News-Record.com

What BOE members are not supporting the bond issue?

Walter, Amos, Deena... Amos because not enough spent in the poor areas, the other two because of MWBE issues.

I think Deena, Walter, and Amos are acting very childish.

I looked back at where the money for the 2000 and 2003 bond went and the schools that are being covered now received no money from those bonds.....except for Dudley of course.....

A lot of this money primarily went to schools that were around 50% minority or higher.

In the 2000 bond, only some of the inner city poorer schools received money at this time.

If they cared anything about their minority children they would be promoting the bond so that students
at High Point Central will not have to wonder if they are going to have heat in their building. They are also in desparate need of air conditioning.

Smith High School needs air conditioning in their gym....why did anyone even have to ask for this.

Deena selfish? You jest my friend!

I believe that the 'comment' parts of these blogs may be hurting the N&R's purpose of promoting community dialogue and understanding. An example. Reading this particular N&R Chaulkboard thread alarms me: according to one citizen writing here 'our black school board members are behaving childishly' in their votes. Childishly? On behalf of their constituents? So their constituents are childish? I guess they mean many black folks? As a white American, I wish we white folks could recognize the subconscious diminishment of ourselves when we must diminish others. Yes, that's my blue sky dream for the future for my child.

I expect better from a newspaper that says it serves the public interest. Whose interests exactly are getting served?

Gas is 3.50 a gallon, food prices are thru the roof and Guilford Co. wants to float a bond for 460 million give or take a few million! I'm retired and live on a fixed income with "zero" children in the system and you want me to pay higher taxes, are you crazy. We can't afford the unpaid bonds still out there now, vote "NO" and make the school system understand what a budget is all about. I have to budget my rapidly decreasing income and so should the school system.

Steve,

You dont like the truth? Would you like it hushed away or brushed under the carpet?

Havent you heard about Deena Hayes and her husbands Company CoMor?

She is on the school board and promoting minority companies. Her husband is managing one and we taxpayers have already funded her enough!

Meanwhile nothing is done. Its nothing short of blatant corruption and no one has the whatsits to do anything about it! &^%^%$%$#$$!

Anonymous,

The truth? I stand by my own views, my own truth as I see it. That doesn't mean I'm correct but I'm willing to put my name behind my views.

I know nothing of what you say about Deena Hayes' husband's whatever you are saying. If I had something so damaging to say about another person, I would do it with my name behind it and let the chips fall and take the consequences out in the open. Does any citizen deserve anything less?

You keep making the point I'm trying to get across about this N&R 'enhancement' permitting unregulated comments. This is not democracy, this is permitting anyone to say anything and get the N&R to put it online.

One more thing. I am supporting the Bonds vote.

Did I just read this?

"This is not democracy, this is permitting anyone to say anything"!

What is your version of democracy Steve?

Democracy for me is freedom and liberty to speak one's mind and the responsibility to defend your opinion in front of your opponent. No one holds absolute truth. Ad hominem attacks by ad hominem individuals are not in that category of democracy as i view it.

I am starting to realize that such discourse online does a disservice to discourse. I hoped the internet would enhance community dialogue; i'm starting to think it does not. We need to be with each other in the public space and exchange arguments where we are with the other and held accountable.

Cheers,

you cut the sentence of my quotation you cite. it is not only out of context, it is not even the original sentence.

The great thing about the N+R 's blog is that you can speak your mind and question things. I would hope that it should be that way. Posters have a right to come here and support or not support the school bond. Mr Flynn, you seem to disagree with that. You want the N+R to let supporters of the bond (only) but I agree with Eugene McCarthy who once said.

As long as the differences and diversities of mankind exist, democracy must allow for compromise, for accommodation, and for the recognition of differences.

"The truth? I stand by my own views, my own truth as I see it."

Steve, you are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own truths.

The Guilford County Board of Education has proven repeatedly over the years that they can't manage our money wisely. Until they do something right, I will continue to say NO to the school bonds. We were promised that if the lottery was approved our schools would be awash with money. Well we have an education lottery and now the GCBE wants the tax payers to fund more of their folly. It would be nice if the schools that we are funding were fit to be utilized by our citizens. Not only does a parent have to fund a poor school system, we have to education our kids in private schools. For God sake, enough is enough. NO to all school bonds.

