Last fall we had school board elections and yet people had no interest in them. When I talked about the school board race, readership went down. When I talked about other issues–city issues, county issues, readership went up. There was simply no interest in the school board election.
The blog was not an aberration either folks–only 30% of the public came out to vote in the school board election.
Now flash forward to the first three months of 2008, the opposite has occurred. When I write about city council issues or the election, readership goes down. When I talk about the school board and budget crises readership goes up.
This is a large problem–people were not paying attention to the schools until it was almost too late. It is very interesting when I got out into the community, I still receive feedback from the series on Tahir Ahad. People who do not ordinarily read this blog have read that story. The Vanguard has tremendous readership, but this story transcends even that. It has become the embodiment of the problems facing the school district.
And if that is rightly or wrongly the embodiment of what went wrong, then the enemy is amongst us–and it is complacency. The public may have been uninformed about the extent of the problem but enough people knew what was going on at the time that it should have come to the public’s attention. And while we may blame the messenger (i.e. the local newspaper) for failing to sound the warning alarm, we may also blame the school board first for aiding and abetting and second for not shouting loudly enough. But at the end of the day, the problem is us.
We took for granted the fact that the schools in Davis are great and the backbone of this great community. We did not pay attention to what was going on at school board meetings. We did not heed the warnings coming down the pike. And now suddenly we have the wake up call and are wondering what is going on in the world.
The question is now how do we respond–and there have been a mix of responses. I do not mean here, how do we cut $4 million from the budget, that is the job of the school board to determine. I mean, how do we as a community respond.
Davis is an amazing place because we cannot sit by and allow this to happen. So people have banded together and formed private donations. And it is a wonderful thing, but it will not solve the problems that we face, it probably will not even be a full band-aid on the problem.
People have focused in on declining enrollment and there is no doubt that declining enrollment has played a part here, but it’s still only a partial portion of the problem. Enrollment is going to level out according to the projections. I certainly hope that we will not have a wave of growth in this community because we think it is going to benefit the schools–because there is very little evidence that it will. Do not get me wrong, I think there are things we can do to put housing in that will benefit young families and we can do that without adding major sprawl, but the last thing we need to do in the face of this, is to start randomly approving a bunch of new housing developments, because that will likely make the problems worse and not better over time.
However, the big response that we need and have not gotten is attentiveness to all aspects of government because they all require our attention. There is a lesson that transcends local politics and that is if we are complacent, if we are inattentive to the world, then we lose. We became complacent as a nation to the problem of terrorism but also the problem with how the world responds to this nation and we paid for that with 9/11. To compound the problems, we became complacent as an electorate and elected a leader who instead of attacking the terrorists, invades another country that had very little do with the people who actually attacked us.
We are in the same danger as a community. Schools are important, this crisis is real, but there is much that is going on at other levels of government that requires our attention. The city council elections are vital to the future of this community. We learned last summer the importance of the county board of supervisors–do we want to elect someone to that position who will support Davis’ right to determine its own future or will we support someone who will vote to determine our future for us? Although there is not an election coming up, people, innocent people’s lives are being ruined by the policies of the District Attorney’s office. There will be more on this in the coming week. And new areas of concern will arise this week. We cannot ignore them. We cannot assume they will not impact us.
That is the lesson that we need to take away from the budget crisis in the schools, but I fear that we are not learning from it at all.
—Doug Paul Davis reporting
When the Davis CC adopted the 2001 General Plan, the members had the same demographic data with population projections that the DJUSD had. The DJUSD Board members knew that the kid count was going to stabilize for years to come. In spite of that data, the Board still built two new schools. They knew at that time the numbers did not work. They GAMBLED that the City was going to approve Covell Village and other exterior sprawl projects. Two of those Members are still around: Don and Ruth. Don is running for CC. So, if you love the mess the schools are in, vote for him again. It’s ironic that he is one of the biggest public boosters of the Davis Schools Foundation. Maybe he is working overtime to try to fix the mess that he is responsible for??
Check out the article on Loomis in this morning’s Bee. Small town that has eschewed big-box stores, strip malls, and urban sprawl while all the cities around it (Lincoln, Rocklin) have grown like weeds. And while the fast-growing cities around it–highly dependent on development fees–have suffered greatly–guess what, Loomis has a balanced municipal budget, a solid downtown of mom-and-pop stores, and almost no foreclosures!
Those who say that Davis has to turn up the throttle on growth in order to support its schools are dead wrong.
When the Davis CC adopted the 2001 General Plan, the members had the same demographic data with population projections that the DJUSD had. The DJUSD Board members knew that the kid count was going to stabilize for years to come. In spite of that data, the Board still built two new schools. They knew at that time the numbers did not work. They GAMBLED that the City was going to approve Covell Village and other exterior sprawl projects. Two of those Members are still around: Don and Ruth. Don is running for CC. So, if you love the mess the schools are in, vote for him again. It’s ironic that he is one of the biggest public boosters of the Davis Schools Foundation. Maybe he is working overtime to try to fix the mess that he is responsible for??
Check out the article on Loomis in this morning’s Bee. Small town that has eschewed big-box stores, strip malls, and urban sprawl while all the cities around it (Lincoln, Rocklin) have grown like weeds. And while the fast-growing cities around it–highly dependent on development fees–have suffered greatly–guess what, Loomis has a balanced municipal budget, a solid downtown of mom-and-pop stores, and almost no foreclosures!
