Nicely written. Agree 100% with your analysis of the entire fiasco. Thank you for your reasoning voice.
Those that are being critical of others may perhaps wish to walk in the others shoes for a moment. It is obvious they did not hear at the meeting last evening that there have been hundreds of emails received voicing displeasure over the new bell schedule. Sadly it has become the norm that others demean those that disagree with them. Instead of finding ways to come together, they feel the need to push others in the opposite direction. It will be interesting to watch as the taxes are raised once again. Those same people that are demeaning others will be the first to raise their voice against an increase. Perhaps those they demeaned should sit out on the sidelines and watch them twist in the wind as we all have been doing the past few years.
Thanks again!

Very well Said Michele and thank you!

Michelle my hat is off to you! As mothers there is NOTHING we won't do for our children and as Mothers we fight for what we believe is the right thing for our children. What I've learned being a Mother for so long is that not all of us have the same beliefs or want the same things for our kids. I ...like you want well rounded kids and want to spend time with them. Sadly some aren't very good mothers like you've mentioned. There are other parents who focus on specific aspects of their child's lives and that's okay but it's also okay for us to want and demand that we have the time to have well rounded kids.
I've never let ANYONE including administrators tell me what will happen with my kids. I don't plan to let them do it now! Believe me there have been more than a few times that I've done the tango with principals to demand the right things be done in situations regarding my kids. At first they are shocked that I have the audacity to stand up to their decisions and then after they hear me out....they realize....not only would I stand up for my kids...but I'd do it for any kid to be treated fairly and I am not the parent who says Not my kid. Even my kids make mistakes.
That's the problem with this school board. They do not consider that these kids...they belong to parents who care. They cannot fathom that we won't all follow along just because they say so!!!!

Pete much like you I have no faith in this school board. Their track record speaks volumes.
I wonder why in the world these people even continue to be on the school board when it is so obvious they could care less about the welfare of the children. Now I have to admit that there are a few who stand up for the kids on occasion but for the majority it seems like these members are there for some kind of power trip because their decisions are not in the best welfare of the community or the kids for the most part.
Like I've said repeatedly...it's time for most of them to resign. Let people who care about the welfare of children and the community make the decisions.

Hey, everyone has to pick their battles. But you have to understand that some parents have somewhat older kids, and have realized that the things you thought were really important when your child was 7 or 8 years old, you look back on later and realize it really wasn't such a big deal. I'm not telling you to back down from something you feel strongly about, just saying that when others don't agree with you, you might want to see if what they are saying has any merit.

Ok, I couldn't bite my tongue any longer. This 'holier than thou' twaddling is ridiculous. I can't even fathom how you can begin to compare this to the historical examples mentioned here. Whiner, mother, its all semantics, whats really going on is something so insignificant is being turned into a preposterous quest for self affirmation. You are wonderful parents! You care about your children and they come first! Everyone who has an opinion counter to yours doesn't care about the welfare of their children and should be in awe of your admirable parenting skills. If my opinion differs I am a horrible parent and don't care about my or anyone else child. Do you see how ridiculous this begins to sound? I hope this satiates you and you savor those extra 15-30 minutes you get to spend with your child.

Can someone explain to me the redistricting issues? I've heard several parents disappointed at the fact that their children live one mile from one school but are being bused across district to another; however, I can't find any info on the website that discusses this redistricting issue. I'm legitimately looking for the information, for my own knowledge!

Here is some info on the rezoning.
http://warminster.patch.com/articles/centennial-school-board-holds-public-forum-on-rezoning-map

Central Bucks Elementary schools have staggered hours. Five of the schools start at 9:05 and end at 3:45. Council Rock School District has 10 elementary schools that begin at 9:10 and 3:40.

Correction - CRSD schools start at 9:10 and end at 3:40.

Thats fine for Central Bucks. We are not them and the late dismissal will not work here. This area is too clustered as it is now. So lets add buses to the 4-6pm rush hour and call it safe?? This is not a safety issue it is a cost issue, the board cannot justify spending the money for our children's safety. Talk about an insult to the community that they work for. Lets redirect all of this passive aggressive behavior that we are exhibiting toward each other and direct it to the board, which is where this all began from in the first place.

I am glad that the new dismissal time works for you, but it will not work for most. I do understand that children will adjust but they also need stability and routine. If this goes through we will all be rushing around trying to squeeze in family time, activities etc.. We have all been through enough and we need something to remain the same.

