| Newspapers; 3/11/06 | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 11 2006, 07:43 AM (184 Views) | |
| NFarquharson | Mar 11 2006, 07:43 AM Post #1 |
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From the Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...HOOLS/603110432 Saturday, March 11, 2006 Judge refuses to halt Livonia school restructuring plan Parents lose bid to stop closing of 7 schools Catherine Jun / The Detroit News LIVONIA -- A Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Friday denied a request by parents for a preliminary injunction to immediately stop the Livonia Public Schools from implementing a controversial district reorganization plan that includes closing seven schools by this fall. The parents filed a lawsuit last month, seeking a court injunction to permanently stop the plan. The preliminary injunction would have stopped the district from moving ahead until a final court judgment is issued. Most of the more than 100 parents waited for the decision in the hall of the courtroom at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, because the small courtroom was at full capacity. Parents were visibly disappointed with the decision. "We're moving," said Joanne Wickman, a mother of two. "I'm not staying, not when someone thrusts that down my throat," she said. The plan, adopted by the school board Dec. 5, includes shuttering seven elementary schools and reorganizing students in the remaining buildings into K-4, 5-6, 7-8, and 9-12 grade configurations. The district maintains the plan would save $1.5 to 2 million a year, which comprises about 1 percent of its annual $160-million budget. In making his decision, Judge John A. Murphy said that the parents, represented by attorney Mayer Morganroth, did not prove that the school board violated open meeting requirements in creating a 40-member committee that met in private over a year and proposed the plan. "The plaintiffs have presented no evidence that in enacting the Demographics Committee, the board intended to circumvent the (Open Meetings) Act," he said. Five school board members sat on the committee, but the district maintained no attendance records or minutes. The parents also did not show that board's decision to adopt the plan was "arbitrary" and unjustified, said Murphy. "Common sense says that the fewer schools, fewer costs," the judge said. In a prepared statement, Superintendent Randy Liepa said: "Our focus continues to be on providing a smooth and comprehensive transition to support our parents, students, and staff as we move into this new elementary school configuration. The court's ruling today will help us to maintain that focus." The parents could return to court and ask again for the injunction after the two parties complete the discovery process and gather more evidence, he added. "We're not through, believe me," Morganroth told disappointed parents outside the courtroom. Morganroth described the judge's decision not as a setback, but as a continued warning to school board to continue with caution. "At this point, the board knows that if the board proceeds they proceed at their own risk," he said. Before the judge made his decision, he heard arguments from both attorneys. Morganroth argued that the plan would hurt the quality of the schools by increasing class size and forcing the busing of students. He cited additional costs, such as purchasing buses, that would offset savings to the district. Gary King, attorney representing the school district, countered, saying, "I have a client that is facing serious declining enrollment issues, and declining enrollment means declining state funding." He added, "Plain and simply, Livonia has to close schools." You can reach Catherine Jun at (734) 462-2204 or cjun@detnews.com. _________________________________ http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...30/1026/SCHOOLS Saturday, March 11, 2006 Shannon Davidson / Aurora Daily Sun Overland High School social studies teacher Jay Bennish leaves the Cherry Creek School District adminstration building Friday. Teacher who compared Bush to Hitler allowed to return to classroom Michigan native to resume teaching at Colorado school Monday Joe Menard / The Detroit News AURORA, Colo. -- Geography teacher Jay Bennish has been reinstated at Overland High School effective Monday. The 28-year-old Beverly Hills native had been placed on paid administrative leave since March 1 after a lecture he made where he compared President Bush to Adolf Hitler and criticized America's foreign policy was published in conservative media. "We're pleased with the outcome," said his father, John Bennish. He said he talked to his son after the Cherry Creek School District reinstated him and that he is doing well. "He's pretty stressed out, like we all are," he said. "It was an unfortunate situation and I think we can all get on with our lives now. Jay can get on with his teaching career and his life." District officials said they were working with the family of the 10th-grade student who taped the lecture to get him back into Overland or another high school. The student, Sean Allen, has