Those who say that Davis has to turn up the throttle on growth in order to support its schools are dead wrong.
When the Davis CC adopted the 2001 General Plan, the members had the same demographic data with population projections that the DJUSD had. The DJUSD Board members knew that the kid count was going to stabilize for years to come. In spite of that data, the Board still built two new schools. They knew at that time the numbers did not work. They GAMBLED that the City was going to approve Covell Village and other exterior sprawl projects. Two of those Members are still around: Don and Ruth. Don is running for CC. So, if you love the mess the schools are in, vote for him again. It’s ironic that he is one of the biggest public boosters of the Davis Schools Foundation. Maybe he is working overtime to try to fix the mess that he is responsible for??
Check out the article on Loomis in this morning’s Bee. Small town that has eschewed big-box stores, strip malls, and urban sprawl while all the cities around it (Lincoln, Rocklin) have grown like weeds. And while the fast-growing cities around it–highly dependent on development fees–have suffered greatly–guess what, Loomis has a balanced municipal budget, a solid downtown of mom-and-pop stores, and almost no foreclosures!
Those who say that Davis has to turn up the throttle on growth in order to support its schools are dead wrong.
When the Davis CC adopted the 2001 General Plan, the members had the same demographic data with population projections that the DJUSD had. The DJUSD Board members knew that the kid count was going to stabilize for years to come. In spite of that data, the Board still built two new schools. They knew at that time the numbers did not work. They GAMBLED that the City was going to approve Covell Village and other exterior sprawl projects. Two of those Members are still around: Don and Ruth. Don is running for CC. So, if you love the mess the schools are in, vote for him again. It’s ironic that he is one of the biggest public boosters of the Davis Schools Foundation. Maybe he is working overtime to try to fix the mess that he is responsible for??
Check out the article on Loomis in this morning’s Bee. Small town that has eschewed big-box stores, strip malls, and urban sprawl while all the cities around it (Lincoln, Rocklin) have grown like weeds. And while the fast-growing cities around it–highly dependent on development fees–have suffered greatly–guess what, Loomis has a balanced municipal budget, a solid downtown of mom-and-pop stores, and almost no foreclosures!
Those who say that Davis has to turn up the throttle on growth in order to support its schools are dead wrong.
Yawn.
You’ve run out of fodder, so now you’re rehashing the same old falsehoods.
You should get a public access show.
Yawn.
You’ve run out of fodder, so now you’re rehashing the same old falsehoods.
You should get a public access show.
Yawn.
You’ve run out of fodder, so now you’re rehashing the same old falsehoods.
You should get a public access show.
Yawn.
You’ve run out of fodder, so now you’re rehashing the same old falsehoods.
You should get a public access show.
“same old falsehoods”
Care to elaborate?
“same old falsehoods”
Care to elaborate?
“same old falsehoods”
Care to elaborate?
“same old falsehoods”
Care to elaborate?
Yawn, I really think you missed his point here – thinking that all of this is just “fodder” and once he’s discussed it, then it shouldn’t be discussed again. If you think DPD’s postings are full of falsehoods, then write your own view of the things. Do you believe that Tahir’s dealings with the District and his private company was above board, for example? Do you believe that if we had approved Covell Village, we would not be in the mess we are in with the schools right now, for example? Weigh in, don’t be lazy.
Yawn, I really think you missed his point here – thinking that all of this is just “fodder” and once he’s discussed it, then it shouldn’t be discussed again. If you think DPD’s postings are full of falsehoods, then write your own view of the things. Do you believe that Tahir’s dealings with the District and his private company was above board, for example? Do you believe that if we had approved Covell Village, we would not be in the mess we are in with the schools right now, for example? Weigh in, don’t be lazy.
Yawn, I really think you missed his point here – thinking that all of this is just “fodder” and once he’s discussed it, then it shouldn’t be discussed again. If you think DPD’s postings are full of falsehoods, then write your own view of the things. Do you believe that Tahir’s dealings with the District and his private company was above board, for example? Do you believe that if we had approved Covell Village, we would not be in the mess we are in with the schools right now, for example? Weigh in, don’t be lazy.
Yawn, I really think you missed his point here – thinking that all of this is just “fodder” and once he’s discussed it, then it shouldn’t be discussed again. If you think DPD’s postings are full of falsehoods, then write your own view of the things. Do you believe that Tahir’s dealings with the District and his private company was above board, for example? Do you believe that if we had approved Covell Village, we would not be in the mess we are in with the schools right now, for example? Weigh in, don’t be lazy.
Great commentary DPD. Forget what yawn is saying. He or she is yawning, because they are being lazy and wish to do nothing about the problems facing our community. For them, ignorance is bliss.
Great commentary DPD. Forget what yawn is saying. He or she is yawning, because they are being lazy and wish to do nothing about the problems facing our community. For them, ignorance is bliss.
Great commentary DPD. Forget what yawn is saying. He or she is yawning, because they are being lazy and wish to do nothing about the problems facing our community. For them, ignorance is bliss.
Great commentary DPD. Forget what yawn is saying. He or she is yawning, because they are being lazy and wish to do nothing about the problems facing our community. For them, ignorance is bliss.
Dear Yawn – if this blog bores you, then don’t read it. No one is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to peruse the Davis
Vanguard.
DPD is exactly right. Voters must begin paying attention to local issues, and weigh in on them. Otherwise, complacency begets what we are seeing now – a fiscal disaster. Complacency allows the Tahir Ahad’s of the world to use the system to rip us off. Complacency allows School Boards to operate inefficiently, arrogantly, and at the behest of anyone (e.g. developers) they feel beholden too other than John Q. Public.
It has come out in the blog in the comment section that Woodland has a brand new High School, with a facility to be admired greatly. Furthermore, Woodland apparently is not letting any teachers go because they have been more fiscally responsible. I don’t know how accurate these statements are, but it would behoove our School Board to give pause, and investigate. Clearly Woodland is doing something right if it is not having to lay off teachers and librarians the way we are, or closing schools at an alarming rate.
Right now, the Davis School Board/District is in crisis mode, with no clue what to do. The County School Board is breathing down our necks, ready to take over if we cannot find the means to cut $4.5 million from our school budget. Programs are being pitted against programs, schools against schools. This is the worst crisis I have ever seen Davis schools in, by far. (Some say the passage of Prop 13 was also a wake up call of immense proportion).
What do we do? I honestly can say I don’t think anyone has a magic answer. But I do think we need to take a good hard look at what is being proposed, and inquire vociferously, just as was done when there was a threat to close Emerson. Closing schools as a way to balance a budget is irresponsible fiscally in my view. But I am not crazy about eliminating programs, teachers, principals, librarians, etc.
Frankly, what I think needs to happen is for the public to become more aware of what is going on. Unfortunately, all too often the truth is hidden from us – either because the School District/Board are corrupt, foolish, gullable, arrogant, or a combination thereof. How do we gain more transparency in this process? Citizen committees don’t seem to work either, because they are handpicked by the corrupt administrators.
Maybe what we need to do is have a citizen committee by random lottery, and draw from a willing pool of applicants who want to take a look at the School District books, and work out a plan on how to get ourselves out of this mess. The first thing I would do is head to Woodland, and ask them how they managed to get away with not laying off any teachers. Hammond’s grandstanding has not helped the process. Neither has the handwringing of various members of the School Board. It wrings very hollow.
Wouldn’t you like to see an overall list of the school district’s assets and costs, then start playing around with how to cut back? So far, parental suggestions have been arrogantly considered ignorant and not doable – yet parents managed to halt the closure of both Emerson and it looks like DaVinci for the moment. But I am now waiting for the next shoe to drop – how do we cut $600,000 from the budget, if we don’t close Emerson? The closure of Emerson is still a very real possibility.
And do we really want to sell off Nugget Fields, instead of earning income over the years? Once the property is sold, it is lost forever and cannot generate anything. And the money has to be used for facilities only, so won’t help us get out of debt with respect to operating expenses. More stupidity in such an awful market, IMHO.
Another option is to go charter. It is a difficult process, but better than closing schools. At least that way, fiscal decisions will be placed in the hands of teachers and parents, who have a vested interest in using the money wisely and efficiently. Wake up and smell the coffee! Heed DPD’s warning, that we must keep engaged in the process, or …
Dear Yawn – if this blog bores you, then don’t read it. No one is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to peruse the Davis
Vanguard.
DPD is exactly right. Voters must begin paying attention to local issues, and weigh in on them. Otherwise, complacency begets what we are seeing now – a fiscal disaster. Complacency allows the Tahir Ahad’s of the world to use the system to rip us off. Complacency allows School Boards to operate inefficiently, arrogantly, and at the behest of anyone (e.g. developers) they feel beholden too other than John Q. Public.
It has come out in the blog in the comment section that Woodland has a brand new High School, with a facility to be admired greatly. Furthermore, Woodland apparently is not letting any teachers go because they have been more fiscally responsible. I don’t know how accurate these statements are, but it would behoove our School Board to give pause, and investigate. Clearly Woodland is doing something right if it is not having to lay off teachers and librarians the way we are, or closing schools at an alarming rate.
Right now, the Davis School Board/District is in crisis mode, with no clue what to do. The County School Board is breathing down our necks, ready to take over if we cannot find the means to cut $4.5 million from our school budget. Programs are being pitted against programs, schools against schools. This is the worst crisis I have ever seen Davis schools in, by far. (Some say the passage of Prop 13 was also a wake up call of immense proportion).
What do we do? I honestly can say I don’t think anyone has a magic answer. But I do think we need to take a good hard look at what is being proposed, and inquire vociferously, just as was done when there was a threat to close Emerson. Closing schools as a way to balance a budget is irresponsible fiscally in my view. But I am not crazy about eliminating programs, teachers, principals, librarians, etc.
Frankly, what I think needs to happen is for the public to become more aware of what is going on. Unfortunately, all too often the truth is hidden from us – either because the School District/Board are corrupt, foolish, gullable, arrogant, or a combination thereof. How do we gain more transparency in this process? Citizen committees don’t seem to work either, because they are handpicked by the corrupt administrators.
Maybe what we need to do is have a citizen committee by random lottery, and draw from a willing pool of applicants who want to take a look at the School District books, and work out a plan on how to get ourselves out of this mess. The first thing I would do is head to Woodland, and ask them how they managed to get away with not laying off any teachers. Hammond’s grandstanding has not helped the process. Neither has the handwringing of various members of the School Board. It wrings very hollow.
