Author Archives: Netmom

Tennessee Chosen

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Yesterday, the US Department of Education selected Tennessee and North Carolina to test a new way of meeting NCLB standards: by measuring growth (thus, being able to predict future proficiency) rather than an absolute benchmark. The News-Sentinel and Tennessean both carried stories about it today.

Measuring growth is also known as “value-added,” where students are tracked individually, at the classroom level, school level, and system level to determine not only what a student knows at that moment in time, but how much they have learned since the previous year.

Isn’t that the point?

The reality is that human beings are different: some are born with more potential, some are born to families with more resources or whose parents place a high emphasis on learning. Those children are known to perform better on achievement tests, thus creating the impression that the school is meeting expectations.

But think for a moment about a classroom of children without those advantages — kids who may have only one parent, parent(s) without much education, who started out as much as a couple of years behind their more advantaged peers. Yet, a really good teacher can help these students catch up, often resulting in more than a year’s worth of achievement in a given year.

If in 4th grade, these children started out two years behind their more fortunate counterparts, but by the end of the year were only a half-year behind them, one would have to assume not only adequate yearly progress, but good progress, even though they had still not achieved the same level as the more advantaged group.

Under the current NCLB law, progress doesn’t matter — just whether every kid achieves a certain score, regardless of circumstances. The pilot project in Tennessee and North Carolina will make actual progress count, and will eliminate one of the sticking points that has frustrated the education community since the law’s enactment.

Several other states had applied to be part of the demonstration, but lacked the data collection and tracking that Tennessee has been using since 1992. Value-added analysis and student tracking is one of things Tennessee does best, and using individual student data to analyze areas of weakness is a powerful tool for ensuring that every child learns.

This is cause for celebration, and incentive to do the best for every child on an individual basis.

Crunch Time

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It’s clear now that Oak Ridgers realize what is at stake as we await the City’s second reading of the budget, as thoughtful comments can be found anywhere that citizens voice their opinions.

In his letter to the editor in tonight’s paper, Al Denny offers a couple of options (excerpts below, but go ahead and read his whole letter from the link):

a property tax increase of $24 per year on a $120,000 house is a reasonable request and that the City Council should honor the school board’s request…

Page 40 of the city budget has allotted $865,000 for the replacement of vehicles. I believe that $500,000 of the $865,000 should be transferred to the schools for their needs…

I believe that the needs of children outweigh the need for new vehicles. In two years, first-graders will be third-graders, third-graders will be fifth-graders, fifth-graders will be seventh-graders. Education cannot wait, but equipment replacement can.

Well said, Mr. Denny.

Meanwhile, over at AtomicTumor.com, AT has outdone himself, and I wouldn’t do him justice to paraphrase a bit of it, so go read the whole thing. At least twice. But he closes with a suggested letter to Council, for anyone who can’t think of what to say:

As a concerned citizen of Oak Ridge, I am troubled that the city council does not seem to be supporting its school system. It has come to my attention recently that a necessary, but unfortunate, budget increase requested by the school board has been denied, causing the school board to cut a half million dollars of needed services from their budget for 2007.
This troubles me, as I have always understood that Oak Ridge has a strong commitment to education. In fact, the election platforms of several members of city council (Jane Miller, for instance, mentions it as one of her top three issues in a 2005 Democracy for East Tenneessee questionaire) seem to indicate that the City Council shares my concern for the school system, and Oak Ridge’s future.
Please make the right decision. Now is not the time to try to lecture other officials on remaining within unrealistic budgets, because that only hurts the children and working parents of Oak Ridge.
Thank you sincerely for your time and attention, and for your continued efforts in our city.

It’s pretty easy to live inside the bubble that is Oak Ridge, but don’t think this problem has escaped notice outside the city. Dan Allcott, Director of Orchestras and University Music Director at Tennessee Tech, writes to the school board:

It has come to my attention that the 4th grade string instrument instruction program in the Oak Ridge City Schools is in jeopardy. As an educator, musician, and parent of a 3rd grader in a less fortunate school system, I must tell you that Oak Ridge is a beacon of excellence in the state of TN for String Education. At at time when all of our children are challenged by a media blitz of unsupervised an un-disciplined information, this program thrives. One of the reasons it thrives is because it starts at the age when students are still forming their social character and respond positively to the opportunity to do something special. The other reason is that the students are at a crucial juncture in forming their language and math comprehension abilitities. (Both of which are integrated with, and boosted by instrumental music-learning )

Please protect this valuable program.

A key point here is the releationship between early music instruction and math and language comprehension abilities. All four of my daughters play musical instruments — three violas and a saxophone. My oldest is a senior this year, and she has played viola in the Oak Ridge strings program since 4th grade, having had private lessons for only the last two years.

