In addition to saying goodbye to analog television on February 17, Peoria Public Schools Board of Education said goodbye to Controller/Treasurer Guy Cahill. Cahill won’t be making the transition to digital at the school district. 1470 WMBD radio reports:
The District 150 school board Monday, without comment, voted unanimously to give the Comptroller/Treasurer his 60 days notice. Cahill, who was making a base salary of $125,000 a year, has been placed on administrative leave the next 60 days – then his contract will be terminated. Cahill’s contract allows the district to terminate Cahill’s employment with 60 days notice and payment of six months salary. Cahill had been with District 150 since 2005. The board has selected Business Manager Carla Eman as temporary Comptroller while interviews for an interim Comptroller are conducted.
I had been hearing rumors that Cahill quit instead of being fired, but I don’t believe he would get the 60 days notice or paid administrative leave if he had quit. All appearances are that he was shown the door. And since there was no comment from the school board when taking that action, it doesn’t look like we’re going to know why… unless Cahill wants to tell us.
Regular commenter “Without Malice” wins the prize for correctly predicting Carla Eman would be the temporary Treasurer while the search is on for an interim replacement. Congratulations!
$62,500 (six months severance) and two months administrative leave pay ($20,833.33) for incompetence $83,333.33… not a bad deal. I bet teachers, secretaries and janitors don’t get that kind of pay when they get laid off.
After reading Haney’s article in the PJS, I’m wondering if Cahill could have been fired for the wrong reason. My ignorance on things financial needs help in understanding what I read.
Oh, Gawd, please…. not another lawsuit. Or, perhaps Cahill simply made a deal. “I will tender my resignation, but here is what I want in return.”
And Spangler seems to be missing due to “family” stuff…. I pray one of her family members is not ill. I do not know the circumstances of her absences over the next few months, but she will certainly be missed by Hinton. Who will so easily agree with him?
I am not sure what to make of Cahill’s exit. He may have just been the “sacrifice” to appease the masses. It is my opinion he is more competent than some of the others that remain. I am not referring to Mr. Hinton. Why do you bloggers never question the worth of the contributions of Hannah or Fisher? They draw large salaries as well, and what do they bring to the table?
Have I missed it??? Have administrative salaries been frozen or reduced? Big organizations like CAT have reduced and/or frozen employees’s salaries, eliminated bonuses and other perks, forced vacation time to be used . . . as it should be survive the downturn.
Quite frankly I have heard speculation that it was her absence that caused the other women on the board to behave more assertively.
Fischer is now one of the consultants. Maybe one of the “outside contractors” willing to take a 2% cut.
diane – the “speculation” you heard is utter b.s. Challenges to travel have been ongoing and, to a degree, admin. has been responsive. But when they want us to vote for a moratorium and on the same night pass sight visits to Atl. for $5k for two people because “it’s title money”, well…….bs again. Lunch @ PHS was great. The students I spoke with said 70% are wannabe’s, while the actual bangers are a much smaller, but troublesome %. My sense is still that many of our students would benefit greatly by connecting with mentors and caring adults who could talk to them and provide positive reinforcement for the opportunities that exist. They exist to those who are engaged productively, are educated, and well-spoken. We had a good presentation on how we are trying to make community service a part of our Districts culture. Long overdue. It benefits our students and our city.
What’s a banger?
Banger=Gangbanger
As in “in a gang”. How would you know? I’m seriously asking. Do they wear gang signs to school?
It’s what the students told me. Point was that while a lot of students might “front”, many were merely wannabe’s with a smaller number the actual source of the problem. For kids with no stable home environment, the gangs become family. I think our community s/b family and we have to reach out to let them know it. Give them better options and a sense of belonging to something greater, lets see what can happen. I’m optimistic. More realistically – it’s a neccesity. The alternative isn’t pretty.
Jim,
I posted on another blog kudos to you for going to (formerly unnamed HS) for lunch. I wondered what you were there for when I saw you!
Glad you got a slow day. Trust me, what Randall posted is accurate for most days! I live it.
