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Students at Lakota East will soon perform “Oliver!” at the high school. The show takes place the first and second weeks of April. Click here to read that story and find out how to buy tickets. West students are performing “Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber on Fleet Street” on those same dates. Click here for ticket information and more about the performances.
Liberty Junior School will perform Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” play March 24, 25 and 26, 2011, at the Lakota East Freshman Theatre, 7630 Bethany Lane. The performance begins nightly at 7:30 p.m. The musical, directed by Linda Abbott, is based on Disney’s award-winning Broadway musical production. The characters include Belle (played by Kennedy Carstens), the Beast (Antonio Davis), Gaston (Jeremiah Dunn), Maurice (Josef Portugal), Lefou (Billy Siemer), Lumiere (Nick Connor), Cogsworth (Caleb Vanden Eynden), Mrs. Potts (Nikki Marietta), Babette (Paloma Clark), Madame de la Grande Bouche (Halie Kestermann), Prince (Zach Lindeman), Chip (Taylor Longworth), Monsieur D’Arque/Bookseller (Donovan Lockett), Enchantress/Ensemble (Olivia Breck), silly girls (Camilie Breck, Alexia Creamer, Leah Goodwin, Ellen Kasik, Ryann Sherman and Daisy Webb), Broom/Ensemble (Katie Blakley and Emily Gurr), Salt/Ensemble (Abigail Downs), Pepper/Ensemble (Alexis Leaym), Rug/Ensemble (Braydon Webb), Sugar/Ensemble (Andi McCarl) and Creamer/Ensemble (Laura Silvashy). Tickets are $6. Advanced ticket purchase is recommended since the show is expected to be sold out. For more information and advanced ticket sales e-mail beautyandthebeasttickets@hotmail.com. Tickets will be sold also at the door one hour before each performance.
The annual Shamrock Shuffle is scheduled for early Saturday morning at The Square @ Union Centre in West Chester Twp. So far, 24 teams have already registered to participate in the new “Shamrock Gives Back” program. It allows businesses, schools, non-profits and charitable organizations to raise $250 per 25 team adult members to go toward a cause of the team’s choice. (Two kids equal one adult.) Find out more by reading The Pulse-Journal’s Shamrock Shuffle preview article.
Click here to see photos from last year’s Shamrock Shuffle.
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“When I was in school, I walked two miles up hill…in the snow…both ways.”
I am sure this may be the response some people have to Lakota’s recent announcement that it likely will cut busing to half its student population starting Jan. 18. But, parents who spoke up at the board meeting last night had more concerns than the distance their child would have to walk.
A Woodland Elementary School parent, Julie Kruhl, said parents discussed at a PTA meeting how 597 students of the school’s 523 will lose busing. She assumes most won’t have safe routes to walk.
“I live off a subdivision off of Princeton Road,” she said. ” I invite anyone to walk Princeton Road and then walk Yankee Road and then walk Dutchland (Boulevard) at any time of day. In my mind that seems a complete impossibility.”
She expressed concerns for parents who cannot find transportation for their children. This was a sentiment expressed by several others.
Lakota officials have said it is now up to parents to find a way to get their children to school safely, because the money is not there to accommodate them. By law, the district cannot charge parents to bus their students. By law, a state minimum offering means any student that lives beyond a two-mile driving distance in grades k-8 does not have to be transported to school. And, no district is required to offer high school transportation. This means students who attend private schools also will feel the cuts. Mostly high school students are impacted, though a few who live within two miles of their private school will be in the same boat as Lakota students.
Already, parents are scrambling. Some have said they would like to network with others to plan for car-pooling. Others have said they want parents to organize a protest against the decision and demand the board reconsider its options before making this first cut.
How will this situation affect you? Will you watch the big yellow bus drive right by your home, only to pick up your neighbor’s child? Will you have to purchase another car, so your teen can drive to school?
Click here to see if you are in an exclusion zone.
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Campaign Finance Reports have been filed with the Butler County Board of Elections. The Citizens Against the Lakota Tax Levy spent $4,956 on signs and newspaper ads, with the biggest of its 11 donations coming from Treasurer Dan Varney, $1,400; Mark Sennet and his business Benchmark Properties, $1,200; Todd Smith, $1,000 and the Lakota East Commerce Center, $1,000. The For Lakota levy committee had $51,644 in donations and spent $31,401 at the time of the initial report filings. Funds mostly were spent on direct mail pieces and signs. It had dozens of smaller donations amounting to most of its contributions. Its biggest donors included the Lakota Education Association at $2,398, Turner Construction at $5,000, Petermann at $2,500, the athletic boosters at $1,000 and the Lakota Performing Arts at $1,000.
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In case you haven’t heard, Lakota’s Superintendent Mike Taylor is retiring Jan. 31. He has worked for Lakota 35 years and said it is time to focus on his family, which has been neglected the past few years.
