“Remember the Bell South Cell Phones!!!!”

If the Anti-School Bond Movement ever needed a battle cry it would be “Remember the Bell South Cell Phones!”  Those were purchased from the 2004 bond election pushed by the same crowd; The Alliance for Education, Philip Rozeman, The Chamber of Commerce and school board member, Larry Ramsey (at the time a Bell South employee.)  All the schools were excited to get “phones” for each classroom. They promised that the phones could even work out on the playground if an emergency happened out there. NOT!  These phones were obsolete upon arrival. Some trash Bell South had not been able to sell. So Caddo Parish took them off Bell South’s hands for $795 each plus the cost of the charging stations. That’s for each classroom in 72 schools.  I can’t do that high math.  They sat around collecting dust for years. Some schools put them in boxes and hid them in closets. Most were never turned on.  Some loyal frustrated principals tried to play the game and had a recharging station for the teachers to return the phones each day. Eventually, even those schools gave up the pretense.  Then in the last couple of years some folks showed up at the schools in CPSB vans, reboxed the worthless phones and said they were taking them to the IT department at Central Office. To add insult to injury, the TAXPAYERS are still paying for those worthless things.

I wonder what business or businesses have something they can’t sell that the schools need?  Big ugly metal buildings? Oh this is just one of the CBC’s financial reports. You get the idea.

Teachers, Retired Teachers, Anyone that Believes in Public Education Vote No on May 2nd.’

Members of the CBC/PAC endorsing Locke

http://www.bettercaddo.org/about-1.html

 Guiding Principles for School Board Members

Citizens for a Better Caddo

4. Future Focused: While responding to immediate concerns, Board Members must make decisions with an eye to their lasting consequences; especially to the long term educational skills of our children, the health of the district and the needs of the community, including significant attention to pension and healthcare benefit costs associated with past, present and future employees. 

http://youtu.be/CKs3m9nHqfQ

Why anyone, who believes that all children should have access to public education, would vote for the proposed CPSB bond that was written by Rozeman and the CBC/PAC is surely a mystery to us. They have told us over and over again that one of their 4 main goals is to take away teacher benefits; particularly as they become senior citizens. 1st they want to replace them with Teach for America teachers. Don’t allow people to teach for more than 10 years so they will not have retirement. Why don’t we believe them when they put it into writing, elect new board members who state that position and then go on television and say they are supporting the bond (that they actually constructed) with the belief that the current School Board will make the tough decisions to cut Educators’ health care and pension benefits. Sure pension benefits are a legislative action, but we are talking about determined people with money and influence. Yes, there are 6 members on the board who currently have retired from the Caddo system. Have we ever seen people sell-out? Of course this bond is really only about Chamber of Commerce people making money off of our tax dollars. But next year’s tax renewals are about employees and their salaries.  Why is the Chamber jumping ahead of that? Could it be that if the Board does not take action against the employee benefits, the Chamber will not support next year’s renewals? It won’t matter to the business guys, because they will have their money from this bond. They are telling us over and over that this is what they want and still a lot of people and organizations are refusing to believe them–how can that be? Take Rozeman and the Chamber of Commerce at their word and vote Hell NO on May 2nd. Do NOT play with them!

Where Is Board Member Locke When District 9 Is Stealing Her District’s Sparkling Diamond?

News came out today that the Gateway 3 and 4 year old classes will be moving from A.C. Steere; where they have been for nearly 20 years. This was shocking news to parents, as well as, employees.  Where are these young gifted classes going? We have been told to the unbearably overcrowded University Elementary School in District 9. Remember one of the main reasons we must vote yes for the CPSB bond on May 2nd is to relieve University that currently houses 926 students in a school with a maximum capacity of 928.   Many parents who have contacted us say, they are strongly considering enrolling their children in private schools if forced to leave the safety of A. C. Steere.  How did this come about?  One theory floating around is that the University Principal, Kasie Mainiero’s son is in the Gifted class and will be able to go where his mother is. But even this does not seem to be the real reason to move one of the best programs from District 8, to what has been described by School District Staff, a school that cannot adequately provide for its current enrollment. Parents and citizens are anxiously awaiting the justification of this upheaval to our smallest and brightest.

