Post news and information from your neighborhood: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________ Here's a really novel idea: Cut bus funding altogether. No, you could still have open enrollment, but SPPS should not have to be responsible for getting the kids there. Open enrollment is a fine idea, but make the families get their kids there on their own steam. Too far? No car? Send your kids to the neighborhood school. Don't think the programs are that great there? Then speak up about it! If your children have to go to the school in your neighborhood, then nows the time to speak up about how good (or crappy) the programs are. Super. Harvey and SPPS have tried this accountability plan, that each achool needs to be accountable for its kids' learning and passing. Going back to the neighborhood schools would turn the tables, I think, and make the district accountable for each school getting the funding it needs to make their programs just as good as the next. Have IB or AP at all highschools, have Spec. Ed. programs at every school, have band/choir/theatre available at EVERY SCHOOL. I went to Arlington, and I lived about 1 block out of the "walking radius", so there WAS a bus I could take to school. However, I still walked a lot of the time. Why? Because the school is close. Como is closer, yes, but I liked the prgrams at AHS better, and if it came down to me hoofing to school everyday, well, I did and still would. Maybe this is the sort of thing that will start to get parents back involved in their children's education. Folks will need to speak up about programs that are lacking, because there's no where else to turn. And if they can walk to the school, maybe conference attendance will rise as well, because folks can then make time to go because its closer to their homes. Bonus? Neighborhoods get stronger because of the children's school bonds carrying over into their daily home life. Wow, a neighborhood where you could drop your books off at home, and skip down the block to your buddy's house to play after school. A neighborhood where all the locals are excited about the highschool football games or the little league baseball games etc. Stronger neighborhoods = more community involvement, which may equal safer streets and cities.
Who knows what may come out of simply cutting bus funding. Cachel Hoglund Erstwhile Como Park Currently @ St. Kates _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ _____________________________________________ For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract
