Free Lunch Has Become A Little Cheesy

I guess free food isn't providing the sought after results of increased student attentiveness and the resulting increased test scores. Apparently the kids aren't holding up their side of the quid pro quo agreement that the money spent on free food would be returned to the Districts through improved test scores. Just like every other aspect of the public school system, if you don't perform, your compensation package is cut.

I am sure there is some collateral damage. I am willing to wager that you could find a few students who got the free food who actually did bring in money for the school system, but we look at statistics, not individual performance. Sort of like the teacher's union.



Everyday People Examiner: Cheese sandwiches for students whose parents are poor:

"The Albuquerque Public Schools system is not alone in their cheese sandwich lunch plan for children who do not have their lunch money. Reportedly, school districts in Chula Vista, California, Hillsborough County, Florida., and Lynnwood, Washington, have a 'cheese sandwich policy' in place."

Kids sure have a funny way of thinking. Somehow they seem to know who gets a free lunch and who doesn't, despite how professional the school personnel act in keeping student information protected. Just like kids know which kids are in the ESE classes. Maybe it's because ESE kids have different colored name tags, have a big sign on their bus that says "Alternative School", or even that little blue sign with the wheelchair on it. Kids just seem to know.

So, we have a group of kids eating together as a diversified unit, and the kids with the free lunch seem to have the most jewelry, most expensive clothes and the latest technology. The kids who pay for their lunch go home and tell their parents that they want this stuff too. After a few years of this, parents start to have a funny way of thinking, too.

Balancing Accountability With Love

There are a few who believe that the key to academic success, and life success, is based on the quality of relationship building. In today's world of parsed words, where we are not honest with ourselves, it should not be surprising that the quality of relationships is lacking. We could call it love, we could call it trust, we could call it quality relationships, but we can't call it something it isn't and get the results we say we want.


Thanks to The Gradebook, we have this article from the St. Pete Times:


Tampa Just Elementary intensely tracks students' FCAT progress so it can improve with them. - St. Petersburg Times:

"'High expectations are just critical, critical,' McManus says while passing out research articles at the start of a weekly meeting with her leadership team."

Along with those high expectations, dealing with reality has been addressed:

No more promoting third-graders who can't read. No more putting up with bad teachers. No more complaining about how hard it is to teach children who come to school unprepared, or tired, or hungry.

Using my usual mocking, sarcastic attitude towards the public education system, I have said before that the FCAT scores must not be easy for the school systems to manipulate, unlike the grades the systems can directly manipulate with grade curves, extra points for bringing in paper supplies and inflated GPA's.

I should have known there were other ways to skin a cat. While Ms. McManus is working hard at developing high expectations, which is a necessary ingredient to success, here comes a legislative proposal to keep the victimization of America going strong:


Note: I have removed the political party name from the below title so that it is not a distraction.

[Someone]take aim at third grade retention, and then some#comments:

"Heller’s bill would open the door for additional exemptions for students with unusual circumstances, such as “physical or emotional trauma resulting in test anxiety” or “unusual test anxiety, especially when it arises from being threatened with retention.”"

A DROP Kick In The Ass In The Money Field Of Education

UF's DROP program scrutinized | Gainesville.com | The Gainesville Sun | Gainesville, FL

"The University of Florida is investigating cases in which College of Medicine administrators used a state program to retire and then be rehired without searches for other candidates - receiving perks such as bonuses and raises in the process."


Any takers on the bet that there is a skewed Bell Curve towards the high salaried employees being re-hired across all settings of public education?

"The program is intended to provide incentives for long-time public employees to retire, clearing the way for lower-paid replacements."

Do You Trust The Gatekeepers While They Are Selling The Keys?

Joel Chandler may be doing exactly what has been done many times before.

The only difference may be that Joel was outed.

Joel was outed because the school systems made it public that Joel was being a "troublemaker". A few school employees took this premise and have gone to great lengths to out Mr. Chandler using the same access to public records that is afforded to all citizens. There has been some posturing by some Legislators to address what has been construed to be an apparent appalling misuse of the public records request law. The efforts so far just seem to be the half hearted kind. The point has been made that if school systems truly thought this was wrong minded, the school systems have plenty of clout to bring change. But we don't see this.

