FROM TAXES to SCHOOLS – FEBUARY 19th at WVRC
Yes, we had another good program – but we’ll get to that. LENORE MULRYAN
started us off with the Pledge, and it was good to see LENORE up there.
The team of HARRIS and DAY provided both the music and the leadership
for “America” and it was well done. PP RON LYSTER came forward to give
the Invocation, and since our program was on Education, these gems
surfaced: Robert Frost, “Education is the ability to listen to almost
anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence”. From
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr, “We need education in the obvious more than
investigation of the obscure”. Sometime earlier, Plato – “Do not use
compulsion, but let early education be rather a sort of amusement” .And
Teddy Roosevelt, “To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to
educate a menace to society”. Margaret Mead, “My grandmother wanted me
to have an education, so she kept me out of school”. Last, this from
Mark Twain, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education”.
So take your choice – we’ll vote next week!
We had one Visiting Rotarian, and he was impressive. PDG BRIAN ANDERSEN
belongs to the Darien, Illinois club, and
Identifies himself as a Land Developer. In addition, he is the vice
chair of the Centennial Convention in Chicago next year, plus being
active in the Flying, Skiing and Motorcycling Fellowships. He was
accompanied by his wife, Caryl. Pres. PETER brought the two term PP of
the Auxiliary, his wife Shirley. RALPH SMITH escorted his companion,
Betty Good. At this point, PP STEVE SCHERER and his partner, CHRIS
BRADFORD, came forward with a report – or maybe it was just a rumor –
that their other partner, PP RON LYSTER was about to acquire a SECOND
motorcycle. This concerned them since they weren’t sure that Guin was
aware of this activity, but Pres. PETER assured me that if I put it in
the Windmill, there would be no secrets between them. Actually, to
derail this purchase, PP STEVE and CHRIS suggested that Pres. PETER
should consider levying a large fine on PP RON, and this caused REVEREND
SHARON RHODES WICKETT to jump in with the suggestion that PP RON’S
church pledge could always be increased! Apparently this will be
somewhat resolved next week – so stay tuned, please.
Our Honorary Member, SALLY PHILLIPS, has donated a pair of excellent
tickets to a concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. These are at
Garden Level 3, Orchestra Row H, and the date is Saturday May 29th at 8
p.m. The program is “Uchida Plays Mozart” so these tickets are special,
and we thank SALLY for allowing us to bid on them. And on that subject –
let’s not have any lowball bids – the opening figure for the two tickets
is $200, and up from there.
PDG BRIAN ANDERSEN came forward, in his bowler hat and string bow tie,
first assuring us that he was neither Oliver Hardy or Stan Laurel. He
was here in behalf of our one hundred year Anniversary of the founding
of Rotary, which will be celebrated in June 2005 in Chicago, at the
Centennial International Convention. This five day event will be one
highlight after another, and among them will be a staged entry into
Chicago by our own Motorcycling Rotarians, led of course by the founder
of that Fellowship, PP RON LYSTER! (Is this why he needs a new bike?)
Everyone who registers will be listed in a Centennial Book, so you will
be part of history. There are already Rotarians who are chartering 747’s
and special trains to attend this event – so you can see that it is
really very special. As an editorial comment, I would also suggest that
this will be the only 100th Anniversary celebration of Rotary you will
ever attend – so start thinking NOW about going in 2005.
Barbara Hecht next spoke, and her subject was the John Tracy Clinic. In
preparing to report on her talk, I read every word of the green John
Tracy Clinic brochure – and what they do is really impressive. Note that
Betty Good, RALPH’S companion, is a Founding Director of the Tracy
Clinic, which began in 1942. It was sponsored by Louise and Spencer
Tracy, whose son, John, was born deaf. About one child in every thousand
is born with hearing loss or impairment – that comes to 33 PER DAY. The
chronological progress that a normal child goes through from birth to
four years was particularly touching. The point that we all need to
recognize is that a child, if born deaf, cannot learn to speak – he or
she has no way of mimicking the sounds that other children hear. That is
why early detection of deafness or hearing impairment is so important –
the earlier the child can begin to participate in learning experiences,
the more rapid their progress will be. All John Tracy Clinic programs
for children with hearing loss and their parents are provided free of
charge. Truly, the services they provide – and the results obtained –
are wonderful to behold. Our collection of used hearing aids is a
significant help to the Tracy Clinic. Call (213) 748-5481 for more
information, please.
