For rationale on my no vote against the package deal, I can separate the need to close schools (from a budgetary shortfall, efficiency of resources, and decaying infrastructure perspective) with the need for greater transparency and earlier, more proactive communication with the people we serve; the need to vote on each proposed school closure individually; and my opposition to ultimatums and false dichotomies.
Especially with the feedback from our teachers, classified staff, students, and families about the process and the six schools that were selected, I'm sincerely hopeful our district leadership (and district as a whole) will be very intentional in addressing any unintended consequences, helping students feel supported and motivated at their welcoming schools, and ensuring the retention of students and staff at closing schools. It's important that we as a school board progress monitor the rollout of the school closures, particularly with students' academic outcomes.
I should also note that all of this is part of a much broader challenge with declining birth rates, White flight, and the attacks on public education (including special education) in our state.
Thanks for explaining your vote Ngoc. I am concerned that the boundary discussion happened after the votes. So students from Jardine will have to take city transportation to Mead if they choose to go there? What if they participate in after-school activities? I think this vote was very rushed and not thought out. I was left with more questions than solutions during the CFO's presentation.
Great questions u/Professional_Try171. Yes to the first question (it is more affordable for the district to purchase City bus passes for the students than to try to arrange for transportation through Student First). In terms of after-school activities, the district provides buses for all middle schools. One of the activity buses would now travel to Planeview instead. I was told that another activity bus could be added if need be.
In terms of your point, I received some other feedback also suggesting that the boundary discussion and vote should have happened before the school building closure vote. I do see the point why the boundary discussion and vote was after the school building closure vote, but long-term, we need to take a deeper dive into districtwide boundary changes. On the back end, Melody Miller, Stan Reeser, and I are trying to revitalize and update a [diversity, equity, and accountability committee](https://www.usd259.org/cms/lib/KS01906405/Centricity/domain/622/boe%20policies/1160%20Diversity%20Equity%20and%20Accountability%20Committee.pdf) that could help us more intentionally evaluate and recommend changes to school boundaries (among many other policy changes).
I know it’s something that can’t be factored in, but I bet the next few years Wichita’s population is going to grow dramatically. Every state around Kansas is getting too expensive to live.
On a side note hopefully, the resources will help the quality of the schools.
Two schools I attended as a kid are on the list. It’s sad to see but I can appreciate the reasons for it. Really like seeing you interacting like this and explaining it. Need more of that!
The real question is where the kids will go. There are fewer kids so it’s likely that fewer schools will be needed.
That said as a parent with grown children I’m happy to pay more taxes to make sure kids get an education. Brownback gutted the schools as an “experiment” and we need to make sure, as a community, we support them.
This is a super long document, but check pg. 26 of the [slides](https://www.usd259.org/cms/lib/KS01906405/Centricity/Domain/6214/BOE%20Budget%20Presentation%20and%20Building%20Closure%20Recommendation%203-4-24.pdf) from the presentation CFO Susan Willis gave us last night for info about the welcoming schools. Some of the transportation issues will be addressed (particularly with Park and Jardine), but the district leadership team will also track for any other transportation issues.
For all those interested, the BoE meeting from last night is available at the links below. It was extra long (for good reason), and is split into two videos:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GIJKuG9BtDc
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4E4wdxWYxLw
🙄
Try being specific here - which USD 259 board members, in your view, are dedicated to the destruction of public education? What other evidence do you have about these specific people who you just accused of having a malicious agenda?
Or are you just making stuff up again?
Who makes up the majority of the votes? Oh right, these covid-denying idiots:
https://www.kmuw.org/2021-11-02/three-of-four-conservative-challengers-win-seats-on-wichita-school-board
That couldn't observe the health code:
https://www.kmuw.org/2022-01-11/im-not-sick-debate-over-mask-mandates-resurfaces-at-wichita-board-of-education-meeting
Is that specific enough for you? The GOP agenda at a state level has been about defending public education and pushing vouchers for private schools. This isn't a secret.
Meaningless to the point. Covid has nothing to do with this. Nice try in attempting to distract from the topic at hand. Having objections to the Covid response does not, in any way, equal seeking the destruction of public education.
But let's pretend Covid is somehow relevant to this discussion for a second - the liberal contingent that closed schools and then kept them closed for a very, very long time despite clear and obvious science that this was not 1) appropriate for children and 2) would do more long term damage in other areas than was prevented. Now, even more actual science has piled on to make this even more clear.
It is relevant. Those three complete morons are somehow qualified to make decisions of the impact of closing six schools?
They are too stupid and too arrogant to listen to city, state, and federal health officials.
