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Miss Jolly,

Olive Branch or backed against the wall from too much pressure? Elections coming up? Future bond referendums? Not much has changed in two years with the Choice Plan/Lottery so why did it take so long?

I am glad you stopped beating me. I wished the pain would have stop sooner. But thank you for stopping. My bruises still hurt, the damage is done. But thank you for stopping further damage.

The major difference is the that the FRL numbers cannot be used any longer. Otherwise, the lottery might still be here to accomplish agendas.

There is no genuine olive branch extended until the families of North High Point and Jamestown are given equal voice like the rest of this county. Only then will this action be seen as an olive branch. Until then it is just a brittle little twig waiting to break again.

Where was the "olive branch" when this doomed plan was originated? Where was the School Board and Superintendent in "doing their best to listen to our communities and make decisions that are in the best interest of our children." when this doomed plan was originally discussed? They failed to listen in any way at that point.

I wonder if Ms. Jolly would be so forgiving had this happened to the high schools that are in Greensboro proper? Had this plan been placed in that section, the National Guard would have activated to quell that insurrection! I also wonder how the middle/upper class people in the Northwest district would have embraced such a socio-economic engineering plan?

I guess we will never know...or will we?

Shalom

Ms. Jolly,

The Guilford County Board of Education and Superintendent Terry Grier extended a tremendous olive branch by canning the High Point lottery program? I don't know what you were watching, but that board meeting resembled a WWE Steel Cage Match along the lines of a Hell in the Cell match between The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and Bad Blood, all at the same time. There wasn't any doves or olive branches in the air, but there were a few metal chairs flying about.

Yes, thanks can be given to Nancy Routh, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Darlene Garrett, Deena Hayes, Amos Quick and Anita Sharpe for voting to end the disastrous and discrimnatory lottery program. But only raspberries should be directed toward Walter Childs, Dot Kearns, Susan Mendenhall and Marti Sykes who fought to keep the plan. I really don't see the need for any thanks to be offered to Terry Grier, as he hasn't done anything to deserve it.

As Sid said above, its clear that if the government hadn't forbad the district from using FRL data as the basis of its lottery, it is highly probably that there would not have been the necessary seven votes to cancel the lottery. You see, without the use of FRL data, the lottery would have produced truly random assignments and that would not have served the objectives of the lottery; getting middle class kids from the Southwest area to Central High. Without the FRL data, the lottery no longer served any purpose.

Even so, it's true that some of the board members truly believed that the lottery was misconceived and should be discarded. It seems that Darlene Garret, Anita Sharpe, Nancy Routh, and Deena Hayes disagreed with the plan since day one, as they voted against it when it was first introduced. It also appears that Kris Cooke, who originally voted for the plan, had a change of heart and became disenamored with it. So, these five do deserve thanks from everyone in Guilford County, not just High Point. This plan was wasting millions of dollars of precious school funds that could be used in other ways and without any positive effect upon student achievement in the three affected schools.

So, Ms. Jolly, it isn't just the High Point parents that should say thanks that the plan is gone. Those of you in Greensboro should be thankful as well. You were affected by it, whether you knew it or not. You did have a dog in the fight. After all, these are still the Guilford County Schools. There are no longer any High Point Schools, just some Guilford County Schools that are within the city limits of High Point. What happens in those schools is and should be of a concern to everyone in Guilford County.

Great responses. Anita Sharpe is the only member I know personally. I know she has always worked in the interest of the kids and teachers, and she will always have my vote.

I admire those who were against "the High Point Plan" to start with, and I also admire folks who can change their minds when they see they made a mistake.

Many of us knew this plan was a bad idea to start with, just like we knew merger was going to cost more and cause a multitude of problems. Bigger isn't always better, especially in schools and school systems.

Unless the new plan is for neighborhood schools with NO busing for racial balance, all of Guilford County should be up in arms (figuratively that is).

If Dudley can maintain its status quo, so should all schools be allowed to be neighborhood schools.

Are Childes and Sykes from High Point? I know Mendenhall and Kearns are. If all four are from High Point, then just a big duhhh.

Ms. Dunn,

Walter Childs is also a High Point Representative, representing the Andrews area. He was not on the Board at the time of the Choice Plan vote, but he seems to have bought into Kearns/Mendenhall line of thinking that it benefits High Point in some manner, although there is no discernible ptoof that it has helped Andrews.

