in doing that, would be for staff to ask themselves "would this be acceptable to me, for my child?"
I am reading Melissa's post with jaw dropped. This is either a new low for SPS administration(embezzlement is in its own separate class) or a complete joke. So to recap:
1) The board itself admits to no public notification of a change with monumental implications for students and families. And they sneak the proposal onto the agenda after open enrollment ends.
2)In tonight's meeting, 2 alternatives to this stinkbomb plan are apparently presented (Carr prefers one of them?) yet there is no information for the public about the alternatives. What are the damn alternatives? Where are the damn alternatives?
3) No one...not board, not staff, has information on what schools the stinkbomb might land on.
4) The board murmurs "only for a year" and "we'll put together a task force". They think this is reassuring? Or acceptible?
5) There apparently has been no input from principals and teachers as to the learning impact on little kids plopped on a bus at 6:10 a.m. every day? (The proposal says 1 hour bus rides are possible. Bus dropoff for some schools would be 7:10 a.m. That makes a 6:10 a.m. bus stop folks.)
Anyone at JSIS sane, caring or even competent? Hello? Hello?
They say that EVERY year, particularly about Transportation.
Every thing about this stinks.
The timing - after Open Enrollment - stinks.
The money news - increased costs and busted budgets - stinks.
The total refusal to engage families stinks.
The total refusal to engage the Board stinks.
The bus times stink.
The early mornings for high school and middle school stink.
The late mornings for elementary schools stink.
The idea of middle and high school students let out at 2:00pm really stinks. What are they going to do at home for three hours before any adults get there?
The idea of elementary kids getting home so late stinks.
This is all predicated on the need for three tiers and the assumption that a three-tier schedule saves money. That is not in evidence.
The presumption that high school students can't start later due to sports is a completely ass-backwards set of priorities. All students must suffer academically so that a few students, on a few select days of the year, can more conveniently play games with schools in other districts? That stinks.
Not sure how 'not wanting kids waiting around in a group' is worse than 'having lots of kids on a bus for a longer time earlier/later in the day'.
The community stop that I've observed this year is working great--kids get to the stop right before the bus picks up and leave when they are dropped off. The stop is in very public place so, if the pack mentality starts up, there are usually lots of folks around to shut it down. The only reason kids would be waiting longer...is if the bus is LATE.
On top of all of the same old recycled excuses (for 3 years now?), there was a new one slipped in (around 9:40 at the end of the conversation), that Bob Westgard mentioned- they finally report that Cleveland costs "100's of thousands of dollars" more because of their different schedule. How about a specific number like $240,000 or $626,000? This can add up to a large portion of the $1M shortfall they are trying to cover on the backs of our kids.
Can't they narrow it down more? Where is this shown in the budget and where does this money come from (what gets cut because of this?). Why isn't there a plan to lower those Cleveland bussing costs also?
Do we have any idea what is stopping them from implementing the future "better" proposal THIS YEAR? Is it a real impediment?
I, for one, wish Tom Bishop well. Our community found him willing to actually listen to constructive input from families and incorporate new information into his planning.
I want to get my facts straight before I start bombarding the board and urging my friends to do the same. The third tier elementary afternoon drop- off times are insane.
3rd Tier Mom
Isn't this the defintion of insanity?
It seems to me that grandfathering must be pretty much over by now. I'm not going to bother trying to dig up the records from the scrubbed down SPS web site, can someone whose kid is in the last year grandfathered weigh in? In any event, last years total redo of bus zones seemed to me to wipe out those kids transportation rights for neighborhood schools(they may have snuck back in though)
High Schools are all supposed to be on Metro, but areas that are underserved by Metro, special ed and some really whiney people still get yellow buses. It does seem strange that so (presumably) few buses drive the schedule for the thousands of K-5 kids.
I think they just need to suck it up and flip the HS and K-5 schedules for next year and shift the whole thing a little later (no 7:10 drop off tier). Let the coaches sort out the sports issues themselves. Oh (insane thought here) SKIP sports for a year!
This issue makes me so crazy I can't hold on to my normal sunny persona.
DeBell: You look tired. Don't take it out on our kids. You have seen this problem for years and have done little. This 'proposal' is the worst ever and as president you let it come before the board? Fix it now. Fix it right.
Smith-Blum: Your head is in the clouds with green buildings and innovative class set ups. Can you not address the basics? Fix it now. Fix it right.
Martin-Morris: I watched you last night. You are proud that you've written some obscure report about some national conference and yet you contribute NOTHING to a baseline and urgent local problem? How embarrassing for you. You are not a leader. You are a junket junkie. Fix it now. Fix it right.
