We the People...
Remember the search last January at the Area Elementary School? All of the 4th and 5th grade girls were searched in an effort to find a set of keys that fit the toilet paper holder in the bathroom. The District said the search may have been inappropriate but claimed they had the authority to conduct such searches, "although it is usually reserved for more serious incidents such as suspected weapons or drugs". The authority to conduct suspicionless mass searches? I don't think so.
Well, it turns out that the ACLU has gotten involved and sent a letter to the District that said the searches "violated the girls' right of privacy under both the United States and the Pennsylvania Constitutions". The letter continued, "apparently the District has resisted a move to adopt a District-wide search policy. The absence of a policy increases not only the chances of more violations of students' privacy rights, but also makes it more likely that the District will be held financially liable for improper searches that may occur in the future.Without written guidelines on how and when to proceed, mistakes are bound to occur."
Last night a parent, Deborah Wells, discussed that letter with the Board and urged them to adopt a search policy, a policy which might help prevent any future violations of students' Constitutional rights. You'd think that Adams would be the first to go along with that.
The history of the absent search policy is predictable, interesting and ironic. In September 1998, the policies for student searches, locker searches and motor vehicle searches were on the agenda. Adams railed against the curtailment of individual freedoms in the name of school safety. This, of course, brings us periously close to a police state.
Youngman and Christmann, not to be outdone, didn't like the idea that student searches were based on reasonable suspicion instead of probable cause. The policy, they argued, should define what reasonable suspicion is. Solicitor King informed them that the Courts themselves couldn't and didn't define reasonable suspicion, since it depends on the circumstances.
The second reading occurred in October 1998. That night, Adams passed out a copy of the Bill of Rights to the Board members and declared that he would vote no for the search policies, saying he looked at it as treason. The vote to adopt the policies was taken, with Adams, Christmann, Youngman and Courtney voting no. So no student search policy was ever approved.
After reviewing the history, Wells asked the Board to provide guidance for teachers and adminstrators in the form of a policy. She said that while Adams might see a policy as the first step in tyranny, she saw the lack of a policy as an open door for the violation of children's Constitutional rights, and that, she said, was a first step in tyranny. What lessons do the children learn when those in charge do not respect the Constitution?
At that point, Duryea told her time was up and to please summarize whatever she had left to say. This isn't the first time Wells has been told to sit down and shut up when her message was not to his liking, so she was prepared and had signed up to speak during the audience participation time. Would you like me to wait til' then? she asked. No, go ahead and finish...
My Head don't Hurt and my Feet don't Stink.....
And it was a good thing she did, because challenges to our children's Constitutional rights seem to be alive and well in our beloved district. You may know that last week was the annual "See you at the pole" event where students voluntarily go to the flagpole before school to pray. Teachers can join them, as long as it it before school and they are on their own time.
It's good to see people exercising their Constitutional rights, Wells said, but she understood that at one of the District's schools, about ten minutes before school began, a parent was permitted to go to each classroom to recruit students to go to the pole to pray. Teachers also left their classrooms to join the students. If it is true, this would be a violation of the First Amendment.
I've heard this rumor, too, from several different sources. Now let's see. Don't I remember something about Tibetan monks, a cultural program, and children with permission slips who couldn't attend because of the separation of church and state?
There's a pagan under every rock...
Student representative, Mourad Ismail, shared a list of proposed clubs that High School students would like to see. One of the clubs was the "Spirit" club. Adams and Christmann had their heads together, pointing to the list Ismail provided. In an accusatory tone Adams asked, "What is this Spirit club?" Silence, then chuckles. "It's school spirit, Bill."
Construction woes just beginning...
Bids aren't due until October 5 but the politicking continues. On the agenda was an easement agreement to move a sewer line at Har-mer. Apparently it wouldn't be a good thing to have a sewer line under the new addition. King advised the Board to vote for the easement even if they weren't in favor of the renovations because he said he understands politics and he understands common sense. Adams, Christmann and Youngman voted against the easement. Enough said.
Is there anybody out there? Step back. Take a good look at all this. No new curriculum, despite thousands spent. No new textbooks. Illegal searches. Possible violations of the First Amendment-Establishment Clause. No Superintendent, No Director of Curriculum, No new Principal at the SRAE, a possible strike by our teachers.
You might want to check out the new election page
Penny Wise and Pound Foolish?
