I can wait for this work day to be over. I am taking off at noon.
Just for some laughs you need to check out these commercials. I sent 3 of the files around yesterday, but I should have looked harder for a website... here it is
Kevin had a band concert yesterday that I totally forgot to put on my calendar. Luckily he called me an hour before it started.
I am really impressed with his band teacher. She has really done a great job teaching these kids to learn and love to play music. She has so many kids to teach, way more than I did when I was Kevin's age. She had to split the band into a band per grade level (6th, 7th, and 8th). Back in the day we had 2 regular bands. The Symphonic Band (you had to try out for this one), and the Concert Band which all kids could join. I think this was a decent way to seperate things, but I see some problems with it.
Kevin's teacher has also had to split up the band into multiple classes because she can't fit all the kids in the room at one time. A brass class, a woodwind class, and a percussion class. I am amazed that when they finally all get together it all works.
Kevin's middle school is way overcrowded (about 55% over capacity), which is a big issue with me. We can't seem to pass some tax increases to build some additional schools. It seems that our school district is plagued by the fact that the largest portion of the district is rural. For some reason the rural folks have too much power in the decisions for district expansion (and voting down the needed tax increases). If they are going to cause our kids to be this over crowded then we need to split the district. It's that or I need to move to a different district.
Don't get me wrong. I hate taxes. I have been paying more than my share of taxes for years and I am sick to death of it.
5 comments:
Where I live, the schools are packed as well. The majority of taxes that people pay for their homes in my neighborhood is in the $15k-$17k range. Ridiculous. It's getting so high, that people are moving two hours north of us---in the sticks where the next little convenient store or food market is practically thirty minutes away---you're talking R*U*R*A*L baby! I hope I don't have to make that move.
Luckily there are about a million schools in our not that large town. My son currently has 16 students in his kindergarten class.
LOVE IT!
Band Geek! A badge of honor in my book. Back in my day we were called band fags. Not a pleasant name, but I didn't give a shit.
I have pulled my trombone out of moth balls a few times this year to play with Kevin. I think having some music knowledge (other than the shit they play on the radio) does a lot of good for a kids ability to learn.
There are a bunch of referendums up for a vote this week, one is to provide more money to our district. There are a lot of people fighting against it. The people that are against it say that the district already has enough money for expansion, yet year after year more and more people move to the area and jam their kids into the classroom. Do people think this doesn't effect the quality of the learning experience? There are also a bunch of board seats up for re-election. This may be the most important election I have ever dealt with. Sure, who the Prez is seems to get all the media attention, but who the president is only has so much pull.
I am not a political person, and yes, I have voted poorly in the past, but I also think you have to make a stand where YOU think the important issues are.
Stepping down from the soap box.
Stephanie... I never said Texas bites. Maybe you don't realise I am in Colorado. Anyway, not every school district has the same over-crowding. We are in District 49. I may see about getting them into District 11 schools. This is of course only if the ex agrees. Since she is the official custodial parent, even though I have them 50% of the time. She and I both drive to work in similar directions and there are D-11 schools not too far from us. That maybe the plan for next year.
Oh, and by the way. I think Texas has a quality that many states don't. It produces some of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, yourself included *wink*
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