Steve F

You must not read the newspapers or you haven't lived here very long if you don't know about CoMor. It is public knowledge.

Steve F

You must not read the newspapers or you haven't lived here very long if you don't know about CoMor. It is public knowledge.

it is especially childish on Amos' part. Dudley received the biggest renovation in the history of this county. I thought that was a black school.

Since when it is the right for school board members to only vote for bonds that help their schools? I thought the boe members took a vote to represent ALL children???

it is especially childish on Amos' part. Dudley received the biggest renovation in the history of this county. I thought that was a black school.

Since when it is the right for school board members to only vote for bonds that help their schools? I thought the boe members took a vote to represent ALL children???

How do we know you are really "Steve Flynn"?

Which Steve Flynn are you? The one for High Point? Greensboro? Burlington? Winston-Salem? Charlotte?

Good point about Amos. Lets not forget the 10 million Smith medical magnet which wasnt even on the bonds!

Beside Dudley let's not forget

Union Hill Elementary
Triangle Lake
Computer Science labs at Andrews
the great Smith Academy that was way over budget for the building

Every school gets their turn on the bond money. Why the heck should it matter what color or socioeconomic the neighborhood is?

Becuase they want More and More and More and MORE handouts.

Work for it? Whats that?

If you care about children vote for

ERIC HUEY!!!

School Board at LARGE!!!

Michael McKinney is another Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition Member otherwise known as the TREBIC CARTEL

The TREBIC CARTEL wants to put it’s stamp on everything in Guilford County. If the people of this county don’t wake up to the unethical and down right influence of the TREBIC CARTEL on rules & regulations , policies and procedures
than anything goes welcome to the TREBIC TRIAD

Does this guy REALLY care for children? Me dont fink so.

My campaign was endorsed today by the Rhino Times.

If you care about public education in Guilford County as I do and if you care about the future of GCS as much as I do, I will appreciate your support and vote on Tuesday. If you care about responsible school construction as much as I do, I will appreciate your support and vote on Tuesday.

If you support the status quo, however, then vote for...the other guy.

Congrats Eric.

YOU are the right person for our children because you care about children and education and nothing else.

You have my vote!

This is like looking at the glass half empty or half full. Allen and the N+R can only look at the glass half full.

I can understand this in the general population but the news media has the respsonsibility to look at ALL the angles.

BUT, they refuse the possibility that the glass is half empty and I agree with many people here.

It is!

As a parent and school volunteer, I am very troubled by the decline I've witnessed in just the three years my child has attended public school. Our teachers and principals are doing a wonderful job! Bad decisions and leadership from the central office are handicapping our schools. But there is hope. I am truly inspired by these comments At-Large School Board Candidate E.C. Huey made to the Carolina Peacemaker:

"I’m running for this office to restore the power of this seat rightfully to the children of Guilford County. As we are celebrating a golden moment for Guilford County Schools (with three seats being turned over on the Board and a new superintendent), we cannot let this moment slip away. From the new superintendent search to saving arts/music education, from the safety and security of our children and our teachers to being more fiscally responsible with taxpayer money, from lowering the dropout rate to raising achievement levels among all students, from building fiscally-responsible schools to providing whistle-blowing protection for teachers, our board needs new leadership to deal with these issues. I look forward to providing this new progressive leadership our taxpayers deserve."

Please don't let this "golden moment" slip away. Vote for E.C Huey!

Dear Anonymous and others with misinformation about my "no" vote on the bonds -

This is Amos Quick. The reasons I did not vote to support the bond proposals as presented were:

1) the initial price estimate for the "Airport area" High School was $80 million dollars - that was too much compared to other districts.

2) the bond did not do enough to address the renovation needs of schools throughout the district, rather than building new ones.

3) county commissioners initially pledged to rebuild Eastern Guilford High School using other methods, not a bond.

4) continued concerns about MWBE efforts.

