News-Record.com

Bruce,

When you described the coalition formed among Hayes, Quick, Childs, Sharpe, and Garrett, did you mean that the coalition was formed prior to the meeting or at least prior to the vote?

I was at that meeting and it looked as if there was no plan, I do know that Darlene was worried about being over budget, and Anita asked why one of the subcontractors bid was $800,000 different to the winner of the low bid, so that might have been here reason. Deena went on and on about the minority issue (BTW, it is only color that bothers her, the women part of the minority is not her concern; at least that is the way it sounds)Amos asked about being over, but I don't think Walter asked any questions.

This was not a surprise to the BOE, they were warned.The school was 7.50 more per square foot than Southern Middle. That ran over also but was passed at the last meeting. The main thing seemed to be the minority issue

No, there wasn't a coalition formed before the meeting or the vote. But the end result was that the Northern project didn't have the support needed to pass, even though board members voted against it for two entirely different reasons.

Why couldn't Smarti..oops, I mean Marti have phoned in her vote? She knew she was going to miss the meeting and she knew they would be voting on the issue. Is she not as Smarti as she tries to portray? Even the commissioners have figured out this new phone technology.

And what does Deena want? Does she want us to loan her some of our Choice Plan buses so she can bus in the right color contractors? Is she delusional? I used to think that she truly had the best interest of students as her priority, now I see she's just another Bruce Davis with boobs.

That's a good question Boobie about Marti.

I know that Skip Alston can get Wille Best to hold up a cellphone to a microphone when he misses a meeting. You would think Grier would be willing to do the same for a School Board member, if he offered he may have gotten a raise.

Deena needs to better job of getting kids to speak before the Board. The kids she found last night all had their deck of Race Cards to play from.

When she started talking about the minority vendors I really though Skip had somehow grabbed the microphone. Let her find some qualified vendors and then she can talk. Its hard to admit, but I had to agree with the Dr. on that one.

Things will never change if we still have Dot, Susie, Grier, Deena, Smarti, and Amos. And to top it off Becky is still the mayor with her little sidekick!!!

I hope one day we can get the proper representation but I am not too optimistic!!

Just keep those great displays on Southwest Road!!
It is the only thing that keeps me from going wild!!!

What about the maps that were passed out at the board meeting?

It's now time for GCS to start thinking outside of the box on new schools, or as they say in Tampa, inside the big box. Here's a story from the Tampa Tribune by Marilyn Brown on how Lee County decided to cope with out-of-control population growth with limited school construction funds. Going this route would take a paradigm shift in many people's minds, but as you can tell from this story, it just might solve some problems here in good ole Guilford.

TAMPA - Sometimes students playfully welcome Kmart shoppers on the intercom.

The Junior ROTC drills on a concrete patio that looks much like the garden center it was, minus the potted azaleas.

And families still try to figure out where the Little Caesars Pizza counter or pharmacy was located.

Talk about recycling.

Lee County, on Florida's southwest Gulf Coast, has turned two abandoned Kmart stores into public schools.

Both opened Aug. 8 after eight-month conversions that saved as much as $5 million per school, said Reggie Snell, Lee's director of construction services.

"It takes an empty eyesore, and now we're using it for something productive," Snell said. If more of the "big boxes" are abandoned by retail giants, the district is interested. Without the Kmart schools, Snell said, "we probably would have done a portable farm" -- a school of 40 to 50 trailers used for portable classrooms.

Lee, like Hillsborough and other growing Florida school districts, is struggling to build enough classrooms for the stream of families pouring into the state.

This year, an additional 5,000 students boosted Lee's enrollment to 76,000, and a record eight new schools opened.

Hillsborough counted 5,155 new students, swelling its total to more than 190,000, and is opening five new schools this year.

Districts also must keep up with the voter-approved class size amendment. State education officials said Tuesday that Florida needs nearly $2 billion in the next year to build 6,500 classrooms to fulfill that mandate.

Walking through either of Lee County's Kmart schools, it would be hard to tell that less than a year ago, they were huge, abandoned shells.

