One more time...........

Another person has posted against the levy in my comments........


DiamondsJohn said...
You left out a couple of key facts, the average home would have to pay close to $600 more per year for 3 years. If you live in a house that is not average you are well above the $600 per year. For what you ask, more of the same. VOTE NO.
April 28, 2009 9:40 AM

Well John, lets discuss.

Lets take your post one piece at a time, but not necessarily in order. First let me address the last full sentence.

"For what you ask, more of the same."

Yes, more of the same would be lovely John. The difference in our outlook comes from our difference on what more of the same means. A continually improving and growing district, yes, I want more of the same. Continually increasing state test scores, yes I want more of the same. Continuing to increase in graduation rates, yes I want more of the same. Continuing to be recognize on a state level for academic achievements, not to even mention the growing and improving reputation in extracurricular activities, yes John, please bring on more of the same. People actually wanting to move into the area because of what it has to offer, yes John, more of the same would be wonderful. Is this district perfect, heck no. Perfection is unachievable when man runs the show, we know that. Is this a good district, heck yes its good, given time it could even be great.

Next.........

"the average home would have to pay close to $600 more per year for 3 years"

I think your numbers are a little inflated, but lets not argue about our math abilities. I will give you the benefit of the doubt for now. Lets ask this question, if your right is it worth $600 a year? Is it worth $50 a month? Is it worth $1.64 a day? Lets answer that question in two parts.

The parent:

I will answer this question at least in part from a personal perspective. My daughter gets speech therapy and ESL (English as a second language) assistance in kindergarten. She gets additional attention from teachers and aides and administrative people due to this issue. She could lose all of these things in the cut backs. Is this worth $600 a year to me, of course it is. Now, you could just say, well then you pay for what she needs, and guess what, I will end up doing that if it happens and I will do it cheerfully, But, it will cost a tremendous amount more to hire a private tutor than $600 a year, and what about the other kids using this service, its not like she is alone. In fact I might go ahead and bite the bullet and hire a Chinese speaker so she can actually learn her native tongue at the same time, but wouldn't it be cool if she could learn it in school and other kids could learn it too? My daughter enjoys the small class size that allows teachers to know if she is actually learning or just attending. My daughter has college preparatory classes to look forward too so she can achieve the necessary foundations to go on to a higher education. My daughter has facilities that will allow her to learn a multitude of different things in this ever changing global world we are moving into. Is my daughters future worth $1.64 a day? Yes it is. She is worth more than the cost of a 20 OZ. cold coke, she is worth more than a pack of cigarettes, she is worth more than a long drive that uses gas, she is worth more than that extra large fry. Is it worth it to a parent, yes, it has to be. I don't think the average person understands just how far the bar will drop if the school reduces its offerings down to the state minimum requirements. They will not only not offer extras, they will not offer the basics needed to compete in the real world, this is not a joke, it has the ability to threaten the future. We are already behind our European and Asian competitors in education, and we want to cut more?

The non parent:

If people start leaving the area due to the decline in the school and the inevitable increase in crime, do you think your property values will drop more than $600? I guarantee it. If people just stop moving into this area because the school is no longer a draw, will your property value hold steady? No way. As a person who grew up in a struggling district and moved out of a failing one (Deer Park) let me assure you, one of the many reasons my house was on the market for so very long was because people didn't want to move into an area with a declining school and rising crime rate. The population of Deer Park is shrinking, as is the population of Reading, where I grew up. People want out. I like the small school idea, but I wanted the bigger and better opportunity for my daughter. These things have a direct effect on your value. You might save yourself that $600 a year, but you will lose much much more when it comes time to sell and you cant get out, and you will want out as the area deteriorates over time.

John, the unfortunate part of all of this is I agree with you on one thing (I think, because I am reading between the lines here) The way Ohio funds its schools needs changed and improved. Not every state follows this format. The way to change this situation, however, is not to deny the kids their future with a no vote, the way to change this situation is to change the system. If somebody smarter than me would like to write up the legal eze, I would be happy to start the petition drive to change things.

John, I also noticed ( I think ) that you posted from Greenville S.C. Enjoy your vacation. I think this sort of dialogue is productive, so if I still have not won you over to the YES side of things, please post again and we will continue our debate. I promise to keep a civil tongue as long as you do the same. Thank you for your input and for being polite, unlike the last person who disagreed with me. Looking forward to more with you...........


