For three years, I’ve made an issue of getting more schools’ information online — information for parents, such as grade and attendance matters now available through K-12 Planet, as well as information for the community, such as our full budget.<\/p>\n
K-12 Planet<\/a> is now fully deployed in the middle schools, and is in a transition phase at the high school (some teachers participating, others not, but it’s my understanding that it will be mandatory next year).<\/p>\n The full Oak Ridge Schools budget<\/a> is also online. I’m not sure exactly when it went up, but it’s there. It’s a large file, so be patient… but it’s the up-to-date version that was passed on May 30<\/a>.<\/p>\n ATTENDANCE AND TRANSPORTATION<\/strong><\/p>\n Tomorrow evening (Wed., January 17, 6-8 p.m.) the Board of Education will hold a work session with two items on the agenda: a new proposed attendance policy, and transportation issues.<\/p>\n The proposed attendance policy<\/a> is in its third revision (the first version<\/a> was discussed here on Oct. 31<\/a>). The original draft was based upon the wishes of the Juvenile Court and District Attorney’s office to have the same policy in place in all three school systems in Anderson County, but I had some problems with it and voted against it on first reading. It passed, but subsequent revisions in the drafts have incorporated my concerns. There has not yet been a second reading, so it’s not finalized at this point.<\/p>\n I recognize and respect Judge Meldrum’s desire for fairness by having the same policy in place across all three school systems, but I also believe that there needs to be some provision for the application of common sense. In short, there must be some allowance for the principals’ judgment in excusing absences that do not fall within the narrowly-defined criteria.<\/p>\n At the same time, I have pointed out that the Judge is elected to represent the interests of all of Anderson County, while I am elected to represent Oak Ridge specifically — including a small portion of Roane County. The needs of the three school systems in Anderson County may often coincide, but not always.<\/p>\n Policy should be somewhat broad, and the accompanying administrative bulletin<\/a> clarifies how the policy is to be implemented and carried out.<\/p>\n The work session will be held in the teacher center conference room, and is open to the public.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For three years, I’ve made an issue of getting more schools’ information online — information for parents, such as grade and attendance matters now available through K-12 Planet, as well as information for the community, such as our full budget. … Continue reading