Wouldn’t you like to see an overall list of the school district’s assets and costs, then start playing around with how to cut back? So far, parental suggestions have been arrogantly considered ignorant and not doable – yet parents managed to halt the closure of both Emerson and it looks like DaVinci for the moment. But I am now waiting for the next shoe to drop – how do we cut $600,000 from the budget, if we don’t close Emerson? The closure of Emerson is still a very real possibility.
And do we really want to sell off Nugget Fields, instead of earning income over the years? Once the property is sold, it is lost forever and cannot generate anything. And the money has to be used for facilities only, so won’t help us get out of debt with respect to operating expenses. More stupidity in such an awful market, IMHO.
Another option is to go charter. It is a difficult process, but better than closing schools. At least that way, fiscal decisions will be placed in the hands of teachers and parents, who have a vested interest in using the money wisely and efficiently. Wake up and smell the coffee! Heed DPD’s warning, that we must keep engaged in the process, or …
Dear Yawn – if this blog bores you, then don’t read it. No one is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to peruse the Davis
Vanguard.
DPD is exactly right. Voters must begin paying attention to local issues, and weigh in on them. Otherwise, complacency begets what we are seeing now – a fiscal disaster. Complacency allows the Tahir Ahad’s of the world to use the system to rip us off. Complacency allows School Boards to operate inefficiently, arrogantly, and at the behest of anyone (e.g. developers) they feel beholden too other than John Q. Public.
It has come out in the blog in the comment section that Woodland has a brand new High School, with a facility to be admired greatly. Furthermore, Woodland apparently is not letting any teachers go because they have been more fiscally responsible. I don’t know how accurate these statements are, but it would behoove our School Board to give pause, and investigate. Clearly Woodland is doing something right if it is not having to lay off teachers and librarians the way we are, or closing schools at an alarming rate.
Right now, the Davis School Board/District is in crisis mode, with no clue what to do. The County School Board is breathing down our necks, ready to take over if we cannot find the means to cut $4.5 million from our school budget. Programs are being pitted against programs, schools against schools. This is the worst crisis I have ever seen Davis schools in, by far. (Some say the passage of Prop 13 was also a wake up call of immense proportion).
What do we do? I honestly can say I don’t think anyone has a magic answer. But I do think we need to take a good hard look at what is being proposed, and inquire vociferously, just as was done when there was a threat to close Emerson. Closing schools as a way to balance a budget is irresponsible fiscally in my view. But I am not crazy about eliminating programs, teachers, principals, librarians, etc.
Frankly, what I think needs to happen is for the public to become more aware of what is going on. Unfortunately, all too often the truth is hidden from us – either because the School District/Board are corrupt, foolish, gullable, arrogant, or a combination thereof. How do we gain more transparency in this process? Citizen committees don’t seem to work either, because they are handpicked by the corrupt administrators.
Maybe what we need to do is have a citizen committee by random lottery, and draw from a willing pool of applicants who want to take a look at the School District books, and work out a plan on how to get ourselves out of this mess. The first thing I would do is head to Woodland, and ask them how they managed to get away with not laying off any teachers. Hammond’s grandstanding has not helped the process. Neither has the handwringing of various members of the School Board. It wrings very hollow.
Wouldn’t you like to see an overall list of the school district’s assets and costs, then start playing around with how to cut back? So far, parental suggestions have been arrogantly considered ignorant and not doable – yet parents managed to halt the closure of both Emerson and it looks like DaVinci for the moment. But I am now waiting for the next shoe to drop – how do we cut $600,000 from the budget, if we don’t close Emerson? The closure of Emerson is still a very real possibility.
And do we really want to sell off Nugget Fields, instead of earning income over the years? Once the property is sold, it is lost forever and cannot generate anything. And the money has to be used for facilities only, so won’t help us get out of debt with respect to operating expenses. More stupidity in such an awful market, IMHO.
Another option is to go charter. It is a difficult process, but better than closing schools. At least that way, fiscal decisions will be placed in the hands of teachers and parents, who have a vested interest in using the money wisely and efficiently. Wake up and smell the coffee! Heed DPD’s warning, that we must keep engaged in the process, or …
Dear Yawn – if this blog bores you, then don’t read it. No one is putting a gun to your head and forcing you to peruse the Davis
Vanguard.
DPD is exactly right. Voters must begin paying attention to local issues, and weigh in on them. Otherwise, complacency begets what we are seeing now – a fiscal disaster. Complacency allows the Tahir Ahad’s of the world to use the system to rip us off. Complacency allows School Boards to operate inefficiently, arrogantly, and at the behest of anyone (e.g. developers) they feel beholden too other than John Q. Public.
It has come out in the blog in the comment section that Woodland has a brand new High School, with a facility to be admired greatly. Furthermore, Woodland apparently is not letting any teachers go because they have been more fiscally responsible. I don’t know how accurate these statements are, but it would behoove our School Board to give pause, and investigate. Clearly Woodland is doing something right if it is not having to lay off teachers and librarians the way we are, or closing schools at an alarming rate.
