Tag Archives: ballot

Vote No for School Consolidation March —Sam Allen

Seen on FVCS yesterday. -jsq

On Saturday, October 22, 2011,

Friends of Valdosta City Schools are
planning a “Vote No for School Consolidation March”


at 9:00 am. The March
will begin at 9:30 am at the Old Tommy Griner Parking lot (across the
street from the Lowndes/Valdosta chamber of commerce – Ashley Street)
and end at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Monument at the corner of MLK
and Ashley. We will have several speakers to encourage our Community
to band together for a Common Cause. Please plan to attend and


invite
everyone that you know to join us as we tell cuee and chamber that we
will not fall for their untruths and misleading ads. Please join in the
March for the Cause. Keep in mind that at the end there is no Runoff.

Keep in mind that the Ballot Question does have “Consolidation” on it now,
but the answer remains the same. NO! NO! NO!



I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final
word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger
than evil triumphant.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Please send to your Friends

-Sam Allen

What qualifies you to come talk about education? —Kent Bishop @ VLCoC 11 October 2011



The first question Kent Bishop asked at the Chamber’s Candidates Forum,
where he got eight minutes to speak for school consolidation while
each of the candidates for Valdosta Mayor only got five,
still hung in my mind at the end:

What qualifies you to come talk about education?

Like so many CUEE speakers, he isn’t an educator and he hadn’t done his homework.

You know, what I hear is that, from the other side, is that our taxes would go up
because of consolidation.
The facts just don’t point to that.
Generally what you’d see is some blending of the costs.
And if we do that and average it out, we’re gonna find the two
millage rates will come out somewhere in the middle.
It makes total sense.

Well, maybe it makes total sense if you like just making stuff up.
Or you can see, hear, and read

the extensive research by the Lowndes County Board of Education
that demonstrates if consolidation passes taxes will go up and public
school services will go down.

The speaker went on about ongoing white flight,
without ever mentioning that consolidation would cause
bright flight to head out of the county to Lanier and elsewhere.

He did come right out and admit something I’ve been saying:

Continue reading →

If I were Superintendent —Sam Allen

Seen on the

FVCS facebook page,
dated 6 October 2011. -jsq



If I were Superintendent in the Lowndes County School System
on November 9, 2011 and I had 7700 additional students and a potential
$10 Million Deficit this would be my starting list:


Winners:

  • Bus Drivers (ALL – NO supervisors, trainers or mechanics)

  • Lunchroom Staff (Until we decide which schools to close)

  • Custodial Staff (Until we decide which schools to close – no supervisor)

  • Media Specialists (Until we decide which schools to close – then I would move you down to the Losers section)

  • 2 Maintenance Workers (Heating/Air – no supervisor)

  • Academic Teachers (with good evaluations) – NOT ALL because I would raise teacher class size to the max and ask for a waiver for an additional child or two
    1 Asst. Superintendent

  • 2 Technology support staff (no Supervisors)

  • School Secty (Until we decide which schools to close)

  • 1 Finance staff person (Payroll)

  • Principals (Until we decide which schools to close – except Southeast, will not rebuild)


Losers:

  • Teachers (especially ones that do not have tenure)

  • Assistant Principals (at Elementary Schools that have more than one)

  • Media Specialists (Until we decide which schools to close)

  • 3 Curriculum Directors at Central Office

  • Technology Supervisor

  • Special Education Director

  • 2 Assistant Superintendents

  • Director of ESPLOST Projects

  • Superintendent

  • All Central Office Support Staff

  • Food Service Director and Staff

  • Ticket Manager

  • Community Relations Director

  • 1 Social Worker

  • VECA Staff (ALL)

  • Pinevale Learning Center Staff (ALL)

  • Personnel Director and Staff

  • Title I Director and Staff

  • Director of Testing

  • Mail Courier

  • Vocational Teachers due to change in direction (Not All)

  • Elective Teachers (Some)

  • Parent Involvement Coordinators (Title I $ will be cut)

  • Instructional Supervisors

  • Para Educators (except for Special Education)

  • Valdosta Police Department Dare Officers/SRO’s and Football Games (taken over by the County if funding is available)

  • 1 Band Director at VHS – student fees will increase and school will not furnish as many instruments

  • Performing Arts Center Mgr. – public will be charged a higher costs to use

  • Director of Purchasing and Staff

  • 1 School Psychologist

  • 9 Board of Education Members

  • 2 @ Asst Principals at VMS and JLN

  • 2 Asst Principals at VHS

  • No Swim Team staff

  • IB Teachers would be relocated if positions are available

  • 5 Furlough days for the first year

  • School Board Attorney


School Closing:

  • Southeast

  • Pinevale Learning Center

  • VECA

  • JL Lomax ???