Maybe this "appalling misuse of the public records request law" may be a fabricated charge perpetuated by the system and unwittingly carried out by some emotionally charged employees simply to change the focus of attention on the fact that Mr. Chandler's actions are perfectly legal, and that any entity can do it. And perhaps these entities have actually done the same thing that Joel has done, but the system does not want it outed.

In the below link, you can find this:

"Ned Julian" 11/3/2008 7:59 AM >>>


.....Interestingly, Mr. Julian is the staff attorney for Seminole and the President of the Florida Association of School Board Attorneys. Why did so many districts take a position that even their Association President described as “clearly contrary to law”? Mr. Julian’s comments validate my contention that I did not waste taxpayer funds, but the districts that decided to take an unlawful position did. It’s too bad that so many districts decided to ignore his sound legal advice."Message in a bottle....

One of the accusations against Mr. Chandler has been that after he gets all of the names and addresses of all of the people covered by the public school health insurance policies, he is going to market this data for profit. Are we to believe that Mr. Chandler is the first entity to recognize this strategy?

What Mr. Chandler did was not only strongly supported by the courts previously and subsequently to his law suit, but the e-mails that he has posted from various school systems demonstrate that they also knew his request was legal but they ignored it anyway.

How are we to trust an entity that flagrantly ignores the law? Are they in bed with some one's ole' lady while Joel is getting in their bed?

Keep following Joel's blog as there is obviously more making of trouble that will be exposed.

What Is Your Child's Liability Number?

In today's Tribune we find:

District Seeks Aid For Student Walkers

I am collecting a few dots on the issue of accountability/liability to the point that another picture is starting to form in my mind. From the above article, we are to understand that the HCPS every year makes a list of hazardous conditions and then sends it to the DOT and local governments. These entities review the lists and in some manner decide whether or not they can or will make improvements based on some unknown decision making process, money being part of the equation.

One has to realize that right here at this point is where it can become obvious to people a lot smarter than me that what I just said leads to a logical deduction that there is no sound accountability to that decision making process.

We will set that concept off to the side while we look at another ingredient in this pot. We add the intriguing part that "if the District can get local governments to acknowledge that the areas are hazardous, the Florida Department of Education will provide additional funds for busing student."

"Both entities must agree that the locations meet the state criteria for hazardous walking conditions to qualify for more funding," said education department spokeswoman Deborah Higgins.

Sounds reasonable, right?

But here is where the State acts just like our local school board when it is presented with information that might raise the level of liability, therefore, it is better to disregard the information completely. Acknowledgement of a problem means there is a problem, and that is not good for legal defense purposes.

Therefore the state does this: ""We get the lists from the district every year and return them on the advice of our legal staff," said Kris Carson, a DOT spokeswoman. "We're not willing to accept liability."

Because the State realizes how local systems work together to take advantage of the state:"But we're not going to sign off on a list that we didn't create," she said.

"Cause the bottom line for the State is the issue of liability. "If the DOT acknowledges that roads under their jurisdiction are hazards, they might be held liable if a student is killed or injured on their way to school."

It sounds callous when I speak the truth, but the cost for a killed student is limited to $200,000. Do a search on my blogs for Eric Martin for more information if you want to see the stark truth.

So, your child has a liability number on it. But only if some one recognizes it. That is why paper trails to more than one place about problems provide the heat necessary to raise the issue of liability. Heat seeking missiles don't have to see the target, they just follow the trail of heat right to it.

Is Teacher Tenure Really Based On Level Of Conformable Disposition?

There has been an ongoing discussion on my blog link here:PRO on HCPS: Another Kick In The Bucket And DROP Of The Ball


I will leave it to others to follow a couple of obvious tangents one could take from the discourse and try to focus on the thread of the intricacies between DROP and "forced retirement" vs. "selective retention" based on an individual teacher's field.


The discussion over on The Gradebook at this link:
Bills to make it easier to fire Florida teachers follows a similar discussion with similar concerns expressed.

