Showing posts with label School district. Show all posts
Showing posts with label School district. Show all posts

Friday, September 11, 2015

Gloucester School Board Upset Over Safety Concerns of Page Middle School


There are a number of people on the Gloucester County School Board whom are upset with the safety concerns we have raised and seem to think that the new school does not have any of the safety issues we have raised.  In a few areas they are correct.  For one, we were not made aware of the safety bars on the gates in the back.  When we walked through the area, gates that were closed were locked.  One was open that we went through.  We did not give it a thorough inspection to see how they actually worked.


Most people seem to think that not one student would ever think of trying to climb the fences in the back of the building.  Well we hope not.  They are designed to make it extremely difficult to consider climbing.  Trees are also not where one wants their children, preteens, teenagers, offspring, to be but many parents have found them in the trees anyway.

  The good news for everyone is that these gates do open from the inside using a push bar.  So they will not get trapped in the courtyards if there is ever a fire.

  To address the issue of how does the school get the handicapped students out of the building especially if they are on the second floor?  Troy Anderson made sure I received the below picture.


Troy explained that there are 4 of these stationed at each stairwell and at the media center.  I asked how many handicapped students the school has but did not receive an answer.  I wanted to know if 4 was enough.  Also, I want to know exactly how these are used.  No answer.  I have more questions regarding these.  
If there are more than 4 handicapped students at the school and should a real emergency ever occur, then who makes the decision who goes first?  What are the plans if these have to be used?  Will the students go down one side of the staircase while this is being used on the other side of the staircase?  From the picture shown on the Stryker, how will the person handling it maintain their own balance?

  Have any of the teachers been trained to use any of these?  Are certain teachers selected as primary handlers of these units?  Are there backup or secondary teachers who will take over the job should the primary teachers be unavailable?  Are there plans for drills utilizing these units?  

  We plan on getting the answers to these questions and we will publish that information as soon as we get it.  

  What still bothers us is the rails on the second floor and that stupid open floor plan.  I will say that aesthetically it looks nice but there are reasons schools were not built like this in the past.  It's not that it was "not" thought about it was considered dangerous for many reasons.  Our initial post we thought the rails were about 36 inches.  After looking at a picture taken but not posted we recalculated and estimated about 40 inches.  Charles Records informed us that they are 42 inches.  So that is 3 and a half feet tall.  I don't care if they are 6 feet tall.  In a Middle School my opinion is that they are very dangerous.  If you can throw a heavy bookbag over the top then whomever might be below can be very seriously hurt or worse.

  But there are some people who honestly think this would never happen.  I don't think accidents will ever happen but life likes to prove me wrong all the time.  Folks on the school board think that this is just some reason to complain for fun.  One of the students in this school is one of my own children.  My concern is the safety of not only my own, but everyone.  This school is a monument to stupidity.

Big Brother Is Watching:

  
Sold to you as, "for the safety of the students and teachers", these cameras have been mounted all over the place to make sure we have a record of anything that may occur.  If they are not doing anything wrong, then they have nothing to worry about.  On the other side of this coin, I want internet access to these cameras 24/7.  These cameras need to be in all the classrooms, teachers lounges, the Principle and Vice Principles offices, the cafeteria, break rooms, the kitchen, the gym and the workout room, and all back work rooms and storage.  They should also have full audio.

  In the event that certain teachers or the Principle and or Vice Principle have private meetings with parents then there should be a privacy mute option at that point for the audio only.  Again all cameras should be internet accessible for the entire Gloucester County public.  Now if they want to argue the privacy concerns, all I have to say is that if they are not doing anything wrong then there should not be any issues.  Also, if the School Board wants to argue the costs well all I have to say is they did not argue the costs for when they put these in.  Also were any of the public asked about whether or not we wanted these?  No?

  This is 1984 Orwellian despotism and not Constitutional Government.  No one needs to be spied on under the guise of safety.  But of course unless you are seeking to control the students in a quasi militant manner removing their self respect and dignity then this is the way to go about it.  Quash their individuality and turn them into machines that simply obey.  Then you have machines ready to work in the new progressive workforce where questions are never asked and assignments are happily accepted and acted upon.  One can learn to be happy in their new slavery.

The folks at the School Board want to sell you on their concept that the new Page Middle School is something to be proud of.  In my own opinion it is appalling on so many levels.  Aesthetically pleasing to the eye, yes, in some cases but that does not make it safe or sound.  These are my questions, opinions and or concerns and not everyone is going to share and or agree with them and that is fine.  That is part of what makes life more interesting.

  

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Page Middle School Now Open With More Issues


It's an interesting building that there is no question about.  Some issues experienced yesterday with the new school include problems with the phone lines as well as problems with the Internet.  Not a big deal especially being a new school and not having much time to work out all the bugs.

