Glass City Jungle

A reader of the Jungle wrote me an e-mail asking basically where was Ohio education funding at since it had been declared unconstitutional over a decade ago. She suggested it might be an interesting topic to cover here, and I agree. It’s actually been covered recently in some of the media outside of [...]

Reverend Donald Perryman and Lafe Tolliver focus on LeBron James in the Sojourner’s Truth, but the story I was drawn to this week is neither. While Perryman makes some relevant points about education, (link):
Yet the greater but least recognized insight emerging from “The Decision” is the lesson of economic independence. As we strive [...]

Recommended bio-type article by Christopher Kirkpatrick (link) for those of you interested in learning a bit more about Jerome Pecko, the new TPS Superintendent. Some of the challenges his former district faced are similar to ours, though TPS is much larger:
Summit County’s Springfield Local Schools, where he was superintendent from 2003 to 2007, couldn’t [...]

Referring to certain groups within our community as “pimps” has created attention in the past, (link) but the headline of this blog post is the title of an article in this week’s Sojourner’s Truth by Rev. Donald Perryman — Pimpin’ The Game II: Black Leaders and Leading Blacks. I recommend reading it in full [...]

I’m hearing that Tom Watkins has withdrawn his name for consideration for Superintendent. More details as they come in on this breaking story…
FOX Toledo confirms – (link)

If you head over to FOX Toledo, (link) they have some of the documentation that was shared at tonight’s special TPS Board meeting, including the concessions made by the Toledo Teachers.
The vote tonight passed 3 to 2 – Larry Sykes and Jack Ford voted no…
I’ve been told the total number of layoffs will total [...]

Precise numbers and vote counts have not been released but it has been reported that of the more than 2,100 members of TFT, those who attended the vote today, June 26, overwhelmingly approved the concessionary deal that was negotiated between TPS and TFT.
Full details at this point as far as what the exact concession [...]

Earlier today a ground breaking ceremony was held at Ohio State University for ProjectONE, a medical center expansion stated to cost 1 billion dollars and is estimated to create 10,000 jobs by the year 2015. An earlier release by OSU stated this “represents one of the largest job-generating initiatives in Ohio’s history and will [...]

Instead of the two final candidates being from the list of the three previous finalists, it’s one from the previous three finalists, Jerome Pecko of the Akron area Springfield Local School District and from Wednesday night’s screening of three non-traditional candidates, Tom Watkins. Watkins among his resume, was the State Superintendent of Michigan [...]

Brenda Battle-Jordan is the President of the Westwood Heights Board of Education, in doing some of the coverage on the candidates being considered for the Superintendent of Toledo Public Schools, I referenced a quote from Battle-Jordan in relation to one of the lawsuits filed by Dr. Deborah Hunter-Harvill, stating the lawsuit was “frivolous” — [...]

Toledo’s former Superintendent is facing financial issues in the Cleveland School District. The Cleveland teachers union filed a lawsuit to stop the plan to lay off teachers at 14 schools. Accusations are also being made that Saunders is not trying to negotiate with teachers while Saunders claims according to this Cleveland Plain Dealer [...]

For those of you following the Dan Burns Cleveland case, this article from the Cleveland Plain Dealer may interest you:
Briggle faced an all-out assault on his character from McCaffrey, who portrayed him as a high-living double-talker and noted Briggle has been indicted in a similar case involving Toledo Hospital.
Burns, 54, resigned in January 2009 after [...]

Several years ago there was some discussion that the Lake Local School District and the Rossford Public School system should look at merging. Some in Rossford want to build a new high school, Lake is now going to be forced to build a new high school after this weekend’s tornado damage.
As posted last [...]

This in via e-mail on behalf of Senators Kevin Coughlin and Eric Kearney on SB 210 (link):
Bi-Partisan Effort Leads to Passage of Healthy Choices for Healthy Children Legislation
Legislation promotes healthy lifestyle choices for Ohio students, helps Ohio youth learn and live better [...]

Reported a few minutes ago by FOX Toledo (link):
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WUPW) – John Briggle pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of stealing $155,000 from the Cleveland Public School District.
Briggle pled guilty to five felonies, which include tampering with evidence and theft.
The 56-year-old ran Superior Offset Supplies, an office supply company in Toledo, and was accused of [...]