Academically, she excels in AP physics and calculus; she plans to major in Electrical Engineering at UT next year (but also plans to play in the UT Orchestra, as it gives her an outlet to relax). Thus far, she’s garnered two merit-based scholarships — one from the lottery, and another from the College of Engineering.

There is no question in my mind that her early music instruction played a key role in her ability to excel in these difficult subjects. In fact, it was just last night that she reminded me that, prior to 4th grade, she was in the lowest of five math groups and had difficulty reading.

I know that many others have had similar experiences, and it is uncommon to find an orchestra student who is not also an honors student.

And, in deference to those in our fair city who do not have children in school, Joel comments on AtomicTumor’s post as follows:

And if you don’t have kids, or they’ve graduated, you owe it to yourself to keep your property values up. Let’s say that $30/yr on a $150K home is the price of housing price stability. OTOH, without the $30/yr, the reputation of OR schools slips, let’s say that home prices drop an average of 5%. That’s $7500 on a $150K home. In this scenario, $30/yr is a bargain.

Even if prices only slip 1% in five years, it’s a wash.

And none of that counts the possible impact of local sales taxes and business development.

Thanks for the hope, guys. This city really is populated with a lot of neat people (including a few like Joel, who have left but remain Oak Ridgers regardless).

Happy Mother’s Day

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My gift to you today is a recipe, passed along from my mother, who made this dish for me on every birthday going back some undisclosed number of years. The paper on which it is written has turned as brown as parchment from 1800, so it was about time that I archived it anyway.

Broccoli Casserole
1 onion
1/2 stick butter
1 can drained mushrooms
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 garlic cheese roll
3 10-oz packages of broccoli

Sautee onions in butter; add mushrooms, soup, and cheese. Stir until smooth. Cook broccoli, drain, and transfer to a casserole dish. Pour sauce over over broccoli and bake 20 minutes at 350.

* * *

I’m glad to have my mom nearby, and will enjoy spending some time with her today. Of course, since my kids are chinese-food fanatics (and neither Mom nor I really care what or where we eat), we’ll go to China Wok simply because it’s easier to carry on a conversation when the kids are full and happy.

Life is fragile and fleeting; if your mother is living, take time for her today. And if she’s gone, do something today that would make her happy… it’s bound to make the world a better place.

School Budget vs. City Plan

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By now, everyone must have heard that on the first reading of the Oak Ridge municipal budget, Council voted to deny the schools’ budget request. On a unanimous vote (minus Tom Beehan, who was absent), the Council passed a motion to decrease the education appropriation by $490,944.

It’s no secret that to cut the schools budget by that amount will have a very negative impact. Some of the options include the loss of driver education classes, the 4th grade strings program, eliminating bus service within a 1.5 mile radius of each school, school nurses, band camp, chaperone expenses for students who compete in statewide and national events, 9th grade sports, and contracting bus maintenance rather than paying the City to do so at the City Service Center.

I must admit, learning that the City employees will receive a minimum 6% salary increase while only 3% is budgeted for teachers is troublesome. Learning that the City has been charging the school system not only for parts and labor for bus maintenance (as a regular garage would) but adding a 129% overhead charge plus a 10% “administrative fee” is nothing short of infuriating.

The City’s draft budget shows a 5.9% increase in revenue… yet they voted to hold the schools to a 4.25% increase. In contrast, “General Government” got a 6.2% increase, and the fire department got an 8.2% increase.

The City Council’s travel budget for seven people weighs in at $26,000, while the travel budget for five school board members totals only half that — with much of the school board’s travel being required continuing education by the state.

The 8-cent tax increase required to fund the schools’ request would amount to just $30/year on a $150,000 house, but I do understand Council’s desire to keep a competitive tax rate. I might feel better about the process if I saw them go through the entire City budget, line by line, as the school board has already done, cutting more than $600,000 before even making a request to Council.

They were not frivolous reductions. In some cases, it was just a reduction of the increase, but in other cases, line items were reduced to levels below the previous fiscal year.

If you care about the quality of education in our community and the programs offered, please contact any or all members of City Council. Sooner is better… May 22 will be too late.

Farewell to a Friend

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On Monday, our community suffered a crushing loss when County Commissioner Larry Dickens (Dist. 6, west Oak Ridge and Tri-County) suffered a fatal heart attack at home.

I lost a dear friend. I was the treasurer for his County Commission campaigns since he first ran for that office in 1998, and often sought his advice on difficult matters.

We didn’t always agree, but hearing his side of any argument was worth the time, every time… he researched and understood complex matters, and always sought to do the right thing.