Carr: You proudly rest on your Boeing management resume in Board meeting after meeting. And you let a POS proposal like this show up last minute and wreak havoc? There isn't even documentation available? Is this how Boeing builds airplanes? Fix it now. Fix it right.
Patu: You said last night that we need community input. Make it THIS year not on some committee next year. Fix it now. Fix it right.
Peaslee: Welcome to the board. Do something. Would you have put your little kids on a bus at 6:30 every day and then asked them to learn? Doubt it. Fix it now. Fix it right.
MacLaren: Welcome to the board. Do something. As a West Seattleite I expect you to be responsive to the community. Remember Sunquist and his refusal to fix the capacity problems? Transportation in West Seattle = same problem. Advocate for your community. This proposal is crap. It went around parents. It hurts our kids. Fix it now. Fix it right.
DistrictWatcher
ALTERNATIVES
1. The Board could choose to return to the 60 minute standard ride time used five years ago. This is not recommended as the District’s ability to limit transportation costs using three tiers would be limited (more buses would be required).
2. The Board could choose to not revise the Transportation Service Standards approved in February of this year. This is not recommended as it would require substantial cuts in other programs for the 2012 – 2013 school year.
3. The Board could direct staff to implement longer ride-times and other service reductions (such as restricting bus transportation to neighborhood schools for students outside of the walk zones) in order to generate further cost savings. However, this is not recommended for 2012 – 2013 as:
o Many families have selected schools (during open enrollment) based on information that transportation would be provided; and
o Changes in school selection at this time would adversely affect the schools because of resulting budget and staff reallocations
4. The Board could choose to delay action on revision of Transportation Service Standards. This is not recommended as the Transportation Office is beginning to develop bus routes for the 2012 – 2013 school year. Delays will compromise the district’s ability to:
o Realize cost reductions; and
o Provide improved transportation services at the start of the school year.
There is also no use to thinking this will be temporary. They have been saying this for the past three years. I have been in community meetings with Michael De Bell where he says, "We will do this for one year, and then re-evaluate". Right, Michael.
They don't listen, they don't care and there is nothing you can do.
Should you still try? Yes. I wrote a letter, I told all my friends, I began spreading the word. Do I think it will do any good? NO.
Signed, Been there, Done that
If Charlie is right and after school sports is one of the primary driving focus on this, then have HS start later (a plus for our sleep deprived teens) and sports can be BEFORE school (that exercise will get them going). A minority of sports playing teens shouldn't drive the entire bus system that affects K-8 and start times for all kids. That is madness.
(middle school mom)
FHP
One year and one month to go
Sometimes I think the District is just trying to make bus transportation so awful that no one uses it, and presto!...cost savings when they cut it!
I will try to write something up later today as a template.
And, I have never seen Maureen without a smile. If she's not sunny, then it IS really an issue.
But I also don't understand if high schoolers are taking metro, why their school start times affect other schools?
But we cannot have those students arriving earlier and leaving earlier than the rest of the students, because of many reasons. They would need supervision earlier, getting into contract issues. And they would have to leave school before the last period was over.
I am not trying to defend this, just sharing what we were told. I think the whole thing is ridiculous and parents, kids and school staff are being treated very badly.
Didn't they see what just happened at the mayors house?
Jiminy Christmas, what is it about the air at the Stanford center that sucks all the common sense out of people's brains?
The community worked w/ SPS to resolve the issue because most days the many Metro buses that the kids were supposed to take were so full, they just passed the stop and kept driving. Multiple buses in a row too, so many and so often that kids were late to school. That's when SPS worked to resolve it.
It sounds from Marty Mclaren's comments, that this is/was probably an issue in West Seattle too.
(middle school mom)
DistrictWatcher
"3. The Board could direct staff to implement longer ride-times and other service reductions (such as restricting bus transportation to neighborhood schools for students outside of the walk zones) in order to generate further cost savings. However, this is not recommended for 2012 – 2013 as:
o Many families have selected schools (during open enrollment) based on information that transportation would be provided; and
o Changes in school selection at this time would adversely affect the schools because of resulting budget and staff reallocations
It isn't just the board who seem to have lost their ability to govern and oversee the basics of running a school district , but hello, where is our CURRENT super, Dr. Enfield on this? Have people gotten so distracted by politics and career moves that they have forgotten their real duties? It isn't ok to go AWOL 1/2 way through your very well paid contract. Where is the oversight? The leadership? This whole transportation plan just reeks of NEGLECT.
