Marketing: an aggregate of functions involved in moving goods fromproducer to consumer

So, I was forwarded Bullis' latest marketing video, and for some reason, I took the time to watch it while walking the dogs. As usual, Bullis does an exceptional job with their marketing, and I'm sure that they also provide a great education for the kids whom they selectively admit into their program.

My beef is not with the quality of education that they provide to the families who can afford to pay their "tuition", it is the fact that I don't think that "choice" is a "god given right" that we all deserve when there are so many children who are not receiving an adequate education. This is where I believe the government should be spending their time and effort.

Add to this the fact that BCS has decided to sit on a large sum of money in their foundation while continuing to sue LASD for facilities, when they could have self-sited all along, and I have to wonder about whether BCS is as much of a scho, as it is a political statement by the wealthy. 

Anyway, for those of you who might want to see this marketing video, here it is: http://vimeo.com/85216753

As Alanis Morrisette once said, "Isn't it Ironic" that two of the board members in this video have stepped down from their board?!?

Education Dept. allows public charter schools to hold weighted lottery

Wonder if BCS will read this to intend that those applicants who can pay the $5k tuition deserve more weight?!!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/education-dept-allows-public-charter-schools-to-hold-weighted-lottery/2014/01/29/2fc0f1c8-892d-11e3-833c-33098f9e5267_story.html

Sad day for Santa Clara County PUBLIC school students

It looks like the big money behind the charter school movement and the board has run a good man out of town :(

http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/yisd-names-new-superintendent-controversial-history-3593.shtml

I wonder what shill the board will find next, who won't stand in their political way or attempt to impede their "charter progress"?!?  

I hear that Ken Moore will have some more time on his hands soon...

Ah, the trials of being a "public" school

Hopefully this letter below is a sign that the SCCBOE is becoming more serious about actually "monitoring" BCS (you know, the role that they signed up for as authorizers), but I fear that this might be a mere appeasement to the public who is concerned about the school's practices. I guess we'll see at renewal time... (sorry, reposting this because I didn't do it correctly last night. Now, you should be able to see/download the letter from the SCCBOE)

I used to like "The Depot"...

Having worked in San Carlos for 8+ years, I was very fond of "The Depot" for breakfast meetings.  Unfortunately, the "Depo" that I sat through the past few nights wasn't nearly as good. Along with a few other members of our community, I had the opportunity to see the deposition of Ken Moore and David Spector (partial) by an attorney from Reed Smith regarding the never-ending legal battles between LASD and BCS.

Although the content was rather dry, there were a few interesting tidbits that arose from it, like;

- the BCS Foundation was formed with the mission of returning public ed to west of foothill (ie the hills). For those who are not as aware of the history, I believe that this all spawned from the closure of the only public LASD school in Los Altos Hills.  From what I understood, LASD had some hard decisions to make, due to declining enrollment, so the decided to close the smallest school in the district.  In hindsight, I don't think that they realized the power and fortitude of the people who they angered by this maneuver.  Not to mention the town/leadership of Los Altos Hills.

- the "site fund" that was initial formed from $5mil in donations had been collecting interest.  Over time, this interest was used to fund lawsuits against LASD. Over more time, some of the principal has been used too. Guess LASD knows what it is up against now...

- influential parent volunteers spearheaded the fundraising and site identification. 

Conclusion of depo...

Listening to David Spector being deposed in 2013, and the attorney deposing him spins him in a few interesting circles, but one that confused me a little bit - when the attorney asked him if BCS would have been given a school for the original offer of 3 million (which apparently was BCS' offer for the Bullis site in LAH) would they have dropped the litigation?  Mr Spector responded that the lawsuits are about "more than getting a school".  Was he referring to something else in Los Altos, or was he talking about a broader political movement?!?

Another interesting point was a review of an email from an original donor of the "Site Fund". This donor was concerned about the impacts of the lawsuits upon the community, and asked that the funds specifically be allocated to purchasing a site, and not lawsuits. Mr Spector didn't really have a response to this concern, although he did talk for a bit...

Another funny back and forth:

Deposing attorney: so, you said that there is a Site Fund that was used to pay for litigation, but in your view there was no "litigation fund".  And the single largest expense of the site fund has been litigation, but in your mind this is not a litigation fund?!?  Abbott and Costello would be proud - Who's on first?...

An email from Spector to a community member:

To make a donation on our legal fund all you need to do is make a check payable to "BPESF" and write "for Legal Fund". But wait, there's no legal fund, right???

First board member declares for LASD race

I'm a bit behind in this post, but aside from my forgetfulness, that is largely due the conflict in my mind and not wanting to hurt anyone for whom I have such respect. Martha was a fellow parent at Oak elementary, with one of her three daughters in my daughter's class. She is a very respected member of the community, and does a lot for the girls (especially through her Girl Scouts leadership). I was quite saddened when she decided to pull her girls from Oak to attend BCS, but I respected her decision to do so. When I saw the article in the town crier about Martha running for the LASD school board, my initial gut reaction was one of concern. Normally, I would be 100% behind an LASD parent running for the board, and against a BCS parent, because of the history of vitriol, litigation, etc between BCS and LASD. While I understand that LASD is our "community school district", and anyone in the community should be eligible to sit on the board, I can't imagine how anyone associated with BCS could fairly hold a seat on the LASD board, given BCS' litigious nature, and the fact that unfortunately much of the LASD board's time appears to be dealing with the various lawsuits brought on by BCS. If there were ever a conflict of interest in being on the LASD board, it would seem to me that being affiliated with BCS would squarely fit the criteria. As has been the case from the beginning, I'm still hoping that BCS gives up their "political/financial war that they have waged upon the citizens of Los Altos", and decide to self-site. Lost in the more than a decade (yes, we can now say this) of fighting is the fact that many charter schools self-site. Can you believe what a wonderful school, and addition to our community, BCS could have been if they would have just used their ample funds to self-site, and still have the same wonderful programs. LASD would have more than $1million more for the LASD students every year, and I'm sure that BCS would have the same. Funny, that I've never heard this perspective from someone associated with BCS. I always hear "we deserve", or "we're being discriminated against", but not "here's what we can do for the broader Los Altos community" - starting with self-siting, partnering with LASD, providing facilities and programs for the disadvantaged, etc". Now, that is a message that I could really get behind. Alas, I'm not holding my breath. All of this being said, I truly like and respect Martha and her family. She is a pillar of, and an asset to our community, and would make a wonderful member of the BCS Board.