He left me a voice message at 12:17 on Monday about some campaign literature I’d been working on for him, and minutes later, he was gone. Macabre though it may seem, I recorded the message and saved it, because just hearing his voice reminds me of all the wonderful things he said over the years.

He sounded healthy and full of enthusiasm. I still cannot believe that he is gone.

His wife was his best friend and girlfriend; his two sons were at the absolute top of his priorities and he was so incredibly proud of those fine young men. He encouraged others to put their families before all else, setting the example for everyone around him. In public policy, he had no patience with anything but the highest levels of honesty and integrity; he put far more time and effort into the complex details of County busines than anyone would realize.

He had no tolerance for wrongdoing, but was instantly forgiving of accidental error. I learned so much from him, and am a better person for his friendship.

Farewell, friend, and enjoy your reward.

Legislatorland this Week

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How appropriate that the sun is shining this morning, after a a stormy first half of the week.

Yesterday, HB1849/*SB0872, a bill allowing elected superintendents (at the discretion of County Commission) failed in the House Education Committee on a 6-9 vote. For that, I am thankful.

Superintendents (now called Directors of Schools, but old habits die hard) have a difficult job — one of managing large budgets, personnel, and implementing policy set by an elected board. It’s decidedly a job for a professional, and the type of expertise needed by a school system varies depending on its immediate and long-term goals.

The qualities needed to be elected to public office may or may not be consistent with the qualities needed in a professional director of schools. Worse, most school systems in this state would have a rather limited pool to choose from simply due to population limitations. When Oak Ridge chose a new Director of Schools several years ago, the Board conducted a national search with the assistance of the Tennessee School Boards Association for recruiting and screening.

The present system demands a largely cooperative relationship between the Director and the elected Board of Education, with the former being accountable to the latter. The Board is accountable to the electorate, with the front-line educators insulated from the politics of it all. As they should be.

Voting against HB1849 in committee yesterday were John Hood, Mark Maddox, Joe Towns, Ulysses Jones, Larry Turner, Tommie Brown, Gerald McCormick, Dolores Gresham, and Speaker Jimmy Naifeh — I’ll be writing each of them today to thank them.

Voting for the bill were Les Winningham, Harry Brooks, Richard Montgomery, Beth Harwell, John Mark Windle, and Eric Swafford. These are not bad people; indeed, at least two (that I know of) have served as school superintendents before. They were, however, pressured by their respective county commissions, and voted wrongly on this one.

* * * BEP/Fiscal Capacity
On Tuesday, the News Sentinel reported that House sponsors of an effort to change the BEP’s fiscal capacity formula to a flawed model favoring the four largest metro school systems abandoned the cause for this year, with plans going forward for a study this summer to achieve a consensus on funding changes.

Change is desperately needed, but not the kind where money is just moved around from one system to another. If we are to improve statewide, then the State must commit to pay for those things it requires, while giving local governments the option to provide more if they so choose.

I’ll take a temporary win over a permanent loss, but we have to make sure that cities like Oak Ridge, Kingsport, Athens, Cleveland, Tullahoma, Clinton, and Murfreesboro have a seat at the table when changes are discussed.

Having dogged this issue for almost two years now, I’ll say it again: we can’t give up until this proposal is dead, buried, with grass growing on top.

Back to Schools

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The budget was adopted last night, and now goes to City Council, whom, I’m certain will not be pleased. Up until late Thursday evening, I still believed that it must be possible to meet the 4.25% growth guideline without major damage to our academic programs… but after making my way through two pages of proposed reductions (that’s two pages of nine-point type) that wouldn’t work, I felt like a complete failure.

Having rested a bit since then and looked at it with fresh eyes and mind, I’ve concluded that my only failure was in not recognizing what we were up against from the beginning. To meet the City’s guideline, we would have to not teach something that we now do. Like driver’s ed. To me, it’s unacceptable to go backwards.

Now, we go to City Council and make our case… hoping against hope that there’s an unknown revenue source, or that maybe the City would settle for providing the same pay increase to its employees (3%) that the teachers are budgeted to receive.

* * *
The Oak Ridger has taken a calm and very circumspect view of the recent staff change at Oak Ridge High School in today’s editorial; I think there’s some real truth in the title of the piece.

Without a doubt, it’s one of the most challenging — and most high profile — principalships in the state. Add in the construction, and you have a challenge in a muddy fishbowl: everyone’s watching, and everything around you is a noisy mess.

Come to think of it, there could be an idea for another one of those sick, twisted reality shows.

Thankfully, Chuck Carringer has proven capable of managing in the interim (if we don’t work the poor man to death, who already had his hands full with two jobs — now three), the school year is almost over, and we have time to settle down a bit and move forward in an appropriate fashion.

Is it Friday yet?

