State High Vision - UPDATE
State High Vision
SHV Update
September 24, 2007
The community response continues!!
Our email update of last week about Citizen Advisory Committee membership generated significant interest – not just in the CACs but also in continued updates from SHV. The response was consistent. “Thank you for keeping us up to date on issues related to the SCASD and the way the current board and senior administration is conducting business.” For years, taxpayers have stood before the SCASD school board and administration and have been dismissed, patronized, and told to sit down. Issues like charter schools, the school calendar, the Advisory program, and of course, the ill-fated high school renovation project, have brought citizens out in droves, only to be turned away with a firm “we know better.” Those who return and repeat the unanswered questions are called uncivil.
With the abandonment of the high school renovation project, State High Vision and our mission will continue to evolve. This community joined together to make change and will continue to work together in service of our community and our children. We are glad you are part of the effort!
School Board meeting TONIGHT at 7:30 in the board room at 131 W. Nittany Ave. Please plan to attend!
We urge caution… at the last SCASD board meeting, a lengthy discussion on the proposed communicable disease policy included impassioned pleas from several residents. Regardless of one’s viewpoint on the issue, the willingness of community members, including a long time district employee, to bravely attempt to participate in the process was commendable.
Less impressive was a member of the school board offering his opinion of those citizens and their testimony on his internet BLOG in the days after. His postings continue to criticize citizens who disagree with the board, this time not only for the content of their remarks but also for the passion in which it was offered. It appears residents can now expect to be subjected to on-line derision from our elected officials.
Cyber-bullying is a new low. Use of the blog to tell us how/why he voted on an issue or to give us background, while unusual for elected officials, could potentially offer insight to those who choose to click in. Personal attacks on citizens who speak out are unacceptable.
UPDATE ON Citizen Advisory Committees (CAC)
Citizens who are interested in applying for one of the committees must send the request in writing to the SCASD Board Secretary, Mary Jenn Dorman at 131 W. Nittany Ave. State College PA 16801. Please identify the committee for which you would like to apply for membership. The committees are: Finance, Facilities, Safety, Athletics, Technology, Career and Technical and Private Fundraising. Not all have openings but, according to the district’s advertisement in the CDT, they will accept applications for all committees. We are not sure how the selection process works (i.e. Does administration pick? Human resources?) but we hope that the district will be fair and equitable in their selection and will include varying voices and opinions.
Taxes Taxes Taxes
The meeting agenda for tonight lists several budgetary and tax issues including a 5-year budget projection. The tax impact of board decisions on our community has been significant. Remember - this board had approved the securing of bonds/loans to support the high school project and began raising our taxes 3 years ago in anticipation of the MEGA SCHOOL. They did so in a rush to avoid the eventual legislation that would give taxpayers MORE SAY in how school districts spend money. That bond money is now sitting at their disposal. What they do with that money will be key to our financial future. The current board has approved millions of dollars in expenditures since the high school plan was abandoned. Those expenditures, most of which were not in the FY 2007-2008, budget are in addition to the approximate $5.2 million that was approved and spent on a high school plan that the community knew was flawed. We must demand accountability from our elected officials.
At the risk of saying “we told you so,” how much money would have been saved if they had listened to us instead of telling us the decision was a done deal? If the district had stopped the project after hearing opposition expressed when the estimated price tag hit $102 million or even 9 months later after 10.5 hours of testimony, could we have prevented this incredible waste of money?
SURVEY SAYS!!
If you have a son or daughter in the high school right now, please ask what he/she has been doing in the weekly ADVISORY program. While not a scientific analysis, we would like to begin gathering details of what is really happening in this pilot program. Some students are opting out and are leaving grounds. Others are enjoying the program – why wouldn’t they? We are hearing accounts of water balloon battles, cheese curl sculptures, paper football, XBOX and “wars” between advisory groups. How do these activities meet the stated goals of the program? What teenager wouldn’t want to be removed from instructional time for RECESS?
Please send your child’s account of advisory activities to statehi...@comcast.net. We will be collecting these throughout October.
Please let us know if you are not interested in receiving continued updates on the decisions and business of the SCASD board of directors and administration. We will unsubscribe you – just let us know!