Last night's school board meeting for those that were unable to attend

PARENTS SPEAK OUT AT SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

            Board also considers numerous building/infrastructure projects

            A group of very passionate parents spoke out publically in support of 7-12 vocal teacher Lisa Coder at a special school board meeting held in Burnside April 27.   Mary Jo Grandfield spoke first, saying she “respectfully challenged” the board to look outside the box in order to retain this valuable school commodity.

            “Mrs. Coder is a dynamic instructor, who has made music fun again.  In one year, our choir has doubled in sized (from thirty to sixty) and musical this year was fantastic.  Her entire family is involved in the community and we would not only lose Mrs. Coder, but them as well.    They have two children attending school in the district.  If they are forced to move that is a $12,000 loss right there,” she said

            Mrs. Grandfield also pointed out that the mission statement of the district is the “develop the full potential” of students and that Mrs. Coder has certainly been successful at.

            Emily Clausen said, “I am disappointed in how it was handled—all in one night.  Couldn’t you have waited a week?  You just tabled a decision on doors until the next month’s meeting because you couldn’t make a decision, but you were able to remove a teacher in only one meeting.”

            Clausen was referring to the main topic discussed at the meeting:  how to spend local option sales tax monies. Representatives of the Baker Group spoke for over a half hour about options for updating the heating/cooling system in Burnside.  They offered four options:  a geothermal “green” option for 3.2 million; a California heating/cooling system for 2.7 million; a variable system for 2 million, and a system similar to the one the school is using now for 1.6 million.

            “Right now, you use a large hot water boiler that runs on propane. Propane prices are set to rise drastically.    When your boiler was installed, it was 68% efficient.  Now it is only 22% efficient,” said Tom Borrer.  “Bandaids won’t work anymore.”

            According to Board Secretary Karla Flickinger, it costs an average of $85,000/year to power the Burnside building.     The representative from the Baker Group said that even the cheapest alternative of just replacing the school’s aging equipment with newer models would be 20-30% more efficient than now.  He also praised the other systems of being even more cost effective.

            The board did not act on this, but told the Baker Group to return with names of “satisfied customers” so they could continue their research.  The board is looking at starting this project in the summer of 2012.

            The board then discussed how to spend the Local Option Sales Tax monies.  These funds are reserved to update infrastructures in schools.    Items considered were new doors in Burnside ($30,000), a wireless hub ($20,000), windows ($7,700), soundproofing the Dayton lunchroom ($5,000 or less), ceiling in Dayton gym ($18,000 for ‘bare bones’—more if made aesthetically pleasing), and security cameras in Burnside and Boxholm ($14,000).

            Discussion then turned to expanding the Dayton building. It was noted by Superintendent Launi Dane that this building is “landlocked”—meaning they can’t expand in any direction without purchasing land.  The board expressed interest in obtaining the land next to the school that is owned by the City of Dayton to use for possible future expansion.  Danny Hanson said that the gym in Dayton is in bad shape and the kids have to walk across the street to get there.  He proposed looking into building a gym that is attached to the north side of the building.

            “We also don’t know how long the Boxholm building will last.  The basement floods every year; four feet of water in the basement every year.  We may need to look at building somewhere,” said Danny Hansen.

               The parcel of land the school board is considering is where the park board is looking at building a city picnic shelter with bathrooms.  There has already been fundraising and several grants given for this project.  According to park board member John Gallentine, the board still needs almost $40,00 in funding to make the project a reality, although almost $20,000 has already been raised.

            “Perhaps the city and the school could work together to make an even better project that the whole community could enjoy,” said Hansen.  It was decided for members of the board to attend the next Dayton City Council meeting about the proposal.

           

Cody and Ty at prom 2011

THE LESSONS OF PROM 2011

            Thesis:  No Child Left Behind not only does absolutely NOTHING to better American education, but will, in the end, destroy America itself by eliminating what has always made America the world’s leader:  American ingenuity.

            Evidence:  The 2011 SWG prom. 

            I, once again, was amazed last month at what a group of dedicated juniors, a few sponsors, and some weary parents can do with a school gym and a few rolls of tissue paper.    Tammy McKimmey and crew should win some kind of award for turning the gymnasium into paradise every single spring.  Many don’t realize that prom has become much more than just a dance; it is now an all-night affair.

