tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post115591801737175573..comments2009-07-13T10:33:46.068-05:00Oley Concerned Citizensoleytaxpayers@hotmail.comBlogger290125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1160529304728975762006-10-10T20:15:00.000-05:002006-10-10T20:15:00.000-05:00Keep in mind, always, the importance of football in the lives of Americans. Shall we forever deprive our young men of the opportunity to participate in our national high school sport, while funding other special, select interest, activities?mightycapnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157067075262521262006-08-31T18:31:00.000-05:002006-08-31T18:31:00.000-05:00Yes we meet AYP says the state. The state standards are nothing to brag about. They should want every child to succeed and so should this district. We need to get our priorities straight! Education comes first!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157059837485255642006-08-31T16:30:00.000-05:002006-08-31T16:30:00.000-05:00We might of made progress overall this past year but if you look at the individual grades pssa scores they are nothing to be proud about.<BR/>49% of juniors only are proficient in math, 5th grade was in the 60% range. What about the children that are not meeting the states requirements? What are you going to do about them? We have 2 coaches we hired to help in reading and math and that is not working out. The scores are going down not up. Read the states reports on the web: Pennsylvania Dept. of Education and look up PSSA scores for individual districts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157059655295181212006-08-31T16:27:00.000-05:002006-08-31T16:27:00.000-05:00And the extra $$$ is our money the taxpayers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157059572547281912006-08-31T16:26:00.000-05:002006-08-31T16:26:00.000-05:00Twist, twist, twist. What are you saying? We all know the board is insane with the way they spend a $25 million budget. But that is just it, they got the money! Pretty scary isn't it. We have people not capable of handling this kind of so called business! Our money needs to go to education first, the extras after that. People are fogetting we did not need a tax increase this year, the board had plenty of extra $$$$ for the budget. Go complain to the board and not the little people with the facts!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157058826464515382006-08-31T16:13:00.000-05:002006-08-31T16:13:00.000-05:00Crimminy....nobody said sports were insane. They said the Board was insane. Get it straight.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157058447093407402006-08-31T16:07:00.000-05:002006-08-31T16:07:00.000-05:00No one ever should have stated that sports are evil and/or unnecessary. Frankly, I don't think anyone feels that way.<BR/><BR/>The message that was trying to be spread was this:<BR/><BR/>Our school already had a track. We're not Villa Nova or Temple. We're Oley, with a dinky little tax base. Revamping the existing track would be more sensible. Period. <BR/><BR/>If the Board was Hell bent on spending every dime they can get, then spend the balance of that unnecessary track money on mentally stimulating classes. What ever happened to Rob Cappa's comments that our kids could find plent of places to run 3 or 4 miles? Did they brain wash him, too? I saw it noted on here a couple of times and it can be documented in print on the Reading Eagle online. I guess a Doctor knows enough about physical education and it's benefits, but the rest of the board got stars in their eyes with the possibility of a big, shiny, new track. Where is the fund raising part of the track? Are there any facts and figures on the school website about the new track and a fund raiser for it? I must be blind, I can't find anything about that on the school site. <BR/>Nobody really wants to cut exciting things out of a program that's for our children. We merely want to cut the fluff out of the expenditures. What ever happened to THRIFT? <BR/>I just wrote out my tax check and paid it at the township building. If "I" were not thrifty, they would not be holding my check in their hands. What's good for the goose??? We HAVE to be thrifty, so why doens't the board?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157046440191752422006-08-31T12:47:00.000-05:002006-08-31T12:47:00.000-05:00Right on Russ! Insane it is!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157046347442250342006-08-31T12:45:00.002-05:002006-08-31T12:45:00.002-05:00Confused you are to say the least!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157046333381974662006-08-31T12:45:00.001-05:002006-08-31T12:45:00.001-05:00Confused you are to say the least!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157046309486289692006-08-31T12:45:00.000-05:002006-08-31T12:45:00.000-05:00Don't count me as one of those who thinks sports is evil or unimportant. I do believe, however, that when a school district has limited resources it must utilize those resources wisely with academics given priority.<BR/><BR/> Right now Oley has, I believe, 16 sports programs in the high school<BR/>alone, not counting what they have in the middle school. There are more than enough for any student who wants to participate in sports to do so. No one, to my knowledge, has advocated eliminating sports, music, art, history or any other liberal arts class. I certainly wouldn't be one to support that.