78 thoughts on “Could District 150 be getting their act together?”

1. I agree! While I don’t know Brock I do know Norm. There will be some interesting chemistry which may reveal more about Hinton than he (Hinton) is prepared to handle. Let the light shine!

2. These guys are good. I do not know Norm but have heard great things about him. I do know Brock, this guy knows his stuff. Its nice to see “consultant” money being used properly. The other “consultants” need to go.

3. I know Mr. Butts as well. He is a no nonsense guy and very ethical. Sounds like things are finally beginning to turn in the right direction.

4. I’m stocking up on sunscreen!

5. Seriously though there is a challenge there. What with a newly formed budget oversight committee not made up of individuals knowledgeable of public school funding nor even D150’s accounting system now coupled with a new internal auditor, sandwiched with two strong willed retired superintendents from districts considerably smaller than District 150’s budgets and low income profile all reporting up to Hinton. Sounds like perfect conditions leading to the classic saying that a camel is a horse designed by a committee!

6. My question is this: What is in the job description for the treasurer\controller for D150? Do they include any or all of what we are now hiring someone $90,000 a year to do? If so, why isn’t it being done, if not, then I understand all or part of the hiring of the new position. One would think that a treasurer\controller would be in charge of internal audits, but…..

7. i don’t like this ‘new position’ business. D150 is already a mess and now the board creates a new position with a nice salary and hires the president of the peoria library board? an accountant that can’t get real work but bounces around in government jobs?

   all this after a soft-freeze on administration hiring, budget cutbacks and reductions in all other areas, a payout of Cahill’s contract and (while i may be wrong) the ‘new position’ was not posted for others to apply.

   i predict this chief accountant will continue the messy bookkeeping and bolt, leaving D150 to pay him the rest of his contract (and probably bounce to some other government job).

8. without malice wrote:

   “Seriously though there is a challenge there.”

   To quote William H. Macy in Fargo, “you betcha…”

   The Budget and Planning Committee members are aware of their position in this quagmire. Our role, prior to these hire decisions, was to diagnose the revenue side. It is a difficult task based more on a lack of information available relative to the specifics of D150’s revenue sources than it is an understanding of public school finance in general.

   The members of the committee understand revenues and understand the issues which effect revenue behavior, which is critical in analyzing any revenue. The problem is we don’t have a clear view on the issues which influence revenue behavior for D150, part of that is record keeping.

   I am fully aware of the PJS’s story on D150’s accounting, but what’s lost in that is we’re dealing with budget issues not accounting issues. In a way they are two distinct things. In short, the accounting merely reflects what activity occurs per budget. We can “know” relative financial position through the annual audit, but that “knowing” is often six months removed from relevance. One doesn’t necessarily “do” budgets under the same rules one must “do” accounting.

   The board needs to know the revenue estimates provided to it are correct so they know the policy decisions they’re making are based on established and verifiable assumptions.

   There is a meeting tomorrow, beginning at 5:00 at district admin offices where a representative from ISBE will present a financial scenario model which includes 5 years of history and a wealth of other information. We’ve requested the presentation due to the lack of clear assumption history. I welcome whomever wishes to attend.

   I’ve not spoken with all the committee members, but I don’t personally think it’s a stretch to state we’re aware of our own limitations. If we find, given more information, that our ability to meet the district’s five to six week time line on some of the things the board needs to make policy decisions is too much for our abilities, we will certainly not hesitate (in the best interest of the district), to make suggestions of remedy which include asking for more help.

   as always,

   cordially.

   erik

9. Thanks for the update, Erik.

10. Erik, speaking for myself and most likely others on this blog, we really appreciate your willingness to take the time to communicate with us in this way–above and beyond the call of duty and your pay rate.

11. Thanks Erik. You bring a level of transparency to this Board that is sorely needed. Clear talk is always welcomed. Bringing people along will make friends every time. The BOE needs friends, they have a image in need of repair. You are helping.

12. Library – District 150… Expo Gardens… Lakeview… ring any bells?

13. Even though I think it’s a good thing to get some good guys working for the District, where is Hinton’s accountability with this mess? If he were doing his job or understood his job responsibilities none of this would have gotten so out of control. The buck stops with Hinton. I say Brock Butts for superintendent! He is ethical and smart. He could change the negative culture the district has spiraled into since Hinton has come back. Leading through fear and intimidation is not healthy for employees or students.

