tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post219877316208237960..comments2024-01-08T03:21:35.616-05:00Comments on DeKalb County School Watch: Funding Inequity: how it works in DeKalbCerebrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-78992882881782051562011-11-05T18:10:46.689-04:002011-11-05T18:10:46.689-04:00In response to Anonymous 3/20/2011 at 9:43 p. m. r...In response to Anonymous 3/20/2011 at 9:43 p. m. regarding "Bob Moseley protecting Uras Agee at Columbia High School..." Are you serious?? IF Bob Moseley is protecting anyone, please know it is Bob Moseley or perhaps Angela Pringle. Period. <br />Agee throwing a chair? NOT TRUE.<br />If you are referencing a particular faculty meeting that seems to be the "stage" for this show, again, not true. I was present. Authorizing duplication of keys? NOT TRUE. The shop on Glenwood has a reputation. No authorization needed. So...anyone can walk in with a special key request.<br /><br />You have a laundry list of complaints. The problems of Columbia High School DID NOT begin with Uras Agee, and until DCSS and the immediate supervisors outside the building decide to stop majoring in the minor and focus on what really matters (the children we serve and their families), problems (the real ones) will continue. As unfortunate as it is, we all know the lifespan of a principal at Columbia High School is two years.<br />What have you ADDED to the growth and redirection of CHS??JustStandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07138796731038845085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-37759216610171905622011-03-29T07:07:44.848-04:002011-03-29T07:07:44.848-04:00Anon 10:32, you are absolutely right!!! Ms. Tyson...Anon 10:32, you are absolutely right!!! Ms. Tyson answered the call of her school system to lead the ship for a few months. It turned to over a year and she realizes that her job as a mother to her young children has sometimes taken a back seat to seeing about the needs of the children and stakeholders in DeKalb. She does not want this job. All the mothers that read this blog should appreciate that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-27117490412542315642011-03-28T22:32:41.508-04:002011-03-28T22:32:41.508-04:00Ms. Tyson has young children to care for and a lif...Ms. Tyson has young children to care for and a life to live. Being superintendant in DCSS won't let her be a mother to her kids....I really think she has her priorities straight. She didn't bargain for this being for over a year and it's been very hard and 24/7. You don't recapture time with your kids.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-41148224697335907262011-03-27T21:26:10.434-04:002011-03-27T21:26:10.434-04:00Not sure if anyone is following this thread anymor...Not sure if anyone is following this thread anymore.<br /><br />Last week, there were called board meetings nearly every day. They were to adjourn to executive session to discuss a personnel issue. I believe the issue was the superintendent search.<br /><br />Ms. Tyson did not apply for the job, not does she want it, per my board member.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-44977617204289817982011-03-27T10:54:21.829-04:002011-03-27T10:54:21.829-04:00Will anyone respond to the blogger who asks:
"...Will anyone respond to the blogger who asks:<br />"Not sure where to post--Does anyone have any information on how the superintendent search is going, or what the target date is for naming the new Dekalb superintendent?"<br /><br />I think no one is asking so it's business as usual as long as it can be business as usual. I guarantee you Tyson will suddenly be interested in the job. Now that she has the huge salary increase while other things remain unfunded, it may behoove her to retire. She could stay at home with her family and draw a HUGE pension and not have the headache ... that's what we've given her. What exactly has she given us? How has she made this school system better? How has she worked out the problems that she was put in a position to handle? Has any of the CLewis Inner Circle been terminated? Has anything been done to return money(find money) for the teachers and students? Does anyone really care? Or maybe we'll just all speculate and pontificate on zip codes and such.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-85004629726149027042011-03-24T21:39:43.617-04:002011-03-24T21:39:43.617-04:00Some state chartered schools essentially have no a...Some state chartered schools essentially have no attendance zone, therefore they are open to all residents of the state of GA.<br /><br />Many more have very specific attendance zones like the Museum School and others have tiered attendance zones.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-58977050305435843902011-03-24T19:24:16.858-04:002011-03-24T19:24:16.858-04:00Attendance zones can be whatever the state or comm...Attendance zones can be whatever the state or commission will agree to, and many start-up charters have zones that are not the whole school district, some even have "tiered" zones, where preference is given to those that live in the large development that gave the building over the rest of the county. <br /><br />In some cases, developers interested in overcoming school board resistance to placement of a development due to the added burden on it to build more schools, will donate the building for an (usually EMO charter) in exchange for the county governments up zoning. The exclusivity of having a school for their residents increases the selling price and everyone "wins".<br /><br /><br />Now before you all go bashing the Museum School--how about fessing up that that is exactly what all of you that are advocating for a "City of Dunwoody" school system want. You just don't want to reach into your own pockets to purchase the building.