Designing 40 to 50 classrooms, a cafeteria, media center and other areas in a 115,000-square-foot box was a challenge, the architects said.

"Our goal was to change the exterior so the stigma of Kmart went away," said Robert Taylor, architect for the Rayma C. Page Elementary on South Tamiami Trail in Fort Myers.

To do that, workers lopped off the crescent-shaped sign over the front doorway and painted the exterior bright orange and yellow. They hid structural columns in interior walls.
Parents, Students Pleased

Kathy Lombardo, whose 7-year-old son, Jesse, attends first grade at the school, said it was hard to imagine how the school could be converted, but "now you would never, ever know it was a Kmart."

Parents liked the idea of using an existing building, she said, and her son liked the school so much she sent him there rather than to one closer to home.

The district paid $5.7 million for the building on 3.6 acres of land for the elementary school, then pumped an additional $9 million into renovations, Snell said. It houses 500 students, with a capacity for 1,000.

The 100,000-square-foot East Lee County High School in Lehigh Acres houses 400 ninth-graders. Tenth-graders will be added next year. Lee officials call it a staging school, with students moving to their permanent school in 2007.

Melanie Mailhot, 14, moved to Florida from Rhode Island, where she attended an old, two-story, brick Catholic school. When she learned she would attend a school that previously was a Kmart, "I thought it was funny. I didn't want to come here," she said. "Then I went to an open house, and I loved it."

East Lee, with a strip shopping center next door and a Bealls department store, Burger King and McDonald's close by, cost about $4 million and renovations about $8 million more, Snell said.

Both buildings were free-standing with what Snell describes as "a sea of asphalt" surrounding them. Those parking lots were carved into parent drop-offs, bus loops, staff parking and, at the elementary, a grassy playground.

With a new elementary running about $17 million in Lee County, including land and furnishings, the Kmart schools pay off, Snell said.

"The cost of concrete and steel -- which are nearly impossible to get -- are exorbitant," said Gary F. Krueger, architect for the Lehigh school. "Most of that is taken care of in an existing building."

Officials from other growing districts in Florida are starting to check out Lee County's Kmart schools, Snell said. He and district architects weren't aware of any others in Florida.
Taking A Look

Hillsborough officials aren't opposed to the idea, depending on location and cost, Superintendent MaryEllen Elia said.

"It definitely would be an option if we could find one in the right place," she said.

Hillsborough recently considered converting an empty movie theater at Van Dyke Road and Dale Mabry Highway to a middle school but found that costs were too high, Elia said.

District Chief of Staff Jim Hamilton said land for an elementary is at least $1 million. Building and furnishing a school for 1,000 students runs about $10 million.

Cathy Valdes, Hillsborough's chief facilities officer, said she's interested in the conversion concept for staging schools while others are being renovated or built.

"You can go through a million dollars a year just to set up and take down portable classrooms at one site," she said. "I'm going to go down there. Once someone has kind of broken the ice and done it, there's something to see."

Availability of the big boxes in Hillsborough was greater a couple of years ago, but some are still for sale, said Patrick Berman, director of retail brokerage for Cushman & Wakefield, an international firm with offices in Tampa.

Although grocery store chains such as Winn-Dixie and some Scotty's stores are available, the "really big boxes" with at least 100,000 square feet are mostly Kmarts, he said.

One Kmart vacant for a time at West Waters Avenue near Hanley Road sold in June for about $5 million to an investor, said Bill Calary of CBRE Inc., who said he made that sale. He said there might be more available later.

"It definitely would be an option if we could find one in the right place."
MARYELLEN ELIA Hillsborough schools superintendent on Kmart conversions

It was quite obvious after watching the school board meeting last night that Deena Hayes should resign her position as school board member and become a full time officer for the NAACP.

She displayed last night that her #1 concern in our schools is that people of color should be held beyond and above the whites in every matter.

The poor little middle schoolers that Deena brought in to scream racism, was a nice touch,,,then her stupidity involving the minority contractors lack of involvement in school contracts took the cake.

I, for one, do not trust Deena Hayes making critical decisions where my sons' education is involved,,,,,You see, my son is white, and it is becoming apparent that Deena Hayes is not color blind when dealing with school issues.