14. serenity,
    I agree Hinton is to blame and should be on the chopping block. OTOH with all due respect to Brock Butts who I have already said I don’t even know I find your suggestion of hiring him as superintendent to be a bit off. He may walk on water in Tremont, but Tremont CUSD 702 only has 1,000 students in 3 schools. Their student body is 97% white and the poverty rate is only 6%. I’d even bet that D150’s Title 1 budget is larger than Tremont’s total annual budget. Leaders are leaders etc etc but experience running a large district, with a diverse student body with 30 schools has to be a major consideration over just being ethical and smart…and already retired!

15. kcdad-

    please elaborate. i think i’m following.

16. without malice: You are correct. However, I would like to see a Brock Butts type head the district.

17. I’m not.

18. The problem as I see it (which is muddled undoubtedly) is that there must be a way to balance budgetary concerns with academic (educational) needs. Whether or not his educational ideas are on target, Hinton lays out plans without really considering the cost. For instance, the birth to graduation schools on acres and acres of land. He might be able to find the money to buy the land and to build the buildings, but has he considered the cost after the buildings are built: furnishing the buildings, staffing the kinds of programs needed for adding birth to kindergarten whatever that really means, etc. Beautiful exteriors will lose their attractiveness if you open the doors to see the old, outdated school desks, etc., in the present buildings. All these acres of park-like surroundings will have to be landscaped and maintained–in an era where cost-cutting requires decreasing the custodial staffs. Will they end up being acres of weeds–an eyesore?
    On the other hand, the bottom line drives most decisions made in District 150. For example, larger class sizes will be needed to cut staff. Mainstreaming special students will save money. However, are these good educational decisions?
    Also, every time a program is added, an administrator and staff are added. I am not sure the programs are always effective enough to justify the cost. I don’t see any effective way of evaluating changes in programs and curricula. For instance, the controversial Primary Early Release Days are again on the calendar for next year. I heard nothing Monday night about whether or not any attempt has been made to find a way to evaluate whether or not the loss of student time in classes has been justified by what has happened on those days this year.
    Those are the problems–where are my solutions? Stumped!

19. serenity,
    Again I agree with you. I am still appalled that the BOE selected Hinton when he didn’t even have proper certification, let alone only had a Masters degree. The BOE which hired Dr. Kay Royster wouldn’t even grant Hinton an interview because of those reasons plus their inside knowledge of his performance as an employee, yet the new BOE were blind to those obvious warts. Here we are in 2009 with yet another school year ending in 2010 with Hinton at the helm. Fish rot from the head down and Hinton should be thrown out just like the BOE finally did with his hand picked controller, Cahill. I just hope that the BOE will listen to their new budget oversight group plus the highly reputable gentlemen Butts and Durflinger when they assess the mess that the Hinton era has made.

20. Without Malice: I am so sick and tired of the focus by the District on the bottom half. How about instead let’s search for a Superintendent that has experience making a good school ,great! How about searching for candidates with experience in developing and expanding an IB curriculum, or perhaps someone with experience in creating a first class math and science academy, the list of positive experiences could go on and on. You get the drift. How is the District ever going to be different, if it does not start acting different?

    I would think Mr. Butts is just what the District needs at least, for a year or two as the Board attempts to stabilize the District. I think when you’re the type of individual that likes to get things right, you can get it done on whatever scale. I believe Mr. Butts would be able to make the tough choices required (something Hinton has great difficulty doing) to balance the budget, eliminate needless personnel, and restore discipline to the schools. With or without an alternative school to catch them when they fall, students that misbehaved and disrespected teachers and fellow students would be gone under Mr. Butts’ watch.

    I agree with Sharon that there are too many “pie in the sky” educational plans thrown about, by a District that, at times, has trouble making payroll. I am sorry, but am I the only one who thinks it’s crazy to implement an educational program that begins at birth, while at the same time cutting the school day short for the primary students you are already responsible for serving.

21. Frustrated: Needless to say, I agree–especially the last sentence. Also, I understand your complaints about always planning for only the bottom half. I think you have to think of that group, also–however, the problem is that the district’s solutions don’t help that group either. I have a friend who says, “the district always finds the wrong solutions to the right problem.”
    Let me illustrate one way that concentration on the dropout problem at Manual destroyed the school. Starting in the 1990s, teachers complained that the disruptive students were preventing all students from learning. We heard this answer over and over again, “We can’t kick these students out; our enrollment is already down.” So administrators did everything to keep these kids in school–let them get away with extremely bad behavior, encouraged teachers to pass them so that they could get a (meaningless) diploma. What happened. We lost enrollment because all the families that could get out (many in West Peoria and in the southend) left Manual (moved, private schools, home school, etc). The dropouts dropped out anyway–after being given more chances than they really wanted (cynical, but, I believe, true). There is true irony here–we lost the wrong students.
    Last night, the board engaged in this same discussion. Why do 150 schools lose so many students starting in the 9th grade? The discussion started to center around what to do about dropouts (the usual wrong conclusion), but then one or more board members finally acknowledged that maybe they aren’t dropping out–they are just leaving the district.