SALLY BRANT introduced our main Speaker, David Pollock. He is the
President of the California School Board Association, which represents
all the School Boards in our state. Starting as a Board Member of the
Moorpark Unified School District in 1994, David progressed through the
chairs very rapidly. His undergraduate degree is from Pepperdine, with
an MBA from UCLA, and he is employed as the manager of Market Planning
for Rocketdyne, a business unit of the Boeing Company. Note from YOE –
right now, he is full-time with the state Association, and we applaud
Boeing for allowing him to continue with this most important community
involvement.
David began by relating who he and SALLY BRANT found on the Southwest
flight coming back from the Inauguration
Grey Davis and his wife were already aboard, so David and SALLY paused
briefly to say hello – (When it’s over, it’s over)
He had two Governor Arnold jokes – “Arnold said he was most proud that
he got 100% of the immigrant Austrian Body Builder Vote” and “It was
cold at the Inauguration, and the only time he can remember it being
colder was when he spoke to the Kennedy family about marrying Maria.”
Whether we have kids or not, all of us in the state are depending upon
our school system to provide the trained leadership which will be
necessary when the current group of leaders retire – they are our
future.
The California School Board Association represents all 1037 School
Boards in the state. We have the largest public education system in the
U.S., with 6.2 million kids in the K-12 age range. The CSBA has about
one hundred employees in Sacramento, providing legislative advocacy,
legal advocacy, and helping local Boards with their problems. Over half
of all the more than 1000 School Superintendents have been placed
through the CSBA Superintendent Placement Service.
We have all heard of the “No Child Left Behind” initiative, which became
federal law in 1960 under then-President Johnson.
This came up for renewal two years ago, and it passed – but there is
still no way of monitoring results. Many of the rules are quite onerous,
but some of these may be changed shortly, he believes. There are four
ballot issues for us in the election on March 2nd. Props 55 and 57 are
state bond issues, for 12 and 15 billion dollars. Props 56 and 58 are
about accountability.
He feels strongly that we cannot afford NOT to pass them.
Q&A – GREGG ELLIOTT, Prop 56 lowers the threshold for passing
legislation – does this conflict with Prop 58. No.
GEORGE COX, who only had four questions…Do the lottery proceeds help the
schools. We get only 2% of the income from lottery sales, which amounts
to $100 to $150 per student per year. The Federal government provides
only 7 to 8% of school revenues, but still wants to control what the
whole school system does. They should set policy, not try to
micromanage. What is the impact of illegal immigrants. Today, 187
Districts are supposed to check if their students are here legally, and
this has been resisted by the schools. Their reasoning is, it’s not the
students fault if they are illegal, and they still need to be educated.
Another problem is the bussing – you cannot appeal to parents when they
are miles from where their children are enrolled. 35 years ago,
legislation was passed that mandated equal payment to each board for
each student.
This is still not in effect – an example being the schools in south
central LA vs. the Westside schools The parents on the Westside can and
do help financially, but this isn’t possible in south central. CLARK
McQUAY, Does the State Board of Education choose all textbooks. Yes, and
cost is a problem – plus they are now concerned about how heavy the
books are!
TONY MARRONE, If we are spending about $7K per student, now does that
compare with other states. Forty years ago, we were fifth from the top
in spending per pupil – today we are 43rd. Yet, we are # One is teacher
salaries. ERIC LOBERG, Is it true that NY and NJ spend twice as much per
pupil as we do. Yes. LENORE MULRYAN, What has been the effect of charter
schools. There are now 450 in California, and their Charters relieve
them of the petty control of the State. They do provide improvement. PP
MICHAEL NEWMAN, Do the schools help with alcohol control, and why are so
many (20 to 40%) chronically late to school. Getting help from parents
is very important here – and as noted above, the parents of kids who are
bussed cannot help much, since they are so far from where the student is
being taught. David Pollock, we thank you for coming to visit with us –
please come back again.
AND NOW – a complete change of pace and subject, HAVE YOU BOUGHT YOUR
SWEAT SHIRT YET We’ve got lots, and I’ll be bringing them to
meetings henceforth. $40 for one, $70 for two.
YOE, Ernie Wolfe |
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