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Superintendent Starr's response? Sure, why not!
What does an $80,000 scoreboard look like?
Will the Board of Education review the proposal to give this one school a specialized scoreboard or will they rubber stamp Superintendent Starr's approval? This item is, after all, on the CONSENT AGENDA for the June 14, 2012, Board of Education meeting. No Board discussion is requested. Just get out the Green Zone Rubber Stamp.
Ok. And is there a problem here? I don't understand the snide: "Superintendent Starr's response? Sure, why not!" or the following statement, "Will the Board of Education review the proposal to give this one school a specialized scoreboard or will they rubber stamp Superintendent Starr's approval?" The Booster Club is made up of primarily parents and the Boosters raise the money themselves. I don't think this web site needs to view EVERYTHING through sinical eyes. Who asks or seeks out the cell phone towers and who asks or seeks out a scoreboard are not the same and completely different issues. Yes great disparrity between the DCC schools and the affluent ones. And? My daughter goes to a DCC school. If Churchill wants a new scoreboard with lots of bells and whistles, great. The Boosters are paying for it. So unless you are seeing a SAFETY issue or a substantial funding on the part of the tax payers, why are you couching the editorial comments in a "gotcha" tone? If I could get a scoreboard like that for our school, you bet I would. BTW - Did you even contact the Booster to ask the questions you feel should be asked at a BOE meeting?
ReplyDeleteCell towers and upgraded $80,000 scoreboards are exactly the same thing. They are permanent changes to a public school facility that forever change the way the facility looks.
DeleteSilver Spring gets permanent cell towers, Potomac gets upgraded $80,000 scoreboards.
There are no cell phone towers on public school property in the Churchill or Whitman HS Clusters. Whitman HS parents fought the placement of a cell tower at their school and won. Likewise, for Julius West MS and Wootton HS.
By they way, a scoreboard can be obtained for around $10,000. Churchill already has one. What do you think this one will do for the other $70,000?
And while you are falling for the "booster club" pays for it, once installed the scoreboard is the property and responsibility of Montgomery County taxpayers. So when the $80,000 scoreboard needs a $10,000 repair, that's on taxpayers. "Upgrades" have to be maintained, and that's on MCPS.
The issue is for the Board of Education, are they going to make the educational disparity in our schools permanent through changes to the physical structure of our schools?
You are right. The Whitman community did fight the cell towers and won. And the other communities did not fight? Whose fault is that? "By they way, a scoreboard can be obtained for around $10,000. Churchill already has one. What do you think this one will do for the other $70,000?" I don't know. Did you ask? Did you contact the Boosters? The school? Find out the vender and ask what it does? Yes they have a scoreboard. Why can't they have a better one? Is it going someplace different to be an eyesore to the community? Is the current board malfunctioning or is it just a matter of getting a better board? I know you're not a reporter but if you are going to level a single paragraph without the basic Who, What, Where, When and Why? You are doing a disservice. And NO the taxpayers do NOT necessarily pay for the scoreboard. School Athletic Programs don't necessarily work that way. I like the "And while you are falling for the "booster club" pays for it" bit. The county allocates a sliding scale of funds for athletics. Athletic Departments are not funded 100%. The Wheaton, Kennedy's and Einstein's of the county typically get more than the Churchill's and Whitman's of the county. Each school is given roughly 50% of their expenditures just to keep the teams afloat. The schools are expected to make up the rest through gate receipts, concession stands and ...BOOSTERS. But, the affluent schools raise MUCH more than the DCC schools. In fact Wheaton's was non-existent until recently and Northwood, Kennedy and Einstein raise only a fraction of a school like Churchill. So ironically if that scoreboard was donated to one of the DCC schools they wouldn't be able to afford to maintain it. If this new Churchill scoreboard breaks, Churchill would more than likely have to turn to the Boosters for a repair. BTW - Booster meetings are open to the public and they all have web sites. Might want to check that out sometime. And back to the issue of "are they going to make the educational disparity in our schools permanent through changes to the physical structure of our schools?" Are you going to deny Churchill a scoreboard (that they are paying for) because another school has a cell tower? If those communities don't want it, I don't know where they were when it was proposed, but they should petition the BOE. Is anybody doing that right now? Besides I haven't seen a conclusive study on adverse health effects from cell towers sitting out on a field. From the Cancer.org web site: "At ground level near typical cellular base stations, the amount of RF energy is thousands of times less than the limits for safe exposure set by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and other regulatory authorities. It is very unlikely that a person could be exposed to RF levels in excess of these limits just by being near a cell phone tower." So if it is just an eyesore issue, communities need to get off their duff and do something about it. Otherwise this seems like such a non-issue.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the MCPS PR. So when did the Silver Spring communities get notification that they were getting cell towers? Oh, they didn't! Makes it hard for a community to protest doesn't it. Have YOU talked to the Kennedy High School neighbors about the cell tower that popped up at Kennedy without their input? I have. Have they protested, you bet. But Shirley Brandman and Patricia O'Neill don't live in the Kennedy Cluster, do they?
