Just curious, how would you know where someone’s vehicles were registered? To my knowledge, vehicle registration details are not public information.

Regarding school spending and what “stays local”, have you given our finance department a call and asked?

There has been a recent history of local politicians having residency issues. With Josh Brown being at the top of that list, just Google it.

It’s also a problem with Flip Herndon, at the Bremerton School District. Yes, he owns house here, and is registered here, but hasn’t voted here, according to that website, since November of 2011. If his vehicles aren’t registered here, that also gives me pause. So, scrutiny of your official shouldn’t be a big deal. If you don’t want the criticism, rescind that stipulation, install a GPS unit in her vehicle, and disclose her travel mileage that the taxpayers are paying for.

But as I’ve said repeatedly, you offer and respond with fallacies and personal attacks. The public record illustrates this. And the blame remains upon the state for not properly funding public education. Yes, I get that. I wish to scrutinize local tax levy expenditures, and how much of the total public education budget is spent locally after payroll.

What I continue to receive is the above, as expected. just more Circular Thinking from you on the Peninsular Thinking Blog…….

You repeatedly accuse our superintendent of not living within the district and tie that accusation to your complaints about a vehicle stipend (which I have told you before is for official business travel, not to/from work travel). It is so incredibly easy for YOU or anyone else to validate where our current superintendent resides. Just look up their voter registration…

http://www.soundpolitics.com/voterlookup.html

You don’t need to keep ‘snipping’ about it. I get that you don’t like the vehicle stipend. You made your point. I disagreed with you and corrected your misrepresentations. We aren’t paying the superintendent for travel to/from home and her permanent residence is within our district boundaries. Could we possibly move on?

At some point, it is more responsible of me to refuse to dialog with you than to continue to try. Give me a responsible reason to continue and I might. Some have suggested that dialog with you became counter productive a long time ago. Perhaps they are right.

So you believe that it’s acceptable to serve hot dogs, corn dogs, hamburgers, and pizza, as regular staple items on the menu? Oh I forgot the fries….. And even if it’s reduced fat, or oven baked, it’s still junk food!

http://www.skitsap.wednet.edu/cms/lib/WA01000495/Centricity/Domain/42/May%202013.jpg

http://www.skitsap.wednet.edu/cms/lib/WA01000495/Centricity/Domain/42/South%20Kitsap%20Secondary%20Breakfast%20and%20Lunch%20Menu%202012.pdf

Does one really need a tour on how to prepare fast food?

“The current Superintendent lives within the boundaries of the school district.”

That’s not really established is it? After all, isn’t she getting a mileage “stipend” without turning in an actual travel log?

There’s a similar issue with the Bremerton Superintendent too. So, it isn’t an isolated issue.

“The phone number of our CFO Is also there and she would be happy to discuss the intricacies of the district budget.”

Why can’t that information be publicly posted on the school district website? My experience has been to ask a question, and to get a referral. When the question is asked, very pointedly, the official clams up, claiming their job is in jeopardy, after which the managing school board member will say that isn’t the case. It’s a wild goose chase.

And the pattern is set at every level. Sure, a transportation and communication log would be time consuming. But your district has 40% of the population considered “low income”. They can’t afford a car, or the mileage. They can’t even have a basic cell phone.

So at the basic level, your district won’t disclose an activity, travel, and communication log. Seems to me that would establish residency.

I know, I know, I should “run for the school board” (straw man). I’m “sniping” at you (I’m making ad hominem attacks). The state is underfunding public school education by $1.9 billion, and we need more tax levy money (emotional appeal).

I asked for specifics, and the first word in your comment is approximately …..

The current Superintendent lives within the boundaries of the school district. The incoming Superintendent is in the process of acquiring a residence in the district and is on track to complete that before she starts in July. You state otherwise. I am not sure why.

Details of district financials can be found at the link below:
http://www.skitsap.wednet.edu//Domain/36

The phone number of our CFO Is also there and she would be happy to discuss the intricacies of the district budget. Have you called and asked?

Regarding supplies and food purchases and whether they are locally procured… The simple answer is sometimes. In part because of cooperative agreements we share with other districts to keep costs down through group purchasing power and in part because supplies are rarely manufactured locally (books, paper, etc).

