OR scam
To the editor: Is anyone aware that in the 10 years before last year the Oyster River School System cost increased 1,000% over the state average? It went from $374 to $3,472 over the state average in cost per student per year. And the current budget of $37,400,000 puts Oyster River's true cost per student per year at $18,243 which continues to be way over the state average.
We have been told this cost insures an excellent school system for the Oyster River taxpayers. This is not the case. Please read on.
Two years ago a former chairman of the Oyster River School Board told me that the Oyster River test scores were "soaring." This year and last year Oyster River did not meet the State Adequate Yearly Progress levels for reading and math. Some 46% or 75 school districts out of the 163 districts in New Hampshire did meet the State AYP level. That means that Oyster River did less than those 75 districts on the AYP reports. You call that "soaring"?
Let's go farther with this comparison. The US News and World Report does a feature each year naming the 100 best high schools in America. They evaluate over 21,000 public high schools and choose the 100 best performing ones. None of the 100 are in New Hampshire.
The number 2 ranked high school in America has a 1 teacher to 20.9 students ratio and rates 100 on the College Readiness Index. The number 3 ranked high school in America has 1 teacher to 23.7 students ratio and rates 100 on the College Readiness Index. The number 4 ranked high school in America has 1 teacher to 28 students ratio and rates 100 on the College Readiness Index. The average cost per student per year of these three high schools is $10,553 per student per year.
Oyster River High School is not on the 100 best list, has 1 teacher to 11.6 students ratio, rates 22.9 on the College Readiness Index, and costs $18,243 per student per year.
One teacher to 11.6 students is fiscally unsustainable even if Oyster River High School was superior, which it is not. It is also irresponsible of the school administration and the School Board over those years.
The Oyster River School System has been scamming the taxpayers of Durham, Madbury, and Lee for years. It has got to stop.
There will be an advertised meeting of the Oyster River School District taxpayers soon. Please Stand By.
Roger Speidel
Durham
This is why they need Dr. Richard to be the new Superintendent in OR. He is a reformer, think Michele Rhee (Waiting for Superman). He will cut the fat out of the budget and likely install some type of merit pay system for teachers. www.timrichard.net
ReplyDeleteThis district needs Michelle Rhee, the superstar reformer of the Washington schools. She can come in here and whip all our schools in shape - fire most of the teachers and the others can teach long hours with few breaks or LOSE THEIR JOBS, TOO! What do these teachers think the Oyster River taxpayers are? Santy Clauws? Either we become NUmero Uno in the US News and World Report that Mr. Speidel waves around (like they are pages from the original scripture) or we CLOSE THE SCHOOL DOWN! Can everyone say "Charter School"? We all know the Oyster River schools are probably the worst in the state (I know Michelle Rhee you need another Challenge!!!!!!!)and that's why everyone here complains all the time. Time to ratchet up the stakes and pull out the big guns!
ReplyDeleteImagine if...
ReplyDelete1. Our superintendent actually went out into the community to bring about compromise and reach across the aisle
2. Our school board had enough training and foresight to do an actual orderly PR campaign on this subject
3. The community and student body actually took the time to understand both sides of this argument and try to compromise and debate and discuss instead of placing blame and reacting with pure emotion
Have you heard about the Brown Bag Lunches or the Saturday morning community meeting ? They have tried to reach out. Do you know how many people show up,maybe a few at each meeting.
ReplyDeleteThis community isn't interested in reaching out= just complaning about the administration.
Sue, I've been going to the Brown Bags & Coffees....the room is packed at the Brown Bags, the Coffees, not so much. But that is 9am on Sat. Weekends are busy for many.
ReplyDeleteI think both are wonderful and hope they continue.
Sue, I think the community IS interested in reaching out - I think the tight control that has been kept on avenues available to do that are a problem. The coffees and brown bags are wonderful opportunities to exchange opinions and information, but there is very (destructively) limited access to the forums where the real work is going on for community members who aren't staff or school board members. The Advisory Budget Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, and Principal Search Committee are all examples of more direct community involvement - the common theme among those groups? If the School Board/Superintendent doesn't agree with the recommendations, they are set aside. How does that encourage more involvement? My own attempt to participate on the district wellness committee never even got to that point...I was uninvited because I proposed a re-evaluation of the process (something I'm paid to analyze in other circles).
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the extra time and effort the superintendent and administrators put in to the off-hour and extra sessions on behalf of our students. The days are sometimes very long, indeed. I believe a good portion of that extra effort is an attempt to convey a transparency that doesn't exist. When community feedback is actively solicited to inform and guide district initiatives, we'll be far FAR more likely to trust and support that which we helped create. No marketing genius on earth could make the case that this school district would do worse with more community support.
If Henry Ford was our community therapist I imagine his guidance might sound like this:
“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently….Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”
Again, Tory well stated post.
ReplyDeleteSomething I notice, in this school district, is that there's a lot of complaining about parents and/or citizens NOT participating, NOT showing up etc. But yet, those that do speak up or show up are criticized. You can’t have it both ways. There’s not always going to be agreement.
A few notes. The US News and World Report top 100 list that is referenced here is being used in a way to support Mr. Spiedel's claims, but a closer look reveals the true state of Oyster River.
ReplyDelete1) Only 1/3 of those schools are open admission like Oyster River.
2) Only 3% of the schools graded by this report are given the gold or silver designation. Oyster River was among that 3 percent, which means, according to this report, that Oyster River is in the top 3 percent of schools in the NATION!!
3) Oyster River is one of only three New Hampshire schools given a silver designation. Therefore, Oyster River is one of the TOP 3 SCHOOLS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE according to this report.
Please look more deeply into this before you believe the numbers he puts forth in this letter.
Another piece of information that I just learned is that "open admission" does not necessarily mean these are public schools. This could also include private schools which have application processes through which anybody can apply (though they may not be accepted.) Most of the schools have minimum test scores and other such criteria which students must meet to be enrolled. This allows them to shut out the lesser students, thereby skewing their test grades upward. This, again, shows the flaws in teh complaint that OR is not among the "top 100."
ReplyDelete