Author Archives: Netmom

Let the Battle Begin

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Tonight the Oak Ridge Board of Education officially received the proposed budget from the Director of Schools, Tom Bailey.

He tried very hard to come as close as he could to staying within the City’s “financial model” — an increase in City funding of 4.1% — without devastating cuts.

It’s a bleak budget, with only a step increase and a 1% cost of living increase for teachers. Now tell me, have any of you experienced a mere 1% increase in the cost of living this year? Utilities alone trash that number. Throw in the increased cost of fuel, groceries, and goods (which all rose along with higher transport costs), and it’s a real loser. That’s before you even consider health insurance premiums.

Last year, we gave a 3% increase, while Knox County and Maryville both awarded 4.5% raises to instructional staff. This year, we’re down to 1%? With all the City’s posturing about “comparable cities,” we’re being left in the dust.

And, bleak as this budget is, it contains about a 6.9% increase in the request in funding from the City — $258,046 more than what the City’s “financial model” would allow.

Last year, the State Legislature in its infinite wisdom passed a law mandating 90 minutes of additional “physical activity” for all students K-12, along with a mandated “wellness coordinator” position to plan and audit the physical activity (translation: they want us to take 90 minutes away from academics and have the students “walk around” during the school day). If I heard Dr. Bailey correctly, we lose our Driver’s Ed program in order to fund the wellness coordinator.

So, what’s more dangerous for students: not getting 90 minutes of in-school exercise, or not getting quality driving instruction?

This is just the beginning. We MUST increase sales tax revenues in this city to decrease pressure on property taxes, but until then, we must avoid destroying what our forefathers spent more than a half-century building and nurturing.

We will not go quietly into the night.

Who signed it?

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3,600 people is a lot of people.  Has anyone else wondered who signed that petition, and why?  More than one source has told me that I’d be shocked at some of the names.

Now, we can all know.  As of 5 p.m. today, there is a copy available at the Oak Ridge Public Library.

I would agree that it’s likely I’ll be surprised at some of the names.  I would also agree that it’s likely that some of those very same folks will vote YES in the referendum.  Especially if someone sends them the same information that convinced me and others to support the proposal.

* * *

A funny thing happened at the grocery store…

A busy Oak Ridge mother shopping with her young son at the grocery-store-which-must-not-be-named (hint: parking lot designed by a drunk monkey) had a bit of a meltdown in the long line, with a paltry three items in her cart, when an old battle-axe with a full buggy jumped ahead of her in line.

Young Mom yelled out, “THIS CITY NEEDS A TARGET!” in sheer frustration.  The seniors glared at her, but when she reached the checkout, the cashier looked her in the eye and said, “you’re right about Target.”

Hopefully, Target will have a self-checkout so that those of us who don’t shop for the sole purpose of making long-winded conversation with the cashier, examining coupons one by one, and so forth can get what we need and get out.  BTW, it’s wasn’t me who had the meltdown… not today, anyway.

But, I did take Gamma to JCPenney’s looking for shoes to wear with her orchestra dress, and came away empty-handed.  Again.  So, she’ll again wear Alpha’s narrow hand-me-downs, which hurt her wide feet.  Fortunately, she doesn’t have to wear them for too long.

Facts about Crestpointe

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There’s a lot of information out there about the Crestpointe proposal, and I would hope that everyone in Oak Ridge will take time to familiarize themselves with the facts before voting in the June 5 election (early voting is May 16-31).

It hasn’t been formally announced that there will be a referendum, as the signatures have not been certified by the election commission, but it seems all but certain given the number that was claimed by those gathering signatures.

The City has a list of Frequently Asked Questions on their website, which is a good starting point.

Councilman Abbatiello has produced a white paper with a great deal of detail and analysis from a fiscal perspective (fig. 1 and fig. 2 are at the end), which he closes with the following very strong statement:

In my opinion, to do nothing is NOT an option! We must increase our non-property tax revenues within the very near future. Unless you have a better idea which can produce a higher General Fund return, you should support Crestpointe.

The Oak Ridger recently published an article detailing the conditions which must be met before any funds are released — these are critical, as the conditions are quite stringent and represent the safeguards that previous endeavors were lacking.

I’ve previously posted an e-mail from the City Manager with information about other sites that were evaluated, which many citizens continue to bring up as alternate locations.

Without question, there’s a lot more information to come, as a group has recently formed to help promote passage of this referendum (as a first step; their collective goals are actually much broader in helping Oak Ridge to grow and improve) and they’re gathering even more information to respond to questions in the community. This group is FOR: Future of Oak Ridge, and they’ll have a website up within days.

As Daco noted yesterday, it’s an impressive group.

Read up and be prepared to make an informed decision.

P.S.:  Here’s the Tennessean article about GBT’s similar development in Spring Hill

Well Said.

