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Post by Arch on May 13, 2008 10:37:51 GMT -6
Is this curing the music and art on a cart issue? Do they get their classrooms back? I understand where you are going with this, but I see the wisdom of ADK. It is a benefit, and it is something that should have been implemented many, many years ago. I agree there are kids who will benefit greatly from it, especially those who do not get the extra help at home due to any number of things that just don't make it an option at home. However, it's not a one-size fits all for all kids. That is where I have a disagreement with it. The district gave people the option: Do it All day or send your K kid on a bus somewhere else in the district that is offering half day. Gee, with options like that..  It all comes down to the lopsided spending of money. 150 million on a HS that the enrollment really doesn't justify based on how it panned out versus building on to those facilities that need the little bit of extra space. We could do a lot of expanding on some of the ESs with very little money in comparison. |
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Post by jftb on May 13, 2008 12:07:12 GMT -6
See.....frustration is not limited to Watts, Fry, White Eagle, Gombert, Owen, and Peterson anymore!!! Now we treat all of the girls in the entire District as if they are "entitled" "nincompoops." Too bad we couldn't have just "fenced off " an area in the ESs for the girls to use.
Important Information – Please Read Immediately
Leaders
Yesterday I sent an email to Jay Strang, Director of Building Operations, requesting an
update on the status of exempting Girl Scout troops from the new Facility Fee that District
#204 had recently approved.
I got a call from Jay Strang yesterday afternoon.
Jay Strang met with Dr. Stephen Daeschner, Superintendent, and David Holm,
Assistant Superintendent-Business, regarding the new facility fee and the impact this
would have on the 3,069 Girls Scouts and 780 Girl Scout leaders that have held their
Girl Scout meetings at school. Their final decision was that the facility fee will stand.
Any troops still wishing to use their Elementary or Middle School as a meeting place
will be charged $10/hour. You may, however, request the use of a High School
classroom/commons area at no charge.
I thanked Jay for taking our concern to the Superintendent to see if anything could be done.
I also expressed my frustration and disappointment in the decision that was made. I
informed Jay that I would be notifying all the leaders immediately.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you leaders for honoring my request to not
bombard the District while we were trying to work with them to exempt the Girl Scouts from
this new Facility Fee. I sincerely regret that we did not achieve the outcome we had hoped for.
I know, for many of you, you will have to give serious thought to where you will be
meeting this coming year. If you need any assistance in working through your options,
please feel free to give your Membership Manager a call.
Marty Ewing, Senior Membership Manager
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Post by Arch on May 13, 2008 12:43:04 GMT -6
*sigh*
This will make it more difficult for some troop leaders and many entire troops will fold as a result.
Way to go, D204. It's all about the kids, alright.
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Post by sashimi on May 13, 2008 12:59:42 GMT -6
It is just about balance and common sense....
If you assume that 1/2 of the Girl scout meetings are held at one of the schools (based on my daughter's troop, they typically meet twice per month), the amount of money being raised by the District (from the Girl Scouts) is equal to less than ONE month of the District's legal bills incurred in the condemnation case.
Let's assume that girl scouts are school children in the District, so not such a crazy nexus to let them use the school building (paid by taxpayer money) as long as it is open anyways. For Christ's sake, shouldn't the District be promoting participating in after school activities that promote ethics, morals and education (like the Girl Scouts).
I am sure that the $10 bucks per meeting can be covered by a few more cookie sales, but another message that this District is no longer about community and doing what is right...
EDIT: Thinking about ethics, morals and education...maybe Dr.D should join?
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Post by Arch on May 13, 2008 13:45:35 GMT -6
At 60 to 65 cents a box, they need to sell a bunch more cookies if they meet for two hours twice a month.
My wife's brownie troop would have needed $400 just to cover the building costs this year.
Sell those extra 616 boxes of cookies, just to have a place to meet. Woo Hoo! Oh.. you need the money when you turn in the forms this month.. gotcha.