As long as our top managers are drawing very well paid salaries and benefits, I expect them to be at this, fixing it before they leave. That is their duty.
-beyond frustrated
Also, what will happen to transportation costs if BEXIV passes and they will presumably be bussing kids to interim sites? Do they have the additional transportation costs factored into the levy package?
Also, regarding Cleveland. Did they not expect an increase in transportation costs when they created a STEM school at the far southern end of the district? Does Cleveland have an all-city draw? How many yellow buses are routed to Cleveland?
North End Mom
1) (Not even an apology...just ho hum fact:) We didn't tell the parents about this impact.
2) (But...so NOT sorry) The parents can't weigh in now, because we've already started working on next year's bus routes.
Really? Bull*((. It is a crisis because they didn't talk to us...and now they want to blame the crisis on WHY they won't work with us????!!!!
It is TOTAL Downtown BS.
DistictWatcher
4. The Board could choose to delay action on revision of Transportation Service Standards. This is not recommended as the Transportation Office is beginning to develop bus routes for the 2012 – 2013 school year. Delays will compromise the district’s ability to:
o Realize cost reductions; and
o Provide improved transportation services at the start of the school year.
so blase, certainly as if Trasn. didn't care ane even as if it never even occur to them to at least INFORM families that changes were coming.
i'm also gobsmacked that they think it's no big thing to have kids at bus stops at 6:15 in the am., half asleep. Isn't that a civil sunrise issue b/c it's dark then too for most of the year... (I made that term up by the way..)
(middle school mom)
As we have learned from Charlie, the Board chooses to ignore violations of policy all the time but geez.
If SPS did not put in place truly effective transportation scheduling software/modules then the anticipated "$aving$" were chimerical. Are they just guessing that there will be savings (like they guessed WRONG last year.)
Before disrupting everyones' lives/work schedules/before and after school activities, Admin has to do a professional analysis. This latest crisis didn't come to light until they saw that, OOPS, they were spending more money than they thought.
Again, the report cites a failure to integrate systems. Could the budget bust been anticipated sooner? To avoid reflexive, destructive changes?
All I know is that we now pay $2.50 each day that my daughter does take the bus to and from school. Let's see, $2.50 x 5 = $12.50 x 4= $50.00 x 10 months......new line item in the budget......$500 to set aside for bus rides to/from school. Just a 'little bit inside the line' to get a Metro pass.
Two and a quarter years to go
http://cleardarksky.com/cgi-bin/RiseSetTable.py?&mn=focuser&id=Seattle&type=2
It would be dark for a 6:10 bus pickup from about mid-September through the beginning of April.
by the numbers
parent
In the proposal last night titled REVISED TRANSPORTATION
SERVICE STANDARDS 2012-2013
Effective 9/1/2012
G. BUS ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE AND SCHOOL START/END TIME SCHEDULE:
Developing bus arrival/departure times and school start/end times must be coordinated, and approval of each must be completed prior to the start of the Open Enrollment process. Bus arrival/departure times are a part of the Transportation Service Standards approved annually by the School Board; school start/end times are approved by the Superintendent.
thanks Janis.
(middle school mom)
On December 15, 2011, the Operations
Committee was informed transportation expenditures were estimated to be $2.1M above budget.
Hmm, it looks like there was even more time for the community engagement that didn't happen...
Jane
Are our priorities so screwed up as a district that $2M of (unsubstantiated) cost savings is allowed to drive this inane proposed schedule for 48 thousand students and their families? Has the increasingly unfriendly transportation schedule over the past few years made the district and the board think this proposal is actually acceptable? Does this (supposed) $2M force us to ignore all research on optimal learning times for children's bodies? Is this $2M a higher priority than academic achievement (not to mention working families' schedules)? Is there nothing else in the central budget that is less important or has less impact than transportation service (e.g.travel budgets, tons of teacher "coaches", 3 rounds of MAP, add'l executive directors, add'l deputy superintendents, etc.)?
Has all common sense been thrown out the window at the district, superintendent and board level? Right now, it appears the answer is yes.
Incredulous to the Point of Anger
Transportation has not been able to meet 25 min ride times, so they are proposing increasing it to 60 min (what it used to be...) and thereby have "improved reliability of on-time service." So routes will be be reliably longer...
Aack - Peaslee is asking about moving third tier even later to keep the first tier from being to early and then putting high schools and middle schools in the second tier.
As Melissa stated, Patu asked when we get the info out to the community. The response was that it's just one year - but, you still need to let folks know, right??
