Henry Osmers, author of ON EAGLE’S BEAK: A HISTORY OF THE MONTAUK LIGHTHOUSE

Henry Osmers, author of ON EAGLE’S BEAK: A HISTORY OF THE MONTAUK LIGHTHOUSE

State-Appointed Financial Manager Restructuring Detroit Public Schools. The AP (5/22) reports that under Detroit Public Schools’ (DPS) restructuring process, “29 public schools will close, another 40 will be restructured, 900 teachers and staff will be pink-slipped and 33 principals fired” next fall. Robert Bobb, the state-appointed emergency financial manager for DPS “has one year to correct a $300 million budget deficit, improve test scores and address a graduation rate that’s among the nation’s lowest.” Bobb has even sought to have the school system “‘placed under a special presidential emergency declaration’ to get federal funding for infrastructure and curriculum.” The AP notes that “Detroit’s schools have been plagued by mismanagement, lack of oversight and corruption, which has cost the district millions of dollars.” Education Secretary Arne Duncan “described Detroit as ‘ground zero’ for education and said that ‘Detroit is New Orleans two years ago without Hurricane Katrina.’”

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In the Classroom
California Schools Chief Warns Budget Cuts May Undermine Testing Gains.

California’s Budget Deficit Expected To Force Deep Cuts In Education. The AP (5/16, Chea, Young) reports, “California’s public schools already trail most states in academic performance, suffer from high dropout rates and struggle to improve the performance of black and Hispanic students.” Compounding the situation, is “a historic state budget deficit that is expected to force deep cuts in education funding that will lead to thousands of teacher layoffs, larger class sizes, school closures, and a shortened school year.” According to state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell, additional cuts would mean schools would “lose counselors, nurses, and librarians. They are also likely to cut athletic programs as well as classes in art, music, and career technical education.” So far, “30,000 of the state’s roughly 310,000 public school teachers have already received pink slips this year, and school districts could be forced to lay off more before classes begin in the fall.”

Hundreds Of Los Angeles Unified Teachers, Students Stage Protests Over Budget Cuts. The Los Angeles Times (5/16, Song, Blume) reports, “The head of the Los Angeles teachers union was among 39 people arrested Friday during a sit-in outside the school district headquarters, one among dozens of peaceful protests around the city by teachers and students outraged by plans for deep cuts in education spending.” The protest was fueled “by plans for layoffs of as many as 2,500 Los Angeles Unified School District teachers, the consequence of billions of dollars in statewide cuts to education.” Meanwhile, “hundreds of teachers called in sick and hundreds of high school students walked out of classrooms” in protest.

Budget Cuts Funding For Abstinence-Only Education.
The AP (5/8) reports that “President Barack Obama wants to eliminate more than $100 million in spending on abstinence-only education, directing the money instead to teen pregnancy-reduction programs that don’t take the no-sex approach.” According to the budget documents, “the most positive results” would “come from programs that ‘provide a range of services in addition to comprehensive sex education, such as after school activities, academic support, or service learning.’”

Swampland columnist Amy Sullivan wrote in the Time (5/7) blog that “abstinence-only programs have not proven nearly as successful as approaches that combine the message that abstinence is a good goal for teenagers with comprehensive and accurate education about contraception, disease prevention, and decision-making skills.” She argued that “with teen pregnancy rates inching up again after a nearly 15-year drop and the vast majority of parents in favor of comprehensive sex education…it’s long past time to develop sex ed programs that work.”

Meanwhile, On Women columnist Deborah Kotz pointed out in the US News & World Report (5/7) blog that “what’s not clear…is which comprehensive sex education programs will be funded. There’s quite a bit of difference among them, with some far better than others.” Kotz added that it is also unclear “how ‘evidence-based’ will be defined. Just how many studies are needed to determine if a program is effective,” she asked. “And how few are needed to deem a program ‘promising’?” Reuters (5/8) and the New Mexico Independent (5/8, Doland) also cover the story.

To: All Asbury Park Education Association Members

From: John Napolitani, President

Date: May 14, 2009

Re: APEA General Membership Meeting

The APEA Executive Committee is holding an emergency year end General Membership meeting on Thursday, May 21, 2009, at 2:45pm in Asbury Park High School Auditorium. Items to be discussed will be the current RIF/Non Renewal situation, negotiations, and any other pertinent items that need to be reviewed.
Your attendance at this meeting is strongly urged as there will be pertinent information disseminated to the membership. NJEA representatives will be in attendance to answer any additional questions you may have.

If you have any other items that you need to discuss, please forward them to me no later than Wednesday afternoon.