22. The reasons for the departure of families might be different than at Manual, but the scenario is the same in many other schools. In continually catering to some and not adjusting to the times, the District is losing out on the many.

    Allowing unruly students to remain is an injustice to those students and staff that show up everyday to do their best and even to those disruptive students that are allowed to remain. In an urban school with 70% poverty, the reality is, a sizeable majority of students are work-bound not college-bound. How is the District preparing many of its’ students to join the workforce with its “anything goes” policy of conduct? Employers of entry level workers are at the very least looking for dependability and a good attitude. But how is that being fostered in students at District 150 if they can say anything and do anything and get away with it?

    Students need to be held accountable for dress and language codes, punctuality and attendance and there must be consequences if they do not. That is the real world. Just ask the CAT contract worker featured in a recent Bibo article in the PJS. After working 10 years as a contract worker for CAT, and with only a couple of weeks until being laid off, he was fired for violating CAT’s no smoking policy. Now he has an even bigger problem, he is being denied unemployment benefits in a sour economy because he record indicates he was fired for misconduct making him ineligible for unemployment. If students learn only one lesson for District 150 it must be that there are consequences to one’s actions. The current system of discipline and accountability is not teaching that lesson.

23. If students learn only one lesson for District 150 it must be that there are consequences to one’s actions.

    No the District is responsible for much much more than that. In fact, learning about consequences is something they should have learned at home before they take their first step into a classroom.

24. Diane, the operative words in your response are “should have.” Clearly District 150’s ability to serve its students is hampered by many “should haves.”

25. Agreed!

26. District 150 is overloaded with debt and financial problems, the city is looking for a north end library branch and somehow in all the “discovery” came up with the idea of selling expo gardens space to the city for a library, and resolving BOTH issues. VERY fishy, in that Expo provides something potentially income producing for 150 and has been mismanaged for the past couple of decades. K’s merchandise or another spot along Allen road were better choices EXCEPT… the whole point of the North branch was for all those white flight residents of Dunlap School District… don’t they have their own library?

    And now they want a library guy making decisions for 150??? I thought Lakeview was in financial trouble and that is why they needed a new facility?

    Why is the decision of a bureaucracy ALWAYS to fire working people and hire “consultants” who advice is always “spend more money”? Don’t misunderstand me, getting rid of Cahill was not a firing, it was an extended vacation… 8 months with pay… GOOD GRIEF… I want to meet the teacher that will make more in a year than Cahill gets for being fired.

27. Frustrated: “Students need to be held accountable for dress and language codes, punctuality and attendance and there must be consequences if they do not. That is the real world.”

    Let me give you a “real world” lesson. School is not the “real world”. It is a coercive mandatory prison sentence for children in the times of their lives when they need freedom to explore their world. It is a state run babysitter to allow BOTH parents to work in an economic system that refuses to pay 50% of the working population a living wage. It forces BOTH parents to have incomes (despite Teddy Roosevelt’s warnings).

    We have a need for schools today because we made their parents ignorant of the ability to raise of them, spend more than a few minutes with at a time (we have emergency day care centers for parents unable to cope with being with their children!!!!!) and unable to educate them, themselves.

    Students need to be accountable for their thoughts and actions. Period. Fullstop. Not to you, not to me, not to some bureaucrat. To whom?

    Are you accountable for your dress? Are you accountable for your punctuality? To whom?

    Real world lesson #2
    Our economy is not the real world. It is based (and crumbling) on the futures or derivatives market… there is nothing REAL about it.

    Real world lesson #3
    If schools provided something important… REALLY important… children would “dig it the most”. School is boring, oppressive and irrelevant.