Very well said Michelle :-) Amazing how everyone has an opinion, yet have not come out to the meetings to speak. Yet those of us who have are told we are whining and being ridiculous. Atleast we are out there speaking our minds. I suppose that we could just as easily turn around and call those whiners also. I however will not because it not worth it and I will not stoop down to that level. Everyone has an opinion and is allowed to speak it. It would be really nice if people would stop bashing others just because of their opinion.

Thank you for your wonderful grammar lesson. You are right, I forgot to type "is" so I must be the stupidest person on earth, right? I am sure it allows you to feel that much better about yourself. You obviously feel like you are superior to everyone or atleast need someway to reassure yourself of that. And also thank you for knowing me so well as to know my response. Oh wait, you don't know me at all and that would definetly not have been my response. How dare you speak that way of my child. You have know idea what education level he is on. At this point in our conversations, I can only assume that he is smarter then you because he knows how to speak to people and respect them, which you obviously do not.

I am choosing to leave this conversation because I am tired of dealing with elitists who feel that their opinion is how the world should be run and that they are so much better then everyone else that they can sit here and criticize everyone. And who have continued to bash me, others and now my child. I hope you can sleep at night knowing that you, yourself have been the bully. Go right ahead and dissect what I have written, bash me/others, whatever you can do to make yourself feel better.

I think it is great that everyone is finally (over the last month or so) talking about the administration and the school board. Unfortunately, the bell schedule is just one of the issues we are faced with. As many have pointed out, it is actually a direct result of other decisions that have been made and a change in the bell schedule as well as the bus routes is now a necessity - not an option.

Compromises will have to be made by all parties, parents and administration alike. I believe a combination of some sort of staggered bell schedule along with revised bus routes will be the correct course of action. I believe it was Steve Allen who stated it best, sharing the burden will make it more bearable for all. There really are no good answers to choose from. And again, bickering amongst ourselves will certainly not help the cause.

Michelle, thank you for your well written analysis. You don't deserve some of the nastiness being thrown at you on this board, just for wanting to stand up for what's best for your children! There is no need for this to get as ugly as some of these boards have been getting! Our children have been through so much upheaval due to the decisions of this school board and is it so wrong to want them to have at least some stability? I'm a Davis mom- my kids are already going to be going to a new school, leaving friends behind at McDonald, adjusting to a new environment and new school population -do we have to throw this at them as well? And yes, after-school activities may be scoffed at by some, but they are important and they do a lot to build children's confidence and pave the way for them to be successful adults. My daughter just got accepted into the Pennsylvania Chorale but mandatory rehearsals are at 4:30 and I hate to tell her that she may not be able to participate because we won't be able to make it in time. She also dances and loves her small dance school, has gone there since she was 4, but the class she needs to be in starts at 5pm- that means no time to eat, no time for anything but running straight to class. Ok, in the grand of scheme of things, these may not be huge things, but they mean something to my daughter and with the adjustments of this new school, I just wish that was all both my kids had to deal with!
We have a right to be frustrated!

WOW, all I can say. I am a single mom of two, one in Elementry and one in Middle school. I completely understand being upset by the Bell changes. However, if your boss came to you today and stated that the company was changing you work day hours would you be this upset? Sometimes everyone needs to step back for a minute and look at the bigger picture. Flexibility, kindness, respect, caring- these are things that I teach my boys. Along with the fact that not everything in life is fair, justified or makes sense. Sometimes we just have to accept, adapt, improvise and overcome the challenges life throws at you. Does the CSD need to stop spending the way it has been - - DEFINATELY!!! Should the schoolboard members resign--- not so much. Why??? Out of all the blogs and people I have spoken to not a single one has said that they would be on the board if the opportunity presented itself. I have attended the meetings and I believe that the school board is going to do what it wants. I work two jobs and run a household by myself. I could not image attempting to take on the responibilty to run for a spot on the board. So, until that day comes I will voice my opinion in the most respectful manner possible and hope that someone can stop for a minute and see the other side of the argument. If any of these arguments were to be presented to a mediator they would take from both sides and mesh the ideas together. Called COMPROMISE!!!!! I highly recommend EVERYONE try it.

It is VERY difficult to remove emotions from any situation. The school board is set in place to make difficult decisions with positive outcomes and at times that does happen. However, lately it appears that they have been making decisions that just don't appear to be thought out. Decisions are being presented to the Community after the board has already made up it's mind and as a formality. This is Frustrating!!!!!!!! It may very well be better for the high school and elementry to flip start times, I have not seen any reports to show one way or another. Here is a suggestion, have the parents that run the Home and School get together and come up with well thought out ideas and have two people present them to the School Board. By doing this it will show involvment, thought process and respect to the officce that the members hold. You may not like the people in the office but you should respect the office itself. Instead of disrespecting the School District on the internet, get together and make many complaints into a well thought out plan to present the School Board with. WORK TOGETHER. This also is directed at the School Board. Respect the voices of the Community, whether or not they have kids in our schools. Knowledge is power. There have been too many decisions made without clearly examining all the information presented. Just because a parent (or several) are emotionally addressing an issue---DO NOT ignore them. Some way these issues can be managed together.

