Romeo Kids First!

Board of Education meeting dates 2007/2008 school year

2007-07-11T17:38:00.000-05:00

At the July 9, 2007 Romeo Board of Education meeting, Resolution #2 approved the new dates for the 2007/2008 school year meeting dates. All meetings begin at 7 p.m., and any special meetings will be posted seperately as needed.

Please place close attention to the meeting locations, as they do change month to month.
August 13, 2007 RETC
September 10, 2007 Indian Hills Elementary
September 24, 2007 RETC
October 8, 2007 Hevel Elementary
October 22, 2007 RETC
November 12, 2007 Powell Middle School
December 10, 2007 Amanda Moore Elementary
January 14, 2008 Washington Elementary
January 22, 2008 RETC
February 11, 2008 Romeo Middle School
February 25, 2008 RETC
March 10, 2008 Croswell
April 14, 2008 Romeo High School
April 28, 2008 RETC
May 12, 2008 Hamilton Parsons Elementary
June 9, 2008 RETC
July 14, 2008 Administration Building

Bondary Modification Deserve Discussion

2007-05-25T14:02:00.000-05:00

Boundary Modifications Deserve Discussion.

Two months ago a boundary modification committee was formed to address the building capacity discrepancies that exist in the north and south ends of the district. According to the Romeo Observer, "the committee was made up of the 6 elementary principals, 2 middle school principals, and two parents from each elementary building. The committee met 5 times over a period of two months and came up with 5 plans".

The 5 scenarios and the agenda for the upcoming May 14th meeting, stating "boundary modification presentation", were online May 11th, Friday morning. But the agenda changed Friday afternoon, and the scenarios were removed. I raised this issue during the public comment portion of the May 14th meeting, and our superintendent stated he sent a letter home to parents that stated "for many reasons, now is not the time".

I'm curious what the many reasons might be, and why now is not the time.
Discussing this issue really seems to be in the best interest of the children. Many options for boundary changes exist that will relieve class size in the south end of the district, and potentially find some desperately needed savings. If there are indeed any benefits to boundary changes, I'm worried that removing this item from the agenda now is likely to end any hope of implementing any changes for next year because the board would be ill-advised to make these changes without adequate public discussion, and careful planning would be needed in insure a smooth transition.

If there aren't any benefits, then the reasons should be made clear to the public, and board's attention should be directed to other matters. But it's unclear how a delay benefits anyone.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that it will make it to the June 11, 2007, agenda.

Election results, May 8, 2007

2007-05-16T05:01:00.001-05:00

Election Results, May 8,2007

Jennifer L. White 1028 (24% of vote)
Michael Stobak 813 (19% of vote)
Wendy Hagerty (I) 690 (16% of vote) endorsed by REA union
Steve Hunt 476 (11% of vote) endorsed by REA union
Terry Raubacher 413 (10% of vote)
Phil Smith 326 (8% of vote)
Zachary Fowler 272 (6% of vote) pulled out of race prior to election
Sebastian Previti 204 (5% of vote)

I am very pleased with the results, the community has clearly spoken, it is time for change! I am looking forward to working with Mr. Stobak and the rest of the board.

Thank you voters!

2007-05-14T06:30:00.000-05:00

Thank you voters!! I look forward to being your voice at the board table. Thank you to everyone who “spread the word”, put out signs, and offered financial support. Thank you to my hard-working, tireless “campaign manager” and her “committee”.

As we move forward, I hope to forge a good working relationship with the board so that we can effectively tackle issues that face this district, such as bonds and infrastructure, new graduation requirements, budgets and security.

One of my goals as a board member will be to increase communication in the district. I intend to keep my blog at romeokidsfirst.blogspot.com, and will post my personal thoughts on school issues so that the community can be kept informed of my views, and we can easily communicate.

Again, thank you for your support.

"Open Communication" it's the new buzzword in Romeo. But can they put their money where their mouth is?

2007-04-26T18:44:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, April 19th during the Channel 6 school board candidate interview, a question about district communication was asked of all of the candidates. All candidates agreed that the current BOE is out of touch with the district and communication needs to be improved.

