45 replies to this topic

[ducky]

Not exclusive to this situation, I find the comments about shrink wrapped mops and sponges hilarious. I can't say that I disagree but I do recognize that any such effort to "salvage" items deemed to be for sanitary / cleaning purposes would open the District to severe criticism from the parent of every kid that comes home with a sniffle or a pimple.

Were the people complaining about shrink wrapped sponges paying attention when the kid with the peanut allergy sued the school district? Can you imagine the outfall as soon as one kid had a rash diagnosed as mold related and it was discovered that the FCUSD was using "contaminated" cleaning supplies? You can say that it wouldn't be an issue, but based on past experience I would say that is naive.

To clear up any confusion, nobody said the sponges and mops were shrink-wrapped. They were in the plastic bags from the manufacturer. You know, just like when you buy them from the store.
The books and educational materials were in the shrink wrap.

I think the whole mold concern is stretching things just a tad. I don't remember them throwing away the whole gym at FHS when the roof leaked.

[supermom]

To be fair, I don't think all teachers feel comfortable with the week-long gift thing. It's usually some of the parents that get carried away with that.

Yeah, but the good thing is that by the end of elementary school, the parents have grown out of it.

Could you imagine how mortified a 16 year old would be if his mother brought in a Starbucks cup, gift card, and and apple to every one of his teachers?

[EDF]

OMG... I haven't been on here in a while...

This goes to show you why I can't stand "guv-ment" workers... that includes the school district...

What a stinking waste of money...

Remember this crap when it comes time to vote in this year's election... Moonbeam wants a tax increase...

good luck with that...

[The Average Joe]

I too had dealings with the district recently, and while the process was necessary and forthright, I found it interesting to see the new facility. You should all check it out sometime. Make your own conclusion. Doesn't compare to the STRS building, but that is a whole other issue.

I also found it interesting that the PIO (public information officer) was there the whole time documenting (video) the event. I admit he was a very nice man, but I have to wonder exactly what his job duties are. Controlling the release of information to the public I suppose...but couldn't one of the other admin staff there do that? Do we really need a public liason, or should we just simply be able to ask questions and be routed to the person that can best answer them without a "filter"? I find the use of any PR type person questionable in public offices as all they seem to do is insulate staff from hard or uncomfortable questions posed by their "clients."

On a broader spectrum, it seems to me an awful lot of public figures are avoiding answering the hard questions, whether ducking the question, changing the topic or just taking the 5th (as has happened quite often in congress lately). But I digress...

Wash the mops and sponges in bleach and be done with it... I bet even without the bleach wash they are more sanitary than the current ones in use... just sayin

[olivia]

And don't forget that next week is "Teacher appreciation WEEK." No, not just one day like Mother's Day or Father's Day or Administrative Assistant Day, an entire week of tribute must be paid with gifts and praise for doing what most people do everyday - their job!

"Must be paid"..... Dude, you can do whatever you'd like to do, but I, for one, know what incredible things can happen when a good teacher works with my child. Their job, yes, but it is so much more than that. Your lack of real awareness of that is frightening and a major reason why our schools struggle to be able to succeed with too many students.

[tony]

Half of the grading is motivated by parents. Parents complaining that their kid deserved to do better, blah blah blah. Parents generally don't support the teachers anymore, they promote their children.

Love the cartoon!

[joanieb]

Regarding the new building - it's a office building, it has no bells and whistles, it was paid for from bond money that was voted on by the voters. That money could not have been spent on anything else, it was ONLY for the building of a new district office. Yes, it's new but it is still just an office building. Regarding the materials that were "thrown out", perhaps they were outdated as the district is required by law to have new curriculum every whatever years, which I don't really get because 1 + 1 always =2 but there is that requirement. As for the furniture that was being discarded, it was gross, flea invested, skunk smell - why? because it was at the Granite Center which was also home the feral cats, stray dogs, bats and mischievous skunks. Also, a lot of that stuff got contaminated in the containers that were full of black mold. The sponges and the mops fell apart when you tried to use them. So....before you just start ragging on the district, have a few facts.