Whether or not you approve of the decision or approve of the superintendent, this topic is one that I am sure will get plenty of attention as the district looks toward the future and its leadership. Lakota’s board is expected to interview treasurer candidates next week. It will be addressing the superintendent search as early as Oct. 11.
Many community members have expressed thoughts on how they think Lakota should be managed, who they think should lead Lakota and even what salaries people should make. I am sure there will be some sort of community feedback opportunity. But for the sake of argument, what are your thoughts on how one of the largest districts in the state is organized?
Here is one person’s suggestion, written to a school board member:
“With Mike’s retirement announcement I think that the Lakota School Board has an opportunity to review the District’s organizational structure … I think the size and complexity of the District needs a reassessment of how best to manage an enterprise with an operating budget approaching $200M and a like amount in capital assets. The enterprise employs over 1900 people, most of which are represented by a strong union with ties to state and national organizations. In addition, the district is subject to demanding state and federal regulation that is becoming more and more intrusive locally via mandates and strings-attached government subsidies. Because of its situation, I think it is time that Lakota consider hiring a bona fide Business Manager. The existing Treasurer position and Executive Director of Business Operations should report to the Business Manager. Issues of government regulation and lobbying, union relations, facilities management, contracts, and budget management/strategic planning would be the Business Manager’s responsibility. I recommend looking in the private sector for someone to fill the role. Healthcare Management professionals might be a target for recruiting because the industry is very service oriented, and issues of union representation and compliance with government regulation play a significant role in their business operation. I would narrow the Superintendent’s focus to educational and personnel administrative responsibilities to assure that the District’s responsibility in providing a first class education receives the individual’s full attention. I believe that currently the Superintendent is expected to cover too much ground, and as a result the attention to your fundamental charter of educating students is at time diluted. Regarding the open Treasurer’s position, I would move the current Assistant Treasurer into that role, and substitute the search for a Business Manager for the current recruiting of a new Treasurer. It may be that some of the candidates you already have in mind would fit the Business Manager role, but I would strengthen the criteria to include experience with broader strategic planning. I know that the School Board has a lot on its plate, but a change in the District’s organizational structure may convince more voters that Lakota is adapting to the increased complexities of today’s educational environment.”
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The Ohio Education Association and the Education Action group are facing off in a battle of words…or press releases.
Read here to find out more about the campaign the EAG launched in southwest Ohio. And read here for the interview I had with the OEA.
Below, I am pasting the press releases from each organization.
Continue reading "Billboard campaign sparks battle of words"...
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Once again, President Obama is addressing the country’s children during the school day tomorrow. Last year, you may recall the controversy this stirred. Many parents threatened to keep their students home from school to avoid indoctrination from the president. Lakota officials chose not to air the speech, but made it available to students who cared to watch it at a later date. Students at Fairfield City Schools watched it live.
Essentially, the speech talked about staying in school, working hard, keeping germs in check and other student-focused topics. One boy sitting behind the president earned 15 minutes of fame by falling asleep during the historic speech.
Lakota officials have sent information to parents about the address this year. It will not be aired during class time live on Sept. 14, but rather the day after during study halls. This will be optional, and parents may fill out a form to exclude their child from the viewing.
Did anyone watch last year’s address? Thoughts on what topics might come up in this one? Here is a link to watch the 2009 speech and see the speech live this year at 1 p.m.
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There are so many things to do this weekend, I can barely keep them all straight. From the Key Event in West Chester to Sept. 11 memorials across the county, there is enough to keep the entire family busy.
If you are interested in a wide variety of arts, check out what Miami University and the Community Foundation are offering.
And, right across town at Keehner park, you can stop in at Rezonate Music Fest — a day-long music festival. All proceeds from the event benefit Backpacks for Pine Ridge, which provides school supplies to the Lakota Sioux children on the Pine Ridge Reservation
The Cincinnati Teamsters Motorcycle Association and Tri-County Harley Davidson will be raffling off a 2010 Heritage Softail Classic Harley Davidson motorcycle at the event. Raffle tickets are just $10 each! See any TMA member or any REZonate team member to purchase one.
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I apologize for not posting a blog in several weeks. My job recently changed, and I now am covering Lakota along with Liberty and West Chester townships. This means the Lakota blog soon will change to be a community blog that relates to all three topics.
I will be covering three upcoming levies in both communities…the schools, a police levy in West Chester and a fire levy in Liberty. I would love to have sources on both sides of the issues. Please feel free to contact me via email if you would like me to call you for a quote on one of these issues.
As far as information updates, Lakota’s agenda for Monday’s meeting will be released tomorrow as will the agenda for the West Chester Twp. Board of Trustee meeting Tuesday. Stay tuned.
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Division I regional track finals
Fenwick graduation 2012
Ponitz graduation 2012
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