SUN LTE 2/25

[doctorwho]

brooksmom said:

204vet said:

Safety is of course an issue for all. I agree on that. I knew many of you would see it as a completely different situation. It always is when you are being affected. As to the idea that there is a downside to remaining at the high school you have always gone to...don't think there is. There was much more to it than that. Guess we need to agree to disagree.

I agree with you that there have been many cases on this board of people objecting to situations that were fine with them before they were personally impacted. One example that I can think of off hand are the WV enrollment numbers. They are the same as they would have been with BB, but now there are people crying foul because it is their child who will be crowded. Obviously you object more when it is you bearing the brunt of the impact. It never sounds so bad when it is someone else who has to deal.

There were many, many people who voted yes only because they liked the boundaries that the SB fed them. That was the whole point of the boundary exercise. The SB made a decision that Brookdale's votes were less important to the passage of the referendum than those they satisfied with their boundaries elsewhere in the district. I don't think Brookdale should be scorned when there were many others who voted in the opposite direction for the very same reason - boundaries. Nor do I think that those in Brookdale should hold their tongue now based on the referendum vote. They are equal participants in this school district and have the right to offer their opinions via vote or in print as does everyone else in district 204.

And when someone from Brookdale writes an LTE basically telling everyone else to shut the heck up ( now that she has what she wants) then she is open for criticism - just as they dished out.

So voice away - just don't come back and complain when someone calls it out for what it is.

[204vet]

warriorpride said:

secondtimearound said:

Also, to be fair, it is not "subdivisions" that make comments; it is individuals. Please don't label entire areas when it is isolated to a few outspoken people.

and, based on concerned's post, it is inidividuals that may or may not be able to walk to a school, not a subdivision - it's probably a best practice if everyone basically speaks for themselves and doesn't try to, or pretend to, speak for their neighborhood, subdivision, ES area, MS area, HS area, geographic area, or city. That seems to the root of some of these verbal wars & perception problems. So, use of the term "we" should probably be used sparingly.

I completely agree with this. I would never presume to speak for my whole neighborhood or even one other person on this topic. When we 'come out' and identify what area we are from we need to make it clear or it should just be taken for granted that we are only expressing our feelings and views based on our experience.

[Arch]

204vet said:

warriorpride said:

and, based on concerned's post, it is inidividuals that may or may not be able to walk to a school, not a subdivision - it's probably a best practice if everyone basically speaks for themselves and doesn't try to, or pretend to, speak for their neighborhood, subdivision, ES area, MS area, HS area, geographic area, or city. That seems to the root of some of these verbal wars & perception problems. So, use of the term "we" should probably be used sparingly.

I completely agree with this. I would never presume to speak for my whole neighborhood or even one other person on this topic. When we 'come out' and identify what area we are from we need to make it clear or it should just be taken for granted that we are only expressing our feelings and views based on our experience.

That's all it's supposed to be.. it adds perspective to know from what view someone's looking at the situation. No one speaks for an entire area. Some may try to, but they don't.

[wvhsparent]

doctorwho said:

brooksmom said:

I agree with you that there have been many cases on this board of people objecting to situations that were fine with them before they were personally impacted. One example that I can think of off hand are the WV enrollment numbers. They are the same as they would have been with BB, but now there are people crying foul because it is their child who will be crowded. Obviously you object more when it is you bearing the brunt of the impact. It never sounds so bad when it is someone else who has to deal.

There were many, many people who voted yes only because they liked the boundaries that the SB fed them. That was the whole point of the boundary exercise. The SB made a decision that Brookdale's votes were less important to the passage of the referendum than those they satisfied with their boundaries elsewhere in the district. I don't think Brookdale should be scorned when there were many others who voted in the opposite direction for the very same reason - boundaries. Nor do I think that those in Brookdale should hold their tongue now based on the referendum vote. They are equal participants in this school district and have the right to offer their opinions via vote or in print as does everyone else in district 204.

