Joe,

I commend you on your tenacity to fight for an issue.

If you want something really important to fight for, how about the children of High Point. They don't care what you call their schools, as long as it's their NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL.

Maybe you could play a song at the next school board meeting that would make the board start thinking straight and do away with the High Point Chaos Plan?

Could you do that for the kids in High Point?

Thanks Joe

I have never spoken on the High Point issue. I keep thinking that noone would cause that amount of disruption unless there was something good at the end of the process. I haven't seen anything good but I may be looking at the wrong place. I have tried to more positive and less negative. I can't find anything positive about. You may need to help me.

Mr. Stafford,

If I understand your post, I think that I agree with you. I see nothing positive about the High Point plan, but I don't necessarily agree that anything this disruptive has to have something good at the end. Sometimes, we put things in motion for what we percive to be the right reasons, but the results of our actions don't produce the desired effect. When that happens, we, as well as our school and governmental officials, have to be willing to admit that we made a mistake and pull the plug. It's called damage control. In the case of the High Point plan, it seems that the school board is hanging on to this plan, knowing that things are getting worse, not better, and they never will.

If you need help in finding something positive about this plan, why not address that question to the board at the next board meeting? Perhaps, they can answer your question; no one can.

Joe,

I agree with Mr. Teddy Ballgame. The board should be held accountable for answering the impossible question about any good that has come out of the High Point plan. I can give you many, many negatives, but I'm perplexed at finding even one single postive..unless increasing the fleet of school buses is a plus?

High Point is now a low point in education. Children and families are unhappy, courses are chosen FOR students via lottery. Children are PASSING a school to get to the school that the lottery chose FOR them, achievement scores are DOWN, violence is UP, community trust in the administration is at an all time LOW, courses are promised and NOT offered, some courses have NO teacher, Southwest High is STILL overcrowded while Andrews and Central remain under capacity, the number of trailers has INCREASED,teacher and student moral have DECREASED, Grier's purchase of buses has INCREASED, gas prices have INCREASED,this "world-class" plan is ONLY offered in HIGH POINT-shouldn't the rest of Guilford County's students be offered a "choice" about their High School?.....the plan CONTINUES as a broken-down Chevy, when a cadillac was promised...I could go on and on.....

Joe, the School Board has failed High Point. No, there is NO good at the end of all of this. It's time for the School Board to LISTEN and acknowledge that this plan is a failure.

Maybe they'll listen to you.

Thanks again, Joe

Joe,

Please do us one big favor this year and I am serious. When all the kids are late or lost on buses the first day of school and parents are in tears and in a panic (you remember the first day of school last year) - you were the only one who could see that the GCS was not wrong - after parent after parent blasted the system about their lost kids, the negligence of children, the lying of bus times on a written schedule - everyone but you seemed to be upset - please, please don't stand up there and tell them they did nothing wrong. I think if this happens we will all have to scream.

And Joe, it is time to let other people start going last sometimes. Others want a chance to do a little wrap up of the evening too. I think Teddy Ballgame or Buckmountain would do an excellent job. They seem to be well aware of the issues.

On the subject of Murrow, you did give several excellent presentations and were quite passionate and I commend you for your passion. You seemed very sincere in this pursuit. I see no reason as listed in your letter however how names like directions divide a community. The very nature of the size and separate agendas in this county divide it. You have urban, suburban, and rural and all are a different beast. It will never be united. With potential 90 minute bus rides, it will never be "united". I think the Northern folks deserve to name their own school.

Also you said one thing this year that made a lot of sense to be - your budget speech - this was your BEST one - for them to have a GOAL - how true.

The budget speech was great - please just don't talk about busing to parents whose kids are going round and round a HUB.

Thank you.

Barbara Ann

Barbara Ann

Joe,

One more thing. Everyone is wondering how you got your letter to the ed in the paper so fast. That is so amazing! What is the secret? - please tell.

It takes sometimes weeks for some people to get theirs in, or I have friends whose letters are lost, or they are a few words over and not printed sometimes, or better yet they have to revise SEVERAL times to check their sources. Which I think is very strange for a letter to the ed as it is just an opinion - not the paper's view. Don't you find that odd too?

I just wondered on this - I mean the meeting was Thursday and VOILA! Like magic - there is your letter. You must have friends in high places.

This post for my husband.

Now I know who Murrow is and many people do but my husband said - if you took a survey of all the high school students in GCS or just even the Northern kids, I doubt that hardly any of them would know who Murrow was. Now my husband is a very smart man, and I agree.

I do think it was an fine idea just like many other names of people would be equally excellent and people who lived in Guilford County longer and actually did more for Guilford County, but I also feel it is important that the kids might know a little about who their school was named after.

And in the end as our friend, Wil said, "What's in a name?" Personally, to me, it is what takes place inside the building that counts. Are you educating these kids to be able to survive in this everchanging and complicated world? Or are you just shifting the bell curve - taking out the cream of the crop to magnet schools or other programs and putting the low achievers on a cross town bus ride in the Twilight Zone District? Do the numbers look better after that - of course - you can do wonders with Statistics - did you educate the struggling kids?- D A H

I doubt that 5 years after graduating from high school that most students will care what their high school name was. They will be happy to get through college and find a decent job or be happy to hopefully be successful in a trade.

