Maybe We Don't Want That Amazon Headquarters Anyway

For a different viewpoint on that Amazon headquarters:

Amazon's New Headquarters 

Should Be in Hell

"Amazon is one of America’s largest and most successful corporations. It is worth nearly $500 billion. Its stock is booming. Its CEO is one of the world’s richest men. It has the wherewithal, in other words, to do whatever it wants. If Amazon wanted to purchase five square blocks of midtown Manhattan tomorrow and build skyscrapers on it, it could, just by writing a check. More to the point, if Amazon wanted to help revitalize an American city by investing $5 billion in it to build a new headquarters there, bringing 50,000 new jobs to town, it could. Just by writing a check.

Instead, Amazon is holding a multinational audition, asking for cities to submit proposals to win the exciting opportunity to host tens of thousands of tech (people). Amazon wants to know that cities have an educated work force and good transportation networks, sure, but they don’t need the cities themselves to tell them that. What they are asking cities to submit are economic incentives. They are asking for tax breaks. They are in essence conducting a giant beauty pageant in which desperate municipal governments attempt to offer them the most lucrative possible package of public resources. This is not unlike a rich man standing up in the midst of a crowd of beggars and yelling, “Who will massage my feet for the lowest price?”

Do we really want to give away possible supporting tax money for our schools and infrastructure?

Can we afford that?

It's as I said a long time ago and have said since, our city, county and state governments need to stop letting themselves be used like this. They need to stop allowing themselves to be manipulated to give the lowest and best tax package, just to land possible new business and companies to come into their jurisdictions.

They won't stop but they should.

What Charter schools do

Robert Arial

Why and how Charter schools are so wrong

New Jersey is learning what people in the Kansas City area should when it comes to Charter schools:

Christie's charter school nightmare: “White flight..."

"We are creating separate but equal school systems,"  --Hoboken school board president.

From the article:

While New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie deals with burgeoning scandals surrounding accusations he used the Port Authority and development deals for political ends, he now finds himself in a flap surrounding charter schools in Hoboken.

As charters in the city have exploded in number and size, “they’re fostering white flight, and they’re bankrupting us,” the city’s school board head charged in a Wednesday interview. “We are creating separate but equal school systems,” warned Hoboken Board of Education president Leon Gold. (As Salon has reported, Christie-style ed reform has also sparked controversy in Newark.)

It's what I've said all along.

Charter schools do two things. First they drain funds away from the public school system, when there's already far too little for the schools, shamefully.  And second, they do what the Hoboken school board president points out above. That is, they set up a second set of schools, virtually always for the more wealthy--read: white--students. Truly, yet another separate and unequal group of schools for the more fortunate, the wealthier population.

It's not just unequal and/or unfair, either. 

It's unjust

It's obscene.

It's grossly immoral.

It's not what any good, fair country or society should be about.

Least of all America.

Kansas Citians would do well to learn from all this.  And shut down the entire Charter school program.

On the start of a new school year

And taking it one step further, it doesn't end when formal schooling does.

Or it shouldn't, anyway.

Good luck with that, Missouri Senate

In the news today:

Missouri Senate approves immediate takeover of Kansas City public schools

Yes, I can totally see that working. A group of people, men, mostly, with no education backgrounds for the most part, trying to run a school district from 158 miles away, that historically can't even run itself.  Oh, yeah, I'm hopeful. (not at all).

That said, maybe, just maybe, if there's any fiscal chicanery or outright theft or illegal misuse of funds, maybe they can eliminate that.

As I said, I'm not hopeful but we've tried nearly everything else.  Perhaps this can help?

Anyway, here we go--down the rabbit hole.

Schools and schooling in America

From a Business Insider article on Finland (first link below):

"Since it implemented huge education reforms 40 years ago, Finland's school system has consistently come at the top for the international rankings for education systems.

So how do they do it?

It's simple — by going against the evaluation-driven, centralized model that much of the Western world uses."

Then check this out--it's not due to money because, as the article below will tell you, Finland spends around 30 percent less per student than the United States.

We need to learn, folks, clearly. It's not only not about money, it's not about testing incessantly, either, if these people and their results are any indication, as they should be.

