Watching The Watchers

I said a few months ago that I wanted to keep my blog positive, to just share the positive things that are going on in Bridgeport.  I really do want to do that, but things are what they are, and I have to call things out as I see them.
It has been a struggle for me to try and keep up with the blog because of family issues.  I haven't posted anything in about 9 days.  Please don't think it is because I don't care about Bridgeport.  And don't think it is because I am not aware of things going on here.  I may be a little behind others in keeping up with events, but eventually I do find things out.
I truly would just like to walk away from this blog because of the time and energy that it takes for me to keep up right now.  If I did give up this blog I wouldn't worry about the Bridgeport Township government, the trustees, the manager, the DDA department, the police department.  I think they are all doing a great job and I have a lot of faith in them.  I see a bright future for Bridgeport with all of them in place.  My only regret is that I haven't been able to keep up with sharing all the wonderful things they have been doing.

It is the future of our school district, our school board, the future of the children that keeps me from walking away.  I have some serious concerns about it all.  I suspect there are some out there that think I am a rambling maniac, that I have some personal problems, maybe even a personal vendetta.    That is not what is going on, please believe me.  I have some serious concerns, some I have shared, some I have not.    There is some information I have been keeping for almost a year that I really want to share but haven't done it.  Not yet, but I see it as being necessary in the future.  Sorry if this sounds really crazy.

So back now to the school district and the school board.  I have seen some good people done wrong in this district, and have seen some bad people come out ahead.  It is disheartening to watch.  There are some current board members that have made accusations against others in the past that they didn't know their place or their roles on the school board, in the district, that they were overstepping their bounds.  But now from what I am seeing and hearing, those same board members are way overstepping their bounds, way overstepping their responsibilities and their duties.  It is just more of their hypocrisy. Sad. 

I have stated in the past that if someone is claiming racism and I don't see it that way, I will say so.  BUT, when I do see racism, I will call it out!  There is something going on right now in this school district that I do believe is based on racism.  One person that is involved I do believe is a racist.  Things I have seen in this persons behavior and heard from this persons mouth myself, makes be believe they are a racist.  We have some really good people in our district.  They care about the children, they make a difference in the lives of the children.  We can not afford to lose these kinds of people.  We have already lost one and that was a sad day for the Bridgeport students.  What I am hearing right now sounds like there is a witch hunt going on towards another of our good guys. There are some innuendos or accusations being made that are way out of line!!

Here is my promise to Bridgeport - If this nonsense doesn't stop, If you try to continue with this, If you try to destroy this good man - I Will Not Tolerate It!  No one in Bridgeport should tolerate it!
To the person or persons that are involved in this, I Will Come After You!  And that is not just for the person or persons actively involved in this -- This is also for the ones that are sitting back and keeping your mouths shut, Sitting back and covering your own ass so you keep your jobs or your little positions.  I am not threatening anyone with any kind of violence or anything like that.  I am just saying that there are some truths that need to come out, I will tell them.

Thieves And Liars Redux

Have I mentioned this month how much I truly despise Thieves and Liars?  Well I do, more than you can imagine.    So here is a reminder to everyone - YOU CAN NEVER TRUST A THIEF OR A LIAR!!  They will steal again - They will lie again.  Some people can never change!

 

A Bad Moon Rising

 

 

Bridgeport Township DDA Board Meeting March 8th, 2017

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Bridgeport Township Board Meeting March 7th, 2017

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Bridgeport Spaulding School Board Meeting February 27th, 2017

On the agenda:
- Citizen Participation begins at 0:42
- Agenda Adjustments begins at 11:28
- District Improvement Plan Presentation by Regina Lamontagne begins at 12:40
- Personnel Report begins at 1:09:08
- Discussion of the Curriculum Committee Meeting  (includes a discussion about consolidating Thomas White and Atkins) begins at 1:11:40
- Board And Superintendent Comments begin at 1:44:30
© 2017 Carla Citizen All Rights Reserved

In the citizen participation period, the Bridgeport Girl's Bowling coach Amy Morales introduced Bridgeport Senior Ally Neelis.  Ally has qualified for the individual state finals and is the first girl to qualify in the schools program history.  Also qualified for the individual boys state finals is Bridgeport Senior Kris Polk.  They needed some financial support to cover the costs of travel etc... to go and I hope they received it.  Congratulations to both Ally and Kris!