Debates are a lot healthier when factual information is being debated. My phone number is (336) 235-0345 during the day and I welcome any calls with questions about GCS matters.

Thank you.

Amos,

Thanks for your response. I think I've called you 8 - 12 times since you took office. You returned 0 (zero) of my calls.

Amos,

Here's part of an article from the April 25th News & Record:

"School board member Amos Quick said he opposes the $412 million bond package because of the price, as well as the location of the projects. Quick said he would have liked to see more work done in poorer areas of the county."

"We've been willing to redistrict those kids out of those communities and not put investment into those communities," Quick said."

Amos - you, too, have been more than willing to redistrict kids from their neighborhood schools.

Do you not practice what you preach?

And, if Dudley was getting another $40Million renovation, would you then support the bond?

And just for the record: Ms. Hayes, Dr. Childs and myself were not the only ones to vote against the bond package.

As for representing the children throughout this county, I am very proud of my record of doing just that and I look forward to continuing to do so. It is very important to me and the other members of the BOE that what happens inside our buildings is just as impressive as the buildings themselves.

As we prepare to attend the many graduations and "moving ceremonies" - those where students move from one grade to the next - we are reminded of how so many of our students do quite well in our schools. Last year GCS students were awarded $68 million in scholarships for our graduating seniors. I invite all of you who can to attend at least one graduation ceremony this year. It is quite refreshing to witness this life-changing event in the lives of our children. It is a living testimony to the efforts of the many teachers, administrators, non-instructional staff, community members, parents, and, yes, even the BOE when thousands of students graduate from our schools each year.

Most certainly there are things that have to improve in our county's schools. None of us will be satisfied until we exhaust every effort to realize success for every child. It motivates us to try harder, do more and try different things when we have students who are not realizing the desired educational outcomes.

I anxiously await the chance to work with the new members of the BOE this fall (whomever they are); and anticipate their new energy, ideas and commitment to our children. Our BOE is made up of an ideologically diverse group of concerned citizens of this county. I think it is also lost that some of us are parents/grandparents of current GCS students and staff. Some others of us are parents of recent GCS graduates. Some of us have worked in the school system and some have dedicated their lives to the betterment of children in other professional areas. All of us care and have a part of the answer.

Anyone who joins the BOE should come aboard knowing that you can care for children as much as we do, but not more.

Once again, I invite you to call - (336) 235-0345 or email me at quicka@gcsnc.com

May Heaven smile upon us all.

I think the article you quoted, Mr./Mrs. Anonymous reaffirms my earlier blog entry. I opposed th e bond because of "price" (the $80 million dollar high school) and "location" (renovation efforts throughout the county) and poorer areas throughout the county - that's all of Guilford County. There is more than one poor area in our county. So, I think that shows some consistency in my approach and underlines the points I made earlier.

Your statement about my record on redistricting is not accurate either. I have supported neighborhood schools since being a member of the Redistricting Committee for GCS in 1998. And my voting record backs that up as well. However, you can't revert to neighborhood schools without some investment back into the communities where schools have been shut down or neglected for long periods of time.

Please also note that Dudley is on the current bond package to receive about $7M, as is another school in my district Allen Middle - to the tune of about $4M. That did not sway my vote either. The bond still would pay too much for a high school and still does not address the renovation needs throughout the county.

And about you calling me 8 - 10 times since my election in 2004 and have not received a call back - I don't know about that. I don't recall that, but I am sitting at my desk right now. Forgive me if I have not gotten back to you, I will make sure to do so this time.

You can also try to reach me at (336) 451-0324. My job as the executive director of the 6 Boys & Girls Clubs in Greensboro doesn't afford me a lot of time to sit at my desk, but my cell is always on. If I miss your call, leave a message and I will get back to you ASAP.

I look forward to speaking with you.

Amos,

Thank you for taking the time to post here. I am confused about your statement regarding neighborhood schools. Following is an excerpt from the minutes of the April 10, 2007 School board meeting. In this meeting you voted NOT to allow the students who could walk to Welborn and Andrews to be given a choice as to whether to stay at their NEIGHBORHOOD school or continue to be bused over an hour to other schools.