I agree about mentors, etc., but I urge you also to look into current research (within the last 10 years) that supports smaller high schools of about 600-800 students (even with larger classes within them) for the student demographic that D150 currently has. I believe co-oping in some sports and other activities will open up additional opportunities to students to participate in extracurricular activities with smaller high schools (examples: football, soccer, Scholastic Bowl, wrestling, bowling, bass fishing (!), chess team). It doesn’t have to be WHS-PHS; it can be PHS-MTDA (or whatever it is now). I have looked up the info on the IHSA site and it can easily be done within a 2-year time frame per sport/activity. I know that my 5 sons benefited from being able to attempt different sports/activities when in high school. One of them was a state-championship qualifier in both swimming and diving who never would have tried out at a larger school. Several other of my sons became all-conference, etc., in sports that they never would have tried out for/initially qualified for at a larger high school. (baseball, swimming, soccer)
I cannot believe that a 1200-plus student body at 3 high schools with the current student/family demographic that D150 has will be beneficial to students or to Peoria at large. Maybe what can be successfully marketed is a SMALLER school than PND or PCS that targets specific groups (think your medical profession school-within-a-school.) All of that can be accomplished without closing schools (and p@#%ing off alums) as Manual was not closed when it was restructured.
If smaller learning communities are the answer at Manual, why is that not equally acceptable for WHS and PHS? They are only a few years (3-4- maybe) behind MHS in their proportion of free-lunch-qualifying students (low-income) and possibly Title 1 which no one wants, unless things change radically very VERY soon. Additionally, many of these students have other family/personal challenges that inhibit their performance at school at the high school level. The current research strongly supports smaller school size for student retention and achievement, as well as providing additional support staff available for one-on-one and small group work/interaction, as well as having another adult in classrooms where students with behavioral/emotional/educational challenges are situated. I have personally been part of situations where, if there had not been another adult available, a student would have been able to accuse a teacher of physical,sexual,emotional abuse, etc.
All that being said, I am pleased some members of the Board seem to be questioning what is coming out of the admin instead of rubber-stamping everything. You are much better than I at financial stuff (ask my husband) but I can still crunch numbers pretty well as long as it is not my personal budget. And there are still a LOT of questions about the numbers, both this year and previous years.
Hope you enjoyed your lunch and stayed away from the hot sauce!
BTW–My dad is doing better and should be home by Friday. He’s cranky, which is a good sign. Cranky is normal.
Jim, you are right in what you say about 70% being wanna be’s and a small percentage the real troublemakers. That is why that small percentage of students needs to be in an alternative school so that the wanna be’s won’t have any negative role models (or those who intimidate and threaten them if they don’t conform). Please don’t give up putting pressure on for a real alternative school–not just some rooms in the regular school set aside to ostracize the troublemakers; that will not work.
Of course, mentors are a great idea but the school district can’t rely on volunteers to resolve these problems. The district has to take the “bull by the horns.” The parents (especially of the younger kids) need to be told of their responsibilities (no sugar coating)–that the kids must conform to the school; the school won’t make allowances for their bad behavior. Of course, the kids at PHS were good when you showed up for lunch. That happens all the time. Manual kids always shaped up for important-looking visitors–another proof that they are quite capable of “rising to the occasion.”
Jim, I absolutely agree that the larger community can be and should be more involved with struggling families, but many people don’t know where to begin. Just as in sales, you need to “ask for the order”. The district should provide a framework or vehicle to bring helpers together with the help-ee’s…something along the lines of Big Brothers/Big Sisters (which I have done, btw!)
Now before you go off complaining that you would need “more admin” for that , the vehicle could be something as simple as a page on your website, or a take home flyer in the folders of students. Or a feature article on volunteering with the district in that fancy D150 newspaper I just got. Get the idea?
Also, fyi, you don’t need to go to the South end to find troubled students.
One further thought… use the teachers, the principals, and the PTO to encourage community involvement with students. You have to ask for the order first, and then give them the task. It’s not that people don’t want to help, its that they are too wrapped up in their own lives to think about it. If you ask them though, a great majority will step up to the plate.
what Sharon said! ditto.
why is everyone concerned about *issing off HIGH SCHOOL “alumni”? who cares?
are people that attached to a high school, and if so, what rational reason exists for this state.
how can one’s sentimental value of a freakin’ building even come into consideration when we’re talking about taxpayer dollars and educational attainment?
some one, please, explain why this is even an issue people talk about.
and, if “community pride” is the best you can come up with, save it. i don’t buy that for a second.
