Po' boys and "debris cooking...count me as excited too. I live close and pass by this corner nearly every day..no excuse for me, see you soon Crawford family!

When the voters who live within the boundaries of the Sac City school district passed a bond measure that ended up retrofitting and improving a wide range of district schools, including specifically the Sac High campus to the tune of $28 million, they were concerned with ALL district children, not merely their own. Thank goodness there were still enough district taxpayers--many with no children or kids long graduated--who still decided to vote yes out of concern for YOUR children. That's at the heart of the idea of public schools---people coming together for the good of all not just their own. For me--and I think most others who still support the idea of community schools--that means I am concerned for the high academic achievers and those kids who struggle; the native English speakers and English Language Learners; those who thrive on sports or arts and music or speech and debate or what we used to call vocational arts; those with special needs and learning disabilities; those kids who have never seen the discipline office and those who have been in some trouble; those with loving, supportive parents and those abandoned by their mothers and fathers; and those who have never been anything but motivated, hardworking students and those still trying to figure out where they belong in this world. This district, along with nearly all others in California, is now facing the most severe budget challenges of the past few decades. We're looking at deficits not in the couple of millions, but in the tens of millions. The governor will be asking voters in November to take action to raise billions in revenue to save our schools. Voters will be asked to step up not merely out of concern for their own kids, but all kids, including those of the writer above. I have to believe that Disciple's statement is merely an aberration, not the mindset of most voters out there--because if so, I fear for the future my grown children, my grandchildren, your children and, yes, all children

Hi Mariellen. You made the point about looming budget cuts...and you're right about what they potentially mean: a complete re-thinking of everything we've been doing in this district. We're looking at devastating mid-year cuts come January if the budget trigger gets pulled. Next year, budget cuts could go north of 35 million! Simply, there is no escaping the impact for any of us, but the most vulnerable schools going forward from here and out will be the small, specialized stand-alone campuses without the staffing allocations to keep even core programs intact. Indeed these are precarious times, which to me means maintaining the status quo is simply not possible. And we will still be fighting off STAND UP and other privateers no matter what happens here. Lots of folks are implicated in that story here in Sacramento. Susie Shields is not one of them.

All business as usual for this guy: turn "listening sessions" into "listen to me" sessions; deflect real concerns with promises of cash out of his own pocket; and always promise "dialogue." Never any substance. You are absolutely right to find the offer of payment disturbing. So what was his answer to the eighth grader's question about vacant lots in Oak Park? *By the way, economically disadvantaged students still qualify for application fee waivers in both the UC and CSU systems.

I should add for disclosure sake, I am a teacher...been at it for 10 years. I work with and know innovative and enthusiastic teachers at the every end and in between of the seniority scale. What I also know is that I am much better now then I was during my first few years.. Experience does matter; it is ridiculous to think otherwise and most teachers, administrators and even parents will agree. What is so infuriating about all this is how Rhee and her supporters are capitalizing on the devastation to state coffers and local districts thanks to the Wall Street-induced financial collapse to dismantle piece by piece one of the last true public trusts we have in this country, our public schools. Her pap is aimed at dividing colleagues and diverting attention from the real crisis: the $18 billion in reductions local school districts in this state have had to eat over the past couple of years...and the billions more on tap if the Governor's budget proposal doesn't fly. Properly funding our school system would take care of most of the problem raised here in these comments. Districts would be able to hire the teachers they need to offer a full range of courses and then work to evaluate and nurture newbies into becoming seasoned and confident long-term professionals who could count on years of service to their students and school communities. (And yes identify those who have no business staying in the profession). No one is happy about the pink-slipping of teachers year and year. The situation is robbing our schools of their ability to plan beyond a few months and is devastating to continuity and quality of programs, staffing and school facilities. And it has been this way for the last few years, at least. Nothing Rhee talks about here would make it any better...not by a long shot. I am appalled that these so-called reform leaders can sit on the big stage and utterly ignore the budget crisis that still threatens to see high school class sizes with at least 40 kids and end extracurriculars, sports and necessary support programs for our neediest kids. But that would mean they would have to talk about the dysfunctionality of our tax code, our school finance system, our politics and--perhaps most pointedly--the looting of the public sector by the titans of banking and finance, some of whom are among Rhee's greatest cheerleaders.