Ghost lights for St. Mary's school.

Morning, July 30, 2013.

Dude, please tell tell that to homeowners near Silver Street, Pine View ...

I'm still playing catch-up, not to mention ketsup, after abundant down time during the holidaze.

After reading Jerod Clapp's Tribune story, I'm puzzled anew at the school corporation's failure to grasp elementary (pun intended) public relations. Are their feet ever removed from mouths? Was the PR guy imported from Libya after Colonel Gaddafi downsized? Is this a good time to talk about a raise for the superintendent? Why do we need portable classrooms when neighborhood schools were given the mountain oyster treatment?

Here's a helpful hint: Keep this McWhorter fellow away from the microphone unless you really think an inadvertent comedy routine helps sell the notion of a referendum.

NA-FC Schools could bring referendum to vote; 2012’s budget could be in bad shape without it

... (Chief business officer Fred) McWhorter said the school corporation has made efforts to show the community how it’s worked to make the school system better.

“If we move forward with a referendum,” McWhorter said, “now we can say with a straight face, ‘we’ve become more efficient.’”

He said even though four schools were closed last spring, the facilities left are being used more efficiently than they had been. Without any empty classrooms and class sizes still staying in reasonable levels, he said he thinks the school corporation has demonstrated its efforts at increasing efficiency ...

... McWhorter said community members without children in local schools need to consider some of the benefits of having a good school system in their area, including the increase of property values.

He said studies show how a more educated populous generally has less crime.

“All you have to do is look at places like Detroit [Mich.] where the schools have been run down and what’s happened to their property values,” McWhorter said. “We don’t want that to happen here.”

Photo credit: My esteemed colleague M. Nash.

Dalby's seemingly unbreakable credulity record shattered by former school board member.

That politically ambitious woman (c’mon, already, a Sarah Palin costume for Halloween?) who wanted to close neighborhood schools to suit the mandates of Resources for Results and St. Daniels, but at the last minute voted against it after the outcome was a foregone conclusion, so that now she can pretend otherwise, wants you to know that although she was in favor of closings, and heroically voted against closings, none of this limp Machiavellian posturing has anything to do with the state legislator who was entirely invisible at the time.

Wow, thanks. I feel, err, all better now. I’m sure the nausea will abate in time.

(Scroll to the bottom, past the love letter to St. Daniels, and beyond the raging about the Indiana state seal raging from the mad as hell guy who, I believe, has an illegal tea party sign on the verge, to the bottom for the exact letter in question. Shouldn't we be warned when it's nutzoid letter day in the Tribune?)

It wasn't funny then, either.

“West Spring Street School is now the Hampton Inn. That’s a nice little use of space next to the interstate,” Snyder said. “Why would you want a school there anyway? But when we did that, there was emotion. But that’s a higher and better use.”

Reading Bruce Hibbard's and Brad Snyder's comments in the Sunday Tribune is like being given access to the Saturday Night Live sketches that weren't provided airtime the night before and understanding why others were chosen.

How did people so socially inept ever get to be in charge of a public school corporation?

Open thread: From where do the attacks come?

So, you're a newly thin-skinned Mitch Daniels, blade duller than before, and you're so upset at being personally attacked over education funding and school closings that you go to the media in retaliation.

Where exactly did these vicious attacks originate?

It wasn't the New Albany City Council, or the Floyd County Council, although City Hall made a principled statement urging restraint and rethinking. It wasn't the Tribune. It certainly wasn't One Southern Indiana, which abruptly creamed its exurban jeans jumping in to defend the anti-education axe cuts.

It wasn't the local Democratic Party, because to do so would require having a platform, and of course, most Republicans in these parts want Madrasahs, anyway.

Who dunnit?

Other than a handful of bloggers and a few writers of letters to the newspaper, that is?

Was it a pre-emptive strike against Shane Gibson?

After the fact: It ain't me, babe.

Sans comment:

Governor criticizes Floyd County school decisions (Courier-Journal).

Thoughts for the weekend.

From New Trends in Cultural Policy for the Twenty-First Century, Mary Schmidt Campbell, Social Text, No. 59 (Summer, 1999) pp. 5-15.

In truth, the assault on public support of the arts, draped as it was in the cloak of moral piety and family values, was part of a larger, unrelenting movement away from government support of a public sphere. The assault on the arts is part of what many have identified as privatization. For the purpose of this essay, I am defining privatization as the abandonment of public responsibility, an abandonment of the idea that there are places in society where, as the late Christopher Lasch notes, we all meet as equals, where excellence is available to the general population, where merit rather than money or primogeniture gains access. In the arts, privatization has meant being cautious about the new, the risky, the experimental, since they tend not to do well in the marketplace. Privatization assumes that the creative process as opposed to the cultural product can thrive in the marketplace without any special support. As such, privatization sharply deviates from some fundamental national ideals.

