Nothing was mentioned by either the School Board Directors or the residents about the new teleconferencing policy. Sue Rose phoned in and reported there was nothing to report about SHASDA. My question is, how would she know? Oops. Forgot. Don't ask.
The School Board Directors are working on a new set of goals for Dr. Steinhauer. No word on salary increases.
The big discussion was about Single Prime vs. Multiple Prime for the high school renovation. The Master Design Team met last week. Are Carol Walton and Drew Haberberger still members? We never hear from them. I found this article about Carol Walton and her views on multiple prime contracts. Construction law called antiquated, costly
Update 6:26 p.m.: On March 15, 2010, Dr. Steinhauer and President Ed Kubit signed this waiver of multi-prime requirements. Waiver of requirement of entering multi-prime contracts. Didn't Tom Celli say that we were better off using a single prime contractor?
6 comments:
People ought to lay off Sue Rose. Just let it be. Nobody gains anything from going after a policy change to allow someone with a temporary health condition to basically work from home. She's been up there volunteering for 7 years now and deserves a good deal of respect.
That policy has been discussed many times and there was thought of it being voted on to make accommodations for professionals who travel (Kubit and myself being two such people who traveled frequently) still be able to participate while on the road.
The fact that it can also be used to accommodate someone who has a medical issue is a good thing.
Hopefully your boss would be so kind to you if you were in the same position at your job.
James
Yes, it does seem to be business as usual.
There was a discussion about Dr. Steinhauer's PowerPoint presentation.
Hmmmm, the presentation seems rather vague to me, a rehash of buzz words with no real new information.
Page 21: "• Positive impact on learning and student achievement"
OK, I'll bite- how did they determine that? Nice claim, certainly there must be some evidence to back it up.
And if student achievement doesn't improve do we get our investment back????
Here's another question.
"• Proposed cost saving items will still enable future technologies
– An enhanced telephone system that continues to support the entire district will be done at the same time through a separate bid process that should
result in lower costs.
[will the "lower" cost of this separated bid still be part of the Act 34 bidding? Or is this just an effort to bring the bid under the referendum trigger?]
– Teaching stations can still be relocated with minimal effort, given “zone
box” topography [at what future costs?]
– Additional classroom audio system, if desired, can be added at a later date with minimal effort
[I suspect audio systems will be "desired" and paid for very soon after construction is completed! But the renovation bids won't include them.]
– TV system, if desired, can be added at a later date with minimal effort"
[same here. bet they'll be "desired" very soon]
Most people have forgotten that it was mentioned early in the planning process that desk and furniture could always be stripped from the bidding process and bought later from general funds to keep the project under the debt limit.
PAY NOW OR PAY LATER - the only difference between the two is that if they put all their "DESIRES" in NOW rather than "LATER" taxpayers get a vote.
Dick Saunders
Hi James!
As I said before, the wrong school board director resigned. You are such a gentleman, even after all that you went through.
Yes, you are right. It is a good thing to accomodate someone with a medical issue. I know of a similar situation through work. But even with the best benefits available, FMLA lasted 12 weeks, and short term disability had a limit too. Is it appropriate to have an indefinite amount of time? This is a general question.
Elaine
I agree with James, Mrs. Rose whether one agrees with her positions or not deserves our respect and admiration for her service. In fact, because of her length of service she offered some insight concerning single vs. prime last night that no other board member could've contributed.
That said there is a hole in policy regarding how long a seat can be vacant. Business travel, personal matters are one thing and should be accepted, long term vacancies are another.
I'll allow James this issue may be much ado about nothing, since its never been an issue before that I know of.
Its unfortunate that Mrs. Rose bore the brunt of the discussion.
- Giffen Good
James, if your boss had an attorney named Lebovitz he would be looking for a visa so a foreigner could replace you for $20,000 less a year.
Tom Browning
I can't help thinking that the SB will go to the PDE about last year's waiver and say in their best Emily Litella voice, "Never mind."
Elaine
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