Marti Sykes is from Greensboro, respresenting the Grimsley area. One entertaining moment in the lottery discussion occurred when Sykes was asked what her thoughts would be if her daughter was involved in such a lottery. Sykes was wordless and thunderstruck. As I recall Sykes made the comment before the Choice Plan vote two years ago, "Those kids need diversity". It seems that Sykes believes in forcing other people's kids to experience diversity through whatever means necessary, but it doesn't apply to her kid. She would seem to be a prime example of a hypocrite, subjecting kids to a lottery and forced busing is fine as long as it is other people's kids and not in her district.

Darryl is right on-target. Greensboro would never tolerate such a program in their area. It's obvious that the lottery was the brain child on Dot Kearns and Susan Mendenhall from the very beginning, and they got enough Greesnboro reps to go along. It now seems that this disaster was invoked because of the decline of the city of High Point. Kearns and Mendenhall seem to believe that hijacking middle class kids from North High Point/Jamestown and sending them to Central to force diversity at their school will solve the academic problems of Central and High Point. It hasn't, and it never will. Forced busing of kids has never solved academic achivement problems. The solution to these problems is much harder than busing kids. It's going to take academic professionals more skilled than Kearns and Mendenhall.

Thanks for the info. Very interesting and helpful. I hope and pray that the board will use common sense when making decisions about school lines.

All schools in the GCS except Northwest, Dudley, and Southeast, have very diversified student bodies. I doubt these schools want to be bused in order to experience diversity.

It is obvious what the High Point Board Members wanted. You would have throught Southwest was all white and rich to listen to the proponents. When I taught there we had over 38% minority, and a diverse economical population.

I found that the majority of kids from all walks of life achieved and behaved well. The small minority who did not need to be addressed and handled appropriately. This requires taking a hard line at times, but that is what the Board was elected to do.

Magnet schools and taxpayer paid busing needs to be addressed also.

Two more questions. Does Cindy Jolly work for the school system? Does she have kids and where do they go to school?

Ms. Jolly,

It's so ironic that you state peace begins at home.

There hasn't been much peace in the homes of the SW parents since the Choice Lottery Plan. It's not so peaceful when your child wonders where they will be bused to. It's not so peaceful when you have to rearrange you schedules to be at three different schools to participate in your children's activities.

Carol Dunn, you are so correct. SWH is very diverse. The people I know that go there are not rich by any means. It is amazing what a well financed PR campaign can produce.

My kids went through the public schools in High Point long enough ago to avoid all the social maneuvering. All did well, in both high school and college. I am grateful that they were in the pre-merger era which initiated the downfall of High Point's schools.

Grier, and many of his predecessors, seem to mesmerize High Point's board representatives into buying into every hare-brained scheme they can concoct. Dot Kearns and Susan Mendenhall should be voted into oblivion the next election. Don't know where I've been but I just found that the board had extended Grier's contract through '09!!! In face of the tremendous backlash against him, guess which part of the "good hands people" the voters were given? Olive branch...gimme a break.

Grier has apparently bought into a study by the Herman Group? which says that High Point lacks and "educational culture" and is stigmatized by a "mill town psychology." Moreover he advocates the community needs to provide incentive scholarships to high school students and kids should start to school at age 3. Some of this may be debateable but the overall impression is that Grier finds the schools in High Point hopeless. Nowhere do we find any indication that some of the shortcomings may be because of poor organization, planning, controlling, directing and leadership...all the major part of Grier's job.

Cutawad, appreciated your comments.

I think if you compare the scores and behavior at some "Greensboro" schools you will find much to be desired. Why High Point was singled out, I don't know for sure, but suspect Mendenhall and Kearns wanted "their" schools upgraded. SW just happened to be closest and in the HP city limits so they were the the chosen.

2009, huh??? The school board could control Grier if they wanted to. Did he earn a raise as well?

I was at a large group meeting one time where I heard an attorney mention Grier's contract. This attorney told us that in North Carolina employee contracts are only good for one year. Grier is an employee. He is not an elected official.

There are issues of "performance" so a contract would not be deemed unilateral. Perhaps this is the reason for stalling the raise and the kind of hard-to-measure performance evaluation.

The School Board could be looking for an out.

Ms. Dunn

Bingo! It has ALWAYS been about Central.

Cindy Jolly, what a name. What do you know about High Point schools? Furthermore what do you care about High Point schools? Isn't it true that your child goes to Northwest Middle School? Happen to know their demographics Ms. Hoho? Isn't it also true that you work for the Winston Salem Forsyth County school system and you want desperately to get back in the Guilford County school system, preferably where your kid goes to school? Didn't Guilford Co. fire you a couple of years ago? Could this be why we are blessed with your accolades of the School Board and Terry Grier? Spare us any more of your rhetoric. We see what's going on here. And about it starting in the home, care to share with us your home situation? We bet everything is not so "Jolly".