New Post on NECAP Scores at ORCSDNumbers.org

Mike McClurken has a new report comparing the NECAP scores for the ORCSD and other SAUs throughout New Hampshire on his site, www.orcsdnumbers.org.

You can down load a copy here: http://www.orcsdnumbers.org/index.cfm/linkservid/5035FD96-C531-40B8-ACCD10D46094D306/showMeta/0/

Panel Discussion on Learning Styles, 4/2, 7:00 p.m.

Community Annoyuncement: Panel Discussion on Learning Styles

Please  join us on Tuesday, April 2 for a unique opportunity.  Oyster River Educators from elementary school through high school will participate together in a panel discussion about learning styles.  Each panelist will speak for 5-10 minutes about various aspects of learning styles such as the importance of student choice, gender differences and the connection to the Multiple Intelligence theory.  Community questions and discussion to follow.

This event will be facilitated by UNH Professor Tom Newkirk.  It will be held in the Multi Purpose Room at the high school at 7pm.  All are welcome!  We look forward to seeing you on April 2!

Petition from Friends of Oyster River Football

A member of the group "Friends of Oyster River Football" sent along the following, with a request that we post:

Hello!
We've started the petition "Oyster River School Board: Approve a Self-funded Football Program at Oyster River High School" and need your help to get it off the ground.

Will you take 30 seconds to sign it right now? Please have ALL football supporters in your family sign this petition separately. You can also leave a short personal message where indicated.

Here's the link:
http://www.change.org/petitions/oyster-river-school-board-approve-a-self-funded-football-program-at-oyster-river-high-school

Here's why it's important:
There is great demand for a high school football program in the Oyster River Community. The proposed ORHS football program will be completely self-funded and will include mandatory coaches training, a safety 1st culture, baseline cognitive testing on every player-every year, and the best available equipment. OR School Board and decision makers, let the kids play football at ORHS!

Don't push away or dismiss OR football players and their families. Unlike soccer and cross-country, football does not discriminate against different body types. Many kids that would otherwise have no fall sports opportunities at ORHS can and will play football. Football accepts tall kids, short kids, large kids, small kids, everyone. OR School Board and decision makers, give our kids of all different body types a chance to play a fall sport.

As a team sport, football teaches important life's lessons including the value of hard work (work ethic), teamwork, time management, and being accountable to one's teammates. Kids that play football and other team sports have greater self-confidence and perform better in school. OR School Board and decision makers, please don't deny our kids an opportunity to gain these benefits.

Opponents of football emphasize the concussion risk in football. Many activities have concussion risks. In fact, for ages 8-13, the risk of concussion from leisure sports like bike riding, playground, skiing and skate boarding are 3X greater than the risk from all organized team sports combined (75% vs. 25%). For ages 14-19, the risk of leisure-sport related concussions is still greater than that from organized team sports (53% vs 47%). Within organized team sports, the risk from hockey is 20% greater than the risk from football. If the school board cannot accept the concussion risk from football, are they also going to ban hockey, bicycling, skate boarding and skiing? OR School Board and decision makers, please don't try to micromanage our kids' lives. Let them play football!

The proposed football program will be self-funded. OR tax payers will not foot the bill. OR School Board and decision makers, please let the kids play football!

Thanks very much!

Friends of Oyster River Football

Town of Durham Posts Unofficial Election Results

March 12, 2013

Dear Members of the Community,

The Town of Durham and the Oyster River School District successfully held another Town/School election over the course of the day today.  A thank you is extended to all of the election workers and town/school officials for their diligence in staffing the polling places in Durham, Lee, and Madbury.

The unofficial results follow …

DURHAM

For Town Councilor (Vote for not more than three)

Wayne Burton - 666

Carden Welsh - 625

Jay Gooze – 673

For Public Library Trustee (Vote for not more than three)

William Schoonmaker - 690

Jenna Roberts - 638

Holly Stark - 631

For Trustee of Trust Funds (Vote for not more than one)

Craig Seymour – 722

Article 2 – Referendum on Wastewater Treatment Plant Sludge Dewatering Equipment Replacement (2/3 vote required)

Yes – 632

No – 129

This article passed by an 83% vote.