Right now, the Davis School Board/District is in crisis mode, with no clue what to do. The County School Board is breathing down our necks, ready to take over if we cannot find the means to cut $4.5 million from our school budget. Programs are being pitted against programs, schools against schools. This is the worst crisis I have ever seen Davis schools in, by far. (Some say the passage of Prop 13 was also a wake up call of immense proportion).
What do we do? I honestly can say I don’t think anyone has a magic answer. But I do think we need to take a good hard look at what is being proposed, and inquire vociferously, just as was done when there was a threat to close Emerson. Closing schools as a way to balance a budget is irresponsible fiscally in my view. But I am not crazy about eliminating programs, teachers, principals, librarians, etc.
Frankly, what I think needs to happen is for the public to become more aware of what is going on. Unfortunately, all too often the truth is hidden from us – either because the School District/Board are corrupt, foolish, gullable, arrogant, or a combination thereof. How do we gain more transparency in this process? Citizen committees don’t seem to work either, because they are handpicked by the corrupt administrators.
Maybe what we need to do is have a citizen committee by random lottery, and draw from a willing pool of applicants who want to take a look at the School District books, and work out a plan on how to get ourselves out of this mess. The first thing I would do is head to Woodland, and ask them how they managed to get away with not laying off any teachers. Hammond’s grandstanding has not helped the process. Neither has the handwringing of various members of the School Board. It wrings very hollow.
Wouldn’t you like to see an overall list of the school district’s assets and costs, then start playing around with how to cut back? So far, parental suggestions have been arrogantly considered ignorant and not doable – yet parents managed to halt the closure of both Emerson and it looks like DaVinci for the moment. But I am now waiting for the next shoe to drop – how do we cut $600,000 from the budget, if we don’t close Emerson? The closure of Emerson is still a very real possibility.
And do we really want to sell off Nugget Fields, instead of earning income over the years? Once the property is sold, it is lost forever and cannot generate anything. And the money has to be used for facilities only, so won’t help us get out of debt with respect to operating expenses. More stupidity in such an awful market, IMHO.
Another option is to go charter. It is a difficult process, but better than closing schools. At least that way, fiscal decisions will be placed in the hands of teachers and parents, who have a vested interest in using the money wisely and efficiently. Wake up and smell the coffee! Heed DPD’s warning, that we must keep engaged in the process, or …
I wouldn’t use Woodland as a role model. If you want to use them as a positive then you must take Costco, Target, Wal-Mart, etc..as a big negative.
I wouldn’t use Woodland as a role model. If you want to use them as a positive then you must take Costco, Target, Wal-Mart, etc..as a big negative.
I wouldn’t use Woodland as a role model. If you want to use them as a positive then you must take Costco, Target, Wal-Mart, etc..as a big negative.
I wouldn’t use Woodland as a role model. If you want to use them as a positive then you must take Costco, Target, Wal-Mart, etc..as a big negative.
the current school board is not the one that got Davis into this mess — it was the last one. So apathy towards the blog and the race is a non-sequitor
the current school board is not the one that got Davis into this mess — it was the last one. So apathy towards the blog and the race is a non-sequitor
the current school board is not the one that got Davis into this mess — it was the last one. So apathy towards the blog and the race is a non-sequitor
the current school board is not the one that got Davis into this mess — it was the last one. So apathy towards the blog and the race is a non-sequitor
“hold don accountable”
DPD already reported that Don voted against Tahirs contract and both the building of korematsu and montgomery elementary schools.
Sorry, I don’t think you can blame this on Don.
“hold don accountable”
DPD already reported that Don voted against Tahirs contract and both the building of korematsu and montgomery elementary schools.
Sorry, I don’t think you can blame this on Don.
“hold don accountable”
DPD already reported that Don voted against Tahirs contract and both the building of korematsu and montgomery elementary schools.
Sorry, I don’t think you can blame this on Don.
“hold don accountable”
DPD already reported that Don voted against Tahirs contract and both the building of korematsu and montgomery elementary schools.
Sorry, I don’t think you can blame this on Don.
darnell said…
“I wouldn’t use Woodland as a role model. If you want to use them as a positive then you must take Costco, Target, Wal-Mart, etc..as a big negative.”
Whether you use Woodland as a model or not is up to you (You can’t use Dixon – of course most Davisites have no idea what’s going outside their borders anyway.). But just remember those big boxes are there to serve Davis residents. I can’t tell you how many Davis residents I see in Woodland stores. It’s hilarious. Another example of how stopping growth doesn’t stop it…it just shifts it somewhere else.
You’re free to not like the big boxes…I don’t care for them either, but I also know that those large retailers are not there for Woodland bucks alone they’re also serving Davis. So at some point…you might want to take some responsibility for it.
darnell said…
“I wouldn’t use Woodland as a role model. If you want to use them as a positive then you must take Costco, Target, Wal-Mart, etc..as a big negative.”
Whether you use Woodland as a model or not is up to you (You can’t use Dixon – of course most Davisites have no idea what’s going outside their borders anyway.). But just remember those big boxes are there to serve Davis residents. I can’t tell you how many Davis residents I see in Woodland stores. It’s hilarious. Another example of how stopping growth doesn’t stop it…it just shifts it somewhere else.