This is completely contradictory to what you just said.

So which is it - are you for or against busing? Or were you for it before you voted against it?

April 10, 2007 board meeting minutes:

"Discussion of Proposal for Attendance Zones in High Point
The chairman called on board member Garth Hébert to lead the board in a discussion regarding a proposal for attendance optional zones in High Point.

Motion was made by Garth Hébert, seconded by Darlene Garrett, to implement an open choice attendance zone involving the areas currently known as H77, 78, 79, 80 and M125, 126, 127, 128 (also known as the areas redistricted under map C3 between Southwest Middle and High School and Welborn Middle and Andrews High School). This Choice Plan will allow these students to be given the choice of either Welborn Middle School and Southwest Middle School or Andrews High School and Southwest High School as appropriate. This choice will be clearly provided at initial registration and annually during magnet school and class selection registration if desired. The administration will provide obvious and clear instructions to these students so that they are aware that a choice is available to them annually. If no choice is made during the magnet school and regular class assignment timeframe, the default school will be the one suggested by first, the prior years school attended, or second, the default attendance zone assignment. This will not be construed to interfere with existing grandfathering, petitioned reassignments, magnet programs and administrative reassignments.
Board discussion followed. Jeff Harris, director of transportation, addressed questions from the board in regard to busing. Doyle Craven, director of student assignment, addressed questions from the board regarding student assignment.

A substitute motion was made by Dot Kearns, seconded by Walter Childs, to leave the current plan in place and initiate the conversation between parents in the affected zones and with members of City Council in High Point before making a change. The motion failed upon majority electronic vote of 7-to-4 as follows: Nays – Jeff Belton, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Darlene Garrett, Garth Hébert, Nancy Routh and Anita Sharpe; Ayes – Walter Childs, Deena Hayes, Dot Kearns and Amos Quick.

Chairman Duncan asked for a vote to be taken on the original motion.

The original motion by Garth Hébert, seconded by Darlene Garrett, passed upon majority electronic vote of 6-4-1 as follows: Ayes – Jeff Belton, Kris Cooke, Alan Duncan, Deena Hayes, Garth Hébert and Anita Sharpe; Nays – Walter Childs, Deena Hayes, Dot Kearns and Amos Quick; Abstain – Nancy Routh."

Amos,

A close friend of mine teaches at Andrews and he constantly complains about the lack of basic school supplies at the school. I know he has a hard time paying his own bills but I also know that he spends his own money on supplies and he recently bought a DVD player for his class.

Why have I NEVER heard you or other members ask for an investigation into why this happens? Why have you not asked for an action plan from the administration to resolve the issue? You are very quick to vote for these kids to be bussed away from their neighborhoods but I see little action from you to question some investment back into the communities that you reference.

I do believe that you are a good person and that you do favor neighborhood schools but I think you are too weak to withstand the special interests that are forcing you to vote the way they want the vote to go.

Its way past time to step up!

Its a sad day when board members are forced to vote the way that the Sim Pac and the HP round table want them to vote.

After all you might question what is the point of being elected to represent children and then you cant vote for them?

Yes, the Simkins PAC and the High Point Roundtable have complete control over some of the board members.

What a shame - the children always suffer because of it.

Andrea -

Thanks for your post. And, no I do not suffer from Kerry-itis. The vote and discussion on the Welborn and Andrews attendance lines is only a small part of the larger topic of neighborhood schools. Please review also the vote from February, 2006 where the High Point Choice Plan was dismantled. Look also at the redistricting votes that were taken involving students in Greensboro.

Statman, I again refute that I have voted consistently to move students from their neighborhoods. That is against what I have wanted/experienced with my own daughter and is against what I philosophically believe in my core.

Thanks for telling me about the conditions at Andrews, I will most certainly ask that that is investigated and remedied ASAP. I, honestly did not know about it. But now that I do, I will see to it that we adress the concern.

Please also keep my numbers and email handy when you hear of needs in the future.

Thanks

Anonymous -

I wonder who you speak of regarding the HP Leadership Roundtable and Simpkins PAC. I don't know one person on the board who fits that description.

