Well, here we go again, talking about needing $$$ for the District and nothing is being done to replace outdated lighting throughout the district. Again, it will cost the district $0.00 to replace the
lighting with energy saving lighting. it was estimated that the district would save anywhere from $300,000.00 up to $500,000.00.

So the SRVUSD takes out a 15 year bond to replace computers that become obsolete every 2-3 years?

Sounds like typical SRVUSD Financial Management logic!

I'm starting to believe that the education system's main mission is not to teach, but rather to ask for money. All they ever complain about is money. Yet they fight for illegal immigrants to be in the classrooms so they can extort more funds from the state. The more heads to count in a class the more the state has to provide. If one fourth of cali's students were not illegals we'd have plenty of cash to pay for our kids. If we didn't have this ridiculous notion about small class sizes we would have more money for our children. But the schools don't care about your kids. They care about hiring teachers. They care about money

Hello,

I'm not sure where 15 years came from, but nowhere did anyone talk about a 15 year bond.

Maybe I was not clear on context but Mr. Chmielesky wasn't proposing a bond, he was just using that as an example of how those upgrades and improvements might be paid for.

I am reviewing the story and will see if there is a way to present that fact more clearly.

Thanks for the comments.

Roy, your statements could not be more true! It is disheartening when we have approached the second decade of the 21st century and yet our schools and facilities still use 20th century means of energy use and the employees, including myself, still have 20th century habits. However, this past school year, I didn't turn my lights on once during any class and was still able to conduct content-rich, thought-provoking curriculum.

Nevertheless, Superintendent Enoch, who also is a firm believer in 21st century schools and education continues to promote, even in the midst of a long term budget reduction, a vision that incorporates all the new ideas associated with 21st century learning; sustainable energy use, efficient infrastructure, and technology in the classroom.

I think its important to keep the big picture in focus. We are talking about the future of our children and preparing them to be competitive in a world that is cyber, mobile, and changing very quickly. Is this not the objective of education in our society? Our education system must change with the times, and "the times they are a changin'."

I think this guy Rick is totally wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if he is a hyprocrite and has a child with an illegal immigrant himself. What he is saying just sounds like a cleaner way to preach racism. Sean Hannity does the same thing.

I agree with Rick on illegal immigrants. We shouldn’t be paying for them, send them home, they are breaking the law. We need to take care of our own country FIRST and then help others.

Tenure is also another problem. Many of our younger teachers received pink slips this year, when some of the older, out-dated teachers, get to be “safe” from being fired. In many cases, the younger teachers are more up-to-date on technology, social issues, and have much more patience with children. There are 2 teachers in my school that should be fired, they are old, out of patience, and have no clue on current technology; another teacher should be fired for incompetence.

Another problem is that many administrators have their heads up in the clouds. They need to come down, listen, and stop playing around and manipulating money. Many residents have come from other areas and have seen great school systems. They have great ideas, but school administrators and PTA think that the world revivals around them and that no one else can do better. WRONG!

There are many ways to earn free money for our schools including local and national companies. We should be taking advantage of everything, because I for one am tired of being asked for money.

Jonathan, how am I the racist? You tried to dis on me by saying I've coupled with an illegal immigrant, which isn't true but that's besides the point. I don't know, but that sounds pretty racist to me- you tool

Marie, preach on sister! I like the fire

Marie

You bring up some great points that I believe will need to be addressed as we enter into this period of fiscal tightening. SRVEA is going to have to acknowledge that our schools are losing very good teachers when the budget belt tightens, which is expected to continue over the next several years. And though the intentions of SRVEA are good, we are transitioning the paradigm of education which will require teachers to adopt new methods of teaching, incorporate technology in the classroom, and manage classrooms differently based on student abilities. Newer teachers who are coming out of Credential Programs have this knowledge and they should not be so easily expended solely on the fact that they are new. New Teachers have a lot to offer schools and students.

Just to be clear, the protection of teachers (old or new) who are highly qualified in the field of education is a critical piece to excellent education in any school district. But as we shift this paradigm, we need to consider how to protect ALL teachers who are highly qualified, not just old teachers who are highly qualified.

Note: the article has nothing to do with illegal immigrants and illegal immigrants play a very minimal role in the educational process in this particular community. You are pointing fingers and trying to blame someone and they are an easy target for you. I suggest using your energy to find positive solutions to our problems instead of pointing fingers at everybody around you. Everybody is pointing fingers at you at the same time and this solves nothing. So Stop.

Teacherman, that was a clever misuse of maries point, twisted in your pro-teAcher agenda.

Note: I've Already pointed out in a million ways why illegal immigrant benefits are the número UNO problem leading to our state and local economic crisis. U don't get to make blanket statements about what is true and not. I don't just say illegals are the problem I say why. Your arrogance and lack of ability to substantiate claims is very indicative of most teachers and the school system in general. Good day sir

Teacherman: too many words, do you bore your students?

No job should be protected. Everyone should work hard and the great workers will succeed. Once you guarantee that someone has a job to keep, they don’t work as hard as the ones who are fighting to keep their jobs. Teachers are the most important jobs we have in our country, therefore, we should get rid of tenure.

Teacherman, if you were a great teacher, you should not be worried about losing tenure.

I am a great teacher, I do not bore my students, and I do not worry about losing tenure. And neither you or Rick would ever be able to touch my confidence in my abilities in the classroom given your one-sided, biased, and misinformed approach to the issue at hand.

Marie, I was agreeing with you on your points. Don't be fooled by Rick's disgusting approach to debates. Is it not the work of the public to discuss ideas to reach agreements on issues like education? In your first entry, you seemed like a very intelligent person who is willing to discuss the issues but in your second you seemed as closed-minded and incapable as Rick. Who are you people? Welcome to America!

