[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2012/0...28045464695.txt

School’s filing period begins in July

By Lois Tomaszewski
Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, June 24, 2012 5:06 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — Just a month from now, anyone wishing to run for a seat on the Michigan City Area Schools board of trustees can submit their petition to the La Porte County elections office.

“The filing period for the petitions opens at 8 a.m. Wednesday, July 25 at the La Porte County Courthouse to verify name with voter registration and submit a petition of ten signatures with registered voters,” La Porte County Clerk and election board clerk Lynne Spevak said. “A person must be a registered voter to be counted as a signature on the petition. The closing date is noon Friday, Aug. 24.”

Three seats are up for election in November. These include the seat held by Vidya Kora, who is seeking election to the La Porte County board of commissioners representing District 3, as well as the seats held by board president Donald Dulaney and William Greene.

Each of these seats represents a specific area of the MCAS district. Voters will select a candidate who resides in Michigan City, one from the Springfield community and one from the Coolspring and Pine areas. The last seat can include Porter County residents.

*
The school board elections are non-partisan, meaning candidates are not affiliating with a political party for their candidacy. The La Porte County Election Board certifies the validity of the signatures on the candidate petitions at a meeting of all candidates, Spevak said.

To be eligible to run for school board, candidates must be a registered voter in the district or area assigned to the seat he or she is seeking; must not have been convicted of a felony; cannot hold more than one office; must be a resident for at least one year; must be at least 21 years of age and cannot be a teacher or other employee of MCAS.

A memo outlining these and other requirements is posted on the MCAS website: educatemc.net.

[eric.hanke]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2012/0...28045464695.txt

When did The MCAS change domain names (website URL's)?

Go figure, registered by ADS owner and President, Bill Richey. The MCAS has made Mr. Richey a very wealthy individual. For almost 20 years Automated Data has been in bed with the MCAS. They know how to work the contract system; no computer or IT service contract has ever come up for bid. Staying just below the bid minimum. What a racket...

Also worth noting that MCAS Director of Technology Kevin McGuire and Bill Richey go way back. Kevin is a former ADS employee...

Registrant:
Automated Data Systems
618 Franklin Street
Michigan City, Indiana 46360
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, LLC (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: EDUCATEMC.NET
Created on: 24-Jan-12
Expires on: 24-Jan-15
Last Updated on: 24-Jan-12

Administrative Contact:
Richey, Bill bwrichey@mse.adsnet.com
Automated Data Systems
618 Franklin Street
Michigan City, Indiana 46360
United States
+1.2198796600

[eric.hanke]

In case there was any doubt. I'm not running!

[indianamaniac]

In case there was any doubt. I'm not running!

What? You can't make the commute from Florida to the meetings or you don't think your campaign sticker above would garner enough votes?

[Southsider2k12]

What? You can't make the commute from Florida to the meetings or you don't think your campaign sticker above would garner enough votes?

I'd mention the residency thing, but then again, that hasn't exactly been an issue in some other cases...

[lbl]

In case there was any doubt. I'm not running!

Mr. Hanke,

I follow you here and in the comment sections of the N-D. You seem very angry at the schools. Am I misreading it? With all of your energy, why do you work on so much criticism? You don't have to answer, obviously. I was just wondering why you're so angry with MCAS. Should the public be informed of some great injustice carried out by the schools...or, the people who work with our children everyday?

Just wondering.

[bandaid19]

LBL, you're very sweet... I just wonder when he's going to start in on his new school corp in Florida and leave ours alone... hopefully the tide will go out some day.

[Southsider2k12]

FWIW, there are already re-election signs up for Dulaney and Greene.

[eric.hanke]

I am angry at The Michigan City Area Schools. Their educational and financial practices have done a huge disservice to the community for which they serve. Look at the test scores now and in the next 5 years. You don't realize it now, but MCAS is in a world of hurt.

I find it interesting that some members of CBTL find my comments offensive and feel that I could make better use of my time. How many school board meetings have any of you attended? Do you know the names of all the school board members and the portion of the community they serve? What about the name of the superintendent or any of the assistant superintendants? When is the last time you attended a basketball, football, or academic competition? How active are you in the local community?

If you are happy paying higher property taxes to fund the idiotic financial principals of those that manage, or mismanage our school system, then that's fine. I on the other hand, as long as I have family in Michigan City, will continue to offer my input.


Instead of bitching about me and my views, why not do some investigating and reveal some of your own. I'd be interested in your thoughts.

BTW bandaid19, I'm never going away. MUAH HA HA HA!

Good for Dulaney and Greene. I am sure the teachers union and community will support both of them. They've done such a great job (for themselves) (sarcasm).