The total number of votes cast in Durham today was 877.  An average turnout for the annual Town election is around 1,200. 

---

OYSTER RIVER COOPERATIVE SCHOOL DISTRICT

[Unofficial Results from Durham, Lee, and Madbury]

For Moderator (Vote for not more than one)

Richard Laughton – 1661

For School Board At-Large (Vote for not more than two)

Thomas Newkirk – 1470

Carl Piedmont – 682

Kenneth Rotner – 1258

Article 3 – Shall the District vote to approve the Collective Bargaining Agreement between Oyster River Education Support Personnel Association and the ORCSD?

Yes- 1379

No – 690

Article 4 – Shall the district raise and appropriate $40,000 for the purpose of supporting initiatives requested by the Oyster River Sustainability Committee?

Yes – 1237

No –838

Article 5 – Shall the district vote to authorize the retention of year-end unassigned general funds not to exceed 2.5% of the current fiscal year’s net assessment?

Yes – 1330

No – 666

Article 6 – Shall the district raise and appropriate an operating budget, not including appropriations by special warrant article and other appropriations voted separately, totaling $38,815,855?

Yes- 1250

No – 782

The total number of votes cast for the Oyster River Cooperative School District was 2162. 

Please have a very good evening.

Todd I. Selig, Administrator

Town of Durham, New Hampshire

T:  603-868-5571    F:  603-868-5572

tselig@ci.durham.nh.us

Krista Butts: vote for Piedmont

Elections for ORCSD School Board are on March 12th. Tom Newkirk is running for re-election and deserves to remain in his seat. He has done a great job and it has been a pleasure serving with him. 

I have decided to step down from my seat on the Board because my kids deserve my time again. My seat needs to be filled by a "common Joe", someone who can represent the constituents that will soon be unrepresented...parents of young children, children with an IEP, families of two working parents, etc. Our district needs people on the Board that will put the children of our district first and their own personal agendas last. 

The person to fill my seat is Carl Piedmont. He is honest, he is a man of character, and he will represent some of the constituents in our district that need a voice on the Board. He was raised by school teachers and believes in the value of public education. Please vote on March 12th, educate yourself on the issues and the people running for office, and please consider Carl Piedmont for School Board at Oyster River Cooperative School District.

Henry Smith: Please support Carl Piedmont and his family in light of recent personal attack in Foster's

Dear Fellow Citizens of Durham,

Following a very open and candid session with Carl Piedmont the evening of Sunday, 3 March (along with 25-30 other fellow citizens of Durham), I strongly endorse the candidacy of Carl Piedmont for the ORCSD Board.

He does NOT believe that Creationism should be taught in our school district!
(Despite an ill-conceived letter to Foster's on 2 March which seemed to assert this by implication.)

He is a thoughtful person regarding the well-being of our school district, very interested in the welfare of our children, has two children in the school district, is a former coach of sports teams where they lived in Indiana and a man with a variety of experience which would contribute greatly to his role as an ORCSD Board Member.  He believes in a school budget considered thoughtfully and carefully and would look out for our best interest in the education of our children.

I strongly endorse Carl Piedmont and Tom Newkirk for the ORCSD Board.

Please go out to ORHS on Tuesday 12 March and vote for Piedmont and Newkirk!

Thank you.

-Henry M. Smith

Dean Rubine Reveals His Role in Worldwide Zionist Conspiracy!

Speaking of things you really ought to read: http://orcsdcleanslate.blogspot.com/2013/03/tom-b-uncovers-zionist-conspiracy.html

Props to Dean for injecting a little humor into what had been a pretty grim week!

