The latest as teens, schools official fight Orange's class-time...

School is supposed to be about school, not after-school activities...people whine and complain about their PERSONAL lives, boo hoo, boo hoo...focus on what's important, folks, education...

Oh, and for those who are complaining... I suppose that all of you actually have alternative plans for how the schools can save the same amount of money without cuttinng back further on materials/services/classes/sta ff, right???

Once again, school is supposed to be about school, not sports or other after-school social events.

OCPS has never been run with any intelligence, I should know I worked for them for 10 years, finally got so discouraged I left.

Unfortunaly the Board is disconnectted from reality, and Ron Blocker is a talking head.

This will probably be these kids first lesson in "you cant fight the govt". It will be a tough lesson to learn and will surely influence the high school age kids vision of democracy.

OCPS has a history of ignoring what thier public wants by closing schools and redistricting.

Thier recent decision to change starting times was the latest. Good luck Kids and parents.

The Lorax said

"School is supposed to be about school, not after-school activities...people whine and complain about their PERSONAL lives, boo hoo, boo hoo...focus on what's important, folks, education...

Oh, and for those who are complaining... I suppose that all of you actually have alternative plans for how the schools can save the same amount of money without cuttinng back further on materials/services/classes/sta ff, right???

Once again, school is supposed to be about school, not sports or other after-school social events. "

Lorax are you Ron Blocker?

Orl Native wrote:

OCPS has never been run with any intelligence, I should know I worked for them for 10 years, finally got so discouraged I left.
Unfortunaly the Board is disconnectted from reality, and Ron Blocker is a talking head.
This will probably be these kids first lesson in "you cant fight the govt". It will be a tough lesson to learn and will surely influence the high school age kids vision of democracy.
OCPS has a history of ignoring what thier public wants by closing schools and redistricting.
Thier recent decision to change starting times was the latest. Good luck Kids and parents.

I currently work for OCPS and let me tell you something...it IS a true mess. We have athletic directors who have no idea what their responsibilities are and administrators who are raking in the BIG bucks and virtually do NOTHING. What is the point of ONE school having 10 administrators? Granted the fact that four of these are deans are are classified as "instructional," but they still have administrative duties. This is where the fat needs to be trimmed people. It is insane to have this many especially when they sit around all day and pick their noses.

You people make me sick. First you complain that summer isn't long enough and your demon child can't go on vacation with family in other parts of the country. Then you complain that your property taxes are too high, when in actuality Florida has some of the lowest property tax rates in the country. Now you complain about the school board switching start times, what's next?

Everyone has a suggestion for balancing the budget, and most have already been implemented. Orange County laid off six percent of the staff at every school in the county, and seven percent at the ELC. Changing the start time is the only option to avoid having to lay off more teachers who will most likely come from critical shortage areas.

Here is my opinion, if you want the board to reverse their decision then you need to be out at intersections, at the mall, or downtown collecting money to cover the 6 million dollar shortfall, or whatever it is.

You Are Correct Sir wrote:

<quoted text>
I currently work for OCPS and let me tell you something...it IS a true mess. We have athletic directors who have no idea what their responsibilities are and administrators who are raking in the BIG bucks and virtually do NOTHING. What is the point of ONE school having 10 administrators? Granted the fact that four of these are deans are are classified as "instructional," but they still have administrative duties. This is where the fat needs to be trimmed people. It is insane to have this many especially when they sit around all day and pick their noses.

Big bucks, what do most administrators make, about $60,000 a year. You're right, thats really good money. I can tell you're one of those teachers who complains about everything. Get your ass to work and stay off the blogs

The kids are right. After all, as adults, NONE OF US HAVE EVER HAD OUR SCHEDULES CHANGED BY SOMEONE !
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NONE OF US HAVE EVER HAD TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN OUR LIVES, BECAUSE SOMEONE WANTED TO SAVE A BUCK !!
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If these kids want things to stay the same, THEN THEY SHOULD PAY FOR THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT THE BUDGET LACKS AND WHAT THEY WANT. Let them car-wash, lawn-mow and bake-sale their way to their desires. OR LET THEM SHUT UP, UNTIL THEY ARE ADULTS AND HAVE TO PAY FOR OTHER PEOPLES' KIDS !!!

What is this deal about "paying for other people's kids?" I am an Orlando Native, homeowner for the past 25 years, and have a 10 year old. That means I paid my taxes for other people's children for 15 years when I didn't have any AND I DIDN'T COMPLAIN. Seems to me that even if you don't have any children, you SHOULD be investing in the education of our children. After all, they will be running the county in the future and you'll be stuck with their decisions. The only "whiner's" on any of these blogs appear to be those that "whine" about paying taxes and having no children.

I'm a mom of high schoolers. I don't know that many who work, and of those who do, they work because they desire more clothes and gas money (not essentials). Parents should be more concerned about how the kids' part time jobs are affecting their education, not how the school day will affect their jobs.

If Floridians want lower taxes, they better get used to change and teach their kids to be flexible.... and to succeed even when they don't get their way.

My prediction is that one year from now this will not be an issue. People will adapt, they will find benefits where they only saw problems and THEY WILL FEEL STUPID FOR KICKING UP SUCH A RIDICULOUS FUSS!

Bottome line. Find another way to save money and then present it to Herr Blocker. From trimming unneeded Administrators to cutting grass is what I see here. If you have a better idea, put it before all of us and not just railing against the wind.

Orl Native wrote:

OCPS has never been run with any intelligence, I should know I worked for them for 10 years, finally got so discouraged I left..

please email orangewatcher@live.com - i am collecting ex-employee stories.

