A parent (didn’t get her name; sorry) who said her children were
in Lowndes County schools and she had gone to Valdosta City schools
wanted to know if CUEE had collected any data to compare parental
involvement between the two school systems.
Parental involvement is not as high as it should be… and the first step will be to start in everyone’s home….(Oh, and I can hear Continue reading
[applause]
Roy Copeland brought up some names from the past: Mrs. Copeland or Mrs. Adams, and the newscasters Huntley and Brinkley. He then asked about the consent decree on desegregation from back in that era:
Lowndes County Schools Attorney Warren Turner answered the question, after Roy Copeland mentioned they were neighbors. The answer was basically that there would be a hearing before November 8th. Hm, I wonder what happened with that? As far as what happens if consolidation is approved by the Valdosta voters, he said, among other things:Has anyone given any thoughts to the issues relative to the consentdecreee, desegregation, and the realignment of school districts relative to the Voting Rights Act 1965 preclearance, and all those other issues.
So the concept of a neighborhood school, where everybody stays where they are, is not going to happen in my opinion, because the federal government is not going to allow that to happen.
Finally, Roy Copeland asked: Continue reading
He must be a lot older than he seems, since LCHS closed about
1968 when it was combined with Hahira High School to create
Lowndes High School.
He did have a good point, though (paraphrasing): 80% of prisoners are less than 30 years old.
Are you gonna get the parents involved?Lowndes County Schools Supt. Smith responded that they are working diligently through Community Partners in Education to do that. He also talked about Valdosta and Lowndes schools already improving their graduation rates. And school, home, and community as three legs of a stool.
We’re striving to do better every day.
Here’s the video: Continue reading
George Rhynes tied together parents, jobs, Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act, and local education at the
VBOE 25 October 2011 open forum.
His question:
If we are concerned about our children really getting an education, better be concerned about equal employment and getting federal funds, so these parents get their equal share of the jobs, in the community…. I’m talking about the qualified parents that apply for jobs in this area and some of you know they don’t get them.
[applause]
Here’s Part 1 of 2: Continue reading
As the Hog Show Weigh-In yesterday,
in addition to still pictures,
Gretchen took videos. Don’t miss the piggy kung fu!
Here’s
a playlist:
Weigh-In at the Hog Show
agriculture, hogs, pigs,
34th Annual Lowndes Area Market Show and Sale, 4H + FFA (Hog Show),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 31 October 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
-jsq
According to Lowndes County Schools 28 October 2011, Students Compete in the Local Hog Show:
One hundred-thirty youngsters from Echols, Lanier, and Lowndes counties are registered to exhibit their hogs in the 34th Annual Lowndes Area Market Show and Sale, to be held on Tuesday, November 1st. These elementary, middle, and high school students are members of either local 4H or FFA organizations.
The Show will be held at the Lowndes County Civic Center, with judging of weight divisions beginning at 5:00 PM. Hogs will be judged according to market standards for providing the best pork possible. Showmanship classes will follow, where the students will be evaluated for their success in exhibiting their animal.
-jsq
This was the first of three forums on school consolidation
hosted by the Valdosta Board of Education.
It was at Valdosta High School on 8 September 2011.
Here’s a playlist:
VBOE School Consolidation Forum @ VHS 8 September 2011
education, schools, referendum, consolidation, unification,
Forum at Valdosta High School, Valdosta Board of Education (VBOE),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 9 September 2011.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.
-jsq
Commissioner Crawford Powell wanted exemptions or exceptions
to Lowndes County’s travel policy for
“department heads, elected officials, County Manager”.
Commissioner Richard Raines just wanted the limits raised.
Commissioner Joyce Evans preferred they
…make a statement that we should not exceed a certain amount per day.Chairman Ashley Paulk said exceptions were a problem and indicated they would be a bad idea. Powell and Raines are the same Commissioners who thought accepting a federal grant for NOAA Weather Radios would be “wasteful spending” of tax dollars and who refused a federal grant for an emergency vehicle. Spending local taxes seems fine with then when it comes to their travel expenses. They finally adopted a total of $75/day for meals. I hate to agree with Frank Barnas, but GSA standard for trips to Atlanta is $56/day.
At the Monday 24 October 2011 County Commission Work Session, County Manager Pritchard said the county’s travel policy had been discussed during their retreat and during budget preparations, with changes for mileage reimbursement, meal limitations, and use of tax forms. .
This is the policy we have been acting under since the adoption of the budget. I just wanted to bring it back before you to make this adoption public.Joyce Evans expressed a concern about it saying the County Manager or his designee could approve expenses. She seemed to want the designee part removed.
Crawford Powell said:
held by the Valdosta
Board of Education at JL Lomax Elementary School 25 October 2011.
This forum was advertised starting
29 August 2011, almost two months in advance, and was
the third of three forums held by VBOE.
As I asked back back on 1 September,
Where was CUEE at the school board meetings?
One or two showed up at each of the VBOE forums.
Where were the rest of them?
Oh, that’s right!
CUEE’s idea of a forum is to phone up
selected people in the middle of the night to come to
a meeting when both school superintendents are out of town,
oh, and not invite the newspaper of record.
If you still haven’t been to a real open forum, the Lowndes Continue reading
She also said: Continue readingHi, I’m a parent, and I have three kids in school right now; one just graduated.
First of all, CUEE sent me flyers… to insult my schools…. That was very hurtful for my children to read those flyers telling them how bad my schools are. My schools are not bad, and I’m very upset about that.
[applause]