28. Frustrated: We are still on the same page. You elaborated on what I meant by 150 believing they are working to meet the educatinal needs, etc., of the academically unprepared but in reality they are not providing programs that acknowledge their educational needs. Instead they offer the “pie in the sky” programs you mentioned earlier and waste money–the issue at hand now. Diane is right that kids should be taught behavior at home–so the schools need to find a way to make the parents accountable instead of accommodating their children’s bad behaviors. Kcdad: School is not a prison; for many of the kids that I taught it was a haven away from their real world. The problem is that school has more recently become the same as the permissive, chaotic world from which they need a way of permanent escape.

29. Accountability must come from the top down. I am going out on a limb here, but I am willing to bet that most Dist 150 students are ‘aware’ of the fact that Dist 150 is crumbling down around them. They might not fully comprehend the ‘issues’, but they understand that something is wrong. My son believes that “bad bosses” are the reason Dist 150 is in such dire straits…………………..

    Students are bombarded by ‘negative’ media reports, most of which center around poor administrators and ……………………..money? They must sense that things are not right in the ‘school house’. The ‘grown-ups’ in charge of making things ‘right’ in Dist 150 are doing a piss-poor job, and being paid a fortune to do it!!!!! Maybe 9 out of 10 teachers are doing an excellent job, but it only takes one bad teacher and/or experience to turn kids ‘off’ to school completely.

    My solution………? Pay ME six figures……and put ME in charge. I would be happy to get paid while sitting around making a mess of things.

    By the way, the new museum should ‘whip’ things into shape right away….

30. New Voice: I agree. However, I do believe that if 9 out of 10 teachers are doing an excellent job, those aren’t bad odds. I know that I undoubtedly had some bad teachers in the 1940s and 1950s, but they didn’t turn me off of school completely–or at all. I certainly don’t advocate “bad” teachers as a way of teaching children to adjust to the real world (in which there will be “bad” bosses); however, that is exactly what often happens (with good guidance from parents). At the risk of playing the “blame” game, I will say that more often than not the children who struggle in school and are turned off there do so because they struggle to survive a bad home environment, etc. In better days, the high schools actually had home ec and industrial arts and even psychology classes that taught young people some of the skills needed to be good parents. Those are some of the effective programs that were taken away; their replacements are the ineffective programs about which Frustrated and I have been discussing.

31. I wanted to put up some interesting financial data, hopefully to begin a conversation. In one sense, I’m interested in how others read this.

    I was told a question was asked, or a statement made, on Monday night to the effect that D150 focuses spending on Richwoods. Specifically limiting the focus to high schools, I note the following (using 2006-2007 data, I’ve asked for the numbers to be updated)

    Students/Per pupil Spending/AYP Reading/AYP Math/Cost per student for AYP math

    Manual 667/$9321/23%/12%/$269,853

    Richwoods 908/$7667/70%/66%/$39,589

    PHS 991/$7416/32%/19%/$139,254

    Woodruff 1370/$6222/33%/31%/$95,384

    I think it’s fair to say the amount spent per student is fairly consistent. The larger the student body, the larger base to distribute fixed expenses. Variations can occur due to the longevity of the specific staff at an individual school as well.

32. Sharon,

    I see your point, but………………………

    There is very little we can REALLY do about a child’s homelife [physical abuse, etc aside], but there is something EVERYONE can do about what happens in our schools.

    Ah well………………..

33. Erik: Manual has the fewest students but the most per pupil spending and the lowest scores. Do Title I funds account for the “extra” funds. I’m not sure what conclusions can be drawn–but I find the statistics interesting.
    Also, Woodruff has (in 2006, at least) by far the most students–yet it was the school scheduled for closing. How does that make sense?

34. New Voice: I partially disagree–the schools cannot overcome what happens at home and that factor does affect what happens at school. I don’t know how (no one has tried yet), but our society has to find ways to make parents accountable.

35. Erik, the speaker at Monday’s board meeting asked for a breakdown of costs per student at each of the schools. He did not single out Richwoods, or highschools for that matter. It is possible that someone read more into his comments and that is what you heard, but that was not the question the speaker put before the board, as I recall.

36. I think the speaker was Bobbie Darling.

37. Bobby Darling’s (almost exact words as I just transcribed them from the tape were: “With the the cuts and talk of closing Woodruff, I would like to know what it costs to educate per student per building at Richwoods compared to Manual; Garfield Primary to Kingman to Northmoor Edison–to discover consistency.”