In defining an ideal sense of public good, Horace Mann, in his advocacy for mandatory universal public school education, wrote the following in 1846: "all have derived benefits from their ancestors." And, "all are bound, as by an oath, to transmit those benefits, even in an improved condition, to posterity."

These are difficult times, but it is important to remember what has been learned.

That's because you'll be tested in election cycles for years to come.

Here's a key section from Harold J. Adams's C-J coverage of last evening's cynical school corporation exercise in fiscal and ideological blame shifting:

Board members Rebecca Gardenour and LeeAnn Wiseheart tried unsuccessfully to get separate votes on the decisions to eliminate those positions and the decision to close the schools.

In the end, the board voted to approve Hibbard's plan as a package with only Gardenour and Wiseheart in opposition.

Not all the cynicism is flowing from the top down. Some of it bubbles up from below in the form of the tactical manipulation of foregone conclusions. It is important that we remember this later, when the Palinesque blather from Team Wiseheart will paint a rosy picture of courageous "no" votes as she seeks employment further up the political food chain at a place where much of the current problem originated.

Tribune reports: School board votes to close four schools.

From the Tribune:

NEW ALBANY — The New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated school board accepted Superintendent Bruce Hibbard's initial proposal which as to close four area schools.

The schools to be closed are Silver Street, Galena, Children's Academy of New Albany and Pine View elementary schools will be closed.

The Courier-Journal's Harold_Adams tweets: "NA-Floyd school board votes 5-2 to close four elemtary schools. Wiseheart and Gardenour were the dissenters."

Gonder: Yellow Peril is catching.

Perhaps someday more of the many organizations and individuals I've approached about it will take sustainable land use and transportation policy more seriously as a central part of their missions rather than waiting for self-inflicted crises to occur but, until then, it's encouraging to see City Council President John Gonder join in the call for more equitable transit, particularly as it relates to educational and employment opportunities within our community. - Jeff

Republished in its entirety from his blog:

When the School Corporation sneezes, the City catches cold.

One step the school board could take to ameliorate the funding mess it faces is to downsize or eliminate the large school bus program.

The City faces two problems related to the transportation system currently in place, ie., transporting of students via buses owned and operated by the school corporation:

1. It is a costly service which subsidizes the choice of some parents to live in non-walkable neighborhoods, which causes the well-planned inner city neighborhoods to further deteriorate as essential services such as neighborhood schools are eliminated. This degrades the general quality of life within the older neighborhoods of town, and the entire community suffers.

2. The Transit Authority of River City (TARC) is being forced by a variety of factors to cut service throughout its service area, including New Albany. Because of these cuts the already meager bus system is pushed closer to the brink. The city is deprived of a viable system of public transportation, such a system can benefit the the community at large through greater access for all its citizens, better air quality and a residential pattern. Such a pattern allows the city to operate more efficiently as infrastucture is used to its greatest advantage, rather than having it spread thin in a costly advance toward the the sprawling edges of the community.

If the school corporation would eliminate the school bus program and instead rely on non-corporation-owned buses, it should realize a sizable savings. If TARC were presented with a daily cadre of student bus riders it would go a long way toward building a base of ridership to rationalize a comprehensive general public transportaion system for the entire community. The transportaion system would benefit the community as a whole and the presevation and revitalization of inner city schools would, likewise, benefit the community as a whole. The savings would allow the school corporation to focus its funds on its true mission --educating students, enriching the community, ensuring a sound future for our city-- which is a better use of scarce educational funds.

Mayor England: "I am fearful that their closure will have detrimental impact on the children, families and property values."

Thanks to the Bookseller for posting this as a comment, and apologies for being away when it came through the pipeline.

---

City of New Albany, Indiana
DOUGLAS B. ENGLAND
Mayor

March 10, 2010

Mr. Roger Whaley, President, Board of Directors

Dr. Bruce Hibbard, Superintendent

Board Members
New Albany Floyd County Consolidated School Corporation
2801 Grant Line Road
New Albany, Indiana 47150

Re: New Albany Floyd County Schools Restructuring Plan

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am writing to express my official position regarding the proposed Budget Reduction Information/Plan for which the NAFCCSC Board will be asked to approve this coming Thursday, March 11, 2010, to-wit:

I would like to thank Dr. Hibbard for meeting with me on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 to explain the contents of the plan and his pending recommendation. While I do not envy the fiscal predicament that the NAFCCSC finds itself, I understand the difficult choices you must make to manage your fiscal affairs. You have my unqualified empathy, and I encourage you to make decisions that will benefit our community in the long-run.