            Since Cody is a junior, Dean and I were honored to act as servers for the meal, which was wonderfully catered by Rob Scott and the Dayton Community Grocery and organized by the formidable Char Kelly.  We cut out after dessert (taking my Jag and leaving Cody his jeep—Momma didn’t raise no fool!)—but my son and his  beautiful date Ty Patterson stayed until the wee hours, participating in the after-prom party, which was organized this year by Stacy Blair.  This party featured—among other things—a photo booth and a mechanical bull.  According to all accounts, it was AWESOME.

            You may be asking yourself now—what does this have to do with federal legislation regarding schools?    Plenty.  I spent four years as prom sponsor and was always amazed at the results.  Every year, kids that I didn’t know very well stepped up to the plate and took on leadership roles, doing more than their share of the work to make the magical night happen.    On the flip side, there were always the straight A students that were almost worthless because they absolutely, positively could not do anything without a specific set of directions.   A lot of the prom decorations are created with very little formal instruction.  You just gotta hand the paint, the old refrigerator boxes, and the glitter to someone and say, “Here, go make a magical forest over by the bleachers.” 

            During prom, juniors learn how to manage a budget, how to work together, and how to create something from nothing.  They learn respect for classmates and kids who may not shine in algebra or government, can show that, yes, they do have some very valuable skills indeed.  Students preparing for prom use their resourcefulness, their communication skills, and, most importantly, their creativity.

            And, you know what?  ABSOLUTELY NONE OF THIS IS TESTED ON THE ITEDS!    And that’s a darn shame.

            According to FixingNCLB.org, the evils of No Child Left Behind are vast.  The one with which I agree the most is “NCLB stifles student creativity, also known as American ingenuity.”  In other words, because of the pressures of NCLB, teachers can no longer take the time to teach students HOW to learn.  Teachers are now basically required to present students with bunches of data in a way that makes it easy to regurgitate said data later during a standardized test.  What has always made America unique, is not being stifled by, ironically, the federal government.

            I remember a story told to me by former Governor Tom Vilsack.  He described how he visited Des Moines’ sister city in China.  While there, he toured an elementary school and the principal told him that in China children are learning their second foreign language by age six.  The principal told the governor that all that was missing in Chinese education is creativity, and once they figure out how to teach kids to be creative, their schools will turn out the best-educated kids in the world.  The underlying assumption was, of course, was that in the very near future China would be kicking America’s butt in education.

            Vilsack used this anecdote as a way to motivate Iowans to “change up” our schools or be passed by the Chinese—but I saw it in a very different light.  Perhaps, Mrs. Chinese Principal, the reason your children aren’t as creative as you like is BECAUSE they are learning their second foreign language when they should be having tea parties and playing hopscotch.  Perhaps, Mr. Vilsack, Iowa’s kids don’t need more testing and more hours spent drilling multiplication tables.

            Do you realize that many schools have cancelled field trips in order to spend more time preparing for the dreaded tests?    Any former student can tell you that you learn more visiting the state capital than you do reading about it—yet it is this kind of experience that is being cut—all in the name of reform. 

            It’s no wonder teachers are cheating while preparing their students for these tests—their jobs are on line.  It’s no wonder that school districts are spending an inordinate amount of time and money preparing for the tests—their funding depends on doing well.

            NCLB no longer just threatens my children’s education, making it a mere shell of the education I received in schools where I was encouraged to think outside the box and experience life.  If we aren’t really careful, NCLB’s lasting legacy may be to suck the creativity out of the American mind—and that would truly be a tragedy.

Now is not the time for Fair-Weathered Pacifists--YEPPERS--I'm against the "war" in Libya too

My first column for the Dayton Review so very many years ago was an anti-war one.  That war was the Persian Gulf War.    The following week, there were several BLISTERING letters to the editor responding to my work.  One I remember in particular was written by two former SWG history teachers (Mitch Schroeder and Matt Parker--the latter of which is a self-avowed Libertarian--you  know, like Glenn Beck)which strongly suggested that I was only anti-war when a Republican was president and then asked the question:  “Where were you when Clinton used missiles on Iraq?”  After I finished pondering exactly how many history teachers does it take to write one letter to a third-rate newspaper, I responded that I was against that war as well—I simply hadn’t started writing a column yet.