For instance, compare Thomas's statement:

"I feel that is is those experienced and savvy teachers that they want to get rid of"

with

"...I think that's the point, drive out those teachers who aren't compliant brown nosers willing to put up with endless "drill and kill" teach to the test methodologies never questioning anything...". [terminator 8:08 pm]

Another relevant section to read would be Pat Connolly at 5:29 pm and where you can find this:

"...Is it possible that effective teachers whose experience makes them "too expensive" to renew will be cast aside? Is it possible that school boards will choose to not renew the contracts of effective teachers who have spoken out against waste and unethical behavior, who have had the audacity to ask for a bit more than the district was willing to offer, who had the temerity to ask tough questions or politically oppose the status quo? I think the answer is obvious...."

Further collaboration to this point can be found here:

"The problem with this proposal is that some principals will actually prefer to get rid of the good teachers. Mediocre teachers go along with whatever. The best teachers advocate for what is best for their students. Unfortunately, this is not appreciated by some principals. Good teachers sometimes are in conflict with the administration. Think of it like a doctor advocating for their patient when the insurance company doesn't like it. This bill will result in super powerful administrators and go-along get-along teachers will be the ones who are retained. Posted by: J | February 13, 2009 at 08:59 PM

We can also read in the early comments about the continuing war between system supporters vs. parents. I know that I would never trust "the department of education" to make my decisions for me as a parent:

"...Unfortunately too many parents are quick to place judgement on teachers when their child does not get a good grade or misbehaves in school. They believe their child rather than find out from the teacher, who is an adult and a professional, what has happened. The bad teachers are not the ones that parents will determine, the bad teachers are ones that the department of education will decide on. Posted by: meowfl | February 13, 2009 at 08:27 PM"

There has to be better way. And somehow the concept of trust has to be in it.

Crisis Situation on Hand = Sorry, Communication Is Closed Off

It sucks to be in conflict with the school system.

Far too many times we hear about how things could have been handled a lot earlier in a much more pro-active way. Far too many times we hear that the Board or the top administrators didn't know about an ongoing problem, even those that rise to the level of legal action.

Maybe we can all see why after last Tuesday's Board meeting.

It stands to reason that if there is big problem in HCPS land, this problem may come before the Board. But problems are like fine wine. No problem can come to the Board before it's time.

Obiviously the Board can't address the problem because the Board can't know about the problem because the problem might be brought before the Board in the future.

Makes sense to me.

Does Going To The Board Usually Work?

I don't have time to expand on this, but I know timing is important.

The events at the recent school board meeting have strenghtened by belief that it ain't the school board that runs the show, and they really don't have any idea what the truth is about certain issues that are extremely important to the health of the system.

Almost every serious problem within the school system that I have been aware of for the last 20 years is where the whole is greater than the sum. I wrote about it before.

Tuesday afternoon, the Board was presented with information, and then told to disregard it.

Take any issue that any of you have, be it cell phone towers, Alafia Elementary, DROP programs, transportation issues, ESE issues, ect, what if, even after you go to them, they are told to disregard it.

I have reason based on a long time of experience to want to explore this concept more.

Tell the media. Tell your neighbor. Tell your hairdresser. Tell your minister. Tell everyone you know.

"Cause telling the Board may not be an effective strategy.

Who Controls "Right To Privacy"?

I have put off writing about what may be the most powerful "discussion" or "non-discussion" in last night's Hillsborough County School Board meeting.

It has to do with the saga over on what is now called Goader Online. At that link, you can read his latest post about what has happened.

I have not sorted this out, so I will just start somewhere.

At the above meeting, two public speakers spoke to the Board about Goader's situation. They used his real name in saying what they had to say. These two speakers did not speak in sequence, therefore there were some speakers on other topics between the two. After the second speaker spoke, at least one Board member made a comment or asked a question. Check the tape for the details, but what seems to be of signifcance to me is that very shortly after that, the School Board attorney told the board something to the effect that Goader's right to privacy may have been violated, and that to his knowledge no charges had been filed against Goader and to basically ignore or strike from their memory what had been said because it might be a matter that comes up before them, or words to that effect.

This has been going on since July 2nd, 2008. That's seven months by my monthly calender. That is a long time to wait, not knowing.