County Primary Roundup

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AT wrote yesterday, “keep posting about politics.”

As an admitted political junkie, it’s easy to forget that a lot of people don’t keep up with the daily goings-on in local government. Most people, myself included, can only drink from the fire hose of one layer at a time (local, state, or federal), and federal seems to attract the most interest.

Oddly enough, local has the most impact on our daily lives.

Early voting for the Anderson County primaries continues through Thursday (April 27) at 6 p.m.; election day is May 2. For the County Mayor’s race, the primary will decide the next holder of that office, since there is no Democratic challenger. You can find the ballot HERE.

Party affiliation aside, there are only two contested races in the D-primary (Sheriff and Juvenile Court Judge), with five on the R-side (DA, County Mayor, Trustee, Juvenile Court Judge, and Sheriff).

In my opinion, it’s as important to vote in the primary as in the general, because if only the hard-core party affiliates vote, we end up with only the extremes to choose from in the end. That’s not good.

I’ll confine my comments to the Republican primary for now.

For County Mayor: I think we would be better served by a change. Jack Copeland works well with other government officials (including the other cities in Anderson County), has management experience, and a plan. Thus, he got my vote.

For Trustee: John Stair. He has the accounting background, and certainly has the right connections to continue operating with flawless efficiency, while also advocating modernization. Political insiders recognize the style of his chief opponent’s campaign as being typical of that conducted by Energy Media — otherwise known as Alan Beauchamp (Probation Director, Director of Buildings & Grounds, Grants Manager, and who knows how many other payroll codes in Anderson County).

For Juvenile Court Judge: April Meldrum. While I admit that I don’t know a lot about the other candidates, I did meet with April several months ago, and was impressed. That said, Pat Hess did a good job with my little burglar a few months ago (tough enough to get his attention, but not wrecking his life), so had I voted in the other primary, I would have voted for her.

Just for the sake of challenge, do some homework on the Sheriff’s race, and let me know what you think.

Time for Change

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You’ll not catch me wishing summer away, especially not today, as I’ve just enjoyed grilling a homegrown ribeye and eating on the deck. It’s not too warm, not too cold, and there aren’t any mosquitoes; last night’s storms washed all the pollen out of the air, leaving it crystal clear with the sharp contrast of the sun’s waning rays and shadows against the leaves.

But September 1 can’t come soon enough in some Anderson County political offices.

WATE reports on yet another multiple-DUI offender who struck a sweetheart plea bargain deal: 5-time loser Alvin Lacy will spend only two months in jail, followed by 11 months “supervised probation.” The blame for the plethora of plea bargains falls squarely on the District Attorney, who hasn’t personally prosecuted a case in more than a decade (maybe almost two).

Note: in this jurisdiction, “supervised probation” is a joke. The Director of Probation has dodged allegations of impropriety with female prisoners, evaded any consequences for irregularities in the County Audit, and has routinely taken checks for payment of probation fees — checks that, of course, bounced.

Murderers have gone free, and drug dealers are routinely back on the streets in less time than it takes for the arresting officer to complete the paperwork.

At the close of the August election, we will have a new District Attorney. The only question is, will the voters remember the deplorable record held by the current officeholder, and deny him the judgeship that he seeks instead. Although he’s running for Chancellor — a court that typically hears matters of equity and family law — the challenger candidate says he’ll hear criminal cases as well.

Just what we DON’T need.

Night on the Town

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Whomever said “there’s nothing to do in Oak Ridge” sure missed out this weekend… the annual Irish celebration put on by Peggy and Tom Hanrahan, of the Realty Center, was surely the place to be.

Irish balladeer Pat Kane was once again on hand to perform, and put on a trememdous show (as always). Unable to consider waiting a year to hear it again, I ordered a CD this morning — Haymaker’s Jig #2 is the sort of music that reinvigorates my spirit after a hard week like this past one has been.

The beer was very green; an outsider’s observation of the happy folk might have led to the conclusion that we had been grazing…

On Tap for Saturday and Sunday:
Friday night certainly kicked off the weekend on the right foot, but there’s more — the Dogwood Regatta is taking place today and tomorrow at the Marina. With crews in town from as far off as Ontario (Canada, not California), the finish on Sunday will feature a cardboard regatta, testing the skills of amateur boat-builders using — you guessed it — cardboard boats.

This, I’ll have to see for myself.

For Nancy:
Yesterday, you noted that the recent emergence of corruption and bribery among public officials makes you want to move to Bermuda; I theorized that while we do have problems, it’s probably better here than elsewhere in the world. Although the Middle East is probably not the most effective example, Michael Totten’s most recent entry on his Iraq visit is worth a read. We’re lucky to be here. Had I been born in Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia, I’d have been executed long ago.