38. 2006-2007 school year

    School Enrollment $/Student

    Charter Oak 365 $5,714
    Franklin Edison 392 $6,850
    Garfield 289 $7,671
    Glen Oak 448 $6,127
    Harrison 372 $8,161
    Hines 473 $5,801
    Irving 365 $6,195
    Thom. Jefferson 360 $6,924
    Kellar 405 $5,917
    Kingman 291 $7,353
    Northmoor Edison 460 $6,042
    Tyng 469 $6,191
    Whittier 376 $5,345
    W. Wilson 371 $6,830
    Valeska Hinton 444 $6,640

    Mark Bills 280 $6,082
    Blain Sumner 0 $-
    Calvin Coolidge 279 $5,686
    Columbia 240 $7,579
    Lincoln 497 $5,694
    Lindbergh 389 $4,904
    L. Edison 380 $6,697
    R. Acres 317 $5,742
    Sterling 416 $7,332
    Trewyn 446 $7,030
    V. Steuben 414 $5,487
    Washington 233 $5,890
    White 0 $-
    Roosevelt Magnet 629 $7,468

    Manual 667 $9,321
    PHS 991 $7,416
    Richwoods 908 $7,667
    Woodruff 1370 $3,222
    Peoria Alt. 92 $9,631

    sorry for the formatting.

39. My wife and I homeschool our children. We have 4 in school and we spend about $2000 for the year…per-capita around $500. I thought you would like to know. Truancy rate is 0, and we don’t use uniforms.

40. Wow! Thank you, Eric. It will take a while to digest the information. I do want to say something about Title I money. I always had the sense that Title I money was misused at Manual–probably not “illegally” yet not spent on the most appropriate allowable expenditures. Obviously, looking at Manual, for instance, the Title I or extra funding hasn’t resulted in higher test scores. Because of a high literacy problem, I felt that the money would have been most wisely used to hire a highly qualified reading specialist (one or more) to concentrate on that one debilitating academic deficiency. For instance, I think Title I money purchased more food than was necessary–food for parents to draw them to open house and I believe food for teachers attending mandatory lunch time workshops (I could be wrong; however, there wasn’t enough transparency about how the money was spent–or from where the “food” money came).
    That brings up one more suggestion for transparency in the district. Teachers at Manual–had they been able to see an accounting of how Title I money was being spent–would have been able to judge how wisely the money was being spent. Money generated from pop and food machines were always a bone of contention–we were never allowed to know how that money was used.
    As an aside, regarding the 2006 low scores at Manual–I taught a considerable number of the sophomores who took the test as juniors (and some while they were juniors because they had flunked sophomore English). Conventional and NCLB wisdom would put the blame squarely on my shoulders. I don’t know what that means–but thought I would throw in to show why I personally am concerned about identifying the root causes. Certainly, I would prefer not to be considered a root cause–but sobeit.

41. Mike – Thanks for that awesome comment!

    Erik – If I am not mistaken the figures you posted are the educational costs only per student, correct? The administrative cost per student would be in addition to your posted figures. Somewhere to the tune of $4,000 per student.

    In any event it is very interesting and thank you for posting it.

42. Yes, Erik, I also echo Diane’s question. Just exactly what expenses are included in the per pupil cost? Does the amount take into account only teacher salaries, class size, etc? Are special programs in specific schools averaged in–for instance, Edison, the soon-to-come Hopkins’ component at Manual? If not, then the teacher salary only is misleading, isn’t it? Also, it would probably be enlightening to know the differences in extra-curricular expenditures for each high school. I guess there’s much that we just don’t know.

43. total non-grant spending per pupil (building costs)

    Non-Grant$
    School /Student
    Charter Oak $5,207
    Franklin Edison $5,543
    Garfield $5,825
    Glen Oak $4,973
    Harrison $5,964
    Hines $5,017
    Irving $4,796
    Thom. Jefferson $5,493
    Kellar $5,109
    Kingman $5,818
    Northmoor Edison $5,604
    Tyng $4,975
    Whittier $4,449
    W. Wilson $5,317
    Valeska Hinton $3,666

    Mark Bills $5,693
    Blain Sumner $-
    Calvin Coolidge $4,954
    Columbia $6,068
    Lincoln $4,856
    Lindbergh $4,652
    L. Edison $6,262
    R. Acres $5,517
    Sterling $5,522
    Trewyn $5,913
    V. Steuben $5,298
    Washington $5,889
    White $-
    Roosevelt Magnet $6,439

    Manual $8,472
    PHS $7,308
    Richwoods $7,468
    Woodruff $6,182
    Peoria Alt. $6,821

44. diane,

    if you have access to the district’s 2008 audit, or any audit, there is a schedule up front titled ‘schedule of revenue, expenditures, and changes in fund balances; the education fund is the general fund, generally speaking.

    in 2007-2008, a total of $93,497,406 was spent on instruction and related services. another $14,683,146 for support services – student based. These two equal roughly 72% of total general fund spending. Total general fund spending in 2008 was $150,803,282.