The Powerful, Enforced Silence Around Standardized Testing

deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog

Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) testing takes more than ten hours for students in grades 3 through 8 to complete.

These students have spent countless hours preparing for the PARCC tests, and they have heard that the tests are important. However, they will receive no immediate, clear benefit from taking the tests. Their teachers will receive no clear, immediate information to inform instruction. By the time PARCC scores come, the school year is over, and likely another begun.

The teachers know that student scores on PARCC are meant to be used to grade them and their schools.

All of the above makes for a high-stress situation for both kids and teachers.

And once it is over, kids now know that the testing companies and departments of education are trolling social media to see if kids discuss the experience.

Such constitutes an abuse of power.

Pretend…

View original post 441 more words

Board Member’s FaceBook Post Aids Law Suit

Shortly after Board Member Larry Ramsey’s post appeared on Facebook that the law prohibited the CPSB Superintendent and all staff from making public statements supporting the bond proposal, a local attorney filed a law suit.

This message was sent to Board Members in private, but Mr. Ramsey chose to post it on Facebook. It appears he was answering the outcry from many residents wanting to hear both sides, since Dr. Goree is obviously only presenting the VOTE YES side. But instead, it drew attention to the fact that it is possible the Superintendent and staff are indeed breaking the law. Citizens have been very impressed by the presentation of Elliott Stonecipher.  Since the Superintendent is using his position and taxpayers money to hold, not only, public presentations at schools all over the parish, but in-addition, requiring all employees to stay after work for an hour and listen to him and staff do their sales pitch. Many citizens believe it would be fair to them to offer the same to Mr. Stonecipher. Well, that got all twisted. The Superintendent stated that he did not want to dignify Mr. Stonecipher’s position by answering his questions and facts. And if too many questions and facts are brought out at Dr. Goree’s presentations he will say we are out of time and leave. That is what happened at the presentation at Captain Shreve.

One dilemma we find ourselves in here at Tammy Tales is, which award does Board Member Ramsey deserve?  The Best Board Member because he pointed out the law that prohibits the Superintendent from promoting a bond issue.  OR  The Tail-end Award for not realizing he was drawing a lawsuit against the Superintendent.

February Board Member of the Month

Some readers will understand the TT Best Board Member for the month of February. But some will think our choice is totally ridiculous. And on any given day, both opinions are 100% correct. But this month’s award goes to the CPSB Member from District 12, Mrs. Dottie Bell.  She received this award because of how vocal she was on an issue concerning students’ safety.

 

According to Mrs. Bell’s interview with the TT staff, she said that she had to vote against the Superintendent’s recent decision to continue to allow students to be place in a dangerous situation in one of our classes. The administration sees nothing wrong with combining students of different levels and skills into one class.  And when this situation was brought to the Superintendent’s and the School Board’s attention, they decided to continue to put our students in a very dangerous situation. She spoke up in her very loud style for their safety and she voted against the Superintendent’s and his staff’s recommendation. For her true ability to put children first, we name her the Tammy Tales Best Board Member for the month of February.

Tale of 2 School Boards

Last Tuesday, February 3 the CPSB held a special Call Meeting.  What was the urgent matter?  Well as it turned out it was not exactly studrent focused.  They voted to send a resolution to the BESE (state school board) that if parents chose to opt-out of the fake PARCC test, please don’t count those zeroes against the Caddo school district.  They made no statement about the impact of months of unnecessary testing is having on our children, teachers and family life in general.  So for that reason the entire CPSB receives the Tammy Tales Tail-end award.   Across the river is a different tale. BPSB passed a resolution asking to opt-out of Common Core and Fake PARCC. Therefore, showing concern for the people they are elected to serve. So they deserve the Tammy Tales Head of the pack award.

Is This Bully Speech?

Superintendent Lamar Goree said “Schools still will close regardless of the election’s outcome. Given this, voters will have to decide if they want to build new schools to accommodate students or allow them to be shuffled around and sent to existing schools. . . .The question is where will students go?”

