Access, 8.02.2007

	Access
	Edition #141, August 2, 2007
Albrecht's Law: Social innovations tend to the level of minimum tolerable well-being.                 Next School Board Meeting is at 5:30 on August 14th.	In 2007 – 2008, the Brevard Public Schools will again lower our tax millage for the ninth consecutive year. The decrease will be about .136 mills.   Brevard Public Schools is installing a new alert system across its campuses to insure that emergency messages reach administrators without delay. The District is placing Emergency Warning Receivers (EWRs) in the front offices of its 85 schools, and in many District offices. The desktop units, which resemble weather radios and use FM radio technology, can instantaneously receive emergency alert details broadcast from the Educational Services Facility in Viera. District Security will use the EWRs to alert schools in situations like bomb threats, lockdowns, dangerous conditions in the area of a school, or other similar situations that affect school safety. BPS has invested $11,000 in the system, and area stations Z88.3 FM and 98.5 The Beach are providing the District with free access to a side band frequency which will carry the signals. The receivers will be in place in schools by the time fall classes begin Aug. 20.   "The proposed Health and Human Services budget for next year has put aside $176 million for abstinence-only programs, even though they have accomplished little or nothing. In fact, there is evidence they've had negative effects. Texas receives more abstinence-only education money than any state, yet it has seen the smallest decline in teen sex of any state. It would be refreshing to see more progressive politicians plainly say what most of us know: The only way to reach teenagers is to be honest with them. Public schools do that by teaching students about the dangers of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease, by stressing the need for contraceptives such as condoms. The message at school should be clear: understand the consequences of sex." (The Courier-Journal, Louisville KY, July 25)   Where's the innovation?   I'm a long time advocate of charter schools for a simple reason – the U.S. is falling behind in academics. The U.S. won't regain a position of academic leadership by continuing to do the same things, by working harder or even by investing more in the same processes. Change is needed before we realize improvement. The charter school movement focuses on instructional innovation and smaller learning communities giving parents greater control. But legislation places significant constraints on the implementation, e.g.: - curriculum must be approved by school boards or committees of educators who are most receptive to techniques with which they are familiar; - personnel must meet standards consistent with those of public schools (i.e., predominantly products of the colleges of education) to ensure high quality classroom teachers; and - financial oversight by local school districts is increasingly demanded in the wake of costly (student impact and fiscally) charter failures. If curriculum, personnel and finances are constrained by traditional public education systems, how will charter schools fulfill the innovation promise? It is a question worth considering.     "Nearly one out of every five children in Florida is growing up in poverty, and the state has one of the highest rates in the nation of single-parent families" (Orlando Sentinel, July 25)   Florida's No Fault Auto Insurance is about to sunset. Why is this of interest to an education oriented newsletter? With Personal Injury Protection (PIP) no longer required, the burden for auto accident related health care shifts to medical insurance and will result in necessarily higher premiums. Employee benefits are a major expense for public schools. You can't help but be amused by the shenanigans of the insurance industry and the legislature this year. Property insurance was to go down (it didn't) but auto insurance gets an "assessment" (Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund). Soon PIP will sunset (purportedly lowering auto insurance) but health care premiums will inevitably rise as it absorbs the no PIP expenses. I wonder what they have in mind for my life insurance?   King Ozymandias of Assyria was running low on cash after years of war with the Hittites. His last great possession was the Star of the Euphrates, the most valuable diamond in the ancient world. Desperate, he went to Croesus, the pawnbroker, to ask for a loan. Croesus said, "I'll give you 100,000 dinars for it." "But I paid a million dinars for it," the King protested. "Don't you know who I am? I am the king!" Croesus replied, "When you wish to pawn a Star, makes no difference who you are."   Larry E. Hughes Parent, Citizen LarryHughes@ourflorida.info (321) 724-4203   No public resources were used in the creation or transmission of this email.   Please distribute to friends or neighbors who are interested in Public Schools. If they would like to subscribe, please send an email to LarryHughes@OurFlorida.info with the word "subscribe" in the Subject line. If you do not wish to receive this information, please reply with the word "unsubscribe" in the Subject line. I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused you.