Friends,

I just created a petition: Centennial Community: Oppose the new dismissal time for the 2012-2013 school year., because I care deeply about this very important issue.

I'm trying to collect 100 signatures, and I could really use your help.

To read more about what I'm trying to do and to sign my petition, click here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/centennial-community-oppose-the-new-dismissal-time-for-the-2012-2013-school-year?share_id=sHfqpolXzNpe=pce

It'll just take a minute!

Once you're done, please ask your friends to sign the petition as well. Grassroots movements succeed because people like you are willing to spread the word!

Thank You

The meeting was for the committee, with the intention of discussing ideas. The committee will be meeting again in the evening to accommodate the schedules of those who work full time. I know this to be true, because I volunteered to be on the committee.

Everyone, when the Board closed the Schools they held a meeting with the Police there. People were ejected for speaking their mind. It was ugly. We were told to fill out green cards and they would answer our questions. Mine was never even got to. The Board at the time was completely belligerent to the people and in my opinion deserves the same respect they gave the public.

Now as far as the Bell Schedule and all the Jackasses that don’t have children in our school and are commenting here go back to searching porn. They created a community of bused children when they STOLE our neighborhood schools and failed to plan for it. If the School Board really wants to know the mind of the parents simply send out a questionnaire to all the parents you will see nobody wants the late start. Also don’t tell me about raising taxes, we are currently auctioning off buses that are 13 years old and
could still be used until we have enough.
MICHELE HAS IT RIGHT!!!! FIGHT FOR YOUR KIDS!!!! SEAN MCCLAINE IS A JACKASS!!!

If you don't like what is going on in this district, send your kid to private school. I blame the administrators for not sticking to their guns and making a decision. This shouldn't have even been up for debate. It should have been voted upon by the board and everyone move on. Are you aware of what's going on in Upper Darby? You should be glad this is the extent of your concerns. Again, please send your kid to private school so all of us parents that care and are keeping a positive attitude for the sake of our children are not bothered anymore by your whining. And yes, this is whining. And please be respectful of others. By calling someone a jackass you are only insulting your own intelligence.

Sean, anybody can place their name on the ballot for School Board. The general public has no idea who they are. They basically vote blindly. They are elected to represent the people. However they start thinking on their own and acting like they are some sort of Demigod instead of representing the people. For instance they didn’t even ask the teachers or parents about "Everyday Math". They were sold a bill of goods and the teachers and students hate it. I personally don’t give a damn about what they think. What matters is, what the experienced teachers and parents think. The Board messed up for not planning for transportation; now they have to fix it, period. Don’t worry about my children living in the basement; they will be heir to my Franchise. If you dont have children in Willow Dale, Davis or McDonald' beat it!!!

Sean McClaine - Your arrogance is only surpassed by your ignorance. What entitled you to say to any person that cares about their child that you ‘hope’ they enjoy remedial English. Are you a fortune teller? Perhaps you are God and we just do not know it. With your comments or rather, your suppositions, I shall follow your lead.
You are a 5’5” man with a chip on your shoulder larger than your body. You and your spouse work so that you can afford to live in Warminster and send your children to private school. You drive a large SUV (or truck) and bully people on the road because it makes you feel ‘bigger’. You are an editor since you feel the need to correct grammar, instead of addressing the issues. You were not raised as a Quaker otherwise you would adhere to ‘SPICES’.

cont...The parents posting about the conditions of Centennial Schools have every right to do so. They have chosen to send their children through the district schools in the belief that the schools are as good as or better than they were. Others in the Township choose to send their children to Parochial or private schools and that is their right to do so. However; I believe most of these parents would not interfere or be condescending to parents that were protesting issues in their parochial or private schools.
If you feel because you are a taxpayer, you have the right to insert your ill-mannered comments into the discussion, please know that most would not feel it was their place to degrade you or your children should you encounter a problem at their school.
I find it sad that a supposed adult would demean others children without any knowledge of the child or the parent other than what is posted. I honestly pity your children. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be raised with someone who feels they are superior to others. Sir, step off your soapbox and join the human race.