  One area that begs to question is why isn't the cafeteria not yet functional?  And why did the school board order pizza's for the school children instead of having the food made at other area schools and bringing it into this school?  It would seem logical to have gone that route as opposed to ordering pizza.  What an order some business received over this.


We did a bit more checking and the rail on the second floor is probably 40 inches high as it should be.  A number of readers think that nothing will ever get thrown over that rail for any reason and that to think so otherwise is foolish.  It is their belief that every child is raised by parents who are very diligent in teaching their children between right and wrong.  I hope they are correct but a walk through any store suggests otherwise.  To think that every child, preteen, and teenager has been brought up to the highest standards of society is rather foolish.

  I have no wish for seeing any form of even mild mischief to take place yet to think it will not happen and that teachers will surely prevent such at every moment of everyday again is wishful thinking at best.  It is not only my opinion but also the opinion of others that designs throughout this structure are considered potentially dangerous.



How many teachers are out in this hall all day to make sure there are no issues and how is that cost effective when it comes to staffing?


Now a question about open design.  People are complaining that I would even complain about the waste of space this open design creates.  I am not the only one saying this.  This is also coming from an engineer as well as people that have been involved in constructing schools.  It's a heating and cooling nightmare for one.  Those claiming that open design is not an issue have not had to deal with the problems of heating and cooling such a structure.


So the above picture that shows two stories of open window space is needed for educational purposes?  I have no issues with the windows for each floor being the way they are, but how many classes could have been built in here that are now wasted?




Now the classrooms are nice looking.  What I have to wonder about is the windows as large as they are affecting the learning process.  The reason for the question is that anyone walking through the hall could very well be a distraction to the class or some in a class.

  The reason you have not seen these types of designs in schools in the past is because designers knew and understood these issues.  Today though it has become very unfashionable to ever question those in charge.  We should just accept what those in charge do.  If there is an issue then you blame the parents for not teaching their children, kids, preteens, teenagers, or whatever anyone wants to call their offspring these days, for not teaching them how to maintain the highest standards of society.


The lunchroom or cafeteria from another angle.  Open floor plan.  



The cafeteria food serving section is nice looking.  Hope it's up and running soon.  If you are just looking at the aesthetics of the overall design it is nice looking.  Modern, simple, and clean.  If you are looking at it from a liability standpoint, it is fraught with a host of "potential" issues.  Potential is the key word here.  Most people are not looking at the potential issues.  Those that are have been fast to discredit our initial post about this school and it's overall design because of the liability issues being faced.  The rail height on the second floor as seen in the above picture were brought up during construction but were blown off.  If something heavy gets thrown off that area or falls by some weird accident anyone below could be seriously hurt.  This is why schools in the past were not designed like this.  

  



     A number of people do not consider the fencing around the back of the building to be an issue.  Will the children, preteens, teenagers, or your offspring not try and climb these fences?  The design is against climbing them.  If you are foolish enough to try and climb over one you will probably get hurt.  It is designed to keep people out that have no business being there.  The fences meet construction standards and are upper end fences.  No question.  But again you have to be foolish enough to think that every child, preteen, teenager, offspring, have all been brought up in households where the highest standards of society have been instilled in them and that they all follow those standards to the hilt at all times with no question.

     We have invited Charles Records to write a letter to dispel the posts here.  He has invited members of the public to tour the school so that he could dispel what has been posted.  We await his reply and will bring that to you if he does respond.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Gloucester, VA School Board, Benefits Corruption, (Part 10 of 10)

Armand A. Fusco, Ed.D.

About the Yankee Institute for Public Policy

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Inc. is a nonpartisan educational and research organization
founded more than two decades ago. Today, the Yankee Institute’s mission is to “promote
economic opportunity through lower taxes and new ideas for better government in Connecticut.”


Question 10: Benefits 
 
Do part-time employees pay a proportional share of their insurance benefits? If 
not, why not? Are retirees who are being paid their medical insurance by the 
school district entitled to the payments? Are there retirees listed who are 
deceased but still having their benefits paid? Is the list reviewed yearly to keep 
it updated? 
 
Background: School districts have a list of retirees whose benefits are 
paid either by the school district or the employee. Such lists have been shown 
to include retirees who are not entitled to the benefits, as well as retirees whose 
benefit are being paid even though they are deceased. 
 
Proposed Solution: An issue is whether a part-time employee should 
receive the same paid benefits as a full time employee. A part-time employee 
should be required to pay for a proportional share of their benefits. For 
example, a half-time employee should pay 50 percent of the benefit cost. 
  
 The retiree list must be reviewed each year to determine whether the 
payments are legitimate and whether the retiree is still living. 