Links: http://www.businessinsider.com/finland-education-school-2011-12?op=1

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/education/from-finland-an-intriguing-school-reform-model.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=0

Yet more bad news for the KCMO School District

It just keeps getting worse for the KCMO School District:

Ruling goes against KC district

KANSAS CITY (AP) — An appeals court ruled yesterday that a Cole County judge erred in ordering charter schools to repay millions to Kansas City Public Schools.

At issue was money diverted from charter schools to help the Kansas City district pay off bonds that were issued to build and upgrade schools as required by a long-running federal desegregation case. Between $800 and $1,000 per student was withheld annually from Kansas City charter schools from 1999 to 2005, then later resumed in smaller amounts.

The withholdings began when the publicly funded schools opened in the city and began luring district students, and they temporarily ended in 2005, when the Missouri Board of Fund Commissioners found the district didn't need the money from the charter schools to pay off the bonds.

The district alleged the state was reneging on a 1997 settlement in which the state paid $320 million to exit the district's desegregation case. The district, which remained a defendant until court supervision of the desegregation case ended in August 2003, said the settlement agreement stipulated that the state refrain from acts that would undermine the district.

The withholdings resumed after a federal judge ruled in 2006 that the money was needed to pay off the bonds. The district then sought to get back the $6.2 million it was unable to collect over that year.

In October, a Cole County judge sided with the Kansas City district. But the appeals court disagreed, saying the district had paid the money voluntarily and couldn't get it back.

All anyone can do at this point is to hope this district can save itself.

Link: http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/aug/22/ruling-goes-against-kc-district/

KCMoSD School Board Candidate, 27 years old

There is one candidate, according to The Kansas City Star, for the Kansas City, Missouri School Board who is 27 years old and an Operations Manager for Tann Electric. He is one Adam Scheiber. While I certainly salute his eagerness to enter this field, I would have to also say that old, long-familiar warning to Mr. Scheib. That is, "be careful what you wish for." Link: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/14/3517760/crowded-field-running-for-kc-school.html

What the KCMSD needs

All schools and school districts--and students--need this. Some get it, too many don't: http://youtu.be/vozPGasx4CM

Bill Cosby can't come to Kansas City enough

Seriously--and I'll say it again--Bill Cosby cannot come to Kansas City enough. (Link to story at bottom). The guy is great. This is a guy who came up from meager beginnings, worked hard his entire life, was bright and creative and unique (we all are, keep in mind) and made it big. What other person has a better or more appropriate story to tell the students of the Kansas City, Missouri School District? Now if only Michael Jordan, especially, but others, too, would do more of this work. Many thanks to you, Mr. Cosby, for your tours, speeches and this good work. Kudos to you. Link: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/24/3450316/bill-cosby-urges-urban-youths.html

The 2nd, final story from NPR on the KCMSD

Scott Simon's 2nd and final report today on NPR: Saving Kansas City Schools Means Rescuing A City This one was far more full of questions and not of pointing out as many of the School District's faults, in my opinion, compared to last week's broadcast: Link: http://www.npr.org/2012/02/25/147393076/saving-kansas-city-schools-means-rescuing-a-city

KCMO School District: How embarrassing

A headline and story yesterday from Scott Simon that went national and international on NPR radio: Kansas City's Failed Schools Leave Students Behind. I think I'll just roll up in a ball over here in a corner. Link: http://www.npr.org/2012/02/18/147067123/kansas-citys-failed-schools-leave-students-behind

On the KCMO School District

Word on the street is that all the school districts in the area that can, in fact, take students from the Kansas City, Missouri School District are all telling the parents or children who call---no. They won't be accepting any of the students from what I understand. They're supposed to actually live in the area/town/city they'd be trying to change to, first, and second, the schools are just too full and are told to say no, when/if anyone asks. That surely has to be a bit of a relief both to the schools who can and do say no, if they don't want or need the new students, and it must be a bit of a relief to the KCMO District. There might have been some concern about too many kids leaving at one time. There's one more factor, too, in this. The KCMSD is said to be willing to pay up to "X" amount of the student's fees and I'm sure they're obliged by law. In the meantime, the other schools the student might transfer into says it's costs are actually higher than that so what would be paid isn't high enough. (see 2nd link, below) Short conclusion? Not many transfers will happen any time soon. March, however, when the lack of accreditation hits, though? That has yet to be figured out. Links: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/12/15/3322254/kc-district-outlines-how-student.html; http://www.kmbc.com/education/30019921/detail.html