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-83002726900123174912011-03-24T18:09:53.126-04:002011-03-24T18:09:53.126-04:00Read the charter for the Museum School of Avondale...Read the charter for the Museum School of Avondale Estates. Their attendance zone is Avondale ES and Midway (see link below - page 4 Attendance Zone):<br />http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCQQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgcsc.georgia.gov%2Fvgn%2Fimages%2Fportal%2Fcit_1210%2F16%2F20%2F165253509The%2520%2520Museum%2520School%2520of%2520Avondale%2520Estates.pdf&ei=S8CLTfHNI422tgfu093-DQ&usg=AFQjCNHGnt-RJyd4uvyBcC447SidzoHeGA&sig2=wvrMsAkQd_8eYi64OAJtUgAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-17554573326553886862011-03-24T15:35:11.114-04:002011-03-24T15:35:11.114-04:00If you go to the Museum School website, it indicat...If you go to the Museum School website, it indicates that only those in Avondale and Midway attendance areas can apply. If this is incorrect, it needs to be reported to the Charter Commission. It sounds as if they are trying to create their own little private school, paid for by public funds.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-76924100927705778712011-03-24T15:33:30.488-04:002011-03-24T15:33:30.488-04:00The state had the same major objection to th eMuse...The state had the same major objection to th eMuseum school as DeKalb did and required it to take students from an attendance zone of DeKalb County. Of course, they do not spread that around.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-87757334474456848272011-03-24T14:17:09.352-04:002011-03-24T14:17:09.352-04:00I thought the State was concerned about this as we...I thought the State was concerned about this as well and told The Museum School to change this?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-5193129848907008412011-03-24T13:54:05.348-04:002011-03-24T13:54:05.348-04:00The Museum School of Avondale is not affiliated wi...The Museum School of Avondale is not affiliated with DeKalb. It was chartered by the state Charter School Commission. The school system didn't want to agree to their charter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-25293523436767846992011-03-24T13:47:52.820-04:002011-03-24T13:47:52.820-04:00The museum school's charter limits who they ta...The museum school's charter limits who they take to students in the Midway and Avondale Elementary schoolAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-67499950615498321682011-03-24T13:17:18.806-04:002011-03-24T13:17:18.806-04:00It depends on how the charter is written. I do th...It depends on how the charter is written. I do think theirs has an attendance zone - in Avondale Estates...Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-51793505584538081782011-03-24T12:57:59.651-04:002011-03-24T12:57:59.651-04:00Help!!! I thought that Charter Schools (conversio...Help!!! I thought that Charter Schools (conversion and start-up) had to allow applicants from all over DeKalb County? Someone told me that The Museum Charter school in Avondale is only taking children from Avondale ES and Midway ES.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-40985438820794802602011-03-23T15:55:48.623-04:002011-03-23T15:55:48.623-04:00Apples and apples, actually. The heading in the ye...Apples and apples, actually. The heading in the yellow row of the image of the spreadsheet is "2009-2010 Expenditure Report."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-60075022176737166672011-03-23T14:41:15.926-04:002011-03-23T14:41:15.926-04:00Apples and oranges
latest data from Georgia Dept ...Apples and oranges<br /><br />latest data from Georgia Dept 2009-2010 school year<br /><br />data from DeKalb 2010-2011 school year<br /><br />Example GADOE web stoe has 89 Title I schools-this year there are 93.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-40854503816968328922011-03-23T13:34:37.271-04:002011-03-23T13:34:37.271-04:00Agreed. Bottom line, this is a topic that require...Agreed. Bottom line, this is a topic that requires more investigating. We could possibly save quite a lot of money by smartly streamlining.Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-36933742253569863712011-03-23T13:27:36.527-04:002011-03-23T13:27:36.527-04:00Cere, I have no issue with special education. Chil...Cere, I have no issue with special education. Children with disabilities need the support of their community. <br /><br />I brought up special education and school size in my two posts with the Lakeside-area stats only to show that there is probably a very logical explanation for discrepancies in per-pupil funding.<br /><br />I didn't disentangle which is the chicken and which is the egg as far as special education and school size. For example, special education programs are probably more likely to be housed at schools which are under capacity.<br /><br />If school size turns out to be an independent variable, then that's an argument for consolidation, as painful as it is. That's where the savings should be realized, not in special education.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-73716036900690346082011-03-23T13:15:39.599-04:002011-03-23T13:15:39.599-04:00Here's my comment from the AJC blog discussing...Here's my comment from the AJC blog discussing our post ---<br /><br />I have to say, even though we tried to ensure that we can’t know for certain how special services effect the per pupil cost, I am surprised that so many people have focused on special education. The data also shows that we spend just about as much per pupil for “at-risk” and “gifted” (magnet) students. We weren’t so much concerned with the fact that our system (as all) spends a lot of money on one end of the scale or the other, we were concerned that our school buildings are not spending money (allocating resources) consistently. You don’t really see this in Gwinnett. The large model helps to even out the costs. Many of the expensive schools and programs in DeKalb could be combined (eliminating redundancy in principals, APs, counselors, media specialists, custodians, cafeteria workers, etc.) and save literally millions — millions that could and should be directed to the students in the classrooms and teacher support.