VOTE YES JOHN VOTE YES......................

It has begun..........

A comment was made on my post.........Levy time again................

The first SLOTH ( I assume) has made an appearance.

Anonymous said...
Impressive. I would be even more impressed if you could actually spell. Are you perhaps a graduate of the local school system?
April 18, 2009 9:43 AM

Dear MR. or MRS. SLOTH...............

1. Welcome to free speech, ain't it grand!!
2. I know I cant spell, I also have hideous grammar, terrible punctuation, inconsistent use of tense as well as miss matching my plurals and singulars. I use phrases like " I is going" instead of "I am going" just to drive people nuts, or to make a particular point.
3. If you read the last sentence I tell you that my hideous grammar is the result of an underfunded school system in decline. I did not go to Little Miami, I went to Reading.
4. I use humor and satire to drive home the absurdity of the situation. If you missed the humor, or the satire, I cant help you. The true, simple, and valid point is that for a couple of hundred dollars a year (which most people can then use as a deduction on their federal taxes and get a percentage of it back.) you can protect your own property values, protect your own neighborhoods, and help in producing smarter more self reliant kids to take over for us when we get older.
5. Speaking of free speech, I enjoy your commentary, please feel free to come back and leave more. I have no doubt your smarter than me and probably better looking than me too, but I do think I would enjoy the challenge of debating this issue with you.
6. Love ya brother, that I mean seriously.................

As a historical side note, Reading Community Schools has had many ups and downs over the years. It was well funded during my early elementary years, but around 3rd grade the levy failed, over and over, and things got cut. Around 6th grade the school system was downsized dramatically by annexing part of the city away to Cincinnati, this helped the funding for a while, but the Levy failed again in 8th grade. My high school was funded pretty well, but too much damage was already done. The funding came and went over the years and now its a struggling system once again. I remember losing some teachers and my class size doubling in 8th grade, that doesn't help kids to learn. I jokingly blame bad schools for my English issues, but the truth is this, In 3rd and 4th grades I didn't have an English class, or books, or reading because of funding, but in reality I could have made up for that over the next many years of school, truth is I was more of a science and math guy, hated English, loved mechanical things. I cant rest all the blame on the school.

Gracie says................

Gracie and her mom had a nice Easter conversation that went something like this:

Gracie: Mommy, Miss Sheila told us that Jesus got up and there was nothing left in the tomb but the Angels and his grave clothes.

Mommy: Yes Gracie, that is true, He rose from the dead to............

Gracie: Mommy,

Mommy: Yes Gracie.

Gracie: Why did Jesus take His clothes off before He came out?

Mommy: Well Gracie, those were His burial clothes, since He wasn't dead anymore He didn't need them.

Gracie: Did he put on His living clothes before he came outside?

Mommy: I think He did Gracie.

Gracie: Good.


I would like to take a moment here to thank Miss Sheila for all she does with the kids at Children's Church. Gracie gets so so so much from her time with you there. Thank you.

Ring Ring............Hello..........

I don't normally do this, but fair is fair. I usually only report in on things when I have issues with customer service or things go wrong. This time I would like to take a moment to compliment ATT Cingular customer service. I called them in regards to my cell phone. Note that I did not say in regard to my cell phone service. My service is fine but I was having an issue with my cell phone, or more accurately, my incompetence in operation of said cell phone. I called because I had paired my phone to my newly acquired blue tooth connection in my car, but when I tried to pair it back to my blue tooth ear bud, I was prompted for a 4 digit access code. I don't have a code. Perhaps it was in the instructions that I immediately discarded without reading because that is the normal know it all male machismo thing to do, but regardless, I have no code. So, I finish my humble pie and crow stew before calling ATT customer service. After pushing 1 for English 2 for cell service, 3 for (do dah, do dah) and pushing 5 or 6 more numbers at random I am transferred to a human being. I went with random numbers because, push 2 if your an idiot, was not one of the options. I found myself speaking with Danaria, a lovely child of God no doubt. This is how the conversation with her went.

" ATT technical support, may I verify your phone number please?"