There are four aspects of the Plan that cause me pause:

1. Being the husband of a retired teacher with 42 years of experience and service, I am concerned about the proposal to move 5 th graders to the middle schools. I will not belabor the specific reasons why, as they were well articulated at your public hearing on Monday, March 8, 2010.

2. The NAFCCSC is a diverse socio-economic community. Like many metropolitan communities, it contains many races and ethnicities. It would be a tragedy to abandon the resources currently allocated by the NAFCCSC to its diversity staff.

3. From the information provided, it is difficult for me or citizens to understand what savings, reserves and rainy day funds would be used to shore up the recommended option. Without this information, it is difficult to understand why no other restructuring alternatives exist—ones that could save a central city school or perhaps two.

4. I am also concerned that the recommended option will close three elementary schools within the City of New Albany. In particular, the Children's Academy and Silver Street are essential facilities to the vitality of the neighborhoods that surround them. I am fearful that their closure will have detrimental impact on the children, families and property values. The fact is many households have made significant investment choices to reside in these "walkable" neighborhoods because of the proximity of the schools that are slated for closure.

With respect to Silver Street School and the Children's Academy, I would be remiss if I did not point out that the City of New Albany is currently in the process of developing a new five-year plan for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. While the City cannot utilize the CDBG Program to fund the operating costs of a neighborhood school, the City could make a financial contribution to implement accessibility improvements (elevator, ADA improvements, et cetera) to Silver Street School and/or similar improvements to the Children's Academy to avoid closure.

Finally, a common refrain heard at the Public Hearing was the rather short period of time allowed for the public to understand and comment on the recommended option or other alternatives. If the Board of Directors is interested in the City's participation through the CDBG Program, I would suggest a discussion with the City Staff before making a final decision.

Thank you for your consideration.

Douglas B. England
Mayor

cc: The Tribune and Evening News
The Courier Journal

I call this team "Blame the Victim."

A purely hypothetical situation:

Let's say that a school board member and GOP candidate for higher state office advances the notion that there are cuts that can be made that might forestall school closings.

Let's say that these cuts primarily have to do with reducing health insurance benefits to teachers and employees.

What would I say to that?

I'd say that is doesn't surprise me when the same people fighting tooth and nail against universal health care in America regard it as a wonderful idea to cut health care benefits and help "solve" the problem they've done so much to create.

I'd say that if I could find a Bible passage to illustrate this, I would. Oddly, I'd probably be able to find substantiation in Marx, Engels, or both -- but as a capitalist pressed to the wall, there's no time for that.

That's what I'd say. Since the situation is only hypothetical, I don't have to.

NA-FC schools ... the ol' "cut and run"?

With the clock ticking, a Tribune reader offers a relevant timeline.

LETTER: Reader: People of New Albany owed more than a ‘cut and run’ plan, by Norma Condra.

... I note the lightening speed to which this process has been presented to the public. On Wednesday, Feb. 24, the corporation alerted the media they would reveal the details of their Expenditure Reduction Plan on March 4, conduct a public hearing, a.k.a. a formality, on March 8 and vote on the plan on March 11. Interestingly, the deadline to file for school board candidacy for the May primary was Feb. 19. Is the implementation of the plan all sewn up, to include preventing angry parents from running for available school board seats?

Will City Hall be taking a position on the school closing crisis?

Kathy at the gang at Save Silver Street Elementary blog has the best available compendium of information pertaining to the school closing crisis. NAC is doing what it can to play a supporting role in this, so please check SSSE for up-to-date news.

The comment below was posted here at NAC yesterday:

The Mayor and Deputy Mayor told me they were there to listen to the public's - - that this was the public's time to speak, and after listening to everything, he (the Mayor) plans to hold a press conference (today I think). I do not know if they were there for the entire hearing, as it ran from 7 PM-11:30PM.

"Today" was Tuesday. Today's Wednesday, and tomorrow on Thursday evening is the scheduled school board vote.

Will City Hall be taking a position on the school closing issue?

It has before. From the NAC archives, dated June 25 2008: Good news from City Hall: Silver Street supporters, New Albany's mayor join forces.

School budget solutions? Send to ...

(From Kathy Ayers)

I just set-up a gmail account for all community members to deposit their NA-FC school budget solution ideas. While "I don't want my school closed because..." is valid, it is not a solution.