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I’ve been struggling for words to express my thoughts about Elizabeth Edwards, but Susan Madrak has said it all so well.

I admire Mrs. Edwards for choosing to live whatever days she has left, doing what she wants to do.  It’s not up to any of us to offer what she “should” want, or what her husband “should” decide on her behalf.  She has the opportunity, it seems, to be part of something interesting — something bigger than herself — and I hope that she has fun and is as free from suffering as possible.

Positive Attitude

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Daco’s got a really good post at Manland today.  Although I started this day still exhausted from last week’s travel, his excitement is contagious and palpable.

That’s one of the things I love about Oak Ridge: a diverse group of people can pretty quickly find one another and rally around a good idea, working together to make something positive happen.  It happened three years ago with the new high school, and there are many other examples throughout our history.

Aside from the obvious result of accomplishing something that makes the community better, there are tangential benefits as well — like becoming friends with people that we might not have otherwise gotten to know.

* * *

The bond referendum related to the Crestpointe project must pass, as the decline in our city’s sales tax revenue has reached a critical point.  We are more reliant on property taxes than any other city in the region, and it is this decline that was behind the funding shortfall in the schools’ budget last year.

It has not improved over the last year.  As noted in today’s Oak Ridger, the school budget presentation gets underway on Thursday.  I can tell you now that it will not be pleasant, and that many of last year’s issues will resurface.

Sales tax revenue is vitally important to education, because by statute, half of all local option sales taxes go to education (in our case, shared with all school systems in the county, since they superseded our tax rate last year).  It’s not money we have to beg City Council for, and if the sales tax revenue is healthy and growing, it results in less begging from Council.

That would make everybody happier.  I don’t like begging, and I know a number of Council members who don’t like being the bad guy, saying no.

Supporting passage of the referendum (the language on the ballot will be “Yes” or “No,”  with “Yes” approving the bond issue to move forward with Crestpointe) will not solve the budget problem this year or even next, but it will create a method for pushing us back in the right direction.

At the moment, we’ve gone far enough in the wrong direction that it’s going to be somewhat painful for everyone involved.

Up in Smoke?

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On Tuesday, the Cigarette Tax Bill — SB 2326/HB 2354 — is scheduled for a vote in the Senate Finance, Ways and Means committee.  This bill is the basis for substantial education funding improvements proposed by the Governor this year.

It’s also likely to be considered in the House Agriculture committee on Tuesday, where it faces a much more substantial challenge.

Last Tuesday, the Tennessee School Boards Association joined with other members of the education, business and health community as part of the SchoolsFirst Coalition to endorse the Governor’s plan.  Their website has information detailing the benefits to each school system in the state under various parts of the Governor’s proposal, but all of it is predicated on funding.  To date, I haven’t heard anyone propose specifics for another funding mechanism — only the usual drivel about cutting waste in other areas.

I really don’t care whether it comes from a cigarette tax or from not spending it to support things like the film commission, horse racing commission, or buying up land for conservancy… but please, if you oppose the cigarette tax AND claim to support education, suggest exactly where those dollars should come from.

* * *

Hubby and I just returned from most of a week in northern Michigan, where the very cheapest of generic cigarettes are over $5/pack.  Yet, there still seem to be plenty of smokers there.  When I pointed out the pricing to him, he suggested that eventually, all states will tax tobacco out of existence.  I disagree.

I’ve been smoke-free for 42 days now (that’s six weeks).  The difficulty of NOT going outside, lighting a cigarette, and watching the vestiges of night flee the first rays of the sun with the kick and subsequent calm that only inhaled nicotine can deliver, is still painfully fresh on my mind (and body).  Were it not for the fact that I chose to quit because I was tired of being a slave to the addiction — tired of the third-rate hotel rooms, tired of standing in the rain for my fix, tired of feeling like an outcast — yes, I would have gladly paid $5 for a day’s worth of satisfaction.

Even with the 40-cent tax, cigarettes will still be cheaper here than in a lot of other places, including several that I’ve traveled through in the last few days.
* * *

It’s time to quit squabbling over a too-small educational pie, and get serious about being competitive nationally.  In my 34 hours in the car over the past week, I listened to Thomas Sowell’s Black Rednecks and White Liberals, which provides a very interesting view of why some parts of the country do a better job of supporting education, and how it relates to the ethnic background of the region’s settlers.  If you’re easily offended, don’t read or listen to it, but if you’re really interested in some astute (and surprising) observations that likely assault your own ethnic heritage along with everyone else’s, it’s fascinating.

Decision Process

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For weeks, the Crestpointe proposal has been in the local newspapers; it even made the Knoxville TV news once or twice (due to the petition controversy, not the decision itself).  Although there’s been no announcement from the election commission yet that the required number of signatures was certified, I can hardly believe it would be otherwise at this point.

