Sorry. I know his heart is in the right place but Kansas City's Mayor is already getting bogged down in a public school takeover plan that is DOOMED.
Here are just a few challenges his facing . . .
ALREADY AN EXODUS FROM KANSAS CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS DESPITE WORD OF A MAYORAL TAKEOVER SHOWS THAT KANSAS CITY DOESN'T HAVE MUCH CONFIDENCE IN THE EFFORT!!!
20LBS OF HEADLINES REPORTS: State Lawmakers Look at Mayor’s School Take Over Plan . . . It's anybody's guess if they love Mayor Sly as much as the people of Brookside.
KCTV5 picked up yesterday morning's TKC post and noted that Mayor Sly faces "stiff resistance" (ew) from MO. State Senator Victor Callahan . . . Extra Credit to Callahan for making a Funkhouser reference directed in the general direction of Mayor Sly James.
Furthermore, here's a few considerations for our Mayor regarding this plan . . .
MAYBE WHEN LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE IS FIXED, HE MIGHT FIND THE TIME TO TAKE ON THE SCHOOLS!!!
Or . . .
MAKING PROGRESS IN CURBING KANSAS CITY'S HORRIFIC HOMICIDE RATE MIGHT ALSO BE SOMETHING MORE PRESSING FOR THE MAYOR THAN TRYING HIS HAND AT BECOMING OUR TOP EDUCATION OFFICIAL!!!
Finally . . .
PUTTING THE MAYORAL TAKEOVER PLAN TO A VOTE IN KANSAS CITY AND SURROUNDING DISTRICTS IS A MUCH BETTER STRATEGY THAN ATTEMPTING TO SEIZE CONTROL THROUGH BACKROOM MEETINGS AND REPLACE ELECTED OFFICIALS WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE VOTERS!!!
I stole that idea from Sen. Callahan but it makes sense . . . As a rookie politico Mayor Sly isn't showing much confidence in voters. Worst of all . . . It kinda looks like he's just spinning his wheels and setting himself up for a MAJOR defeat.
DEVELOPING . . .
Dissolve the district. Put the kids first.
ReplyDeleteWhy sould we think that this administration should spend more time on municipal responsiblities like public safety, infrastructure, housing, or other boring serious issues that require both expertise and perseverance? No other group of electeds in KCMO have given these issues any thought at all.
ReplyDeleteIt's alot more fun to jump from one idea to the next, never really fixing anything, but making sure blame can be directed to others. Light rail, entertainment districts, bicucle paths, buying parkland, and lots of downtown development that doesn't pay for itself.
Cutting ribbons, having meetings, and making speeches.
And now on to the new taxpayer subsidized downtown hotel!
People should realize how bankrupt the city is from irresponsible management from the city manager and his staff. Just wait a couple weeks for the huge layoffs, and program cuts because they keep giving the money away and cannot manage anything and now they want the schools.
ReplyDeleteGotta give sly a chance. The one thing holding KC back is the quality of public schools the usual suspects and their consultants have fucked things up greatly. Maybe a change in how the district is managed will give it a chance.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, we could just let the district dissolve. It's like the guy in the movie weekend at Bernie's. It's been long dead but everyone flops it around pretending its alive. Time to let go and rebuild.
Changing the way the school district is governed isn't a bad idea, it's just not enough of a change.
ReplyDelete@7:26 what additional changes would you suggest? Rejecting change because its not enough change leaves us with the status quo, which is no change at all. How does that make any sense?
ReplyDeleteCould we just shut that water leak off on Wornall? Is that too much to ask mr. Mayor?
ReplyDeleteWhy should people who do not live in the district vote on how the district is run?
ReplyDeleteI feel the calls for breaking the district up are growing. And they should be.
ReplyDeleteGive the southwest corridor its own district, two districts on the east side, one district in the northeast.
The stuff that happens on the East Side will require a completely different approach to educate children. We have kids that are being raised by parents who are uneducated because of the school system their children are now in. Yes there is parental responsibility, but let's face it, they are not going to step up to the plate. There are some good families and students, it is the few underachieving, thug families that bring everyone else down.
Does all of KCPS have to be held hostage by these thugs including Clinton Adams and his ilk?
Look at Cristo Rey, they know how to take a bunch of poor minority students and make sure that they all go to college. Let them run the North East.
8:27 nails it.
ReplyDeleteA mind is a terrible thing to waste.
ReplyDeleteChange we can all believe in.
ReplyDeleteI cain't do my homework. Dr. Covington dunn runned off to Michigan.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Obama will send more money.
ReplyDeleteDoes it occur to anyone that decades of Democratic Party domination of Kansas City has brought us to this point?
ReplyDeleteOf course, Democrats like minorities to be poor and uneducated. They're easier to control that way.
Just a little more money from the rich, and things will be OK.
ReplyDeleteDon't you know black kids can't learn anything unless there's a white kid sitting next to them? It's a known fact. Arthur Benson told me.