Ed: More important than the feelings of alumni are the feelings of families with children within the school’s attendance area. The district just can’t afford to keep chasing families out of the area. It’s a vicious circle. The district is in the shape that it is in because of the loss of taxes created by people moving out of the city and/or out of District 150. Remember that the students from the closed school will be bused to another school–and the parents at that school might not want their children going to a school whose enrollment is suddenly doubled. It won’t be easy or maybe even possible, but the district has to try to ease people into the decision to close a high school if that, indeed, is what has to happen.
Sharon,
Not to sound terse, but do you think the district is in the shape it is in more because it is operating more buildings than it can afford, than “chasing families out of the area”?
The district was built out and structured to handle the baby boomer population. It is simple social fact that there are less children today than there were 40-50 years ago, no? Am I wrong on that, is the baby boomer phenomenon a myth?
There were 11 consecutive years from 1952 to 1964 where the birth rate was at or above 4 million a year in the US. Since 1964, it has happened three times.
This is really a simple supply and demand issue; there is not student body to meet operational resource demands. The only way to fix it is economize the size of the organization. Schools are funded on an average student per day basis, so if there are fewer students in total for all reasons, then there are fewer dollars.
Now, back to the original question; what’s more important, that the district is solvent or individual comfort? I don’t agree the district needs to *ease* anyone into anything. Easing to appease only hurts those who ultimately put up the bucks.
*check that 4 million stat, irrelevant. I meant to write the birth rate per 1000. It peaked at 25 per 1000 in 1954 and has been at 14 for the last three years.
Ed, I’m not saying that 150 shouldn’t close a high school–but that it should be better thought out than the first proposal. What was totally unacceptable was putting the 9th grade at the old Loucks–which essentially means keeping two buildings open. Loucks is presently used because of an emergency. With the original plan, 150 would have closed Woodruff but kept Loucks open–so they really weren’t closing a building–Loucks had already been closed. Clear as mud?? However, I don’t think you can deny that much of Peoria’s “former” or “potential” population has moved to the suburbs. Your baby boomer argument may have merit, but there is no doubt that families have left Peoria, but not the areas surrounding Peoria.
ed, you are fooling yourself. If D150’s enrollment issues are simply census shifts then why is Dunlap not experiencing the same phenomenon?
As far as the “alumni pride” question you asked above… part of it is the sad realization of how far we have fallen since the height of its pride many years ago… coupled with the fact that very few people are willing to step up and fight for it (although that may be changing).
To all the people that are shouting to close a school, I would like to know where they have been over the past few years as the district prematurely purchased property they couldn’t use, gutted the school day for grade schoolers, failed budget audits year after year, continued padding a bloated Administrative payroll, added consultants, continued failing AYP’s… need I continue?
Where are they now? Calling for school closings of course.
$83,333.33 to get fired! Did you all miss that or are you so numbed by the numbers that they don’t mean anything anymore???
A friggin’ accountant. NOT a teacher, NOT a principal, NOT even a PE coach that has some measure of influence on Education… a BEAN COUNTER. That is above and beyond what he earned by doing whatever it was he did… he is being paid $83,333.33 to DO NOTHING but leave.
Cahill; He was allowed to have an outside business from the start.. They were afraid he would leave/not take the job.So where was his Loyalty?
I have another suggestion.
We need one Super and one assistant. It was run this way before and with a real PHd !
Clean house NOW starting at the top!!
As to property on Prospect all were lived in and now only a few are occupied{Chinese
teachers.}
The one with a Tall Pine was built in 1800’s and could be a Historical Home?
Another example of bad management!
I forgot to ask–how did all of you feel about the comments from the Chamber of Commerce at Tuesday’s BOE meeting–asking that the district move quickly to close schools? They didn’t say wisely–just quickly, I believe.
Sharon, I thought it was notable because last summer when I solicited their assistance in taking a stance on the shortened school day Roberta Parks told me they don’t like to get involved with School District business. She did schedule a meeting for me to talk to their education committee but then canceled at the last minute.
Diane, that is interesting. If I am not mistaken, Roberta Parks went on the trip with 150 administrators and board members to California to visit charter schools. I guess we might not understand what does or does not qualify as involvement!
