I’ll post more on the conference later when I have more time, but right now I have to get ready to go! 

Here is the 161 page report: OEPA Preston Co School System Corrective Action Plan (.pdf)

This action on the state’s part is LONG overdue. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean the people in the county office are bad people, it’s a combination of serious issues that result in a horrible situation.

1. Money – Preston County is the 5th largest county in the state.  It is also mostly rural and older.  Jobs in professional sectors are scarce unless you are self-employed. Many people commute out of the county for employment or simply move away.  The tax base simply isn’t there to fund the schools properly based on the current school building funding model.

   Money is the root of this problem. Without it, you can’t hire enough staff that have the skills needed to do work – on facilities, to create and implement policy, for support, and even to do the books, etc.  Those you do get are likely going to be overwhelmed with the enormity of the task before them and in the case of facilities simple physical limitations to being able to do what needs to be done.

   Anyone worth their weight in salary aren’t going to waste their time trying to fix this mess with substandard pay and non-existent resources, so who is left?  Only the ardent few who simply care to much to leave or those who can’t (or won’t) get work anywhere else.

2. Lack of training and/or exposure to current business practices – So those who are left do what they can, but are not trained or exposed to or are possibly uninterested in following current business practices.  (Among central office staff)
   I will admit, this is only speculation based on what I’ve read in the report about not following procedures and anecdotal references to how hard it is for teachers to get any kind of trainging, so I am assuming that non-faculty staff members are basically barred from getting training.
3. Lack of personnel – The report stated that there were only 6 (!) maintenance personnel for the ENTIRE county.  There are 14 schools in Preston County, folks, and the staff at the schools can’t even count on someone being there to fix stuff when it breaks? WTF?
4. Lack of IT support – My mom regularly complains about how they don’t have any IT support for their schools and how they can never utilize technology they do receive because they can’t it to work properly.  Teachers are basically responsible for their own tech support and/or support from members of the community.  I’m not saying you NEED technology for education, but not being able to properly integrate it into classroom learning doesn’t help kids learn how to use it and only keeps them farther behind the rest of the world.

You know what the real shame is here with this issue?  The one school that has done well in spite of budget issues, Fellowsville Elementary, will probably be closed because they only have 105 kids enrolled. Fellowsville’s only failing is it has the misfortune of being on the southern end of the county, appox. 1 hr from Morgantown, Fairmont, Clarksburg and Elkins, which means it is losing population.  Families can’t afford to stay there because there are no jobs and the commute is too far for most people – especially with gas prices increasing.  The community also suffered a blow recently when a coal mine shut down unexpectedly.

Other than that is is a lovely community.  The scenery is beautiful and the people are nice.  I grew up there. I wanted to raise my daughters there, but fiscal reality set in 3 years ago and we chose to move closer to Morgantown because of our commute.  Fellowsville is regularly an exemplary school.  Its teachers care about their work and most live nearby.

I sincerely hope that the School Building Authority does not approach fixing our problems by simply warehousing all the students in Kingwood.  Consolidation has already cost this county a lot emotionally and really taken the heart out of many of our communities.  I think it works fine for the high school, but not for middle school and certainly not for elementary school.

From an economic development perspective, further conslidation will not do us any favors either.  Small local schools are as much of a draw as jobs to people looking to move to the county and enroll their kids in school.

If we want people to move to Preston County, start businesses and become a part of the community, schools are an intrinsic to acheiving that goal.

Let’s hope this turns out for the best.

If you haven’t been following this story, here are some links to the media stories:

• The Charleston Gazette – State seizes Preston schools
• State Takes Over Preston County Schools – WBOY.com
• Preston County Superintendent & Others React to State Takeover – WBOY.com
• Board of Education takes over Preston County schools-wvpubcast.org
• Charleston Daily Mail – BREAKING NEWS: State takes over another school system
  

I shall return…

P.S. – My professional website is now at http://sarah.barnesmarra.com

Barack Obama has given us hope again.  I’m so very grateful to have my faith in humanity restored.

