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Observer; 11/19/06
Topic Started: Nov 19 2006, 09:37 AM (327 Views)
NFarquharson
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http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../611190471/1027

Notice for LPS retreat legal, but questioned
BY REBECCA JONES
STAFF WRITER


Livonia's school board met for a retreat Nov. 13, in part to discuss ways to improve communication with the public.

But few members of the public knew about it. The retreat replaced a committee of the whole meeting that had been canceled.

"We talked about working together and working with the community, how to effectively communicate with each other and the community," said board President Lynda Scheel.

Although cancellation of the committee of the whole meeting was noted on the district's Web site, there was no mention online of the retreat meeting.

A notice was posted on the door to the administration building at 7:45 a.m. Friday, Nov. 10, said Suzanne Steffes, executive assistant to the superintendent and Board of Education.

"It was posted on the school board office per the Open Meetings Act," Scheel said.

The law specifies how and when a governing body must notify the public before meeting. For a special meeting, the requirement is 18 hours, and the board office must be open during that time.

The district met the Open Meetings Act requirement.

However, parent Brad Wolkan questioned the timeline.

"That's not illegal. Unethical? Yeah," said Wolkan, a member of the group Citizens for Livonia's Future. "They contradicted themselves."

To improve communication, he said, "they need to start doing more than the bare minimum, especially at these times."

The meeting was scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m., but started shortly after 6 p.m. and lasted until 9 or 9:30 p.m., Scheel said. Board Secretary Kevin Whitehead took minutes.

All seven board members participated. Virginia Winters from the Wayne County Regional Educational Services Agency facilitated.

"Nobody was there from the public," Scheel said, adding that since she's been on the board "we've never had anybody there from the public" for a retreat.

"We usually do one to two board retreats a year," Scheel said, "but you have to work around everybody's schedule."

When the Nov. 13 time slot became available, the board decided to meet "sooner than later."

"We are going to have another one planned soon," she said. "We do not discuss business, nor is business decided at our board retreats. Our board retreats are to provide continuous improvement -- a way to measure where we are as a board, to where we want to be."

Originally published November 19, 2006
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http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../611190470/1027

Parent charting bus runs finally sees progress
BY REBECCA JONES
STAFF WRITER


Livonia parent Larry Bernhardt tracks on-time arrivals -- not at the airport, but at Webster Elementary, where his daughter doesn't want to be late.

As of Nov. 15, he recorded a 39-percent satisfactory rating, but the beginning of the school year started much worse, Bernhardt said.

"It was getting to the point where 60 percent of the kids were coming in" after the first bell, he said. "The first half hour of class time is interrupted because the buses are late."

However, bus arrival has showed marked improvement since Nov. 1, Bernhardt reported.

Webster Elementary has specialized curriculum and draws students from all over the district. Students board buses near their homes and then transfer to a Webster-bound bus at Frost Middle School.

Classes start at 8 a.m., and Bernhardt thinks buses should arrive by 7:56 a.m. to give students time to get to class. Buses have arrived after school already started 18 times during the past six weeks.

Rod Hosman, director of administrative services for Livonia Public Schools, acknowledged a problem, but said things have improved since the district added more buses and bus runs. At least five more drivers are on the way.

LPS transportation officials pinpointed tardy buses and reorganized routes, taking a stop or two off those lines, he said. Three to four bus runs have been added districtwide.

"It took a lot longer than we wanted it to, but we're working on it," Hosman said. "Part of it may have been that the computer program we set up on had a few glitches."

Seven LPS schools were closed this year and grade structures were reorganized, resulting in more students taking buses.

LPS now has about 130 buses and 125 drivers to cover 82 bus runs. The district also contracted with Trinity Transportation of Wyandotte this year.

"Occasionally we run into difficulty with not having enough buses or enough drivers" because of absences and mechanical issues, Hosman said. "Just because we were nervous about having enough buses, we contracted with Trinity on an on-call basis."

Trinity is a private company, but drivers undergo the same fingerprinting and background checks as all district employees, Hosman said.

The district drivers' union contract brought another change affecting matters. In mid-October, drivers with seniority were allowed to change routes.

"It does create a little bit of confusion, especially for the younger kids," Hosman said.

Bernhardt said that's a result of poor planning. "Why does the district accept such policies?" he asked.

Webster wasn't the only school with late arrivals.

"We were having some difficulty at Frost, and we added some runs. ... We had a problem in the Cleveland-Cooper area and added a run," Hosman said. "They're all on time or ahead of time right now."

Bernhardt also noted a problem at Riley Upper Elementary.

He continues to document the arrival time of the three Webster buses, using the trusty clock on his cell phone.

"There's been some positive result because of it," said Bernhardt, an engineer who keeps his data on a spreadsheet.

This is Lauren Bernhardt's first year at Webster.

"She'd like to take the bus, but she doesn't want to be late for anything," he said. "Until it is fixed, we'll continue to drive her."

rrjones@hometownlife.com (734) 953-2054

Originally published November 19, 2006
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http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../611190476/1027

Fawkes exam postponed a month


A preliminary examination for teacher and hockey coach Ryan Fawkes was postponed until Dec. 15.

The exam, which determines if there is probable cause for Fawkes to stand trial, was scheduled to take place Thursday in Livonia's 16th District Court. The proceeding, however, was adjourned to provide more time for a new attorney for Fawkes, court administrator Joe Myslewiec said.

