Moving Day is today…update your bookmarks

Please update your links and bookmarks…Guilford School Watch is back, and has a new home.
Our new location can be dialed up at: http://guilfordschoolwatch.blogspot.com/
Our new e-mail contact address is guilfordschoolwatch@gmail.com
Please make a note of this change. Because of the extensive archives, this WordPress site will remain open, however, there will be no new postings here.
E.C. [...]

we’re back….

…and we’re moving…stay tuned to find out where to dial up our new location….
E.C.

Taking some time…

No, the sun hasn’t yet set on Guilford School Watch, but with job(s) and work responsibilities, needless to say, I have been unusually busy since my election loss.
It’s been a good busy, but you have been missed. Not to worry, I will have a lot to say when things settle down later in the month. [...]

GCS Board meeting agenda 5/22/08

Click here for the GCS BOE meeting agenda for 5/22/08.
Of interest:
C. Twelve-Month Pay Option
At the meeting of May 22, 2008, Sharon Ozment, co-interim superintendent, will present to the board information regarding the twelve-month pay option.  If you have questions regarding this item, please contact Ms. Ozment at 370-8343, prior to the meeting.
D. How Discrimination [...]

Chicken Pox outbreak at Lincoln Academy

From the N&R:
Approximately 17 cases of chickenpox have been reported at The Academy at Lincoln School in Greensboro, the county health department said today.
The first case of varicella occurred on April 22. The most recent case was Wednesday.
Public health and school officials have been working to contain and control the outbreak by speaking [...]

No jobs for teens this summer

(Cross-posted with Triad Job Watch)

(N&R credit)
Today’s N&R reports many of our teens will be competing with the grown-ups for jobs this summer. With local unemployment at around 5%, the outlook appears grim.
N&R excerpt:
…a lot of the jobs out there are part-time and low-paying.
“I’m looking. I’m just not finding,” said Zac Herrmann, a 17-year-old junior at [...]

GCS 08-09 budget submitted

Seems as though next year’s budget has something for everyone.
A modest raise for classified employees. Full restoration of the cultural arts coordinator position. Full restoration of arts/music time.
N&R:

The board also voted to fund:

A $74,800 arts coordinator position by eliminating one of two early college academy directors;
The expansion or implementation of high school reform programs for [...]

Introducing San Diego “Sue”

…okay, “Sue” is not her real name, but I have just deputized an employee of the San Diego Unified School District.
She has become a regular here on GSW since the Grier-regime stormed into SD weeks ago. She is not happy with ole’ Terry. And she reports many of her colleagues are already displeased.
Thus, she will [...]

Teacher, deputy attacked by student at Northeast H.S. (N&R)

From the N&R:

MCLEANSVILLE – A 16-year-old girl was charged Wednesday with attacking a Northeast High School teacher and a Guilford County Sheriff’s deputy at the school.
Teyonna Range-Hall of 1401-D Donathan Place in Greensboro was charged with two counts of assaulting a government official and one count each of resisting arrest and of [...]

No regrets blogging

(N&R credit)
My friend Tony Wilkins offers inspiration on blogging the vote…and I have no regrets.
Wilkins today revisits Greensboro’s Bill Burckley, in his recent comments to the News & Record (we talked about them here not long ago). As it relates to last week’s vote, Wilkins says:
What’s the correlation between blogging and not being elected locally?
Recently [...]

Analyzing the Vote

(N&R credit)
It’s been nearly a week and it’s time…I’m ready to analyze the vote.
Last Tuesday, this coalition hit another milestone. With 8% of the vote and over 7,200 votes countywide, it shows that an ordinary citizen, who cares about children, can mount a countywide campaign and receive votes in every precinct in the county.
Click here [...]

Hammer’s flummoxed, Morgan’s scratching her head, Huey’s at peace

John Hammer, Rhino Times:
…he [David Crawford] almost made it through the primary and received more than twice as many votes as Erik Huey, who is a former teacher and a legitimate candidate. Huey finished last with 7,292 votes. Crawford also beat another legitimate candidate, Alan Hawkes, who had 10,543 votes. It is baffling why so [...]

Special budget meeting next week

From the N&R:
The Guilford County Board of Education will hold a special meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 14, to continue discussion of the 2008-09 superintendents’ budget recommendations. The meeting will be held in the board room of the Guilford County Schools’ central office at 712 N. Eugene St.
During the meeting, the board [...]

Special Meeting May 27

From the N&R:
The Guilford County Board of Education will hold a special meeting at 6 p.m. on May 27 to hear a presentation on the academic achievement of black male students.
The meeting will take place in the board room of the Guilford County Schools’ central office at 712 N. Eugene St.
E.C.