DeleteIn fact, the Kennedy HS cell tower was put up without a BOE vote! It was put up by Superintendent Weast in a secret deal with the vendor. How exactly would you propose the community protest what goes on behind closed doors? Whitman HS didn't get that treatment, did they?
The Churchill Scoreboard memo was posted about 2 days before the BOE meeting and the vote is on the BOE's consent agenda. You want research? Then go do it, but the BOE has no interest in putting proposals out to the public with sufficient time for public discussion. And your fantasy about repairs is just that. Repairs are on MCPS. It's their property.
Who said anything about RF levels? That's your issue. A cell tower is an eye sore in a neighborhood (per County Executive Ike Leggett), an attractive nuisance, and a hazardous materials location that requires extra fire protection in the event of a fire.
A cell tower is a permanent change to a neighborhood school that negatively impacts the property values and changes the way schools in Silver Spring look compared to schools in the Green Zone.
Should MCPS facilities look different in different parts of the county based on the wealth of the neighborhood? Why? Why should those permanent changes be permitted? Should we only make repairs at some schools and let others rot? Why do you support that kind of permanent disparity in county public schools?
Feel free to put out a Press Release on this subject.
For a good example of how the BOE lets Silver Spring schools rot, see the Old Blair Auditorium. That would happen at Whitman HS?
Deletehttp://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2010/01/wasted-school-space-10-years-and.html
Silver Spring deserves this, right anonymous commenter?
Did the BOE follow their own policy on fundraising?
ReplyDeleteNope.
Churchill HS Boosters were to come to the BOE for permission to raise funds for this item first. They didn't. What's a BOE policy anyway?
Gee, any time someone disagrees with a certain blogger, the person is called MCPS PR. How about acknowledging that you're not ALWAYS right and/or other opinions exist? Nah, couldn't do that now could you?
ReplyDeleteSaid by an anonymous poster who doesn't have the nerve to stand behind their words.
DeleteWhat other opinion would you like on this post? That Silver Spring public schools deserve to be an eyesore while Potomac schools get jumbotron scoreboards? Yes, you are entitled to that opinion. You would be right in line with the Board of Education and the MCPS Administration. And that's why the MCPS PR department puts that position out.
Chris Barclay, former Board of Education president, represents District 4 for the schools. This year he is up for re-election. His opponent is Annita Seckinger. The people in District 4 have representation on the school board. In addition they have representation that they voted for on the County Council. They have responsibility here too. Their choice.
ReplyDeleteAnnita Seckinger--or whoever's managing her BOE campaign--really needs to do some work to publicize herself and her issues. those of us in District 4 know almost nothing about her!
ReplyDeleteChurchill gym floor is dangerous and Churchill administrators do nothing with full knowledge that kids have been injured. The parents coalition should look into that one. MCPS has been served with notice a couple of years ago about the conditions and still won't fix it. Concussions, knee injuries and broken bones have been directly attributed to slipping on the poor surface. Yet Churchill buys $80,000 scoreboards but won't spend less than $20,000 to ensure the kids have a safe playing surface for sports and gym classes.
ReplyDeleteIncompetent AD and Principal are root causes of that one.
DeleteNo, root of problem is the person in charge of running the schools on a daily basis. That is the SUPERINTENDENT. That person oversees staff and reviews their decisions.
DeleteWhat is wrong with the basketball floor? Who put the school on "notice"? Was there litigation?
A letter was sent by two parents both lawyers notifying MCPS of an unsafe condition a couple of years ago. You should request a copy of the letter and post here. Churchill has really done nothing about it and there have been several injuries since including a broken leg and concussions from slipping on the floor. Ironically, one of the parents who helped write the letter was clairvoyant as it was his son who broke his leg in practice when he slipped on the floor. He was told he should sue but did not want the hassle and did not want to adversely impact some relationships related to what he does. AD just hopes the problem will just go away so he ignores. Principal doesn't have a clue and just goes by what the business manager says (he apparently could care less as well).
ReplyDelete