To McCain’s credit, I just listened to his concession speech and it was probably the most eloquent I’ve heard him give.  Not because he was conceeding, but because of how he was saying it.  It was very gracious and well thought out.  I’ve missed that McCain, I’m glad he is still there.

Preston County has GOT TO BUILD NEW MIDDLE SCHOOLS. 

It is not an option.  The schools currently serving 11-13 year olds in this county were bad almost 20 years ago when I went there.  My single reservation about sending my children to school in Preston County has nothing to do with the teachers or the overall quality of their education, but their safety.  My kids will be going to West Preston Middle School in Masontown unless we build something new.  If you haven’t seen this building, it is scary.  It should be condemned.  Seriously.

I went to what is now South Preston Middle School (when it was Central Preston Jr. High) in Tunnelton.  It’s no better.  Central Preston Middle School in Kingwood IS condemned and the poor kids are crammed into Preston High. 

When will Preston County residents “get it” that the key to more economic opportunity is through investing in infrastructure and education?  To do that you have to pay your taxes.  Period.  Paying taxes, unlike what this f*cktard of the VP choice Sarah Palin had to say,  IS patriotic.  Without money, government can’t function and provide services for everyone.  The problem is conservatives and libertarians don’t want government to function (albeit for different motives), so they tell us government is bad and it doesn’t work and cut funding so it won’t work.  It’s just plain selfishness. 

Which is why I am doubtful the people of Preston County will pass this levy and prove that they are not selfish, ignorant and destined to wallow in their own indignant self-pity. 

…ok did I guilt you into voting for the levy yet?

Here’s what they had to say on MetroNews today about the Preston County school bond levy vote:

Can Preston County Seal The Deal?
Staff
Charleston

A state education official says passage of a $50 million school bond in Preston County next month is a major key to the county improving its school system like it has pledged to do.

Office of Education Performance Audits Director Dr. Kenna Seal and his team reviewed the school system earlier this year and made recommendations. For several years a number of Preston County schools have failed to make the required progress under the mandates of No Child Left Behind.

Dr. Seal says Preston County has submitted a solid response to the concerns with plans to improve academics, the inner-workings of the school system and facilities.

Seal predicts the goals will have a difficult time being met unless Preston County voters approve that $50 million bond plan on Nov. 4. “That would go a long way,” Seal said. “Their facilities are not in very good condition.”

Preston County voters last approved a bond issue in 1989. The main project back then was a new Preston County High School. Seal says the district has done little to improve facilities since then. “They do have facilities that desperately need to be upgraded. They need some help,” he said.

The state School Building Authority has promised to add nearly $20 million to Preston’s $50 million if the bond is approved. The plan includes the construction of three new Pre-K-8th Grade schools near Arthurdale, Tunnelton and Kingwood.

MetroNews asked Dr. Seal if Preston County could achieve its improvement plans without the new schools. “In my opinion they would have to get a lot of money from the School Building Authority,” Seal said. “I think it’s critical that they are able to pass the levy and leverage that money from the School Building Authority.”

PS – While we are on the topic of school building funding, etc.  Why won’t this state change how it funds building schools?  Why is so much of the fundraising left up to the county?  It really holds this state back.  County governments and boards of education can barely make it as it is.  The current policy is bad for schools, our economy and local communities.

Washington, D.C.

U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., submitted the following remarks upon casting a vote on the Senate economic bailout plan:

    Mr. President,

    This is an enormous package – $700 billion.  That ain’t chicken feed!  That’s 17 times what we spend annually on health care for our nation’s veterans.  That’s 14 times what we spend annually on highways and mass transportation.  That’s more than the annual defense budget, which supplies our troops and fuels our planes and naval vessels around the globe.  That’s more than the total amount the Federal government will spend on homeland security over the next 17 years.  And that number actually hides the real potential cost, because the Treasury Secretary would be authorized to buy and sell an unlimited amount of these troubled assets in the next two years.