Regina Lamontagne provided an almost hour long update on the District Improvement Plan.  I am not qualified to say if this is a good plan or a bad plan.   It sounds good and also sounds complicated.  I truly hope they can make it work.  The Bridgeport students deserve the best!!

It took me several days to get this board meeting video uploaded and ready to share.  It has taken me even longer to write this blog post because there is something that has been weighing on my mind and I have been deciding on how to address it or whether to even address it at all.  There are actually many things that weigh on my mind with the Bridgeport School District but I will keep it to just this one item in this post.

It is the plan they talked about in the Building & Grounds/Finance meeting on Mon Feb 27th, which I do have posted on this blog and YouTube, and then again in this regular board meeting.  They are talking about consolidating Thomas White Elementary with Atkins Elementary and Atkins Middle School.  Kindergarten through 8th grade would all be housed in the Atkins building.  I can usually see both sides of an argument, I can even debate both sides with myself, but this is one I am struggling with.

They have looked at this option in the past for the cost savings it would possible produce, but I believe that it ended when it was decided that the cost savings would not be enough to justify the change.  The Bridgeport School District will be getting out of deficit soon it is projected, which will be great.  We have the much needed renewal of the 10 year 18 mill non-homestead levy and the 3 mill sinking fund levy up for vote on May 2nd and I hope that they both pass.  The financial health of our district is an issue that should be getting top priority, without it we are doomed.  Bridgeport does not have the tax base that it used to have, and we continue to bleed students from our district which means we continue to bleed money coming in.  I don't believe that we are bleeding as many students as we were but any loss of students is a loss to our district in so many ways.

They say they are looking at this option now for academic reasons.  They do discuss this line of thinking in both of these meetings on Monday. That is where I am struggling, to see their line of thinking.  My question is why can't they solve those academic issues without having to consolidate the schools to do it?  Will consolidating the schools actually help to solve those issues?  Are the underlying problems causing the academic issues so ingrained in our district that it would take a total overhaul to fix them?  Would it take a complete overhaul from the school board, to the administration, to the teachers and staff to fix them? Another words, a total house cleaning.  Is it someday going to require the state to step in to fix the academic issues?  I pray not!!

When I look at the school districts surrounding us, especially the higher achieving districts, I don't see any school that has 9 grades housed in 1 building.  You have to take into account that some of these other districts are larger districts, with larger tax bases.  Even the smaller districts, ones closer to the size of Bridgeport, are benefiting from the school of choice option and drawing in students from the poorer performing districts. Saginaw Township has several elementary schools with only grades K to 2nd, several with K to 3rd or K to 5th in one building.  I believe Freeland has K to 2nd.  Frankenmuth and Birch Run have K to 4th. Carrollton has K to 5th.  Would having 9 grades in 1 building truly be condusive to academic success and to the environment for the students?  I don't have an answer to that question, but I hate to see our district be used as a test and end up failing.  It is the students who will suffer the most if it turns out to be a failure.  And also in the end the whole school district, and the township, will suffer if it turns out to be a failure. There is a lot at stake here and failure should never be an option.

So it sounds like consolidating these three schools into one building would create one new school.  There would no longer be a school in our district that is in priority status.  At least that is what I got out of discussions from both of these meetings.  That sounds great doesn't it?  It was even mentioned in both meetings that getting out from under the School Reform Office would be a unintended beneficial consequence of consolidating the three schools into one new school.  But if the underlying issues that caused the school to fall into priority status are not fixed, then how long before the new school falls back into priority status again?  If only the same several grades continue to fail, will the entire new school fall into priority status?  I don't know how having the 9 grades in the one school will affect those kinds of issues.   So maybe by consolidating the schools into one they can bypass the SRO for awhile at least, but what about the students in all of this?  Will the schools continue to fail for the students?  What will the future hold for the students?  This is their future.  There really is only one priority in all of this and that is the students, PERIOD!!  If they can get around the SRO but continue to fail the students, then what is the point in it all?  Will it just be delaying the inevitable?

One last concern I have about this plan is that some parents will not support this plan and instead will pull their students from Bridgeport and move them to another school district, or never enroll their students in Bridgeport to begin with.  I do not know how parents will feel about this.  If parents will pull their children from Bridgeport because of this plan, Bridgeport can not afford to lose many more students.  They have not voted on this plan yet in a school board meeting but I think they will be voting on it in the near future.  From what I heard in these two meetings, it sounds like they are seriously looking at this and making plans on moving forward with it.  If there are parents or concerned residents in our district that approve or disapprove of this plan - you need to let the administration and school board members hear your thoughts on this.