[ducky]

Regarding the new building - it's a office building, it has no bells and whistles, it was paid for from bond money that was voted on by the voters. That money could not have been spent on anything else, it was ONLY for the building of a new district office. Yes, it's new but it is still just an office building. Regarding the materials that were "thrown out", perhaps they were outdated as the district is required by law to have new curriculum every whatever years, which I don't really get because 1 + 1 always =2 but there is that requirement. As for the furniture that was being discarded, it was gross, flea invested, skunk smell - why? because it was at the Granite Center which was also home the feral cats, stray dogs, bats and mischievous skunks. Also, a lot of that stuff got contaminated in the containers that were full of black mold. The sponges and the mops fell apart when you tried to use them. So....before you just start ragging on the district, have a few facts.

Why were all these things being stored there if it was such an unsuitable location?
The news reporters were handling the things and I didn't see any evidence of mold in the photos.
If the sponges and mops fell apart, that means they must have been stored there for a very long time.
Why weren't they being used?

I know this isn't the story of the century, but I wish they'd take better care of things our tax dollars buy.

I get that the new admin office comes from a different fund, but that doesn't mean we can't notice the
difference of the surroundings the administrators have compared to that of our children.

[joanieb]

Back in the days of money I guess they just purchased "stuff". Why were they stored there? There wasn't anywhere else - the warehouse was that tin hut by Sutter. As far as the difference between the "administrators" digs and the schools - every school in Rancho Cordova has gone through some type of renovation in the last 3 years and the Folsom schools are nicer than anything I ever attended. The new building is honestly saving the district money by having employees consolidated, they can keep a better eye on costs. There is waste everywhere, don't get me started on the teacher's union.

What you should be worried about is the ridiculous amount of money spent on Special Ed. Now, Supermom don't go off on me ~ there is a lot of waste there. The lawsuits alone are half a million dollars a year in defense.

I'll stop now.

[ducky]

Back in the days of money I guess they just purchased "stuff". Why were they stored there? There wasn't anywhere else - the warehouse was that tin hut by Sutter. As far as the difference between the "administrators" digs and the schools - every school in Rancho Cordova has gone through some type of renovation in the last 3 years and the Folsom schools are nicer than anything I ever attended. The new building is honestly saving the district money by having employees consolidated, they can keep a better eye on costs. There is waste everywhere, don't get me started on the teacher's union.

What you should be worried about is the ridiculous amount of money spent on Special Ed. Now, Supermom don't go off on me ~ there is a lot of waste there. The lawsuits alone are half a million dollars a year in defense.

I'll stop now.

Don't get me wrong, joanieb. I usually have nothing but good things to say about the district. I think they have come leaps and bounds in the upkeep of the school grounds.

It just struck a nerve seeing that report when parents are increasingly being asked to supply the classrooms with things. I don't mind helping out, but I'd like to know everyone is doing their part to stretch the dollar.

I'll stop now, too.

[supermom]

Back in the days of money I guess they just purchased "stuff". Why were they stored there? There wasn't anywhere else - the warehouse was that tin hut by Sutter. As far as the difference between the "administrators" digs and the schools - every school in Rancho Cordova has gone through some type of renovation in the last 3 years and the Folsom schools are nicer than anything I ever attended. The new building is honestly saving the district money by having employees consolidated, they can keep a better eye on costs. There is waste everywhere, don't get me started on the teacher's union.

What you should be worried about is the ridiculous amount of money spent on Special Ed. Now, Supermom don't go off on me ~ there is a lot of waste there. The lawsuits alone are half a million dollars a year in defense.

I'll stop now.

I'm not going to go off on you. I don't see the waste, but that may be because from my point of view, all services that were provided to my child are pretty much gone. They have consolidated so much of their resources that you really can't tell anymore what belongs to what.


As for the mold and stuff, there are different types and i guess some are more smelly than others. And mops sitting in water will sour pretty quick. I guess a learning curve for whoever was in charge of storing that stuff--hang the mops up, even if they are brand new.

I didn't see the article, was the furniture broken? I wonder if anyone at the offices contacted the schools in the district and asked them if they need any of these items, before deciding to trash them?

But, I don't know that the school district really funds very much of the RSP, or Special ED Department. Possibly the People, but I think a good portion of the services and stuff are provided through grants and state or federal monies.

I think the same could be said for the teachers Union. I think most of it is funded through dues, not the school district.

Perhaps someone who knows more about the teachers union should take that.