The 31-year-old Livonian is accused of using the Internet to send lewd messages and pictures to an underage boy. He was arrested and arraigned earlier this month as part of an investigation by the state attorney general's office. He faces three felony counts: Using a computer to accost and solicit a minor, and two counts of using a computer to disseminate sexually explicit matter to a minor.

He remains free on bond, provided he does not use the Internet or have unsupervised contact with minors.

Fawkes was an elementary school teacher at five Livonia Public School buildings from 1996 until he resigned in April 2005. At the time of his arrest, Fawkes was working at a Detroit middle school and serving as head coach for a midget-level team for Plymouth-Canton Hockey Association. He has been suspended from both positions.

Originally published November 19, 2006
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http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../611190481/1027

Teachers learn from industry leaders


There's a good reason the digital imaging classroom at the Livonia Career Technical Center is equipped with Macintosh and not Dell computers.

Macs are a better fit for that line of work, according to those who work in the industry.

As part of their ongoing education, LPS high school teachers meet twice a year with members of the business community to discuss trends and equipment needs in specific career fields.

A dinner meeting on Nov. 9 attracted 174 teachers and men and women from the business community.

"It was a wonderful turnout," said principal Janet Haas.

Teachers from the career technical center, and the district's high schools and middle schools chatted over dinner prepared by students in the hospitality management program. The group of industry advisors also included former LPS students. Afterward, small groups retreated to classrooms to talk shop.

Originally published November 19, 2006
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ILIkeLI
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"It took a lot longer than we wanted it to, but we're working on it," Hosman said. "Part of it may have been that the computer program we set up on had a few glitches."


Excuses, excuses....
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NFarquharson
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ILIkeLI
Nov 19 2006, 09:56 AM
"It took a lot longer than we wanted it to, but we're working on it," Hosman said. "Part of it may have been that the computer program we set up on had a few glitches."


Excuses, excuses....

What computer program?

Dr. Liepa has given a "Superintendant's Report" at every board meeting and transportation has been a part of that since the start of school. I wonder why he never mentioned anything about a computer program being part of the reason for problems with buses at these meetings.
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Momforone
Principal
"Rod Hosman, director of administrative services for Livonia Public Schools, acknowledged a problem, but said things have improved since the district added more buses and bus runs. At least five more drivers are on the way.

LPS transportation officials pinpointed tardy buses and reorganized routes, taking a stop or two off those lines, he said. Three to four bus runs have been added districtwide."

AND HOW MUCH MORE IS THIS COSTING???????????

AND INSTEAD OF BUS DRIVERS COULD WE HAVE HAD NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS WITH TEACHERS TEACHING SPECIALS????????? <_<

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ILIkeLI
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"Livonia parent Larry Bernhardt tracks on-time arrivals -- not at the airport, but at Webster Elementary, where his daughter doesn't want to be late."

Great Job, Larry. This is an awesome example of parent initiative to increase the district's accountability. Instead of making excuses that buses were late last year and it's all very "normal" he took constuctive action for the sake of STUDENT LEARNING. I think he well deserves one of those many awards the BOE always passes out! :D
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livoniafootballmom
Principal
ILIkeLI
Nov 19 2006, 10:28 AM
"Livonia parent Larry Bernhardt tracks on-time arrivals -- not at the airport, but at Webster Elementary, where his daughter doesn't want to be late."

Great Job, Larry. This is an awesome example of parent initiative to increase the district's accountability. Instead of making excuses that buses were late late year and it's all very normal he took constuctive action for the sake of STUDENT LEARNING. I think he well deserves one of those many awards the BOE always passes out! :D

You can nominate him formally for the Golden Apple Award, not sure if you need to contact the school or central office.
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livoniafootballmom
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livoniafootballmom
Nov 19 2006, 10:31 AM
ILIkeLI
Nov 19 2006, 10:28 AM
"Livonia parent Larry Bernhardt tracks on-time arrivals -- not at the airport, but at Webster Elementary, where his daughter doesn't want to be late."

Great Job, Larry.  This is an awesome example of parent initiative to increase the district's accountability.  Instead of making excuses that buses were late late year and it's all very normal he took constuctive action for the sake of STUDENT LEARNING.  I think he well deserves one of those many awards the BOE always passes out! :D

You can nominate him formally for the Golden Apple Award, not sure if you need to contact the school or central office.

Ooops, maybe I called it the wrong thing, it might be the team effort award or the golden apple not sure which one, maybe both. But you could find out by calling the principal at Webster where he did this.
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JoJo
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I thought the golden apple was for teachers??
I would nominate Larry for an award, he has sure worked hard and cares about our community and our children. :)
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livoniafootballmom
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JoJo
Nov 19 2006, 10:46 AM
I thought the golden apple was for teachers??
I would nominate Larry for an award, he has sure worked hard and cares about our community and our children. :)

No, I am pretty sure that there have been parents who have received the Golden Apple award for volunteerism. It's a phone call to find out, it may only be the team effort award, but it would recognize him for his hard work.
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fyi
Principal
Quote:
 
"Occasionally we run into difficulty with not having enough buses or enough drivers" because of absences and mechanical issues, Hosman said. "Just because we were nervous about having enough buses, we contracted with Trinity on an on-call basis."


It's called poor planning.
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Zeke
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All of these problems with the bussing are occuring with 520 less students! Imagine if we only lost the amount they projected, 160 I think. They would have been busing even more students.

I guess they figure that it will get straightened out next year. They will probably have 500, 600, or 700 less students to buss. Solving problems the LPS way.
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