From Lenin to Lennon

Hmm, never knew that the old "one step forward, two steps back" was a Vladimir Lenin quote?!?  While I'm on that trajectory, I'll borrow some wise words from a different Lennon - "Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one."  I, too, hope that we will all put down our differences, and work together in the best interests of educating ALL of our children, not just those biologically related to us.

I now understand a little bit more about what transpired in the meeting yesterday, and I'm disappointed to say that it sounds like the fact that the BCS teachers are "locked out of the new Blach facilities" seems to be caused by BCS' unwillingness to sign the document stipulating the agreement around the facilities use agreement (FUA).  Without the signed agreement, furnishing access seems like it would be a bit of putting the cart before the horse - especially, since one side seems to have a particularly itchy legal trigger finger.  Hopefully, the lawyers can work faster than the marketers, and we can sign the agreement and move forward on another fun filled year of edu-leg-cat-al-ion...

MOUs, FUAs, TLAs, oh my...

Sorry for my Freudian slip of the finger, but it sounds like the dispute is over whether or not BCS will sign the FUA (Facilities Use Agreement) - who was the funny guy who nicknamed it the FU agreement :)  For the conspiracy theorists out there (you know who you are), this document is perfectly reasonable, and is a part of the standard charter package of stuff, which you can find here: http://www.charterschooltools.org/toolCategoryList.cfm?vendorCategoryID=4.
Long story short, LASD and BCS used to use this agreement.  BCS sued over the legality of it, so it wasn't used the past couple of years while the judge deliberated.  The judge ruled in favor of the district, so the agreement is back.  Seems pretty straightforward to me, but I'm sure the conspiracy theorists out there will concoct some ulterior story/motives...

To self-site, or not to self-site?

Apologies to Mr Shakespeare, but apparently that is the question. Why do some charters choose to provide their own facilities, while others piggyback on the local district to furnish them?  Seems to me that finances would play a role here, because low income areas would be dependent upon help from the government. But what about the richest 1%?  Seems that they could self-site and build an awesome facility of opulence and prestige. So, when they don't do that, something else must be a driving motivation.  Could it be revenge, for the errant closing (and subsequent realization  and reopening) of the only LASD school in the hills?  Could it be spite, because of perceived injustices brought upon by the LASD board?  Could it be a political maneuver to help set legal precedent for all of the less privileged "I want school choice because it is my god-given right" proponents?  Maybe it's just a game for some rich folks with too much money and time on their hands?  Who knows, but hopefully we'll find out someday, before too many more kids get "used" in the process...

Marketing, or honesty, which will win the day?

I do feel bad for the parents who had to skip latte hour in order to picket at the LASD offices yesterday, but I have to wonder if they know about what they are picketing. Common sense would say that kids were being deprived of something, but that's not the case because NO kids (LASD or BCS) have access to the rooms  right now.  So. perhaps the picketing was because the BCS teachers don't have access to the rooms at Blach?  If that's the case, then we should move the whole congregation to Mr Moore's house, because it is actually BCS who has refused to sign the agreement which would provide them access.  And why did they refuse?  Because the rent went up?  News flash, Los Altos property values are rising, and BCS is getting more land.  And maybe, just maybe, there were some errors in the calculations which have since been fixed.   Whatever it is, there is no Diabolical Plan against the charter, as some would like you to believe, just people trying to educate kids.  Oh, and some just trying to generate marketing hype...

Miss Leading Marketing

Many have claimed that Miss Hersey (or Mrs Hersey, to be correct) is the mastermind behind BCS' brilliant marketing machine, which has developed much hype, and a devoted following.  What if, she is even better at MIS-LEADING than LEADING.  The latest example is the "apparently signed" FUA which has been posted on BCS' website - http://www.bullischarterschool.com/Page/323.  One interesting note about this "signed document" is that it lacks Mr Baier's signature?!?  Apparently, the document that Mrs Hersey has signed and posted on BCS' website is significantly different from the document that was verbally, mutually agreed upon, hence will not probably not be signed by the district???  Would that be an example of MIS-LEADING marketing?  Hmm...

What a LONG, meandering day...

It started out a promising day.  I dropped the kids off at camp, and had the opportunity meet with Amanda Aaronson at Starbucks.  I always enjoy chatting with Amanda.  Although we may not agree on everything, she is very wise, and respectful, and I value her opinion and thoughts.  It "seemed" like it might be a good day.

But then, unfortunately, I went on Facebook.  Despite being a valuable communication vehicle, I have finally decided that the rancor that is spewed by David Roode was not worth my time.  Over the past many months, I have attempted to reach out to him, to meet and chat with him, and to better understand him.  Taking this same action with many vocal BCS parents has been very successful, but doing so with Mr Roode has proven fruitless.  Ironically, he somehow thinks that I have impersonated him on patch, and at one point, he even accused me of being JJS on Facebook.  Won't it be eye opening for him when these actions continue now that I have moved on :)  The extent of my online interaction with DR was to question his motives, and at the peak of my frustration with him, follow his inane and belligerent and respond by parroting his insanity with equally insane posts and prefixing them with "DR Elucidation".  Anything else that he thinks was me, well, he will be sorely disappointed.

Anyway, I've decided that the value that Facebook was bringing to my life (information, and opportunity to share, etc) were all outweighed by cost in frustration the he brought.  Why, many have asked, don't I just "ignore" him on FB, so I can't hear what he is saying?  To me, that seems a bit disingenuous, and in a forum where honesty and openness are valued, I felt like trying to have a conversation, while missing parts of it, wasn't worth the hassle.  So, after removing myself from all groups into which he is posting, I felt a great calmness come upon me, so I knew that I had made the right decision.

Unfortunately, the calmness only lasted a few hours, because I decided to attend the LASD board meeting to hear the "community feedback".  Unfortunately, this consisted of one member of BCS after another (teachers, parents, board members, etc) venting about how bad (uncaring, spiteful, vengeful, etc) the LASD board is and how their children are unfairly being harmed.  Ironically, enough, I've attended a couple of the BCS board meetings (as difficult as it is to figure out when/where they are happening), and no one attends, or questions them.  Perhaps the parents are afraid of being blacklisted or something, but their perspectives are INCREDIBLY one-sided.  I wish them, and especially all of the children, the best, but the arrogance of this community is just beyond me.  How they can be in one of the best school districts in the state, and say "it's not good enough for me", and THEN say "and I deserve choice" and THEN say "and the government should subsidize it" despite the fact that there are ample, stellar private options in the area astounds me.  I feel like we should all take a field trip to East Palo Alto, and then talk about "choice"...

Serenity now... Ahh

Many have suggested that I rejoin the Facebook groups, and just block Mr Roode, but given the fact that he seems to make 50% of the posts on there, that just seems disingenuous to me. As much as I might miss the potential for real discussion attempting to achieve a fair resolution, the overwhelming sense of peace by disconnecting is really worth it. Hopefully, someone smarter than I will create a forum/environment to allow people to share ideas.  As a famous bather once said. - Calgon, take me away...