Through a "Crossroads racism training manual" I found in a Trash Container at SW High, I read that Minorities cannot be Racists,,,,,But Deena Hayes has definitely proven that statement to be FALSE!!!!!!!

Our School Board in Guilford County is a JOKE!!!!!

Those maps are on the GCS web site. Just go to:

http://www.gcsnc.com/boe/agenda.htm

And click on the Nov. 8 meeting. The maps are under item VII B.

Didn't Grier what to buy the Sara Lee building on 68 and make it a high school?

WOW, in a few short years High Point could have the largest school in the world right at the corner of Main & Commerce.

And all of the outer buildings could be the magnet campuses.

That would free up some cash for Grier's raise because you know the School Board will set the bar sooooo loooooow that the greater risk would be tripping over it.

General, you are so right about Deena. That woman thinks you should been given things in life based on being a person of color. What happen to working hard and doing the right thing to become successful?

What does she want? I am so tired of listening to her that I press mute on my remote every time she opens her mouth.

FANTASIA for School Board!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NOw, General, you know very well she dissed High Point and lives in Charolette.

Mountainman:

You are so right about the 3 speakers. It was an orchestrated attempt (and not a good one at that) to put a face on race once again. I found nothing any of these 3 boys said to be any different from the complaints of 3 normal white students: I have to take a class over, my teacher doesn't call unless I do something wrong, and if I am poking around and talking in the hallway the teacher gets mad if I am late for class. The last boy was sweet in saying he just wants someone to talk to. So do many other students. There is the right time and place.

This is all we need is more lack of support for our teachers and to put the blame on them. No wonder they keep leaving.

And the Dr. was right on the contract bidding. His staff did a great job too. Mr. Duncan made it a point to mention the legal aspects several times.

Amos' final comment about the Hairston students was the icing on the cake. The newspaper report that I read stated that the principal said students were "bumping" into each other or something like that. I don't think she blamed a specific group. It mentioned many more students at the school and blending. She is just trying to keep order in her school and listen to the parents' concerns.

It is similar to the crucifixtion of the A & T Middle College principal a few weeks ago at the board meeting. Some things never change.

Way back in the late 1940's, one current schoolboard member was at a slumber party with all her teenie bopper pals....." I want to get married and move to Emerywood, I want to become a Socialite!!!!!!!!!!", she said.

Spelling and Comprehension not being one of her strong suits,,,Socialite became Socialist and the rest is HISTORY.

Way back in the late 1940's, one current schoolboard member was at a slumber party with all her teenie bopper pals....." I want to get married and move to Emerywood, I want to become a Socialite!!!!!!!!!!", she said.

Spelling and Comprehension not being one of her strong suits,,,Socialite became Socialist and the rest is HISTORY.

Huh, I didn't realize the Susan Mendenhall was that old because I know you can't be saying that Dot is that young. Dot is from the 1840's, why do you think she always talks about the farmers in Georgia and Gen. Sherman setting Atlanta on fire.

Dot in the 1840's works since she studied with Marx and Lenin.

Wait, Dot didn't decide she wanted to live in Emerywood until Andrews opened and her kids were in the Andrews attendance zone. THAT is when she moved to Emerywood.

Do the research.

The school board can't get enough minority Companies in the 300 million Bond so they begin brainstorming.

Dot(the poor minority people lover) suggests; There are two black architects on the design teams aren't there? Why don't we ask them if they know any Companies?

Deenha: Why dont we go out of state ? We could bus them in. That always works...

Amos; I dont know how to do it? Just get it done. What was my name again?

Deenha; I dont care about women. They are not a minority.

Would you trust your children with these people?

I'm with you Candy Boy. I don't know any building contractors who are pink with purple polka dots, but I have located 4 middle schoolers with a light pumpkin complexion and rosy cheeks.

I understand they are a little bashful, but if they were to talk it might turn somebody white. Other people have talked via a boombox at the School Board meetings, why not these kids??