Bridgeport Spaulding School Board Building & Grounds/Finance Committee Meeting February 27th, 2017

- Meeting starts with some discussion of the option they are looking at of consolidating Thomas White Elementary with Atkins Elementary and Middle School.
- Discussion about the damage from the printer fire at Atkins begins at 7:55
- More discussion about the possible consolidation of Thomas White and Atkins starts at 15:42
- Discussion of maintenance and repairs for the high school buildings and other school properties including the old grade school/Administration building begins at 18:53
- Discussion of projected budget for 2017/18, including discussion of the BEA contract and custodial work begins at 37:40
- Discussion of the two ballot proposals begins at 52:40
- More discussion of the proposal for Thomas White and Atkins consolidation focusing on the academic and other issues begins at 57:20
© 2017 Carla Citizen All Rights Reserved

Sorry about the volume with the video.  Someday I will invest in a external microphone to help pick up the audio, until then you will need to turn your volume all the way up.
It was a very informative meeting.  I don't think the general public truly understands all the many factors that are involved in the running of our school district.  Hopefully people will watch these committee meetings and understand the kind of decisions that the administration and board members have to make.

Bridgeport Spaulding School District Ballot Proposals For May 2nd, 2017

There will be two proposals on the May 2nd special election for the Bridgeport Spaulding School District.  One is for the renewal of the 18 mill levy for 10 years.  This is not a new tax or a tax increase for anyone and is only non homestead properties.

The second item on the ballot will be for the 3 mill sinking fund levy for a 10 year period.  It will only be used for much needed repairs of school buildings, school security and technology.  This will be replacing the 6 mill bonded debt levy that expired in 2016.

THESE TWO BALLOT PROPOSALS ARE FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT AND OUR STUDENTS.   VOTE YES ON MAY 2ND!!

Things You Can Never Buy

My Monday Musings ....  The most important things in life are things that money can't buy.  Some people in this world will never understand that.

Bridgeport Spaulding Schools And Transparency

Every year the schedule is set for the regular school board meetings and that schedule is available on the Board Of Education page on the schools website and also posted by the door at the high school. I share that information each year here on my blog so the public can easily find it.  They also hold special board meetings if necessary and they used to hold the boards' committee meetings on a fairly regular basis.  They have the Finance/Building & Grounds Committee, the Policy Committee, the Personnel Committee and also a Curriculum Committee.
Since the spring of 2015 I have been getting notices by email of any special board meetings and any committee meetings.  I had requested to be notified by email of the meetings and it has not been a problem until now.  Back in December 2016 I sent an email to the school administration inquiring about the meeting notices because I had not received any in months.  I was told that they had not had any committee meetings in months except for a Curriculum Committee meeting that had been held in October 2016.  I didn't inquire as to why I had not received a notice for that one because I just figured it was an oversight.  I was very busy back in October and probably would not have been able to attend anyways.  I also asked in this email if they would still be sending out notices in 2017 for the special and committee meetings and was told they would.  They asked if I would like to remain on the list for those meeting notices and I said that yes I would.
We are now in the middle of February 2017 and I have yet to receive a notice of any special or committee meetings.  They held a special board meeting on January 30th 2017 that was a training session for the board members conducted by the MASB.  I did not receive any notice of that but did happen to find it on the BOE page on the school website.   I was surprised that I didn't get a notice but didn't pursue my puzzlement at not getting a notice.
At the regular board meeting on Monday February 13th, I discovered that they had held another Curriculum Committee meeting earlier that day and again I had not received a notice that the meeting would be held. After the regular board meeting was over I did inquire as to whether they would still be sending out the email notices about meetings and am still trying to understand the response I got.  I am not sure if I will ever get another notice about any special board or committee meetings again, but my impression is that I will not get them any longer.  My understanding of the conversation is that the special board meetings will be posted on the BOE page on the school website, and that notices for committee meetings will be posted by one door at the high school.  I did look after I left the board meeting and the notice for the curriculum meeting was posted there.