There were further comments and questions by the Board that indicated that there was a public perception that the way this case was being handled was not an isolated incident. The questions, comments and answers that happened during that discussion should be studied more.

I have been on my blog box since day one saying that public exposure of the system is their Achilles heel. "They" can't talk about Goader, but the public can talk about him to the extent that anyone can talk about anyone else. Once again, Ms. Kurdell brought up the need to stifle public speech, but this time Mr. Gonzalez told her that the courts did not look favorably on that.

There is a lot behind this story that effects every school employee. Even if you have to follow the drinking gourd, some how the public needs to know.


Even if the Board can't talk about it, the public can.

And they can't stand that.

Another Kick In The Bucket And DROP Of The Ball

PRO on HCPS: Drop Kick Me Jesus Through The Goalposts Of Life:


Someone posted the following comment on the above link. I don't know if it's true or not, so if you have facts and sources to refute it, inquiring minds would like to know.

"....almost 200 teachers who have retired and returned to service are being terminated at the end of this school year in Hillsborough County. Some are part of the DROP program; some are not. The School District is releasing them because they are required to pay them at their highest pre-retirement pay grade. The teachers union, Hillsborough County Classroom Teachers Association, will not permit its retired members to renegotiate or accept a lower pay grade in order to save their jobs...."

Apparently, the golden parachute on the DROP program has been cut. I don't know a thing about these kinds of contracts other than I'm pretty sure there is a lot of small print.

We know the school systems are looking for highly qualified teachers. If a teacher has worked long enough to receive their DROP in the bucket, the school system should know by then who is highly qualified or not. It would stand to reason that out of the above number of 200 teachers, most of them better be highly qualified.

The discussion of the accusation that this current move by the County, if indeed that is what it is when divested of any parsed spin, could be considered a bait and switch scam can be held at another point. Again I am purely speculating here, but for the sake of the argument, let's say that some of these teachers would not have retired when they did if they knew their DROP would end in a big splat. Some of these teachers are rumored to be asking to keep their job at a lower pay scale, with entry level being the lowest level I would imagine they could get, but are being told no.


So, the promised DROP in the bucket and the promised golden parachute results in no job.

Who wouldn't want to hire a highly qualified teacher at the same rate as an inexperienced one?

Any one know?

When Enforcement of The Rules Of The Game Are Dependent On Who Brings Attention To It.

Go here to clear up my math implications:PRO on HCPS: Drop Kick Me Jesus Through The Goalposts Of Life


I just sat through another Hillsborough County School Board Meeting.

I have an in-law that was a concierge on a big cruise liner in the Hawaiian Islands. My wife and I and his parents had the luxury of spending 10 days on the boat, and got a tour of the Bridge. The majority of the mucky-mucks were socializing while a few paid attention to the controls, even though every thing was on auto-pilot. I had the same feeling listening to the majority of the Board comments. If one took statistics on the number of Zephyrus comments I think it would be a grand number. Where do those comments go that start out with a wistful hypothetical question or statement?

The School Board is a quick learner after the dustup they took from the Alafia gang, Tonight, they let the Cell Tower Renegades in with welcome arms like the toll booth in Blazing Saddles. After these Renegades were safely within the circle of wagons, out came the posse that picked them off one by one. They even had the equivalent of a distant city sheriff show up to state the law.

So what happened to my Post title?

In Little League, the last time I was there 20 plus years ago, if a batter batted out of order, the rule book said that the only person that could protest this move was the opposing team's coach making an appeal directly to the head umpire. Not the score-keeper mom in the stands, neither of the official scorekeepers in the booth, and the booth can't send a message to the coach.

The rules were further written so that savvy coaches might get an advantage by not appealing. In other words, you might not automatically call foul unless it is to your advantage, depending on what happened. Few coaches knew the rules, and even fewer parents.

I said all of that to say this. Supposed there was going to be a scheduled meeting, and there were rules built around that meeting. Proper notice of the meeting could be one of those. But if there was a glitch, it would be dependent on someone calling attention to it.


One last thought. Arguments that are fact based and technical in detail are easier to present. Emotional arguments may impact a jury, but not a judge.

