Category Archives: Education

I can’t sit back without responding with facts —Etta Mims

Received 4 Oct 2011. -jsq
Greed is an excessive desire to possess wealth or goods with the intention to keep it for one’s self. Greed is inappropriate expectation. However, greed is applied to a very excessive or rapacious desire and pursuit of wealth, status, and power. —Wikipedia
We would like to think that our community “leaders” are not full of pride and greed, but please listen closely:
  • The CUEE Board did NOT meet with both school boards prior to sending the petition around town.
  • Troup County Schools have not met AYP in 8 years.
  • Tennessee’s Hamilton County system, the entire district, is currently high priority. This means they have had two years of bad results. This is the school used in CUEE’s original study.
  • CUEE’s expert Steve Prigohzy said,
    "If you believe in the end that running one system is cheaper than running two school systems. If in the end you are going to cast a vote for a single system because you think it would save money, I wouldn’t cast my vote I do not think it will save money."
  • If consolidation passes, there will be only 7 Board Members representing almost 20,000 students.
Continue reading →

Consolidation was about economic development —Fred Wetherington @ LCBOE 4 Oct 2011

Current LCBOE member Fred Wetherington said he was on the Chamber of Commerce Board and is still a member. Remembering how consolidation started at the Chamber:
The whole idea was could it help us with economic development in our community. At the same time could we increase student achievement. And could we save the taxpayers money.

Well, I’m here to tell you tonight that I was one of the board members… that if that theory and those ideas had held up after research and study, I would be supporting this idea.

But he doesn’t. Because that theory and those ideas did not hold up.

He might have settled for something less than that: Continue reading →

We did talk to the consolidators —Philip Poole @ LCBOE 4 Oct 2011

Current Lowndes County Board of Education (LCBOE) member Philip Poole said various members of both school boards have met with consolidation proponents, and had asked them to involve the whole community in any decisions. Since that didn’t happen, there’s been less involvement lately. And the referendum is solely about dissolving the Valdosta School System, which would trigger the Lowndes system having to take over. Which would result in losing federal and state funding due to the resulting school system being larger.

Here’s the video:


Referendum is to dissolve Valdosta School District —Philip Poole @ LCBOE 4 Oct 2011
Why we oppose consolidation,
Community Forum, Lowndes County Board of Education (LCBOE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 4 October 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

Let the Chamber attend cocktail parties —Dan Davis @ LCBOE 4 Oct 2011

Dan Davis suggested letting professional educators deal with education and let the Chamber attend cocktail parties. That got a big round of applause.

First he established his credentials in business and education: 20 year veteran of CPIE and of the Chamber of Commerce; has businesses in many countries, but chooses to live here. Having seen the world and many educational systems, he thinks:

This consolidation is really a bad issue; very very bad.
He thinks consolidation proponents are
very misinformed and very misguided.
He invited CUEE and Chamber members to join him and Jerome Tucker in Community Partners in Education (CPIE).

Here’s Part 1 of 2: Continue reading →

Consolidation: A Financial Puzzle —Dr. Troy Davis @ LCBOE 4 October 2011

Dr. Troy Davis spelled out where we are financially in the school systems, and what consolidation would do to that: it would raise taxes and reduce services.

He took CUEE’s own figures for how much more consolidation would require to be spent per each Valdosta City school student, and demonstrated that not only would that require raising taxes for both Valdosta and Lowndes County residents to near the state-capped maximum of 21 mils, but even then there is no way enough tax revenue would be generated to pay for all the things CUEE proposes to do after consolidation, and probably not even enough taxes to continue employing all the teachers currently employed by the two school systems. Oh, plus consolidation would lose state and federal grant money by increasing the composite school system size, so the local taxpayers would have to make up that slack, too.

Here are his slides.

Here is a playlist.

-jsq

Telling the truth –Supt. Steve Smith @ LCBOE 4 Oct 2011

Lowndes Superintendent Steve Smith explained what the Forum was about:
  1. To support the Valdosta school system, which is fighting for its very existence. If Lowndes School system did not support them, that would be misinterpreted as being against them.
  2. To provide you with the truth about consolidation.

Here are his slides.

Here’s Part 1 of 3:


Telling the truth —Supt. Steve Smith @ LCBOE 4 Oct 2011 Part 1 of 3:
Why we oppose consolidation,
Community Forum, Lowndes County Board of Education (LCBOE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 4 October 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

He pointed out consolidation would raise taxes, would reduce school services, and would not address the basic issue facing local education, which is poverty.

Here’s Part 2 of 3: Continue reading →

Do you have solar energy yourself? Why yes, yes, I do

Grady Blankenship wrote a LTE in the VDT Wednesday, in which he asked “do you have solar energy yourself?” Why yes, yes, I do. And I have some questions for everyone at the end.

Back in 2009 we installed solar panels on our farm workshop. At the time the closest certified solar installer I could find was in Marietta. Four years ago there were 4 in the state. now there are forty. And that’s in a state that’s trailing North Carolina and even New Jersey in solar installations.

Also, I applied some weeks back for a USDA REAP grant for solar for Okra Paradise Farms. Much to our surprise, last week we Continue reading →

Notes for Mr. Blankenship —Michael Noll

Please note that the following was inspired by a letter (attached as a photograph) that appeared in the Valdosta Daily Times in response to my earlier piece on “Solar: Infinite and Clean”. The Valdosta Daily Times seems to enforce a quota of sorts at this time, so they won’t publish my additional information for Mr. Blankenship and other “skeptics”.

Sources for the Skeptic

I have no idea why anyone would call companies in Mexico or Canada to research the feasibility of local solar energy projects. I also do not know what type of freezer the writer of “Seeking affordable solar energy” has. Either way, I will be happy to share more information, so that anyone interested in solar energy can do more research and educate himself.

At the state level you can contact the “Georgia Solar Energy Association” (www.gasolar.org/) to learn more about the viability of solar power in 2011, which is quite different from the situation in 2001. A larger solar firm our community Continue reading →

People who look like you or people to do a job? —Jerome Tucker @ LCBOE 4 Oct 2011

Jerome Tucker continued talking about his experience, including at Griffin Industries, and said:
You looking for people who look like you or are you looking for people to do a job?
He elaborated:
If you pay enough, I’ll find you people to work. That’s a lie: you can’t find people to work in a business. That’s a lie.
He talked about his experience with other schools and the local schools. About business development:
I use the school systems.
He concluded:
If you live outside the city limits, call somebody in the city limits, and please, please vote no.
[Applause]

Here’s the video:


People who look like you or people to do a job? —Jerome Tucker @ LCBOE 4 Oct 2011
Why we oppose consolidation,
Community Forum, Lowndes County Board of Education (LCBOE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 4 October 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

How will you know what’s going on in school if you don’t go in? —Jerome Tucker @ LCBOE 4 Oct 2011

Former chair of Community Partners in Education (CPIE) Jerome Tucker continued:
Three weeks ago, at JL Lomax, I had lunch at Southeast Elementary Community Partners in Education. I didn’t see a Chamber […] person there; I didn’t see a CUEE member there. How in the world are you going to know what’s going on in school if you don’t go in?
[Applause]
He pointed out what most children want: Continue reading →