[lbl]

I am angry at The Michigan City Area Schools. Their educational and financial practices have done a huge disservice to the community for which they serve. Look at the test scores now and in the next 5 years. You don't realize it now, but MCAS is in a world of hurt.

I find it interesting that some members of CBTL find my comments offensive and feel that I could make better use of my time. How many school board meetings have any of you attended? Do you know the names of all the school board members and the portion of the community they serve? What about the name of the superintendent or any of the assistant superintendants? When is the last time you attended a basketball, football, or academic competition? How active are you in the local community?

If you are happy paying higher property taxes to fund the idiotic financial principals of those that manage, or mismanage our school system, then that's fine. I on the other hand, as long as I have family in Michigan City, will continue to offer my input.
Instead of bitching about me and my views, why not do some investigating and reveal some of your own. I'd be interested in your thoughts.

BTW bandaid19, I'm never going away. MUAH HA HA HA!

Good for Dulaney and Greene. I am sure the teachers union and community will support both of them. They've done such a great job (for themselves) (sarcasm).

(Here are my thoughts...you meant me, right? Your focus fluctuates from general to singular, so I'm not sure. Also, I didn't feel like I was "bitching" whatsoever. My apologies.)

Ummm, wow! I sense much anger. Please don't point it at me. So, you don't live here anymore, yet you attack people who do? Again, I'm just not sure how productive that is in the arenas you're frequenting. However, to each his own.

I guess if you know better than all of those people, why weren't you elected? That's not a slam, just a question. I assume you're a financial consultant of some kind. That's impressive, I don't have those skills enough to identify "idiotic financial skills". I'm sure you understand the intricacies of public sector financing vs. private sector. There was a recent school finance job filled here (by a local guy, no less), did you apply? Maybe if you did, they saw the things you post and decided you weren't a good candidate. You know this vitriol will follow you everywhere. As I tell my kids...the internet is forever!

Just so you feel better about our discourse, I do know all of those names, and I vote (btw, we don't have an assistant superintendent, he's an Associate--the others are Directors; no worries, common syntactical error). I've been to most football and basketball games (boys and girls, and some soccer) for the last three years. Funny, I should have met you by now; you're there, right?

I watch/listen to school board meetings, and sometimes attend. As for the test scores, I know they are not declining. In fact, the English scores just rose by 14%, in one year. That was stated by the Supt., and at graduation...a great day by the way. People seemed very happy with the HS, which is why I am so puzzled about your anger. It seems many people are trying to make positive changes, but there are long time MC residents who won't let go of residual anger and move forward. Is that you? It kinda seems like it. Again, forgive me if I've misrepresented you.

You know, those schools are OURS, not THEIRS. We have to help take care of them. Going on public forums and slamming OUR schools is really, really bad for real estate and business. That in turn, affects schools and funding. I'm sure you know this. The internet is forever...and, one bad comment makes a much larger bruise, than a neutral or good comment. Can you help us local business people out and stop hurting our visitor traffic, potential industry, and those who work REALLY hard to teach other people's kids? It's really not that tough to do. Please?

As for your MUAH HA HA HA thing...I assume you're making a joke. If not, it appears you enjoy being contrary. Again, to what end? While thorns have a function, they are rarely celebrated or admired.

I hope you have a great day! It's almost 100 degrees here, and still beautiful!

We are MC!

[bandaid19]

Trolls never go away... they just come out from their bridges and yell every once in a while.

I am angry at The Michigan City Area Schools. Their educational and financial practices have done a huge disservice to the community for which they serve. Look at the test scores now and in the next 5 years. You don't realize it now, but MCAS is in a world of hurt.

I find it interesting that some members of CBTL find my comments offensive and feel that I could make better use of my time. How many school board meetings have any of you attended? Do you know the names of all the school board members and the portion of the community they serve? What about the name of the superintendent or any of the assistant superintendants? When is the last time you attended a basketball, football, or academic competition? How active are you in the local community?

If you are happy paying higher property taxes to fund the idiotic financial principals of those that manage, or mismanage our school system, then that's fine. I on the other hand, as long as I have family in Michigan City, will continue to offer my input.
Instead of bitching about me and my views, why not do some investigating and reveal some of your own. I'd be interested in your thoughts.

BTW bandaid19, I'm never going away. MUAH HA HA HA!

Good for Dulaney and Greene. I am sure the teachers union and community will support both of them. They've done such a great job (for themselves) (sarcasm).

[Southsider2k12]

I disagree with Eric on a lot of things, but I would never question his fight for the cause for a lot of years, and the level of knowledge that he has regarding this school system. I also can't hold not getting elected against someone. To put the time and energy out there to attempt to be a school board member is a bitch of a process. I heard him speak at the debates and forums, and he knew his stuff better than the majority of people on this school board. Most people who like to talk loud don't have the guts to step in front of the public and plead their cases for your vote.