On Monday, April 23 at the Board of Education meeting, Board President Dale Chesney recommended that the district put the attached board resolutions online, so the public could have access to them prior to the board meetings. The board discussed the idea; Mrs. Wreford stated it could be a problem due to typo's and Mr. Bennett stated that the resolutions change by the actual date of the board meeting anyway(drafts), so a typo wouldn't matter.

The wheels are staring to turn, but they didn't go very far. What good would it do to look at an inaccurate resolution? A better idea is for the board to discuss resolutions at a public board meeting instead of at the closed subcommittee meetings - this would give the public time to digest the information and if questions exist, they could be asked at the next board meeting, prior to the vote.

At this same meeting, public comment time was quite lengthy, several topics were discussed; the tenure of a teacher, re-districting and the removal of the PTO board at some of the elementary's. Prior to public comment the board president reminded the audience that they were only allowed 5 minutes of public comment time. As the meeting went on the "rules" were not adhered to nor acknowledged by any member of the Board of Education. There are several members of the community that step up to the podium during the public comment portion of the meeting, and it is my observation that the Board of Education seems to pick and chose who they will allow to 'break the rules'.
Why the discrimination?
Why is it some community members have the right to speak at length and others do not?

The number one fear of the American public, is public speaking . It is admirable for those who are willing to stand up for what they believe publically, it's a really tough thing to do.

The board needs to recognize this, and let the public speak equally and without retaliation from the board. They need to put their money where their mouth is and truly open up communication. Putting the attached resolutions with the board agenda is a pebble drop in a vast ocean....do the right thing and truly open communication and the district financial records!

Operating behind closed doors and shutting the door to the community

2007-04-18T15:54:00.000-05:00

Operating behind closed doors, and shutting the door to the community....

This has been my perception of the Romeo Board of Education since I began attending meetings. After listening to members of the community and other Romeo school board candidates at a "Candidate Viewpoint" meeting last night, it is evident I am not alone in thinking this is the case. This was the common thread of the evening and it was a view that everyone shared.

The current board holds most of it's board discussion during it's closed subcommittee meetings, and has little or no public discussion of agenda items prior to the vote. Is it operating behind closed doors?

Documents showing budget, expenses, or even the check register, that should be easilly accessable to the public on the districts website, are not, instead the public has to "FOIA" them, wait for a period of time, and then pay per page and employee time, this can be quite costly. The districts finances are of public matter and should be "transparent" and online. Why aren't they? Is the district operating behind closed doors?

Communications to parents are minimal or non-existant, do you know where we are financially? Do you know the districts goals? Do you know who's on your school board currently? These are questions we should all be able to answer, but this information is just not communicated to the parents.

The board's failed bond is just another example of not being in touch with the community and operating behind closed doors, if the district had truly asked the community about the bond, we could have saved ourselves the $30,000 wasted on the failed election.

The latest example of closing doors to the public is low. Two of our elementary principals have decided to take over the buildings PTO and take control of the funds they have raised (which are quite substantial!), and not allow the parents to run the PTO as they always have. Why would this be in the best interest of our students, to alienate the parents and community once again? Why are they closing doors, instead of encouraging parents to partner in their childs education?

It is a time for change, our school board needs to embrace every member of the community, they need to greatly improve communictions with the community, and truly become a community. Let's start opening doors, instead of closing them.

Channel 7 News Educational Town Hall Meeting

2007-04-17T15:14:00.000-05:00

Please take some time to visit this website before Thursday, April 19, 2007.
Channel 7 News is hosting a very important Educational Town Hall meeting with a top notch panel discussion regarding various aspects of education in the State of Michigan. A fellow advocate for educational reform in Romeo, Zoe C. Wagner, has been asked to attend and be a participant to discuss remedial education with regard to post secondary education.

http://www.wxyz.com/content/community/townhall/education/default.aspx

It should be interesting to hear the different point of views from educational experts and community members. Be sure to tune in on Thursday, April 19, 2007 at 8 p.m.

Where did the RCS Fund Balance Go?

