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4-25-08 A very good year for Avon water
LETTER to the Avon Schools, 2-29-08, by Bob Barnhart
``Mr. Jim Reitenbach, Superintendent; Mr. Kent Zeman, Treasurer
FROM: Bob Barnhart
DATE: February 29, 2008
Your letter dated February 25, 2008 is filled with statements which cannot be substantiated and I offer the following responses:
Statement: "If Avon Local Schools did not offer all day kindergarten, the district would utilize 16 bus routes to accommodate the transportation to both Village and East Schools (approximately 742 students transported).
Response: This routing would mean an average of 46+ students per route. There is absolutely no way you could provide timely student transportation with the two buildings being three miles apart. Your present actual bus routing of half day and full day kindergarten students average 16-25 per route for morning, mid-day and afternoon transportation.
Your Avon Village buses arrive 15-35 minutes late each afternoon (3:47-4:05 PM) and then for those buses to travel to Avon East would require 12 minutes plus 4 minutes to load and then depart at about 4:15-4:30 from East to take home 46 students. Many of the children would not arrive home until 5:45-6:00 PM. Absolutely no way would you transport these two building's students on the same bus routes.
Statement: "As a result of all day kindergarten it was decided to transport students in separate buses. This practice would not be necessary if all day kindergarten was not offered which would result in a net reduction of four (4) bus routes."
Response: This is an absolute false statement which cannot be substantiated. If there was no all day kindergarten those same students, as half day kindergarteners, would still be transported either in the morning or in the afternoon. In fact, you would more than double the number of mid-day runs to accommodate the 77 additional AM and 77 additional PM half day students.
Statement: "The mid-day runs are unaffected by the all day vs. half day opportunity."
Response: This statement is totally lacking in fact. If there were no full day kindergarten your mid-day bus runs would be more than doubled because you would have to transport an additional 154 students each mid-day.
The bottom line is that there is no way you would reduce the number of bus routes by eliminating full day kindergarten. You continue to offer erroneous information to try to justify your gross error of overcharging the parents of full day kindergarteners. These parents are ethically entitled to equal transportation as provided to all the Avon students and your manipulation of figures is unethical and should be corrected.''
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EDITORIAL from The Press, 1-2-08
``Better manners
"Disappointing" is just one of the words that describes the actions of the Avon Board of Education members at their most recent meeting.
During this meeting, former superintendent Bob Barnhart sought answers to questions regarding the district's all-day kindergarten response. Not only was he summarily ignored and eventually dismissed, the meeting left numerous residents appalled at the treatment of Mr. Barnhart, a longtime servant of the district, and a current Avon taxpayer.
Mr. Barnhart, who served for 20 years as the school district's head, raised important questions regarding the district's policies, including fees for all-day kindergarten. He requested the information over a month ago and while the board said they were aware of his questions, they provided no response.
Of course, in addition to the Avon Board of Education's need to be reminded that they do in fact owe taxpayers responses to legitimate questions, they need to extend some courtesy to those attending board meetings, especially individuals with longstanding institutional knowledge they could benefit from.
Instead, those at the meeting were treated to an embarrassing display of disrespect and arrogance not needed at a public meeting. For those not in attendance, Board President Dale Smitek, in an unusual display of hostility, had his gavel poised to quiet Mr. Barnhart before he even spoke.
We cannot say with certainty if Mr. Barnhart's concerns were entirely legitimate because no public response was offered. Instead, we are left wondering if the board is being unresponsive for a reason, raising even more questions.
It's hard enough that board meetings are held at a time that makes it difficult for most residents to attend. But making it difficult on those who take the time and effort to make the meetings is reprehensible.
We'd like to take up where Mr. Barnhart left off and request a full accounting of just how kindergarten fees have been determined. Avon residents should be asking the same questions as to where their money is going and how the city's children's education is determined.''
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LETTER to the Editor of The Press, by Bob Barnhart, 1-2-08
``To Avon full-day kindergarten parents:
The Avon Board of Education charges each family an additional $200 this year and claims it is for four additional bus routes for your full-day kindergartner.
The fact is that there are 18 bus routes for 128 half-day kindergarten children and 10 routes for 154 full-day children. Therefore, the parents of full-day kindergarten children receive fewer services, but pay an extra $30,800 (154 times $200).
In addition, your full-day kindergarten children are the only Avon students denied the opportunity to purchase a nutritional lunch each day of school. The Board has refused to offer milk to your child even though a Special Milk Program is available through the State Department of Education.
The Avon Board passed a new policy at their December meeting, [12-18-07] which denies full-day kindergarten children any opportunity to buy lunch or milk in future years. They passed this new, unfair policy because they were shown, in writing, that they have been violating their existing policy for at least the past three years.
It is extremely disappointing to have our Avon Board of Education make a special effort to deprive our full-day kindergarten children from the same services offered to all other Avon students.
The only remedy for the Avon Board's unfair treatment of full-day kindergarten children is for you, the parents of full-day kindergartners, to register a complaint for being over-charged for fewer services.
If you desire to discuss this matter, please contact me at (440) 213-5366 at your earliest convenience. Only you, the parents of full-day kindergarten children, can possibly turn around this unfair treatment.
Bob Barnhart, Avon''
Editor's note: Barnhart is a former superintendent of Avon City Schools.