"Yes ma'am, ***-***-****"

"Are you calling concerning an issue with this number?"

"no, not really, its more the phone, or actually my own stupidity as it relates to the phone"

"okay then, for security reasons can I verify the last four digits of your social security number"

"sure, ####" ( this was after muttering the first 5 under my breath because I cant remember just the last four, yes I am that lame)

"I am sorry sir, that doesn't match or records"

"Oh yes, I forgot (again) that this is my wife's account and therefore under her social"

"Do you know hers?"

"Not from memory, no (mental note, learn this) but if I promise not to ask anything too personal can I still ask you to help me"

(okay that didn't sound just right did it?)

(muffled giggle and not so muffled snort) "well, sir" (pause as she regains her composure) " I cant do anything to change your account without the number"

"That's fine, I just need help, I need somebody to tell me something that I should already know but don't have a clue."

I then explain my issue and how I don't have the code the silly phone is asking me for. After another giggle or two she tells me the default code is 0000. Since I never used this before it was still set on default so yeah, my phone works again. Other than the random number computer game to access a living breathing human being, this was a very pleasant customer service experience



The above photo is of a local news guy who makes his living warning consumers about scams. His tag line is "Don't waist your money" and " ITS A SCAM" He is kind of your local consumer Myth Buster because he buys these "as seen on TV" products and attempts to re-create the commercials to see how well they really work, items like Shamwow, etc.

Mr. Matarese came to mind just yesterday because it was a very slow day at work. The only time the phone rang all day was when your almost hourly scam call would come in. It is really ridiculous. 90% of the time its a computer calling and you can push 1 if your interested in exploring their service or product further. Sometimes they just leave a phone number for your to call them, during business hours of course. Some of them are creative, I get one that when you pick up the phone you hear a ships fog horn followed by the words, "This is your captain speaking................." and they proceed to tell you about the free cruise you have won if you call now, its just for you. The most blatant one we get is a lady who says, " This is XYZ can you give me the serial number off the back of your copy machine please." That is all she says, not hello, kiss my butt, or anything else. After the third time she called I gave her a number 123456. She said, no that's the wrong number, I need the 5 digit number off the back, it usually has some letters in it too. Oh, that number, that would be 0U812. She hung up on me. Turns out what they do is get the number and then just ship you some paper, ink, parts etc that fit your copier, along with an inflated bill, without anyone ever actually ordering it or needing it, but in a medium to large corporation, that probably makes it to the purchasers desk unquestioned and gets paid, slick huh. I love giving these goobers grief.





Now this brings me to my new favorite. This one is cute. I have had this call twice now. A very bubbly young lady calls me and asks for me by name (don't know how she got it) She then tells me that she is the new rep for the area (explains why I don't know her) and she just wanted to touch base with me. She works for MRC maintenance supply and her boss (so she tells me) just wants to show his appreciation to his good customers (we have never ordered from them before) by sending out a free major league baseball jersey just like the pro's wear (last time it was a magazine subscription to any magazine I wanted). Now if I will just give her my size and HOME address so she can send it to me personally (IE the boss need not know, wink wink) She will get my personal free gift just for me, the good customer right out. Now the SCAM here is this, she will then sell me some extremely overpriced sub standard something that I don't really need, but it looks like a real order because I was coerced into placing it by some free trinket that the boss doesn't know about. Cute huh?

Well when she called, I listened up to the point she asked me for my address and then said," so, does you boss assign you a new scam each month, or do you get to make this up on your own?" She laughed, said " no sir, this is no scam, my boss just wants to show you his appreciation for being a good customer" I informed her that we had never ordered and wouldn't be ordering therefore it was going to be difficult to proudly wear the label of 'good customer' She said have a nice day and I said you do the same which is southern belle -ese for "go screw yourself"




Danger Will Robinson Danger.......................................

Levy time again.

I do love this time of year. Here in Ohio, its spring, no wait, its winter, no wait its spring, no winter. 73 degrees on Monday, sunny, warm, the flowers are flowering, the buds are budding, the leaves are leafing and the fauna is fawning. Oh, but Tuesday, its snowing and the high is 41 degrees and the flowers are frowning, the buds are bit%%ing, the leaves are limping and the fauna is floundering. As we say here in the river valley, if you don't like the weather here, wait a minute.