June 12th can't come soon enough... Enough is enough! I don't care where someones child goes to school, everyone in this community has a right to have a say when taxes are involved. Regardless of whether you have 12 kids in the district or zero you still have to pay taxes and bottom line, WE DON'T WANT THEM RAISED ANYMORE!!! If you read back in Mr. McClaine's posts he is also concerned about taxes and regardless of where his child goes his vote accounts for the same amount your does. People are losing their jobs left and right and you don't care about that at all! It's little Jimmy is going to miss karate so we should raise everyone's taxes to buy buses. I agree that we should have never been in this position to begin with and many people dropped the ball but this is the situation we are in. Do you want to continue to complain about something that has already happened? No, lets pass this schedule, put on a happy face for our children, and put this energy into making Centennial a respectable school district again. Again, as others have stated, the people who don't support the staggered schedule have offered ZERO alternatives. If you have them lets hear them! How will you explain to your child that they aren't getting into the college of their choice because they went to a sub par high school and instead of their parent fighting to make this a district to be proud of, they fought for a bell schedule?

Dear Avery, One alternative to raising taxes for buses is NOT TO AUCTION OFF 13 YEAR OLD BUSES WHEN WE STILL NEED THEM. DO YOU THINK WE COULD HAVE KEPT THEM AND DID A BRAKE JOB ON THEM????
Another option: DONT BUY $500,000 Sound Systems for High schools when you need buses!!!
Another Option: Don’t buy $3.2 Million Dollar Football fields when you need buses!!!!
Another Option: Redistrict so you don’t bus kids that live 1/2 mile from Willow Dale to McDonalds and kids that live 1 mile from McDonalds to Willow Dale!!!!
I can come with options ALL DAY!!!
Too bad our elected officials cant or wont!!!!!

Yeah! No one should talk about karate! I failed out of college and can't hold a job but you should see what I can do with my kamas and nunchucks!

OK, I think we need to stop all of this and redirect our emotions. I know we all love our kids but attacking each other is not going to get us anywhere, regardless of what side of this issue you stand for. If you have a sugestion than email it to our Region 3 rep. Jane S. Lynch, (lyncja@centennialsd.org). If you oppose the dismissal time then sign the online peition.
http://www.change.org/petitions/centennial-community-oppose-the-new-dismissal-time-for-the-2012-2013-school-year?share_id=sHfqpolXzNpe=d2e
If you support the dismissal time then don't sign it. Let's spend some time with our families this holiday and try to redirect all of this emotion and get back to the true meaning of communiy!

Suggestions can be made to the Ad Hoc Committee directly on the school district site via this link:

http://www.centennialsd.org/Page/5740

If the link doesn't work, go to the home page of the district, click on "About CSD" then click on the link for the Ad Hoc Committee. The committee will be meeting again this week. I agree with "Just a thought." Attacking will be non-productive. We are all adults, and are all entitled to our opinions, but there is no reason to resort to name-calling and personal attacks.

-Emily Cohen

Does anyone have a mass emailing list for the parents? The petition needs to be communicated to everyone for it to be effective. That way if you send it to a 1,000 families you can see what percentage supports it.

An e-alert was sent regarding the Ad Hoc Committee and the availability of a comment section. Although that doesn't quite answer your question about the petition, it is a forum in which to suggest alternatives to the committee, instead of just stating that a group of people oppose the current ideas.

Maybe there are just more people who think this is ridiculous than you wish to believe. I tried to be productive and asked one person to suggest an alternative and has this happened? Nope. So Ms. Hazlett until a solution is presented that is actually viable there is no point in continuing this conversation.

Dear Avery, Are you a parent? If not the only thing that is ridiculous is you posting. Several alternatives are obvious like redistricting, re-evaluating the routes and purchasing used buses from the 10 million dollar "general fund". However for some reason people like you probably wouldn’t agree. Someone like you would probably be more agreeable to spend the general fund money on a non core item like a sound system or some sport item.
I disagree so much with the late start time I would vote to transport my own children to school at 8:00 or 8:30 in order to save my child's afternoon. You on the other hand don’t offer any solutions, criticize the parents, and act as if you are actually somebody of importance. I have no idea who you are except some naysayer. Unless you have a child in our elementary school I don’t care what you think. I only wish the negative posters like you and Sean McClain would show up to a meeting an announce yourselves. I could then watch the angry mothers peck your eyes out.

Avery, you agree with one elementary school getting the coveted early time, and the rest having to eat crow? Well that's not fair or equal treatment to the others. I guess as long as it doesn’t affect you or some others, then all is well in the world. The selfishness you and others have displayed is absolutely unbelievable. I can only hope you and the others like you are on the receiving end of the same badly created situation by this district. It is bound to happen with this School Board. Then I will post "who cares?" when it is important to your family.