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Post by Arch on May 13, 2008 13:46:24 GMT -6
EDIT: Thinking about ethics, morals and education...maybe Dr.D should join? First order of Business: HONESTY Try-It. |
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Post by lorip on May 13, 2008 14:08:46 GMT -6
*sigh* This will make it more difficult for some troop leaders and many entire troops will fold as a result. Way to go, D204. It's all about the kids, alright. I just heard back from Dr. Daeschner and Jay Strang. The scout troops will be charged a $20 flat rate fee which includes 18 meetings per year. This coincides with a discussion last week on this topic in which the $10/hour fee was being reviewed. Perhaps this should go in its own thread so it doesn't get lost. |
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Post by Arch on May 13, 2008 14:13:37 GMT -6
*sigh* This will make it more difficult for some troop leaders and many entire troops will fold as a result. Way to go, D204. It's all about the kids, alright. I just heard back from Dr. Daeschner and Jay Strang. The scout troops will be charged a $20 flat rate fee which includes 18 meetings per year. This coincides with a discussion last week on this topic in which the $10/hour fee was being reviewed. Perhaps this should go in its own thread so it doesn't get lost. As a 'reasonable' voter.. can I get that in writing on letterhead? |
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Post by lorip on May 13, 2008 14:23:14 GMT -6
I just heard back from Dr. Daeschner and Jay Strang. The scout troops will be charged a $20 flat rate fee which includes 18 meetings per year. This coincides with a discussion last week on this topic in which the $10/hour fee was being reviewed. Perhaps this should go in its own thread so it doesn't get lost. As a 'reasonable' voter.. can I get that in writing on letterhead? You know, Arch, I do what I can. In fact, as a former GS troop leader, it was I who contacted Jay and Dr. Daeschner to see if there was anything that could be done to help these troops out. And you know what? They listened! Imagine that! A simple thank you would be nice - not to me, but to Jay Strang and Dr. Daeschner especially. It was their call and they made a good decision, but all you can do is demand more. Apparently, you can't even give credit where credit is due. I know you and others on this board have criticized administration and Dr. Daeschner in particular. No one is without out fault, I agree. But when certain people step up and do, indeed, do the right thing, you still are critical. I hope others on this board view this as a positive at least. |
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Post by Arch on May 13, 2008 14:31:41 GMT -6
As a 'reasonable' voter.. can I get that in writing on letterhead? You know, Arch, I do what I can. In fact, as a former GS troop leader, it was I who contacted Jay and Dr. Daeschner to see if there was anything that could be done to help these troops out. And you know what? They listened! Imagine that! A simple thank you would be nice - not to me, but to Jay Strang and Dr. Daeschner especially. It was their call and they made a good decision, but all you can do is demand more. Apparently, you can't even give credit where credit is due. I know you and others on this board have criticized administration and Dr. Daeschner in particular. No one is without out fault, I agree. But when certain people step up and do, indeed, do the right thing, you still are critical. I hope others on this board view this as a positive at least. My wife had this running up the flagpole for a while at the GS District level working from the other angle. In case you hadn't noticed, they (the district) stopped responding to my communications back in February. If what you state holds true, thank you. But, from what I read from the district's motion to dismiss, just because something is said, doesn't mean it's true. Heck, even if it's printed on district materials, according to them, doesn't mean they have to be held to it. |
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Post by lorip on May 13, 2008 14:39:51 GMT -6
You know, Arch, I do what I can. In fact, as a former GS troop leader, it was I who contacted Jay and Dr. Daeschner to see if there was anything that could be done to help these troops out. And you know what? They listened! Imagine that! A simple thank you would be nice - not to me, but to Jay Strang and Dr. Daeschner especially. It was their call and they made a good decision, but all you can do is demand more. Apparently, you can't even give credit where credit is due. I know you and others on this board have criticized administration and Dr. Daeschner in particular. No one is without out fault, I agree. But when certain people step up and do, indeed, do the right thing, you still are critical. I hope others on this board view this as a positive at least. My wife had this running up the flagpole for a while at the GS District level working from the other angle. In case you hadn't noticed, they (the district) stopped responding to my communications back in February. If what you state holds true, thank you. But, from what I read from the district's motion to dismiss, just because something is said, doesn't mean it's true. Heck, even if it's printed on district materials, according to them, doesn't mean they have to be held to it. I'm sure many people were working it from both ends. But since word came down today from the GS's, I got on the phone to verify it right away. Now, I'm not saying that my one phone call did the trick, by any means. I'm sure others might have called as well. I don't know. My communications with the district have not ceased. It's too bad they've stopped communicating with you. What's that saying? - "You can attract more bees with honey than with vinegar" (or something like that). I think that might apply here. I've used this as my mantra in the course of my life. It seems to work for me. I don't expect any thanks. My point in that was to give credit where it is due, even if it might pain you to do so. Another phrase comes to mind "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." Meaning that sometimes a good deed is simply a good deed. |
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Post by Arch on May 13, 2008 14:46:32 GMT -6