Pc: Michael Zajac, Recording Secretary
Ron Villano, Uniserv Representative

Tonight it’s official. The dissection of our school district continues with the elimination of my cafeteria unit and more essential professional and support staff by “carpetbaggers.” For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, as an educator, let me educate you. Simply put, a carpetbagger is a term used to describe outsiders attempting to gain political office or economic advantage, especially in areas to which they have no previous connection. I use this term for two reasons. Number one, as a person who has mutigenerational family members that have attended this system starting with my grandfather, to my father, down to my brothers, this term is the most fitting, as the majority of people on the dais can not state that. Number 2, for ten years, we have had state monitors, also carpetbaggers, in here that have allowed mismanagement to prosper in my district. The biggest crime spree is going on right in our very own school system, where our eyes are being ripped from our heads. From Mr. Cowell’s $12,000 A MONTH salary, to his justification of $12,000 A MONTH BOE offices, to his exorbitant salary recommendations for new hirees, has anyone ever questioned why there’s a budget deficit? It sure isn’t because my cafeteria staff didn’t collect 50 cents for a bag of chips!
In closing, I have two points I want to make clear:
1. Mr. Parham’s statements last week in reference to the consideration of privatizing other units over the next couple of years will be retracted tonight. Make no mistake about it, it has been told to me that Ms.

To: All APEA Members

From: John Napolitani, President
Sean Hamilton, Vice President

Re: RIFs/Non Renewals/C.LA.P.
Date: May 5, 2009

The Cowell Lowell Attack Plan (C.L.A.P.) is spreading throughout OUR district. Mr. Parham has made it public record at last week’s Board meeting that they WILL OUTSOURCE most of our remaining support staff; such as ALL SECURITY GUARDS, CUSTODIAL AND MAINTENANCE SERVICES within OUR school district. This simply put, the C.L.A.P. is imminent.

Cowell and Lowell, through our Acting Superintendent, Parham, are dissecting this district piece by piece. You MUST stand by your Executive Committee on Thursday, where the C.L.A.P. continues with drastic staff cuts. We are STRONGLY URGING EVERY MEMBER TO ATTEND THE BOE MEETING AT BRADLEY ELEMENTARY AT 6:30PM.

We will meet in front of Bradley Elementary between 5:15 and 5:30pm to show OUR solidarity and strong opposition to the C.L.A.P. You must urge all your friends, neighbors, community members, parents and clergy to attend this meeting and stand by US. We are the true, real educators and support staff that this community needs. It is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY that you attend the BOE meeting on Thursday evening to support ALL APEA members.

YOU MUST ATTEND THURSDAY’S BOE MEETING TO EXPRESS STRONG OPPOSITION TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE
ASBURY PARK SCHOOL SYSTEM.

Pc: Michael Zajac, Recording Secretary
Ron Villano, Uniserv Representative

School Systems Throughout Texas Temporarily Shut Down Due To Swine Flu. CNN (4/30) reports, “The closures of public and private schools across eight states affect about 56,000 students out of an estimated 55 million students attending the nation’s 100,000 kindergarten through 12th grade schools,” according to Department of Education spokesperson Massie Ritsch. Among the “closures announced earlier Wednesday, the Fort Worth Independent School District in Texas said it will temporarily close all of its schools until further notice, affecting roughly 80,000 students, according to its Web site.” That decision was made after district officials received “official confirmation of one case of swine flu at one campus and news of three other probable cases at three more schools.”

In addition to the cases found in Forth Worth, “three suburban San Antonio high school students were among the state’s…confirmed cases as of early Wednesday morning,” the AP (4/30) adds. “Those cases prompted campus shutdowns in both locales, as well as in one district 50 miles north of Dallas and one in and around Rio Grande City, which sits on the eastern portion of Texas’ border with Mexico.” And, “a charter school in Dallas was also temporarily closed after learning one of its students probably had the infection.”

“With 16 confirmed cases of swine flue in Texas, Gov. Rick Perry (R) announced a disaster declaration Wednesday for the entire state,” the AP (4/30) notes in a separate story. Also on Wednesday, “Texas officials postponed all public high school athletic and academic competitions…until May 11 because of the” outbreak.

To: All APEA Members

From: John Napolitani, President
Sean Hamilton, Vice President

Re: Cowell Lowell Attack Plan

Date: May 5, 2009

The Cowell Lowell Attack Plan (C.L.A.P.) is spreading throughout OUR district. Mr. Parham has made it public record at last week’s Board meeting that their grand plan is to OUTSOURCE most of our support staff; such as ALL SECURITY GUARDS, CUSTODIAL AND MAINTENANCE SERVICES within OUR school district. This simply put, the C.L.A.P. is imminent.

Cowell and Lowell, through our Acting Superintendent, Parham, are dissecting this district piece by piece. You MUST stand by your Executive Committee on Thursday, where the C.L.A.P. continues with drastic staff cuts. We are STRONGLY URGING EVERY MEMBER TO ATTEND THE BOE MEETING AT BRADLEY ELEMENTARY AT 6:30PM.

We will meet in front of Bradley Elementary between 5:00 and 5:30pm to show OURsolidarity and strong opposition to the C.L.A.P. You must urge all your friends, neighbors, community members, parents and clergy to attend this meeting and stand by US. We are the true, real educators and support staff that this community needs. It is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY that you attend the BOE meeting on Thursday evening to support ALL APEA members.

YOU MUST ATTEND THURSDAY’S BOE MEETING TO EXPRESS STRONG OPPOSITION TO THE DISSECTION OF OUR
ASBURY PARK SCHOOL SYSTEM.

Pc: Michael Zajac, Recording Secretary
Ron Villano, Uniserv Representative