                  In order to be completely consistent (and not to "waffle"), It is my duty as a pacifist to announce that I am also against the U.S. involvement in Libya.  There is quite a bit of debate if this involvement constitutes a ‘war’ or not. According to the guidelines of the Constitution, only Congress can declare war, so technically our military offensive in Libya cannot be called one.  However, bombs are being dropped and people are dying—so perhaps a war by any other name . . .?  For now, let’s just call it a ‘military action.’  Whatever—I’m against it.  Me and Dennis Kucinich. I’m betting my anti-war stance causes some local conservatives a little dilemma:  “Do we agree with Kendra or do we agree with the hated Barack Hussein Obama?  What kind of a choice is that??” I'm betting the coffee shop in the grocery store will be scratching their heads for days over that one.  If they agree with me, well, they've agreed with ME--the evil, leftist, "drunken drama queen." If they disagree with me, the are on the side of Barack Hussein Obama, who isn't really even an American and is also a closet Muslim, a fascist, a socialist, and all kind of other bad words.  WHAT A PROBLEM. Their little tiny minds might just explode with that little problem.  Was that too bitchy?? Probably.

                  I did a little research to see why more diehard liberals such as me weren't waving the anti-war flag.  Seems like most of them would kinda, sort like to oppose the war--but don't want to appear to be going against President Obama.  According to Tom Matzzie, “There is a strong anti-war case for staying out of Libya.  These kinds of No-Fly Zones always end in troops on the ground.  Intervening n a civil war is almost always a miscalculation of the situation on the ground.  The American system of checks and balances does require congressional authority for the use of war powers.  Adherents to traditional foreign policy logic would argue that there is no specific U.S. national interest at stake in the outcome of the Libyan uprising.  We seem to have entered the conflict without an obvious exit strategy already in place.”    He then states that even with all this evidence he is still supporting President Obama on Libya.

                  Did I mention that Tom Matzzie writes for the Huffington Post?  Yep—you got it:  I am not officially more liberal than the Huffington Post. I DO NOT support our president on the U.S.’s military action in Libya. Don’t get me wrong—I still support President Obama and I’m not planning on sending Mike Huckabee a campaign contribution anytime soon—but I do not think that now is the time or Libya is the place for more U.S. led military actions. 

                  Yes, Muammar Gadaffi is a raging lunatic who was threatening to track down the family of rebels and murder them without restraint.   Yes—we should do SOMETHING to stop the slaying of innocent civilians.  However, inserting ourselves in the middle of a civil war is not the answer. It is even MORE of a bad choice if we choose to send in ground troops—which is looking more and more inevitable every day. 

                  Dennis and I aren’t alone in thinking this ‘war’ is a bad idea.  Germany and China have both called for non-violent, political solutions to the problem.  According to Symon Hill in “The Guardian”:  Now, as then, those who raise questions are told: “We can’t just do nothing.” This is the old warmongers’ trick of pretending that there are only ever two options – violence or passivity. But pacifism is not passive. To be a pacifist is to take a stand against the dominant values of our society, and this cannot be done passively.

There is nothing more naive than believing that violence will always work. Of course, some nonviolent movements have been more effective than others. But the many successful uses of nonviolence are often forgotten, while war is applauded and written about in history books. Advocates of war rarely speak of the repeated failure of violence to achieve its aims even in the short term, let alone the long term.

As the German foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, argued: “The alternative to military options is hardly inaction.” Suggestions for alternatives include financial assistance and intelligence-sharing with anti-Gaddafi movements, working with Libya’s neighbors to prevent the flow of non-Libyan mercenaries to Gaddafi’s forces and various economic and political pressures.”

Eric Stoner brings up another good antiwar point to which I agree:  “As a Christian, I believe that not only are we not supposed to kill, but we are called to love our enemies and do good to those that harm us.  And while love of enemy can take many forms, I’m pretty sure that means we can’t bomb them.  This, of course, is dangerous and difficult and could get one killed.  But Jesus not only preached this, he lived it.  By giving his own life on the cross and forgiving those who killed him, rather than taking up the sword to defend himself.  Jesus was really the perfect embodiment of nonviolence.”

I think Stoner’s views are particularly relevant as we head into Holy Week, the week where Jesus turned the other cheek in the most ultimate way and died for our sins.  What would Jesus think of us dropping bombs on Libya, all in the name of peace? Perhaps I should have entitled this piece "Jesus: the Original Pacifist," but then I would probably not be allowed to attend Sunday School anymore.    I mean, what kind of good Christian would even SUGGEST that Jesus preferred peace to war.  What was I thinking??

I was thinking that when God said "Thou Shall Not Kill" he meant it--no exceptions.  Have a blessed Palm Sunday.