You have stated repeatedly that our food service is sub-par, but you are unwilling to take a tour of our central kitchen, speak with our food services director, or accept any proof otherwise. So there is no point in continuing to debate a subject that you refuse to accept facts about. Your mind is made up and you aren’t willing to look at the facts. So be it on the subject of food and nutrition. In your mind, we are bad at it. In our experience and outside review, we are well above average.

Maintenance and operations money is spent as local as we can keep it. Frankly, we outsource very little in maintenance and operations because it is less expensive to do it ourselves whenever we can. You are welcome to call our Facilities and Operations Director. Have you done that?

With regard to maintenance and operations, how much was spent locally?

Let’s move to office and classroom supplies. How much of the supplementary educational programs levy is spent on getting needed supplies locally?

Yes, we continue to hear that the state is underfunding education by $1.9 billion.

Okay, let’s see all of the school systems financials. How much of ithat state portion and the local tax levy money is spent in the state and local economy?

How about the nutrition programs? How much of the money is shipped out of the local area for supplies and food not raised and processed in the state of Washington?

I always find it interesting when our government and school systems ask us to shop and spend money locally. Because that spending funds our assistance programs, infrastructure, public safety, and education.

Okay, if the state properly funded education, would there be less junk food on the school food menus?

How is it that the superintendent, the one not living in the district, is getting car mileage and service allowances, and a $50 @ month smartphone plan, when 40% of the district is considered “low income”?

Sorry kids, the state doesn’t fund education properly. So no more photography programs because we have to pay fringe benefits for a superintendent that doesn’t live in the district…..

I am glad you have spoken out but be careful not to buy in where those not having your best interest in mind are encouraging you. Make up your own mind not based on what the SK Board or Teachers Union are pushing at you but rather what is going to ACTUALLY effect your education and future. Keep in mind that those couching you within the school walls and halls don’t always have your best interest at heart but rather themselves. Welcome to the distasteful world of school politics.

I don’t know if you were one of the students that came and spoke with the Board tonight, but I would like to say “Thank you” to those students who came and asked great questions. They were polite, articulate, and genuinely caring about the impact these cuts will have on quality education in our community and on our staff being RIF’d.

KUDOS to them!.

Mr. Holsten chooses to engage in the use of several fallacy based responses, rather than to deal with the issues. Why didn’t the administration schedule an in school convocation to address the issue and actually provide a forum? It’s obvious the kids don’t matter to the administration. If you expect the kids to start acting like adults, they need to include and inform them.

The real issue here is the continual bullying of parents, teachers, and students, that disapprove of the way business is conducted by administration, superintendent, and school board. Bullying is frequently present in low income school districts. 40% of the district is considered “low income”. The present superintendent doesn’t even reside in the district. And when there was a campaign for the recent tax levy, it was promised that things would get better, only to have administration receive raises and the incoming superintendent receiving an additional raise over the previous ones. And now there’s a record number of layoffs. That’s “tough” to take.

There are two sets of rules. The students could face arrest, detention, or suspension from school if they walked out, yet nothing was done when a group of unsupervised staff were allowed to video tape the boys locker rooms. Furthermore, and county wide, there have been several instances of bullying at other schools with no investigations by the local prosecutor. In the Bremerton schools shooting, the child allegedly brought the gun to school because of bullying. No follow up story, or inquiry by the local prosecutor.

There’s bullying at the school board levels when there’s requests for openness on spending and policy. In SK and CK it’s been an election issue. CK will move the “retreat” to hinder dissent, and in SK one would file a protective order, and make unsustainable allegations with no consequences. When comments are directed to finances, there’s accusations of vendetta, persecution, and innuendo, directed at those with dissenting opinions, with these officials playing the victim card. That’s really “stressful”.

So what the Sun blogger chooses to blog about as one instance of school disruption, I see it as a continuing pattern of bullying by school officials, of people with dissenting opinions. This isn’t an isolated incident, and is part of a larger picture on how public education is done in this county.

So Mr. Holsten says it’s a “tough”, “stressful” time, and it’s a “somber mood”, but the kids are still receiving a “great” education. And why is that, because those school officials, and board members are too busy blaming the state for a lack of funding, than doing their jobs. Does anybody here think they’re doing a “great” job?