Clueless Cookie Strikes Again

Another example of out-of-touch Board members…
From this week’s Rhino Times:

Election night brought together school board member Kris Cooke and [GCS Board at-large candidate Michael] McKinney, who it turned out she knew – at least by sight.
“What are you doing here?” Cooke asked McKinney.
“I’m running for Board of Education.” McKinney responded, evidently puzzled.
“Are you?” said [...]

Jamestown area schools first for bond projects

Both Jamestown Middle School and neighboring Ragsdale H.S. are the first two projects to get started following the bond that was approved by voters this week.
This morning’s N&R reports construction could begin as early as years end.
N&R:
Construction of a new Jamestown Middle School could begin by the end of the year if Guilford County Schools [...]

Sharpe: Huey “too radical” for School Board

I guess I didn’t receive Anita Sharpe’s vote on Tuesday.
I was speechless when I read this moments ago in the latest Rhino Times, which is hitting the streets now. The outgoing GCS Dist. 5 board member tells Rhino reporter Paul Clark that I made a mistake running against the Bonds and that “running as [...]

GCS Board agenda for 5/8/08

Click here for the GCS BOE agenda for tonight, 5/8/08.
E.C.

Taking Initiative: A Look Inside Guilford County Schools

Must see TV for tonight: check this out from our PBS affiliate…
Taking Initiative: A Look Inside Guilford County Schools
Premieres Thursday, May 8, at 9:30 PM
Imagine trying to educate a small city comprised entirely of diverse kindergartners to high school students. Guilford County Schools, North Carolina’s third largest school district, teaches more than 70,000 students [...]

Amos, Deena and the Bonds

GCS Board member Amos Quick and I had a strange encounter on Election night. The one-term Board member, who is running for re-election unopposed in November, shared pleasantries with me upon my arrival at the Old County Courthouse to watch the final results. What happened next was kind of odd.
I asked him, jokingly, if [...]

The Ghost of Grier

He just won’t go away into that good night.
Consider this response to a strand back in January from “Holly”–presumably in San Diego:
HELP [Terry] Grier is now our Super and we are a broken system!!! We are laying off and pink slipping educators and he’s implemented 18 positions that will cost our district 1.5 mill [...]

e-mails

I’m about 50 e-mails behind over the past three days. Please be patient. If you’ve e-mailed me, I am responding to all of them personally, and as quickly as I can.
Oh and to you David Crawford supporters that keep writing in and harassing me, I’ve got one word for you…
Spellcheck.
E.C.

More thank you’s

I would be hard-pressed if I didn’t thank a few others:
1. I need to urgently thank the 10,000 teachers and staff of GCS, of which I feel made up the bulk of my support. Thank you for what you do each and everyday to serve the children of Guilford County.
2. I also need to thank [...]

I have 7,283 new friends

Let not your heart be troubled over Tuesday’s results.
I’m not down, I’m not discouraged, I’m stronger than ever.
While the numbers clearly didn’t go our way Tuesday, for us to garner 7,283 votes says a lot. Let me be clear…this is not a defeat. It is a call for action, it is a call for pure [...]

Happy Election Day

UPDATE 9:36am….
Polls opened at 6:30am. We’re not aware of any irregularities or difficulties with this morning’s opening.
So far, I’ve hit the Adams Farm Community Church and the Gate City Baptist Church on the north side of Adams Farm. Voter turnout was brisk at both locations in the 7:30am-8:15am time frame. Met blogger Tony Wilkins at [...]

One More Day…

Tomorrow is the day…the polls open in less than 24 hours.
This will probably be my last opportunity to converse with you on a personal level prior to tomorrow. It has been a whirlwind ride, and an exciting road. And tomorrow will provide us with the fruits of our labor.
First off, let me indulge in a [...]

Huey’s Campaign Endorsed by the Rhino Times…Thank You!

DEVELOPING…we just learned of our endorsement today by the Rhino Times of Greensboro. This is a very big deal!
In today’s edition hitting the streets as we speak, editor John Hammer says the following:
There is only one Guilford County Board of Education seat on the ballot and it is the at-large seat currently held by [...]

Tonight’s Forum…and Five More Days to Go

A reminder that there will be a campaign forum this evening at 6pm in downtown Greensboro at the GSO Historical Museum. The event will be sponsored by the Concerned Citizens of Northeast Greensboro. If you’re able to come, please do. I want as many of my supporters there this evening as possible.
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UPDATE: 7:48pm…I had an [...]

FOX-8 puts Leo on hot seat

FOX-8’s Neill McNeill put GCS Chief Operations Officer Leo Bobadilla on the hot seat last night during the 10:00 news. Bobadilla talked about the Bonds at length and why he thought it was so important to get it passed.
Watch the story here.

E.C.

State testing changes urged (N&O)

More on those proposed state testing changes today, courtesy of the Triangle News & Observer:
North Carolina’s public school testing program could be overhauled as part of a sweeping series of changes that could affect how students are tested and how teachers get their bonuses.
Students could take fewer state tests, especially in writing, and teacher [...]