Comments on: A closer look at Glenbrook Middle School’s $1.7 million improvement grant

By: stephany

stephany — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 19:31:01 +0000

What are they goin to do with the school????

By: Janet

Janet — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 16:35:56 +0000

Will what i think about that is that I go to glenbrook middle school and we r Not happy about this becase I do get how it’s going to be more Easy for them

By: Doctor J

Doctor J — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 13:10:11 +0000

Sue, The Supt Tues night is telling kids and their parents he is going to be closing their schools ostensibly to save money — that also means cutting jobs for teachers and staff — then he takes off to a junket to Monterey at the Marriott at the wharf. Now I am not opposed to worthwhile conferences but the annual Supt conference is more networking for the next job than concrete classes on how to improve one’s superintending. For example, a couple of Friday’s ago, there was a day conference in Sacramento about the new budget — very worthwhile, but just a day trip — or it should have been. The conference a year ago in Palo Alto — C&I should have car pooled daily instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars on hotels and meals. I am sure if the truth be known, the public would be appalled at the number of conferences and amount of money spent by a district who claims to be in financial trouble. MDUSD claims its broke and continues to spend like a drunken sailor.

By: Sue Berg

Sue Berg — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 04:02:35 +0000

Dr. J, I was responding to your implied criticism of Dr. Lawrence attending the conference in Monterey. As to other conferences, sometimes grant funding comes with a requirement that those involved in the program being funded attend training, which is paid for by the grant, not the District’s General Fund. Efforts have been made to limit conference attendance, but some of the meetings are necessary and worthwhile.

Jim, truth be told, vendors show off wares and services at all conferences, even the ACSA one going on right now. Some of the info is helpful, but the “trade show” is ancillary to the conference workshops. You are right about vendor-specific meetings. Textbook publishers in particular try to entice school leaders to attend seminars they host to present their products. I never knew of any MDUSD leader attending one of those.

By: Doctor J

Doctor J — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 00:36:53 +0000

We aren’t just talking one or two conferences — we are talking probably $100,000 a year throughout the district. We are talking about both district staff and school staffs attending numerous conferences not only locally but throughout the nation. For every conference there is transportation, hotels, food, registration expenses, etc. Its all hidden throughout the budgets. If I recall correctly, last year C&I sent about a dozen people to a conference in Palo Alto, they all stayed in hotels, etc. If the district is broke — cut spending. Lets find out the true costs of ALL MDUSD personnel attending conferences. You don’t need to send a dozen people from the same department to a single subject conference.

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 23:47:19 +0000

Sue: I didn’t — and wouldn’t — complain about Mr. Lawrence attending the ACSA. My point was about the frequent vendor meetings that are also held around this time of year in Monterey. If he’s not wasting time at one of those — hurray! I haven’t attended the ACSA, but I have attended the CSBA and found it under-whelming, like the National School Board Association conference, which offers elementary orientation for school board members, but not much else. I don’t think that there is anything wrong with attending professional meetings to keep up on things and interact with peers. If Mr. Lawrence believes that this one will be valuable, then he should go. But the education industry does have an over-abundance of conferences and associations that invites a certain level of skepticism. Those conferences provide speaking engagements for consultants to advertise their services, and they can offer good job-hunting and recruiting venues for educational administrators considering a career move, but beyond that, caveat emptor.

By: mdusd mom

mdusd mom — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 23:02:12 +0000

This is bureaucracy, probably for lobbying, for what? CSBA is the one involved in a widely-publicized scandal for paying more than $500,000. salary and $200,000. pension with absolutely no accountability. Other districts threatened to resign from CSBA but MDUSD was not on that list. We would like to know how much MDUSD pays to these organizations, what is the benefit to our students classrooms, and when will we receive another biweekly newsletter from our superintendent?

By: Sue Berg

Sue Berg — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:03:28 +0000

This is the weekend for the annual ACSA (Association of California School Administrators) Superintendents’ Conference, always held in Monterey. It’s the one gathering of the year that brings school district superintendents together from throughout the state to hear, discuss, and ask questions about a variety of topics regarding public education and its financing. It’s been a highly regarded conference for many years.

Superintendents and Board members are expected to be current on educational issues. This ACSA conference and the CSBA (California School Boards Association) conference each December are the primary interactive sources of information. The MDUSD budget includes a small amount of money for them to attend each of these conferences. Those who bring their spouse pay any extra expenses for that person out of their own pocket.

Jim and Dr. J, you want the district leaders to lead from knowledge, yet you complain about their attending a set of workshops that help them do so.

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:01:48 +0000

He may not be spending much district money. Monterey is a popular place for education vendors to hold fun “executive briefings” about their products for educational decision-makers in CA. The companies pick up most of the cost, except transporation. Believe me, the real cost of these junkets is not what the district pays out of pocket. It’s in the expensive, questionable products that they buy — Scholastic’s “Read 180″ among them.

http://www.k12reboot.com
The Parent Voice for School Choice

By: Doctor J

Doctor J — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 18:05:54 +0000

Where is Steven Lawrence today ? Please call his secretary and ask. He is spending the District money at a conference in Monterey. For what purpose ? He and his wife at the Marriott in Monterey ? Why ?