Conclusion 
 
School boards and administrators usually claim that 75 to 80 percent of 
their budget represents “fixed costs.” Taxpayers should never accept such a 
statement, because this is the biggest deceit of all. Such a statement assumes 
that every school employee is essential, that no consolidations can take place, 
all programs and services are efficient and effective, all resources are managed 
with quality guidelines, and every operation is managed with utmost efficiency. 
Nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to any organization 
supported by taxpayer dollars -- and this is especially true of schools. 
 
 Therefore, these ten critical questions need be to given honest and 
meaningful answers, and then followed by appropriate action. 
 
School boards cannot do the job alone. If they were doing their jobs, 
School Corruption: Betrayal of Children and the Public Trust could not have been  written, and the evidence of rather shameful statistics of student results such as dropout rates, poor testing results, achievement gaps between white and 
minority students, and over 25,000 schools identified as failing would not exist. 
 
No amount of money will solve these and other school problems. It 
requires effective monitoring of school assets, human and financial resources, 
and programs and services. Unfortunately, such monitoring can only be 
effective if there is enough outside taxpayer knowledge and pressure to demand 
answers and action. 
 What taxpayers need to understand is that local boards have the power 
and obligation to adopt policies and practices to manage the school resources 
so that they are used wisely, honestly, and effectively, as well as protected from 
corrupt acts. No other approvals are needed for action on their part, but it 
does require education, training and courage. 


Enhanced by Zemanta

Friday, November 22, 2013

Gloucester, VA School Board Questions, Non-Classroom Staff (9 of 10)

Armand A. Fusco, Ed.D.

About the Yankee Institute for Public Policy

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Inc. is a nonpartisan educational and research organization
founded more than two decades ago. Today, the Yankee Institute’s mission is to “promote
economic opportunity through lower taxes and new ideas for better government in Connecticut.”


Question 9: Non-Classroom Staff;

How is the time and load of non-classroom certified staff (psychologists, social
workers, counselors, speech therapists, etc.) monitored? How is the time of full time staff with reduced loads (department chairman, supervising teachers, etc.)
monitored?

Background: There is usually no documentation of how such staffs use
their time. How many students does a psychologist test per day? What are the
number of students a speech therapist sees each day? What do department
chairs and supervising teachers do with their released time? These questions
demand answers.

Proposed Solution: It is essential to document how these staffers spend
their days. Such staff members are very reluctant to provide such information,
but it is incumbent on the administration and board to require it. Policies and
guidelines must be developed for this purpose. There are associations for each,
and they can be helpful in providing such guidelines. Comparing what other
similar districts do or require can also be useful.

This is part 9 of our 10 part series investigating and stopping fraud in our school system.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Gloucester, VA School Board, Federal and State Grants (Part 4)

Armand A. Fusco, Ed.D.

About the Yankee Institute for Public Policy

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Inc. is a nonpartisan educational and research organization
founded more than two decades ago. Today, the Yankee Institute’s mission is to “promote
economic opportunity through lower taxes and new ideas for better government in Connecticut.”


Question 4: Federal and State Grants 

How are grants being managed in the school district? Who is responsible for
monitoring the grants for proper implementation? How is the monitoring actually
done?

Background: Grants are another common and significant source of
corrupt acts. There are two types of grants: entitlement (specific dollar amounts
allocated to a district for specific reasons) and competitive (schools are not
required to apply for such grants). All too often, districts do not take advantage
of the latter because they involve extra effort and work -- a poor excuse
considering the additional resources such grants could provide.

It is extremely important to note that grant monies cannot be used to
replace previously budgeted dollars. The monies must be used as an add-on to
the budget. One common grant abuse is that schools use funds to supplant
the budget (replace previous budgeted dollars) -- a corrupt act. What must
also be reviewed very carefully is to see who has received any of the monies.

Since grants usually do not involve local dollars (some do require
matching funds or resources), local oversight is shoddy at best. State and
federal education bureaucrats are responsible for monitoring the grants, but
are too often ineffective in uncovering mismanagement and fraud. This is why
grants dollars are abused so easily.  

Proposed Solution: During each budget presentation, a list of all grants
that were available to the school district should be listed, as well as the dollar
amounts involved. Next to each should be indicated whether the grant was
applied for and whether it was approved (with dollar amounts). If some were
not applied for, the reason should be given. The State Department of Education
will also have a list of all such grants (unless they are foundation grants).

Approved grants are public documents and must be forensically
examined to determine whether they are and have been used for the purpose
intended. If funds have not been spent according to the grant application, the
reasons must be given.

Any citizen can sue the district (as a person) if federal grant dollars have
been misused and receive a third of the recovered amount. School Corruption:
Betrayal of Children and the Public Trust gives the citation of the unanimous
U.S. Supreme Court ruling on this issue.

This is part 4 in our 10 part series on avoiding school corruption.  It's time to ask a lot of questions.
Enhanced by Zemanta