The problem is waaaaaay too many people don't pay attention to what is said during those election cycles, and instead of that, are paying attention to signs and names when voting. Otherwise people would have known that they were voting for a candidate who didn't know what the Strategic Plan was on the eve of the election.

Now I agree with lbl on the negative stuff. Fight the system, sure. But after when it goes personal, it becomes anti-productive.

[taxthedeer]

FWIW, there are already re-election signs up for Dulaney and Greene.

Who is going to run for Dr. Kora's seat?

Whenever people ask me about our school board I tell them that they are seven of the nicest people you would ever want to meet (especially my three favorite ones). I also tell them that they are seven of the oldest people you would ever meet. Our school board is this town's largest carrier of AIDS...that's MedicAIDS, hearing AIDS , walking AIDS, bandAIDS...

[Southsider2k12]

Who is going to run for Dr. Kora's seat?

Whenever people ask me about our school board I tell them that they are seven of the nicest people you would ever want to meet (especially my three favorite ones). I also tell them that they are seven of the oldest people you would ever meet. Our school board is this town's largest carrier of AIDS...that's MedicAIDS, hearing AIDS , walking AIDS, bandAIDS...

I have not heard, but that last line is pretty funny,

[indianamaniac]

I find it interesting that some members of CBTL find my comments offensive and feel that I could make better use of my time.

I find it astonishing that you don't recognize that your comments are offensive and that you don't realize you could make better use of your time...

[eric.hanke]

I find it astonishing that you don't recognize that your comments are offensive and that you don't realize you could make better use of your time...

OK. It's me, the troll, making another apperance.

According to data made available on the Indiana Department of Education website (http://compass.doe.in.gov/dashboard/eca.as...ool&id=4795) the End of Course Assessments Overview shows the percentage of students passing the English assessment as remaining the same between school years 2009-2010 & 2010-2011.

It's important to note, as with any statistics, the MCAS can "massage" the data any number of ways to look favorable. You also need to remember that due to privacy issues groups of students less than 10 in size are not reported. You'd be shocked to discover the number of ways Jan Radford can lump students into groups of 10 or less so the data is omitted. They use demographics and class size to minimize the low performing students from being reported.

As for my background, it's not in finance, although I appreciate the compliment. I am a IT Engineer by trade. Anyone with a calculator and pencil, or a degree in finance, should be able to calculate that The MCAS was spending WAY more than was coming in (forecasting). It's not rocket science. Well, apparently it is since I am the only one who figured it out.

Regarding test scores; while school performance is dismal to say the least, I am referring to future school performance data due to the cuts being imposed at the elementary and middle school levels.

I'm sensitive to making the community look bad. But any educated citizen looking to purchase a house in Michigan City can go to the Indiana DOE website and view student data to see how poorly our schools are managed.

[Southsider2k12]

OK. It's me, the troll, making another apperance.

According to data made available on the Indiana Department of Education website (http://compass.doe.in.gov/dashboard/eca.as...ool&id=4795) the End of Course Assessments Overview shows the percentage of students passing the English assessment as remaining the same between school years 2009-2010 & 2010-2011.

It's important to note, as with any statistics, the MCAS can "massage" the data any number of ways to look favorable. You also need to remember that due to privacy issues groups of students less than 10 in size are not reported. You'd be shocked to discover the number of ways Jan Radford can lump students into groups of 10 or less so the data is omitted. They use demographics and class size to minimize the low performing students from being reported.

As for my background, it's not in finance, although I appreciate the compliment. I am a IT Engineer by trade. Anyone with a calculator and pencil, or a degree in finance, should be able to calculate that The MCAS was spending WAY more than was coming in (forecasting). It's not rocket science. Well, apparently it is since I am the only one who figured it out.

Regarding test scores; while school performance is dismal to say the least, I am referring to future school performance data due to the cuts being imposed at the elementary and middle school levels.

I'm sensitive to making the community look bad. But any educated citizen looking to purchase a house in Michigan City can go to the Indiana DOE website and view student data to see how poorly our schools are managed.

You aren't the only one. It was the centerpiece of my 2010 campaign.

[Ang]

OK. It's me, the troll, making another apperance.

.....

As for my background, it's not in finance, although I appreciate the compliment. I am a IT Engineer by trade. Anyone with a calculator and pencil, or a degree in finance, should be able to calculate that The MCAS was spending WAY more than was coming in (forecasting). It's not rocket science. Well, apparently it is since I am the only one who figured it out.

.....

So which is it? Are you an IT guy or a rocket scientist?

[eric.hanke]

So which is it? Are you an IT guy or a rocket scientist?

Both!

[Southsider2k12]

So far Dennis Metheny has filed to run against Dulaney