You’re free to not like the big boxes…I don’t care for them either, but I also know that those large retailers are not there for Woodland bucks alone they’re also serving Davis. So at some point…you might want to take some responsibility for it.
darnell said…
“I wouldn’t use Woodland as a role model. If you want to use them as a positive then you must take Costco, Target, Wal-Mart, etc..as a big negative.”
Whether you use Woodland as a model or not is up to you (You can’t use Dixon – of course most Davisites have no idea what’s going outside their borders anyway.). But just remember those big boxes are there to serve Davis residents. I can’t tell you how many Davis residents I see in Woodland stores. It’s hilarious. Another example of how stopping growth doesn’t stop it…it just shifts it somewhere else.
You’re free to not like the big boxes…I don’t care for them either, but I also know that those large retailers are not there for Woodland bucks alone they’re also serving Davis. So at some point…you might want to take some responsibility for it.
darnell said…
“I wouldn’t use Woodland as a role model. If you want to use them as a positive then you must take Costco, Target, Wal-Mart, etc..as a big negative.”
Whether you use Woodland as a model or not is up to you (You can’t use Dixon – of course most Davisites have no idea what’s going outside their borders anyway.). But just remember those big boxes are there to serve Davis residents. I can’t tell you how many Davis residents I see in Woodland stores. It’s hilarious. Another example of how stopping growth doesn’t stop it…it just shifts it somewhere else.
You’re free to not like the big boxes…I don’t care for them either, but I also know that those large retailers are not there for Woodland bucks alone they’re also serving Davis. So at some point…you might want to take some responsibility for it.
The design of the new big box stores along Gibson Road, and also the new Woodland Community Center on East Street, seem cartoonish.
…not places in which grownups are meant to do business.
At least they should have put the parking lots in back of the buildings, so passersby could get some sense of the presence of the architects’ visions, such as they are.
The design of the new big box stores along Gibson Road, and also the new Woodland Community Center on East Street, seem cartoonish.
…not places in which grownups are meant to do business.
At least they should have put the parking lots in back of the buildings, so passersby could get some sense of the presence of the architects’ visions, such as they are.
The design of the new big box stores along Gibson Road, and also the new Woodland Community Center on East Street, seem cartoonish.
…not places in which grownups are meant to do business.
At least they should have put the parking lots in back of the buildings, so passersby could get some sense of the presence of the architects’ visions, such as they are.
The design of the new big box stores along Gibson Road, and also the new Woodland Community Center on East Street, seem cartoonish.
…not places in which grownups are meant to do business.
At least they should have put the parking lots in back of the buildings, so passersby could get some sense of the presence of the architects’ visions, such as they are.
Amen to that!
Amen to that!
Amen to that!
Amen to that!
DPD is correct that many in this town have been ignorant of the financial operations of the district until it hits their neighborhood schools. If it doesn’t directly touch them they don’t seem to care. Unfortunately this is way too small of a town to have that mentality. Ever heard of the trickle down effect.
If more parents showed up at PTA and School Site Council meetings, they would have been hearing about many of these issues sooner. The truth is that most schools struggle to get parents involved in the School Site Councils who deal with site funding. These are the first opportunities to hear and learn how the real funding decisions are made and to get involved. It’s sad to read so many comments from our so call ‘educated community’ that are misinformed about how school funding works.
And as for elections in this town. Just because a candidate agrees with your point of view on one ‘big’ issue, doesn’t necessarily translate to being the best candidate for the long term. There are many complex issues, and candidates need to be able to have a logical, thought out plan to tackle them. Now there’s a new concept to work on. Being logical!
DPD is correct that many in this town have been ignorant of the financial operations of the district until it hits their neighborhood schools. If it doesn’t directly touch them they don’t seem to care. Unfortunately this is way too small of a town to have that mentality. Ever heard of the trickle down effect.
If more parents showed up at PTA and School Site Council meetings, they would have been hearing about many of these issues sooner. The truth is that most schools struggle to get parents involved in the School Site Councils who deal with site funding. These are the first opportunities to hear and learn how the real funding decisions are made and to get involved. It’s sad to read so many comments from our so call ‘educated community’ that are misinformed about how school funding works.
And as for elections in this town. Just because a candidate agrees with your point of view on one ‘big’ issue, doesn’t necessarily translate to being the best candidate for the long term. There are many complex issues, and candidates need to be able to have a logical, thought out plan to tackle them. Now there’s a new concept to work on. Being logical!
DPD is correct that many in this town have been ignorant of the financial operations of the district until it hits their neighborhood schools. If it doesn’t directly touch them they don’t seem to care. Unfortunately this is way too small of a town to have that mentality. Ever heard of the trickle down effect.
If more parents showed up at PTA and School Site Council meetings, they would have been hearing about many of these issues sooner. The truth is that most schools struggle to get parents involved in the School Site Councils who deal with site funding. These are the first opportunities to hear and learn how the real funding decisions are made and to get involved. It’s sad to read so many comments from our so call ‘educated community’ that are misinformed about how school funding works.
And as for elections in this town. Just because a candidate agrees with your point of view on one ‘big’ issue, doesn’t necessarily translate to being the best candidate for the long term. There are many complex issues, and candidates need to be able to have a logical, thought out plan to tackle them. Now there’s a new concept to work on. Being logical!
