January 24th, 2010
After viewing Mr. Shea’s explanation of his dream regarding the Big Step Forward on television and reviewing the document on the School Department website, I must say there are a lot of unanswered questions. For starters why must our students be test subjects yet again? We tried open concept and that failed. We then went to block scheduling and that is under review. A new scheduling format is supposedly planned, but no change will be made until 2011-2012 school year. If a plan is in place, why are we waiting so long?
When Mr. Shea presented this idea a year ago, he stated that this new school would not have music, art, sports, in other words no extra curricula activities and would absolutely not allow the student to partake in the offerings of the Technical Center and would be budget neutral. Has anybody ever seen any new project that is budget neutral? Obviously, some of Mr. Shea’s ideas did not bode well with parents and Mr. Shea’s original dream has transformed into something different something that will now include a little bit of this and that, but not quite what is offered at Spaulding.
Funding is a major issue and there just does not seem to be much out there for the taking. I know my pocketbook is dry. This topic has been presented like a bill in congress, making concessions along the way to ensure that it gets passed no matter what the people may think. Do we, the taxpayer, really need another school, a school where the concept is unproven/untested? Like most, I do not wish to see my taxes go up any further. I do not feel that we are harming our children’s education by not providing funding or approving Mr. Shea’s experiment.
We need to re-evaluate what we already pay for. It is time to eliminate the waste, as a school district we are top heavy with administration and there are numerous examples of blatant fiscal irresponsibility on the part of the School Department, but nobody ever stands up to them and they get everything they want.
If you are unable to attend either of the two meetings regarding the Big Step Forward call your School Board member and City Councilor and express your concerns. By not making your feelings known and not attending the meetings the School Department will take this as a signal that you do not care what they do with YOUR money. It is time to speak up as things are not going to get better for a long time to come.
Sue O’Connor
Rochester
Posted in School Issues | 1 Comment »
January 14th, 2010
NY Post
“It looks like a happy new year for you — if you’re a public employee.
That’s the takeaway from a recent Rasmussen poll that shows that 46 percent of government employees say the economy is getting better, while just 31 percent say it’s getting worse. In contrast, 32 percent of those with private-sector jobs say the economy is getting better, while 49 percent say it is getting worse.
Nearly half, 44 percent, of government employees rate their personal finances as good or excellent. Only 33 percent of private-sector employees do.
It sounds like public- and private-sector employees are looking at different Americas. And they are.”
Read More…
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January 14th, 2010
Wall Street Journal
“Teachers unions in Minnesota and Florida are currently threatening to withhold support for their state Race to the Top applications, which are due later this month. So is the school boards association in Louisiana. This matters because the Administration has placed a premium on states garnering “local school district support” in order to win a grant. Not having union buy-in isn’t fatal, but it definitely hurts a state’s chances of getting federal funds.”
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January 14th, 2010
Wall Street Journal
“A provision in federal law allows some school districts to spend millions of dollars of special-education money elsewhere, and a government report indicates many more districts plan to take advantage of the provision.”
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January 9th, 2010
Special Education
ARRO
Card NE
Farmington School District
Institutional Intern
NHCEH/Title 1
Raymond School District
Lutheran Community’s
Plowshare Farm
Educational Supplies/Books/Services
Marshall Cavendish/H.S. Refrence Books
Economist/Subscription for H.S. Social Studies
Follett Library Resources
Project Fees
National Geographic/ H.S. subscription
CCS Presentation/Audiovisual supplies
DEMCO Incorp/Supplies
Skyhaven Flying Co./ROTC flights
Amazon.com
Adventure Headquarters
Barnes and Noble Bookseller
Scott Electric/office supplies
Rio Grande/Art Supplies
Weekly Readers Corp/grade 1 and 2
Library Video/videos for H.S.
US Games
Walden Book Company
Supplies/Equipment
Purchase Power/Postage meter
Specialized Purchase
Reserve Account/postage
Dick Blick/Art supplies
Premier School Agenda/Agenda Books
Pitney Bowes/postage
Office Environment/Auditorium Sound Equipment
Computers
Newport Computer/repairs
Companion Corp/Library Software System
Maintenance/Utilities/services
GC AAA Fence Company
Plumbmaster, Inc.
Adams Fire Protection/Kitchen
Knights Construction/Cafe, Tech Center
Norway Plains Associates/Engineering Services
Konica Minolta Business/Copiers
Simplex Grinnell
Diamond Electric
Consulting/Teacher Training/Testing/Jobs
Granite State College
Genetic Services/SFED
UNH/Courses
Plymouth State College/Courses
NFI North Inc/Ads on the internet
Northwest Evaluation: NWEA/testing
NH JAG/Jobs for NH graduates
NHASP/Assoc of School Principals dues 6 people
ASCD/Dues
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