Hope thats not too many words for you to understand. Perhaps you need a teacher???

I am here if any one out there is willing to intelligently discuss educational issues in our community.

Marie

I guess I don't understand. Teacher have the most important jobs in our country so therefore we should not protect those teachers who do it right? That makes no sense to me.

The alternative, the State cuts educational funds drastically then school districts are forced to lay off many great teachers which had nothing to do with their performance in the classroom.

Hello??? That is what is happening right now.

Teacherman, Call me what u want, you've never argued rationally, meaning using facts to both support your opinion or discount others. You try to declare what we can or can't talk about, making blanket statements without substantation, saying "so stop" as if you were the referee or judge, or more aptly the dictator. I've said it once and I'll say it again, your comments are broad and pretentious, like someone trying to distinguish themselves as intelligent.

Rick: I sure hope he's intelligent, he's teaching our future leaders.

There's a difference between "trying" and "being." Teacherman tries, but his inability to back up arguments and his broad declarations show he is a talking head, spitting out talking points like a wind up doll. as Einstein said, God is in the details

This must be why you don't ever engage in debates about education. You either turn it into an illegal immigration issue or you attack the person who might be sounding more intelligent than you on the educational issue. Everytime I have brought up educational issues you have personally attacked me calling me a liberal, unsupported wind up doll. But clearly, you can't ever argue a point. No need to go any further.

Secondly, I have a BS in Environmental Science and Management from a Big Ten School, I have been through a distinguished CA Teaching Credential Program, taught in a two distinctive bay area districts, served on numerous educational committees and campaigns, and have consistently worked carefully and diligently to create, deliver, and evaluate curriculum that serves the needs of my students. I know what I am talking about.

What experience in the field of education do you have that makes you think that you are an expert on educational issues? Oh, and your bad high school experience about how your teachers expected you to go through the motions of learning instead of just producing work doesn't count? Degrees, teaching experience, work with young children??? Come on Rick, how are you such an expert on the issues that you never discuss in the blogs?

Well, once again, in the absence of facts, Teacherman resorts to obfuscation. Tell me Teacherman, if I had your credentials, could I say the world was flat and the "layman" should just trust me? Tell me sir, if I were a professor of economics at Berkeley, would that automatically make my assertion about illegal immigration true? Or, might I have to substantiate my claims?

You obviously were never on a debate team, or you would know that you don't use credentials in a debate. They're irrelevant. You use facts, placed in a logical line of reasoning that most anyone can understand. You, on the other hand, resort to nothing more than bragging.

You are quite dense, so I'll make this as blunt as possible. I don't think you're intelligent, not in the least bit. That's why I said you were "trying" to sound intelligent, the implication being that, in my eyes, you failed miserably. In that, not only are you not intelligent, but also pretentious and somewhat pathetic. The fact that you took my comments about your attempt to sound knowledgeable and thought I looked upon you as intelligent shows just how dense you are.

Finally, I bring up illegal immigration all the time because I believe it is the number one cause of CAs economic problems. I have said that a number of times. You know that our state's economic crisis is what is leading to our local crisis, the hardest things hit being education, because education is the largest single expense of the state and local government. I've explained a number of times as to why I believe illegal immigrant benefits, which cost the CA taxpayer more than TEN BILLION dollars a year, are the main problem. I've explained why their cons far outweigh their pros. That's called a line of reasoning. And I would be happy to give stats and facts to further validate my point. I don't merely state that illegal immigration is the problem, then expect everyone to bow to my beliefs, and if they don't attempt to shut them down with my credentials. This is why I see you not as intelligent, but a pretentious blowhard typical of today's education system.

First, I must say it is easy to hide behind the computer and spit out comments that you would normally keep to yourself in a face-to-face conversation. So, therefore, I must apologize if I have offended anyone with my comments.

Second, I was born and raised on the east coast and can not understand why such a great state as CA is in such a financial mess. If you look around, we have more money here than in most of the other states. I don’t want my taxes raised, but I can tell you that my taxes were much higher on the east coast (with lower property values) and schools were much better. Most of the east coast states (except for FL, of course), do not have the big problem of illegal immigration, like we have here. They also have schools where teachers actually work. The amount of volunteer hours I put into my children’s schools is amazing. These teachers don’t know how good they have it.

I just hope that CA pulls out of this financial mess sooner rather than later.

I asked you to provide experience you have in education that would substantiate your argument and you provided none, just more thoughtless, antagonistic jargon. You have just proved my point to the greater public who reads these blogs.

Since you can not hold a debate, I am ending my dialgoue.

Thank you Marie for your thoughtful response. I agree, California is in a mess but with a little hope, a little activism, and some positive dialogue, I am sure California has many brigher days in our future.

I asked you to provide facts, but you obviously have none u pretentious know-nothing dope

One final thing, anyone who knows me knows I am certainly not averse to making my opinions known face to face. I would also feel it to be cowardly to just do it from behind the proverbial computer. I piss a lot of people off and also stoke a lot of people up, but I very much delight in using my freedom of speech

Yes Rick. But it is your comments about Danville being the "Hood" That baffle me. I see you never objected to my reply on the other blog about the purse snatcher. I must be right about that one.

I have to say, this is quite amusing. Rick since you joined this network (not sure where you came from, but you seem to have copious time on your hands) things have really perked up. My all time favorite:

"I asked you to provide facts, but you obviously have none u pretentious know-nothing dope"

Come on - you're kidding, right? This is reasonable to you as a way to express yourself?

I honestly can't tell if all the rhetoric is genuine or just a way to stir the pot. But it is great for a laugh at the end of a long work day.