How easy it must be to dwell in the shadows and launch unfounded missles.

Any vote that I have cast is mine and mine alone. And I accept full responsibility for them all.

No member of either of those two respected organizations has ever placed any pressure on me to vote any way other than my conscience and knowledge on the issue. Not once. From time to time they have stated their opinions to me, but so have hundreds of others. Every time I go into a school, restaurant, church, civic group, football game, etc. I am provided with opinions and observations about some GCS issue. Why, then would you point out those two groups?

Whether you agree with my votes or not, please know that I respect the people who voted for me enough to listen to their concerns and make informed votes based on the knowledge gathered. Period.

Again, the facts are not as romantic as the rumors, but they are the facts.

Thanks bloggers for letting me join the conversation. I will read all future entries on this thread. Again, I can be personally reached at (336) 235-0345 or quicka@gcsnc.com.

God bless.

Nice one Amos.

Amos,

Of course you would not bus your daughter. You just vote to bus other peoples children. As you say, the facts are the facts.

Statman -

I disagree with your statement.

Mr. Quick, thank you for engaging in this dialog with your constituents. I know it takes courage to open yourself up for criticism and you've handled it well. We need more elected officials to do the same.

I have posted many times here that the schools of High Point, Southwest, Andrews and Central have for almost all of the past eight years scored better than Dudley and Smith.

Mr Quick, you have voted against the abolishment of the first choice plan. You have voted against Garth's choice plan.

So, most of the time you have voted to bus or keep busing the children of High Point but have proposed nothing similar for your daughters school or your neighbor school Smith when in fact they have needed and still need more help than the High Point schools.

So, its neigborhood schools for you and bussing for others. These facts are not romantic or rumors. Only the facts, hard to disagree with facts.

Its pointless to me to bring up High point again but I do have this to say about the school bond. Amos, you say you did not vote for the bond beacuse of the Airport High school cost. I agree completely with you. I also think that Northern was very expensive and extravagant. The point is that I am sure that many of the other board members who voted for it probably felt the same but non of you showed real leadership to join together and get the cost lowered?

The board says its too expensive and the admin says its the right amount. Where do go from there?

Everything about it from which ever way I look at it makes me think weak leadership and a lack of responsibility by absolutley all concerned.

I want to vote for new schools but I will not do at this price. So where do I go from here? Where do we go from here?

Weak.
Weak.
Weak.
Weak.

That is a very good point. How the heck do we end up with some board members supporting a bond and others not?

This is one screwed up school board.

Amos,

Thanks for responding to my post. I have to agree with Statman, however.

Your voting record indicates that you enjoy busing students in High Point. Why?

Those are the facts, not romantic rumors. Facts.

Is it neighborhood schools for Greensboro and busing for High Point?

Amos,

When you say "The vote and discussion on the Welborn and Andrews attendance lines is only a small part of the larger topic of neighborhood schools. "

Can you please elaborate?

You voted not to allow the families to choose schools.

Why?

Andrea, Amos is a good guy. He just wants whats best for his daughter. Why would he worry too much about if a child gets bussed as long as its not in his district.

The larger part is the rest of Guilford County and the smaller part is High Point!

Leave it out guys.

This is boring.

Anonymous,

It must be boring for you because you happen to live in Greensboro and your kids are able to attend their neighborhood schools.

High Point.....
Poor minority kids in Greensboro are being bused
from Greensboro (Summit/Yanceyville) within view of Page High School to Eastern Guilford....in
Gibsonville and to Gibsonville Elementary from the Rankin area....

We want neighborhood schools also!!

Just when you think that concerns with leadership in our public education system in Guilford County can not get any worse, we hear about what is happening in Clayton County, GA. This is a school system that has recently been placed on probation and is in danger of losing its accreditation by SACS for a host of reasons, but one of the biggest is the lack of leadership and inability to provide proper governance by the BOE, including severe issues with conflict of interest.

http://concernedcitizensofclaytoncounty.googlegroups.com/web/SACS%20Report.pdf

One of the requirements to retain accreditation was to hire a qualified, permanent superintendent by September 1, as well as establish a capable BOE. So, what did the BOE do, but hire a "fix-it" superintendent, which did not meet SACs's requirements, and as a result placed the district in danger of becoming the first U.S. school district to lose it accreditation in 40 years. And, the members of the BOE say that they will not resign. Police had to intervene twice in the meeting to establish control at the meeting when the BOE voted unanimously to approve Thompson's contract.