This quote is from a recent recent article in the Shreveport Times about the proposed bond.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/education/k-12/2015/01/28/three-highland-schools-costliest-maintain/22457153/

Many citizens in Caddo Parish have referred to that quote from Superintendent Goree as nothing but a threat of retaliation and bullying of all the voters in Caddo if the bond proposal does not pass. He now believes, that with a School Board that no longer feels any need to represent the citizens of Caddo Parish, that if his “demands” are not met, he can do even worse.  Yes, he will put all the children in the Highlands and Stoner Hill neighborhoods on buses and send them anywhere he sees fit.

Citizens from across the parish are shaking their heads and saying, “Surely this is not the congenial smart young man who grew up here and went off to the Dallas area to gain experience and returned to us? What has happened to him?”

The only answer we can come up with is, he is on a destructive power trip.

 

 

And the Award Goes To

Sorry for the long absence from blogging. The Tammy Team has had a busy new year. But we have a great audience and must do our work to disclose the inter-workings of government and those who seek to control it.

Some interesting commentary happened at the very first CPSB meeting. Of course there was excellent coverage from the media of the secret Roseman/PAC bond proposal after it was outed on my blog and FB page. (Now using first person, me, Tammy Tales cause it’s more fun.) Several neighborhoods have organized. The Superintendent has tried to claim it as his and staff’s with input from some Bond Committee. But he greatly underestimates the intellect of the citizens of Caddo.

Anyway, after watching the great unveiling at the January 6th board meeting, I couldn’t help myself but to offer an award to the board member who did the worst job of trying to fool the public.  Please watch this clip from that January 6th meeting as you will understand why such an award was so deserved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWeJ6dL1Sm8

The Tail End Award

:

Presented to:

Mr. Barry Rachal
For telling the biggest untruth.
“All board members have been working
On this bond proposal since last May.”
Your pants should have been ablaze!

Even the information from our superintendent contradicts what Mr. Rachal said.  The documentation says that the plan was presented to all CPSB members on the 2015 board during the week of Dec. 9th.Other board members have stated publicly that they were not a part of the bond committee.  So we are to believe that Mr. Rachal is the “special” board member.Therefore, we are glad to give a “special ” award to Mr. Rachal.

And is Mr. Rachal taking personal credit for proposing to close all the neighborhood schools in Highland and Stoner Hill? Then he REALLY is the Tail End of the Board Members!

Should not totally concentrate on the unpleasant.  So because of the Facebook video that Ms. Jasmine Green posted asking for input from citizens about the bond proposal and that she was the ONLY board member to ask very informative questions concerning the proposal; she received the Tammy Tales Best Board Member of the Month Award. We were thrilled when she proudly posted a picture of it on Facebook.

Congratulations to our January Tammy Tales Award Winners.  They truly deserved it.

 

Who’s In Charge of Outsourcing Our Security?

Strange things are happening in our school district. I received an email from a trusted source that read;

        “On December 29th a Pilot Security Program will begin at Southwood High School by Guardian 

Alarm  Security. The Pilot Program will end on January 29, 2015.” 

The email was CCed to Roy Murray.  Does that mean he didn’t know about this?  Did Dr. Goree authorize this pilot outsourcing program?  Did we give folks a raise and now think about taking away their jobs?  Usually the School Board votes to outsource jobs or pilot them. Were RFP’s sent out?   But with half the board leaving and new ones not coming on until January 6th, who is pulling the strings?  Board Member, Mr. Larry Ramsey likes to be the man in charge and South Wood is in his district. Does he know the current owners of Guardian Alarm Systems? Guardian was started in 1991 by Del Roy Chandler and Wes Usie.  Ramsey likes to make things happen for certain people.  Did he, Dr. Goree or Roy Murray do this without letting the Board know?  The 2014 Board is still a sitting board, so shouldn’t there have been a special called meeting if this was an emergency?  Where is the board attorney Reginald Abrams?  Oh yeah–Mr. Abrams is busy co-chairing Mayor Tyler’s transition committee. 

Ramsey was busy campaigning for his lady, Mrs. Tyler. 

So we, the tax payers, are paying employees and Guardian Alarm Systems.  The CPSB must think they have money to burn–our money.