DDA Chapter 13

[KristineN]

the thing that sickens me the most...we pay $8000 a year in taxes

 

[babytrees]

the thing that sickens me the most...we pay $8000 a year in taxes

holy cow!! that's a lot in taxes!!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

We are the 12th largest public school district in the nation. My friend Susan has been saying for years that Dallas ISD is just too big and they need to divide it into smaller districts. They are probably going to leave it as one huge district because of the way there are pockets of super-rich people and super-poor people. The schools near the rich people would have MUCH more tax money to work with than the schools that are near nothing but ancient public housing. Trying to give all of the schools an equal slice of the pie would be a nightmare.

I wonder what 11 districts are larger, and I wonder who runs them? It seems like the guy we have now is from Houston, but I don't know if he was the Houston ISD superintendent. It seems to me if we are going to oust the guy we have now we should target our recruiting to someone who is running a district BIGGER than ours successfully.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Ah ha. A Google search shows we are actually 14th, but that is from 2005 enrollment numbers. At any rate, NYC, LA, Chicago, Miami, Houston, and Tampa are bigger. I bet the LA guy would be awesome, because I bet they have a high drop-out rate and lots of gangs, just like us. Of course if he is doing a crummy job like our dude from Houston then we don't want him. I also don't know if we can pay a high enough salary to attract a really good superintendent.

 

[KristineN]

I was reading a little town synopsis: it cracks me up

The People and Families of Park Ridge

In Park Ridge, about 63% of adults are married. In 2000, Park Ridge had a median family income of $87,795. Park Ridge is regarded in the state as a city where many of the people are well-off. An unusual characteristic of Park Ridge is the share of people in it who work at home. You could say that the city is a good place if you're looking to marry or date a rich person, with its relatively large population of well-paid single people.(Who wrote this??!! )

About 88% of housing units in Park Ridge are owner-occupied. Much of the housing in the city has been around for years. People in Park Ridge pay more in property taxes per residence than in most communities in the state. (I can attest to that!!)

holy cow!! that's a lot in taxes!!

 

[babytrees]

here's the wikipedia list
1 New York City Department of Education New York 1,014,058
2 Los Angeles Unified School District California 727,319
3 Chicago Public Schools Illinois 420,982
4 Miami-Dade County Public Schools Florida 362,070
5 Clark County School District Nevada 294,131
6 Broward County Public Schools Florida 271,630
7 Houston Independent School District Texas 210,292
8 Hillsborough County Public Schools Florida 193,757
9 School District of Philadelphia Pennsylvania 184,560
10 Hawai'i Department of Education Hawaii 182,818
11 Orange County Public Schools Florida 175,609
12 School District of Palm Beach County Florida 174,935
13 Fairfax County Public Schools Virginia 163,753
14 Dallas Independent School District Texas 161,244

It actually has you all as 14th.

The one ranked highest in Colorado is #34 and is the one that butts up to LPS on the west....actually the other 3 districts that are in the top 100 and in Colorado kind of box us in. Denver PS actually is one district over to the north of us, but Englewood is a dying city so I don't know how their schools are going to survive.

 

[babytrees]

Ah ha. A Google search shows we are actually 14th, but that is from 2005 enrollment numbers. At any rate, NYC, LA, Chicago, Miami, Houston, and Tampa are bigger. I bet the LA guy would be awesome, because I bet they have a high drop-out rate and lots of gangs, just like us. Of course if he is doing a crummy job like our dude from Houston then we don't want him. I also don't know if we can pay a high enough salary to attract a really good superintendent.

I know that one of the former governors of Colorado went to be Super in a huge California district....I just don't know which one. He did a great job there but only stayed his contract time.

I see that we googled at the same time...my work just took me away from the computer for a couple of extra minutes.

 

[babytrees]

I was reading a little town synopsis: it cracks me up

The People and Families of Park Ridge

In Park Ridge, about 63% of adults are married. In 2000, Park Ridge had a median family income of $87,795. Park Ridge is regarded in the state as a city where many of the people are well-off. An unusual characteristic of Park Ridge is the share of people in it who work at home. You could say that the city is a good place if you're looking to marry or date a rich person, with its relatively large population of well-paid single people.(Who wrote this??!! )

About 88% of housing units in Park Ridge are owner-occupied. Much of the housing in the city has been around for years. People in Park Ridge pay more in property taxes per residence than in most communities in the state. (I can attest to that!!)

that is some funny writing

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Wow. Los Angeles is A LOT bigger than we are! That pretty much guarantees we would never be able to lure their person away because we wouldn't be able to pay him.

