News-Record.com

Welcome back.

The Reedy Fork naming issue is about whether Board Members will flip-flop or not. No new information has come forth during the 21 day comment period. They new he was black when they named the school and he is still black. Some, not all, of the white people that live in the area seems to think that only inter-city 90% black schools should be named after a black person. Ronald McNair is the best there is. Since a few white people are not comfortable with the name, should the BOE fold or should they do what is in the best interest of Guilford County.

Oh come on, the County budget shows what can happen when both sides of the political aisle work together.

It's been an interesting last 30 days, in watching Dot Kearns and Skip Alston become more and more frustrated as the power they once had slips away.

Interesting, indeed.

Sad stuff at Barber Park. Somehow, I don't anyone's surprised.

The schools continue to be amazing in their disarray. Will necessity be once again the mother of invention? And among non-profits, I suggest they become affiliated with some church or other and apply for Bush's dollars-for-religion programs.

just want you to know i still read you!
richard hicks
former principal
hillside high
durham nc
WELCOME BACK!

Allen, quite the tease!!! Leaving for vacation just at the time of the lay-offs.

We thought you would have said good-bye, but then with the gag order and all..., we reasoned you would have had to then kill us etc. so we didn't know what to think.

Anyway. Welcome back.

Savage:
I missed you too.

Joe Stafford is right. Some Aggies went to the school board meeting to highlight how Dr. Ronald McNair was a great American hero. As an astronaut and a graduate of N.C. A&T and MIT, Ron McNair learned to work hard to accomplish his dream to reach for the stars. He represents the kind of role model we need to promote as a symbol of strength, excellence and determination. Our youngsters need to see positive images of men and women who understand the value of homework, discipline, tenacity and inner fortitude. As our community continues to lose jobs, we must motivate young people to seriously consider science, technology, engineering and math to keep us globally competitive. What a wonderful role model we can all emulate? The school board's previous vote to name the new school the Ronald E. McNair Elementary at Reedy Fork was the right thing to do. It showed they listened to the Reedy Fork community and to other community representatives who think our public schools need more diversity in names. Guees who most of our schools have previously been named for in the past and why? I encourage Guilford County taxpayers to understand their civic responsibility and get more involved as the school board makes decisions that affect all of us.

It is kind of interesting Allen how you go away for awhile and jump right back into the pool by plunging in-making a blanket statement that by "not giving the schools everything Greer asked for hurts the community."

Now either you spent your vacation carefully analyizng the schoolboard budget (in which case you probably need urgent psych consultation)or you're shooting from the hip as usual when it has anything to do with the schools. Which is why you have zero credibility with the public. Which is why nobody trusts you or believes anything in your paper relating to the schools, which is why the board itself has no credibility when they say they need this or that. It's a vicious cycle.

Now, I haven't done any in-depth analysis either. I'm not an educator. I'm not a newspaper editor either where it's my job to influence public opinion and I'm not making any blanket statements. When Joe Schmoe out in Colfax, retired, with no kids in the school system, who's seeing his taxes go up year after year, see's you make a from-the-hip pronouncement like you did above, he suspects it's bull. And guess what, you're done with the guy.

Do you think it's smart to keep doing this?

SCS, that's just Allen's liberal hardwiring. The real number for liberals is always the highest number. For conservatives, it's what we spent last year. The actual number--always in the middle--looks like an increase to us and a cut to them.

Needless to say, we're right and they're wrong, but trying to convince them that year after year of tax increases doesn't actually result from "savage cuts" is a pointless exercise.

Unfortunately, the tax-and-spend crowd among the commissioners triumphed over cooler heads like Skip Alston.

I agree that the schools have some credibility issues, and haven't always been the best stewards of public dollars. But some cost increases are unavoidable (such as those associated with growing enrollment).
It's also unfortunate that new math and science teachers will not be hired this year. Those are key areas of instruction.
Finally, I have heard few argue that teachers are generally paid what they deserve.
The money has to come from somewhere.
As for the taxpayer who has no kids in school, I count myself among them, but I recognize schools as an important investment for the whole community.
They affect the quality of the work force, economic development, crime rates and social service spending.
We all should care about the quality of public education in Guilford County.

I agree that the schools have some credibility issues, and haven't always been the best stewards of public dollars. But some cost increases are unavoidable (such as those associated with growing enrollment).
It's also unfortunate that new math and science teachers will not be hired this year. Those are key areas of instruction.
Finally, I have heard few argue that teachers are generally paid what they deserve.
The money has to come from somewhere.
As for the taxpayer who has no kids in school, I count myself among them, but I recognize schools as an important investment for the whole community.
They affect the quality of the work force, economic development, crime rates and social service spending.
We all should care about the quality of public education in Guilford County.

I agree that the schools have some credibility issues, and haven't always been the best stewards of public dollars. But some cost increases are unavoidable (such as those associated with growing enrollment).
It's also unfortunate that new math and science teachers will not be hired this year. Those are key areas of instruction.
Finally, I have heard few argue that teachers are generally paid what they deserve.
The money has to come from somewhere.
As for the taxpayer who has no kids in school, I count myself among them, but I recognize schools as an important investment for the whole community.
They affect the quality of the work force, economic development, crime rates and social service spending.
We all should care about the quality of public education in Guilford County.

Allen, I guess you have been gone a long time and might not realize you have to hit the "post" button only once and then wait five min for your post to process. Personally I've read a good portion of a long historical novel while I've been waiting. It's kind of a nice "time out" if you will. This has occured since your last over-hall.

I guess it's all worthwhile if it will help you track Al Queda reps who are posting here.

Cost increases, sure, but tax increases? Shouldn't the tax base grow every year such that the same tax rate produces more revenue? (That we're talking about property taxes probably complicates matters.) You guys should write a story on this: put Brod on it.

As for GCS, they should have four positions above the level of a principal and use the savings for teacher salaries. Administration is like a cancer.

Allen,

How do you know that "math and science teachers will not be hired this year"? Did Grier tell you that?

I thought the school board had the final say on the budget and they get to determine where the ultimate cuts will occur. Certainly Grier can make his recommendations, but it gets down to having 6 votes.

I hope the board will cut unnecessary and redundant teacher training, central office staff, and Grier himself.