West suggests consolidation of city/school services; is booted from committee

I am so disappointed with Keith West. West has squandered any political power he once had by the the way he has mangled his relationships with those on the school board. We all hoped that the board could work together to solve problems, but not so. Publicly attacking all the members as West has done has rendered him powerless, and as a constituent, it is as if I have no representation at all. One commenter once called him a political neophyte. Couldn’t agree more.

I don’t think West is looking for reelection and I do appreciate his honesty. I’m in the RPS and everyday parents are scrambling, trying to figure out where to send their kids to school. Parents are not content with the education nor enviroment in the public schools. It doesn’t have to be like this. We are in desperate need of wise leadership and current administration downtown is not cutting it. There is truth in West’s letter to the people.

That’s a hallmark of city government. I expect th e county administrations probably do just as much – they’re just better at hiding it, probably because they actually have successful business backgrounds.
Keep in mind that when people run for county government, the bios printed in the paper usually don’t include their number of convictions, bankruptcies, or (un)employment status. We sorta get the JV squad here in River City. That, and the huge water bills.

Why do we always label a difference of opinion retaliation? Personally I feel the same as Keith West. An it seems other parents feel the same, just check the statistics. According the the census there are at least 10,000 students in the city who do not attend RPS. I have a 4 year old and I’m dreading enrolling her in RPS. Being very active in the education of my 13 year, who attends a Richmond public school, and his school I see what’s not being done by RPS and why so many parents are beat down or just choose not to deal with the problems. When you have some school board members and administrators who don’t step foot in schools. Some School board members and administrators who would rather be the “most likely to succeed” than “the most like to effect change” or better yet “the most popular”. Passing the SOL’s are not a reflection of progress, they are a tool for NCLB. Graduation and employment rates are a better indicator of success. I would rather have my son graduate with a quality education and be suitable for gainful employment. An I’m sure if he is provided with a quality education he should have no problem passing a test.

I just think that West’s attitude contribute to NOTHING happening. And, I do not trust someone who will not send their children to RPS.

It seemed like he only listened to concerns of people who DO NOT send their children to RPS. While that is important, he failed to listen to the concerns of those of us do DO attend RPS in his district. Not only do we want our children to have a opportunity to receive a decent education, but many of us rely on non-instructional services such as reliable transportation (in and out of zone) and low cost after-school care, and funding for both of these items have been slashed.

The issues that need to be addressed to improve RPS and complex and require the skills of a negoiator and a team player. West has not served the immediate – like, we need it NOW – needs of his constituents.

Non instructional services are an issue but why should out of zone transportation be. NY and DC allow students a choice but do not provide transportation. But what’s wrong with making your neighborhood schools just as good? Why would you live in a neighborhood if you don’t want your children attending the school. Personally I believe there are bigger issues and maybe West should have listened to the parents who DO NOT send their kids to RPS. The “Good to Great” plan includes a parental/customer satisfaction component and I’m sure those parents would have something to contribute that could improve education for all of our children. If school administrators listen. His attitude aside it has to be frustrating to want to make changes and be told you need to conform. An his constituents are the 24,000 students of RPS and I believe he was trying to serve their needs through New Direction. I do not know Keith and don’t agree with him in everything but at least he and several other members are trying to do away with the old way of doing things. Repackaging old initiatives and selling them as new will continue to get the same results.

No one is more disappointed than I am. I went into this knowing it would be very difficult at best. NO ONE on the school board was elected campaigning for anything like improvement.

I was able to make some headway during the late summer/fall after the 26 called for a new school board. For a brief time the members of the board felt like something needed to be done. That’s when I put forward the New Direction. However, as the memory of the low point receded, I saw that they wanted the good publicity of the a new direction, but not the hard work of changing the things necessary to get it.

I am fully aware that I compromised any leverage I had with them. However, the choice was to work with them and MAYBE accomplish a few things, or sacrifice a few months in order to make a bigger point that the city needs to elect a better board which will serve for four years.

It is impossible to convey how difficult it is to accomplish the most trivial task. For a full year I tried to get rescinded the mega zone policy which had become outdated due to transportation changes. Doing so would have given the Seventh District equal access to all city schools. Despite widespread agreement that the policy is unfair, it is still in place. I could have circumvented this policy and put my child into Fox or Munford– but my sense of fairness ruled this out.

The issues facing parents who do or don’t send their children to the schools are the same: a quality education in a nurturing environment. If there are particular issues that need addressing, the only way your representative will know about them is if you make contact.

The 26 were right, Richmond needs a new School Board.

Let’s see …. 1. we have a Mayor who gets fed up with the double-talk coming from Deborah Jewell-Sherman and her administration and tells his highly paid lackeys to get them out of City Hall …2. We have a School Board that despite its reputation for being stupid manages to block the actions of the Mayor and his lackeys … 3. But, THIS SAME SCHOOL BOARD cannot bring itself to get rid of the duplicitous-double-talking-money-wasting-SOL score-pumping-“Let’s Suspend Them All”-even-the-elementary-school-kids-pity-me-poor-excuse-for-a-Superintendent-Deborah-Jewell-“can’t-figure-out-how-to-trim-a-budget-but-please-give-me-a-big-bonus”-Sherman?

Puh-leeeze …maybe we need a new school board(keep Wolf)and a NEW SUPERINTENDENT? A school superintendent who knows how to count beyond FIVE (the number of board members she needs to control the system)? And a school board that has the backbone and brains to remember they were elected by the people to represent the people — not to protect RPS administrators?!

And, just maybe we need citizens who are sick and tired of being sick and tired of the nonsense who are willing to throw them all out?! Just a thought.

Oh, and forget about that Gang ‘O 26 ….. once they got the money for their fancy Opera House from Bill Pantele’s Possee and attacked the School Board in a quid pro quo arrangement with Hizzoner, they be layin’ low, just like Br’er Rabbit.

And check out http://caramelizedopinions.blogspot.com/2008/03/style-and-city-schools-stalemate.html#links concerning Style’s profile of Tichi.

How come no one is talking about the recent RPS audit report http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-04-04-0194.html ? Wolf blew the whistle on Tom Sheeran awhile ago. Jewell-Sherman knew and did nothing. Make sure to read the three pages of comments along with the Times-Dispatch article.

Thank you Gray for bring it up… As I posted on the inrich.com article about the “redo”, I think it is amazing that as a local kindergarten teacher neither I nor my collegues have seen any of these purchased dictionaries, in fact I had to purchase my own elementary level dictionary. It amazes me that we have tons of “textbooks” in a “warehouse” yet I don’t have all the teachers edition materials that I should have to teach my students. I have spent hundreds of dollars of my own money to provide materials and supplies for my students to grow and learn. It is very disapointing and discouraging to me to know that so much money is being thrown down the drain. Teachers and students could benefit so much in this city, but instead the officials feel they need to pad their own pockets. IT’S DISGRACEFUL!!!

Read this article from the Times-Dispatch –there are six pages of searing reader’s comments! Yes, time for a “redo” with our “deciders” in the RPS system.

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/thursday.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-04-03-0248.html

edg, When are the PTA meetings held at Belleview? I too want Belleview to remain a public school.

Teachers and families have been fleeing Richmond Public Schools as long as I can remember and not because of publicity but because of experience. Now that things are being exposed there is a chance to fix what is wrong. For example: the Audit Report could mean next year more money to the classrooms. Publicity also means, hopefully, replacing inept leaders. RPS is having all of this publicity because more families are involved in the schools and no longer want to be chased out. This gives me hope.