But as fickle as the weather is here in spring/winter/spring, its not the most fickle thing come this time of year. The truly fickle thing would be the voter, its school levy season again.

We live in the largest (by landmass) school district in Ohio. Logically, at least to me, we are one of the fastest growing school districts as well. The Little Miami School District operates at one of the lowest operating millage of any school in Ohio, it is the lowest when compared to other similar schools in the area. They have been frugal with their money, a luxury they have been afforded by the generosity of local parents and businesses who donate and fund a great multitude of things outside the tax system. For example, LMHS has new field turf, this was donated not taken out of their budget. This is just one example. The school district had a levy on the ballot at the last opportunity, an income tax request that failed. Since then they have cut the budget by cutting services and laying off people.

What caused this problem you might wonder, simple answer, the population of the area has gone up, but the new Governor has cut education funding to the district. When costs go up and income goes down it doesn't take long to run into an issue.

What happens if the levy fails again? Simple, the budget gets cut again. There will be a reduction in the number of teachers which means more kids per class and less choices of classes to take. Programs will be eliminated which could hamper the educations of special needs kids and narrow the focus of all the kids. As a good school district pars down it is forced to eliminate all the things that made it a good school district and only leave the state minimum required courses for graduation. That means no upper level classes for the college bound, no extra help for the struggling, all the kids take the same course and make due with that. Services will also get cut, no bus service, less janitorial staff, elimination of maintenance and food staffs, reduction or elimination of support staff like councilors, etc. The length of the school day would also be reduced. Simply stated, the school will function at a minimum level, kind of like a lot of inner city public schools. Schools who don't even let their students take books home because they cant afford to replace them. That's what it could come to.

Now, the last levy, some people voted for it, some voted against. This time, the same thing will happen, some will vote each way. I am going to insert my own plain cold logic here and try to figure out how that happens. You might be thinking the answer is simple, some people just agree and some disagree, right? Well, if you go deeper, its not so simple. Here is my premise:

Absolutely no voter living in the Little Miami School District has ANY valid reason for voting no at this time.

Now, let me prove it to you.