So, it is almost certain that there will be a referendum on June 5.

I’ve attended one Council meeting and several presentations on the project, and I support it.  Some folks have come out against it for various reasons: some because of the need for City assistance, others because of the location.  However, I’m quite certain that there are a number of people — a majority, perhaps — who haven’t made a decision on whether they will support or oppose the measure in the referendum.

If you are among the undecided, what information do you need to make up your mind, how do you plan to get it, and when?

Home Again!

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What a difference a few days makes.

Last Sunday, I was gravely concerned for my mother in law, unsure if she was slipping to the point where it’s not safe for her to live alone; by Wednesday, she was acting much more like herself.  That is to say, fully aware of her surroundings, barking out orders to accomplish her little checklist of things that need to be done.  Asking Beta all about how many boys she’s dating, asking me whether they’re nice, and why she sleeps so late.
I’ve never been so happy to be ordered about, and jumped right to it.

Having worked through the week’s challenges, I do believe that loneliness and depression had affected her to the point of dulling her senses.  It’s terrible that she has to contend with the loneliness and the situation she’s been faced with, but it seems that it’s treatable.  Someone simply has to visit more often, and there’s a new pastor at her church (which she no longer attends, but still feels very much a part of) who wants to visit.  She put him off yesterday because we were there, but I plan to call and ask that he go visit anyway.

Hopefully, he can drop by often.  MIL is a very social creature, and despite the fact that she won’t leave the house — probably afraid of falling — she really does crave conversation beyond our frequent phone calls.

I’m so relieved, and will be glad to make the trips up there to visit and to help as often as I can.  We left about 6 p.m. last night after supper, and arrived home by 9 a.m. this morning.  A brutal drive to be sure, but we’re used to it (and the kids sleep the whole way).

Thanks for the encouragement, all.  I do appreciate it.

One Problem Licked

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For several years, Hubby’s youngest brother has taken care of the farm (and his mother).  Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond his control, that’s not been possible for the last few months.  That’s why we’re here, trying to make sure that Mom’s okay and will continue to be okay.

One of the challenges at the moment is that the arrival of Spring (at 8 p.m. tonight, by the way) brings the need for farm maintenance — things like spraying fungicides and pesticides to ensure that the orchards are healthy and productive.  However, governmental regulation being what it is, even the little family farmer is required to be licensed to purchase and use the necessary chemicals.

Licensure requires passing a written test, which covers some 200 pages of technical material — chemistry, biology, and law.  Some weeks ago, Hubby recognized that someone needed to be licensed in his brother’s absence, and there are no other closer brothers (one’s in DC, the other in California) who could take over, even short-term.

In a nutshell, Hubby procrastinated studying the Michigan Department of Agriculture manual until about noon today, with the only test availability about 75 miles away at 7 p.m. tonight.  Had it been anyone but him, I would have said “don’t bother,” because there are plenty of examples locally of fellas who’ve farmed all their lives, but failed the test.

However, Hubby being 1) very intelligent and 2) a gifted test-taker, he scored 100% (having read the material only once, not finishing the manual until halfway through supper, a block from the test location).  The proctor said he’s only the fifth in five years to achieve a perfect score.

We’ll likely be making a few more trips up here over the next couple of months to spray the orchards, probably over brutal 3-day weekends.  We’re both hoping that youngest bro can return in time for the busy summer harvest, otherwise, we’ll likely be here a lot more then.  I’ll have to learn to drive the tractor and the big truck.

But, it’s better to have a solution — even if difficult — than to have none.  I’m grateful that at least we have that option.  It’s one less bit of stress on Mom.

Learning the sandwich art

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Fortunately, many others have paved the way through the challenge of caring for elderly parents from a distance.  I learned yesterday that the local electric company has something called a “third party notification,” so they will contact someone else (i.e., adult children of a senior citizen) before utilities are disconnected.  That, in itself, is a huge relief.

In this case, it appears that she did pay the electric bill, but as of yesterday, they hadn’t recorded it.  Maybe the mail is slow.  I should probably help her set it up for auto-payment, along with the phone bill.

Tomorrow’s challenge will be to contact some of the folks who send her paper checks (the fruit co-op of which she’s a member, and a couple of brokerages from whom she receives dividend checks) and see if we can’t get those set up for direct deposit.  That way, she doesn’t have to worry about how to get them to the bank.

I would be happy to have her live with us, and have extended that offer on a number of occasions.  However, this is the farm she was born on, that’s been in her family for over a hundred years.  The pictures on the walls are of ancestors who immigrated around the turn of the last century (or a little earlier); there is her grandparents’ framed marriage license (in German, of course).

I don’t blame her for not wanting to leave.  This is her home.

Finding a way to make this work is our problem.