not been back to school since the national controversy erupted. The Allen and Bennish families received several violent threats since the audiotape hit mainstream news outlets, but have not involved their respective police authorities. District officials declined to say whether Bennish was punished in any way, citing Colorado privacy laws. John Bennish said his son didn't discuss the contents of the meeting with him because it was confidential. Bennish said he always presents balancing viewpoints in class, but not always at the same time. His attorney, David Lane, acknowledged that was a mistake. "Jay's teaching style will perhaps be, as some would say, a little more fair and balanced on a minute-to-minute basis," Lane said. "When you put out one side, put out the other then and there." Bennish said he would continue to try to improve as a teacher and to encourage students to think critically. "I will be back in the classroom on Monday and I am excited to continue to teach," he said. The Associated Press contributed. You can reach Joe Menard at (248) 647-7429 or jmenard@detnews.com. ________________________________________ http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../603110404/1026 Saturday, March 11, 2006 Bebeto Matthews / Associated Press Manhattan's Trinity School, seen in the background, will soon charge $30,170 for seniors, marking a new milestone in the ever-rising cost of private education in the city. By comparison, tuition at Harvard University stands at $28,752. Tuition at some NYC high schools now exceeds $30,000 -- more than Harvard Nahal Toosi / Associated Press NEW YORK-- Harvard is great, but it's no Riverdale Country School. The Bronx private school will charge tuition of $31,200 next school year for sixth- through 12th-graders, more than $3,300 higher than this year's rate at the esteemed university. Bus rides not included. Riverdale is among several elite New York City high schools that have surpassed or are approaching the $30,000 mark. But if anyone thinks a "tuition bubble" is about to burst, experts say think again. "By the year 2015, these schools will be $50,000, and they would still have wait lists," said Amanda Uhry, head of Manhattan Private School Advisors, who credited the demand for private schools to failing public schools. "It's like a feeding frenzy around here." Dozens of people are often on waiting lists to get into the schools, even as prices rise. Manhattan's Trinity School will soon charge $30,170 for seniors, private school observers say. And plenty of schools are just a hair under the $30,000 threshold. The Horace Mann School in the Bronx, for instance, will charge about $29,000 for the 2006-07 school year. The elite schools are so sought-after because they boast small classes and top-notch teachers, not to mention high-quality facilities, especially for athletics. But perhaps more than anything, the most elite offer their reputations, something that could give an edge to students applying to top-tier colleges. "Tuition, however high or low it may be, or whatever it is, it still costs us more than that to educate a student," said Mary Ludemann, a spokeswoman for Riverdale. "We are trying to raise faculty salaries, teachers' salaries. The only way to do that is to raise tuition." In many ways, the higher tuition bills are not a surprise. New York is by far the most expensive place in the country to send a child to private school -- driven by the high cost of living in a city where apartments routinely sell for $1 million and it can cost a small fortune just to park your car. The median 12th-grade tuition in Manhattan independent schools -- a group not including parochial schools -- was $27,200 in 2005-06; nationwide it was $16,970, according to the National Association of Independent Schools. "New York is the only region of the country where there are numerous schools in that price bracket -- close to $30,000," said Myra McGovern, a spokeswoman for the association. And it's not just high schools with large tuitions. At Riverdale, preschool tuition cost $24,500 for the current school year, while kindergarten through fifth grade is $27,150. While the cost of living in New York is a big reason for the jump in tuition, some schools are offering more specialized programs and classes that also drive the cost of instruction up. Schools define tuition in different ways. Some do not include bus transportation; others charge extra for things like books and activities. Victoria Goldman, a parent of a child currently at Riverdale and author of a leading guide to New York private schools, said the schools are attractive to even financially stretched parents. "The level of education at these schools is so fabulous -- the facilities are incredible," she said. McGovern said parents feel it's worth the cost. "It's investing in their children's lives," she said. "Many people are willing to spend that much on a car. This for most parents, parents who send their children to independent schools, pays dividends for a lifetime." _____________________________________ http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../603110318/1008 