ReplyDeleteCan Arthur Benson be prosecuted or has the statute of limitations run out?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20111221_Councilman_proposes_replacing_SRC_with_school_board.html
ReplyDeleteHere is KC's road map to getting rid of the school district and what happens. Not a pretty picture. Not an once of progress.
It isn't the school board, rather the culture of KC and it's political institutions. Replace every single person and the culture will continue to produce the same results.
The old grifters will merely be replaced by a younger, hungrier set of grifters who will continue to take the money and run.
Break up the district.
ReplyDeleteJust look at that stupid bastard, sitting there with the Mayor. THAT is the president of the School Board? What the fuck do you expect? There are more and more nigs just lining up for these jobs and as they get them, the organizations will, no doubt, fail. Look how they've functioned in everything they touch. Niggers just ruin everything.
ReplyDeleteOoga Booga Booga Boo!!! i does not! de white man be holdin us down so we kant mov on up! whities fault dat i got no edumakashun!
ReplyDeletebut i look chillin in ma new Air Jordans!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I think the City taking control is a good idea, one of the above bloggers has a point, most Kansas Citians (and voters) in Kansas City now live in the parts of Kansas City that are not within the Kansas City School District. I'm O.K. with this, but the question should be raised, should for example northland voters in Kansas City living in the Smithville School District have a say in picking the person (the Mayor who be running the Kansas City School District.
ReplyDeleteOne basic, undeniable fact:
ReplyDeleteSly James was elected MAYOR. Not LORD HIGH KING SAVIOR of the KCPSD.
Once he's served his term as mayor, he can run for school board prez.
His suggestion was to basically add three (I assume highly paid) executives to add another layer of bureauacracy(sp?) to an already busted system.
The reason those outside KC oughta have a say? Because once those in KC proper screw this pooch, they'll be looking to Jeff City to bail them out. And the refugees from this fail are investing our school systems. So yes, we ought to have a say.
Those in the burb belts have built new schools and pay much higher taxes too afford same. Now KC exports their riff raff to us?
Great. Shit in your own nest and fling your pooh into ours. Get bent, Sly.
The reason Sly (and the others) want the schools under their thumb is all the contract money to be doled out to their friends, family and supporters.
ReplyDeletePolitics is about controlling the contracts. School districts spend more than most city governments where they are located.
As somebody who pays into but gets nothing out of the kcmsd, I say bust the thing and let's start all over.
ReplyDeleteEveryone seems to be forgetting that almost half the students attending public school in KCMO, attend a charter schools.
ReplyDeleteCharters are a mixed bag, but many of them do an extremely good job of educating kids.
If the district is serious about change, they would step forward and form a partnership with the top charter schools in the city. They would allow those top schools to use KCMSD buildings at nominal fees. As long as the charters performed, they could use the buildings for free.
Charter schools are growing at a fast rate. In short order the district could become irrelevant because families with have left district schools in favor of charter schools.
If the district wants to stay relevant, they need to partner with charters and work as a team.
The outer ring schools districts have made it clear they don't want to work with us. The state has a bad record of fixing school problems.
There are successful schools in this city. The district should be looking to grow those successes, rather than starting from scratch.
The administration (including the prucurement department) and the school board are the problems. Eliminate the district and these losers go away.
ReplyDeleteSplit the schools into the surrounding districts. It worked with Independence. It can work again.
This is about the only way er can get rid of Benson, Ajamou, and Marilyn who may be gone but won't allow herself to be forgotten.
11:22:
ReplyDeleteOne problem. Your plan makes entirely too much sense and embraces freedom of choice and dare I say, capitalism.
A couple of concepts urbanites find so foreign and distasteful, this idea would be might by great wailing and gnashing of teeth. And somehow, somebody will find an element of racism in there, too. I personally don't mind you, but rest assured that the ad hoc crime pimps will. That's just the way it is in KC.
And that right there is about 9/10s of the problem.
The mayor needs to stay focused on City Hall. He needs to fix the streets, curbs, water system, storm sewers, limit the influence of local 42 ect. Does he really think he can fix the school system?
ReplyDeletePlease stay out of it Sly!
ReplyDeleteE tax to the tune of $2 million annually is no small change to loose. The City has no way to make that up.
ReplyDeleteThis is what's motivating the Mayor.
11:22 am, good points. The problem is that the KCMSD has done everything possible to discourage the successful programs. The French school received no attention when their request to expand was delayed. The Montissori school in Brookside was scheduled to close, despite their success.
ReplyDeleteCharter schools that are succeeding are doing that despite the District, not because of it.
Iza goin ficks the skools cystem.
ReplyDeleteThe schools that get no support are those that serve white parts of town. Talk about racism. The district is controlled by political interests that favor the black population. I don't want to pay for that anymore. Break up the district.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if James is just attention-whoring or really believes it is the mayor's job to run the school district. Either way, the mofo is delusional.
ReplyDelete