I can hear it now, "Hi, my name is Paula Pumpkin, I live at 1111 Southwest School Road. Every November I feel threatened by this white lady in the cafeteria who calls me dessert. Every year its the same thing, she chases me and my friends and says jump in this pie crust you Pumpkin heads." "We are very offended by this threatening language and lack of sensitivity to our pumpkin complexion."

"Can you help us Miss Hayes?" "We heard that you hold all the race cards."

I see that RBC Centura Bank is a sponsor for this Blog Site.

Does this Bank also do business with Guilford County School System????????????

Hmmm???

Why would we bring in out of state contractors whether they are purple, pink or striped? Shouldn't we help the North Carolina economy. How does bringing in outside Afro American contractors help Dheena's community?

And doesn't everyone remember, it is not RACE that divides us according to the News & Record a few Sundays ago. It is income. It is busing for income levels.

What about the poor white people who can't bid on these jobs because they can't get bonded. The ones who live in tiny houses or doublewides and have a family to feed. Who is looking out for the poor white people? Where is their "white privilege"? The white people whose kids cannot afford school supplies.

General Sir,

Does that include retirement accounts with the schools according to the internet searches?

Buck,
I have spent some quality time with those middle schoolers on SW School Road and we communicate pretty well even though they are quite bashful.

They have agreed to attend a school board meeting but they only want to, as a group of course, stand at the podium and hold their sign for 3 minutes.

They will need a ride and some protection from somebody they call Crazy Joe Devola. ??

General,
Why don't you call and ask for Grier's emails from the last month, incoming and outgoing. I bet you might find some involving an RBC employee. If you did, you could enlarge them and ask the scarecrow kids to hold them for all to see. Crazy Joe would love that!

Bruce,

The redistricting maps presented by Eric on Tuesday are no longer provided as a link from the BOE Meeting materials (see your post above).

Do you know how to get to them? Can you please post?????

THANKS!

Rather than increased enrollment in AP classes, they should also consider passing rate on the AP exams. Deciding that a large block of kids need to be enrolled in AP courses is not the solution. Take a look at the pass rate on the AP US History scores at the end of the year and report on that, not just the enrollment!!! It would shock the readers and signal a real problem in the enrollment process!!!

Numbersgame,

Try the meeting materials for Nov 17 (they point back to http://www.gcsnc.com/boe/2005/11_8/redistricting_maps.htm)

jwg,

Much appreciated!

Janet,

That will never happen! Passing the courses or knowing how many students are not passing would be a good thing. But Newsweek is not interested in students passing the only criteria Newsweek requires to make their list is the percent of AP classes taken. No one cares about petty details like learning.

Central High School had a high school graduation rate of 47.8 percent in 2005 and made the Newsweek list of top 1000 high schools!

If you have not looked at the Friday notes lately or for the past few months the Newsweek article is still the lead Friday note.

Almost forgot, the district is into accountability now maybe there is hope!

Janet has a great point and I have always said this. It doesn't matter how many are taking A/P classes. We need the ratio of how many are passing to how many have taken the course - who has passed the course; who has passed the A/P exam with at least a 3.

I would encourage everyone to make a list of measurable Managment By Objectives criteria that the SB could use for the employee performance evaluation later next year for TG.

I have worked up a list of measurable objectives based on what has been in the news in the past two years - test scores, graduation rates, etc. Then there are other objectives that may be on a point system, those that are more subjective. I am suggesting that each board member fill their copy out anonymously on the point items then the results be tallied. I plan to forward to the SB this week.

If you have some measurable objectives to suggest to the SB, please write them before the next meeting.

Thank you.

Barbara Ann

What a bunch of fools! All of the people that keep electing these idiots and the idiots that sit on the board. Managing by objectives would be great of the school board puts forth EXACTLY how the specific objective will be measured. Grier has always been a master of manipulating the numbers. He will choose a matrix that helps to prove his point. And now he has a $122,000 per year statistician to help him earn a raise that when applied never goes away! Being paid based on how many kids take an AP class so Newsweek can recognize and rank them....PURE BS!!! How many kids shouldn't even be in the class? Does the teacher dumb down the class so others can catch up because they shouldn't be there in the first place? Is that why ONLY 10 - 15% of the kids score 3 or better?

