hittin' the fan

i was told once, by a very wise professor, to
not be afraid to stir things up
when it comes to education and
advocating for children.
as i sat
with my finger hovering over
the "enter" key on my laptop
contemplating whether or not
to "send" the words below,
i thought of her.
i held my breath and
did it.

thank you, doug, for the ammunition.



email correspondence:

Dear Mr. Hettleman,

While New Song may have converted to a public school from private, the fact is that BCPSS accepted the model and has never fully funded what they accepted.

As for treating New Song differently than other schools, this is exactly the point, we want to be treated just the same as other schools. Actually, we want to be treated worse than one of the schools. That would be School for the Arts. How much do they get, exactly, per pupil? Is it true that they get one million dollars over the per student allocation? We have no idea how much over the standard per pupil schools like Poly, City or Western, let alone Roland Park, get .
Why is it when we are asked to be equal it’s equal to the lowest common denominator and not the schools that are doing well?

As for the “can’t find the money"... this argument doesn’t hold water when you look at the number of dollars wasted each year on over staffing North Avenue and failures like the Studio curriculum. ..or the number of very highly paid people from the Fund for Educational Excellence (where Bonnie used to work) who are now on the systems budget. If the system cannot find funding/support for success that what is left? Supporting and finding failure.

I appreciate you reading this response. You are the only person who has taken the time to respond to these concerns that weigh so heavily on my mind as I face the worried faces of the community of Sandtown each morning.

Thank you - Kathleen McCullough


In a message dated 3/27/06 6:25:31 AM, khettleman@comcast.net writes:


Thank you for your email. I appreciate the good work done by the New Song
> community, but the bottom line is that the school system does not have the
> funds to replace funding from private donors and foundations. If I recall
> correctly, New Song was strictly a private school until it turned to BCPSS
> for funding as a "New School." We certainly can't treat New Song differently
> than other schools.
>
> Moreover I believe that despite your good intentions, the New Song community
> is doing all the schools a disservice by placing the blame on BCPSS, rather
> than the inadequate funding that affects all schools.
>
> Thank you again for your interest.

----- Original Message -----
From: Vwsamiam@aol.com
To: khettleman@comcast.net
Sent: Sunday, March 26, 2006 9:14 PM
Subject: school in danger of closing

Dear Mr. Hettleman,

If BCPSS can not sustain success, then their only purpose is to sustain failure. Where is the hope for our children? Fund New Song Academy!

Thank you for your consideration,
Kathleen McCullough