City Council vs. Bosphorus - Round 1
July 24th, 2006 by Atomictumor
I’m going to be liveblogging the city council thing for the duration of it, or until something else happens. We’re going to be hopefully seeing some angry parents about the 5 yr olds walking to school at Willowbrook this week.
Its just starting now, come on to the page and chat with me.
Update: 9:07 - Break:
Our man Bos
EDIT 11:01 EST
The movies of Bos’s speech are way too long, and our server isn’t fast enough to dish em out… I’ll edit, compress, and repost later today.
July 24th, 2006 at 10:11 pm
Heh, there are people that actually watch that crap at home. BTW, that left shoulder in the pic is mine. I just returned home after waiting nearly 2 1/2 hours to hear Bos. Great pleasure meeting him during the break. I’m old…couldn’t wait any longer.
July 24th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
Great left shoulder, daco. It’s your best side, methinks.
July 24th, 2006 at 10:21 pm
That’s what the wife tells me.
July 24th, 2006 at 10:51 pm
Got to give it up for Bos. The dude waited 3 hours and 15 minutes to have his say before city council.
July 24th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
If a bos speaks in a city council meeting, does it make a sound?
July 24th, 2006 at 11:37 pm
Wow, that was a looong meeting. Those chairs they have are uncomfortable after about an hour and a half. I’ll have to get my thoughts together about it and report later.
Daco, glad I got to meet you tonight. It’s good to put a face to the name and all that.
July 25th, 2006 at 7:29 am
Yeah, I was watching ol’Daco and didn’t even know it. Actually, I kept telling him to get the hell out of the way so I could put my finger in Bos’s nose.
July 25th, 2006 at 7:34 am
Same here Bos, a pleasure.
August 6th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
Great for the parents to be there, but where are the concerned parties that get paid for the safe transportation of our students? The Director of Transportation…….. who from the school system supports the efforts of the parents complaints against the ones who DID NOT MAKE THE $400,000.00 decision to cut transportation? Why are there not phone calls into the transportation department asking why they did not step up and more effort put forth for the “safety” of our children we do pay the Director in excess of $60,000.00 per year!!! WHERE are our children’s returns on this salary????
oh yeah, in the foot ball team I’m sure they will have ORS bus service without a doubt!
August 6th, 2006 at 4:11 pm
What? Why would the transportation dept have anything to do with the city council not fully funding the school board? Seems to me that 60 grand is about right for a job like director of transportation. Look, if you want to defend the council, thats fine. I’m not interested in politics, and I’m not interested in this pissing contest between council and school board.
BOTH PARTIES screwed our kids. The Council did it first, causing the school board to go through two rounds of televised budget cuts.
The board could have cut something other than busses, but, as it has been explained (but not shown) to me, to make up the budget shortfall they would have had to cut education to the bone. Music programs, elementary sports, special education, field trips, all sorts of stuff. Was the busses the worst decision?
Probably, because it impacts the safety of our kids. But the council screwed up first, because they made the decision not to support schools, against damn near all citizens speaking in board meetings, emailing, and writing in public.
August 6th, 2006 at 4:39 pm
MOM GOOSE SEZ
ts getting close to school time again. I just wonder how many elementary students will understand, when the first day of school arrives and they are sent out to walk to school; how to get there? Whether we choose to believe it or not, here in Oak Ridge, there are parents who will not accept the responsibility of getting their children to school. It was “hard enough†when the bus stopped at the front door for 4 & 5 year old kindergarten students for the parent (s haha) to have the children ready to get on the bus. But now to have to “provide transportation†for them? Or WALK them? you have GOT to be kidding RIGHT?
The question that was NEVER asked by the ORS Board was this, What changed from the 2005-06 budget when the transportation department bought 5 count them FIVE “brand new†not used, NEW buses (with all the bells and whistles including air conditioning) for approx. oh lets say $80,000 each (im only guessing)to the 2006-07 proposed budget which was over $400,000 the previous year with out buying ANY new buses? This is only the purchase of buses equaling approximately the same amount? Something does not add up!
