This is in response to Audrey Johnson's response, with which I'm forced to disagree with and also clarify a few items.
I think it's a slight exaggeration to call this situation "gross mismanagement" and the delineation of it is a bit misleading. Of the $3-3.5M debt, a third is the building's lease which has a 10 year payment plan. Another quarter to a third is equipment which is on a 5 year plan. Much of the debt is startup costs and not due immediately. This the most advance facility I've ever seen in a high school. Each student and staff has a workstation, a computer and access to the internet. Learning is self-paced with Individual Learning Plans. Cable TV an projection systems in every classroom. And Video-conferencing sessions with educators, executives and students worldwide. Upon the finalization of the an added curriculum component at the end of the year, students will have the ability to graduate not only with a high school degree, but also an associates degree and certifications in A+, Cisco, MCSE, Java, etc. Much of this "gross mismanagement", is a misnomer though. Yes, the financing should have been done better, but the school has only been open 2 months, to abandon the ship without giving it a chance to right itself is poor fleet management. The revenues raised are just in this short two months, and it's primarily from the technology services that the school provides. Services that will not only eventually enable the school to be self sufficient, but will also provide on-the-job training, professional experience, and a good reputation. Sounds like a worthy investment to me. It's important to keep in mind that it has only been open 2 months. Not all of the teacher's paychecks bounced, but they did have to do some scrambling to cover them. And when you have shortfall's the IRS is a huge chunk to have to deal with. But it's also very easily handled in terms of setting up a payment arrangement to catch up on all of two months. Same thing with vendors. It is not an ideal situation, but it is one that's workable especially considering the funding that will be incoming. Unless of course (say it softly now) you don't want it to succeed.... At the meeting, the school asked for the second quarter to secure more funding and stabilize itself. Despite impassioned pleas from parent, staff, students and citizens, the board voted to terminate their contract, "for the good of the kids". I'm still trying to figure that out. MTTA has been applying for QZAB bonds in the amount of $1.8M which would have stabilize the matter, but the process has been delayed because the district refused to sign off on it, saying, as I understand it, that it would exceed their bonding capacity. MTTA received a legal opinion refuting this, but I believe found out that the district was applying for $2.7M themselves after their request. All of this doesn't quite fit right. I understand fiduciary responsibility and fiscal management, they are essential, no argument there. But what would happen if every time one of our kids screwed up, we put them out of school? I was under the impression that part of the purpose of education was to help people learn from their mistakes and to help our children succeed. Perhaps I was mistaken. Here we have the most advanced facility in the school system, with a state of the equipment, individualize learning, and kids who WANT to go to school, and you want to tell them you'll work to find them a "suitable replacement" because you're working hard on school reform? Hmmmmm. Being concerned is fine, but MTTA only asked for another quarter. The board could have given that quarter given the short time passed, but instead took away money that was already slated for MTTA, adding to burden, and making it almost impossible to continue to operate. I'm curious why it wouldn't give them a chance to come back. I'm also curious as to what will happen to those funds.... It's a little disturbing that we had to fight to keep Superintendant Johnson here and ponied up more money and now we have a number of school closings due to financial constraints. This is it, people. The classroom of the future. The ability to prepare students for careers in our technology-driven new economy, bridge the digital divide, and rather than keep pace, set the standard for education. Why then would any educator, school official or district not go out of its way to make this program a success? Oh, by the way, the majority of students are of color and/or economically disadvantaged. And it's an alternative school, which are usually thought of as being the schools that get the "throw-aways". It probably doesn't look to good if the "second-hand" institutions are outshining the "regular" schools. Just a thought.... Jonathan Palmer Stevens Square-Loring Heights _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