<BR/> Having said that, I am against adding another, costly, sport (football) to the host of sports we already fund and support. For the board to cut funding for technology, delay purchase of text books and then appropriate thousands of dollars for a football program is not only reckless and irresponsible but insane.RSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157046246607400702006-08-31T12:44:00.000-05:002006-08-31T12:44:00.000-05:00We do not have big business in this district to pay for football. Ask Fleetwood how much money they spend every year for football. A board member on the Fleetwood board said he wishes he never voted for football. It has cost the district thousands. His words not mine.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157046145755522482006-08-31T12:42:00.000-05:002006-08-31T12:42:00.000-05:00Oh please, what are you reading? You are twisting things around again. Don't you care that our PSSA scores are down? Sports is an extra. Education must come first. And yes I am not saying to stop music and art and history or sports for that matter, but when you have limited money available education must come first. 1/2 of our last years juniors scored below proficient, hello wake up! How on earth are they going to go to college or be successful citizens when they are not getting the education they need. We will be paying for them later when the federal gov. steps in to pay for food, meds and everything else these adults might need. They need to be able to go out to the real world and be successful. Sports is good but if you cannot make it in the work place what good will it do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157042659782316222006-08-31T11:44:00.000-05:002006-08-31T11:44:00.000-05:00PSSA's are down, the administration and the teacher's union should be forced to explain themselves and held accountable.<BR/><BR/>Why is the overall sentiment of this group that sports are evil or unimportant. Sports are absolutely a necissity to development of our children. It teaches the kids discipline, team work, physical fitness and the difference between sucess and failure. <BR/><BR/>It amazes me that when a kid acts up, or does something stupid, the community is so quick to run out and say 'Today's kids are this, that and the other thing' and that todays parents don't care, etc.<BR/><BR/>And in the next breath, the same group states, lets eliminate one of the best, if the the best educational tools that we have. <BR/><BR/>As we go through life, working for a living, we get to experience the differences between succeeding and failing, the need to work well with others and be supportive of our coworker/team mates.<BR/><BR/>On this site I am constantly reading about getting back to the basics. Maybe that buzz work is over used. What are the basics. The three R's. Does that mean we should scrap history, music, art and a host of other liberal arts classes that most of us hated and don't get to utilize in our everyday lives.<BR/><BR/>I am just confused of what most of the bloggers are asking for. To be honest, most sound like they will only be satisfied when they bring down the public school system. Maybe they don't care about the children and their future.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157040605565799522006-08-31T11:10:00.000-05:002006-08-31T11:10:00.000-05:00Good talking to you RSConcerned taxpayernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157035866153582262006-08-31T09:51:00.000-05:002006-08-31T09:51:00.000-05:00Hey Russ we haven't heard from you in a while!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157035806086265012006-08-31T09:50:00.000-05:002006-08-31T09:50:00.000-05:00I hate to say I told you so but I told you so: Boyertown Times today sports section. Football article in Oley. School system is in contact and is meeting with football organization. Want jv and varisty teams in the school. Read, read, read!!! Spend .50 cents to get a copy of the paper. School is saying they are not committing YET! Here it comes!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157028330118289192006-08-31T07:45:00.000-05:002006-08-31T07:45:00.000-05:00Good luck trying to explain the scores this year admin.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157024114718994432006-08-31T06:35:00.000-05:002006-08-31T06:35:00.000-05:00You are right! I have just heard that our 11th grade pssa scores last year are down again! Any suggestions on how to fix that problem. These kids are now seniors and they have less than a year to learn how to read and write and do some basic math! Good luck if anyone thinks this last year of high school will all of of sudden have all the seniors at proficient or above, fat chance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1157019623347582702006-08-31T05:20:00.000-05:002006-08-31T05:20:00.000-05:00Oh my....I'm an early riser, too. I also tend to throw a pinch of humor into all of my thoughts, but the subject of aiding and respecting our elders is no laughing matter<BR/>Here's a few of my thoughts:<BR/><BR/>We should not be waiting until someone is ABOUT to lose their home due to unpaid taxes. We need to get our collective heads together to incorporate our ideas, all of them, and weed out what would not work.<BR/><BR/>Of course the money that could be raised would have to be accounted for, not unlike any other venture. The suggestion was made that area churches could be involved. That's an area that should not bother anyone. A pastor hears confidential comments all year long, and I'm guessing that some people have already mentioned that they are under a financial strain. Those of us young enough to work a second job are doing just that. The SMILES program offers a discount, which is better than nothing, but limits the number of "employees" to derive a benefit from this program. We are still dealing with some staggering tax bills. It's not difficult to figure out the result. Seniors and lower income families are doing without basic needs in order to meet the tax requirements in each case.