Blairsville-Saltsburg High School, will it pass this time?

[say_oww]

Kids from Benshoff Hill, Lorain, Dale and Brownstown must pass JHS on their way to Ferndale every morning. This is a 5-10 minute extra bus ride for the Benshoff Hill, Brownstown and Dale kids...

Again, all politics are local... You keep whining about Lorain, Dale, etc. Most of the people on here don't even know where those boroughs are located! Yet they are right down your street. Meanwhile, everyone else is spread out amongst the surrounding counties! Dude, don't go away mad... just go away!

[sonofpsycho]

What does doing the right thing have to do with "politics"? There is right and there is wrong. Shortchanging our children's education in favor of employing as many teachers as possible is wrong. If you are on one side of the poluitical spectrum you understand and believe this. If you are on the other side there is no right or wrong. Everything is OK. There are no standards. There is no line to cross. You change your views on what is right or wrong depending on what you will get out of the situation.
Politics are a cancer that are eating the guts out of our public schools.

What is certain is that one day we will all pay for allowing this to happen.

[Eaglealum]

Sonofpsycho, ... I like you. That is all.

[marley1]

sonofpsycho After reading your first three sentences I was all ready to agree with you. Then after reading the rest I realize that you and those like you are a big part of the divide in this country. Yea. Everyone on the Right is good and everyone on the Left is evil. Give me a break.

[Hush1]

What does doing the right thing have to do with "politics"? There is right and there is wrong. Shortchanging our children's education in favor of employing as many teachers as possible is wrong. If you are on one side of the poluitical spectrum you understand and believe this. If you are on the other side there is no right or wrong. Everything is OK. There are no standards. There is no line to cross. You change your views on what is right or wrong depending on what you will get out of the situation.
Politics are a cancer that are eating the guts out of our public schools.

What is certain is that one day we will all pay for allowing this to happen.

This. This this this. There are many days when I lose hope over our society. But days like today, when I read something like this, I believe again.

[say_oww]

What does doing the right thing have to do with "politics"? There is right and there is wrong. Shortchanging our children's education in favor of employing as many teachers as possible is wrong. If you are on one side of the poluitical spectrum you understand and believe this. If you are on the other side there is no right or wrong. Everything is OK. There are no standards. There is no line to cross. You change your views on what is right or wrong depending on what you will get out of the situation.
Politics are a cancer that are eating the guts out of our public schools.

What is certain is that one day we will all pay for allowing this to happen.

SOP... You are very good at twisting words to fit your argument. What part of "...all politics are local..." says that I or anyone want to keep teachers employed. The crux of the consolidation issue isn't teachers - whom you obviously have an issue with, or more aptly whom you have made the straw man in your anti-tax crusade. The beef with consolidation is that most people in these districts don't want to see their school disappear. They don't want their kids to be bussed for hours, or maybe they don't want their kids going to school in other districts. This point of view has nothing to do with teachers, and everything to do with what they want for their kids, and to a greater or lesser extent with their community identity. Blaming these problems on politics is ridiculous, but as you demonstrate frequently, is also an effective tactic when speaking to those with your own beliefs. However, it is not an effective way of achieving change because there isn't a proposed solution to the 'perceived' problem. Actually, there isn't even a 'perceived' problem. You frequently mention three things - 1. poor performance, 2. high taxes, and 3. low sports enrollment numbers, but you don't offer any supporting information. I think we all can agree that numbers 2 and 3 are issues, the depth of which is still debatable. However, poor performance isn't an issue. Numerous studies show that smaller school size, less bus time, and more school involvement boosts academic performance. Academic performance would most certainly be made worse if the only motivation on the other end is to lower taxes. Let's face it, there are numerous studies, and evidence which show that consolidation doesn't even make fiscal sense. So to repeat what I said in a previous post, this forum isn't the place to change anything. And to those who have commented that you give them hope for the future... God bless you!

But to take you at your word... if you and others truly believe that it is our kids who are most important, then aren't they worth a little more money??? Seems ludicrous to set them up to fail just to lower taxes and increase numbers on a football team. In the end, it is the kids who will PAY for a policy of education by less taxation.

[MikeFLN]

But to take you at your word... if you and others truly believe that it is our kids who are most important, then aren't they worth a little more money??? Seems ludicrous to set them up to fail just to lower taxes and increase numbers on a football team. In the end, it is the kids who will PAY for a policy of education by less taxation.

Not saying I have the answer as I am not in that part of the state so I do not know the particulars. You make very good arguments and I am not saying you or the other gentlemen are right. What I do know is that your statement above is misleading and an exaggeration.

Like all thing in economics, there come a point of diminishing returns. It is not worth spending more money on "the kids" if it will not benefit them more than the cost. Some people think it is ok to spend money with the justification that "it is for the kids" and all that jazz. That kind of thinking is not only irreasponsible, but also dangerous to the financial stability of the municipality. The City of Pittsburgh taxed their whole citizenry to the suburbs. The only people left are the ones who couldn't move. Before any decision is made, I hope a lot of hard work, due diligence, andstudies; for the communitys involved are done.

Again not saying that this particular case needs merger or not, but in any situation like this a lot of hard questions on both sides need asked. My question is why not keep all schools but merge school districts so there is only one super and other admin as oppose to 300 (Hyperbole).

[say_oww]

I hear what you are saying... but again, in terms of repeated rants on the same subject - see my previous post about living in a democracy. The main reason these districts still exist is that the folks who live there don't want them to disappear. If enough people want change, then it will happen. Ranting will do nothing but get ratings on cable news stations. Over the years, I have heard many people mention ideas such as merging districts, rather than eliminating schools. It would seem if the fiscal-minded truly were that serious about savings, they would look into such options rather than go after the talking points. BTW doesn't this site have a mute button???

[MikeFLN]

Say oww, first I do have to nit pick because this is a pet peev of mine, no offense meant and I do not want to get too political on a football board. We do not live in a democracy, we live in a representative republic. Ok I feel better.

Again, when mergers are brought up, both the sides for and the sides against need to be grown ups about it. There are both good things and bad things that come with mergers. For one to not do due delligence case by case is wrong. I definitely agree with you that the first option should be merging districts and not schools. But if the reality is that merging schools is the best solution then that needs to be excepted also. Again, I have no dog in this particular fight.

As far as a mute button 1) you can choose to ignore or 2) this is a private entity so find the person who has the power to delete and talk to them. They just did so with the Bishop McCort thread.

[Manfred]

With regards to your comment about closing the BMCHS thread. It's a case of "If you can't stand the heat, close down the kitchen".