By Rick

October 25, 2008 11:04 AM | Link to this

School supporter, except for your first sentence and the last two sentences, I do not understand your post. What does the lack of discipline in the Dayton Public Schools have to do with Marc Dann’s lawsuit against certain charter schools?

By Concerned Mom of 3

October 24, 2008 10:23 AM | Link to this

Dennis- Don’t forget that Dayton is a little different that the other big urban districts. Dayton has many, many more charter schools available. Maybe the parents who care about a good education have placed their children in the charter/voucher schools. The result is that the “bottom of the barrel” is left behind. I have said it over and over and over again… the root of the problem isn’t necessarily a top heavy administration, a greedy union, or bad teachers… the test scores are low because of the ignorant parents! Did you know that some of the students with obvious special needs are not getting services because the issue of poor attendance has not yet been resolved? The parents won’t come in for a meeting so the teachrs can initiate testing for special education services… It is truly a crime that these parents are allowed to neglect the kids the way they do.

By Richard

October 21, 2008 11:02 AM | Link to this

I have been criticle of the old Board because of all of the mistakes made by them. Many will not surface for awhile. I have also met Dr. Stanic and I must give great credit to the “new” board members that hired him. No one can explain away all of the issues and problem that have contributed to Dayton Public Schools being in their current situation. Frankly, it would be a big waste of time. I WILL GIVE DR. STANIC, ISAACS, MIMS, TAYLOR, THOMPSON, NERNEY, LEE AND LACEY the support they are asking for by voting yes for the levy and doing anything else that I can to support the community and our children.

By Dennis

October 16, 2008 10:43 PM | Link to this

Interesting that Dayton Public Schools is the 2nd highest district in spending per student and yet they are last once again in the state when it came to being graded. I appears the problem is not one of money but is elsewhere i.e. the way students are taught or maybe a district to heavy with administration or a teachers union that is more interested and making sure they all have jobs instead being concerned about teaching kids. My personal thought is the district is so focussed now on teaching kids to pass the state tests that any chance for real learning is gone.

By Dennis

October 11, 2008 9:13 AM | Link to this

Tom stated in his post: Pure and simple: “People that vote against the levy are voting against the education of children.How much more selfish can someone be?” Tom,I would start off by stating that voting against a levy is not voting against the education of children.It could be a response to those asking that you do a better job with the money you have been given. It could be that voters are concerned for their own financial well being, it also could be you have competition with Sinclair community college and the 2 Health and Human Services levies and people are just not going to vote a third property tax increase in 2 years. I am voting against the levy but I am voting against the levy partly out concern for my own financial well being and partly die to the way the Dayton Public School system has sought additional funding. We all benefit from educating our children yet not everyone shares the burden of the cost to educate our children. Troy and Xenia have both gone to a payroll tax that everyone who lives in their school district and I think this is the right way for Dayton as well. Now, I hate taxes as much as anyone else, but a tax that all pay I can live with. Property owner’s are not the only ones who benefit from our children being educated. We all do and the reasons given by those for the levy also apply: i.e. a good education system attracts new businesses and people to our community; property values increase; a decrease in crime etc. Since 2000 (the year I bought my home)I have seen my property taxes go up over $300. I work in manufacturing my .030 -.035 cent raises do not begin to offset the this increases as well as the increases, in health care, fuel, food and utilities. Many of you face the same increases I do. so in answer to Tom a vote against the levy is not a vote against educating children for some it is saying enough is enough as to the constant requests for levies and to increases of our property taxes. For me it is about using a levy to get monies approved when their are other alternatives out their being used by other communities where the burden is equally shared. Maybe Dayton Public Schools should look at the alternatives and then come back to voters with a alternative I could and I believe many of us could support. Thank you for your time.