Let me ask you this question... If you invested $100,000 and it rose to $200,000 at its peak and then it drops back to $150,000.....did you make $50,000 or did you lose $50,000? Which answer will get me the raise? Figures never lie but liars always figure.

PLEASE BOE MAKE SURE YOU USE A SET OF NUMBERS THAT CANNOT BE MANIPULATED....SAT SCORES, SCHOOLS MEETING AYP, % OF STUDENTS THAT STARTED 9TH GRADE THAT GRADUATE 4 YEARS LATER..... DON'T GIVE HIM ROOM TO WORK HIS EDUCATION VOODOO WITH OUR MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great points STATS.

Is the baseline # for SAT's this years miserable #'s or will he be accountable from the high #'s. Working from the low point (this year's failures) actually reward Grier. How crazy is that?!

An important lesson in Compensation 101 is that it is very important to tie compensaton increases to achievements, so the BOE deciding to have a merit based compensation program for Terry Grier is a good start.

However, such a program is worthless unless achieving the objectives set for reward actually are aligned with the organization's mission. In other words, be sure that the results that you are incenting, if achieved, will contribute to achieving the mission. I've seen many times where management has set reward objectives, the individual achieved the objectives, compensation was awarded, and the organization failed. That means that the wrong objectives were set and achieving those objectives did not contribute to the success of the organization.

And, from what has been reported by Bruce as to what some of Terry Greir's performance objectives may be, I suspect that what we will see is the achievement of the goals and payment of the reward, but in so doing, no progress will have been made toward what should be the actual mission of the schools...advancing children's educations.

Bottom line, this new approach at accountability is likely just a cover for the board to give Grier an pay increase. Will improving dropout and graduation rates, increasing participation in Advanced Placement courses and enrolling more students in the arts truly contibute to advancing children's educations? Grier has said that he wants specific, measurable goals, and that is good, but let's be sure that those goals are meaningful to the mission, if achieved.

Grier will meet and exceed the school board's goals because are none!

How hard can that be?

Stat Lie and others:

All excellent points. The objecives should be one that can be measured and NOT manipulated BY the stat man. Grier should NOT be the one to set-up the Matrix. Items listed in the newspaper like offering more Art classes was a ridiculous example. And above all the "number" of A/P classes should not be considered for this. (leave that to the PR team and Newsweek) It should be a ratio of who passes the course and also the A/P tests with a 3 or higher. If this were put to the test, maybe kids would quit being pushed to take courses they do not want in the first place. The courses should not ever be dummied down; they should be what they are meant to be - a college level course.

All the objectives should be about EDUCATION, safety, teacher satisfaction, decrease in violence, etc. and NOT social engineering.

There should also be a list of expectations which may be more subjective to evaluate. This would be like any other employee performance evaluation. It would be on a point system. With negative points being awarded for things such as busing fiascos that might have occurred during the past year. Each board member would weigh in on a checklist and the results tallied. Each board member should not know how the other filled out this list. You could only hope it would be handled fairly.

Sally, great point on the "goals" in the past.

But consider these two points everyone: 1) the fact that there was a 3 hour closed session shows that a raise is just not being handed over lightly 2) when the retroactive raise is evaluated the end of next year, it will be very close to Nov. election time. SB members who are up for election know that they will also be watched closely on their past performance.

There are many people who now follow the school issues very closely. They are smart enough to know if this was just a "stall" tactic to give Grier a raise in the end and he just lost the interest on the money OR whether it is a bona fide attempt to finally establish some means of accountability. If it is a failed year test score wise, etc., people know if a raise was just being handed over.

The points all of you made are very valid. I am still encouraging each of you to write the school board before the next meeting and suggest measurable goals and objectives. Please be objective yourself in what you would like to see improve in our schools. Sometimes they really do use some of our ideas (excluding the majority opinion on the IT Plan, of course). And now with Anita's plan for neighborhood maps, this may not be in vain either.