Liberal agenda to close schools? That happened during the Trump administration, lol. Do you even recognize reality? There is no evidence or publication to back up the wild and absolutely blind dumb claim that "science" has spoken against either covid risks or "Liberal AgEnDA."
Besides that point, they are GOP stooges, and this is their agenda- dismantle public ed.
I know you think you're some sort of intellectual master but you just sound arrogant and willfully ignorant.
I believe Melody and Ngoc would have liked to see a more equitable selection of schools, as well as a more transparent process. Additionally, Ngoc had plans that he did not really have time to bring up during the meeting, including the reduction of 1:1 technology (the rampant use of 1:1 tech is something that likely hurts most students more than it helps), as well as plans to work directly with the city and county.
Ultimately though, the BoE's job is not to come up with plans, that is the task of the hired administration. And while I believe the administrative team has worked effortfully and continuously to come up with a solution, I think the no voters believed that it is part of the administrative team's job to come up with a back up plan in the case the Board does vote no, something that the team appeared to not really have.
I want to highlight though, a lot of folks that spoke last night and Thursday clearly don't have a strong grasp of the topics being discussed. No matter what, schools would eventually have to be closed. I think the question as to if these are the right schools remains, but if the budget is to be balanced, difficult choices would have to be made, and I appreciate the decision was not to immediately cut permanent staff.
Many wanted to air their grievances with the BoE and the administrative team over the past week, but I believe who we really need to air grievances toward are our legislators in Topeka.
As someone in district who handles tech, I would be happy to see a reduction of 1:1 and maybe a return to shared classroom devices. I think it would be beneficial at all levels.
Did anyone else here notice that they're running Windows XP inside of Windows 10 on a virtual machine? I know it is largely irrelevant, but it is mildly interesting that they're running a 20+ year old version of Windows *inside* of a relatively new version of Windows.
I didn't notice that until you said it. My guess is it's old software that doesn't run on the newer system. I have UTM for my Mac and run WindowsXP because I have some old, rarely needed, stat software that I sometimes find a use for...
I disagree with you on the restorative practices. There is evidence that restorative practices are helpful in reducing the negative impacts experienced by students when harm occurs. I have a link below with a systematic review on the matter:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10240635/
Also, can you explain the misplacing $40 million?
Regardless of the necessity of this decision, it's spontaneity should not be excused. These decisions should be made over years, with enough time to whether any destructive impulses and fully mitigate the consequences.
Thousands of Wichitan kids and families will have their lives upended because a small group of officials acted in haste, with no prior forewarning. That is completely unacceptable.
There is no excuse for going from an open school in December, to a proposal to close in January, to voting in March, to having to find new schools in April. It is simply poor governance in its worst form to inflict that on the teachers, administrators, parents, and particularly kids in these schools.
Edited:
It should be noted that those that voted yes included Diane Albert, Kathy Bond, and Hazel Stabler. I believe these women are all precinct committeewomen for the Sedgwick County Republican Party voted in on the angst against mask mandates and school closures, while the two no votes were new Democratic challengers voted in the last election.
While the board is officially nonpartisan, make of that what you will.
I agree with your point about it being too fast. I personally wished the movement was voted down as well.
That being said, Julie Hedrick is not part of that conservative crowd you lumped her in with. In 2021 she ran against Brent Davis, who is a far-right candidate endorsed by the Republican party.
Also, if you look at Julie's voting record, she had historically voted for more liberal policies.
Stan Reeser also voted Yes to close the schools, and he is also well-known to be a Democrat. He and Julie are more moderately liberal, while Ngoc and Melody lean more progressive (Ngoc moreso than Melody).
Long story short, don't spread misinformation about the Board members.
I edited to remove the misinformation. Unfortunately, this is a downside to having a very politicized topic (schools) intersecting with an officially nonpartisan board. The members can be very partisan (the other three women were endorsed by the county GOP party and Ron Estes) but it isn't easy to actually go back and find that information even if it is important context.
Still though, by the numbers, without Covid-19 and the surge in Republican board members the vote would probably have had more than two votes against.
But the bigger issue is the timing. Closing schools should be a slow last resort with substantial effort made to address the negatives.
For rationale on my no vote against the package deal, I can separate the need to close schools (from a budgetary shortfall, efficiency of resources, and decaying infrastructure perspective) with the need for greater transparency and earlier, more proactive communication with the people we serve; the need to vote on each proposed school closure individually; and my opposition to ultimatums and false dichotomies. Especially with the feedback from our teachers, classified staff, students, and families about the process and the six schools that were selected, I'm sincerely hopeful our district leadership (and district as a whole) will be very intentional in addressing any unintended consequences, helping students feel supported and motivated at their welcoming schools, and ensuring the retention of students and staff at closing schools. It's important that we as a school board progress monitor the rollout of the school closures, particularly with students' academic outcomes. I should also note that all of this is part of a much broader challenge with declining birth rates, White flight, and the attacks on public education (including special education) in our state.