2007-04-12T09:12:00.001-05:00

Where did the RCS fund balance go? If you look at surrounding districts website information, you will notice that other districts sit on 10-20% fund balance; Romeo Community Schools has approximately a 2-4% fund balance. Where did it go and how can we get it back?

A schools fund balance is another word for a saving account; it is measured as a percentage of the overall budget. This fund is typically reserved for "rainy days". From the information I have seen over the years with regards to finances, Romeo Community Schools' dangerously low fund balance indicates we must have had many rainy days.

Where did it go? The community has been very generous in supporting the schools, by continuing to pass the sinking fund. The sinking fund pays for the building maintenance, repairs and other specific items. The district receives approximately $8,000 per student in state and federal funding every year, which includes an annual increase. If the school district operates within it's budget, the state, federal and annual increases should cover the operations of the district. When the school district determined the need for a new elementary and a new high school (RETC), the community passed the bond to build them, with the trust that they would be used to the optimum efficiency.So how did the district use up so much of it's fund balance? Individuals such as school board members and administrators bemoan that Proposal A has not lived up to its intended ‘promises’, and also use the excuse of lack of adequate funding from the state. I feel that this question needs to be answered responsibly and without blame, so we can start to build the fund equity back up to a more secure level.

How do we get it back?
LIVE WITHIN OUR MEANS! The district has to stop spending more money than it receives. We, as responsible adults know better than to write a check when there is no money in the checkbook; no one in the public is going to bail us out when we misuse our funds, so why should the school district ask the voters to constantly bail them out?
STOP THE WASTEFUL SPENDING! The special elections the district continues to hold is a perfect example of this wasteful spending, but it is only the tip of the iceberg!
LOOK AT OTHER HEALTHCARE OPTIONS. Other districts are doing this, we need to follow their initiative.
TRIM THE WASTE. There is room for review of the “checkbook” and the waste needs to be identified and eliminated.
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. For many years, progressive companies have identified that conventional thinking was not going to move them into the next century. School districts need to operate on the same level and look at innovative ways to cut costs and improve education.

The School Police Liaison Officer, the surrounding districts employ one, why don't we?

2007-03-30T14:08:00.000-05:00

The School Police Liaison Officer, the surrounding districts employ one, why don't we?

Our students safety should be our number one priority, other districts realize the value of this officer, why doesn't Romeo? We are one of the few remaining districts in the area that does not employ a police liaison officer.

Police liaison officers offer the school district many benefits in addition to being an armed presence. They are actively involved in dealing with any law-related issues at a school (elementary, middle, high school level), and can be called upon as a resource in the areas of alcohol and drug prevention, dating violence and crime prevention. The liaison officer is an informal member of the faculty and administrative team and works together to address problems in the school community.

The liaison officer is a resource for students, they build an invaluable rapport with the students, and are seen as a positive role model in the area of law enforcement.

Police liaison officers are first on the scene in an emergency situation, and they are a critical component of crises management. They not only assist when an incident occurs, but may help prevent serious injury to students, staff and other school personnel.

Ultimately, the officer is there to promote safety and security in the school and to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the teenage public.

Romeo needs to recognize and appreciate the advantages this position brings to the school community and employ a School Police Liaison Officer, for the benefit of the kids and the community!

Candidate Viewpoint

2007-03-23T19:09:00.000-05:00

I would like to thank the Romeo Community Schools P.T.O.C., for inviting the school board candidates to their monthly meeting for a "Meet the Candidate" session. This provided a wonderful opportunity for the community to become educated about these "potential " school board members. It was a very positive experience and I applaud the P.T.O.C. membership for their interest as I feel an educated voter is the best voter! There are many opportunities for local citizens to educate themselves about the candidates running for the school board election on May 8, 2007. The Romeo Branch of the American Association of University Woman will be presenting a "Meet the Candidate" Forum on April 19, 2007, which will air live on the local cable Channel 6 at 7:00p.m. Another opportunity for voters to become familiar with the candidates is through grass roots parents group, Citizens Demanding Accountability in Education. This group will be hosting an informal Candidate Viewpoint meeting at the Graubner Library on April 17, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. I encourage community members to attend one of these forums to learn more about the candidates. If you are unable to attend a forum, but would like more information regarding my viewpoints on education and other important school related issues, please log onto my new blog at romeokidsfirst.blogspot.com. Community feedback is the backbone of a good education system and I look forward to hearing from the community on my blog!

