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| Steve King 10/8/07; Residency Concerns | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 8 2007, 08:23 PM (3,511 Views) | |
| LPS Reformer | Oct 8 2007, 08:23 PM Post #1 |
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The schools exist to educate, not employ.
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Link Blogosphere When I decided to create my blog it was because of things I have learned while on the board. In particular, "misconceptions often overwhelm the truth" and "culture eats strategy." There are many misconceptions about LPS and I will address them over time. The culture of an organization is important because in essence its the way we do things around here and the way we have been doing things, will not bode well for our future. This blog will look at our district without rose colored glasses and void of the spin I have been subjected to at many of the public meetings. Are there good things that happen in our schools? Absolutely! But those things will take up the lions share of every board meeting and newsletters sent to the community.Rarely will we have the crucial conversations that are necessary to improve the district. My blog will show the other side of things, in an attempt to offer some kind of balance to the dialogue. This is not a discussion forum, but I do read all of the comments and do learn from them. I generally will not respond to comments but they do help me ask questions and move forward on things that need to be addressed. There were several comments however I will comment on. To say that our back to school event did not cost anything is inaccurate. Hundreds of LPS man hours went into preparing for this event as well as some of the in house promotion we did. That time could have been spent making sure projects were completed and that the bus routes were accurate as well as a myriad of other things that really needed to get done for a smooth start to school. Residency is another issue. This district has turned a blind eye to this problem ever since the legacy initiative drove so many students out of our schools. Since the money follows the student, enrollment numbers are very important. I feel for the students from urban districts but residency is very simple, either you live in our district or you don't. I personally know of students that attended our grade schools using their grandparents address while living at their parents home in another city. Apartments can be problematic as well. For these reasons we are well within our authority to do random bed checks as Grosse Pointe and many other districts do. Livonia taxpayers must not be disenfranchised because we do not have the will to do what is right. |
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“Child Abuse” means different things to different people.... ----Randy Liepa 8/9/12 | |
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| 134K | Oct 9 2007, 09:24 AM Post #2 |
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Advanced Member
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I'm not discounting this as a problem, however, it's been going on WAY LONGER than the LI has been around. I find it so puzzling that it's touted as easy to do. When you register your second child in LPS for Kindergarten you have to repeat the entire process of registration and proving your residency. They need several documents, tax bills, utility bills, leases in your name... I get that it happens, but it seems it will happen no matter what you do. Those who want to act illegally will always find a way. |
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| Must Be Psychic | Oct 9 2007, 09:54 AM Post #3 |
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Some districts require you to show proof of residency annually, which would make it more difficult for those that live in the district when they register their children but then move later. I have heard rumors about people getting apartments for a short term lease, registering kids, then moving out of the district. If we required annual checks of all, this would be more difficult to pull off. |
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| hopefloats | Oct 9 2007, 10:38 AM Post #4 |
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I agree with people having to show proof of residency every year. This problem is not in any way a result of the LI. It has been going on for much longer than that. I am surprised that Mr King does not realize that since he has children in the school system and claims to be so well informed on school issues. Showing proof annually is a good start to addressing the issue. |
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| Must Be Psychic | Oct 9 2007, 11:05 AM Post #5 |
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I must be missing something. Who said that residency is related to the LI? |
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| Renee Chesney | Oct 9 2007, 11:12 AM Post #6 |
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Veteran
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Steve-O on his Blog-O. |
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| hopefloats | Oct 9 2007, 11:26 AM Post #7 |
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Advanced Member
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From the Steve's blog... "Residency is another issue. This district has turned a blind eye to this problem ever since the legacy initiative drove so many students out of our schools. " |
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| Mrs.M | Oct 9 2007, 11:30 AM Post #8 |
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Veteran
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If LPS enrollment is declining, because of the economy
or some other factor
, I would think all districts would be desperately looking for an increase in enrollment. We all know what the per pupil allotment is and how that $$ number quickly adds up or decreases. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize 'looking the other way' helps increase enrollment figures.