Our School Board members need to know what all the great minds of New Albany and Floyd County can offer to turn this boat around! Please send your ideas, no matter how small or how large or how obscure to:

NAFCrecommendations@gmail.com

Open thread: School board school closing vote, procedurally speaking?

Two comments are elevated to the marquee. Apologies for taking the "open thread" route, but I'll be out of Internet earshot until around 1:00 p.m., although iPhone monitoring isn't out of the question.

The topic: The school board's vote tomorrow night, coming exactly one week after the school closing plan was announced, and procedural ramifications therein.

---

Nccondra has left a new comment on your post "Why us? Because Pogo was right, that's why.":

School board president Roger Whaley told Fox 41 News before the public hearing that it was possible at least one fellow board member would ask to vote separately on parts of the plan, particularly the closing of Galena Elementary School.

Has a decision already been made? “Particularly the closing of Galena Elementary School”? After the hearing was adjourned, board member Rebecca Gardenour asked if the board would vote for the entire recommendation or if items could be voted on separately, and Whaley responded that the board would have to have at least 4 members vote to separately vote on items.

Staged much? I shouldn't be surprised, because this is Floyd County, after all. The meeting hadn't even occurred, yet one board member was already planning to make a motion to vote separately on the closing of Galena. What voting separately on sending 5th graders to middle school? All of us completely understand the pain Galena parents are experiencing, and the frustration that it came so unexpectedly, with a very short time frame to respond.

However, it is downright vile that after over one year of gathering hundreds of signatures on petitions, attendance at three public hearings, a multitude of yard signs, and letters and calls of protest by citizens of New Albany to keep Silver Street open, Silver Street will probably not be afforded this consideration.

---

The Bookseller has left a new comment on your post "Why us? Because Pogo was right, that's why.":

Nccondra, your points are germane, and I'll vouch for your NAC bona fides (NAC?). You've provided information I did not know previously.

But, just as with the current sewer imbroglio, it's all of a set, and each separate vote has a corresponding consequence. I can't imagine that pandering to a particular school zone would be considered viable or honest.

I'm hard to convince, and no one has yet convinced me that Silver Street's sitch is anything other than a manufactured plan to intentionally gut a neighborhood and county treasure.

"I won't maintain this school. I won't fund this school. I must close this school because correcting my neglect would cost too much."

Even the pretended "reason" is specious. "Too much?" Even with the intentional neglect, the cost is not too much under any analysis.

Why us? Because Pogo was right, that's why.

Was City Hall in attendance, and did anyone from local government speak? What is the effect of this proposal on neighborhood revitalization? Are we at the crisis saturation point where there are simply too few (and far too exhausted) activists favoring a civil (as opposed to troglodyte) society to overcome the obstructionist looters?

Hundreds attend NA-FC's meeting on proposed school closures, by Tara Hettinger (Tribune).

Parents came to the New Albany High School Auditorium on Monday night, with many opposed to a plan by the school system to close elementary schools because of budget constraints.

State Representative Ed Clere's viewpoint was written prior to the meeting and published today.

CLERE: Let's point forward instead of fingers

... The state has accepted responsibility for funding schools, and we must fulfill that commitment. We cannot, however, deny economic reality. We're in the deepest recession since the Great Depression. The last time we experienced such economic challenges there was a striking Richardsonian Romanesque elementary school at the corner of Vincennes and Shelby streets.

Finally, here is Shane Gibson's take. Gibson will be Clere's opponent in the House election this coming November.

Gibson on education: Takin' it to the state.

The Indiana Legislature in the final days of session is attempting to develop solutions to the education funding fiasco created by themselves and the recent cuts in education from Gov. Mitch Daniels.

Final Monday reminder: Proposed school closing discussion.

Rather than confuse matters by starting a new thread, please revert to this post to join the discussion: Troubled by proposed school closings?

If I had the time to do more right now, I would. Work just has to come first. Sorry about that.

Reminder: Proposed school closing discussion.

Rather than confuse matters by starting a new thread, please revert to this post to join the discussion: Troubled by proposed school closings?

Troubled by proposed school closings? Meeting today, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at Destinations Booksellers to organize, exchange & strategize.

Sorry if a garble something here, but this is breaking as I write, and I want to get the message out.

Destinations/Dueling Grounds is making space available from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. TODAY (doors open a bit before and after these times) for a meeting for ANYONE to come and organize/discuss ideas/exchange strategies about prospective school closings. Drinks will be available from the cafe.

Note that NA Confidential is happy to offer this blog space for publishing anything that neighborhood organizers wish to disseminate.