Speaking of the bond - How did they do that? Dollars and sense!

2007-03-22T11:23:00.000-05:00

How was the district going to come up with $93 Million Dollars with a .29 mill increase?
Are they refinancing existing bonds? If so, can we do that with no bond and actually reduce taxes? Or can we ask for a much smaller bond at no cost to the taxpayer?

This seems to be a very complicated process, and I am not a financial guru by any means, but I am a taxpayer and I know how to read my tax assements and bills - therefore, I called my local township clerk to get information on the bond, but even better I called the State Treasury and they really 'clued me in' on the dollars and sense of bond issues! I welcome your analysis, and correction of any information I post here, like I said, I am willing to be educated, but I have done my homework, and I believe my 'interpretation' of this information is correct.

Refinancing existing bonds is an option to local school districts and it can be done to lower property taxes or offer bonds at no cost to the taxpayer.

So why isn't Romeo Community Schools administration telling us how we can get the most 'bang' from our buck - either lower our taxes, or keep the same tax rate and improve the quality of the schools!

February 27, 2007 Failed Romeo School Bond Election - WHY?

2007-03-22T10:32:00.001-05:00

Why did the Romeo Community School February 27, 2007 $93 Million Dollar bond issue fail?

This is one question that was posed to me on Monday, March 19, 2007, at the Romeo Community Schools PTOC meeting. I gave my reasons, along with the other three candidates in attendance, why I feel the bond issue was defeated.

I believe the main reason is the state of economy in the State of Michigan.

The first year tax increase may have been a small amount, but taxes are increasing for other reasons (i.e., inflationary increases) and any increase at this time when people are having a hard enough time paying their gas bills, is too much!

I also feel that the bond process (remember it took 18 months to formulate!), was seriously flawed from its inception! Building a new high school that would be filled to capacity the day it opened is ludicrous, vacating a historical building in the heart of downtown Romeo (Romeo Middle School) and relocating the population to Romeo High School temporarily is not a well thought out plan!

The Romeo Observer has published a few letters to the editor regarding the reasons some residents feel the bond issue has failed. I am interested in how you feel about why this bond was defeated? I welcome all comments, but please keep them clean, and we can have a lively debate whether you voted in favor of the bond, or against the bond issue.

High School Reform - Who is being reformed, our children or the education process?

2007-03-22T09:41:00.000-05:00

High school reform - so what are the graduation requirements?

I attended a meeting on Monday night, March 19, 2007 at Romeo High School where the Assistant Principal of RETC and the Assistant Superintendent of Romeo Community Schools gave a presentation to parents and students about the current high school reform/new graduation requirements for the Class of 2011 - the current eighth grade students! At this meeting, a lot of conflicting information was presented, and I asked some follow up questions regarding the purchase of books for students (can you believe that there are not enough books for the kids in the core classes, such as math?) for these newly mandated classes for this exceptionally large class. The answer I received was "No - not at this time"...so when do they plan on buying books, the second week of school? The administration knows that these students are coming up to the high school, they know what classes they are required to take, so buy the books!!!!

Other school districts have taken a look at changing to trimesters, student support services, etc., and I question whether RCS has looked at these options. We cannot fail this first class of students, and we must be certain of their success under this new law. I welcome your opinions, comments and concerns!

Hello and Welcome!

2007-03-20T12:47:00.000-05:00

I am a candidate for the Romeo Community School's Board of Education - election date May 8, 2007.

I am anxious to share my thoughts on how we can build on the successful parts of the district, and have honest and productive discussions on where we can improve.

The most important feature of this blog is the section on "comments". As I share my thoughts, you will have an opportunity to respond. Please share your opinion, regardless of whether you agree or disagree.

Debate and discussion lead to the best decisions, and that's what we all want for our children!