I have an idea - let's drop MAP testing for one year and direct those savings to Transportation. It's a sacrifice we're willing to make.
3rd tier parent
.-Curious
No one knows yet. That is one of many, many problems with this proposal. Some of us have to make job scheduling decisions far in advance, so post open enrollment changes can have very deep impacts on our family lives. Not to mention the possibility that I may have one kid with a 7:10 start time and one with a 9:20, and an older teen at home alone for 4+ hours (like THAT is going to problem-free).
Sheer insanity.
- Schools are not yet assigned to the tiers referenced in this plan. She couldn't tell me which tier are schools are in.
- She said before they can assign schools to tiers, the Superintendent has to set bell times for all the schools. She said that this is likely going to take place during the 3rd week in May. (And I think this is after the next board meeting, right?)
So, I'm completely confused now. They don't yet know when schools are going to start, but they're setting bus times for schools based on tiers, but they don't know what schools are in what tier?
Maybe this is the way it goes, but to me, it means parents are going to be completely in the dark about their start time for 2012-2013 until sometime in late May. Cart before horse, train left the station...pick your favorite saying.
That is all.
Carry on.
The Transportation folks made an odd admission that they, themselves, don't know anything about how their department works or where they are spending money.
Ready for LOTS of New Blood This Summer
There's an alternative for you.
Seriously disgusted
(Peggy McEvoy 252-0243 and Bob Westgard 252-0715 are listed on the Action Report as the Operation dept contacts for this proposal- call them!)
Thus, the proposed drop off time for all MS/HS's would be 7:10 am (starting time approx. 7:30), with dismissal time at 2:00pm.
Yesterday Operations also said that the Board has two other options (for drop off/depart times)that the Board could consider last night but these were not included in the Action Report. Does anyone have these 2 other proposals with specific drop off/depart times listed?
As Janis points out, it's TOO LATE to change the bus & bell schedule times for 2012-13, as specifically stated in the "Transportation Service Standards" and approved just 3 months ago on 2/10/12 by the full Board. Parents need to hold the Board to this!
Quoted once again (linked to the Action Report):
G. BUS ARRIVAL/DEPARTURE AND SCHOOL START/END TIME SCHEDULE:
Developing bus arrival/departure times and school start/end times must be coordinated, and approval of each must be completed prior to the start of the Open Enrollment process.
EXCEPT for immediately setting up the Transportation Task Force -- with deadlines that get next year's changes disseminated and voted on BEFORE the end of open enrollment.
I listened last night and wondered about this as well. I haven't seen these options. If I was comprehending the presentation last night (and frankly, it was sometimes beyond comprehension) the reason option 1 is preferred by staff is that it is the only one that they have had time to analyze, so the only one in which they are sure that the savings will come. (yeah, right.)
I also was kinda pissed at the clarification Westgard pointed out that these are drop off times, not bell times. ie, don't get your panties in a twist at the 7:10 time, it's not a start time. Well, all the public testimony and board members seem to be smarter than he thinks they are because all were commenting based on expected bell time of 7:30.
Westgard pointed out that the superintendent sets the bell times, not him. But if Transportation sets the arrival and departure times... that de facto sets the bell times.
We live too far north to avoid civil twilight for everyone all year long. (And civil twilight is the correct term for morning and evening.) Trying to avoid civil twilight is NOT a legal issue! It is a district decision. We have elementary students on third tier to avoid their ever having to go to school in the dark. But now they are bumping into evening twilight for a week or two in the winter. And K8 kids will have even more morning twilight.
It's a mess. I think we need to throw out the issue of civil twilight unless we can avoid it for all. Young kids and sleepy teen drivers alike.
http://www.seattleschools.org/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/1583136/File/Departmental%20Content/school%20board/11-12%20agendas/050212agenda/20120502_Action_Report_TransportationServiceStdsRevision.pdf
IX. ALTERNATIVES
---The Board could choose to return to the 60 minute standard ride time used five years ago. This is not recommended as the District’s ability to limit transportation costs using three tiers would be limited (more buses would be required).
---- The Board could choose to not revise the Transportation Service Standards approved in February of this year. This is not recommended as it would require substantial cuts in other programs for the 2012 – 2013 school year.
---The Board could direct staff to implement longer ride-times and other service reductions (such as restricting bus transportation to neighborhood schools for students outside of the walk zones) in order to generate further cost savings. However, this is not recommended for 2012 – 2013 as:
-Many families have selected schools (during open enrollment) based on information that transportation would be provided; and
-Changes in school selection at this time would adversely affect the schools because of resulting budget and staff reallocations
---The Board could choose to delay action on revision of Transportation Service Standards. This is not recommended as the Transportation Office is beginning to develop bus routes for the 2012 – 2013 school year. Delays will compromise the district’s ability to:
-Realize cost reductions; and
-Provide improved transportation services at the start of the school year.
