Northwest Indiana Discussion

Here are the highlights of the meeting:

All board members were present.

Special Recognition:

There was special recognition tonight for the elementary robotics teams. Many of the teams got trophys in local competitions, and the Wallace Team went downstate.

Consent Agenda:

Item 3, concerning negotitiations with the Transportation employees has been moved to the next regular meeting. Item 13, authorization for attendance and payment for legitimate expenses for board member Cindy Murphy to attend the ISBA Board Member Leadership Seminar in Indianapolis has been pulled. Ms. Murphy stated that it appears a lot of her authorizations/requests are pulled from the Consent Agenda.

Calender:

There will be a Public Work Session for discussing NEOLA on Wednesday January 11, 2012 at 5:30pm at 41 Williams Street.
The next regular School Board meeting will be Monday January 23, 2012 6pm 41 Williams Street.

Public Expression 2nd Session(no speakers 1st session):

Carlotta King talked about new opportunities for Hammond children at a new facility,CDF(sp), which is a dance center, but also offers Modeling, Martial Arts,and Mandarin Chinese. She said several Principals have enquired about this for their students, and she requested permission for the info to be available at the schools.

Raymond Fletcher talked about the "brain drain" in our area. He said we need to keep our talent here, and suggested we start offering more math, science, and expect greater student acheivement. He said that most of the products we all buy, are made in China, and should be made here. He also commented on the lack of access to the internet for students to do their homework, now that the library branches have closed.

My Take:

Congratulations to all the students honored this evening !!!

IMO, ALL trips to seminars or whatever need to be cancelled for ALL board members, except for training neccessary by the decree of the statutes considering board members, in the State of Indiana. Save the taxpayers some money !!!

Raymond Fletcher is right again. He hit the nail on the head. We need to concentrate more on the real scholastics, and give our students incentive to stay here. As for the internet, he is on the mark with that. Most students must have internet access, or they cannot do their homework.

Yes, exactly how do you classify taking $30,000 slated "strictly for infrastructure" which might benefit widows, orphans and disabled veterans so you don't have to pay to send your kid to college? Your free lunch comes right off of their tables.

Holy s***.....did Sparky just come to the realization that there is "no such thing as a free lunch"?

I am NOT on the public dole. If you continue your slander, there will be consequences. I am not the least afraid of you. Try your thug tactics on someone who just might knuckle under. Tiger will NOT.

See, when the board hypocrit points his finger at others, his other fingers are pointing back at him. The "do as I say, not as I do" mantra.

Sparkless is lacking a pair. He comes on this board, and tries to bully. It doesn't work with me. The sissy picks on girls through the board, cause he has not got a pair to say anything to a girls face.

As long as the "free lunch" is for him or his kid, he has no problem with it. I guess it is only supposed to exist for union knuckle dragging thugs.

You knuckled under long ago when you quit working and started collecting social security disability. Being honest is not slander. I think it would really rock if you filed suit against me. It would be interesting to see how much you would like the publicity you'd receive for filing a bogus lawsuit in an attempt to stop me from expressing my opinions. Bring it on!

Sparky can you tell us how you had your epiphany regarding the fact that there is no free lunch. I realize you are a little late to the party on this fact but welcome none the less.

I will never knuckle under to the likes of you. BTW, you hypocrit, practice what you preach. When you get old enough to collect Social Security, refuse it.

It's pretty hard to expect greater student achievement when the parents can't even spell the word,LOL! Mr. Fletcher's comment that products should be made here is downright moronic. Globalization is reality. We need to educate students to compete in the world as it is, instead of hoping people will suddenly start buying more expensive products because they have a "made in Usa" label on them. Thank God the voters were smart enough to not elect Mr. Fletcher to the school board.

Was the above posted by Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde? One day you're preaching about the superior quality of overpriced union labor and the next day you babble about competition.

I can't disagree that this guy, like most Hammond residents, is probably an idiot. He is right about offering more math and science. That is how these students will have a prayer of competing in the very near future. Parading around in front of a giant inflatable rat sporting Carhartts, flannel, and tattoos will get them a home on Baring Parkway, dependence on a government program to get their kid's college education financed, maybe a Hammond Junior Police Officer badge, and little else.