When key Gilbert Public Schools administrators announce that teachers will lose their jobs, class sizes will increase, and art and music programs will be cut—unless a tax override passes-people notice. GPS Administration is an old hand at playing the voter like a violin. Usually, it works. I’m sure they were delighted to see union members, teachers, and parents storm the June 5 Governing Board meeting, begging them to vote YES to the override.
School Board
Gilbert School Board Meeting Tonight: Attack the Conservative Board Members
Please attend tonight’s board meeting. Join the fun as you witness how unpaid board members who demand fiscal responsibility and accountability are beaten up by their employees who demand MORE MONEY! Basically, these employees have learned that if they rant, rave, and threaten you, you’ll cave in and get your way.
Governing Board Room, 7:00 p.m.
Gilbert Public Schools
Building B
140 S. Gilbert Road
Gilbert, AZ 85296
Not all Gilbert Parents Want Full Day K for their Children
Ms. Teralyn Schnepf addressed the Gilbert Governing Board on May 7, 2013.
Distinguished Members of the Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board:
Thank you for allowing me to share my proposal for the redistribution of District funds.
My husband and I have six children and are big supporters of ½ Day Kindergarten. We have been greatly disappointed by the shrinking number of ½ Day Kindergarten classes offered by the District since we moved to Gilbert 6 years ago. Our neighborhood school does not offer a ½ Day Kindergarten option, so we have enrolled our children in the ½ Day Programs where the District has provided them.
It is my understanding that before the state provided funding for Full Day Kindergarten, families who wanted Full Day Kindergarten needed to pay for the additional expense. Once state funding for Full Day Kindergarten was cut, my husband and I were hopeful that the District “Pay for Full Day” policy would be reinstated and we’d see more ½ Day classes offered at neighborhood schools. We were disappointed the District chose to keep the Full Day Program at the tax payer expense.
GPS Governing Board Meeting May 15: Raise the Primary Property Tax Rate? Put another Override on the November 2013 Ballot?
There is a Gilbert Public Schools Board meeting tonight, May 15, at 7:00 pm, to be held in the Governing Board Room, Building B, 140 S. Gilbert Road. Here is the link to the Agenda:
On the agenda are 4 items:
3.01 Approval of Options to be Considered for the 2013-2014 Budget.
NOTE: Only Option C contains a $5.5 million deficit because it does not raise the Primary Property Tax Rate. Can the District reduce expenses by $5.5 million in order to balance the budget? Or will the board vote to raise The Primary Property Tax Rate? The previous board raised it by 40% last year. The current board has been advised that the defeat of the override in the 2012 election, plus declining home values, in addition to 10% of property owners unable to pay their taxes, has all created a budget crisis for GPS.
See below how, for 10 years, the previous board and GPS District didn’t put money into the classroom even when they had override dollars, a 1-cent sales tax revenue, in addition to Prop 301 money.
Conservative Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board Under Fire – PLEASE SIGN PETITION!
The Leftists have attended the Gilbert Public Schools governing board meetings in record numbers. They are resorting to OCCUPY! mob tactics to vilify our current conservative board members: Board President Staci Burk, Clerk Julie Smith, and Board Member Daryl Colvin. Why? They have the unmitigated gall to suggest NOT raising the Primary Property Tax Rate, and to cut free All Day Kindergarten, or ask parents who want their 5-years olds in school all day to pay for it. (Half Day Kindergarten is free and will remain free.)
See Fed Up Parents, Teachers pack Gilbert Board Meeting.
What’s interesting is that Scottsdale just laid off 80+ teachers and increased class sizes. According to the following article, many (including teachers) are pleading with the board to cut administration and not more teachers or money to the classroom. All Day K is also on the chopping block for consideration.
Your Gilbert Primary Property Tax Rate Might Increase – To Maintain the School District’s Increased Spending
Conservatism 101: Stick to your principles. Work out the details, compromise on policy later.
Conservatism 102: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me 3 times, I must be a Republican. (Conservatives: Don’t let this happen to you!)
The Issue
For the last several weeks, the current school board has been reviewing various 2013-2014 GPS budget scenarios drawn up by GPS District Administrator Clyde Dangerfield and his Budget Committee.
Projected expenditures are $224,012,222, which is about $10,000,000 more than last year’s (04/23/2012) projected expenditures of about $214,000,000. (The 4/23/2012 chart appears at the end of this article.) Is the District (ahem) "cutting to the bone?" Clyde’s initial budget proposals (Options A and B), presented on March 26, include raising the Primary Property Tax rate to support the projected increased expenditures.
Commissar Lily Tram Uses Intimidation Tactic to Silence Citizens
At the 4/17/2012 Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board Meeting, board member Lily Tram (up for re-election) made an odd request for “future consideration”:
Read moreTram’s New Rule – It’s Legal. Is it Smart?
Some time ago, Lily Tram, the Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board president, made the decision to change the ease with which a board member would be allowed to get an item on the agenda “for future consideration.” Among the many possibilities, she decided that a majority of the Board must formally vote to approve it. Even though Gilbert Public Schools belong to ASBA (Arizona School Board Association), which provides legal assistance, the GPS Board obtained outside counsel regarding the legality of her rule.
Read moreDay of Silence at Gilbert Public Schools: 4/19/2013
Friday, April 19, marks the “Day of Silence” at Gilbert Public Schools. GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Educational Network), is the Day of Silence’s organizational sponsor. GLSEN instructs adolescents across the country to remain silent during the school day to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying, and harassment in the schools.
Read moreGilbert School Board Struggles to Allow Parents a Voice in Choosing Reading Materials
On March 26, 2013, Gilbert School Board Clerk Mrs. Julie Smith, requested a discussion and approval of Item 6.02 relating to a Community Curriculum Committee. Eventually, the motion was revised to approve formation of a Community Textbook and Supplemental Materials Committee. Mrs. Smith’s major concern was that, in light of materials used in Springboard and Common Core, parental and teacher input be allowed prior to adoption of certain reading materials. See the video below, where the discussion begins at 1:13:00. The essence of opinions begins at 1:34:00. Board Members Lily Tram and Jill Humphreys are in agreement that selection of textbooks and supplemental reading materials should be left in the hands of "the professionals." "There are many different values in Gilbert," stated Mrs. Humpherys. "One person’s trash is another person’s treasure." Mrs. Tram wanted to know, "Who is going to run this committee"? Board President Staci Burk suggested that Mrs. Smith would facilitate it. The Board approved the Committee 3-2.
Read more