I agree with Ed, for the most part. A determination of whether a high school should close, should be based on how best to educate students with the resources available. If the “school within a school” concept comes to be, a student currently at one high school may well go to another because it is where a specialized training is being offered. I think to be able to offer the best education the lines and identity of each school need to blur. It should be more like ICC, you go to whatever campus offers the educational programming that you are seeking.
Ed, I believe you are fairly new to the area so maybe you are not aware of the growth of schools districts like Dunlap, Washington, etc. . . There are still plenty of students in the area, their families simply elect other educational options. And bottom line, whether Peoria High and Woodruff are consolidated or not, it will not draw the crowd back that have exited, and that is what I am “Frustrated” about. I see the District taking all these measures, which I guess are necessary, but it does NOTHING to draw the type of students and families that would put District 150 on top again.
I agree with Ed, for the most part. A determination of whether a high school should close, should be based on how best to educate students with the resources available. If the “school within a school” concept comes to be, a student currently at one high school may well go to another because it is where a specialized training is being offered. I think to be able to offer the best education the lines and identity of each school need to blur. It should be more like ICC, you go to whatever campus offers the educational programming that you are seeking.
Ed, I believe you are fairly new to the area so maybe you are not aware of the growth of schools districts like Dunlap, Washington, etc. . . There are still plenty of students in the area, their families simply elect other educational options. And bottom line, whether Peoria High and Woodruff are consolidated or not, it will not draw the crowd back that have exited, and that is what I am “Frustrated” about. I see the District taking all these measures, which I guess are necessary, but it does NOTHING to draw the type of students and families that would put District 150 on top again.
I agree with Ed, for the most part. A determination of whether a high school should close, should be based on how best to educate students with the resources available. If the “school within a school” concept comes to be, a student currently at one high school may well go to another because it is where a specialized training is being offered. I think to be able to offer the best education the lines and identity of each school need to blur. It should be more like ICC, you go to whatever campus offers the educational programming that you are seeking.
Ed, I believe you are fairly new to the area so maybe you are not aware of the growth of schools districts like Dunlap, Washington, etc. . . There are still plenty of students in the area, their families simply elect other educational options. And bottom line, whether Peoria High and Woodruff are consolidated or not, it will not draw the crowd back that have exited, and that is what I am “Frustrated” about. I see the District taking all these measures, which I guess are necessary, but it does NOTHING to draw the type of students and families that would put District 150 on top again.
Frustrated: I think we are saying the same thing. I am not opposed to closing a high school. Personally, my own priority (for what I think is best for the district) is that above all else an alternative school is an absolute necessity. Once that school is established, I believe there are many possibilities for making all District 150 schools viable again.
Even though I understand the drawbacks of taking a high school away from the south side, I favor turning it into the alternative school because (1) Manual has the lowest enrollment of all four high schools (2) there is no way that Manual’s enrollment is going to grow–and, unlike Jim Stowell, I don’t believe that changing the boundaries will succeed in forcing students into Manual (3) there are fewer students to absorb into the other three high schools (because Manual has the lowest enrollment).
The Chamber runs District 150 now? WTF???
And who paid for Roberta Parks to go on that trip…. and why? Does she have an education background? But, it must all come down to $$$$
I havent had much time to post lately but no one seems to be talking about an issue that I have brought up to the board members…..the closing of 3 primary schools. It was my recollection that Gorenz said that there would be NO SCHOOL CLOSINGS for 2009-10. But now the primaries are back on the table and are being rushed into a decison. Why not simply take a longer look like they are with the High Schools.
In the newspaper that the district produces once a month it is the cover story. The funny thing about that is that is says the district has already saved $3 million of its $4.5 million deficit. That was even before Hintons “savings” plan on Monday, staff reductions or any stimulus money etc…
But a few paragraphs later They talk about on Feb. 2’s board meeting that Gorenz said that there would be no HIGH SCHOOL closings. Then it follows with some of his quotes from that night. The interesting thing is that while yes that statement is true, it does not include his comments about the primary schools. Seems they conveniently left that out.