From Foster's: Analysis of ORCSD Tuition Issue

Foster's yesterday published a letter from old friend Mike McClurken with a data-driven analysis of the relative merits of tuitioning in students from the three towns that are currently under consideration and its effects on educational achievement.  It is well worth reading: http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013130309449

By the way, if you aren't already reading Mike's blog, you should be: http://www.orcsdnumbers.org

Barth Responds to Controversy

Robert Barth has written a response to my post, which has been posted at Dean Rubine's ORCSD Clean Slate blog.  You can read it here:

http://orcsdcleanslate.blogspot.com/2013/03/bob-barth-responds-to-tom-b.html

Response to Barth letter: Sylvie Butler

This is in response to Mr. Barth’s letter, requiring Carl Piedmont to explain his religious beliefs, based on the fact that his son attends an evangelical college. Following Mr. Barth’s lead, I have devised the following guidelines to help voters weed out unsuitable Oyster River School Board candidates:

Don’t vote for anyone whose kid might play hockey. That might mean they are pro athletics and against the arts.

Don’t vote for anyone who drives a car. That might mean they’re against trucks.

Don’t vote for anyone who eats meat. That might mean they’re against vegans.

Don’t vote for anyone who snow shoes. That might mean they don’t support downhill skiing.

Don’t vote for anyone who wears a tie. That might mean they’re down on casual Fridays.

Good grief, if we go by Mr. Barth’s logic and make assumptions about people based on peripheral facts about them, as in where their son goes to college, then we end up eliminating every single viable candidate out there. We want a diverse board, made up of people of different backgrounds. That’s what’s going to make Oyster River great.

If we want to vet our candidates, then let’s do so fairly and honestly by asking open ended questions based on issues relevant to their candidacy. Hit and run tabloid style attacks based on illogical assumptions should never be practiced or tolerated. Period.

Sylvie Butler

Lee NH

Bigotry Has No Place in ORCSD: My Response to Robert Barth

Robert Barth’s letter is a heady brew of paranoia, anti-religious zeal and conspiracy thinking.  It’s wrong on so many levels it’s hard to know where to begin, but let’s start with the facts.

The assertion that Trinity International University’s “entire curriculum is based on belief that the old and new Testaments represent historical and scientific fact without exception” is demonstrably false.  A glance at TIU’s website (http://undergrad.tiu.edu/academics/) shows that curriculum to include, among other majors, English, biology, psychology, nursing, physical therapy and pre-med.  Needless to say, none of those subjects are to be found in the Bible.

Second, Barth conflates Christian evangelicalism with Biblical fundamentalism. Evangelical Christians represent a wide range of theological beliefs; many if not most do not believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible.

Furthermore, Barth makes the inference that because Piedmont’s (adult) son attends a college that is associated with the Evangelical Free Church of America, that the father therefore must be a Christian fundamentalist. Even if we grant that this tendentious scenario might somehow be true, Barth is entirely wrong about the religious affiliation of Piedmont and his family; they are Roman Catholic, a faith that most definitely does not espouse a literal interpretation of the Bible.

Therefore, both the idea that Piedmont’s “agenda might include the denial of rational thought, fact-based conclusions and most science” and that one “would have to suspect that a prime motive for anyone holding such beliefs to run for School Board would be to incorporate their ideation into the curriculum” are simply absurd.  Even if Piedmont’s religious beliefs dictated such a stance, no individual member of the School Board has the power to change the curriculum—that authority is in the hands of the Superintendent and his leadership team.

Just for a moment, let’s conduct a little thought experiment: if Barth published a letter demanding that a Jewish candidate provide reassurance that he would not use his elected position to advance the worldwide Zionist conspiracy, would our community not rise up in righteous indignation to condemn his anti-Semitism? Why, then does Barth feel it is legitimate to question what he supposes to be Carl Piedmont’s motives, based on similarly false assumptions about Christianity?

The answer is obvious.  Barth is not interested in actually getting an answer to his questions, or else he would have availed himself of one of the many opportunities to ask Piedmont himself, either in public or in private.  Rather, the letter is a transparent attempt to tie Carl Piedmont the worst stereotypes of the so-called Christian right.  This attempt is all the more loathsome because Barth’s allegations are manifestly untrue, and it is most unfortunate that Foster’s gave him a platform to legitimize his false propaganda.

