Comments on: Just a `flatlands’ school, you say? Think again.

By: Doris Sperling

Doris Sperling — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:11:49 +0000

Congratulations, students of Think College Now for reading 1 million minutes after school. Wow!!!!
That’s sensational.

I’m so proud of you and your terrific principal.’
Doris Sperling, retired teacher after 40 years.

By: Doris Sperling

Doris Sperling — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:03:57 +0000

Congratulations to your Principal, teachers, students, and parents for the outstanding success of your Think College Now School, You have created a wonderful model to be copied all over the country. What a terrific honor to be identified as a Califoria Distinquished School.

By: John

John — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 07:33:03 +0000

Jim, People (“bankers”) get paid for lending money and processing loans. I remember several years back when the OEA listed its office building with a local Realtor and then, after the Realtor found a buyer at OEA’s asking price, OEA decided NOT to sell. The Realtor sued OEA for his Realtor’s commission and, as I recall, was awarded something in the neighborhood of 30K. The Realtor wanted compensation for his services and didn’t forgo is right to compensation because his client happened to be a “non-profit” teachers union.

Banks also have a rightful expectation of profit for the service they provide. For the OUSD to “shift from a variable to fixed loan” seems like a reasonable and prudent thing to do. Are you somehow suggesting that the district didn’t want it known that (evil?) bankers are making a profit for their services? Or that non-disclosure of the details at a public meeting suggests some kind of hidden district agenda?

Let me ask you Jim, based on let’s say a two million dollar loan how much would be too much for a “bank(er)” to make off a non-profit education institution? Is making anything too much? Do you perhaps think the district was likely taken advantage of or some kind of nefarious transaction occurred between a district official and some banker?

All I ever learned about OEA’s (down played) approximate 30K obligation to a Real Estate Agency was the pay (funded by dues deducted from teacher pay checks). But then come to think of it there were a number of other OEA transaction details over the years not openly shared by OEA with the rank and file at teacher meetings. Hmmmm I wonder.

By: jim2812

jim2812 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:35:07 +0000

Oops. I meant to tack this statement to Katy’s piece on the New interim Superintendent announced at last night’s meeting.

By: jim2812

jim2812 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:03:05 +0000

The story of the new (interim) superintendent may distract from a very complex story that needs public light shining upon it.

At last night’s State Administator school board meeting the second refinancing of $68 million in State debt took place. Security for the State to shift its loan from varible to a fixed rate loan was shifted from the Administration building and surrounding property to two school properties: Oakland High on Park Sheet and Internation Blvd Ceasar Chavez Education complex.

What was not made public was how much money goes to the bankers processing these multi-million dollar loans among other details.

Jim Mordecai