Finally

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   From the Journal....

School board cuts 2 positions; plans for middle school leadership

MIDDLETOWN — The Board of Education approved the cuts of two central office positions Monday, signaling the start of the district’s staffing reductions to offset funding losses.

Middletown City Schools will no longer employ a director of technology, occupied by Gary Canterbury, who is retiring, nor the communications specialist position held by Debbie Alberico. (Need to keep an eye out to see if Alberico resurfaces in another position- the school hierarchy can be sneaky little sh--- sometimes)

FINALLY!!!!!! This is a start. Need to take a look at the DIErector of Curriculum and Learning- does this position need to be independent or could it be incorporated or subdivided into others being retained? 

Getting rid of a "school spokesperson", especially one that earned that much to utter a few lines on behalf of the school occasionally was salary overkill. Rasmussen can do his own talking.

The cuts will save the district about $200,000 a year, said Superintendent Greg Rasmussen.

“We’re going to miss (them), but there are a lot of people we’re going to miss,” he said. “We’ll have to do more with less.”- Looks like the schools are finally realizing what private business has known for 20 years- ie- doing more with less. 

Keep on cutting (and don't even think about a frikkin' levy to offset your cost reductions). 

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VietVet Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MUSA Council Joined: May 15 2008 Status: Offline Points: 7008	Post Options Post Reply Quote VietVet Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Finally Posted: Mar 22 2011 at 7:01am
	From the Journal.... School board cuts 2 positions; plans for middle school leadership MIDDLETOWN — The Board of Education approved the cuts of two central office positions Monday, signaling the start of the district’s staffing reductions to offset funding losses. Middletown City Schools will no longer employ a director of technology, occupied by Gary Canterbury, who is retiring, nor the communications specialist position held by Debbie Alberico. (Need to keep an eye out to see if Alberico resurfaces in another position- the school hierarchy can be sneaky little sh--- sometimes) FINALLY!!!!!! This is a start. Need to take a look at the DIErector of Curriculum and Learning- does this position need to be independent or could it be incorporated or subdivided into others being retained? Getting rid of a "school spokesperson", especially one that earned that much to utter a few lines on behalf of the school occasionally was salary overkill. Rasmussen can do his own talking. The cuts will save the district about $200,000 a year, said Superintendent Greg Rasmussen. “We’re going to miss (them), but there are a lot of people we’re going to miss,” he said. “We’ll have to do more with less.”- Looks like the schools are finally realizing what private business has known for 20 years- ie- doing more with less. Keep on cutting (and don't even think about a frikkin' levy to offset your cost reductions).

