Archive
Obama bows to the Burger King
Ohio government school calamity days being cut from five to three next year
Ohio [government] schools hard hit by this year’s snow storms still have five calamity days for canceling classes without having to make up the lost time. That changes next year.
Districts will have only three calamity days beginning in the 2010-2011 school year.
Educators, state officials and others say making up lost days can complicate school planning and even add costs, at times. But many support reducing calamity days in favor of providing as much class time as possible for students.
They say instructional time is necessary as schools in Ohio and around the country look to improve student achievement.
The cutback was a compromise after legislators decided against Gov. Ted Strickland’s more extensive proposal to add 20 more school days over the next 10 years.
Several school districts in the Northern Miami Valley have already exceeded this year’s calamity days due to heavy snow. Some are thinking about extending the school year to make them up.
Reason #
to homeschool.
Registration opens March 1 for Spring Home School Day at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
Home school children, ages 3-18, can participate in educational activities during Spring Home School Day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 12 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
Admission to the museum and most activities are free; however, advance registration is recommended. Registration opens at 9 a.m. on March 1, and forms and additional information are available at http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/education/homeschool/index.asp. Space is limited, and registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Educational programming includes:
- Things That Fly: Ages 3-5; free
- The Chocolate Pilot: Ages 5-7; free
- Dreams of Flying: Ages 7-9; free
- Let’s Go Fly a Kite!: Ages 9-12; $2.50 per student
- Space Pioneer: The Shuttle Legacy: Ages 10-14; free
- Model Rocket Building 101: Ages 10-14; $9 per student
- Where in the World Are You?: Ages 12-18; free
- Real Hereos!: Ages 12-18; free
Guided tours, scavenger hunts and aerospace demonstration stations programs are also available for the entire family. Those who are interested may come for a full day or just one activity. Visitors may also visit the Presidential Gallery or choose to watch an IMAX movie or ride the Morphis flight simulator at a discounted price.
If you wish to pack your lunch, a picnic area is available outside the museum. Food, snacks and drinks (including water) may not be brought into the building. A cafe is available on the second floor if you prefer to purchase your food here. Be advised that the outside picnic area is a considerable walking distance away from the activities. Be sure to adjust your timing accordingly.
For more information, contact the museum’s Education Division at (937) 255-4666, (937) 255-4652 or (937) 255-4646.
The National Museum of the United States Air Force is located on Springfield Street, six miles northeast of downtown Dayton. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day). Admission and parking are free.
Reason # to homeschool.
Seth Morgan receives Family First PAC endorsement
Press Release:
Huber Heights, Ohio – Auditor of State candidate Seth Morgan, CPA was endorsed by Family First PAC for Auditor of State.
“Family First is honored to endorse Representative Seth Morgan CPA for Auditor of State. Seth Morgan has a proven record on the issues of limited government, school choice, pro-life, the sanctity of marriage, and responsible spending and taxation,” said Lori Viars, Executive Director of Family First.
“Seth has proven himself as a solid fiscal conservative and social conservative, as well as a man of integrity. With his credentials and experience as a CPA, Ohioans could not ask for a more qualified watchdog for our tax dollars,” Viars said.
Family First is a conservative political action committee serving Ohio and Northern Kentucky. More info can be found at www.familyfirstpac.org.
Seth Morgan, CPA was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 2008 after serving seven years on the Huber Heights City Council. He is a Small Business Owner and Certified Public Accountant. For more information about Seth Morgan visit www.SethMorgan.org.
Over 900 pink slips set for San Francisco government schools
ABC News to cut 20% of its workforce
Sixty-two years ago today: NASCAR was born
Six days after its first race was held, NASCAR was officially incorporated as the National Association for Stock Car Racing, with race promoter Bill France as president. From the beginning, stock car racing had a widespread appeal with its fan base. As the legend goes, the sport evolved from Southern liquor smugglers who souped up their pre-war Fords to outrun the police. NASCAR brought the sport organization and legitimacy. It was Bill France who realized that product identification would increase enthusiasm for the sport. He wanted the fans to see the cars they drove to the track win the races on the track. By 1949, all the postwar car models had been released, so NASCAR held a 150-mile race at the Charlotte Speedway to introduce its Grand National Division. The race was restricted to late-model strictly stock automobiles. NASCAR held nine Grand National events that year. By the end of the year, it was apparent that the strictly stock cars could not withstand the pounding of the Grand Nationals, so NASCAR drafted rules to govern the changes drivers could make to their cars. Modified stock car racing was born. Starting in 1953, the major auto makers invested heavily in stock car racing teams, believing that good results on the track would translate into better sales in the showroom. In 1957, rising production costs and tightened NASCAR rules forced the factories out of the sport. Today NASCAR racing is the fastest growing spectator sport in America.
Still looking for those black faces at PMSNBC
Paging Mr. Maddow… Would Mr. Maddow please pick up the white courtesy phone?
Seth Morgan, CPA receives Greene County endorsement for Auditor of State
From a press release:
Huber Heights, Ohio – Auditor of State candidate Seth Morgan, CPA was endorsed by the Greene County Republican Party with 60 percent of the vote on Thursday, February 18.