DPD is correct that many in this town have been ignorant of the financial operations of the district until it hits their neighborhood schools. If it doesn’t directly touch them they don’t seem to care. Unfortunately this is way too small of a town to have that mentality. Ever heard of the trickle down effect.
If more parents showed up at PTA and School Site Council meetings, they would have been hearing about many of these issues sooner. The truth is that most schools struggle to get parents involved in the School Site Councils who deal with site funding. These are the first opportunities to hear and learn how the real funding decisions are made and to get involved. It’s sad to read so many comments from our so call ‘educated community’ that are misinformed about how school funding works.
And as for elections in this town. Just because a candidate agrees with your point of view on one ‘big’ issue, doesn’t necessarily translate to being the best candidate for the long term. There are many complex issues, and candidates need to be able to have a logical, thought out plan to tackle them. Now there’s a new concept to work on. Being logical!
School budgets are done on an annual basis … so any budgetary mess beyond declining enrollment and the state cutbacks belongs squarely on the shoulders of the immediate past board, not the current board and not two boards ago.
That would be Provenza, Jones, Daleiden, Allen, and Taylor.
School budgets are done on an annual basis … so any budgetary mess beyond declining enrollment and the state cutbacks belongs squarely on the shoulders of the immediate past board, not the current board and not two boards ago.
That would be Provenza, Jones, Daleiden, Allen, and Taylor.
School budgets are done on an annual basis … so any budgetary mess beyond declining enrollment and the state cutbacks belongs squarely on the shoulders of the immediate past board, not the current board and not two boards ago.
That would be Provenza, Jones, Daleiden, Allen, and Taylor.
School budgets are done on an annual basis … so any budgetary mess beyond declining enrollment and the state cutbacks belongs squarely on the shoulders of the immediate past board, not the current board and not two boards ago.
That would be Provenza, Jones, Daleiden, Allen, and Taylor.
That’s easy to say and politically convenient but in all likelihood the seeds of the current disaster were sown by a number of previous boards. The causes in these instances tend to be cumulative over a broad range of policy choices and can rarely be pinpointed to a single cause. So again, nice political rhetoric but hardly accurate.
That’s easy to say and politically convenient but in all likelihood the seeds of the current disaster were sown by a number of previous boards. The causes in these instances tend to be cumulative over a broad range of policy choices and can rarely be pinpointed to a single cause. So again, nice political rhetoric but hardly accurate.
That’s easy to say and politically convenient but in all likelihood the seeds of the current disaster were sown by a number of previous boards. The causes in these instances tend to be cumulative over a broad range of policy choices and can rarely be pinpointed to a single cause. So again, nice political rhetoric but hardly accurate.
That’s easy to say and politically convenient but in all likelihood the seeds of the current disaster were sown by a number of previous boards. The causes in these instances tend to be cumulative over a broad range of policy choices and can rarely be pinpointed to a single cause. So again, nice political rhetoric but hardly accurate.
Rhetoric? What a joke!
This blog has demonstrated nothing other than that a few dozen people enjoy the same Kool Aid.
Rhetoric? What a joke!
This blog has demonstrated nothing other than that a few dozen people enjoy the same Kool Aid.
Rhetoric? What a joke!
This blog has demonstrated nothing other than that a few dozen people enjoy the same Kool Aid.
Rhetoric? What a joke!
This blog has demonstrated nothing other than that a few dozen people enjoy the same Kool Aid.
Few dozen? You have no idea how many people read this blog.
Few dozen? You have no idea how many people read this blog.
Few dozen? You have no idea how many people read this blog.
Few dozen? You have no idea how many people read this blog.
Anonymous 4:56
That is so untrue. The immediate past board spent an inordinate amount of time sorting out the truth of the District’s financial situation and began taking steps to avert even more of a disaster than we have now. The problems were there but no longer being covered up by people who stood to gain by keeping things secret. What the immediate past board did was bring things out in the open for all to see and understand and begin to take action to fix the errors made.
Anonymous 4:56
That is so untrue. The immediate past board spent an inordinate amount of time sorting out the truth of the District’s financial situation and began taking steps to avert even more of a disaster than we have now. The problems were there but no longer being covered up by people who stood to gain by keeping things secret. What the immediate past board did was bring things out in the open for all to see and understand and begin to take action to fix the errors made.
Anonymous 4:56
That is so untrue. The immediate past board spent an inordinate amount of time sorting out the truth of the District’s financial situation and began taking steps to avert even more of a disaster than we have now. The problems were there but no longer being covered up by people who stood to gain by keeping things secret. What the immediate past board did was bring things out in the open for all to see and understand and begin to take action to fix the errors made.
Anonymous 4:56
That is so untrue. The immediate past board spent an inordinate amount of time sorting out the truth of the District’s financial situation and began taking steps to avert even more of a disaster than we have now. The problems were there but no longer being covered up by people who stood to gain by keeping things secret. What the immediate past board did was bring things out in the open for all to see and understand and begin to take action to fix the errors made.
To find out how we got here, it would help to go back and find out where we spent one-time funds for this and that. It’s somewhat tedious work, but it’s straightforward.
For instance, last year Daleiden and others proposed spending extra money for secondary vice principal positions when the standard enrollment formulas didn’t justfiy it. I think it was probably well-intentioned and reasonable justification at the time that looks a little unwise in hindsight.