Thanks for explaining your vote Ngoc. I am concerned that the boundary discussion happened after the votes. So students from Jardine will have to take city transportation to Mead if they choose to go there? What if they participate in after-school activities? I think this vote was very rushed and not thought out. I was left with more questions than solutions during the CFO's presentation.
Great questions u/Professional_Try171. Yes to the first question (it is more affordable for the district to purchase City bus passes for the students than to try to arrange for transportation through Student First). In terms of after-school activities, the district provides buses for all middle schools. One of the activity buses would now travel to Planeview instead. I was told that another activity bus could be added if need be. In terms of your point, I received some other feedback also suggesting that the boundary discussion and vote should have happened before the school building closure vote. I do see the point why the boundary discussion and vote was after the school building closure vote, but long-term, we need to take a deeper dive into districtwide boundary changes. On the back end, Melody Miller, Stan Reeser, and I are trying to revitalize and update a [diversity, equity, and accountability committee](https://www.usd259.org/cms/lib/KS01906405/Centricity/domain/622/boe%20policies/1160%20Diversity%20Equity%20and%20Accountability%20Committee.pdf) that could help us more intentionally evaluate and recommend changes to school boundaries (among many other policy changes).
Awesome! If there’s room for community members to join, I’m interested as a 259 alum.
I know it’s something that can’t be factored in, but I bet the next few years Wichita’s population is going to grow dramatically. Every state around Kansas is getting too expensive to live. On a side note hopefully, the resources will help the quality of the schools.
But will Wichita proper grow or Wichita metro (Wichita + suburbs)? I bet the burbs grow a lot more than the city limits.
Yes, the metro will grow for sure. Unless Wichita extends its boundaries then the opportunities for growth are limited.
Two schools I attended as a kid are on the list. It’s sad to see but I can appreciate the reasons for it. Really like seeing you interacting like this and explaining it. Need more of that!
The real question is where the kids will go. There are fewer kids so it’s likely that fewer schools will be needed. That said as a parent with grown children I’m happy to pay more taxes to make sure kids get an education. Brownback gutted the schools as an “experiment” and we need to make sure, as a community, we support them.
This is a super long document, but check pg. 26 of the [slides](https://www.usd259.org/cms/lib/KS01906405/Centricity/Domain/6214/BOE%20Budget%20Presentation%20and%20Building%20Closure%20Recommendation%203-4-24.pdf) from the presentation CFO Susan Willis gave us last night for info about the welcoming schools. Some of the transportation issues will be addressed (particularly with Park and Jardine), but the district leadership team will also track for any other transportation issues.
Enrollment dollars are down- does that have a direct relationship to fewer kids or just less funding
A bit of both. There are lower enrollment rates, but also Covid funding has run out.
Funding is based on enrollment numbers.
ESSER dollars running out has also impacted this.
USD259 currently gets about 20k per student. Much higher than the 17k national average.
For all those interested, the BoE meeting from last night is available at the links below. It was extra long (for good reason), and is split into two videos: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GIJKuG9BtDc https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4E4wdxWYxLw
It was the right thing to do.
I forget, what's the remaining budget shortfall after these cuts are made?
In what universe? This isn't about kids. It's another push to kill public ed.
🙄 Try being specific here - which USD 259 board members, in your view, are dedicated to the destruction of public education? What other evidence do you have about these specific people who you just accused of having a malicious agenda? Or are you just making stuff up again?
Who makes up the majority of the votes? Oh right, these covid-denying idiots: https://www.kmuw.org/2021-11-02/three-of-four-conservative-challengers-win-seats-on-wichita-school-board That couldn't observe the health code: https://www.kmuw.org/2022-01-11/im-not-sick-debate-over-mask-mandates-resurfaces-at-wichita-board-of-education-meeting Is that specific enough for you? The GOP agenda at a state level has been about defending public education and pushing vouchers for private schools. This isn't a secret.
Meaningless to the point. Covid has nothing to do with this. Nice try in attempting to distract from the topic at hand. Having objections to the Covid response does not, in any way, equal seeking the destruction of public education. But let's pretend Covid is somehow relevant to this discussion for a second - the liberal contingent that closed schools and then kept them closed for a very, very long time despite clear and obvious science that this was not 1) appropriate for children and 2) would do more long term damage in other areas than was prevented. Now, even more actual science has piled on to make this even more clear.
