Is Dictator Homan becoming the Mike Rounds of the school district?

1. So let me see if I have this straight… when a democratically elected body (City Council) votes for something you agree with (Vishnu Bunny’s alcohol license) it is a good thing and the process is working. When another person (the Mayor) suggests another vote, it is idiotic and un-democratic.

   However, when a different democratically elected body (School Board) votes for something you disagree with (school consolidation) it is a bad idea and bad decision. When someone suggests another vote (Anderson talking about a petition drive which could ultimately lead to a public vote) it is a good thing?

   See where I’m going with this?

   Listen – we elect these city leaders to make the difficult decisions for us. We may not always agree with each and every decision, but if we determine they aren’t voting with our best interests in mind we have every right to elect someone else to that position. The citizens should not be second-guessing every decision the city council, school board, county commission, or any other elected body does merely because a few people don’t agree with the outcome.

   Petition drives should be reserved for an issue which is a grave injustice, one that clearly does not follow the wishes and desires of the people, or one which the elected body simply hasn’t bothered to address via an up-or-down vote (such as the Snowgate issue).

   I will support their right to collect signatures, but I do not agree with the logic behind it as it smells like a huge pile of sour grapes. Besides – if you take out the parents who live in that area who are emotionally connected to those aging schools, do you really think this vote would pass? Have we forgotten that there are a lot of elderly voters who would do anything in their power to prevent their taxes from going up and who would see this vote as a step towards higher taxation?

   Plus, have these parents thought about what would happen if they did convince the school board to not consolidate? Is it really feasible to build three new schools each of which houses around 250 students while many of the other schools in the city house over 600? Perhaps it is possible to remodel the existing schools rather than rebuild, but they already have ADA compliance issues, and how many more years can they get out of existing structures if they opt to rebuild?

   I think if we are really objective about this issue, it boils down to emotion rather than logic. Almost everyone I’ve heard speak on the side of preservation has mentioned that they have children in one of the schools, they went to one of the schools themselves, or they live in the area. I completely understand why these groups would be against the idea of school consolidations, but at the same time I think they need to be honest with themselves and acknowledge those emotional connections do not translate into the rest of the city.

2. I don’t entirely disagree with the consolidation, I just think the way they did it is assbackwards. I’m afraid that the Jefferson and Longfellow lots will become empty, with no future for them. And in those parts of town, they don’t need anymore empty lots. I think if we will truly be saving money on the consolidation, it was a good idea. I just don’t think we will be when you factor in bonding. Just my opinion. I just don’t think it was very well thought out and I think the parents are not getting a good deal. Do I support their petition drive? I will sign it, but agree with you, it is a bad idea. They should have held their elected officials to the fire on this before the vote, too little to late. I agree, we need to let our officials make decisions, but we also need to educate them and let them know our feelings before making those decisions.

   As for the main reason I posted this, nepotism. There is NO PLACE for that in any leadership role, and sometimes I think Homan has no shame about it. She’s been breaking the rules since she was named super. And how pathetic is it that she had to have Konrad and Alberty come to her defense?

3. Craig, why do we need to replace the current schools? There has not been full public discussion with citizen participation. It is the right of the owner citizens in the USA to be able to question the decisions of their elected officials. It is the responsibility of the elected officials to question the decisions of the APPOINTED employees.

   Homan is not an elected officer of the people. She is an employee, our employee. She is not omnipotent. There is more to this school building issue than we are being let in on.

   Once again, where are our elected officials laying out a proper case for the need?

   Where is the justification?

   Is the $800,000 cost savings a one year savings? Where are the numbers? What about the cost of the bonds needed to pay for the new schools? Would it not be less expensive to update the current buildings? Where are the real numbers?

   Follow the money…

4. AND – I know a real beef with many is there is no apparent seperation of school board and Homan to assure checks and balances. School board members should not be sitting with Pam at Chamber functions or any other community functions which I have OBSERVED many times. They were elected by us, not her, and their job is to make decisions on behalf of taxpayers and our kids, not on behalf of what Pam tells them. It is time for a good hard look at that position and for once I applaud the AL for actually doing some reporting that is pertinent and unbiased for the public. I am sure they are hearing about it today from IPC – but I don’t think they care. And seriously, if Alberty wants to know why he got his arse handed to him last month – it is because of actions such as this and showing no signs of leadership. Geez Kenny – don’t be afraid to have a public discussion about it among the whole school board and at least show that it’s worth that. Pathetic!

5. Alice – But it is harder to pass legislation when you have a public discussion about it first.

6. So, I’m guessing if one of her kids worked at Jefferson or Longfellow…well, we at least we won’t have to worry about SE closing in the near future, right? haha

7. “Craig, why do we need to replace the current schools?”

   They are the oldest schools in the city – the mechanical systems are obsolete, the classrooms much smaller than modern schools, they have ADA compliance issues preventing access to parts of the schools, and they are exceeding their capacity. Then you have issues with asbestos in the ceiling tiles, insulation, flooring, and even plaster which increases remodel costs. You have layers of lead paint as well… and when you start remodeling a project you are often required to bring things up to modern day codes which increases costs especially when asbestos remediation comes into play.

   I will admit however I’ve never been inside any of these facilities – I can only go based upon what I’ve read and been told by others who are familiar with them.

   I don’t think people argue that something doesn’t need to be done – the argument is should we remodel and expand the current schools or should we build new. The school board opted to build new – which sort of makes sense because building a single new school will house more students, and considering the proximity of those existing schools it doesn’t make sense to build facilities to house 300 students each that are just a few short blocks apart from one another. Look at where the students are coming from – they no longer walk from a five block radius and instead they are being bussed in because there are fewer kids in those neighborhoods. The dynamic has changed and the school board recognizes that. A single (larger) school coupled with some shifting of boundaries just makes more sense in this era.

