Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Attention Orange Update

I have received a great deal of positive response to my earlier blog posting and the email I sent regarding the efforts of the newly-formed grassroots group Attention Orange.

Judging from the number of messages I have received offering support, there is a great deal of interest in becoming directly involved in the fight against Orange County's rogue Board of Education.

In response to the outpouring of support for the group, the founders have asked me to post the following:

"Attention Orange will be holding a meeting next week. If you would like to attend to gather additional information about the group, please email attentionorange@yahoo.com with your contact information. You will then receive information regarding the meeting time and place. We need everyone's support! Families that are grandfathered in may not be directly affected but your friends and neighbors will be, please come to support your HES family in this important fight. We look forward to seeing all of you there!"

Until the meeting, there is one thing every parent can do to help - join me in contributing to the group's legal expenses. You can easily contribute using the "Donate" button on the right side of this blog.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

I contacted Attention Orange and either my husband or myself will be at the meeting.

This isn't relative to this topic, but has anyone else read this week's News of Orange? The article about the new head of Orange Co. Board of elections. The article mentioned that 3 seats for the BoE are up this year. Whitling, Brown, and Hartkopf. The most interesting thing that I read was that the BoE elections would be held during the May Primary NOT the November as I thought. People we need to pay attention to who runs. Perhaps the PTAs could host a candidate forum. I would even help arrange that

Anonymous said...

When is the deadline to file for running? I can't remember. Once we know who is confirmed, that sounds like a plan.

I assume Whitling and Brown won't run, but Brown has some clones that she is supporting. Those people will need to be discovered b/c they will duplicate her destructive actions. Another few years of that and we'll ALL have to move or home school.

Anonymous said...

Candidate Filing is
Feb. 11 - 29!

Anonymous said...

In 2006, the election for the BoE was in May (primary season). This is very important for everyone to know.

Anonymous said...

As a parent who children are grandfathered into HES, I am still quite concerned about the future of my children's school. Next year, I will have a 5th grader and two 1st graders. While I don't see my 5th grader undergoing much change, I am concerned as time goes by that my two 1st graders will. Due to this, I have decided to give to Attention Orange and help support their (our) cause. It makes me very sad that this school board has lost such focus. Let me be clear, I am fine with the SES at HES changing. I don't care who is on free and reduced lunch and who is not. The idea of putting caps to encourage a diverse population can work. I think starting with the incoming K class makes more sense than distruping the education of currently enrolled HES students. With that being said, I think the real agenda of the board is to end year round education and either shut down HES completely or turn it into the 7th district school. If they can make the HES population smaller, then they can justify making entire school changes. This is the reason ALL parents need to be concerned-- grandfathered in or not! I have given to Attention Orange and would encourage others to do so. I have personally spoken to an AO member and have no reservation about how the money will be used. I trust them completly to make the right decisions and do what they can to help HES. For those parents who come to this site weekly and read these postings, get involved. Don't assume that a handful of parents can make the difference alone. Everyone has to get involved and be active in this process. We all work, have busy schedules and feel overwhelmed. Make the effort to go to the meetings, give to the fund, help pass out flyers, spread the word. Get involved! Don't assume this can get done without your help.

The last point I want to make is that we (all members of OCS) need to become more involved with what our BoE is doing. I will be the first to admit that in the past I would not keep up with the decisions the BoE was making. I would just go with the flow and as long as I was not personally impacted I didn't care. I have now come to realize that is a crazy was the look at things. We all pay an outrageous amount of taxes in this county. The school board has the ability to use that money how they see fit. We (the parents) are the checks and balances in that equation. Once this entire HES mess gets resolved, I hope Attention Orange continues, recruits representives from all other schools and serves as a long term "checks and balances" for this BoE and all future BoEs. I will be the first to pledge my time and energies to that cause.

Let's all work together to
Save ALL Dolphins

Lori Rogers

Anonymous said...

Lori knows of what she speaks.

