SF School District

School consolidation likely

l3wis November 25, 2012 27Comments

Seems we have at least ONE school board member that is voting against consolidation. Where do the rest of them stand? Good question.

As much as I would like to say it won’t happen, I’m sure most of the school board members will vote for consolidation, (besides Kate Parker)

The school board will vote Monday night on her recommendation to close Longfellow and Jefferson in 2015 and replace Mark Twain with a two-story school for as many as 600 students.

You will likely see the school board approving this measure. But let’s ask the important questions that the AL and Josh Verges did not ask;

1) Where did the $800,000 figure come from? If this is a salary figure, I totally understand. But tearing down three schools and building a new one isn’t free, and the mortgage payments will not come cheap. So are we really saving money? Not to mention as DT SF becomes revitalized, wouldn’t we think enrollment would go up instead of down at these schools? Wouldn’t upgrades make more sense?

2) Who has peaked interest in buying Longfellow and Jefferson? The hospitals?

3) What is the relationship between bonding companies and school board members and Homan?

What disappoints me the most isn’t that this may happen (I have no kids, so I don’t have a dog in this fight, except for paying property taxes) but that even after I asked Managing Editor Patrick Lalley on the ‘100 Eyes’ show last week to ask these questions, he and Ellis reassured me that they will. Well, Josh Verges certainly did not, and if he did, it was edited out of the story. Why is the AL neglecting to tell the bigger story here? What do they have to lose? They have told us on repeat occasions that the AD department and the NEWS department don’t dictate each others duties, but have yet to provide proof of this.

Who are two of the largest advertisers in the AL?

Dictator Homan strikes again

l3wis November 14, 2012 17Comments

I kinda knew how the school consolidation would play out.

Last Wednesday, superintendent Homan recommended a consolidation of three of its elementary schools closing Jefferson, Longfellow and Mark Twain, in order to re-build one big school on the Mark Twain site.

While Pammy promised only a few weeks back that this was only in the research stage, now all of sudden it is go time. This is how the school board and Homan operate, pretend like nothing is a big deal, and when people aren’t paying attention work quietly in the shadows.

What do I think will happen with the school consolidation? Well it seems Pam has already made up her mind, and well, that means the school board has also (they always do what Pammy tells them to do) because fighting Homan often results in defeat. But it seems some parents are setting the stage for a battle royale;

“I think we need to get the board’s attention. We need them to vote against the consolidation, at least for now. I think we need to talk about it more,” Andersen said.

I feel sorry for Mr. Andersen and his ‘good intentions’ he hasn’t lived in SF long enough to know the wrath of Homan. I suggest he shows up to the school board meeting with a very angry mob. I found that angry mobs are more effective on Homan then honey and bees.

Personally I would like to see the small schools remain, but I don’t have a dog in this fight. I have secretly suspected that someone is interested in purchasing the Longfellow and Jefferson properties, but Homan always keeps her cards close, so we will never know those tiny details until further down the road. I hope some of the parents bring this up in the meeting. What happens to the properties once the schools close?

What also amazes me is that larger class sizes have proven not to be as effective in educating kids. But hey, who bothers with silly studies, we need  to save $800,000 so Pammy can get a raise and new truck to drive.