By the way - KUDOS to Rick Roach for his efforts to try and right a wrong. Since 44% of the transportation budget is spent on 7% of the bus riders (which is NOT 7% of the school population, but significantly less), then the transportation cuts need to be found in that 44% of their budget. 93% of the bus riders only take up 56% of the transporation budget and yet 100% of the students in middle and high school are having to make the sacrafice for probably less than 1% of the entire student population.

How to fight the Orange County School Board after members pass a unpopular decision?

1. Organize, meet, elect your own leaders of the opposition group, raise money. Speak as a group, let your elected leaders summ up the main points and express them to elected officials. Let you elected leaders call for meetings with School Officials.

2. Keep the issue in the news by writing the sentinel, releaseing press releases to all news outlets. Write to the news deck. Keep an open mind, speak nicely to elected officials, and above all, take the high road and do not make threats. Its hard enough to be an elected official without threats of harm.

3. Hire a attorney to represent the group.

4. Follow the attorney recommendations. Attorney's know how the system works, and save everyone a lot of time. As a group, the cost is min. for everyone. Just make sure you have a large group.

OCPS should have sent out questionaires to High School, and middle school families asking if the time change would distrup their schedules. OCPS should have answered all the questions about sports and sport practises, middle after school care, and effects of being at schools for over 12 hours per day, before changing the schedule. OCPS should have had an air tight case supporting all the promised transportational savings before taking the vote.

In support of any group that organizes to oppose this decision, I can tell you from experience, OCPS isn't that smart or air tight. There will be many flaws found with a little digging. OCPS doesn't release public records easily, that's where the attorney comes in.

Good luck, I support the opposition. Organize quickly, the time clock is running. Raise $20,000 to fight this issue.

Holy flippin schedules wrote:

Bottome line. Find another way to save money and then present it to Herr Blocker. From trimming unneeded Administrators to cutting grass is what I see here. If you have a better idea, put it before all of us and not just railing against the wind.

OCPS has one of the LOWEST percentages of administrative cost per student in the state. OCPS does not spend enough on technology either.

The problem is there is a strategy, but no one in the district has the expertise to fix it. No MBA or business experience is required to run this 3 billion business. Fix the law! Get all of the ex-principals in administration back into the schools and hire people who can run a business to run the district.

I also might suggest that all of you that are complaining without knowing the facts watch the school board meeting this morning on TV. I think it airs at 9:00am. I'm betting none of you attended so you don't know all the facts. Be prepared for lot's of good suggestions on how to cut the budget. There were some very well educated people that spoke out against this budget cut.

GIVE IT A REST wrote:

<quoted text>
Big bucks, what do most administrators make, about $60,000 a year. You're right, thats really good money. I can tell you're one of those teachers who complains about everything. Get your ass to work and stay off the blogs

Could the Deans responsibilities be replaced by additional clerical staff? What do they do?

West Orlandoman wrote:

How to fight the Orange County School Board after members pass a unpopular decision?
1. Organize, meet, elect your own leaders of the opposition group, raise money. Speak as a group, let your elected leaders summ up the main points and express them to elected officials. Let you elected leaders call for meetings with School Officials.
2. Keep the issue in the news by writing the sentinel, releaseing press releases to all news outlets. Write to the news deck. Keep an open mind, speak nicely to elected officials, and above all, take the high road and do not make threats. Its hard enough to be an elected official without threats of harm.
3. Hire a attorney to represent the group.
4. Follow the attorney recommendations. Attorney's know how the system works, and save everyone a lot of time. As a group, the cost is min. for everyone. Just make sure you have a large group.
OCPS should have sent out questionaires to High School, and middle school families asking if the time change would distrup their schedules. OCPS should have answered all the questions about sports and sport practises, middle after school care, and effects of being at schools for over 12 hours per day, before changing the schedule. OCPS should have had an air tight case supporting all the promised transportational savings before taking the vote.
In support of any group that organizes to oppose this decision, I can tell you from experience, OCPS isn't that smart or air tight. There will be many flaws found with a little digging. OCPS doesn't release public records easily, that's where the attorney comes in.
Good luck, I support the opposition. Organize quickly, the time clock is running. Raise $20,000 to fight this issue.

Where do I sign on? I'm happy to join a group and pay my share.

One more thing, a lot of the bloggers work for OCPS and I assume have been instructed to write blogs supporting this deision.

You Are Correct Sir wrote:

<quoted text>
I currently work for OCPS and let me tell you something...it IS a true mess. We have athletic directors who have no idea what their responsibilities are and administrators who are raking in the BIG bucks and virtually do NOTHING. What is the point of ONE school having 10 administrators? Granted the fact that four of these are deans are are classified as "instructional," but they still have administrative duties. This is where the fat needs to be trimmed people. It is insane to have this many especially when they sit around all day and pick their noses.

If you add up all the current employee suggestions and get them up past the management that blocks ideas and filters ideas. maybe someone up top could make better business decisions? Every current employee with an idea needs to tell someone now and not be quiet until Blocker gets a hearing aid.

Barbara wrote:

What is this deal about "paying for other people's kids?" I am an Orlando Native, homeowner for the past 25 years, and have a 10 year old. That means I paid my taxes for other people's children for 15 years when I didn't have any AND I DIDN'T COMPLAIN. Seems to me that even if you don't have any children, you SHOULD be investing in the education of our children. After all, they will be running the county in the future and you'll be stuck with their decisions. The only "whiner's" on any of these blogs appear to be those that "whine" about paying taxes and having no children.

Thank you, madam, for telling the rest of us what we should be doing with our money, to help YOU.

Let me return the favor, by telling you WHERE TO GO ...