Drop Kick Me Jesus Through The Goalposts Of Life

I was fast forwarding through my thumb drive and found this dusty ditty by our all-time-favorite-songs-with-this-name sung by Bobby Bare:


Drop Kick Me Jesus Through The Goalposts Of Life:

"Drop kick me Jesus through the goal posts of life
End over end neither left nor to right
Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights
Drop kick me Jesus through the goal posts of life."

If the DROP program was costing over $300 million a year ago February 3, 2008,
State: State retiree loophole costs Florida $300M a year, this total cash cow ought to be almost up there with the current federal stimulating bill by now.

I first wrote about this DROP program when I learned that Gods were watching Hillsborough County Schools:

PRO on HCPS: Gods Are Watching HCPS - Who Knew?

What I find interesting is that most of the focus is on the teachers that signed up for this program.

But what about higher ranking school people?

"Browder to retire for 30 days Wednesday Jun 25, 2008 ccepero@news-press.com Lee schools Superintendent James Browder will step down for the month of July and return Aug. 1. Under his pension plan, Browder must terminate employment with the district...

Christina Cepero"
http://search.news-press.com/sp?skin=100&aff=1117&keywords=james%20browder

And from the second link above:

It's legal
Here are some of the officials drawing retirement checks while they continue to earn paychecks from taxpayers:
Official Monthly retirement Fiscal
'06-'07 salary
Eduardo J. Padron
Miami Dade College president $14,631 $328,860

Harry Anstead
Supreme Court justice $7,596 $161,083


Jim Smith
Pinellas Property Appraiser $6,681 $148,335
Jed Pittman
Pasco County Circuit clerk $6,242 $136,576
Ann Hildebrand
Pasco County commissioner $2,778 $78,895
Carlos Alvarez

Miami-Dade mayor $12,955 $228,826
John Phelps
Former House clerk $5,728 $138,138
Castell V. Bryant
Former FAMU president $7,707 $287,356
Source: Florida retirement system


For those of you who don't believe that the DROP Program grew faster than a good ole boy grapevine, how much do you think these numbers grew in five years?

By my finger/toe calculations, it looked to be between 17-18% administrators trough vs the rest being in the teacher pool back in 2004 in the HCPS. Wouldn't it be a really interesting statistic to know what that is now? Just think about the statistical significance that would have to occur if the administrator part of this DROP in the bucket outgrew the teachers.

A savvy person with fortitude could probably get that number.

Page 1 - President's Message.DOC:
"Did You Know? (Quotes from the Tampa Tribune, January 25, 2004)

"As of last week, district records show 137 administrators and 775 teachers in the DROP Program"

What's Better Than Mess-up - Move-up?

While it is purely conjecture, maybe "taking one for the team" is more advantageous than "Mess - Up - Move Up".

In the "taking one for the team" theory, an employee vicariously becomes involved in an issue that has some serious liability issues for the company. This employee, simply by longevity on the job or the proximity to the people that are directly involved in the issue, knows a lot of information about the issue at hand.

Those that are in charge of fixing the problem find out that this innocent bystander could jeopardize the defense of the company if the innocent bystander told the whole story. This innocent bystander would of course have ethical conflicts about telling the truth, knowing that that course of action would be an end to their career.

But, what if this innocent bystander was offered a deal whereby if they "took one for the team" and only provided information that protected the company, this person would be offered a substantial promotion.

I don't know where I come up with these crazy, unsubstantiated theories. I must just dream them up.

NIMPC - Not In My Pay Check

Uh, oh. Doing unto others and then having it done to you sucks.

School Board Pay Excessive:

"This would permit them to share in the sacrifice of budget cuts experienced by teachers, support staff and administrators by lowering their previously state-mandated salaries to a level that would nonetheless continue to place them in the top 2 percent of highest-paid board members, on average, in the country."

This next statement may be a bit difficult to process. Somehow it keeps revolving around in my mind that the reason there may be micro-managing is because some of those professionals that are hired to run the classrooms, ancillary services and schools may not be trained. Or ethical. There may even be some skewed types of relationships between some of the players. Mr. Doug Erwin tried to execute his job in a professional manner, and look what happened to him.