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| I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be WRONG. | |
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| mmmmkay? | Oct 9 2007, 11:32 AM Post #9 |
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Taking quite a leap on that one arent ya? Anything you can grasp to discredit the only working member of the board eh? mmmmkay? |
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| Renee Chesney | Oct 9 2007, 11:49 AM Post #10 |
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Veteran
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Oops I forgot, I picked on the chosen one!! Here is what he posted on his blog: Monday, October 8, 2007 Blogosphere When I decided to create my blog it was because of things I have learned while on the board. In particular, "misconceptions often overwhelm the truth" and "culture eats strategy." There are many misconceptions about LPS and I will address them over time. The culture of an organization is important because in essence its the way we do things around here and the way we have been doing things, will not bode well for our future. This blog will look at our district without rose colored glasses and void of the spin I have been subjected to at many of the public meetings. Are there good things that happen in our schools? Absolutely! But those things will take up the lions share of every board meeting and newsletters sent to the community.Rarely will we have the crucial conversations that are necessary to improve the district. My blog will show the other side of things, in an attempt to offer some kind of balance to the dialogue. This is not a discussion forum, but I do read all of the comments and do learn from them. I generally will not respond to comments but they do help me ask questions and move forward on things that need to be addressed. There were several comments however I will comment on. To say that our back to school event did not cost anything is inaccurate. Hundreds of LPS man hours went into preparing for this event as well as some of the in house promotion we did. That time could have been spent making sure projects were completed and that the bus routes were accurate as well as a myriad of other things that really needed to get done for a smooth start to school. Residency is another issue. This district has turned a blind eye to this problem ever since the legacy initiative drove so many students out of our schools. Since the money follows the student, enrollment numbers are very important. I feel for the students from urban districts but residency is very simple, either you live in our district or you don't. I personally know of students that attended our grade schools using their grandparents address while living at their parents home in another city. Apartments can be problematic as well. For these reasons we are well within our authority to do random bed checks as Grosse Pointe and many other districts do. Livonia taxpayers must not be disenfranchised because we do not have the will to do what is right. |
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| Max | Oct 9 2007, 12:34 PM Post #11 |
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The chosen one, are you kidding me. He is the only one on this board who has a brain. Renee, go back to Kenny Chesney. You can live at his house in St. John for the rest of your life and all of this Livonia mess won't bother you any more. |
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| Sourapples | Oct 9 2007, 12:55 PM Post #12 |
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And as if those "annointed ones" currently on the board are not "chosen" as you say. None of them would have gotten elected without the union, administrative, and political backing from the back room deals made behind closed doors. If it was just a vote of the populous in a straight forwars election we would not be in the messwe currently are. Wake up renee, and take off the rose colored glasses! |
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| Renee Chesney | Oct 9 2007, 12:59 PM Post #13 |
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Veteran
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Settle down guys and Don't shoot the messenger. All I did was answer the question. |
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| Sourapples | Oct 9 2007, 01:01 PM Post #14 |
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messenger with an attitude
shoot it!