By School Supporter

October 10, 2008 7:51 AM | Link to this

Rick writes, “DPS have consistently refused to discipline …” Dr. Stanic already made student conduct a priority. If you want to guarantee your concerns are addressed, assemble a timeline with the information you’ve presented to the DPS board. Send it to Assistant Attorneys General Todd R. Marti, Michael D. Allen, and Daniel Fausey at 30 East Broad Street, 16th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215 (all three are named in the AG’s complaint, Marti appears to be lead). In your cover letter, mention that the State of Ohio might want to set aside some money to pay attorneys fees for the defendants in Marc Dann’s charter lawsuit—since the targeted charter schools don’t have the discipline problems you claim prevent learning in DPS. Copy Dr. Stanic and the board. Better yet, give the assistant attorneys general a call at (614) 466-9577. Ask them if they will take your concern seriously, or if you should just send your information to the defendants’ attorneys. You might also suggest the Inspector General investigate whether any officeholder endorsed by the OEA (teachers’ union) is competently attending to the state’s business—the sun is setting on bureaucrats who hurt kids. In any case, vote for the DPS levy. Dr. Stanic and the district can’t fix years of accumulated neglect and tread water at the same time. With the help of voters, better days can be ahead for Dayton schoolchildren.

By Rick

October 9, 2008 8:50 AM | Link to this

This is a contract they cannot meet. The DPS have consistently refused to discipline refractory students at a rate that allows the other students to learn. Until they do that, increasing the income of DPS will not result in improvement.

By Mary

October 9, 2008 7:02 AM | Link to this

MM, I hear you, but a lot of those ignorant, irresponsible parents you are complaining about were educated in public schools for at least 12 years to the tune of $150,000 each. Instead of worrying about their self esteem, whether they get athletic scholarships, or a date to the prom, help teach them to become responsible adults by teaching them civics, history, health and biology.

By Rick

October 8, 2008 7:10 PM | Link to this

Unless and until the DPS gets serious about discipline it simply makes no sense to pass a levy.

By Tom

October 8, 2008 4:50 PM | Link to this

Pure and simple: People that vote against the levy are voting against the education of children. How much more selfish can someone be? You can blame it on parents or administration or the economy, but bottom line is that the children will be the only ones to suffer if the levy fails. I was teacher in DPS and was laid off in the last levy failure. I could find another job, but the kids couldn’t just find another school district.

By MM

October 8, 2008 4:46 PM | Link to this

Dayton’s per pupil expenditure is so high because of the huge number of significantly handicapped students served. So the average student gets roughly 13.5 thousand spent on him/her while there is a huge population, for such a small district, that requires specialized services to the tune of 80,000 a year. Ahain, this goes back to the parents. Stop doing drugs and drinking when you are pregnant. Better yet stop having kids until you are prepared to care for them properly and for God’s sake consider who you breed with. Everything that is you and your partner, and your families, is likely to show up in your kids. If I hear, “I never thought of that before I got pregnant” one more time I am going to scream. Dayton kids just keep getting more and nore expensive to educate because of the tremendous problems they bring to school with them.

By joe_mamma

October 8, 2008 3:34 PM | Link to this

Doesn’t a contract usually have some type of consequence if seller doesn’t deliver? Where is the part that spells out what happens if the district doesn’t deliver on these items?

By Lea

October 8, 2008 3:31 PM | Link to this

Forget the tests and the spending. Isn’t educating our kids more important than teaching the test?

By School Supporter

October 8, 2008 3:10 PM | Link to this

I’ve had the opportunity to hear some of the chatter about Dr. Stanic and future reforms. It is beyond dispute that a new sheriff is in town. Some very influential Daytonians see a window of opportunity to become a turnaround model for the state of Ohio. If Dr. Stanic gets the voter support he needs, big changes will happen. No one is looking to repeat past superintendencies.

By Mary

October 8, 2008 2:00 PM | Link to this

What did we ever get with Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America. Whether a Dayton voter or not, I would be more interested in an item by item breakdown and signed contract of how the money would be spent to achieve the goals. That is what we get when we replace a roof or have maintenance done on the car.