"I have a problem with..." So said Christmann, as the math textbook debate raged on. Giesler, too, had a problem "with kids starting school with no books" (Hm. A voice of reason? How refreshing.) The first vote to approve new mathematics textbooks for the High School and Middle School was a tie (Smith was out), with Christmann, Adams, Angerett and Youngman voting no. A tie means the motion doesn't carry, so no new textbooks were approved.
Last school year, the Board approved 5 new math courses: Consumer Mathematics, Statistics, Integrated Algebra and Geometry Parts A and B, Fundamentals of Algebra, and Computer Programming. There are students currently enrolled in these classes, but they have no textbooks.
Students enrolled in the other math classes are currently using books that are about 7 years old and have been re-bound once ($6.00 a book for re-binding - takes about 3 months). There aren't enough books for everyone - all the high school classes need additional books, with 40 books at $45 apiece needed for geometry alone. The Middle School principal estimates that about 30-40% of the books they do have won't last through the school year.
Christmann, though, wants to be sure that the new books the teachers recommended conform to the new NCTM standards for mathematics. Can't fault him for that. It's too bad, though, that he wasn't concerned about this last spring when the curricula and textbooks were presented to the Board. Then was the time to object - not the day that school began.
Anyway, the Board had a change of heart. After a quick call to Mr. Beil to see which courses have no textbooks, the Board voted again. This time, books were approved for the new courses. As far as the old courses go? Well, new copies of the old books will be ordered. Ahlum estimates it will cost about the same as ordering the new books...
What's going on here? Let's see. The Board paid teachers to revise curricula and recommend textbooks - then ignored, and basically rejected, all of the work that was done. Why the delay? Something about the curricula and textbooks not meeting current standards. The solution? Spend thousands of dollars on out of date textbooks, books that definitely don't meet current math standards. Puzzling.
I guess we should be grateful to the Board, though. After all, they are just volunteers who are doing the best they can...
Middle School Soccer or Creeping Socialism?
In the fine spirit of us against them, Angerett lead the charge to stop the formation of a Middle School soccer team. Angerett began the discussion by claiming that "the community" already has soccer programs, so a program at the middle school would only be a burden to taxpayers. "Would you call it creeping socialism?" asked Adams. "This is getting there," was Angerett's reply. Enough said. A vote was taken and the Board voted not to approve the position of Junior Varsity Coach or Middle School Soccer coach (Angerett, Adams, Christmann and Youngman voted no).. Ok, says Ahlum. I'll cancel those programs...
But wait. Did they really mean to eliminate the JV coach? I guess not, because they reopened the motion and decided to keep him. So what's up with Middle School soccer? Is it really the fear of socialism? Or is it something else? Turns out Angerett has some past history with community sports leagues. He went on (and on) about Freeport and how the formation of school football programs took players from the community "midget" league. As a result, Freeport has a losing football team.
Enter Duryea. Parents he's talked to like the idea of their children playing for the school district. Because it's free, Angerett interrupted. No, Duryea continued. Because they would rather represent their school district.
But according to Angerett, "We are two communities...We like our community pride and the people of Slippery Rock like theirs...basically we're trying to cut it so there's only one." So all you parents of Middle School soccer players, listen up. Don't try to create a team that would have members from across the District - that's socialism. Stay in your own community and pay to play. If you're poor and can't afford the fees or travel expenses, too bad. After all, it's not how you play the game. It's whether you win or lose. And once again, it's our children who are the losers.
Dis and Dat
Did you know that the only power expressly granted to a school superintendent is the power to recommend textbooks for adoption? Last night, though, our all powerful Board chose to eliminate that wording from the proposed policy for adopting textbooks. No big deal, you say, they still have to follow the law. True. But it just goes to show you how much power our Board wants. Kind of makes you wonder what kind of superintendent will be willing to work for them...
Bids are going out for renovations at Har-Mer and the Middle School. How far behind are we, someone asked. "About three years," quipped Thompson. Two months, though, was the official answer.
An executive session was held for personnel and litigation not yet filed. Wonder what's up with that?
Anybody Got a Band-Aid?
Well, it doesn't look like there will be any new Math books when school begins (for one thing, the warehouses are empty...), but there may be a glimmer of hope on the horizon. If the Board does indeed vote next week to approve the new textbooks, they could arrive by the end of September.