Like her, I have had children in HES for years and have watched as the Board killed off the year-round program at ALS. I've watched as those who claimed to support year-round shot down the possibility of the new middle school being year-round. I've watched as the Board refused help from parents who volunteered to work in the community to remove obstacles to other families going year around.

I'm not just watching anymore. I have given to Attention Orange. I will remember what has been done to our children long past 2008 and into 2010. I will donate to and work for candidates that REALLY support year-round. I will actively work against anyone and everyone affiliated with Brown, Whitling, Piscatelli, Hallman, or Treebul.

While everyone seems fixated on HilliaryBarackJohnMikeAndRon, we need to remember that ultimately what happens right here affects us more directly than what happens in Washington.

Act locally.
Scott

Anonymous said...

Informative article
http://www.charlotte.com/breaking_news/story/485496.html

Anonymous said...

I find some irony in what Lori Rogers said about her concern that the BoE if working to underpopulate and then close down HES because here we are with another school in the district with less than 300 students (much less)and no one seemed to seriously entertain the thought of closing it down and redistributing the students. I know this idea was on the table but no one was willing to give it a second thought. Why? This lets me know that HES is more expendable than the other school and is that simply because it's a school of choice or because the parents at HES have ticked them (BoE) more than the other school? Why do I feel like this board is always trying to flex its muscles with HES parents instead of making decisions that make sense? They continue to indulge in the pity party at the other school instead of doing what makes sense. HES is being punished for what?? High performance--an unbalanced population that is out of any parent's control. While the other school performs poorly and continues to lose clientele but remains open with no foreseeable closure. I am not trying to start another debate between the schools. I just think it's ironic.

Anonymous said...

The reason that HES is such a target is that it is an "escape" for Non FRL families who would otherwise dread going to Central. So, in essence, HES creates the imbalance by its existence and its proximity to a school in a bad neighborhood.

In the beginning, I definitely thought that Central should be closed - we joked that Central Office could move there w/o even changing the sign. That idea was never ever considered by the board and I couldn't fathom why. They wanted the kids there to experience the 'Peer Effect', but no one wants to attend Central. So it is obvious that it would be an across- -the-board solution to acquiring more space for the Administrative offices and eliminating a shrinking/failing school. I speculate that some of the Central kids would come to HES b/c it is close.

All I know is that the Andy Sachs meetings, the scores of parents who spoke as well as the Task Force all had some ideas with great potential. This BoE has been on a runaway train and ABSOLUTELY REFUSED to use any common sense - even when they paid for Andy Sachs to brainstorm.

A lawsuit is the only way to get their attention. Feb. 28 marks the one year anniversary of the initial meeting where merger was presented. This board has been so negligent - it is a true crime against all of the kids in the district.

Tink's Mom

Anonymous said...

I don't think that thought in the previous post is ironic - I think it is ignorant.

It is clear that parents at Central want to be there - or they would have either taken the opportunity to apply to HES or utilize their rights to opt out to one of two other schools that were on the same schedule. Central loves their community like we do - they want it improved, but no more accept the idea of shipping their kids off somewhere else than we do.

The issue here has nothing to do with Central - it has to do with a long standing ambition of the board to undermine the year-round program in the county. Recall several years ago that Cameron Park was also significantly underpopulated - and no one discussed closing it then, either. This was just before the last re-districting.

They are not focusing on Central, just like they did not focus on Cameron Park, and like they are not focusing on Efland - because they are more concerned with undermining HES.

Do not take your eye off the ball. The ball is not at Central. It is at the central office.

Anonymous said...

See article in Durham Herald today:
"Preliminary analysis indicates that the county might face a number of funding challenges this spring when developing the fiscal 2008-09 budget, according to county staff."

I think there is reason to worry that the 300,000 dollars of title I money that the school board is diverting from central and efland may not be 'replaced' with county funds as they say it will be. Where will this extra $300,000 come from?

Anonymous said...