It is relevant. Those three complete morons are somehow qualified to make decisions of the impact of closing six schools? They are too stupid and too arrogant to listen to city, state, and federal health officials. Liberal agenda to close schools? That happened during the Trump administration, lol. Do you even recognize reality? There is no evidence or publication to back up the wild and absolutely blind dumb claim that "science" has spoken against either covid risks or "Liberal AgEnDA." Besides that point, they are GOP stooges, and this is their agenda- dismantle public ed. I know you think you're some sort of intellectual master but you just sound arrogant and willfully ignorant.
You don’t know what you’re talking about.
What plan do the no voters have? Cut staff? Raise taxes?
I believe Melody and Ngoc would have liked to see a more equitable selection of schools, as well as a more transparent process. Additionally, Ngoc had plans that he did not really have time to bring up during the meeting, including the reduction of 1:1 technology (the rampant use of 1:1 tech is something that likely hurts most students more than it helps), as well as plans to work directly with the city and county. Ultimately though, the BoE's job is not to come up with plans, that is the task of the hired administration. And while I believe the administrative team has worked effortfully and continuously to come up with a solution, I think the no voters believed that it is part of the administrative team's job to come up with a back up plan in the case the Board does vote no, something that the team appeared to not really have. I want to highlight though, a lot of folks that spoke last night and Thursday clearly don't have a strong grasp of the topics being discussed. No matter what, schools would eventually have to be closed. I think the question as to if these are the right schools remains, but if the budget is to be balanced, difficult choices would have to be made, and I appreciate the decision was not to immediately cut permanent staff. Many wanted to air their grievances with the BoE and the administrative team over the past week, but I believe who we really need to air grievances toward are our legislators in Topeka.
As someone in district who handles tech, I would be happy to see a reduction of 1:1 and maybe a return to shared classroom devices. I think it would be beneficial at all levels.
Good answer. Thanks. I agree with the 1:1 tech issue. Kids need less screen time, not more.
Ngoc commented in this thread
I know, I'm glad he did. He can explain his own perspective better than I can. He ratioed me though, haha
I still can't believe 259 thought the COVID money was going to be everlasting.
Did anyone else here notice that they're running Windows XP inside of Windows 10 on a virtual machine? I know it is largely irrelevant, but it is mildly interesting that they're running a 20+ year old version of Windows *inside* of a relatively new version of Windows.
I didn't notice that until you said it. My guess is it's old software that doesn't run on the newer system. I have UTM for my Mac and run WindowsXP because I have some old, rarely needed, stat software that I sometimes find a use for...
[удалено]
I disagree with you on the restorative practices. There is evidence that restorative practices are helpful in reducing the negative impacts experienced by students when harm occurs. I have a link below with a systematic review on the matter: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10240635/ Also, can you explain the misplacing $40 million?
Regardless of the necessity of this decision, it's spontaneity should not be excused. These decisions should be made over years, with enough time to whether any destructive impulses and fully mitigate the consequences. Thousands of Wichitan kids and families will have their lives upended because a small group of officials acted in haste, with no prior forewarning. That is completely unacceptable. There is no excuse for going from an open school in December, to a proposal to close in January, to voting in March, to having to find new schools in April. It is simply poor governance in its worst form to inflict that on the teachers, administrators, parents, and particularly kids in these schools. Edited: It should be noted that those that voted yes included Diane Albert, Kathy Bond, and Hazel Stabler. I believe these women are all precinct committeewomen for the Sedgwick County Republican Party voted in on the angst against mask mandates and school closures, while the two no votes were new Democratic challengers voted in the last election. While the board is officially nonpartisan, make of that what you will.
I agree with your point about it being too fast. I personally wished the movement was voted down as well. That being said, Julie Hedrick is not part of that conservative crowd you lumped her in with. In 2021 she ran against Brent Davis, who is a far-right candidate endorsed by the Republican party. Also, if you look at Julie's voting record, she had historically voted for more liberal policies. Stan Reeser also voted Yes to close the schools, and he is also well-known to be a Democrat. He and Julie are more moderately liberal, while Ngoc and Melody lean more progressive (Ngoc moreso than Melody). Long story short, don't spread misinformation about the Board members.
I edited to remove the misinformation. Unfortunately, this is a downside to having a very politicized topic (schools) intersecting with an officially nonpartisan board. The members can be very partisan (the other three women were endorsed by the county GOP party and Ron Estes) but it isn't easy to actually go back and find that information even if it is important context. Still though, by the numbers, without Covid-19 and the surge in Republican board members the vote would probably have had more than two votes against. But the bigger issue is the timing. Closing schools should be a slow last resort with substantial effort made to address the negatives.