    It is an enormous amount of money.  And it involves granting an enormous amount of authority to the Secretary of the Treasury.  I believe many Americans, and that includes this Senator, would not pretend to understand all of the nuances of the financial mess that we are told is creeping into our Main Street communities and threatens to jeopardize the security of millions of Americans.  But we all understand that, when working families were suffering because of the economic policies of these past eight years, nobody in the Treasury Department or the Federal Reserve told us about the dangerous course we were on.  When the Senate tried to pass an economic stimulus bill just last week, which included unemployment benefits and financial assistance for these same working families struggling with rising energy and food prices, those efforts were met with filibusters and fierce opposition from the White House that now wants a bailout of Wall Street.  Apparently Wall Street institutions are too big and too important to be allowed to fail, but the same isn’t true when it comes to working families.

    West Virginia has always had its share of economic troubles.  But, it has been further battered by the Bush Administration’s feckless fiscal policies.  The annual budget cuts imposed by the Bush Administration and its allies in the Congress have punished the people of my state and many other states.  Everything from health care, to law enforcement, to programs for children have been put on the chopping block.

    I grew up in the Great Depression.  That economic collapse followed a decade of business prosperity.  Three Republican administrations had pursued policies that brought the country to the brink of economic ruin.  Those Administrations pushed to get the government off the backs of business, a “return to normalcy,” President Harding called it.  They had pushed through enormous tax cuts, including the largest tax cut in American history to that point.  All the while, proclaiming the virtues of big business:  “The business of America, is business,” thundered President Coolidge.

    For the past eight years, we have again heard the same slogans reflecting the same philosophy, and seen another Republican administration follow the same reckless path.  Unleash capitalism, has been the cry for the past eight years.  Get the government off our backs.   The government is the problem, not the solution.  We have heard it all before.

    Well, the financial oversight agencies have had an eight year holiday.  For eight years, Wall Street has run wild, as they loaned money they did not have, to people who could not afford these loans, to buy houses and other real estate that were enormously over-priced.  Now, faced with financial troubles, the Wall Street barons look to the very government that they had been resisting to save them to the tune of $700 billion.  As the fear spreads and confidence erodes now the turmoil on Wall Street threatens to wash over Main Street as banks refuse credit, old loans default, and investments that fund the pensions of the average American plummet in value.

    Republicans espouse the theory of trickle down economics – - that the benefits of economic growth will trickle down to the working family.  What hogwash!  This crisis proves that the only thing that trickles down to the working family is the losses that come from Wall Street run wild.  I fear the enormity of the potential crisis that looms over our entire economy.  The scope and the cost of the bill speak to the severity of the challenge that our financial leaders believe our country is confronting.  This is legislation I do not want to support, yet I fear the consequences of its failure in this body.  I fear opposing this legislation, because I fear even more what might happen to our states, our workers, their pensions, and their jobs if this turmoil on Wall Street spreads further into our economy.
    I am somewhat comforted by the improvements Congress has made in an otherwise total giveaway of funds and authority to the Executive Branch.
    The EESA bill is 113 pages compared to the three-page proposal requested by the Administration.  Much of the new language includes checks on the new authority:

    1. Sunsets the legislation on December 31, 2009 – 15 months from now – but the Treasury may extend the program until two years after the date of enactment;

    2. Releases $700 billion to the Treasury in parts – the first $250 billion is available immediately, the next $100 billion is available after presidential certification, and the next $350 billion is available unless a Joint Resolution of Disapproval (subject to expedited procedures) is passed within 15 days of the Treasury request;

    3. Includes the Appropriations Committees in the list of Congressional Committees that will receive regular reports;

    4. Creates a new Congressional Oversight Panel in the Legislative Branch, which would be required to report to the Congress 30 days after the Treasury Secretary first exercises his authorities and every 30 days thereafter.  The members of the Panel would be appointed by the House Speaker, the Senate Majority Leader, the House and Senate Minority Leaders;