Did the Board even talk to the County Commissioners about diverting the $300,000 of funds from Central and Efland Cheeks? It's up to the Commissioners to grant funding at a local level, not the School Board.

They may have some dialogue with the Commissioners that is not currently common knowledge, I just don't know. I do know that $300,000 will be hard to replace.

Anonymous said...

During the budget discussions for 2008-2009, please show up and ask the Board questions! Don't be surprised if the Board gives the standard line "we asked for a sizeable increase in funding, but the County Commissioners don't care about Orange County Education". This was stated by Dr. Carraway, Liz Brown, and Dennis Whitling last year. Carraway is gone, so we don't have to listen to her, and Dennis has some serious personal issues he's having to deal with, so the last thing he wants to do is to insult the Commissioners. Liz, however, is still on the Board. Good thing to do is to ask her many questions and see how many times she will say "Can't we just eliminate HES?". This line was spouted by her on many occassions.

The question that everyone needs to ask is "How are you going to replace of $300,000 of funds?" When they say "We will ask the County Commissioners to up the funding", we all need to shout back in tandem "THAT LOGIC IS IN DIRECT CONFLICT OF YOUR PAST REASONING!!!". I am tired of this Board (not talking about Anne or Al, who are great) sticking their collective heads in the sand and ignoring the real issue: improving education for all of Orange County.

Anonymous said...

"Carraway is gone, so we don't have to listen to her."

Carraway has been gone for a few months and a new Supe has been in place for a few months. Has anyone approached him? I have not heard what Rhode's position is on this. He was present when this was proposed and voted on.

Why not question Rhodes? Carraway proposed a merger, which did not happen. What is happening now has nothing to do with her.

Anonymous said...

Keep in mind that Central Office employees are employees of the Board of Education - and therefore are obligated to carry out Board policies as well as fulfill any tasks the Board asks of them.

While they may exert an opinion to members of the Board, that does not mean the Board must or will follow their advice. This current policy is a good example.

Anonymous said...

anonymous at 6:27 a.m states: "Carraway proposed a merger, which did not happen. What is happening now has nothing to do with her."

Totally disagree. It has everything to do with Carraway. Carraway's plan was not the merger per se, but an attempt to eliminate HES. She did not want HES to exist anymore. Until mindsets at the Central Office changes about HES (mindsets developed under Carraway), we will be in a fight for a long time. She may not be here (aka why we don't have to listen to her) but we sure can feel her negative impact at our school. To say anything to the contrary would be naive.

Concerning Pat Rhodes, I have had several conversations with him. He is trying to understand what the problem is, and how to solve it. He's more interested in educating our children as opposed to having them be a sociology project. Pat will change things for the better, but it will take time. He has been in the job for 4 months, so he's trying his best not to make to many waves.

Anonymous said...

To anonymous 7:14 pm:

Ditto your remarks. We don't have to listen to Carraway's nonsense, but we are having to DEAL with the nonsense that she has left. To add to your emphasis, Carraway sold the powers to be that HES was not in the best interests of Orange County.

Anonymous said...

This just in...Steve Halkiotis has filed for Orange County School Board!!

Anonymous said...

In the Durham Herald on Thursday:

Halkiotis said the main impetus for seeking a spot on the school board was the debate over whether to merge Hillsborough Elementary and Central Elementary and the general state of some lower performing schools. He thinks the district should "focus on the two elementaries that need the most help" and "leave the best performing elementary alone."

Anonymous said...

Did you note the comment about Steve from Mr. Jacobs? "I don't think Steve operates secretly," Jacobs said.

Did anybody else find this comment interesting?? I wonder what he meant.

Anonymous said...

"I don't think Steve operates secretly," Jacobs said.

If you have ever had the opportunity to see Dr. Halkiotis in action, especially at county commissioner meetings, you would know exactly what Mr. Jacobs means. When he is on his soapbox, Dr. H is extremely passionate and demonstrative. He wears his emotions on his sleeves. It is refreshing.