Info about Everyday math is untrue; teachers were in fact asked about it and researched many different instructional options. Based on the discussion I had with my daughter's teacher, while there are positives and negatives to all programs, the positives - supportive statistical data that the program works, general positive outcomes - outweighed the negative. No offense to anyone here, but when it comes to my kid's education, the last thing I want is parents having any input on instructional methodology. Sorry, but I want individuals with degrees and experience in the field making curricular decisions, not parents with little or no knowledge about the programs. I don't expect my daughter's teachers to swing every curricular decision by me first; that's an unrealistic and wasteful expectation.

http://tigersurvey.com/Survey.aspx?id=177690
In case any of you haven't received this by email from the school district.
Survey about the bell schedule and possible resolutions. Fill it out and state your opinions. Hopefully then this bell schedule can be resolved so that all the kids don't have to make any changes to the times they get out of school.

What is going on with the new Davis playground. I don't know if anyone has noticed the giant hill in the back where they put 48 steps and a ramp on it without asking anyones opinion. Well they want to send our children up that hill for their playground. They have 30 minutes to come out of their rooms, walk the hallways, out of the building and up the hill. By the time that is done they will have to get ready to come back down the hill and if you know children they will run down the hill, roll down the hill and possibly FALL down the hill. I don't know whos crazy idea this was. The hill is not a good idea nor is it a safe place. What another waist of money putting steps and ramp on the hill. You couldn't of found an easier way or cheap way to get rid of the dirt. I didn't see any sign telling people Free Fill dirt. I know my husband would of gladly taken some and so would probably other households. Are we going to allow this? Are our children going to be safe at recess?? Remember possibly 100 students per grade will be RUNNING out to recess. Are you gone to stop them from running up and down the hill? Does anyone know what STackpole hill looks like? they run up and down there all the time even though they are told not to.

I find it sadly amusing that the "professionals" who are getting paid this outrageous salary can't figure out that the their re-districting map is drawn half baked in a lopsided oven. The shortest route is a straight line, NOT a zig zag round the world detour. These same people actually left space in 1 school for the influx of children from the Shenendoah Woods project that is NOT even approved yet. It could be 5 years before our schools see any increase in numbers but our "educated" admin/transport leaders thought it a brilliant idea to over load the other two schools. Isn't this why we consolidated?????? Can someone please answer this question, your so quick to jump in any other time.

Pamela, if you are going to simply copy and paste information on Everyday Math from random websites that you find when you google it, please site the location so that those individuals who are actually interested in this data can read the more in-depth information included on those sites that you plagerized.

Please note - and I haven't seen the redistricting map, so I'm not sure if this is the case - that when creating a redistricting map, you cannot simply just draw straight lines. If you did that, you would chop neighborhood in half, with kids from one house going to one school, and kids next door possibly going to another. My guess is that the district created a map with the goal of keeping specific neighborhoods together. Again, I haven't studied the map enough to say any of this for certainty, but it's a possibility.

Please everyone, stop complaining about the cost of the sound system in the auditorium of the high school. Have you seen the size of that room? Would it be worth spending a lot less, and then having mics that don't work, or not being about to hear past row 20?
It is the biggest auditorium in the area and needed a big system. They rent out the space often, which brings in money. There are a lot of things lacking on the stage, like not having wings on the sides, or a ceiling that could hang a backdrop, and other improvements that could have been made but weren't because of costs. But the sound system needed to be done.

Dear Lou, a sound system may be needed. However I would argue $500,000 is a bit excessive. Was it bid out to three different bidders? As an Alumni of Tennant, a taxpayer, a parent, and a person of common sense I know it’s excessive. My brother had a band with about $10,000 worth of amplifiers which would easily light that place up.
I also noticed we are buying a $9000 diving board, $98,000 battery backups which I don’t think is justified. How often due we really loose power? Someone said they don’t want their kids to be in the dark. With all the windows during the day it’s a bunch of nonsense. Also don’t tell me it’s for clean computer power because I could buy all new computers for the school for probably less than half of that. Just remember they still keep telling us they have no money for buses. I am so angry at the level of incompetence and skewed judgment I could vomit. So Lou I would guess you are the contractor for the new sound system?

No, ha ha, not the contractor for the new sound system. Just a parent of a kid who was involved in theater when she was at Tennent, who has sat in the dead spots in the theater where sound just can't reach with the old system, which was very old.