APS - Who is running for School Board?

[Anonymous]

The crowd-sources proposals are half-a$$ed and miss a bunch of critical elements - planning units that already got moved, diversity, crazy elongated boundaries (therefore bad transportation), and more.

The only groups that benefit from the crowd-sources proposals are Key and Madison Manor/Dominion Hills.

Creating boundaries is a lot harder than it looks. There is no perfect answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We the people of Arlington have elected the school board members as our representatives to make necessary decisions. Therefore they should not need to return to the well of public opinion repeatedly before taking a vote. If community members want to spin their wheels coming up with alternative maps, fine, but I don’t want staff held hostage every time a Captain Dynamo coughs up an alternate scenario. Staff SHOULD require pressing by the SB to address those scenarios, if it happens at all, because it’s not their job, and it has proven to be a waste of time.

er, you realize that the crowdsourced efforts were a direct result of APS staff encouraging alternative proposals when many objected to their "take it or leave it" Option 1? The staff actually seemed earnest in their encouragement but, after a while, it was apparent their minds were made up.

Er, I realize that staff and many laypeople needed less than 5 minutes looking at those maps to determine that they are not feasible. Demanding that staff take time to publicly dissect multiple crap maps and declaring staff “not earnest” when they don’t change their minds is a foolish waste of everyone’s time.

[Anonymous]

Did staff ask the community to draw boundaries?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We the people of Arlington have elected the school board members as our representatives to make necessary decisions. Therefore they should not need to return to the well of public opinion repeatedly before taking a vote. If community members want to spin their wheels coming up with alternative maps, fine, but I don’t want staff held hostage every time a Captain Dynamo coughs up an alternate scenario. Staff SHOULD require pressing by the SB to address those scenarios, if it happens at all, because it’s not their job, and it has proven to be a waste of time.

er, you realize that the crowdsourced efforts were a direct result of APS staff encouraging alternative proposals when many objected to their "take it or leave it" Option 1? The staff actually seemed earnest in their encouragement but, after a while, it was apparent their minds were made up.

Er, I realize that staff and many laypeople needed less than 5 minutes looking at those maps to determine that they are not feasible. Demanding that staff take time to publicly dissect multiple crap maps and declaring staff “not earnest” when they don’t change their minds is a foolish waste of everyone’s time.

I'm sure the staff could eyeball the community proposals and tell that they were crap. SB asked staff to address them in depth for political cover.

[Anonymous]

Even if Symone can run under the Hatch Act under some technicality - and I really don't see how - what she's doing is so against the spirit of the Hatch Act, I can't support her in good conscience. What she's doing seems so entitled and opportunistic. All those other government employees couldn't run but I can because I'm special!

I mean, she showed up and gave a speech at that Democratic meeting last week. How is this ok?

[Anonymous]

Ohhh Priddy... you had my vote...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We the people of Arlington have elected the school board members as our representatives to make necessary decisions. Therefore they should not need to return to the well of public opinion repeatedly before taking a vote. If community members want to spin their wheels coming up with alternative maps, fine, but I don’t want staff held hostage every time a Captain Dynamo coughs up an alternate scenario. Staff SHOULD require pressing by the SB to address those scenarios, if it happens at all, because it’s not their job, and it has proven to be a waste of time.

er, you realize that the crowdsourced efforts were a direct result of APS staff encouraging alternative proposals when many objected to their "take it or leave it" Option 1? The staff actually seemed earnest in their encouragement but, after a while, it was apparent their minds were made up.

That's not really a fair characterization. I have either personally attended or watched the live stream of every meeting on this topic. The Staff basically said we have looked at this issue really carefully, and we think this is our option. Community members asserted they could do better, Staff encouraged them to submit the proposals if they thought they were better.
The Staff didn't reject them because 'their minds were made up' they rejected them b/c the proposals were crap. Staff knew they would be crap b/c they have been working really hard at this.
And I agree with the other poster that the SB pushed staff to publicly counter the community proposals for political cover for the SB- not b/c they actually thought it was a good use of Staff time.

[Anonymous]

This whole, we can do better thing, is creepy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This whole, we can do better thing, is creepy.

It’s hubris combined with some weird paranoia that their “community” is being targeted for some undefined reason.

[Anonymous]

Is there a way to stop the caucuses. Maybe not this year, but down the road. The priorities of the ACDC do not align with APS.
It’s ( SB) supposed to be non partisan. Any lawyers looking to grind an axe?

[Anonymous]

I wish we could stop the caucuses. I despise the do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do hypocrisy of the ADCD that has a stranglehold on APS. And I'm a democrat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even if Symone can run under the Hatch Act under some technicality - and I really don't see how - what she's doing is so against the spirit of the Hatch Act, I can't support her in good conscience. What she's doing seems so entitled and opportunistic. All those other government employees couldn't run but I can because I'm special!

I mean, she showed up and gave a speech at that Democratic meeting last week. How is this ok?

She asked the people at her office who decide these things. They're the ones who said it was OK. How does that make her entitled or opportunistic, and how is she saying she's special? She didn't make the call.

Maybe this will lead other government employees to run, which would be nice. The pool of qualified candidates gets thinned out too much because of the stupid SB caucus. (One more reason the ACDC infuriates me)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish we could stop the caucuses. I despise the do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do hypocrisy of the ADCD that has a stranglehold on APS. And I'm a democrat.

The only way to “stop the caucuses” is to provide an alternative route to victory for independents, so that they don’t have to suck up to a bunch of affordable housing obsessed seniors on a Thursday night while working people are caring for their school aged children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even if Symone can run under the Hatch Act under some technicality - and I really don't see how - what she's doing is so against the spirit of the Hatch Act, I can't support her in good conscience. What she's doing seems so entitled and opportunistic. All those other government employees couldn't run but I can because I'm special!

I mean, she showed up and gave a speech at that Democratic meeting last week. How is this ok?

She asked the people at her office who decide these things. They're the ones who said it was OK. How does that make her entitled or opportunistic, and how is she saying she's special? She didn't make the call.

Maybe this will lead other government employees to run, which would be nice. The pool of qualified candidates gets thinned out too much because of the stupid SB caucus. (One more reason the ACDC infuriates me)

It smells very fishy to me. I wonder if she gave them all the information. Do they know for example that she is showing up at Arl Dems events to speak and that she's in a caucus? I wonder....

[Anonymous]

I am willing to take my chances with someone getting Walker bounced if it means I can put one more name in front of Cristina Diaz-Torres on the caucus ballot.