    The general fund is the comprised of the education fund, textbook department, food services, special programs (Title 1, Adult Continuation, Children at Risk, IDEA, Flow Through, and other local, state and federal programs). It also includes Operations and Maintenance accounts.

    Said another way, seventy two cents of every one dollar of general fund expenditures can be directly tied to student services delivery. This does not include transportation, debt, pension, or capital improvement funds.

45. What would be interesting is how they are spending the Orphanage Act funds. Those monies are to go toward certain programs, period. I have heard rumors those programs are not seeing their money. But due to fear and intimidation tactics from the director they are afraid to ask questions.

46. Erik – I have a couple of questions and I do not have access to any of the reports you referred to.

    1. Isn’t Richwoods primarily responsible for high school special ed? Are those figures included in the per pupil student figure, I assume they are? Is there any figure that just shows the per pupil cost, excluding special education.

    2. Over $14,000,000 for support services!! That is a staggering figure. I guess I don’t have a question related to this because I am too “Frustrated” to formulate one. This Sharon is what I am talking about. A huge amount of funds go to matters other than educating the mainstream. And then the District gets bashed for their per pupil costs being so high and yet generating poor results.

    It is little wonder Mike elects to homeschool his children. There is way to much commotion in public school and not enough action.

    We are living out of the community right now and our children must attend a private school. It is like we have entered an altered universe compared to District 150. Everything is singularly focused on education and improvement of the deliverly process. There is not constant putting out of fires but a focused stragetic direction of how the school should continue to grow and improve.

47. Frustrated: The way I see it is that the district keeps trying one miracle cure after another (all costing money) to raise the academic level of students who are struggling for one reason or another. I don’t know how to assess these developmental problems (whether due to nature or nurture), but I feel that these programs aren’t attacking the real problems–certainly not with the right solutions. When I started teaching, these hawkers of educational ideas had not yet discovered this gold mine. School districts buy these programs and their developers make off with the money before anyone discovers that the promises made did not come to fruition. I am still convinced that if we could get rid of the chaotic environment–all the discipline problems, etc.–that even the old-fashioned “back-to-basics” method would work, especially at the primary level where skills are developed. Frankly, I’m not at all certain that kids learn differently today than they did 100 years ago–I know that educationists say so, but I’m not sure that their conclusions are necessarily scientific. I do believe we probably have more visual learners today because kids grow up on TV. However, I think that is something we’ve given into–something that has unfortunately replaced the desire or the need to read.
    I won’t be convinced that I’m wrong, however, until schools return to a calmer environment conducive to learning. Then if kids don’t succeed, I’ll admit I’m wrong. We probably already have the proof, don’t we? Does anyone doubt that the highest achieving schools (especially outside of 150) do not have the distractions of major discipline problems? I don’t know–is Dunlap forever searching for some magic program?

48. I also wonder if the district has saved money by hiring an attorney as HR director? They justified hiring him because he is an attorney and he could lessen the lawsuits against the district therefore, saving money. I wonder if there are more or less lawsuits since an attorney is the HR director? What is the dollar amount they have saved?

49. Frustrated: Your question, “Isn’t Richwoods primarily responsible for high school special ed?” I don’t understand your question.

50. Frustrated: Sorry to have some many little posts instead of my usual long ones. In your question #2 about special services. I should know but I’m not sure what is included under special services. I’m assuming that might include school psychologists, home facilitators, etc. Have you ever read the book “Dumbing Down Our Kids?” I seem to recall a statement in that book to the effect that ineffective schools seem to have more professionals out of the classrooms rather than in the classrooms. In other words, money is being spent on these special services instead of paying for staff who are directly involved with students in classrooms. Certainly, I believe that when it comes time to save money, the classroom teachers should be the last on the list of cuts. I don’t want to demean the people who hold these special services positions, but I’m not sure how much their work really changes what happens in the classroom. Well, I’m in over of my head now. Having just spent 4 hours with Karen and Jeff Adkins-Dutro’s 3 and 6 year olds, I have renewed faith in the learning process–but tired because of their continuous desire to learn, to be read to, etc. Fortunately, they go to Whittier where the chaos has not taken over.

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