Finally since some of you have talked about busing the kids to other schools, where are the students from Irving, Kingman, and Tyng going to go? And I have asked, but received no answer from the board or administration, what are the projected savings by closing each school. They cite “savings” but I have yet to see an actual $ figure. Where is the savings from closing Blaine, White and Loucks? I know they are using Loucks again, but does anyone have a $ figure of that savings?
OK rant over LOL!
Sharon,
While I actually do not favor closing a high school (due to recent research–last 10 years–on optimum school size relative to student retention and achievement in urban settings relative to the current student demographic and socioeconomic issues) I do agree with you that IF a school closes it should be Manual.
I have nothing against MHS, I have family ties to WHS, PHS and MHS, so I understand the emotion related to closing any of the schools. But among other things it butts up against the SW corner of the district boundaries and is located in an area that is and has been losing families with school-age students. Combine this with the lowest test scores and the lowest student enrollment (500-ish) and it is evident that MHS is the high school that should close if any does. The downside is that the district would lose Title 1 money if MHS closes, but there may be ways to compensate for that (I don’t have specifics yet, working on it but I do have a job and a family!!) And remember that my younger kids went to school on the south side –Christ Lutheran at Starr and Faraday. We are members of the Lutheran Church there and live in the Uplands. So we are not “runaways” and have multiple years of experience (not as much as you!!) with inner city issues (I also grew up on the south side of Chicago!)
I also agree totally with you about an alternative high school. It is an IMPERATIVE for the success of the high schools in this district!! The district needs to realize that there are a significant percentage of students in the high schools that DO NOT want to be there and ARE NOT willing to conform to standard norms of behavior/effort but are required to be there for various reasons (age, parole or probation, court orders, etc.). We still need to educate them, but not in a situation where they interfere with the learning of other students. I think MHS (or Loucks, which was deemed good enough for freshmen) would be good sites for the alternative HS. 10 percent of high school students is aprox 290, which either site could handle.
Facts in favor of PHS (and WHS):
1. Peoria High actually raised their test scores last year. They were the ONLY high school to do so. They are very close to making Safe Harbor this year. Manual’s scores went way down last year and they are not close to making Safe Harbor. Woodruff’s scores also went down last year but they are close (not as close as PHS but close) to making Safe Harbor this year.
2. PHS is the closest high school to Bradley and the medical centers. I believe that PHS remaining open and improving will keep the west bluff/uplands/BU area from becoming another “lost area” in Peoria. Remember Urban Planning (or whatever it is called now!) as a factor in revitalizing Peoria and the center city. Families who have chosen to live in these areas want a school that is successful, not the “alternative school” so that their children are bused farther away. Most of the families where I live (Uplands) CHOOSE to live there for specific reasons. We did so that our kids would have access to the BU campus AND attend Peoria High and we are not alone.
3. Peoria High has a bigger campus than WHS and I believe MHS, but I do not have concrete figures to back up the MHS info as far as campus. Tje building at PHS is definitely biger in square footage. So it makes more sense if the “education experts” decide a high school has to close and move more students to a campus to close a smaller one.
4. WHS has made great strides in improving their athletic and other teams’ success rate in recent years. BTW–It is interesting that EVERY success at WHS is chronicled in the PJS, but PHS successes are not. HMMMM. Suspicious minds wonder….
5. Co-op opportunities in sports and other extra-curricular activities are easily accessible by D150 if they desire to do so. I have researched co-op opportunities on the IHSA website and the possibilities are very promising. I can send you the info if you want. It can be WHS-PHS, PHS-MTDS, or any combination of the above. The minimum commitment is 2 years, renewable if necessary. This would provide opportunity for students in minor sports/activities to participate without changing schools. IT CAN BE DONE!!
Additional points (not regarding specific high schools),
6. There is still a great lack of confidence in the budget numbers that have been produced by D150 the last few years. Outside consultants, bloated admin, etc., have taken a great deal of D150 $ resources recently. Until those costs are controlled and explained the classrooms (staff/schools, etc.) should not be touched.
7. There are all kinds of cutting-edge/outside-the-box opportunities for the district regarding class sizes and class offerings. These need to be seriously explored before campuses are closed. The higher-end students expect to study online and need to have the opportunity to experience online/off-site-real-time learning before they get to college.