  • Parker Mathis

  • Old Pine Grove

  • Moulton- Branch ????


Sell:

  • Bazemore Hyder Stadium and Central Office to VSU at Fair Market Value – Wildcat Museum would be housed at the Historical Society

  • Southeast School

  • VECA to VSU at Fair Market Value

  • Pinevale Learning Center

Now it took me about 15 minutes to come up with this list and it’s not
near what my actually happen during the 2011-12 school year if we don’t
get people out to vote against this misguided attempt to dismantle
our schools. If I didn’t include you don’t thank for one second that
you are safe. Remember I didn’t hire you and I don’t owe you anything,
so pay your bills on time and keep your credit ratings high because you
may need to rent for a while.

-Samuel Allen, Superintendent Emeritus

How did we get here? —JC Cunningham

Received Friday. -jsq

Things really have not changed have they? There are still people out


there who believe they can force their will on the people regardless
of the circumstances. I still cannot believe that we are here.
Consolidation, Unification, where did this come from? What mind first
came up with this idea and what is the real motive behind it?

Eight months ago when I heard that Rusty Griffin and his merry band
of followers were once again trying to force unification down peoples
throats, I never thought it would catch on and would just fizzle away.
Oh, how wrong.

Over the months this consolidation issue that I thought would never gain
steam is now on the ballot and could possible pass this Nov. 8th.

I have seen this thing divide friends, families, co-workers and even

Continue reading →

Tonight: school consolidation referendum vote at Valdosta City Council

Now that

CUEE got its 95 signatures more than 25% for
a school consolidation referendum,
the Valdosta City Council votes tonight on this item which has been
added to their agenda:



5.a) Consideration of an Ordinance for a referendum to allow citizens of
the City of Valdosta to vote on whether to annul and repeal the special
independent school system so that the City of Valdosta public school
system shall become part of the Lowndes County public school system.

This appears to be a pro-forma vote to put the referendum on the ballot.
But you never know what might happen, especially in council comments
or Citizens to Be Heard.
Maybe FVCS will show up.

Thanks to Barbara Stratton for the heads-up.

Here’s

the agenda.


AMENDED AGENDA
REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL

5:30 PM Thursday, August 25, 2011

COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL

Continue reading →

CUEE filed enough petitions for a referendum


Less than one percent of the registered voters in Valdosta have made
the difference between CUEE’s school consolidation petition getting on
the ballot and not.

According to the City of Valdosta’s website 19 August 2011:

Continue reading →

Your children’s education at stake —Sam Allen, FVCS, 7 July 2011

Good question:



“Are you willing to put your children’s education at stake
because somebody has promised you something they can’t deliver?
I for one am not willing.”

Here’s

the video:




Your children’s education at stake —Sam Allen, FVCS, 7 July 2011

No school consolidation,

Press Conference, Friends of Valdosta City Schools (FVCS),

Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 July 2011.

Videos by John S. Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

Portugal as forerunner for U.S. states repealing drug prohibition

If Portugal can do it, Washington state or even Georgia can do it.

For comparison:

Population
Portugal
10.632 million
Washington (U.S.) 6.664 million
Georgia (U.S.) 9.829 million
California (U.S.) 36.962 million

So

Portugal, which has successfully decriminalized drugs,
is similar in scale to a mid-sized U.S. state.
Somewhat bigger than

Washington state, which just almost got marijuana decriminalization
on a ballot, and of whose voters almost a majority support it.
With a little more work, people against prohibition could get
Washington to be the first state to end marijuana prohibition.
Too bad they’re not going for

all drugs, like Portugal did,
but marijuana offences account probably for the most drug-related lockups,
so that’s a good place to start.
Still, the problem won’t be solved until the drug cartels
and the prison-industrial-complex are deprived of their drug-related income
by legalizing the rest, and taxing them so states derive income from them.

Meanwhile we could refuse to participate by declining a private prison in Lowndes County, Georgia, and spending that tax money on rehabilitation and education instead.

-jsq

License and tax marijuana —Washington state poll

Richard Wagoner wrote in the Seattle Times 5 July 2011,

Elway poll: Washington voters favor legalizing pot:



A new Elway poll released today found that most Washington voters
supported or were inclined to support legalizing marijuana. However,
the level of majority support was within the the poll’s margin of error.

Thirty percent of those polled said they “definitely supported” legalizing
marijuana, while 24 percent said they were “inclined to support,
but needed to know more.”

Thirty-two percent of the voters were “definitely opposed” to legal pot,
and 11 percent were “inclined to oppose, but could be convinced”
otherwise, the poll found.

Was this enough?

Continue reading →