There should be other instances that wouldn’t be hard too hard to find. A lot of what I’ve seen in discussion in this Davis Vanguard blog as to how the district got into this current budget situation is mostly unsupported speculation.
Maybe a good topic that DPD could look into?
To find out how we got here, it would help to go back and find out where we spent one-time funds for this and that. It’s somewhat tedious work, but it’s straightforward.
For instance, last year Daleiden and others proposed spending extra money for secondary vice principal positions when the standard enrollment formulas didn’t justfiy it. I think it was probably well-intentioned and reasonable justification at the time that looks a little unwise in hindsight.
There should be other instances that wouldn’t be hard too hard to find. A lot of what I’ve seen in discussion in this Davis Vanguard blog as to how the district got into this current budget situation is mostly unsupported speculation.
Maybe a good topic that DPD could look into?
To find out how we got here, it would help to go back and find out where we spent one-time funds for this and that. It’s somewhat tedious work, but it’s straightforward.
For instance, last year Daleiden and others proposed spending extra money for secondary vice principal positions when the standard enrollment formulas didn’t justfiy it. I think it was probably well-intentioned and reasonable justification at the time that looks a little unwise in hindsight.
There should be other instances that wouldn’t be hard too hard to find. A lot of what I’ve seen in discussion in this Davis Vanguard blog as to how the district got into this current budget situation is mostly unsupported speculation.
Maybe a good topic that DPD could look into?
To find out how we got here, it would help to go back and find out where we spent one-time funds for this and that. It’s somewhat tedious work, but it’s straightforward.
For instance, last year Daleiden and others proposed spending extra money for secondary vice principal positions when the standard enrollment formulas didn’t justfiy it. I think it was probably well-intentioned and reasonable justification at the time that looks a little unwise in hindsight.
There should be other instances that wouldn’t be hard too hard to find. A lot of what I’ve seen in discussion in this Davis Vanguard blog as to how the district got into this current budget situation is mostly unsupported speculation.
Maybe a good topic that DPD could look into?
Yeah, DPD, you should look into these perks. I think Daleiden’s children were in secondary schools when she advocated going against set criteria for secondary vice principals.
Did she offer something equivalent for elementary schools? Or did she choose to apply objective criteria to shut Valley Oak down?
Yeah, DPD, you should look into these perks. I think Daleiden’s children were in secondary schools when she advocated going against set criteria for secondary vice principals.
Did she offer something equivalent for elementary schools? Or did she choose to apply objective criteria to shut Valley Oak down?
Yeah, DPD, you should look into these perks. I think Daleiden’s children were in secondary schools when she advocated going against set criteria for secondary vice principals.
Did she offer something equivalent for elementary schools? Or did she choose to apply objective criteria to shut Valley Oak down?
Yeah, DPD, you should look into these perks. I think Daleiden’s children were in secondary schools when she advocated going against set criteria for secondary vice principals.
Did she offer something equivalent for elementary schools? Or did she choose to apply objective criteria to shut Valley Oak down?
“Anonymous said…
Yeah, DPD, you should look into these perks. I think Daleiden’s children were in secondary schools when she advocated going against set criteria for secondary vice principals.
Did she offer something equivalent for elementary schools? Or did she choose to apply objective criteria to shut Valley Oak down?”
Yes, I would like to know that too. Again and again we see absolutely atrocious decisions made by the School Board/District that are very unwise fiscally. We did not get into this mess because of any one decision, or any one School Board. There has been an overall pattern of unsound decision-making that has been going on for years. It is only recently that the “fit has hit the sham”, as you are so fond of saying DPD!
“Anonymous said…
Yeah, DPD, you should look into these perks. I think Daleiden’s children were in secondary schools when she advocated going against set criteria for secondary vice principals.
Did she offer something equivalent for elementary schools? Or did she choose to apply objective criteria to shut Valley Oak down?”
Yes, I would like to know that too. Again and again we see absolutely atrocious decisions made by the School Board/District that are very unwise fiscally. We did not get into this mess because of any one decision, or any one School Board. There has been an overall pattern of unsound decision-making that has been going on for years. It is only recently that the “fit has hit the sham”, as you are so fond of saying DPD!
“Anonymous said…
Yeah, DPD, you should look into these perks. I think Daleiden’s children were in secondary schools when she advocated going against set criteria for secondary vice principals.
Did she offer something equivalent for elementary schools? Or did she choose to apply objective criteria to shut Valley Oak down?”
Yes, I would like to know that too. Again and again we see absolutely atrocious decisions made by the School Board/District that are very unwise fiscally. We did not get into this mess because of any one decision, or any one School Board. There has been an overall pattern of unsound decision-making that has been going on for years. It is only recently that the “fit has hit the sham”, as you are so fond of saying DPD!
“Anonymous said…
Yeah, DPD, you should look into these perks. I think Daleiden’s children were in secondary schools when she advocated going against set criteria for secondary vice principals.
Did she offer something equivalent for elementary schools? Or did she choose to apply objective criteria to shut Valley Oak down?”
Yes, I would like to know that too. Again and again we see absolutely atrocious decisions made by the School Board/District that are very unwise fiscally. We did not get into this mess because of any one decision, or any one School Board. There has been an overall pattern of unsound decision-making that has been going on for years. It is only recently that the “fit has hit the sham”, as you are so fond of saying DPD!