The alternatives set different bus arrival/departure times. Will try to set them out here, but I know the formatting won't be great.
Alternative 1
First Tier HS/MS/K8 7:25 2:20
First Tier Elementary 7:45 2:25
Second Tier HS/MS/K8 8:20 3:15
Second Tier Elementary 8:40 3:15
Third Tier HS/MS/K8 9:15 4:10
Third Tier Elementary 9:35 4:10
AM Head Start 8:05 11:45
PM Head Start 12:55 4:30
Alternative 2
First Tier HS/MS/K8 7:30 2:15
First Tier Elementary 8:05 3:00
Second Tier HS/MS/K8 8:25 3:00
Second Tier Elementary 9:00 3:55
Third Tier HS/MS/K8 9:20 3:55
AM Head Start 8:05 11:45
PM Head Start 12:55 4:30
Oddly, Alternative 3 doesn't have a Third Tier Elementary, but no one seemed to notice that last night.
Transportation Alternatives
Now, find the extra bus money by cutting the "not-directly-helping-the-classrooms" fat at the central district and have the vast majority of middle school and high school students ride Metro. The mayor supports academic achievement and education is a priority for Seattle, so he should help make Metro more responsive, right? Lord knows we could cut a bunch of the Transportation department as this plan is much simpler to implement and manage (oh, and it's much more customer-friendly.)
Get Back to Basics
I wonder if they are going to a 3-tier food services operation as well. At this rate, they'll need to offer lunch and *dinner* at the third-tier elementaries, not breakfast and lunch! Really, a 4:10PM bus departure time? Stunning.
Since staff seems to have no idea how much money anything costs, or how to build a budget, much less implement and manage one, why not just take a chance on one of the alternatives that they threw on a piece of paper?
Or does it have to be presented on some half as%ed power point for them to think it will work, and for Sherry "I'm at Boeing" Carr to think it will work.
"Hopeless"
I don't understand why they aren't talking about these alternatives. It they are out there they should be discussed. There seems to be a confusion campaign. Without this blog I would have no idea what to write the board about. It's hard enough with all of this help.
Tier Challenged
Or maybe, because they all seem to run 20 minutes after the HS/MS time, it would mean that arrival time was 9:40, so that school would start at about 10 -- and that was too outrageous for even them to acknowledge.
If drop-off is 8:05, start time would be 8:20, then end time would be 2:20 to 2:30, with pick up at 2:30 to 2:40, right? Are they proposing lengthening the school day, too?
confused
Fed up
--FedMomof2
9:45 to 3:35 is a a perfect schedule for high school and maybe even middle school.
Sports could practice 7:30 - 9:15am.
No kids, period, on yellow buses before 7 a.m.
No kids, period, arriving home on yellow buses after 4:30 p.m.
There. Go rebuild your (@*&# Tier System. Or don't. Go build your new start times. Or don't. Go negotiate your labor contracts. Or don't. It's "or DON'T" because at this rate the whole damn district is going to elect to homeschool.
Just DON'T you dare throw this load of crap on our students "for just one year." Go lock yourselves in a big room. Get busy.
SPITTING MAD
- thinks this is all insane
So what HAVE they been doing all year? Is that why Tom Bishop is looking for a job?
Frankly we have not had stability (either financial, or program/building capacity) since that time. So, as much as I acknowledge people saying things like -- "this will be the fourth year in a row, etc. etc. -- which is true -- I think it is a product of these specific issues, and not of the District generally. The budget is largely something foisted on us (though badly handled once it arrived, by bad budgeting, bad calendar control, etc.) The OTHER issue -- the school closures, NSAP, etc, and THEIR effect -- well that one is ALL ours. This didn't need to be done so badly, and wouldn't have been, if the entire planning process around the NSAP had been handled better, so there is less moving of kids here and there, with or without transportation, each year.
Finally -- back in the days where the deal was -- everybody got transportation to any school they got into, the whole thing was less fraught for parents. Maybe you didn't like the bus times -- but you were never threatened with being "stranded" without any transportation at all (at least, that is how I recall it-- maybe I am wrong).
That's $1,000,000.00 extra for some suffering sole in the upper 1% - maybe some of that will trickle down - Ha! Ha! Ha!
How much longer will we take this!!!