And when someone from Brookdale writes an LTE basically telling everyone else to shut the heck up ( now that she has what she wants) then she is open for criticism - just as they dished out.

So voice away - just don't come back and complain when someone calls it out for what it is.

I have to ask doc...I did not read the "shut the heck up" part in her letter. That would be your interpretation right?

[Arch]

wvhsparent said:

doctorwho said:

And when someone from Brookdale writes an LTE basically telling everyone else to shut the heck up ( now that she has what she wants) then she is open for criticism - just as they dished out.

So voice away - just don't come back and complain when someone calls it out for what it is.

I have to ask doc...I did not read the "shut the heck up" part in her letter. That would be your interpretation right?

It was implied, unless you want to offer another interpretation to explain the purpose... I read that we owe them an apology for any criticism and we need to stop doing the criticism.

"... only to be criticized for their every move, as if they are the enemy."
"And perhaps our administrators have a few other tasks to manage in running a school district than listening to the constant whine of unhappy parents."
"Let's move forward and put the ugliness behind us."

There's where my opinion comes from, after removing the fluff and wiping the rest off of my boots.

What's your interpretation? And please, feel free to quote the original so we can all see it.

[concerned]

She did say we need to apologize to the SB, when I feel it is the SB who needs to apologize to the taxpayers. Sorry we wasted millions on the BB site, Sorry we had to change boundaries even though when we campaigned for our seats we said this would not happen, sorry during the first ref. we promised we could get BB, sorry we stuck you in a small room and called us a community of entitlement and laughed at speakers, sorry we put out a false memo on the bridge. and sorry we have caused pain and divide in this district. To write that letter to me implies we should just apologize and get over it.

[Arch]

concerned said:

She did say we need to apologize to the SB, when I feel it is the SB who needs to apologize to the taxpayers. Sorry we wasted millions on the BB site, Sorry we had to change boundaries even though when we campaigned for our seats we said this would not happen, sorry during the first ref. we promised we could get BB, sorry we stuck you in a small room and called us a community of entitlement and laughed at speakers, sorry we put out a false memo on the bridge. and sorry we have caused pain and divide in this district. To write that letter to me implies we should just apologize and get over it.

We're sorry we said everything is safe but can't release the data that actually supports that because we don't have it in hand yet to substantiate it.

[wvhsparent]

OK just checking.....

[fence]

I think it is only natural to pay more attention to things that affect you personally. In fact, taking care of yourself and your family first is in our DNA whether you like it or not.

And, if I would have sincerely realized that they planned to put that many students in WV in 2009, I would have objected equally whether I was attending or not. It has to do with lack of awareness more than lack of caring. So I didn't realize that was the plan because I wasn't focusing on that particular issue. Why those attending WV in previous boundaries thought it was not worth objecting to is not in my area of comprehension.

Now that I'm attending, it is my business to know everything I can about the details of that situation, because it's our school. And I thought that's what people wanted.... I thought that was the point of all of this.

And if we're going to catch crap now because we ONLY care about WV since being assigned to it, I am officially moving to Rockford. The right response would be, hey, people are getting used to the idea of their new school. Let's support that and see if we can continue to knock out some of these other challenging little details.

So yes, I think it's a crappy situation that is totally avoidable by keeping Gold open another year.

And yes, I'm officially off topic. Sorry.

brooksmom said:

204vet said:

Safety is of course an issue for all. I agree on that. I knew many of you would see it as a completely different situation. It always is when you are being affected. As to the idea that there is a downside to remaining at the high school you have always gone to...don't think there is. There was much more to it than that. Guess we need to agree to disagree.

I agree with you that there have been many cases on this board of people objecting to situations that were fine with them before they were personally impacted. One example that I can think of off hand are the WV enrollment numbers. They are the same as they would have been with BB, but now there are people crying foul because it is their child who will be crowded. Obviously you object more when it is you bearing the brunt of the impact. It never sounds so bad when it is someone else who has to deal.