<BR/>If the person's tax bill is for $3,000 and they get the $500 discount (estimate) that still leaves $2,500. For some seniors, that is approximately two full months of social security payments going directly to taxes. Who on earth thinks that's fair? Try taking two months' pay out of YOUR budget for the year and see how that looks.(bear in mind that our seniors often have social security as their ONLY income. When they get an increase, the insurance goes right up with it, and they're back to square one) That's as plain as anyone can state those facts. The person that wrote about not being able to find macaroni on the shelves at Kings was right. That's about the only thing lower income families can cut corners on, food. We ALL should feel a need to help our seniors EAT. Good grief! <BR/>My brother and I also do visiting at a nursing home. We also see exactly what others have seen. Many of those older folks are not gravely ill. One trip to the hospital, rehab nursing facility...then they're supposed to go home. This could be as simple as someone slipping on a sidewalk or falling in a hallway. Things you don't expect to happen. But, if you're in your 70s on up, you can count of this: you may never see the inside of your own home again. If you're the last family member in the vicinity and have no room mate, etc, your luck has just run out. Like the lady that got hit by the taxi in Reading...by the time she was put back together, her living arrangements were long gone. She was "Stuck" in the nursing home for the rest of her days. When people "demand" to know the identity of someone that needs help---and then they will help them---it sounds wonderful, but there is a problem there. WE SHOULD NOT BE WAITING UNTIL THE TRAGEDY HITS OUR TOWN. Like they said in another post, those nursing homes are "packed" to the gills. Yet, when you go through them, you do see many people that are up and walking around, going to the bathroom unassisted, chatting with other residents in the same boat. You don't need a degree in anything to see how they feel about this. Your eyes and their eyes are all the requirements needed. I, for one, can't look at this and just walk away. Those people paid taxes their entire adult lives. They paid to educate their children, our children, our grandchildren, and as a final reward, we feel it's okay for them to either starve themselves to remain in their homes legally, or sit in a nursing home and allow them to be "jailed" there because we don't care.<BR/>Al Jacobs created this site for awareness to our problems in the Oley area. Getting the best education for our buck is very important. Thank you for your time spent in this direction, Al. And thank you for allowing at least SOME residents, the ability to voice and view opinions and known facts of those in need. Seniors and low income families in our neighborhood do not have a fighting chance with this tax system. We're not trying to make the board or the teachers feel bad because of the huge raises and benefits packages they receive. We are pointing out the facts here...lower test scores are not impressing anyone writing out that tax check today. Sports extras should not come from grandma's food money.<BR/>ANY HELPFUL COMMENTS???up &amp; at &#39;emnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1156992995925006172006-08-30T21:56:00.000-05:002006-08-30T21:56:00.000-05:00"Tell the bloggers who YOU are, so we can all thank you for your selfish ways."<BR/><BR/>Selfish for wanting to raise money to help people. Hmmm! I think I'm missing a key point hereAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1156992861249103752006-08-30T21:54:00.000-05:002006-08-30T21:54:00.000-05:00"Uh Oh! Looks like mr or mrs no name, also has no guts. Perhaps an old war injury.... "<BR/><BR/>Hey there "Buddy!" Sorry to disappoint, but there is no war injury...just bedtime for a tired soul who has to arise early for work the next day. <BR/>I'm glad to see that some of you were stirred by my suggestions, perhaps you will put something into action. You will need to find out who is about to lose a home due to school taxes, then set up a fund to help them out. No one made any mention of making the names public, I simply stated that we (or you, or someone who is involved in the fundraising) have to be AWARE of the name of an actual recipient. We can't just throw the money into the air and hope the needy party finds it. While my nature is to incorporate a humorous tone, the suggestion was quite serious. It's not an insult, it's a call to action. I do not know anyone who is in that situation. If I did, I would be the first to step up and start the fundraising. Some of you say that you do know people in this situation. My point is that instead of sitting back, and watching them lose their homes, you (we) should be doing something to help. If you know someone, step up to the plate and help. Their names do not have to be made public, but there has to be a name, a person who will receive this help. You can criticize my suggestion or you can help.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1156983932307544082006-08-30T19:25:00.000-05:002006-08-30T19:25:00.000-05:00E X A C T L YAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1156978248217378602006-08-30T17:50:00.000-05:002006-08-30T17:50:00.000-05:00Get back to the basics! We have been saying that forever! Too bad the board goes on deaf ears! We need to be able to teach the children education first. Sports is a bonus!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23302571.post-1156976244616259462006-08-30T17:17:00.000-05:002006-08-30T17:17:00.000-05:00The bank said that it was a good idea. Too bad only one person showed up.Buddynoreply@blogger.com