Mayor James: Be careful what you wish for

So now Mayor James wants in on the Kansas City Missouri School District leadership. The State of Missouri's Board of Education wants in, they say. Who knows what the answer is/answers are. Untold numbers of people have been trying to "fix" this school district for so long with so many different programs. Mayor James better know what he's asking for. Surely he does. We'll see. Somebody please come up with a solution/some solutions. One of them has to be to get and keep all the parents involved, for starters. Good luck to them and here's hoping. Link: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/12/01/3296316/kc-mayor-sly-james-wants-to-take.html

I need someone to give me $6 million to walk away

From The Star, yesterday: Kansas fires Turner Gill, begins search for new football coach University is willing to pay the $6 million price to move on as it seeks respectability I guess I'd even lower myself to being a former Kansas City, Missouri School District Superintendent and take, oh, I don't know, even as low as $250,000.00 to walk away. But I'll hold out a little while, for the first one. Link: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/11/27/3289732/ku-fires-turner-gill-begins-search.html

Very appropriate article in Sunday's NYT for the KCMSD

The title: How About Better Parents? A brief description: "Let's stop putting the burden of education improvements just on teachers. Parents play a huge role in classroom success." How about it? Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-about-better-parents.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212

Please, KCMSD, please...

No new, big, ugly surprises this week, please. We're begging you. Haven't you had enough? We know we surely have.

Self-serving superintendent

Well, now we find out today that not only did now-former Kansas City Missouri School District Superintendent John Covington go shopping for a job elsewhere, FAR before his contract ended, AND lie about it, and then leave early, during the first week of a new school year--he's not done yet--NOW he also cherry-picked those 3 administrators that just left so he could take them with him to his new, high-paying job up there in Detroit, likely so it could help save his butt. Was this guy Machiavellian or what? Link: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/11/10/3258754/covington-introduces-three-from.html

That does it--the KCMSD is toast

News from the Star today says "At least three of Kansas City Public Schools’ core cabinet members are leaving the school district. The district’s chiefs in finance, academics and curriculum are on their way out, a development that is particularly distressing to Kansas City school board members who are angry because they think that Missouri Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro, whether intentional or not, is stirring panic among top staffers." If anyone, anywhere in town thought there might be a chance at all that the State of Missouri might not take over the District after all, especially after the assistance Russ Ptacek kind of gave them with his report this week, claiming Superintendent Covington lied about not looking for a job out of town ahead of time, well, you can forget it. It's all over but the shouting. Come on, January, 2012. Link: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/11/09/3257129/three-top-administrators-leaving.html

The article the Star is hopefully researching

Remember all that brouhaha not that long ago, at the beginning of the Kansas City, Missouri school year about now-gone Superintendent Dr. John Covington and his accusations of impropriety on the part of Airick Leonard West? Yeah, those charges. I do, too. It seems to me The Kansas City Star should be researching a story right now about a) the charges and b) validity or lack of validity of those same charges. Wouldn't that make a great article, no matter the turnout? Don't we deserve to know if the charges made had any truth to them or not? It surely seems like it to me. Joe Robertson? Any information? And if the Star doesn't do it/isn't doing it, then I surely hope The Pitch is. What about it, guys? That would surely make some terrific, needed investigative reporting. If not those two, then how about Russ Ptacek at NBC Action News? Somebody? I think the parents, teachers and students all deserve answers, let alone the rest of the citizens of the city. The charges came up very quickly, then went away just as fast. Is there any substantiation to them? I'm not assuming guilt at all. I assume Mr. West is completely "clean" until shown otherwise. I just think someone ought to be asking the questions. We still need a clean school district in the city, you know? Links: http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/west-wrong-choice-kc-school-board-president/; http://www.pitch.com/; http://www.nbcactionnews.com/dpp/about_us/staff/Russ-Ptacek---Investigative-Reporter