<br /><br />For example, DSA (DeKalb School of the Arts) is host to under 300 students (8th-12th) and costs almost $14,000 per student. I have no issue with the DSA program, but I do think that we could meld it into an existing large-scale high school as a magnet program within the school, and save quite a bundle by sharing resources and administrators. Same with the alternatives – each of the following schools has it’s own building, principal and full staff, costing between $13,000 and $45,000 per pupil, yet most have barely 100 students: Destiny Academy, DeKalb Early College Academy, Gateway to College, Dekalb Truancy, DeKalb Transition, DeKalb Alternative and DeKalb Alternative Night School, along with Elizabeth Andrews, Kittredge, Wadsworth, and other “choice” or “alternative” schools, these schools could be more efficiently managed.<br /><br />We just went through a redistricting exercise that was very painful, and pitted many neighbors against each other – all to save just about as much as consolidating resources in these many small programs could save. That was our main point. It wasn’t meant to be a discussion about special education. I have no issue with special education, as I have a child with learning disabilities and have used the services. And when it comes to severe disabilities, I simply pray for those parents every day. As a taxpayer, I am more than happy to support their heroic efforts to help their children become all that they can.Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-5681285414129515472011-03-23T13:11:50.600-04:002011-03-23T13:11:50.600-04:00THey type of special ed students matter a great de...THey type of special ed students matter a great deal in terms of costs. A great number of students at Sagamore are severely disabled - just a few kids in a classroom with a very high teacher/student ratio.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-12714975294698356452011-03-23T13:08:47.565-04:002011-03-23T13:08:47.565-04:00More: Here's general per-pupil funding vs numb...More: Here's general per-pupil funding vs number of K-5 students for the Lakeside cluster:<br /><br />Pleasantdale $7460.26, 828<br />Oak Grove $7930.98, 626<br />Henderson Mill $8376.06, 496<br />Sagamore Hills $9212.49, 478<br />Evansdale $9607.10, 492<br />Briarlake $9876.73, 410<br />Hawthorne $10012.87, 423<br /><br />The "regular elementary" extremes cited in the original article were Knollwood and Dunwoody. Knollwood has only 265 students, and Dunwoody has 726 students, in grades 4-5 only, where the class sizes are larger. If it didn't take so much time, I'd look at the whole system. I'd bet that percentage of special education students, school size, and special circumstances (magnet, limited grade levels) would explain most of the funding discrepancies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-52672959104688705422011-03-23T12:34:40.556-04:002011-03-23T12:34:40.556-04:00Lakeside feeder elementaries (the cluster I'm ...Lakeside feeder elementaries (the cluster I'm most familiar with):<br /><br />Pleasantdale $7460.26, 4.6%<br />Oak Grove $7930.98, 8.1%<br />Henderson Mill $8376.06, 10.1%<br />Sagamore Hills $9212.49, 7.7%<br />Evansdale $9607.10, 6.1%<br />Briarlake $9876.73, 12.2%<br />Hawthorne $10012.87, 18.7%<br /><br />The first number is the General Fund Average for Pupil. The second number is the percentage of students in grades K-5 who are in special education (from the state DOE website). If you plot them, there is a clear linear relationship between general fund dollars and percentage of special education students, with Pleasantdale at one end of the scale and Hawthorne at the other. Evansdale is an outlier, but that might be explained by the magnet program.<br /><br />I didn't attempt to analyze the types of special education programs housed at each school (hearing impaired at Henderson Mill, deaf at Briarlake, etc.) Sagamore Hills has the largest number of pre-K special education students (17). One would think that the per-pupil numbers in the chart should not include the cost of pre-K students, but perhaps some of these costs are reflected anyway.<br /><br />Pleasantdale gets Title 1 money, but even with the Title 1 funds, they are the second lowest in per-pupil funding in the cluster. And, as Anon 8:55 March 20 pointed out, "I think we need to leave Title 1 funds out of the big picture comparison. Title 1 funding cannot supplant local funds. In other words, they cannot be used to pay for services that a non-title 1 school receives from the school system"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-19318216736054990252011-03-22T22:15:18.739-04:002011-03-22T22:15:18.739-04:00@ 9:37 PM - I don't know what to say - that i...@ 9:37 PM - I don't know what to say - that is just CRAZY!Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-18782003611443369592011-03-22T22:14:03.774-04:002011-03-22T22:14:03.774-04:00Excellent point, Anon 9:39 PM. Good research to a...Excellent point, Anon 9:39 PM. Good research to add to the post. We received the info on our chart exactly as it is from DCSS via an Open Records Request, so it strikes me as very odd that the numbers at the state would be so vastly different. That is worth a deeper look. I hope you will all share this with your board reps.Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.com