    5. Requires the Comptroller General to report to the Congress every 60 days;

    6. Creates a Special Inspector General, which would be subject to presidential appointment and Senate confirmation, and would be required to report to the Congress within 60 days of confirmation and quarterly thereafter;

    7. Creates a Financial Stability Oversight Board in the Executive Branch.  The Board would consist of the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Treasury Secretary, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (the overseer for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), and would be required to report to the Congress quarterly.  In addition, 60 days after the Treasury Secretary first exercises his authorities and every month thereafter, and seven days after the purchasing authority reaches each $50 billion tranche, the Secretary would be required to report to the Congress;

    8. Within two days of the Secretary exercising his authority under the Act, or within 45 days of enactment, the Secretary would be required to publish program guidelines explaining how troubled assets would be selected, priced, and purchased.

    I believe that our duty is clear.  We must pass this legislation or further destabilize our country’s economic situation.  But after we pass it, if we do, we must then go after all of those who so cavalierly put the rest of us at such incredible risk.

Unlike (apparently) most people I am not looking forward to Thurs. I think Biden will do great, but everyone’s expectations of Palin are low that it’ll be considered a victory if she just doesn’t choke. Which she won’t do. She’ll just regurgitate all the lame prepared talking points in a very forceful and indignant manner. A style that seems to appeal to the low on intelligence crowd.

So anyway. Obama bring it home next week, baby!

UPDATE: I forgot to mention – listen to what he says around 22 minutes in about helping college grads pay off loans. AWESOME.

A nice little something that came across from a mindful co-worker….a pass along to him… in turn a pass along to all of you!

I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.

Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.

To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend.

Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam. But it means that every adult 18+ has $2 97,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

• Pay off your mortgage – housing crisis solved.
• Repay college loans – what a great boost to new grads
• Put away money for college – it’ll be there
• Save in a bank – create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
• Buy a new car – create jobs
• Invest in the market – capital drives growth
• Pay for your parent’s medical insurance – health care improves
• Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean – or else

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we’re going to re-distribute wealth let’s really do it…instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( “vote buy” ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let’s bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG – liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here’s my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn’t.

Sure it’s a crazy idea that can “never work.” But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?
I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use! the $85 Billion We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC . And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Target Sues UTC Developers
The store says its Granville location has sunk five inches.
MORGANTOWN — Target Corporation is suing the developers of the University Town Centre in Granville.

Read the rest of the story in The State Journal

What I’ve been wondering is – what will happen next?  A lawsuit ain’t gonna fix the fact that that hillside is totally screwed.  We were up there on the 4th of July to watch fireworks and Steve talked to a guy who was there as security to keep people out of the field next to Hollywood Cinemas because of sinkholes.  I’m not kidding.  The guy said that there was a man who had driven behind the theater one afternoon (to apparently smoke a doobie before a movie). They had to come a rescue him because the his truck sunk up to the windows and he couldn’t get out.  The guy said the field is full of sinkholes.  They’ve apparently brought in “experts” to try to find a way to fix the problems, but there don’t seem to be any. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the stores they have brought to town.  I am a huge Target fan and buying clothes for Kira and Piper at Old Navy is great.  I just don’t understand why they can build there in the first place if there are freaking sinkholes up there.  What gives??? 

I suppose it’s no skin off my nose, so why should I care?  I will care if in a few years that entire develpoment is a ghost town of waste and all the awesome shopping opportunities have left Morgantown because corporate thinks it is too close to Washington/Pittsburgh and Fairmont to locate there.  [I'm totally guessing here, I don't understand why it is so hard for Morgantown to get a greater variety of stores for a city of its size and importance to the surrounding areas.]

I also care that Mon County has no zoning.  It is ridiculous.  In this day and age for a place growing as fast as Morgantown to not have zoning is incredibly short-sighted. 

I live in Preston County, but I work in Mon County.  I am not even sure if Preston has any kind of planning going on – so don’t get me started on how far in the past this county is. I complain about it, but I love living here.  I just know it can be better and it should be.