If we are still running on the 2005-06 budget then there are a few salaries from different departments that can be used to suppliment the crossing guards for the schools and just one more ?
Why should the crossing guards be paid so much less than the bus drivers when the salaries were there for at least 6 more part time drivers and one full time Assistant director for the 2005-06 year? Over $30,000 would pay a nice part time wage for 2 or 3 crossing guards for the elementary schools a the same rate as a bus driver. In My Opinion
How long will it be before Laidlaw contracts bus service for Oak Ridge?
Will Bus service be open for bids for all interested contractors?
Some things just make you go HUMMM.
Food for thought.
I think it’s good that you’re coming here to add to the conversation, but it would be much appreciated if you kept all your comments in one thread so they’re easier to address.
August 6th, 2006 at 4:52 pm
Some kids have already started back to school, Mom Goose. My oldest goes to Willow Brook, but we’re cross boundary, so bussing issues don’t affect us personally.
But I do pass small kids walking to school by themselves every morning. I don’t know if they just go a block down the street, or if they live the full mile away, but they have to cross at least one decent-sized intersection. They’ve only just posted the requests for crossing guards, so for at least a few weeks there will be none to help the kids out.
Ms. Miller (principal at WB) told us that one child has already been lost. She was a walker, but her mom was cheating the system by parking down at the car wash and meeting her child there. But the mom was late, and the kid, not knowing what to do, took a ride from a friend’s mom. There was apparently much panic on the part of the mom and of the school. What some parents don’t seem to understand, is that the school is not responsible (nor does it have the bodies) for helping get the walkers to their destination.
Right now, we’re really getting past the point of blaming people or councils or boards. Right now we just have to focus on getting it fixed.
August 6th, 2006 at 11:43 pm
I only humbly ask you to read the posts on the oak ridger forum. Possibly it could open your eyes to hidden avenues of interest.
BTW, the more kids that do not ride the bus the less work the Trans. Director has. A McDonald’s mgr has more responsibility than the Dir of trans of ORS. (in essence of the safety concerns and employees) I’m sure any COLLEGE GRADUATE!!! working at McDonalds would have loved to have know the position was open this past spring.
Peace
August 7th, 2006 at 6:13 am
Man, you’ve got an agenda. Thats cool, and you’ve told us what it is, so thanks. Sounds a little self serving to me.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:21 am
“A McDonald’s mgr has more responsibility than the Dir of trans of ORS. (in essence of the safety concerns and employees) “
I’m not sure I can see how that is possible. I wouldn’t want the responsibility for the safety of a couple of thousand of someone else’s kids.
August 7th, 2006 at 11:20 am
Yeah. You’re a bad manager at McD’s and you get someone bitching about a spit-upon burger. You’re a bad manager at ORS transportation and you get parents just a little pissed that you lost their kid.
I’d take the McD’s.
August 7th, 2006 at 8:37 pm
Will the transportation issue be remedied when attendence drops, and thus state funding, due to the lack of proper bus service? Then will the school board smack their forheads and go “DOH!”?
Based on my understanding that the schools are funded not only on the number of students, but the number of students in attendence or student-days, it could prove to be a financial disaster for the schools. Assume that on average each kid misses one extra-day and state funding is thus decrease by half of one percent due to the absences. I have no idea what the state funding is for OR but for every million in state funding the system loses almost $5600.
Attendence will certainly suffer because of the restricted busing. Include a greater possibility for students to skip school, but also the parental external factors such as illness, work schedule, neglect, and the system loses money. Perhaps a small percentage of students will be affected, but enough to be financially significant over the course of the school year for a large school system, not to mention the toll placed on the students. Children who must walk to school in freezing weather, thunderstorms, and what all, will further decrease attendence and increase illness. I guess it’s all set in stone now, but this definately has hurt the schools more than helped.
August 7th, 2006 at 8:39 pm
i some how hit some collection of buttons that caused the above to post. it wasn’t proof read. sorry.
August 7th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
Good point man. Those collections of buttons were well placed together.