1. First, the Obama voter. If you voted for Obama you have absolutely no choice but to vote for the levy. If you do not, your a fraud. You voted for an ideal, for a mantra, you voted for "Hope and Change" Well that's all fine and dandy, now step up to the plate and open your wallet. What greater hope could we have then hope for the future, a hope that our children and our children's children would grow up in a safe and better place. Today's children are who we have to have hope in, hope to cure cancer, hope to end war, hope to save the whales, hope to end our energy dependence on fossil fuels. Children are the source of hope, for they will inherit the problems and bring about a better future. The children can only fulfill our hopes if they are given the tools to do so, a good, sound, diverse education. Children are the bringers of change. Just think about it, did your life change when you had a child? Of course it did.
2. Second, the Republican voter. Your the ones who believe in a strong competitive education system. A system that allows those who excel to do so to the limits of their ability. You believe its necessary to provide education to the upper limits of a child's ability and provide as many opportunities for diversity in education as possible. Your the ones who want high end math classes and computer labs that teach specific skills. You are also the ones who keep making the promise not to leave any child behind, regardless of how much extra effort that requires because every kid counts. That's all fine and wonderful as well, but that all costs money, step up to the plate and open your wallet. What you believe in ain't free, it has a price and this is how you pay it.
3. Third, the Libertarian voter. You believe in minimal Federal government and minimal Federal interference. You are required to vote for the levy in order to stave off Federal interference and mandates. You are required to vote for the levy in the hope that better educated kids make for better educated voters and more self reliant adults who don't need a Federal government as a nanny. For you, its an investment.
4. Fourth is the parent voter. If your not politically aligned or particularly politically savvy, but your a parent, you have no choice but to vote for the levy. You will do this for your children, they need you to do this and you don't want to deny them any opportunities. You make them do their homework, you feed them, care for them and nurture them in every other way. You groom them with the dream that when they are grown and gone they will have a better, easier, happier, more successful life than you have had. It doesn't matter how happy and successful you are, we all want more for our kids, it is what drives us as parents. If this is you, you know you have made many a sacrifice for your kids, this is just one more really small one so go ahead and do it.
5. Fifth is the empty nester and the young couple, the kid less homers, and the homeschoolers. You all have the same access to the logic, "I don't have a kid in the system so why should I pay for it. " You all have the same issue, but might need addressed a little differently. Most of you either did or might have a kid in the system at some point along the timeline. You should want a good school system to be available even if you chose not to use it, or haven't needed it yet. For the recent empty nester, you kid probably went thru the system and you should want it to stay at least as good as it was when they were there. If neither of these apply, and you haven't had a child in the system and wont (ever) then you still benefit from a good school. How, property values, business opportunities, lower crime rate, the list goes on. You all didn't think of that did you? Its true, the success of your school has a direct impact on your property value, good districts grow, they grow faster than new houses are built which affects that supply and demand causing your value to go up, so if you hate kids vote yes anyway to help yourself. The second thing people miss is that businesses like good school districts too. Why? They like them because it provides them a better pool of labor to work with, better schools usually have better parents who produce better, more responsible kids, all of which are attractive to businesses. As for the lower crime rates, uneducated areas with teens home more because of reduced school hours leads to a higher crime rate and a reduction in property values. If you are in this group you need to vote for the levy for your own good, or the good of the community you now enjoy.
6. Sixth, "But I cant afford it." You cant afford not to.
7. Seventh, the Christian. You need to send your Christian child out into the system. You need to fight to bring prayer back into the school from the inside. You need to let your offspring go forth and be the Light of Jesus in the community of their peers. You also need to give to Caesar what is Caesars and pay the tax.
8. Eighth, the Parochial school parent. You send your kid to a private school because the local district either isn't good enough or doesn't have something you want or need. That's a fine and acceptable choice, as long as you don't think it exempts you from participating with the rest of us. More funding will keep the school district as is, a fine district, even more funding might get you that extra thing your looking for that would allow your kid to go to the public school and save you a wad of jack. No, well look at the other side, if you assist in the decline of the district then more of us will join you in the parochial system which will effect the supply and demand equation causing tuition to rise and thus costing you more money. Its a lose lose for you, so help out the rest of us and cast a vote for the levy.
9. Ninth, and the last one (I promise,) is the SLOTH. SLOTH is an acronym for Stupid Lazy Obnoxious Thoughless Heathen. If your a SLOTH you cant manage to motivate yourself to get off your lard behind to vote because you might miss some gem of wisdom from Oprah or Judge Judy. Trust me the World will still be Turning tomorrow, you wont miss a thing. Your not smart enough to know this issue has long term effect on your quality of life. No really, it does. Your obnoxious enough to vote it down just because that neighbor you don't like down the street has kids and it might make them happy. You enjoy kicking puppies and putting gum in little girls hair. You delight in graffiti so you would like to see more of it pop up on neighborhood houses. You point and laugh as your neighbors loose their homes one by one and leave your street full of empty homes that go unsold. You rent so it doesn't affect you anyway, but you relish causing misery in others. You just think its all about you. Why should you vote for the levy then? I did say that every one should, so to keep my premise true, why is it a good idea for you to be a good citizen and vote for it? Well, if you don't I will call homeland security and tell them about the pipe bomb your working on and how you keep your AK47 buried in the back yard with your copy of the Koran this is personally autographed by Osama himself. When they come to visit you they will find all that European porn on your computer and hall you off to jail. So, please don't be a SLOTH. I might even have to call you mother, she would be so disappointed to find out you changed your name from Bob to Betty.

And for those of you with a more critical eye, my poor grammar and bad spelling is a direct result of my having graduated from an under funded school district in decline.

Top Five.

I haven't been overly inspired as of late so I went back through my old posts and came up with a list of my top 5 favorites from my old posts. They go back a while so those new here may not have seen them before.

Enjoy.

http://yimengchang.blogspot.com/2007/10/story-of-grace.html

http://yimengchang.blogspot.com/2007/11/lazarus.html

http://yimengchang.blogspot.com/2007/12/things-kids-say.html

http://yimengchang.blogspot.com/2008/07/gracie-goes-to-dentist.html

http://yimengchang.blogspot.com/2008/12/waking-up-dead.html