Sorry, I was on a roll. Have to watch the end of Survivor now and talk to my dad in hospital later tonight. BTW, he’s doing better and should be home tomorrow with outpatient care. YAY!
Hot, glad to hear your Dad is doing well. Those were excellent points you just made. If you look at the data on school enrollments over the past, say, 10 years, you can see that Woodruff, Central and Richwoods held fairly steady but Manuals enrollment decreased by half during the same period.
Hot in the City and Diane: I’m not a person to hold onto the past (I’m not even into antiques), so I personally wouldn’t put up much of a fight for closing Manual, where I spent most of my career, or Woodruff, where I went to high school. My whole complaint with the plan as presented was the haste with which it was thrown together, etc. The worst part of it was putting the freshmen at Loucks. All that said, I think the three of us agree. And I repeat, my main concern is the establishment of a “bona fide, not make-shift” alternative school. Once that is done, I believe, many of the district’s present problems will be resolved. My arguments and yours definitely seem to point to Manual as the logical school to close. However, as with PHS or WHS, something has to be done with the building–it can’t just be leveled and who would buy the building (Manual)? Probably the same with PHS or WHS. So a financially feasible use must be made of the abandoned building.
Frankly, if MHS were made into an alternative school, then PHS or WHS might have to be closed–opinions????
I’m guessing, but I would assume that the 7th and 8th grades were added at Manual to justisfy its existence; otherwise, the enrollment would make it the obvious choice for closing.
Scott: Good point about the savings due to closed schools. What are the figures to show that closing Blaine and White saved money? No one provided figures that showed how much money would actually be saved. No one provided information as to the cost of adding on to PHS (for instance) or the cost of transporting Woodruff area students to Richwoods or PHS and freshmen for a year to Loucks.
Did anyone estimate the number of teaching positions that could be lost if these schools were closed? Maybe the facts would be convincing one way or the other–but we were just asked to take the administration’s word for it.
Also, a good question: Where will the students of Irving, Tyng, and Kingman go?
I have asked all of that Sharon but have received no information from the board. If I get any I will certainly post it.
Scott, have you tried an FOIA? I would assume that someone (hopefully) put on paper an estimate of the costs, etc., before putting forth the proposal (plan).
Hi,
Sharon, I’m curious…if figures were available, in what fashion would they need to be presented for you or your neighbors to be able to digest them? What type of information do you think would be helpful?
What I would hate to happen is numbers are presented, and they’re not given proper context. At what level should the presentation be designed?
For instance, I am currently bouncing the idea around with one of the committee members to build a multiple regression which would test a class size to operation expense hypothesis, and another, looking at historical budgetary benchmarks against actual to date. Those both require a good deal of explanation.
What do numbers, estimates, need to look like to get, at least, the greatest number of folks to a level of understanding. That doesn’t imply or require agreement, just that when presented, folks understand what the number are and where they come from.
In short, how do the numbers take their rightful place in the background of policy discussions?
“Facts in favor of PHS (and WHS):
1. Peoria High actually raised their test scores last year. They were the ONLY high school to do so.”
And you think the building had something to do with that?
Erik: Thanks for responding. I have a “natural” aversion to numbers, so I’m not the one you should try to please. However, as a teacher, I heard over and over again year after year that money from one fund couldn’t be transferred to another fund. For instance, right now there seems to be a considerable sum of money available for new building construction (Glen Oak and Harrison), for remodeling or adding on to old buildings (the plan was to add on to PHS if WHS were to be closed and tentative plans for refurbishing the school on Moss for a charter school), etc.
Therefore, I am curious as to the source of these various funds (building, education, etc.) and who decides how these funds are allocated. There is probably a very elementary explanation. However, I do believe the general public might well be confused as well. When they hear about all these building plans and then hear that the district is broke, I’m not sure they understand how that can be.
Erik: Good questions. I am afraid that no matter how compelling the numbers there are some that will refuse to believe them and understand the urgency of acting. I agree with Sharon that the District needs to take some time to determine the appropriate schools for elimination or consolidation but. . . no matter the numbers presented, cutbacks are long overdue. I think it matters little whether research can be cited that a smaller high school population enhances learning, etc. The reality is the District needs to right size for it budget and then deliver the best education those dollars can buy to ALL its’ student population.