   Perhaps remodeling would be less expensive in the short term, but from what I’m understanding the $800k is based upon annual operating costs, so in the longer term even with bonding factored in (since you either bond for a new school or your bond for three remodel projects), a lone school will still save money.

   Not that it is all about money – it never is.

   “There has not been full public discussion with citizen participation. It is the right of the owner citizens in the USA to be able to question the decisions of their elected officials.”

   I agree people have the right to question decisions of their elected officials, but how much time do you give to that discussion? Should they hold a series of town hall meetings? Should they allocate 60 hours of public testimony? If you listen to the people who get up to offer their opinions they are often based upon emotion… so how many people need to offer their input when it is going to be tears and memories time and time again?

   I think people often forget the school board doesn’t just shut off when they are out of meetings. They are doing research, they are speaking with parents, they are visiting facilities, they are running the numbers. I know people expect to be spoon fed these days, but if someone has serious concerns it is their duty to reach out to their elected officials and not wait to see if there is enough time during a meeting to hear their testimony.

   However the board members have a job to do, and they need to put emotion aside and sift through the facts. They need to do what is best for the district as a whole and not just what is best for a few families or a few property owners. Not everyone will ever agree on what needs to be done or how it is done, but I don’t think for a second the board members made these decisions on a whim.

8. “As for the main reason I posted this, nepotism. There is NO PLACE for that in any leadership role, and sometimes I think Homan has no shame about it.”

   I’m somewhat torn on this one. Does it look bad?? You bet it does, but I actually have a bigger problem with her first daughter working at SE Tech than I did with this second hire because it didn’t seem that her other daughter had a lot of experience yet she slid into a fairly good job right out of the gate.

   The thing is, per the Argus, this second daughter to be hired has a Masters Degree in Math and will be making $27,462 a year. Do you really think there are a lot of people with Masters Degrees who would be ok with making less than $30k a year teaching? It doesn’t sound like this is a gravy train by any stretch of the imagination.

   It is good that this is out in the open however so I applaud the Argus for reporting it. Thing is, whether it is nepotism or favoritism, this stuff happens. There are a lot of people hired because of who they are and who they know, so this isn’t really unusual.

   It would be interesting to know how many other applicants there were, but hiring decisions and that type of data are never released no matter who is hired or who isn’t. Unless someone with a PhD steps up and says they were denied the job all we have is speculation. Maybe just maybe her daughter was in fact the best candidate for the job?

   I’ll tell you this much – I feel a lot better about her daughter getting a teaching job for $30k than I do with a former KELO reporter with ZERO experience getting a job in the Mayor’s office for $100k. Even when people don’t share DNA they can still raise eyebrows.

9. “Should they allocate 60 hours of public testimony?”

   Well, NO. But 15 minutes TOTAL for over 100 concerned parents, who had LEGITIMATE complaints is total BS. Even city councilors have said to me that the public testimony at School Board meetings is a joke. So Homan’s team and office can spend months studying this decision, but when the parents have a chance for their input they are given 30 seconds each?

   Not sure if you knew, but the school board is not much better when it comes to listening to constituents on a one on one basis either. When Stehly was fighting for the sub-teacher pay increase she had several convos with board members. Some listened very well, some never returned her calls, and Morrison hung up on her and said he could only talk to her thru correspondance. Trust me, Craig, I know where you are coming from, but I have just seen and heard too many things in the back channels. I actually listened to the audio transcript of Stehly’s meeting with the district’s attorney. I have asked to post it on my site, but she wants me to hold off. I can tell you, it is very telling how the district monkeys with people.

10. “I can only go based upon what I’ve read and been told by others who are familiar with them.” The reason for public hearings. Everything is heresay at this point.

    I for one want and require facts before the vote to raise my taxes.

11. “Well, NO. But 15 minutes TOTAL for over 100 concerned parents, who had LEGITIMATE complaints is total BS.”

    I actually agree – there should be some type of happy medium. Do I think we need 100 people to testify? No… that is idiotic. But those who do come prepared to speak should be given 3-5 minutes to state their case. With a decision of that magnitude, I’d like to see an hour or two of citizen input. After that point I suspect it would get redundant, but it would be nice to give people at least a chance to make some legitimate points.

    Of course they need to allocate just as much time for the “pro” side as they do to the “con” side… so maybe an hour for each side to state their views.

12. The Continental Congress would meet for 7-9 hours at a time and members would testify for hours in sweltering heat. I think they did a pretty good job of building the foundation of our country. A free flow of ideas solves problems. Do some people say stupid shit? Sure, Look at this blog. But I try not to censor people unless they are being threatening or not pertinent to the subject matter. Hear people out, that is the foundation of great ideas and problem solving. I used to work at this sign shop which was owned by a total prick, but the art department and the people I worked with were fantastic. We would meet all the time and share ideas and things we learned in design shortcuts. I worked there for about 10 months, and the lead designer and lead CAD designer taught me more about design then I ever learned out of a book or in school. A free exchange of ideas, even when we disagree is essential to a democracy.

13. I know you guys can’t stand this but I’m coming out as a pro rounds supporter. He’s eons better than Noem, Johnson or Thune.

14. I would agree, but that’s like saying dog turds are better then sheep turds.

15. Someone on this blog accused me of making assumptions awhile back. Well one of those assumptions is taking place next week and it has to do with the one of the schools and the land surrounding it that was never fully expressed to the public when asked, but was always in the works. Seriously – how does the school board buy into this crap of not disclosing honest answers when asked?

16. I they making an announcement about someone buying the property?

17. I hear the superintendent is going to be at the Dem Forum meeting on Friday. Lots of people should show up and pepper her with questions.

18. I am looking forward to it 🙂

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