To all those who actually read this blog - whether you agree with my conclusions or not - first, thank you. Second, it is clear that the trolls have descended.
Urban Dictionary defines a troll as:
"One who purposely and deliberately (that purpose usually being self-amusement) starts an argument in a manner which attacks others on a forum without in any way listening to the arguments proposed by his or her peers. He will spark of such an argument via the use of ad hominem attacks (i.e. 'you're nothing but a fanboy' is a popular phrase) with no substance or relevence to back them up as well as straw man arguments, which he uses to simply avoid addressing the essence of the issue."
With the Sitemeter function linked to this blog, I can get limited information about the visitors. anon 7:04 who commented on "
Moving On", logged on from Indianapolis and was on for all of 49 seconds. They visited the main blog page and this entry's comment page only. Obviously, not enough time to even read that blog entry itself. Only enough time to type up his or her personal attack and leave. anon 7:04 is typical of the trolls that have begun in ernest here.
Since you actually read at least some of the information here, let me say this - education is the most important thing to our community, as it is to every other community in Indiana. Roughly half of our tax money goes to K-12 education in this state - local tax dollars as well as state tax dollars. Those tax dollars should be used for the purpose of education. Not to build palaces. Not to make Administrators millionaires.
The
Indiana State budget for 2009 spent $6,169,000,000 (over $6 billion with a 'B') on K-12 education out of a total budget of $14,436,000,000 (over $14 billion with a 'B'). For 2010, the budget appropriates $7,579,000,000 for K-12 education out of a total budget of $14,331,000,000; actually increased spending on K-12 education with a decreasing overall budget.
It is also important to remember that school districts are governmental units overseen (or supposed to be overseen) by elected representatives of the people. The public deserves open meetings where they can 1) tell what is being discussed and 2) participate by offering their opinion on matters before the Board. The public elects these Board members to review, think, give input, think again, and then vote up or down on fiscal as well as personnel matters - policy matters - and a whole host of things. But, not to be a rubber stamp. A rubber stamp is as good as not having a Board Member at all. Maybe worse.
Education in Indiana is serious business. Each and every community should be taking a close look to see that the money is not being squandered in ways that enrich adults but do nothing to improve or deliver education to the children in the MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS FOR THE CHILDREN. I used all caps there, because it certainly is my opinion, having seen a district operate up close, that many of the expenditures are most effective for the adults and not for the education of the children.
Anyway - if the public does not become more engaged in education during this time of fiscal constraint in all districts and fiscal fiasco in Decatur's, then there may be no hope for really improving the quality of education and thereby providing today's children with more secure futures.
Trolls represent a segment of our population - those who want everything to run smoothly so they don't have to be pulled away from their everyday routine, and lacking that, they want everything to SEEM to run smoothly so they don't have to be pulled away from their everyday routine. In addition, all people want to be able to trust those who make decisions every day that will affect their children, their children's education, and thereby their children's future. To shake that confidence has its consequences.
But, if all the money we pour into education is allowed to be frittered away not to the benefit of education itself, and if we are not willing to call it out when we see such frittering, then we waste our money and the children's future.
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