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Press, 1-2-08, By Rebecca Turman
``Board president calls full-day kindergarten `cheap babysitting'
AVON -- A Dec. 18 [2007] Board of Education meeting became heated after a former superintendent asked for but didn't receive answers, and a board member called questioning all-day kindergarten policies a "silly issue." ...
"What it (all-day kindergarten) is, is cheap babysitting," Smitek said ...''
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Source: http://www.loraincounty.com
Title: school board meeting
Was anyone at the last school board meeting [12-18-07] and can share with everyone what Mr. Barnhart had to say?
Written by: golfguy on December 21, 2007
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Title: Re: school board meeting
I was there and was appalled (but sadly, not surprised) at how the board responded to Mr. Barnhart's request for answers to his questions (which he gave to them back in November). They voted down his request to lower the Kindergarten tuition.
None of them would even respond to his request to allow for hot lunches to the kindergartners. Mr. Smitek basically said that full-day kindergarten was just "babysitting" for parents. I'm sure all those taxpaying parents are happy to hear that! ...
Mr. Romanchok, I wish you all the best at your first board meeting in January [2008]. I'll do my best to get there by 6; but as I requested at December's board meeting to have the meeting start time changed to 6:30; it was voted to start at 6; oh what a surprise!!
Written by: avonmomof2 on December 21, 2007
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Title: Re: school board meeting
Mr. Barnhart, among other things, made [this] point:
1) The BOE can apply for free [or almost free] milk from the State for the full-day Kindergarten kids. So far the BOE has refused to do so ...
Written by: Oldtimer on December 22, 2007
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Title: THE PRESS and the Avon Board of Education!!!
A great big AMEN!!! to the Press for blasting School Board President Dale Smitek in the paper today for his treatment of former Avon Schools Superintendent Bob Barnhart at the last Board meeting!
Mr. Barnhart has been seeking answers to very fair questions on the "tuition" costs of all day kindergarten. Mr. Barnhart served this district for 20 years and I for one would like to hear what he has to say on any subject related to our schools.
Mr. Barnhart has a "Letter to the Editor" on page 7 in today's paper [1-2-08] as well on this subject. I cannot even begin to quote the entire article on page 3 (where School Board President Dale Smitek refers to all day kindergarten as "cheap babysitting".
But the Press editorial on page 6 is CLASSIC! The Press refers to the actions of the Board as "disappointing". The Press acknowledges Mr. Barnhart requested answers to questions at a meeting a month earlier and the Board never responded. The Press editorial continues:
"Of course, in addition to the Avon Board of Education's need to be reminded that they do in fact owe taxpayers responses to legitimate questions, they need to extend some courtesy to those attending Board meetings, especially individuals with longstanding institutional knowledge they could benefit from.
Instead, those at the meeting were treated to an EMBARRASSING display of DISRESPECT and ARROGANCE not needed at a public meeting. For those not in attendance, Board PRESIDENT DALE SMITEK, in an unusual display of HOSTILITY, had his gavel poised to quiet Mr. Barnhart before he even spoke."
The Press finishes the editorial piece and requests a full accounting of how kindergarten fees were determined.
"Avon residents should be asking the same questions as to where their money is going and how the city's children's education is determined."
Well I can answer some of those questions since I have been posting about Avon BOE ARROGANCE for quite some time.
Hey PRESS!!! $1.25 million for a BUS PALACE!!! (Mr. Smitek, would that facility be a cheap babysitting facility for bus drivers?)
Now tack on the fact that we have the seventh highest per pupil costs for outsourced legal counsel in a NINE COUNTY AREA!
When the PRESS is done investigating this issue, hopefully they will start to dig into the land flips for a new elementary school off Long road. There are some very interesting names attached of people who would benefit from us (taxpayers) paying for a school out there ...
Written by: Avon Eagle on January 2, 2008
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NEWS ARTICLE from The Plain Dealer, 4-25-08, by Jesse Tinsley, Plain Dealer Reporter
``A very good year for [Avon] water
On tap in rural Lorain County is one of the country's finest glasses of drinking water -- clean, clear and with no aftertaste.
That's according to a panel of water-quality judges who concluded that the Lorain County Rural Water Authority possesses the second-best-tasting water in the country among the country's rural water authorities.
The Lorain County Rural Water Authority received the honor Tuesday [4-22-08] during the ninth annual Great American Water Taste Test on Earth Day in Washington, D.C.
The authority gets its H2O from Avon Lake [as does Avon], which draws its water from Lake Erie. It was edged out of the top prize by Southampton -- which represented Massachusetts. Lorain [County] took the second-place silver medal in a runoff with Rhode Island, Indiana and Iowa ...
"I feel very good about this," said Tim Mahoney, general manager of the Lorain County water authority ... The water authority won the statewide Ohio Rural Water Association's taste contest earlier this month before going on to the National Rural Water Association competition along with 39 other states.
Mahoney, who attended the water-taste contest, said some "very dignified judges" sampled the water as if they were savoring Shiraz at a wine tasting. "They pour the water into a nice goblet glass and make sure it has no color," Mahoney said. "They sniff, taste it and score it on those three points." ...
John Kniepper, head of utilities for Avon Lake, said the Lake Erie inlet is far removed from rivers, which tend to carry pollutants. Those pollutants, such as herbicides and runoff from farms, can affect the smell and taste of water, he said.''
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jtinsley@plaind.com
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