"The real problem with a salaried board is that the money received encourages board members to spend more time on the job than governance and policy development responsibilities require, thereby leading to instances of micro-managing or meddling with the work of trained professionals hired to run the classrooms, ancillary services and schools."

I feel bad when I know someone is going to take a pay cut. I hear there is a new money making endeavor going on in Hillsborough County. Just contact your local cell phone tower manufacturer.

Im "PACTS" on the Cell Phone Tower Debacle

Again, thanks to The Gradebook:

A weekend interview with ...#comments

If it were me, I would ride this horse to the finish line:

There's really three issues. One is that the process that is being followed is one that is antithetical to appropriate use of school property and appropriate land use designation. What we mean by that is... whether or not a tower will or will not be put up on a school property in a residential area has been delegated all the way down to a principal. And the principal is in fact an employee of the land owner. In no other situation does an employee of the land owner get to met the determination about appropriate use.

Zoning Board? No, check with the Principal. He/she is the Cell Tower Csar.

Badges? - What badges. We don't need no stinking badges! (Mel Brooks)

Gotta love it.

Take Care Of The Pennies And The Dollars Will Look After Themselves

Thanks to The Gradebook for these links.

First of all, there are rumors abounding that School Board members may get pay cuts. So far, there is no move to make it mandatory, and as far as I can tell, it's been suggested as a volunteer move to help save our public education system. I think it is ironic that those who have the power and authority to take money away from others get into a tizzy when faced with the same sense of being in a powerless position.

Perhaps that is why this school board member wants to look at where all of the marbles are before he gives up some his:

Lee superintendent says board member’s call for audit is ‘absolute foolishness’ : Lee : Naples Daily News:

"Chilmonik is adamant that he is not on a witch hunt, but has continually said he simply wants to make sure every available dollar is going toward funding educational programs and retaining teachers who may be laid off in anticipated budget cuts."

I am shocked, as I am sure everyone else is, that the previous auditor "suspected fraud". Get right out of town. Oh, she did.

And then there is this:

Should teachers be mandated to make house calls?


I dare anyone to challenge this move and not be accused of racial issues. I read the report.

How many students does this statement exclude?:

",,,or are clearly under performing even if their grades are on average a C or better."

Free advice to school superintendents across the state:

Get wording into your contract with your local school board that pays you a bonus for every black student enrolled in the "House Call Program".

It will guarantee a win-win situation for a lot of folks. Not sure about the kids.

Optimistic Bias For You, The School Employee

Optimistic bias is a fancy way of saying "it won't happen to me".

I believe that the public school system is big business and big government all at the same time. "Education" is simply the raison d'etre for the ongoing growth of both business and government within the education system. If I am right, the combination of those two types of power is formidable. Individual issues within a public school system are like a gnat on an elephant's behind in terms of importance to the real word around the elephant, or the system.


Most of us are just too damn trusting of our school system and our government. If you disagree with that opinion, then I suggest that you open your eyes and ears and start getting your worldly information from another source. Perceived threats, real or imagined, to either of these institutions are quashed by various methods. It is apparent that our national media is no longer our watch dog and journalism and freedom of the press has lost it's integrity. I recently read about this same accusation regarding our local media, which is not a surprise to me. I have written about it a few times before. It probably won't be long before blogging is censored.

Silencing those who are not in lockstep with the government or the school system is becoming more evident. For evidence concerning how the government wants to deal with opposing views, look here:

Another senator lines up behind 'Fairness Doctrine'

Over the years, I have been blamed for the cause of employee dissatisfaction and causing some of them to leave the field of special education or education in general. From my perspective, it was the system that failed the employees for not providing the employee with the truth about their (the employees) responsibility and when I came along, the employee was overwhelmed with the truth about these responsibilities. The employee basically was put between a rock and hard place.


In most all of the cases that I know, the system protects the employee and it appears that at least a few employees have gained a promotion after being "attacked" and weathered the storm, even if the storm went through a federal court. What appears to be truly an isolated incident is when the system turns on one of it's own without outside provocation.

How optimistic are you that this won't happen to you?