[mac_convert]

The smartboards were purchased with Rancho Cordova bond money and cannot be used in Folsom since its residents didn't pay for the items. The smartboards are from the school they closed a few years back. I cannot speak with accuracy about any other item you or the news article mentioned.

I am a teacher in the district and heard another teacher mentioning the news clip and she ws very outraged. About twenty-five years ago many districts, at least the one I grew up in the central valley, burned reading textbooks when the standards dipped to the "whole language" method. The books were burned so teachers wouldn't use the old curriculum and be forced to use the new curriculum. Good, experienced teachers knew those "old" books were a key to teaching young kids to read.

I appreciate the nice treats and special cards given to me at Teacher Appreciation time, but I don't expect anything.

There are so many closets of electronics in Rancho (a student teacher friend told me) that houses smartboards and student ipad type products but the teachers weren't trained on the equipment so it just sits there! You would be surprised at the gross amount of over-spending. Yet, in Folsom, there aren't even enough computers for each student. I mean really, 2012 and you can't get rid of the books and assign everyone an ipad? Really, there are no field trips in middle schools unless you are in band? Really, do kids just stop learning after 5th grade and can't benefit from any guest speakers at their school unless it has a bully or drug theme? This is Folsom, not SOuth Central. How about having a physicist, doctor and perhaps an elite athlete come for a talk and show the possibilities of careers in each field. Our schools really lack in Folsom. You think just b/c there aren't lock downs, that your child is getting a progressive education. Well, if you call going from class to class doing busy work all day and not learning any computer programs (funny, b/c in elementary they had to, but then in middle school they decide they don't need to learn Word or Powerpoint etc). My children take band and spanish, but if you are on the elective track, you get three months lite of various subjects and you don't learn much. Just pathetic compared to Australia, Europe and Asia curriculum. And forget about teacher accountability. THey give As on all the homework and you think your child is doing great, then they get a C or D on a test. HMMM, I don't think they deserved an A on all the homework, do you? But this is public school adn the only way they can pass the masses is if they give As for effort! Just review your students online edline and you will see how the grading is for the teachers benefit, not the students' comprehension.

[tessieca]

I don't know Joanieb, but she is correct. Ducky, you have to keep in mind that news stories don't attract attention unless they're controversial. I saw the pictures and items used on TV. There was a grand total of ONE shrink wrapped vocabulary chart. From what I understand that and the whole TWO teacher's guides were outdated since per state law curriculum needs to be updated every seven years. That plus the mold spores concern caused someone to make a decision to throw away those three books. Out of a dumpster full of junk they dug out three apparently decent shape items. I'm glad Mr. Miller brought this to the district's attention. Now they can be more cautious about throwing out the baby books with the moldy bath water. One of the pictures they decided not to use was of a chair that, if one looked closely, was tied together at the base to hold the wheels on.

Official policy is to hold surplus sales, which are regularly done. Mr. Miller, in fact, often shops at those. Nice guy with valid concerns. Since the district has those sales, there would be no good reason to discard items that might be sold or donated. In this case, there is a small chance that a few items were discarded that might have been saved, but overall there were good reasons to discard rather than to sell.

[ducky]

I don't know Joanieb, but she is correct. Ducky, you have to keep in mind that news stories don't attract attention unless they're controversial. I saw the pictures and items used on TV. There was a grand total of ONE shrink wrapped vocabulary chart. From what I understand that and the whole TWO teacher's guides were outdated since per state law curriculum needs to be updated every seven years. That plus the mold spores concern caused someone to make a decision to throw away those three books. Out of a dumpster full of junk they dug out three apparently decent shape items. I'm glad Mr. Miller brought this to the district's attention. Now they can be more cautious about throwing out the baby books with the moldy bath water. One of the pictures they decided not to use was of a chair that, if one looked closely, was tied together at the base to hold the wheels on.

Official policy is to hold surplus sales, which are regularly done. Mr. Miller, in fact, often shops at those. Nice guy with valid concerns. Since the district has those sales, there would be no good reason to discard items that might be sold or donated. In this case, there is a small chance that a few items were discarded that might have been saved, but overall there were good reasons to discard rather than to sell.

joanieb also brought up that there was nowhere else to store the items other than The Granite Center since the quonset hut is being sold.
What's the long-term plan for storage so items don't get moldy in the future and so cleaning supplies don't go to waste?