As regards Thompson's contract, he stands to get, among other standard benefits:
* An annual salary of $285,000
* A bodyguard (which he may need)
* A full size car to be used business and personal use
* 104 days out of a school year of 240 days to be absent away from the school system for vacation or outside consulting. (It's interesting that a person who is being brought in to solve a crisis for a school district that he can be absent almost 1/2 of the time, working for other school districts. Remember Terry Grier's regular absences for outside consulting and speaking?)

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/04/27/claysuper.html?cxntlid=inform_artr

The sad thing in all of this is that students that "graduate" from this "unaccredited" school will not be able to gain entrance to a college or university. The citizens, parents, and students of Clayton County are not being served well. From an economic development perspective, no one wants to live in that county, and people are moving out of the county. And, to make matters worse, school districts in GA have direct-taxing authority, in the manner that some of our members of our BOE lust after. We also need to ensure that out BOE hires a competent superintendent that will actually work for the citizens, parents, and students of the county. this needs to be that person's "job one". And, we need to be sure that the BOE does not get direct-taxing authority, as that could be dangerous to our personal financial health, as well as the county's economic development heath.

So, things can get much worse than they are in this county today, but we must all be aware that, whether we have school-age children or not, what happens in our schools affects all of us. We need to be sure that we have the right competent, responsible people on the BOE, who actually care about all of the children and residents of the county. And, our BOE needs to take a closer look at its Ethics Policy to be sure that the misdeeds of the Clayton County BOE are not repeated here.

Huey endorsed by the Rhino Times? Really? That's all I need to know to not vote for someone. All they care about is cutting taxes -- they don't care about a livable society.

Laura,

Go ahead and vote to give yourself a big ole tax increase then. I'm sure that you will feel better for having done it. Personally, I can live better with lower taxes.

Laura,

I truly hope that you will seriously consider voting for Mr. Huey. Please check out his website. In North Carolina, the boards of education have no taxing authority, so your thought about cutting taxes is not accurate.

Mr. Huey stands for discipline in schools, responsible fiscal leadership, and the education of all our students.

He is a former GC high school teacher, a parent, and a leader.

He is much more qualified to serve on this board than any of the other candidates.

By the way, the Rhino also endorsed Skip Alston. That's also contradictory to what many might think.

To We Need Neighborhood Schools:

Many of us are aware of that Page/Eastern busing situation. It's too bad that there isn't an Eastern school board representative. Maybe come November Paul Daniels will be more responsive to that situation.

Amos - what do you think??????

From today's News & Record:

"Amos Quick, another board member, attended the conference along with 11 other contractors and concerned citizens. Walter Childs, the school board’s third black member, was unable to attend because of a previous commitment.

Other groups with membership from the black community have announced their opposition of the bonds, which are expected to build or renovate 18 schools. Those groups include the Black Contractors Guild of Greensboro, Undoing Racism in Guilford County and the George Simkins PAC."

Looks like Amos Quick is aligned with Deena Hayes, and the likes of the Simkins PAC. So is he also opposing the school bonds because there isn't enough set-aside for black contractors as well? I had thought that Mr. Quick was above that sort of politics. So, is the BOE not united when they present school bonds to the public for approval? This is most revealing.

Mr Quick is not all what he seems to be.

He is for neighborhood schools but he votes to bus. Then he cant even admit the truth. He has a very strange logic or he is a plain liar. Maybe I am not suprised that he has helped set up that meeting.

What ever he says, its probably the opposite thats true.

Has anyone ever heard of the Black Contractors Guild of Greensboro? Who are the members?

Has anyone ever heard of the Black Contractors Guild of Greensboro? Who are the members?

Has anyone ever heard of the Black Contractors Guild of Greensboro? Who are the members?