I feel like District 150 is like the housing debacle. Many homeowners got themselves in a jam and now the rest of society is left holding the bag and must pay the price. It is no different with the District, who must use limited resources to build alternatives schools, provide remedial training, and take on education at birth because so much of its’ student population is unable or unwilling to behave themselves and focus on learning. It is a huge drain on the resources available to enhance the learning opportunities of those that are actually interested in learning.
Erik: You’re probably confused by my previous post. I was actually responding to the question I asked you on Emerge.com.–not my question on this blog about the savings and the costs associated with the board’s recent proposal to close schools, including Woodruff. I was asking the same question that Scott has asked.
“What I would hate to happen is numbers are presented, and they’re not given proper context.”
Oh pu-leese.
No wonder Samuel Clemens is famous for both of these quotes:
1) First God created idiots, that was just for practice. Then he created school boards.
2) There are liars, damned liars and statisticians.
Sssssssssssssssssspin!spin spin spin spin spin spin spin spin
“bouncing the idea around with one of the committee members to build a multiple regression which would test a class size to operation expense hypothesis, and another, looking at historical budgetary benchmarks against actual to date. Those both require a good deal of explanation.”
No shit.
kcdad
I take it you have a better approach, or is yours the throwing stones type? Since I don’t know you and where you fall in Clemens’ quote, I’ll have to assume from your comments the latter. For instance, for you any attempt at explanation is spin, so, I won’t try to explain anything to you as its a waste of time and doesn’t meet my mission of trying to help those that want to understand. Maybe you simply need some coffee, dunno.
I think everyone at the table right now understands communication is key and historically poor. I’m just trying to get a grasp on what level we accept that you can’t reach everyone. Or, even if you try to reach them, their cynicism clouds any productive interaction.
Erik B. 1 KCDAD 0
Frustrated:
“The reality is the District needs to right size for it budget and then deliver the best education those dollars can buy to ALL its’ student population.”
Well said.
One thing I hope everyone understands (the Peoria Journal Star evidently doesn’t, as evidenced by their editorial on Wednesday) is that this committee has no role in making recommendations.
Dr. Gorentz has made it very clear our job is to test and verify the assumptions used in the most recent projections on revenue for the district. If we test the assumptions and explain how we, independent of the district, can agree whether or not those numbers are correct, then it’s up to the district what to do with them. We don’t “confirm” the administration’s numbers. If you look at a document and determine it’s reasonable, that doesn’t make you a lackey for the party who produced the document.
Secondly our mission is to construct a financial model which allows the district to do cost alternative decisions. This is a little more complex and people will need to have a little patience in explaining it.
Neither of those products – the evaluation of revenue projections and a model for financial decision-making – involves this committee with decision-making or policy setting. Our deliverable to the district are tools in their quest to right-size their budget using skills we’ve obtained in other sectors.
Okay, I can’t seem to get this right.
For the second time in two attempts to use the blogs to discuss the committee, I’ve been criticized for my dialog, my choice of words, my error for not knowing the history but somehow being responsible for it, etc. It is my fault and I recognize my skin is probably a little too thin to add trying to communicate here properly. kcdad, I apologize.
I’m just a volunteer trying to help my community. Sometimes things are really what they appear…This comes across as defensive and I know it, but I don’t have the energy to couch every idea that rolls off my head in emotionally neutral terms (I also don’t see that as part of my job. Jabbing at me here is like yelling out the car window at the volunteer picking up trash on the side of the road that they’re doing it wrong…)
Personally, I think it’s hard to talk down to people in a written forum responding to anonymous monikers, but apparently I’ve done it enough to warrant a lengthy back-channel scolding from Karrie Alms. Fair enough. I’ll do my best to update you when meetings occur and leave it at that.
Our first meeting is Wednesday Feb 25 at 4:00 at district offices. I’m not sure what room, sorry. It’s a public meeting, the agenda doesn’t include a lot of work, but I’ll be available then if anyone wants to chat. Also, my personal email is platois4u at yahoo dot com and my work email is ebush at peoriacounty dot org. my office phone is 495.4859 and I’m usually able to return calls within a work day or so.
have a great day,
erik
Erik — You’re doing fine communicating on the blogs. Don’t let a few cynical comments get you riled. You got some good feedback from Sharon, right?