It's funny. The other day on my internet home page it was saying something about good towns to live in or some crap like that. They think DALLAS is a fabulous place to live, and they think you can buy a house for $150,000. Really? Because the CHEAPEST house near us would be a tear-down selling for about $350,000. Once a developer buys it, tears down the existing structure, and rebuilds, it will cost about $1.2 million. Houses in my bosses' neighborhood where tear-downs are not as common go for about $650K. I pulled up a listing of rental properties and the first 6 pages out of 8 were houses RENTING for $5000 - $9000 per month.

Houses do NOT cost $150K. You would be hard pressed to find a one bedroom condo for $150K. Who writes these articles?

 

[my3princes]

Have you ever made Open House Punch with Southern Comfort?? It is to die for!! OJ, lemonade, SoCo and Sprite. OMG

No, but that sounds delicious.

Hi, Colby!!!

You are going on vacation!!

Colby says those are awesome

 

[yellowfish78]

My drink of choice: Vanilla Stoli and Coke. Yum. (But also 7.25 at the ESPN club.)

 

[UP Disney]

Chuck's dad passed away this morning. Chuck headed over there shortly after we found out. He will help keep the peace between his brother & sister. Chuck's mom sounded like she was doing fine. Becky is on her way up (she was already coming with her boyfriend for the week-end so that she could introduce him to Grandma & Grandpa). Katrina and I are staying here until she gets here. We'll head over tomorrow.

I am sad but we were more or less expecting this. A year ago, he had a heart attack. He decided not to have the open heart surgery and was told that it would probably be 6 months and he'd be back with another worse one. He was ready to go. He did not want to be a burden on anyone. He was still driving but had really slowed down. He got to do it his way. He has been wasting away a lot the last couple of weeks.

I'm waiting for a call from Chuck to see what is happening with the funeral arrangements.

 

[KristineN]

My sympathies Vicki....to you, Chuck & your whole family....I am sorry for your loss

 

[macntosh]

It's amazing who becomes expendable when you are $64 million + in the hole.

That was last year, added to this year of 85 million, well that's a big hole. But like most corporate CEO's Mr. H get's to keep his job. What an ....

 

[babytrees]

That was last year, added to this year of 85 million, well that's a big hole. But like most corporate CEO's Mr. H get's to keep his job. What an ....

politician?? slick one?? horse's patoot??

any of those fit??

 

[babytrees]

Vicki-your family will be in my prayers. It's sad that Chuck feels he has to be a referee. It sounds like his dad left this world on his terms.

 

[Mommy2EmMoLu]

Just wanted to pop in to check on everyone.

Elizabeth- Very excited about tomorrow. I will try my hardest to keep a straight face.

Marci- Looking forward to meeting you too!!

Theresa- Prayers for Dylan and his mom

Amy- That crash site looks horrific. I am so glad that Barbie and her family fared as well as they did.

Kristine- for your sister.

Elin- I am so sorry Kathrin lost her job.

I know I missed more so here's a dose of and some 's to go around.


We got in last night and our flights were uneventful. Emma was very nervous and anxious from the time we got to BWI til we hit Atlanta. She hasn't flown since she was 3 so it was all new to her again. But she settled down for the 2nd flight. Although she never stopped talking! I thought for sure my ear was going to fall off. Joe picked us up and we got settled in at his place. He ordered pizza and after we ate Emma headed to bed. It was about 10:30 pm here so I know she was tired. Joe and I hung out for a bit and then I went up to bed.

This morning we woke up and had some coffee and breakfast. We then got ready and left here. Our first stop was the car wash!! Emma was thrilled, doesn't take much to make her happy. We then zipped over to the Chase tower and met with Joe's former roommate. He took us up to the Sky Lobby on the 40th floor where it's got some gorgeous views of Dallas. After that we walked the few block to the Tut exhibit. Emma was a bit frustrated that she had to wait to the end to see things from Tut's tomb but she loved it. She knows so much more than I ever thought she did! The pieces in the exhibit are breathtaking, the details on them are extraordinary. It's so hard to fathom though, that the pieces are over 3000 years old.

When we finished up at the museum we headed over to the Galleria for lunch at the Grand Luxe Cafe (it's owned by the same company as the Cheesecake Factory). Lunch was delicious, and Heidi, I had Pasta Carbonara just for you. We had these fabulous chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

And then the American Girl Boutique. Emma's doll had her hair fixed and then we shopped. I was able to get out of there for under $100 dollars which wasn't too bad.

We are now back at Joe's just hanging out. Emma is reading and Joe is napping. We will be heading out in about an hour or so for the play.

 

[bear74]

Vicki,
so sorry for your loss, to Chuck & your whole family....

 

[Mommy2EmMoLu]

Vicki- So sorry to hear about Chuck's father. Everyone will be in my prayers. 's

 

[tinknme]

Vicki sorry to hear about Chucks father