In conclusion, having experienced the maze of parking and traffic at the Northern JV Women's Soccer game, I am happy that Darlene's district is getting a new school. After all this time in doing without, those Yanks deserve it.

Joe:

I am a bit confused by your response about the High Point Choice Plan, but I believe you are in favor of the plan?

You stated that "no one would cause that amount of disruption untless there was something good at the end of the process?" On a personal basis that is easy for me to answer, my daughter can walk to and from SW High School and now she is going to have to be transported on a bus over 60 minutes each way. I think you will have to agree that eliminating a needless bus ride for my daughter is something good at the end of the process, unless Joe you happen to be a shareholder of either Exxon or Freightliner/Thomas Built Bus.

Now multiply this by a factor of 149 and you will start to see the magnitude of the BAD that is coming out of the current process. Then I would take 149 and multiply it by 4 and arrive at a total of 596, which represents how many children will be impacted by this sham once fully implemented after 4 years. I'm not going to count the results of last year's lottery because that was clearly manipulated in order to save Dot Kearns' political hide.

Mountainman:

We are hoping for 60 minutes - remember last year?

Even if they get those mega buses in - how in the heck can you do an optimum pick up schedule when kids in the same neighborhoods are going in 3 different directions?

It should be interesting. Better back you daughter a snack; dinner; first aid kit; a cell phone; etc.

It is going to be a long August.

Buckmtn,

Let's just hope they don't expect your daughter to walk to SW and then catch a 60 minute bus ride to her "chosen" school. Don't put it past this school board.

I agree that the school bus problem was a major screw-up. By the time the meeting was help, the problems has been solved for the most part. I did not see how beating on the parties involved in public served any useful purpose. They new they screwed up, they worked night and day to fix the problems and they learned a valuable lesson. I felt some parents were piling on. I may be wrong but enough is enough.

Joe,

Thanks for coming into this discussion.

Joe, enough is not enough when it cames to this situation. If a child had been kidnapped or hurt would would that have been enough. When it comes to potential harm to a child - it is NEVER enough - look at all the news out of Florida lately. Very sad indeed. If people were aware; this tragedy may have been prevented.

And it was and is necessary to drive the point home in public. The public is footing the bill; the taxpayers. It is their money if a lawsuit occurs. More important, it is their child if harm comes to them.

By the same token, we could say we were tired of you playing tapes of Mr. Murrow; we didn't. We sat patiently and heard them many times. They were an effective tool. No one said you were beating a dead horse in the ground. Even those who disagreed with you on that admired your stamina and your passion and all the research time you put in. That was admirable. You showed it meant a lot to you and your group.

In the case of the busing fiasco - once would NEVER ever have been enough.

GCS knew way ahead of time about the HUB plan. I wrote them on SEVERAL occasions to please run simulations before school year started. I was basically told it was a waste of resources and time. Parents were given a print out of the times; these times were not true. They had time to have assistants at those HUBS BEFORE the fiasco happened. Why would you not think of a simple thing like that ahead of time? It is a very manageable part of the process for a smooth, safe system.

Joe, just imageine for one moment that you are the parent of a 6 year old; he gets off at a HUB at a high school; he is confused; he needs a bathroom; no assistant is there to help. He arrives home 2 hours late. Anyone could have napped that child.

These are Mama Bears and Papa Bears and they had every right to be angry and then some. You have saw nothing that night - if it has been my kid, you would have heard me louder and clearer.

2005/06 will be a new school year. They will have all summer to get this straight. They have the lottery number in. They can learn from last year. Let's see if they are up to the challenge.

If this happens again, just bring your tape player and play - "The Kids on the Bus Go and and Down; the Wheels on the Bus go round and round - all through the town." Then we will know you care about our precious assets; our kids. They do not depreciate and they cannot be replaced.

Now finding out that you are a CPA I know you understand Assets and how we have to take care of them.

Thanks for your dedication in coming out to speak at every board meeting. That, in itself, is a tough act to follow.

sorry - excuse my poor grammar - in a hurry - meant to say you would "have seen" or "you saw" - forgot to delete an extra word

Another thing, Joe. Since you are an accountant you could ask them to use FIFO instead of LIFO when it comes to inventory of our children and getting them home. Maybe this would help.

I had also suggested last year after the fiasco, that the younger kids have ID's on them - tags to where they are supposed to be going. We put "labels" on UPS packages. Why not our kids - this could help insure that they get delivered to the correct place.

Joe,

One more thing....you never did tell us the trick to getting a letter published so fast.

We really need to know. Do you hand deliver in stead of e-mail? What is the trick?

Barbara Ann - you have some great ideas. I may run out. I will call on you for help.

Best regards,

Joe Stafford

Best to you too, Joe. No, I don't think you will ever run out of ideas. A good one to pursue and stay on top of would be those budget goals.

The good news too is the compass is now complete.

I noticed Alan D's comments - last compass school now.

You can be ready when a new school comes around and hopefully it will so you can always stay busy.

Barbara Ann

Re: Alan D's comments. There is not as much there as you might think. When he says Northern completes the compass he was talking about High Schools. He may still vote for Northern Middle School and Northern Elementary School and Northern Kindergarten. Historic names are something that you need appreciate in another county-not Guilford.