All these meetings must by law be "open" which means that anyone can attend them and I am free to record them.  From the BOE Bylaws and Policies it states:
Section 1000 - Board Bylaws
1375 Mailing of Notices and Documents to the Public

Recognizing that the public has a right to request, in writing, paper copies of any Board  documents  that  are  created,  issued  or  disseminated  on  a  regular  basis,  such  as: Notices  of  scheduled  Board  meetings,  Board  Committee  meetings  (if  such  meetings  are posted by Board policy) agendas, minutes and newsletters, the Board hereby sets the cost of  such  items  at prevailing  cost  per  page.  Printed  or  electronic  news  media  are specifically exempted from any subscription fee.

Approved: December 14, 2015
LEGAL REF: MCL 15.233, 15.266

So it would appear to me that according to their own bylaws that they would provide me with any notices of the special board and committee meetings.

The Michigan Open Meeting Act is confusing at times to go through but the jest of it is that all meetings must be open and posted prior to the meetings being held. As far as any requirements to notify members of the public, it could be a little clearer in my opinion.  I found this on the states OMA workbook:
A public body must send copies of the public notices by first class mail to a requesting party, upon the party's payment of a yearly fee of not more than the reasonable estimated cost of printing and postage.  Upon written request, a public body, at the same time a public notice of a meeting is posted, must provide a copy of the public notice to any newspaper published in the state or any radio or television station located in the state, free of charge.

Again here I would interpret it to mean that I should be notified of these meetings since I have requested to be notified.

The school fills the minimum legal requirement of the meetings being posted by just posting them on the BOE webpage and on one of the doors at the high school, but in my opinion it is a slap in the face to the spirit of the law.   All public bodies must be perceived by the public that they serve as being "Open and Transparent".  If the Bridgeport schools are no longer going to send out notices to members of the public of meetings, then that is what I call operating in the shadows.  Do they really think that members of the public should have to go to the school everyday and check that one door to see if there are going to be any meetings?  Some people might think that they don't want the public to know about the meetings, don't want the public attending.
Back in May 2015 there was an issue concerning no notice being sent out about a committee meeting.  John Rhines had forwarded me an email exchange between Pat Nelson and Carol Selby concerning that meeting. I don't know where John Rhines got that email exchange from.  In the email that Pat Nelson sent Carol Selby, he expressed concern that they had finally begun rebuilding trust with the community and the staff and he was worried that if the meeting was not being posted, that they may be in violation of the OMA and would erode the trust of the community and they would be perceived as not embracing transparency.  I do have the email exchange and can provide it if anyone doubts it.

I have to wonder what has changed since then?  Do they no longer feel they need to be perceived as open and transparent?  With everything going on with this school district now, I would think they would want to work extra hard at building the trust of the community.
So Bridgeport, if I ever get another notice of a special board meeting or a committee meeting, I will try to attend and share the video with the public.  Sorry,  but I do not have the time to go to the high school everyday and check to see if there will be meetings.  Sad dark days for Bridgeport it looks like to me.

Bridgeport Spaulding School Board Meeting February 13th, 2017

On the agenda:
- Consent Agenda: payment of bills, approval of minutes etc... begins at 1:42
- 2016-17 Amended Budget Discussion & Approval begins at 4:26
- Update on status with the School Reform Office and update from Jon Chapman begins at 14:15
- Board Member and Superintendent Comments begin at 42:56
© 2017 Carla Citizen All Rights Reserved

Again I apologize for the low volume at times during this meeting.  Some of the board member comments and discussion is very hard to hear even when you are present in the room.  They have several microphones to share among all the board members but they seem to make no effort to use them.  For the board to effectively communicate with the public, the public needs to be able to hear them.
There was no public comments at this meeting. The audience members consisted mainly of staff members.

Superintendent Carol Selby talked about how things are progressing with the School Reform Office and about the SRO's recent visit to the district. It sounds like the administration and others felt this visit went very well.  The SRO may have their review/report on our district ready by early to mid March.
Atkins Elementary Principal Jon Chapman gave a presentation concerning the visit to the elementary by the SRO, and also shares the information and data that they shared with the SRO.
There was one comment/question that surprised me.  A school board member had to ask if the elementary holds Parent - Teacher conferences.  If you have been a board member for several years and you don't know that, that is a problem in my opinion.  I know that there is almost no usable information on the schools website, but I would think that all board members would be aware of that kind of information.  I think they may hold them several times per year?
Chief Financial Officer Pete Basile discussed the 2016-17 amended budget.  I have added a copy of the budget that was handed out to the audience.  Click on the photo to see a larger more readable version.