This in via e-mail from the office of Governor Ted Strickland:
Stronger Application Submitted for Round 2 of Race to the Top
Ohio competing for share of $3.5 billion in education funds
Columbus, OH – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Deborah Delisle and Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today announced that the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) submitted [...]

This in via e-mail from the Rossford School District:
Rossford School District Announces a Facilities Committee Facts & Figures Question and Answer Session
The Rossford School District invites the community to attend a Facilities Committee Facts and Figures Question and Answer Session that will be held on Tuesday, June 8, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. in the [...]

The following was sent via e-mail as a guest post from Representative Barbara Sears:
Competitive Jobs Can Keep Graduates in Ohio
Ohio has a wealth of bright, talented students, but due to our burdensome tax rates and poor business environment, our state has trouble holding on to our most promising individuals. Approximately 70 percent of Ohio’s students [...]

This week’s “This Strikes Us” (link) in the Sojourner’s Truth is a highly recommended read. It’s about the education of our children here in Toledo and elsewhere. Some selected parts of the article I wanted to highlight:
Our public schools have our children from kindergarten to the 12th grade – if they are lucky [...]

More on these stories later but earlier tonight at Toledo City Council the trash fee debate ended with the Mayor’s promise kept as to what the fees would be, $5.00 for those who qualify for a Homestead exemption, $8.50 for those who recycle and $15.00 a month for those who do not recycle. But…Karen [...]

I was semi-joking when I asked ala American Idol as to who would be the first TPS Superintendent candidate to be voted off, but two have taken themselves out of consideration. According to the Blade, (link) Keith Bell, the brother of Toledo Mayor Mike Bell has taken a job with the Columbus Public Schools [...]

“As an online discussion continues, the probability of a reference or comparison to Hitler or to Nazis approaches 1.”
Those of us who have been on the internet for a while, recognize that as “Godwin’s Law” which by design, ended any discussion, making the person who raised the specter of Hitler or Nazis “lose the [...]

Okay, it’s not American Idol, but who is the next Superintendent should be an important decision…
The names/info from FOX Toledo with the first link on Google that came up when searching them added by me:
The eight candidates are Keith Bell, Westerville City high school principal; (link)
Yvonne Bullock, superintendent, Meridian CUSD, Ill.; (link)
Walter [...]

Saturday night the rumors started flying on Facebook and through instant messages saying that there was a fight at a middle school dance held at St. John’s Jesuit High School. It was reported that someone was stabbed and that shots were fired. However, it turns out that’s not quite the truth and the [...]

In reading the recent edition of the Sojourner’s Truth the column written by Reverend Donald Perryman titled, “From The Top Down” (link) caught my attention. Perryman goes through the various skills and qualifications Perryman believes should be a focus during Toledo Public Schools (TPS) Superintendent search.
I recommend reading it but I also admit I [...]

This morning’s Blade has an article with the headline, “Tuition skyrockets as colleges pay big salaries; maximum boosts set at UT, BGSU” (link). As a parent of college age children who have attended or are attending UT, tuition costs are a concern as well as the salaries. Especially given some of the recent [...]

This in via e-mail:
Elmhurst Elementary New Baseball Field Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Elmhurst Elementary (TPS School) announces the opening ceremony of our new baseball field. The ceremony is taking place on Friday May 14 at 2:00 PM. The baseball field is a accumulation of the efforts of the Elmhurst students, parents, and PTA. Elmhurst Elementary was [...]

This in via e-mail from Ohio Representative Matt Patten, he’s not from our area but I’m sharing it since the topic may be of interest to some of you:
State Rep. Patten Speaks Out to Keep College Textbooks Affordable in Ohio
Addresses fellow legislators regarding his bill to rein in costs of college texts by offering [...]

April 16 the University of Toledo announced it was laying off 36 professional non-teaching staff.
April 20 it was announced nine teachers and 34 non-teaching staff were sent out layoff notices from Perrysburg Public School system.
May 5 union officials connected to Toledo Public Schools announced the possible layoff of 250 teachers and 25 administrative positions [...]

Sometimes you just have to shake your head, part of the reason Issue 5 (the reallocation of the temporary 3/4% income tax) passed was because it created no new taxes. In reading a Blade article (link) on the deficit for Toledo Public Schools being up to 4 million dollars more, I came across this [...]