Has anyone been paying attention to the CogAt testing which was administered to third graders this year. Previously, it was the Otis Lennon test administered in second grade which determined strong aptitude and achievement. I have heard a lot of negative things about this test. Two students in our third grade qualified. During the summer I had my son privately tested. There was a 13 point differential between private testing and this CogAt...the teachers are angry. I join them.

Barbara,
I dont think AP tests can be "dummed" down. They are standardised tests with an international curriculum and consequently international recognition.
Prerequisites to take AP courses are honours classes.
These children are pushed into AP classes you say? Why cant tehy atke them if they have done Honours?
Explain.

AP,

Yes, the A/P tests to obtain college credit are standardized tests. Some colleges accept a 3 or above. Duke accepts 4 or above; however a 5 on A/P World History is not accepted by Duke, but Wake Forest will accept it. (go figure) Every college is different. There were only two 5's received on the A/P World History last year at SW.

I never said the "TESTS" could be dummied down.

I had heard last year that some kids at SW felt pressured to take A/P U.S. World History(I think that was the course.) Parents had said they had to take the course or their kids were told they had to bring a note saying why they should be excused. Now how many teens are going to remind their parents they need a note to get out of the course? Some just forget. After the note incident, many parents felt like kids where being pressured to take these courses. These would have been last year's juniors.

You do not need honors courses to take an A/P course. Honors courses are not a prereq for A/P courses. For instance, last year my daughter took A/P Stats and passed the exam. She is taking Honors Pre-calc this year.

Personally, for our situation we love A/P courses. My daughter hopes to have a year of college credits under her belt and win some scholarships. I think A/P classes should be offered to ANYONE who can handle them, is focused enough to do the work, and realizes the time that is involved.

What parents feel is the courses should not be watered down or slowed down to have kids who can't handle the work "catch up". They are very fast paced classes and intense. Kids should be encouraged to take these, but not pressured for the sake of GCS getting a spot in Newsweek Magazine. A true measure (one of the objectives for TG on his evaluation) should be what is the ratio of kids passing the course to taking the course; what is the ratio of kids getting a 3 or higher to those taking the course. In other words are we just trying to "fill up the seats" to look good and not BE good.

My husband and I were particularly impressed with how SW handled their scheduling of the A/P tutoring for the kids the end of the year. The times were well coordinated so if you took 3 A/P courses and even were in sports, you could fit the tutoring in. Mr. Parker and the teachers are to be commended on this effort.

We are also impressed and my daughter is excited about the "It's Cool to be Smart" program. The kids who take and pass the A/P courses put in many hours of work and sacrifice personal time. It is great to have some tangible rewards to help with their college futures.

I hope to see more A/P courses in all of the high schools. But I do not feel if kids can't handle a basic CP course that they should feel pressured or made to feel inadequate if they choose not to participate in A/P. The decision should be theirs. I would love to see more programs early on for our advanced learners. With a global economy, this would only help our high achievers accomplish their future goals.

I would also love to see more technical and trade schools for kids who choose this. These should be encouraged and kids who choose this path should feel proud. We need plumbers, electricians, mechanics. College is not for all kids but they I think kids should have an option of choices that they can succeed at.

I think the General pointed out one one of the strands how hard the construction industry is. This is a wonderful field and money to be made. Many enjoy this kind of work. But it is hard work and a competive business. What would be wrong with a vo-tech school in this field?

In conclusion, I am saying kids should have choices to meet THEIR needs. We should quit trying to put a square peg in a round whole. Our schools should offer something for all kids and above all whatever path they choose, should be one they can feel proud in. They should not be purposefully made to feel inadequate.

Sorry to go on and on. Hope this anwers all your questions.

Oops...just proofed what I said (excuse any typos please)

Meant to say "I DO FEEL" if kids can't handle a basic CP course, they should not be pressured to take an A/P course. If they sit in an A/P class and are lost, in the end fail the course, it only makes them feel inadequate. Every kid should have goals and strive to do their best. But one kid's best is not the next kid's best. That is just how it is.

We have to start early and teach our kids the basics of reading and math; take a step at a time and then strive for higher goals. It has to start in elementary school. And above all, we should not do "social passing". Special needs should be identified in elementary school. Then we should have education programs to fit kids of all needs.

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