The following is the opinion of an individual and does not reflect the view of any group….. (and, please disregarding any spelling or grammar errors, I banged it out fast) I am taking the advice of others and removing my name from this group. I will keep up to date; the same way you should, by reviewing the web page set up by the district. This issue is in the EARLY stages. Which means, not much is known….pro or con. I have responded to numerous e-mail and have taken the lead and called people myself. Many bloggers are presenting opinion as fact and starting rumors just to stir things up. To paraphrase Samuel Adams, “It does not take a majority to prevail…but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires in the minds of men.” You may be surprised, but the Dexter Board of Education and School Superintendent are the most accessible group in this community. Why was the name of this group changed from “Preserving Excellence in Dexter Community Schools” to “No Annexation Without Representation.” Who has ever advocated lessening the excellent education in the Dexter Community Schools? To Ms. Karen Livingston Certain…..Why do you consider this a DONE DEAL? What do you mean by that? Every decision is carefully considered and the pros & cons are always weighed against each other. You do not need to attend many BOE meetings to hear at least once…decisions are made with a guiding hand always pushing towards “what’s best for the kids.” This is not a DONE DEAL. Three to four meetings without well researched documentation do not make a DONE DEAL. To Ms. Kristin Miller Brancheau….why would you be interested in… “I would like to know the ages of the school board member’s children and where they live.” What is your intent? Give me a call and I’ll tell you a story. To Ms. Cindy Glahn….with all respect deserving of your place in this community…other responsible parties and professionals disagree with your argument regarding property values. So whom do we believe? Several years ago my property value took a noise-dive. Was that because the State of Michigan released the Whitmore Lake MEAP scores and ACT test results. No, I think it was due to the loss of Pfizer and the Ponzi scheme known as the Community Reinvestment Act. We are not talking about the construction of a sewage treatment plant or gravel pit. We are talking about a neighboring school district which has some very nice – modern buildings. This is an interesting dynamic. I’ve talked to realtors who sell homes in highly academic ranked districts that happen to have neighborhoods that may be considered on the ‘other side of the track’. What I was told, no noticeable change to property values. If you happen to reside in a nice neighborhood, you continue to receive the benefit of your surroundings. So, who do we believe? The problem with the Whitmore Lake Public Schools and its student population is due to the ZERO GROWTH policy of the Northfield Township board. This is the opinion of a Whitmore Lake Board of Education trustee. If you are not growing…you are decaying. New developments bring in younger families with children…..think Dexter with Huron Farms, Thornton Farms, West Ridge, Dexter Crossing. Who knows what will happen in 3 to 4 years. What if Northfield Township approves new commercial buildings and housing subdivisions? Can you think of a better location, right off US23? To Ms. Anna Finley Krull…yes I can provide specific examples when the Dexter Board of Education went against the wishes of the community, and in my opinion….did what was best for kids and community. 1) The first major cuts in the School Aid Fund began in 2004. Dexter eliminated DCS teacher controlled driver’s education. NO parents were in favor of that change. The BOE, while understanding the value of the teacher led driver’s education training, had no choice to move against the public. Yes, the all mighty dollar; saved a tremendous amount of money. The district also eliminated positions and increased class sizes. All saved the district dollars, but was against the sentiment within the district. Sometimes you have to make hard decisions. 2) Everyday Math…a majority of the comments at BOE meetings voiced opinions against the district purchase of Everyday Math. The BOE sided with the administration and teachers, who were in favor of the implementation of Everyday Math. Recent testing appears to show a trend toward improving math scores. Looks like it was a good decision, but time will tell. 3) Move bussing to single tier…I had a conversation with one blogger on this site and this blogger was SHOCKED to learn the polling I conducted was in favor of single tier bussing. Why: house-holds where both families work…all kids start school around 8:00 and end around 3:00. Brothers & sisters take the same bus. Older siblings can keep an eye on younger. This was a rather contentious issue. At the meeting where the BOE voted on single tier bussing, are you surprised that I found more parents supported the BOE decision (although some clearly stated they would prefer bussing remained double tiered). This is the 1/3 : 1/3 : 1/3 rule in voting. Typically, 1/3 are against, 1/3 are in favor, 1/3 don’t care either way. Yes, it’s the all mighty dollar, single tier bussing is saving the district about $300,000 per year. Without this, cuts would have to be made elsewhere. Sometimes you have to make hard decisions. I will offer more examples from the recently completed school construction bond. Ad Hoc group was formed, it was named CORSE, and it was led by a BOE trustee. CORSE developed a work scope and cost and went back & forth to the community by way of survey until more than 70% approval was gained. With each survey, the scope of work and the amount of money requested was reduced and most of the reductions came from athletics. 