Criminal Investigation for Child Abuse - Felony Pt1

Where Oh Where Does Anyone Live?

I just follow the dots.

What I find interesting is when I find out how the dots are connected. I may not know what the picture is that the dots make, but it sure is interesting.

I just saw this dot:Lee Drury De Cesare's Casting-Room Couch: Citizen Request for Information

I've known about this dot for a while: Ann S. Olson

If you go here:Search Official Records

and here: SARASOTA : Clerk of Circuit Court & County Comptroller

you can find a few dots that are connected to that name.


And I knew about this dot a long time ago:

2632 W Prospect Rd Tampa, FL 33629 - Home for sale

While Lee gets a few facts wrong, she gets a few facts right.

I don't know what it all means, but it's there.

Government In The Moonlight Of A New Moon (IE: Not A Full Moon)

Hillsborough parents promise to protest cell phone towers - St. Petersburg Times

For those of you who think my previous posts that mock the issue of how the public is kept out of the public school education system are without merit, here is another story that dials, I mean presses my number. While most of you are debating the unknown about the consequences of one's proximity to the individual cell phone towers, what I think should be the focus of the outrage, outcries and overall outlandish rebellion is how do these types of actions by our local government keep happening.

I submit the following clips from the above article as evidence that we, the public, are victims of ourselves:

- "With nary a public comment, Hillsborough commissioners in the fall altered language in its county land-use code."
- While Porter and company president Stacy Frank said the amendment was never an attempt to bypass public hearings, Hillsborough zoning administrator Paula Harvey said "we understood that to be part of the intent."
- "Harvey and Porter said there was no public dissent at any of the seven public meetings on the topic, which Grimail acknowledged.

"The problem was none of us knew what was going on, because it wasn't directly affecting us," she said. "The people who live in the neighborhoods were thinking that the elected officials would protect us so, yeah, we didn't show up. But now we will."

If one reads the article, it would appear that Porter and Frank stand to make a lot of money for every tower that is erected and that they for some reason had the intuition to realize that it would be easier to make money if few people knew how they were going to do it.


Wasn't it a scant few fortnights ago that a group of people over around Alafia Elementary were up in arms and causing a big ruckus? Wasn't a big part of this hoopla created because the parents and staff that had voiced their concerns a long time before had trusted that the school officials would protect them?

Apparently I've been right on a couple of predictions about the process that will occur with the Hillsborough County Public School system. I'll go out on a limb, where I have heard that that is where the fruit is, and predict that it won't be long before this group of tower bashers will be labeled as spreading misinformation, anger and ugliness. Along with those labels of discounting, I wouldn't be surprised to hear a few comments along the fact that the public is not educated enough to know whether or not cell phones are a health hazard, so the public should just shut up and trust the educational experts on cell phone towers.

I will give credence to that group from Clearwater that held a revival to sing about a bad moon rising, 'cause there is little sunshine looking out my back door.

Public Education In The Business of Renting Land To Cell Phone Towers

I may have to openly come out and say that my idea that public education is big business as been thoroughly trounced, first by Goader and now some person making a comment about how unfair it is that schools make money from selling cell phone tower space and the public will not get a tax refund on that money.

Cell tower debate on its way to Pasco?:

"We need to remember that schools are not businesses and are funded through tax dollars. Are you getting a tax refund due to the income they are going to earn? NO"

And then does anyone know if this is a true statement?
"..The company who is making a lot of money off of this deal is Collier Enterprises. It was started by one woman, Stacey Franks, who has the sole contract to put these towers up in EVERY HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SCHOOL. She takes 50% of the revenue..."


For those of you who have an interest in the debate about cell phone towers, read the public comments on the above link. The comments seem to cover most of the issues from all sides.

While this cell phone tower debate goes on, I am still stuck with trying to decide if public education is a business or not. I know public education doesn't produce a product, but if you read the local "CEO's contract", it does seem she gets a bonus for every increase in 7th grade student participation in the Talent Identification program, and a bonus added to that if they are African-American students. In my Fort Lonesome farm boy kind-of-thinkin', they're raising "TIP" kids. The same would go for producing students participating in AP courses/exams,grades 9-12.

I've got a lot to learn.