“Seth Morgan continues to be recognized as the most qualified candidate of either party for Auditor of State,” said Rob Scott, Friends of Seth Morgan Communications Director. “This endorsement further builds on the huge base of support Seth has gathered across Ohio.”
Ohio Republican Chairman Kevin DeWine currently serves as a Greene County Central Committee member and resides in the county. Both Morgan and his primary opponent Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost were in attendance to ask for the county’s endorsement for state auditor.
The Greene County endorsement is the second county endorsement Seth Morgan has received in more than a week.
Seth Morgan, CPA was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 2008 after serving seven years on the Huber Heights City Council. He is a Small Business Owner and Certified Public Accountant. For more information about Seth Morgan visit www.SethMorgan.org.
Kettering voters to decide 6.9-mill operating levy for Kettering Government Schools in May
Voters in Kettering City Schools district will be asked to approve a 6.9-mill operating levy May 4. The district’s board of education unanimously approved the ballot issue Tuesday, Feb. 16.
Members also voted to make James Schoenlein the district’s superintendent. Schoenlein, who has been with the district for 15 years, had been interim superintendent since August after Robert Mengerink resigned to take a job in Cleveland.
The owner of a house valued at $100,000 would pay $211.31 per year if the 5-year levy is approved, according to Sam Braun of the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office. It would generate $9.1 million annually for the district.
I was among a dozen other people who met with Dr. Schoenlein last Wednesday to listen to their argument for why we should vote for the levy. Steve Clark, Treasurer for Kettering Government Schools (KGS), began the presentation going over his background then showing an award that KGS received in 2007. He then went over the definition of a mill, assessed valuation. and House Bill 920 which he used to give an example of how the amount of tax is calculated. Next he discussed how the new state funding formula determines the number of teachers & other employees needed to operated at the minimum or adequate level, calculates the amount required to operate at the minimum or adequate level, and how the state and School District are responsible for their respective parts. In FY10, the amount of funding from the state of Ohio for each student was $1,658. We know that KGS spends on average $11,200 per student per year. By my math, this means that the citizens of Kettering are being taxed roughly $9,542 per student per year, and that will increase to $11,392 by 2014.
Schoenlein then read over a small report that expanded on what Clark had in that in his presentation it was from a marketing prospective than from a financial perspective. It began with the comment that “The Kettering City School District is a great place for children to go to school.” This was repeated ad nauseum for nearly an hour. The fact that it is or is not a “great place for children to go to school” was never in question, the fact that they want to raise our taxes was and as easily dismissed as a trivial matter. The marketing presentation continued to boast and brag about their standardized test scores, graduation rates, where Fairmont graduates move on to, the Miami Valley Career Tech Center, and the Career Education Tech Center. At the CETC they offer classes in engineering, bio-tech, allied health, construction trades, digital design, information technology, automotive, and radio/TV. He then continued the presentation praising their Kettering Alternative Program, their “impressive facilities”, “award-winning music and art programs”, and how parents are offered the option of before-school and after-school child care.
His presentation then makes an amazing comment claiming that “The Kettering City School District has been Frugal with Taxpayer Money”. They state how they have cut $7.6 Million as well as lower utility costs, eliminated through attrition and retirement (note they didn’t fire anyone) 57 positions, administrators accepted a pay freeze, and teachers received the lowest pay raise in twenty years. After this, they write that “Only budget items that are deemed absolutely necessary have been added.” They continue by noting that employees have been added “for the influx of immigrants who cannot read or write English”. When asked later about this Schoenlein explained that due to this “influx of [124] immigrants” they have to support thirty-seven different languages. When asked how many were illegal they didn’t answer the question. The presentation went on to describe the student population, and teacher quality making the argument that in order for a teacher to be “high-performing” we need to pass this levy. He then referenced the poll that they paid $19K to support their levy, and concluded with the statement that Kettering voters want quality schools; which again, was never in question.
He then opened it up to questions from those of us attending the meeting. I had made a number of notes the first of which was about the Career Education Tech Center and if there were any additional fees or costs passed on to the students who elected to take these courses as opposed to a class in German. He explained that the only costs for students at the CETC were for the automotive classes to provide for their tools. None of the other classes had any such requirement. The next item I brought to his attention was the before-school and after-school child care. Both of them stated that this program was “self-funded”, leaving it at that, not elaborating any further.
Schoenlein stated several times as well that if the levy fails on 4 May 2010, they will go back to the voters again in November 2010, and continue to present it to the public until it passes. At one point he responded to a question about how they received around $150K for a program to have PCs in classrooms which allowed students to teach themselves. He said that this was not only stimulus money from the federal government which didn’t include any additional costs to the district, but that it was “free money”. When he made this comment it was like pouring gasoline on a smoldering fire. We attempted to explain ad nauseum that it wasn’t “free money” in that it was money confiscated from taxpayers by the federal government. One person commented that this exemplified the problem with government as a whole in their failure to be fiscally responsible. At this point Schoenlein looked as if someone had slapped him down to the ground. His response, that he then repeated several times was remarkable in its arrogance: “On what grounds do I have to slash the budget?!?”
Keep that in mind when they ask you for more of your hard earned money at the polls on 4 May 2010.
Return of the Conservatives 