Saturday, March 11, 2006 Judge lets elected Livonia school board decide cuts The Detroit News / A Wayne Circuit judge correctly decided not to legislate from the bench Friday, rejecting a request by some parents to permanently stop a Livonia public school reorganization plan that would close seven schools by this fall. Judge John A. Murphy ruled that opponents failed to prove the school board had acted "arbitrarily" and without justification in cutting the budget and reorganizing the schools into K-4, 5-6, 7-8 and 9-12th grade units. The judge noted the obvious: If the district has less revenue, there will have to be fewer schools. The school board's plan is projected to save the district $1.5 million to $2 million a year, or about 1 percent of its budget. Opponents should stop wasting taxpayer money with a frivolous lawsuit, which makes even less money available for teaching students as the district defends itself in court. The proper forum to vent their displeasure is in the voting booth. |
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| NFarquharson | Mar 11 2006, 07:47 AM Post #2 |
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From The Free Press: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...EWS05/603110348 Metro Detroit ENGINEERING FOR THE FUTURE: Robot-building puts students to the test Teams strive to have the best invention March 11, 2006 BY GINA DAMRON FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER Members of the Oaktown Crewz team -- Ashley Sims, left, 17, and Sarah Hopkins, right, 15, both from Dondero High School in Royal Oak -- lament their robot's failure Friday during the Great Lakes Regional robotics competition at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. The competition concludes today. (Photos by J. KYLE KEENER/Detroit Free Press) Photo galleries: FIRST Robotics competition It's not often you see a hammerhead shark walking around with protective eye goggles or swarms of killer bees and caped crusaders leading their homemade robots out to battle. These mascots were a few of the high school students who came from around the state for the Great Lakes Regional robotics competition. It started Thursday and will wrap up today at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. The competition is part of the national 2006 FIRST Robotics Competition program. "You can directly apply this to your life," said Natalie Sirianni, 16, a sophomore from Dondero High School in Royal Oak and member of the Oaktown Crewz team. "It's good to know how to fix things." Scouting the competition Sitting on the floor, Ashley Kulczycki kept her eyes fixated on her laptop. An important part of any good competition, the 17-year-old said, is to know what you're up against. And in this robotics challenge, her team -- the TEC CReW Hammerheads, made up of Troy High School and Troy Athens High School students -- isn't taking any chances. Like many teams, they are keeping track of the competition's robots and how they fare. The goal: To identify possible teams to form an alliance with for another competition category. During each battle, teams were put into randomly selected trios that competed as one. The same will be done today, but this time the highest-scoring eight teams -- out of 63 -- will each choose two teams to form trios for the final round. The winning trio A team of engineers and designers watch anxiously from the sidelines as the robot they spent weeks crafting rolls across the battlefield and hurls foam balls toward the goal. "Come on, come on, come on!" Trent Sutherland, 17, yelled, along with his fellow Oaktown Crewz teammates from Dondero and Kimball high schools. The trio team that Oaktown was on scored no goals. In fact, their robot tipped over. But they still won because the opposing trio had too many penalties. Bright futures Being part of a robotics team is more than just a fun hobby. For some, it's a starting point for their future. Markus Hunter, 16, from Northern High School in Flint, who was part of team FIRE, wants to be a computer or electrical engineer. His motto for life: "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity and bad luck is when lack of preparation meets the need to perform." FIRST Robotics Competition will hold the Detroit Regional competition March 16-18 at Wayne State University in Detroit and the West Michigan Regional on March 30-April 1 at Grand Valley State University in Allendale. Contact GINA DAMRON at 248-351-3293 or gdamron@freepress.com. |
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| JoJo | Mar 11 2006, 07:59 AM Post #3 |
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Off the subject, but What happend at Taylor School?? |
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| Momforone | Mar 11 2006, 08:16 AM Post #4 |
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Mayor Engebretson read to my daughters class yesterday. She was really excited to tell me all about it when I came home from work yesterday! He's such a great man. I'm so proud to have him as our mayor!!!!!!!! Thank you Mr. Mayor! |
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