I received this message today. It seems like the discrimination seen in Wake county, where they undermined the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, has spread to a lesser degree to Durham county. They are considering doing away with the lottery system that gives everyone a fair chance of getting into DSA and locking out charter school children. I think this intentional backwardness is a disgrace.
Below, a CPSC parent has explained some recent news regarding magnet schools in Durham Public Schools. This may be of special interest to any parents who may want to consider having their child apply for Durham School of the Arts (DSA) for middle school (as many CPSC students do.) There is a possibility that if the odds of getting into DSA would be extremely limited if there are preferences given to feeder elementary schools (RN Harris, Club Blvd and Sandy Ridge.) The dates listed below are open to the public and are for public comment only (there will be no discussion.)
Greetings All,
The Durham School Board will vote on December 15th on new proposal for magnet schools and student assignments. These changes are county wide. DPS is offering the public three opportunities to provide feedback:
- 6:30 p.m. Thursday, December 1 @ Riverside High (auditorium)
- 6:30 p.m. Monday, December 5 @ Jordan High (auditorium);
- 6:30 p.m. Thursday, December 8 @ Southern High (cafeteria)
According to the DPS website the format of these sessions are as follows:
- Moderator will offer short presentation to include rationale for proposal along with guiding principles and assignment limitations.
- Spanish interpreters will be available at the December 8 meeting.
- Speakers must sign up to speak.
- Speakers will be called in order in which they signed up.
- Maximum time is three minutes per speaker.
- Time cannot be yielded/donated to another speaker.
- There will be no dialog. Board members are there to listen.
- Sign-ups will begin at 6:00 (and close at 7:30).
- Speakers may only sign up for themselves.
Since there are only three minutes allotted to each speaker, I would recommend that families take the opportunity to gather as much information as possible prior to the meeting in order to digest, reflect and formulate the most effective responses during the session.
Today, Monday, November 28, 2011 at 7:00pm in the Weaver Auditorium, Durham School of the Arts PTSA has scheduled a second urgent meeting to discuss the magnet proposal. This meeting is open to the public.
One key point from the first DSA meeting. This plan will drastically change student assignment to magnet schools. It will create feeder pattern (links) from elementary to middle to high school that will essentially not allow an open lottery system with equal access to all families all over Durham County.
Some questions have been submitted via the internet and DPS has responded. You can find the answers on this link http://www.dpsnc.net/about-dps/departments/student-assignment/magnet-student-assignment-proposal/responses-to-board-questions
If you believe this is a wrong-minded idea please go to the Durham Public Schools feedback page and register your opposition. Our children need us to be heard if we want to keep a level playing field for them.
If you believe this is a wrong-minded idea please go to the Durham Public Schools feedback page and register your opposition. Our children need us to be heard if we want to keep a level playing field for them.
Non-Credible Water Bills
I have been saddled with water bills that are not credible. The current city council has yet to intervene on my behalf. I am hoping that if my new meter continues to demonstrate my previous one was erroneous that the council may eventually compel the water department to refund some of our overcharges. Here is a small article on the matter:
I have been at my address for 6 years and our water bills must be inaccurate. There are 2 adults and 2 young girls here. We don't water the lawns and use bottled water for cooking and drinking. Despite this our water bills are excessive. 3 times in the past 6 years we got bills that claimed we used 4500 cubic feet of water. The last time was a few months ago and the bill was for over $700.00! During better months we are billed $200-300.00. It's almost like paying a second housing rent some months.
My neighbors report to me that their bills are usually a little over $100.00. I had Al Nelson from the Durham water conservation department look into it. He had our meter changed, then had it upgraded to an electronic meter to track usage better. He could find no leaks and no real explanation but says something isn't right. He says our usage is showing 6 times what is average for a family of our size--it's not like we are running a bottled water business out of our kitchen. He said billing should have got him involved a long time ago but he's stumped.
I was further upset after doing the math. They are claiming we used 4500+ cubic feet, that's 33,000 gallons in 61 days. That's 563 gallons every day! That would mean we were using 23+ gallons of water every hour, every day, for 2 months.
This is ridiculous.The bureaucracy here is a barrier to justice and fair treatment. No NC state senators or representatives have acknowledged my complaints. The billing department acts like we're just whining about our bill, the County Commissioners ignored my phone call and subsequent email, and the city manager Tom Bonfield referred me back to the water department. I feel sure that either our fitting have been incorrect or our meter has been malfunctioning. Either way we don't use hundreds of gallons of water daily, Durham doesn't care, and we've been overcharged by thousands over the past six years. This issue is widespread according to the news (including Atlanta, Charlotte and Philadelphia) and it is wrong that there is no oversight agency that can check for inaccuracies--if something is awry with a bill you typically have no recourse.
If anyone else in Durham is experiencing inflated usage claims please post a comment or email us at otto.ladensack.us@member.mensa.org .
Thanks, Otto
(The original page above, with working links, is at: http://ottoladensack.blogspot.com/2011/02/…)
Here are video links that further explain my situation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmFhYF4SRek
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5avlIF3bt94
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXRTUvn_txk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY_tcfZnA7E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH6vjCAkoVs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u56qq_C_hUw
The 3rd, 5th and 6th clip are most telling but all are concise. Thank you for considering my situation.