Of course, the Board still won't have a policy that tells how books are to be adopted. But then, why should there be a policy to direct our board's actions? And of course, the math curriculum hasn't been approved either. But hey, why do we need a curriculum when we have the books? Makes you wonder why teachers had to spend all that time writing curriculum when all that is really needed is a book...Were all those sub days just a waste of taxpayer dollars?
Christmann, sees a flaw in ordering textbooks before a curriculum is adopted. You can't order books if they don't go with the curriculum, he claims. Youngman and Ahlum, though, feel math is math. The Board seems to forget that the teachers chose these books to go with the new math curricula. Is Christmann hinting that the Board has already rejected the new curricula? Stay tuned...
Giesler perhaps showed the most insight, calling the board's failure to have books "irresponsible". Begin the Adams tirade: It's not irrresponsible since it gives the Board "a chance to put forward a better program". After all, he continued, "we keep hearing the teachers approved this, they recommend this and la di da di da...American students score next to last on international math tests...and they (the teachers) are not giving us good advice here. We are doing whatever they say, and their profesional judgement has had 4 decades of continuous accelerated failure."
Begin the deconstruction: Ah the low math scores of American students. Must be the teachers' fault, right? It doesn't have anything to do with who takes those international tests, does it? And those same bad teachers - forty years of bad professional advice has led to the demise of American education. Thank goodness for the Board's expertise. They will save Slippery Rock and find us a better program. So all you teachers out there, all you amateur curriculum writers, thanks but no thanks. The Board knows best. But I'm sure they'll remember your efforts during contract negotiations....
The Freefall Continues....
Dennis Spinella, Director of Curriculum and Staff Development, will be looking for a new job as of Aug. 15, 2000. The district has elected to eliminate his position and create a "new" position- Asst. Superintendent. A search is underway.
This is the third administrator to leave the district in the last 3 months. Spinella joins the ranks of our superintendent and the SRAE/Har-Mer principal.
Ron Cokain will work as interim principal at the Area Elem. and Har-Mer until a permanent principal can be found. Mr. Cokain is currently the Head Teacher at Har-Mer. He will be paid his regular teacher's salary + 25 dollars a day and start Aug. 16, 2000.
In related personnel matters......
Mr. King, the district's attorney, related to the public that negotiations between our teachers and board are not going well, but has no reason to believe that school won't start on time. He says that the district has not heard from the union of any plans for a work stoppage.
It's time to call a board member in support of our teachers!
As our administrators drop like flies, mostly due to our board's doings, it appears that the teachers are being targeted next. Our board's obsession with TOTAL control may well lead to a strike.
IN THE LET'S NOT STOP WITH THE STAFF-WE WANT TOTAL CONTROL DEPARTMENT.....
After a lengthy diatribe by Bill Adams about the Constitution, free speech and how our fathers fought for, died for and bled for these things, our board passed a portion of the new district-wide proposed dress code.
Adams was concerned that the new dress code, as written, was in violation of our students' rights to free expression. Adams was also concerned that there would be problems with interpretation of the new code of dress. And I agree.
Board member Christmann suggested that, in "partial response to what Bill's saying", the board should consider uniforms.
What is wrong with Christmann? Let's see here. Adams is concerned with the right of the student to freely express themselves and Christmann wants to take away all self expression by putting our students in uniforms. Wonder if Christmann wants uniforms for teachers, too? I think that when a government mandates uniforms, it is an attempt to do away with individual freedom. Just take a look at any child who attends school in Cuba or China. Not much individual freedom there, but they sure are well behaved.
Anyway, they did vote for a portion of the new dress code.
Any attire or grooming disruptive to the instructional process which includes but not limited to:
Sheer see-through clothing
Bare midriffs/backs
Shorts or skirts must reach below the fingertips when the arms are fully extended at one's sides
Shorts must be designed as walking shorts or culottes
Swimsuits, cutoffs, gym shorts, and shorts with frayed or slit bottoms are not acceptable
Apparel that reveals or exposes the midriff, lower back, chest, sides of the body and/or undergarments
Painted faces
Bare feet or rubber thongs
Hats, headgear, or bandannas
Chains
Ripped or torn clothing
Droopy pants/ low riders
Sleepwear
LINKS PHONE NUMBERS PRIVACY VIOLATIONS SAFETY UPDATE BOARD SCHEDULE
THIS JUST IN!