In short, Barth is wrong about just about everything.  Not just wrong, but willfully wrong.  Spectacularly, fantastically, crazy-conspiracy-theory wrong. The hatred, contempt, and intolerance he’s put on display are shameful.

But Barth is not just wrong on his facts, he is not just wrong in his inferences, he is not just wrong in his transparent attempt to smear Carl Piedmont and his family. When Barth writes “I would defend without reservation any individual’s right to believe whatever he/she chooses, but that doesn’t mean I will always respect or tolerate those beliefs” (emphasis added) he strikes at the very heart of what makes our community, our country, our society what it is.  For tolerance is, and ought to be, a bedrock principle of our nation and the ORCSD community. 

By stating that he cannot “tolerate” beliefs with which he does not personally agree Barth places himself outside the norms of our society, which demands respect and, yes, tolerance of those who are different from ourselves.  His bigotry belongs in the trash heap of discredited ideas, along with racism, sexism, nativism, and all the other harmful -isms that our society has, as it matured over time, rejected.

And so, Mr. Barth, here is a question I hope you might address—a “red flag,” if you will.  I would like to be informed as to your beliefs with respect to neo-Nazis, Klansmen, white nationalists, neo-Confederates, racist skinheads, the “Patriot” movement, and other hate groups.  Because, Mr. Barth, when you say you can’t “tolerate” the beliefs of others, as someone who has experienced anti-religious bigotry first-hand that is the kind of company that leaps to my mind. 

Perhaps comparing this letter to the Kach Twitter debacle may be apropos: the ORCSD community eschews bigotry of all sorts, including religious intolerance. This was demonstrated by the hundreds who protested former Board member Jim Kach's Twitter remarks two years ago. But while Kach was re-tweeting small-minded statements that lacked the originality of thought that the Barth letter contains, Barth's remarks are even more loathsome, since they come from his own pen.

It is again incumbent on all of us to state loudly and without reservation that this sort of false and malicious defamation, this bigotry masquerading as political discourse, has absolutely no place in our community.  A good start would be for the other two candidates, whose campaigns this attack was designed to boost, to denounce it.

Barth Acuses Candidate of Religious Bias; Piedmont responds

Editor's Note: The following is a statement by Carl Piedmont, ORCSD School Board candidate, in response to a letter to the editor by Robert Barth, husband of ORCSD School Board Chair Maria Barth.  

Piedmont has asked this blog, as well as FORE and the ORCSD Clean Slate blogs, to post his comments in the hope of dispelling the allegations made by Barth.  He has also submitted this same statement to Foster's.

I have my own opinion about this matter (of course!) but will post it later.



On March 2, 2013, Foster's Daily Democrat posted a Letter to the Editor entitled "More Information"
You may read the letter at: http://fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130302/GJOPINION_0102/130309889/-1/FOSOPINION

Below is my response to the misrepresentation of my character and personal attack on my family:

"Clarification for Robert Barth and Oyster River Community"
To the editor: I am Carl Piedmont, running for the Oyster River School Board. I would like to respond to a letter Robert Barth wrote questioning my motives for running for school board as it relates to my son attending Trinity International University (TIU). My son attends TIU on an athletic scholarship. TIU is Christian-based and teaches contemporary science topics including evolution.

First off, I am running because I want to serve in our community and believe in public schooling and giving children a top-notch education. I have four children, two of which are currently in the Oyster River system. Also, I was raised by teachers and respect and value the institution of education. I have 'skin in the game' and care about what happens in our schools.

As for my personal beliefs, my family belongs to the St. Thomas More Catholic parish in Durham. I believe in modern science and will not impose religious tenets into the curriculum as a school board member.  I will work together with my fellow board members to advocate for excellence in our schools and be fiscally prudent when spending our district funds.

I welcome Mr. Barth and others to learn more about me and contact me through my website: www.carlpiedmont.com

Carl Piedmont

Madbury