1) The Henry Thurston Field House was totally rejected in the Pre-Bond surveys. Favorable bid savings and redistribution of un-used dollars allowed the District to find the funds to build the Henry Thurston Field House. The Pre-Bond approved work was minor renovation of the Creekside Wrestling / Weight Room (basement). The District, went against the feeling of the community and built the field house. 2) Turf Field at Al Ritt Stadium. Pre-Bond surveys soundly rejected the notion of a turf field. Favorable bid savings and redistribution of un-used dollars allowed the District to find the funds to install the turf field. 3) Separate Building at High School Lap Pool. Pre-Bond surveys soundly rejected the notion of a separate building for entrance to the High School lap pool. The work included in the bond was for a redesign of the men’s & women’s locker room to allow for after-hours activity in the pool while blocking access and lock entrance to the high school. After numerous designs and layouts, it was impossible to reconfigure the high school locker rooms to allow for afterhours activity while limiting access to the high school. The stumbling block was the need for secondary fire exits. Favorable bid savings and redistribution of un-used dollars allowed the District to find the funds to build a separate building & entrance (although, I wish it was a little bit bigger). At the Monday January 12 BOE meeting, two individuals were in attendance who have GONE to LANSING to advocate for your children and the Dexter Community Schools. They have talked to your local representative and other officials. They are well versed in the way schools are funded. They are fully aware of the damage to your children’s education these ongoing cuts in the foundation grant are doing. These cuts have been non-stop since 2004. These two individuals appear to have an open mind, are doing their own research, and separating fiction from fact. What have you done? Who have you called? Michigan school districts will not be able to maintain the funding cuts much longer. How many of you have actually called your local representative and told them this has to stop. Every year, Dr. Timmis gives a “State of the District” power-point presentation and discussion in the High School CPA. How many of you attended last year’s presentation, and how many of you plan on attending this year’s presentation? Fascinating discussion covering a wide range of district issues. To those of you who say….my kids will never get close to US-23 and never go to school over there. Really? What if…working with local universities and businesses, a magnet school is formed focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)? Handled similar to the Saline consortium, but focusing on 21st century skills. Students would obtain personal curriculum approval and therefore be able to focus only on STEM. Sounds like something the district should investigate. Therefore, I am keeping an open mind. I had a discussion with a Washtenaw ISD official and asked a ‘what if’ question. What if … the State Superintendent of Education shuts down Whitmore Lake, what happens to the students? Answer… they are typically free to go anywhere, but ‘a rough guess’ is the Green Oak township students east of US23 would go to South Lyon, the students west of US23 would go to Brighton…in Northfield Township, the students on the east side of US23 would go to Ann Arbor, the students on the west side of US23 would go to Dexter. Looking at the map….this would be a boom for Ann Arbor and (I don’t think Dexter has the room) a problem for Dexter. I heard the noticeable ‘gasp’ from the audience when the topic of weighted grades came up. The facts are; this issue was fully vetted with teachers, administrators and parents. A decision was made by the committee that only externally moderated classes would receive weighted grades. This was discussed in open meetings by the BOE and public. The weighted grade adder began at 0.33 points, and the public requested weighted grades be equal to the school districts surrounding Dexter. Those adders in the surrounding districts are typically 1.0. Everything else being the same, the 1.0 weighted grade was added in September and some parents are now upset that class rankings have changed. And, I have a hard time disagreeing with them and not seeing their point. After the meeting, I asked for the names of teachers (the speaker referenced talking to ‘teachers’) who opposed this change. In confidence, I wanted to fully understand all of the weighted grade issues and specifically issues related to those classes that receive 1.0 weighting. It’s been four days and I have not received this information. Now that this discussion is public it would be difficult to have the same type of face to face discussion with these teachers. In my opinion, I wonder if the discussions the speaker referenced ever took place. In closing; stay informed, avoid rabbit trails, and always consider your source.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 23:37:44 +0000
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