spiderjohn Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: Jul 01 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2749	Post Options Post Reply Quote spiderjohn Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Mar 22 2011 at 10:14am
	B careful and b careful of what you wish: 1. B careful driving the interstate--specifically the 122/I-75 interchange and areas. As warmer weather comes, and increased traffic from out-of-state seasonal travelling, we have drivers un-familiar with the local never-ending barrier boondoggle. The stretch from Dayton to the Ohio River is treacherous even for those who use it daily. The recent rash of accidents is an indicator of what may come, and we have been forunate that the recent crashes have not been more serious. Maybe the barriers don't provide enough space for larger trucks to navigate. 2. Sad to see the real people involved in the school sysyem layoffs. I enjoyed Ms.Alberrico, and heard that the tech gentleman was very good. Unfortunately more recognized locals will probably follow. As long as we place students first and foremost, we are on the right track. The new direction towards pre-schoolers and the first 3 grades of primary school is how it should have been for quite a while. If we get to the students(and parents/guardians) as to interaction to develop p[rimary reading/speaking/math/social skills, we can move up-coming generations forward with a much higher success rate. Credit again to Mr.Gordon of the MCF for his futuristic involvement in the Dolly Parton book program. Would be interesting to get an update on the success rate. 3. Bike paths and parks---nice to have, but not primary features worthy of current expense ratios. With current road situations locally, monies should be spent towards infrastructure. The proposed "pay to play" road improvent policy should be scrapped. This system only favors wealthy neighborhoods that can afford road improvements. The current plan to fix the S Main and Highland historic district roads b4 implementation of the "pay to play" should also be scrapped in favor of doing the work in areas where it will eventually be leat affordable. We have plenty of parks, many which have been very well maintained over the last few years. Unfortunately park usage is underwhelming, and the cost-justification is really not there. Armbruster Park does not need to be fast tracked at this time. We can focus on re-furbished Sunset, Douglas and Smith Park for the time being. Jacot belongs to the citizens primarily and possibly could be used more effectively by the entire community. Soccer only is important to a minority. KMB needs to focus on re-cycling with the city, schools and private sector. Their efforts in this direction have been outstanding. 4. Section 8/CDBG/NSP programs need to be more cost-effective and cost-saving. Losing so much $$ on re-conditioned city-purchased housing is really not helpful locally, state-wide or nationally. Losing $50,000 per structure is a serious waste of taxpayer $$ at a time when it is needed in SO many other places. This is where Mr.Adkins is off-base, and must be curtailed. Face it--eliminating or downsizing local Section 8 at a time when funding cutbacks are serious, and no meaningful job creation is occurring locally, is probably not a realistic thought and not going to happen. 5. Cincy St./former downtown--The Cincy St.project will seriously help the area IF we can figure out a way to finance the project. We cannot keep going with property giveaways, private sector property purchases/bail-outs and such at the rate we have over the last 20 years(since Atrium). New entities must put up more of their own funding to ensure urgency, performance and accountibility on their end. As fot the rest of the former downtown area--leave it on the backs of the current(mostly long-term property owners) to create private sector development. "They" have always fought outsider influence in favor of doing things "their way"(it is their property--it should be "their way") as far back as the city-sponsored Downtown Partnership(on which I was a non-compensated board member). No more city-funded giveaways, forgiven "loans" or preferential treatment to this long dead over-emphasized region. Clean up the burned out and long-dormant areas along the river front. What has been the hold up on these privately owned properties? 6. Forget about blaming 2 newer and younger members of Council + the city manager for all of our long-festering directional and municipal problems. Place the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the older generation "movers and shakers" who have controlled this community for decades, holding on tightly by their fingernails. "They" should be sensible enough to look back and realize that their time is up, and if they step back quietly and gracefully, maybe the younger generation will feel less dominated, and step forward to bring new ideas. involvement and direction necessary to move us properly into the new world order. Is that enough for now, TonyB?

TonyB Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MUSA Citizen Joined: Jan 12 2011 Location: Middletown, OH Status: Offline Points: 631	Post Options Post Reply Quote TonyB Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Mar 22 2011 at 11:19am
	Wow, referred to by name and I, as of yet, had failed to even post here!!! I'm gratified that your comment should even be directed toward me!!! lol Enough for now? When is anything ever enough? Isn't that the point in striving for perfection: it will never be "enough"!!! The preamble to our Constitution makes the statement, "in order to form a more perfect union,"; it doesn't say that we'll form the perfect union and then we'll stop. In essence, it's the journey, not the destination that is important here. That being said, I agree with your comments above. It's always dangerous in construction areas on the interstate and our little area seems vulnerable. How about a little more law enforcement in the area? Here's a chance for Kasich to close that budget shortfall!!! Anyone losing a job now is unfortunate. In theory, every job is important. If it is not, it should be eliminated. Doesn't mean there isn't a loss associated; to the person losing the job, to the organization that loses the person and to the community as a whole. Schools are for learning, if that isn't the emphasis, someone is not doing their job. I also agree that primary education is the most important aspect of public education. If they don't learn the basics at a young age, they'll have increasing difficulties not only in school, but in life. Your point about infrastructure over parks is correct. A nice park system and crumbling roads doesn't seem sensible, does it? If there were new roads being put in I might agree that the property owners should pay. However, that is not the case here. These roads were deliberately neglected and to charge property owners extra to repair roads that their taxes should have repaired smacks of double indemnity. The whole CDBG/NSP program smacks of corruption and waste and should be investigated for possible criminal charges. I've stated so in other posts and have not been dissuaded by any presentation of facts or other arguments. Once again, everyone seems to think the Cincy State proposal is a done deal. It is not. When we have a signed and sealed committment by the board of trustees of Cincinnati State, then we have something. Until then, this council is way out on a limb!!! Which brings me to your final point. I haven't mentioned individual council members in my posts concerning blame for things that have happened before they were in place. The road problem has taken years to develop, the boondoggles of the City Centre Mall and Lake Middletown are in the past. The older generation leaders who proposed these ideas are gone. Have you ever seen a group with power voluntarily give it up in the interest of the community? If the younger generation can't step up with new ideas, involvement and direction because they are dominated by the past, perhaps they are not the leaders we need or deserve. I point to the city manager because in our system of local government, that's where the emphasis should be. I certainly don't have all the answers as to how to solve all of our problems in this town. Hell, I may not have ANY answers! But let me assure you, it will never be enough!!!

