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Purdue is talking out of both sides of her mouth. In one moment, she has these grand plans for
education, in another breath, she's talking cuts.
Teacher layoffs are threatened, nearly statewide.

See my thoughts on
http://guilfordschoolwatch.blogspot.com/2009/03/
despite-perdues-plans-for-education.html

and
http://guilfordschoolwatch.blogspot.com/2009/03/
garrett-hints-at-teacher-layoffs-within.html

The state can't spend what they don't have. They have already said that tax refunds are running late. GCS needs to cut the top heavy leadership costs and duplicate jobs at central office. Responsibilites could be combined. That's wonderful for teachers to get raises if they money is there. With 10% unemployment rate in North Carolina, they should be thankful to have a job. We have people with Masters Degress applying for lateral entry teaching jobs. It's supply and demand. Currently there is an abundant supply of potential teachers to pick from.

Transportation costs can also be cut. Magnet and specialty programs need to be looked at. "Home Advantage" or whatever it's called needs to be eliminated. In summary we should not have one large bus transporting 2 or 3 students. Eliminate bussing across down for socioeconomic goals.

STOP THE BUSSING!

If you don't want any bussing, then you are going to have to redraw attendance lines because there is bussing with the current lines.

The current gerry manded lines?
Yes there is.

It is irresponsible for this county to continue to overpay fuel costs when they could be more efficient:

1. Parents must provide transportation to magnet schools. The county should pay ONLY for transportation to the student's assigned neighborhood school.

2. ALL students must be assigned to their closest or at worst, 2nd closest school.

No studies have shown that busing kids and having them sit on bus rides for long periods of time increases their aptitude. Not one study.

But we know that decreasing mileage will also decrease transportation costs.

This is a no brainer.

FYI
The reason there is so much busing and so many magnet programs is that the majority of Fuel and bus costs are paid by Raleigh with little managerial accountability. Were it paid by County things might be different.

I don't feel any better that it is my state dollars that are being wasted on busing as opposed to my property tax dollars.

It would be far more economical to issue a new pair of Keds to all students that can walk to school safely than have everyone on these buses.

Maybe that lack of accountability is why we're not getting our state tax checks...yeah, maybe...

I think that Board and the superintendent know that bussing kids across town to another school makes NO difference.

If they dont know they only need to do a little digging and its easy to see.

Poor African American kids do just as bad at Grimsley as any other school such as Andrews or Dudley.

The facts are there if they want to see them.

I have not a clue.

Consider:

We have messed up education in good economic
times ( nationally ). Imagine what will happen now.

We will need plenty of PR to cover this up.

Of course the economy can be the excuse.

Have to put off the Parents University.
I bet they have already printed the diplomas.
.

Study the numbers, Anon 6:21PM has it wrong, but not the way people would think. It is the rare principal that can help kids do better at a school not close to home, as often as not they perform worse in the new setting and that will play with you mentally if you try to make sense of it.

State money and local money is taxpayer money, same as fed, I just wish our administrators looked at it that way.

Garth, Sorry, you lost me on that comment. Do you think that poor kids who are bussed do better than if they stay at their home schools?

Garth,

You need to explain that one -

I think Garth is mentally playing with us!

Well, well, well. Hasn't great Garth changed his tune! This was the man who ran his election and gathered his support on an anti-busing theme?

Donna, I don't see where Garth says he's in favor of bussing. What I read is that it is rare for a student to be better off being bussed to a different school. But that on the rare occasion when it is successful, it is to the credit of a great principal.

Personally I think economically it's hard to justify bussing kids. Educationally, I think it is hard not to justify offering ALL of the same opportunities to ALL of our students.

Sorry for the lack of clarity, not only does busing not appear to help, but in some cases in our district it makes things for the kids worse, they are not only just as well at their home school, they are better off there. I am against busing as it not only takes away from parent involvement but it hides the real problems and keeps us from addressing the issues. It also stigmatizes schools and communities. No Donna, I have not changed tunes in the least, but in a couple of situations I have found busing better when it is the choice (real choice) of the parents to go to a different school.

Busing for opt out is in my book not just justified, it forces schools to address real problems and gives opportunities to those who want them. Again, sorry for lack of clarity.

Thanks for the clarification Garth.