There were many, many people who voted yes only because they liked the boundaries that the SB fed them. That was the whole point of the boundary exercise. The SB made a decision that Brookdale's votes were less important to the passage of the referendum than those they satisfied with their boundaries elsewhere in the district. I don't think Brookdale should be scorned when there were many others who voted in the opposite direction for the very same reason - boundaries. Nor do I think that those in Brookdale should hold their tongue now based on the referendum vote. They are equal participants in this school district and have the right to offer their opinions via vote or in print as does everyone else in district 204.

[doctorwho]

wvhsparent said:

doctorwho said:

And when someone from Brookdale writes an LTE basically telling everyone else to shut the heck up ( now that she has what she wants) then she is open for criticism - just as they dished out.

So voice away - just don't come back and complain when someone calls it out for what it is.

I have to ask doc...I did not read the "shut the heck up" part in her letter. That would be your interpretation right?

What would the directive of this comment be?

""And perhaps our administrators have a few other tasks to manage in running a school district than listening to the constant whine of unhappy parents."
"Let's move forward and put the ugliness behind us.""

I don't think it is as much an intepretation as a response to what weare being told we are.... do you ?

If you told your kids to stop their whining - what are you asking them to do ?

[mandmmom]

doctorwho said:

wvhsparent said:

I have to ask doc...I did not read the "shut the heck up" part in her letter. That would be your interpretation right?

What would the directive of this comment be?

""And perhaps our administrators have a few other tasks to manage in running a school district than listening to the constant whine of unhappy parents."
"Let's move forward and put the ugliness behind us.""

I don't think it is as much an intepretation as a response to what weare being told we are.... do you ?

If you told your kids to stop their whining - what are you asking them to do ?

If the parents of 204 do not voice their opposition to the SB, then they assume we are ok with their decisions. I am not ok with their decisions and I am certainly not ok with their disrespectful behavior towards the parents/students of 204, so I will not sit back and be silent....

[JB]

mandmmom said:

doctorwho said:

What would the directive of this comment be?

""And perhaps our administrators have a few other tasks to manage in running a school district than listening to the constant whine of unhappy parents."
"Let's move forward and put the ugliness behind us.""

I don't think it is as much an intepretation as a response to what weare being told we are.... do you ?

If you told your kids to stop their whining - what are you asking them to do ?

If the parents of 204 do not voice their opposition to the SB, then they assume we are ok with their decisions. I am not ok with their decisions and I am certainly not ok with their disrespectful behavior towards the parents/students of 204, so I will not sit back and be silent....

For the life of me, I can't figure out what the SB/Admin wants. Too much feedback and you're labeled; not enough and we get "we didn't hear from you".

[wvhsparent]

JB unfortunately that's par for the course with the SB/Admin.

FWIW...The feeling I got from the SB Members I've spoken with was that the "feedback" they got was akin to The Simpson kids in the back seat repeating "Are we there yet?"..One can only take so much of that.

[doctorwho]

wvhsparent said:

JB unfortunately that's par for the course with the SB/Admin.

FWIW...The feeling I got from the SB Members I've spoken with was that the "feedback" they got was akin to The Simpson kids in the back seat repeating "Are we there yet?"..One can only take so much of that.

Well when one feels like they are talking to Homer at times - that would seem appropriate
( for true Simpsons fans: someone please put the crayon back in )

[fryfox]

wvhsparent said:

JB unfortunately that's par for the course with the SB/Admin.

FWIW...The feeling I got from the SB Members I've spoken with was that the "feedback" they got was akin to The Simpson kids in the back seat repeating "Are we there yet?"..One can only take so much of that.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you hear the same thing over and over and over from different people, it's a generally safe assumption that it is very important to a significant number of people. Equating public feedback from adults to immature kids in the backseat is pretty offensive, actually.