DuaneGordon Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List MUSA Immigrant Joined: May 12 2010 Status: Offline Points: 32	Post Options Post Reply Quote DuaneGordon Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Mar 22 2011 at 11:28am
	Hi, Spider. Saw your posting and wanted to thank you for the kind words in support of our work on the Imagination Library program. I am happy to give a bit of an update on how it's been going. We're thrilled at how well it's been doing. In fall 2009, we only had a handful of entering kindergarteners who had been in the program a few months, but they had on average a 4 percent higher literacy score on their kindergarten entrance testing. In fall 2010, we had twice as many students entering kindergarten who had been in the program (and they had been in it for a much longer period of time than the first group) and their entrance testing showed an 11 percent higher literacy score when compared to children who had not participated in it. We expect as more students have been in it for longer periods of time we'll continue to see those scores improve each subsequent year and that these improvements will continue to be reflected in later-year testing when these students enter the next big round of standardized testing in third grade. In addition, last summer we asked parents whose children had been in it for between a year and 18 months to report back on the impact it's been having and were stunned at the results: 100 percent of parents reported being satisfied with the program. Nearly 82 percent of parents reported that after enrolling in the program they increased the frequency with which they read to their children. When looking at families with low income households only, this number increased to 98 percent. 92 percent of parents indicated their child’s level of excitement and enthusiasm about books increased after they started receiving Imagination Library volumes in the mail. This increased to 95 percent for low-income children. Nearly 97 percent of children were more interested in books after registering for the program than they were before, parents noted. This figure was 100 percent for children living in low income households. 90 percent of children ask their parents to read to them more now than they did before the books began arriving. It increased to 97 percent when looking at low income households only. Imagination Library books made up the majority of children’s books in the homes of nearly one-third of low income households among participants, compared to about one-sixth of mid-to-upper income homes. The Imagination Library has a biennial conference in Tennessee for its chapters throughout the U.S., Canada, and U.K., and I've been asked to participate in it this summer as a speaker in their best practices workshop explaining how we're evaluating the impact of our program via that survey and our partnership with the school district to collect and report to us the testing data on participants. In addition, our community partnership involving the Middletown Kiwanis Club was profiled last year as a national model for partnering with the Imagination Library on the Kiwanis International website. Currently, there are 23 chapters throughout Ohio serving about 10,000 children, roughly 10 percent of whom are in the Middletown area. (This compares to the 1,400 total chapters worldwide serving about 640,000 children.) Since starting it 27 months ago, we've sent about 20,000 books to more than 1,400 Middletown children. Currently, we have about 450 "graduates" of the program in Middletown (those who have reached the age of 5 and have stopped receiving books because that is the cut-off age) and about 950 present enrolees in Middletown. Thanks to our partnership with the United Way and its Women Living United Committee, we have expanded to add children living in the Monroe, Madison, and Edgewood school districts. We just started accepting those registrations about a month ago and are already approaching 100 in the program from those new areas. They will receive their first books next month.