Finally...someone understands....the parent knows best when the neighborhood school is the best fit for their child...

I would fight harder to end busing...but I have spoken with too many parents and students that are thankful to not be stuck at the neighborhood school that is failing their child.

Parent,

Alas, Its not the parents that decide. Its the school board that think they know better.

They never research the past decisions that they have made to bus and analyse if these kids are really better off.

If you reallly look, as Garth says, they are no better off. The only concrete difference is that these kids sit on a bus for three hours a day instead of one and that they arrive at school even hungrier than when they left home.

For too long professional educrats have taken the position that all we need to improve education is more money, always more money). We have the second highest level of spending per capita for education in the world, but our results visa vie our competitors is mediocre at best. This is one reason why I am hopeful that Mo is the right man for the job as he is not a traditional educator.

I have urged the board and staff to look very closely at every program, etc. to see what is working and what is not, and to end those programs that don't work (Mo's Strategic Plan contemplates that he will end those programs that are not consistent with the plan, which I interpret to mean that he will end those programs that do not meet his standards for excellence. I hope that this means we are sympatico). By this I mean that we don't simply do the once over on the budget and then proclaim to the public that we have cut everything that we can cut. Rather, we need to look at things like the IB programs (do we really need four of them?) and our magnet programs, and everything else with a critical eye of funding only those things that are effective and necessary.

With regard to personnel, I think that we need to focus on the classroom as this is where the heavy lifting gets done. However, I do not believe that government should be a jobs program. I am not unsympathetic to those who may loose their jobs because of funding issues, but the bottom line is that we are the custodians of the public purse (and the public's trust) and we need to do what is best for the public, even if this means that we have to cut positions because they do not fit with our strategy. I am confident, however, that by eliminating unfilled positions and by reducing the number of non-teaching positions that we can both address the fiscal issues and at the same time ensure that we have good teachers in every classroom.

Garth is right about state funding for transportation. That's one of the reasons why school boards don't care if a child has to ride a bus three hours a day to ensure that a school has the "proper" socioeconomic and racial make up. We need to understand, however, that it is still taxpayer money, even if it is not coming from local government.

school boards don't care if a child has to ride a bus three hours a day

They dont care.
Its just "the right thing to do"!

You assume students being bussed across town are the ones riding a bus 3 hours a day,
It's not reality.

Students traveling from Gibsonville to Guilford college have a one way 35 minute ride. It takes a bus route from the local school.

My child which attends his district school and is a 10 minute car ride away...bus route is 1 30 minutes morning and evening. Why because the local students are crammed on the buses to open up bus routes for the magnet programs?

The magnet students cost more per pupil and are given higher priority. You would think they would be the ones with the longer bus routes...but not always so.

We worry about food, nutrition, and excercise yet..

What effect does riding a bus for 15 hours a week have on students?

All:

I had a call from a gentleman the other day who lives two miles from Page High School. His son attends Kiser Middle School but next year, instead of going to Page High School or one of the other several closer high schools, will be taking the bus to Eastern High School - fourteen miles away. I understand from the father that his son will not be able to play sports, etc. because there is no one to pick him up after practice. If he went to Page, however, he would be able to participate because he could walk home or take a bus, etc.

I believe that things like sports, band, etc. are important components of education. They build character and expand horizons. Sometimes it is these things that make the difference between a student staying in school and quitting (I speak with some experience). We are, however, sytematically depriving our students of the opportunity to participate in extra curricular activities by sending them to schools far away from where they live.

Paul,

You're absolutely right and there are other areas like this in the county too. There are kids who used to walk to Welborn Middle and Andrews High School - now they're bused to Southwest Middle and Southwest High - passing 2 middle schools along the way.

And there are kids who live less than 2 miles from Southwest who are being bused to High Point Central, more than 9 miles away.

there was alot of talk about the area that Paul is talking about during the last redistricting... seems there was no room at Page, but the very next year an IB program was okayed for Page.. where did that room come from? Many of those at NE and Eastern and even Northern live much closer to Page, and think of themselves as from "town" and do not like riding the bus to the county( I hear it referred to as the hicks)... many, many parents have no access to transportation for anything, not parent conferences, after school activities, tutoring etc.

It's all politics!