My wife had this running up the flagpole for a while at the GS District level working from the other angle. In case you hadn't noticed, they (the district) stopped responding to my communications back in February. If what you state holds true, thank you. But, from what I read from the district's motion to dismiss, just because something is said, doesn't mean it's true. Heck, even if it's printed on district materials, according to them, doesn't mean they have to be held to it. I'm sure many people were working it from both ends. But since word came down today from the GS's, I got on the phone to verify it right away. Now, I'm not saying that my one phone call did the trick, by any means. I'm sure others might have called as well. I don't know. My communications with the district have not ceased. It's too bad they've stopped communicating with you. What's that saying? - "You can attract more bees with honey than with vinegar" (or something like that). I think that might apply here. I've used this as my mantra in the course of my life. It seems to work for me. I don't expect any thanks. My point in that was to give credit where it is due, even if it might pain you to do so. Another phrase comes to mind "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." Meaning that sometimes a good deed is simply a good deed. My communications were honey when they stopped responding. They just didn't like that someone was bring up safety concerns about pipelines and lawsuits that would be slapped against the district if they went with that land. Low and behold, a month later, the first one hit. *shrug* |
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Post by lorip on May 13, 2008 15:11:53 GMT -6
You know, Arch, I do what I can. In fact, as a former GS troop leader, it was I who contacted Jay and Dr. Daeschner to see if there was anything that could be done to help these troops out. And you know what? They listened! Imagine that! A simple thank you would be nice - not to me, but to Jay Strang and Dr. Daeschner especially. It was their call and they made a good decision, but all you can do is demand more. Apparently, you can't even give credit where credit is due. I know you and others on this board have criticized administration and Dr. Daeschner in particular. No one is without out fault, I agree. But when certain people step up and do, indeed, do the right thing, you still are critical. I hope others on this board view this as a positive at least. My wife had this running up the flagpole for a while at the GS District level working from the other angle. In case you hadn't noticed, they (the district) stopped responding to my communications back in February. If what you state holds true, thank you. But, from what I read from the district's motion to dismiss, just because something is said, doesn't mean it's true. Heck, even if it's printed on district materials, according to them, doesn't mean they have to be held to it. Here Arch...maybe not in writing, but it's good enough for the Girl Scouts. At least they seem very appreciative of the district's efforts. An email from the GS's : WONDERFUL NEWS FROM DISTRICT #204 - PLEASE READ I just got off the phone with Jay Strang. I have wonderful news. Jay asked me how often our troops met. I told him the average troop met twice a month, nine months out of the year. So each troop would be requesting about 18 dates a year. Jay explained that there will still be a facility fee for the Girl Scouts but it will only be a flat fee of $20/year. Not $10/hour, not $10/meeting, not $10/month – but $20 for 18 troop meetings. Please submit your Building request forms by May 20 for early consideration of rooms. If you have any questions please contact Shari Olsen at Shari_Olsen@ipsd.org or fax her at 630-978-5200. Please take time out of your busy schedule to thank Jay Strang for going to bat for us. He did a great service to all of us. His email is: jay_strang@ipsd.org Thank you, leaders, for hanging in there with us. |
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Post by Arch on May 13, 2008 15:17:07 GMT -6
My wife had this running up the flagpole for a while at the GS District level working from the other angle. In case you hadn't noticed, they (the district) stopped responding to my communications back in February. If what you state holds true, thank you. But, from what I read from the district's motion to dismiss, just because something is said, doesn't mean it's true. Heck, even if it's printed on district materials, according to them, doesn't mean they have to be held to it. Here Arch...maybe not in writing, but it's good enough for the Girl Scouts. At least they seem very appreciative of the district's efforts. An email from the GS's : WONDERFUL NEWS FROM DISTRICT #204 - PLEASE READ I just got off the phone with Jay Strang. I have wonderful news. Jay asked me how often our troops met. I told him the average troop met twice a month, nine months out of the year. So each troop would be requesting about 18 dates a year. Jay explained that there will still be a facility fee for the Girl Scouts but it will only be a flat fee of $20/year. Not $10/hour, not $10/meeting, not $10/month – but $20 for 18 troop meetings. Please submit your Building request forms by May 20 for early consideration of rooms. If you have any questions please contact Shari Olsen at Shari_Olsen@ipsd.org or fax her at 630-978-5200. Please take time out of your busy schedule to thank Jay Strang for going to bat for us. He did a great service to all of us. His email is: jay_strang@ipsd.org Thank you, leaders, for hanging in there with us. Yup, saw that from Tess. |
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Post by doctorwho on May 13, 2008 15:23:29 GMT -6
As a 'reasonable' voter.. can I get that in writing on letterhead? You know, Arch, I do what I can. In fact, as a former GS troop leader, it was I who contacted Jay and Dr. Daeschner to see if there was anything that could be done to help these troops out. And you know what? They listened! Imagine that! A simple thank you would be nice - not to me, but to Jay Strang and Dr. Daeschner especially. It was their call and they made a good decision, but all you can do is demand more. Apparently, you can't even give credit where credit is due. I know you and others on this board have criticized administration and Dr. Daeschner in particular. No one is without out fault, I agree. But when certain people step up and do, indeed, do the right thing, you still are critical. I hope others on this board view this as a positive at least. I do view it as positive, and will give credit but will also ask this question? Why the change ? Is it because of who asked ? - I sure hope not but call me skeptical of everything at this point. It is the right decision but why was it not made first ? Yes, it's better to get it right in the long run, but I guess is would be nice if the WHOLE district had their ear........not just some. As for Arch's comment about getting it in writing - do you question why that would be said at this point ? In fact in wriitng doesn't work either as Howie put things in wiritng that are now viewed as incidental and meaningless. This is just another example of how many in the district, who feel extremely disenfranchised, will judge every single decision from now on --- and no one should be able to question why. They have now told us we were stupid to believe what they told us - and can't we read ? Well we are all reading now. Once you have been lied to, it is very hard to believe someone again. |
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