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| Renee Chesney | Oct 9 2007, 01:02 PM Post #15 |
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Veteran
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:rolleyes: |
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| Mrs.M | Oct 9 2007, 01:03 PM Post #16 |
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Veteran
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Another district's handling of the residency requirement http://www.birmingham.k12.mi.us/NR/rdonlyr...mentsNEW607.doc http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:it-vtM...&gl=us&ie=UTF-8 February 28th, 2007 Steve Gaynor Superintendent Bloomfield Schools Answers Residency Questions Dear Parents, Recently, the Lahser and Andover PTO’s hosted a joint meeting at which I was honored to speak. One of the topics addressed was residency issues, and subsequently a parent suggested that I communicate this information to all of you. To be thorough, this is a rather long explanation, so please bear with me. There are basically three types of enrollment in the district: traditional residency, “non-traditional” residency, and tuition. Traditional residency is what you would think: families that have purchased homes here, live in those homes, and send their children to our public schools. The second type, non-traditional residency, includes renters, children living with guardians, foster placements, placements with relatives, and situations where a divorced parent who lives in the district newly enrolls his/her child here. In all cases, upon proper verification, these children have a legal right to be here. For either type of residency, we have now implemented strict “proof of residency” requirements: One of the following: recent property tax statement, current lease/rental agreement, or closing statement from a recently executed purchase, AND Three of the following: employer/tax statements, voter’s registration, car insurance statement, utility (not cell phone) bills. Since we implemented these requirements, fraudulent entries have dropped to near zero, and those we know of are zealously pursued. In fact, from September 2005 - September 2006, 50 students were exited from the district for non-residency. You know we’re serious when those 50 students represent $600,000 worth of funding! Another 10 students were moved from residency to tuition basis, since their status resulted from a genuine misunderstanding. For example, some believed that buying a house in the district was sufficient, even though they kept their house in another district and lived in it. Our new requirements surfaced those few families, who were given the option of paying tuition since their intent was different from those deceiving us. The final category of students is those paying tuition. About 1/3 pay the full cost (over $10,000 per high school student, for example), about 60 are children of employees residing in another district for whom we receive only the resident district foundation grant (by law), and the remainder pay the difference between our tuition and the resident district’s released foundation grant. There has been some question about these students, so let me tell you that at the high school level (where this information is readily accessible), tuition students’ grade point averages mirror those of our own resident students. We are generally getting students very similar to those who live here. Here is a list: Conant–11 Eastover–7 Hickory Grove–22 Lone Pine–20 Pine Lake–8 Way–6 BHMS–9 EHMS–11 WHMS–24 Andover–61 Lahser–23 TOTAL–202 The cost to us is virtually nil, since these students are placed into classrooms and schools that have existing space. However, the revenue to us is enormous: since the program was instituted in 1997, we have realized over $14 million. So, when people wonder why our district is in such excellent financial shape, why we are sustaining and enhancing our instructional program while other districts are cutting, this tuition program (strategically begun 10 years ago) is a major reason. Finally, are we a Schools of Choice district, or will we become one? The answers are emphatically NO and NO. Boards of Education must intentionally and by resolution opt in to that program; ours never has and has no future intention of doing so. It would mean opening our district to all residents of Oakland County on a virtually unrestricted basis, something we know our constituents would not want. So if you hear rumors to that effect, please know that they are without foundation. Thanks for your patience in reading through all of this. Please feel free to share it with friends. And, if you have any questions, be sure to let me know. Best wishes, Steven A. Gaynor, Superintendent of Schools Bloomfield Hills Schools http://www.bloomfield.org/ Phone: (248) 341-5407 Fax: (248) 341-5449 “Comprehensive education at its finest” |
| I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be WRONG. | |
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| still concerned mom | Oct 9 2007, 01:32 PM Post #17 |
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I don't see where Steve has indicated that this is because of the LI, rather he is stating "ever since the legacy inititive". I take that to mean the district is turning a blind eye to the problem, so as not to lose any more students (funding). |
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| BoaterDan | Oct 9 2007, 02:38 PM Post #18 |
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Veteran
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Yeah, that's a rather simple and straightforward interpretation of what he wrote if you don't start with some bias. He still could be flat wrong in his assertion, mind you, but it is clearly not what RC is trying to make of it. |
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| Renee Chesney | Oct 9 2007, 02:54 PM Post #19 |
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Veteran
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Gee Dan what am I trying to make of it? |
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| Nikki | Oct 9 2007, 03:00 PM Post #20 |
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Veteran
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Duh...Renee.' You are twisting Steve's words. |
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![]](http://z6.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)
or some other factor
, I would think all districts would be desperately looking for an increase in enrollment. We all know what the per pupil allotment is and how that $$ number quickly adds up or decreases. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize 'looking the other way' helps increase enrollment figures.