Please call or email your county commissioner today.  Taxpayers should be able to easily look up their county commissioner.  Yes, just as easy as one can currently look up their tax bill! 

In the meantime, the free market has once again provided what government can not.  You can utilize Political Data System’s free Voter Lookup tool to find your commissioner.  Thank you Brian Kheal!

1.  Go to www.paulding.gov

2. Click on GIS GeoExplorer Mapping on the left-side of the page

3. Click on “No, please take me to GeoExplorer”

4. Click “I Agree”

5. Click the “Search” drop-down menu on the middle part of the toolbar

6. Select “Find Address” on the drop-down menu

7. Type in your home address and click “Find”

8. If “Processing” takes longer than 30 seconds, try clicking “Find” again.

9. Once a match is found, click on “Neighborhood Info”

10. Once new window pops up, double-click on the third title down from the top called “Commission Districts”

11.  You will now see your District (Post), your commissioner’s name, phone number, and email address.

12.  Now pick up the phone, call your commissioner, and tell him that the residents of Paulding County need an an easier way of finding out who their commissioner is!

A few obvious questions for our commissioners:

1. Where did the department called “Economic Development” come from and who is in charge of it?  It was not listed on the July 15th budget and due to the final budget being 1-page, I’m at a loss to what this money is for.

2. The July 15th ”Non-Departmental” budget (pg 47) contained 33 separate expense lines.  Unfortunately, I cannot tell where the $200k came out of on the Aug 7th budget due to it only being 1-page in length.  How could the commissioners vote on the budget without knowing what specific non-departmental expense-line(s) the 200k came out of?

3.  In regard to the Tax Assessor, I.T., Probate, D.A., and Magistrate departments, where did this money come out of?  Again, on the July 15th budget, each department has its own page.  On that page there are usually three budget-lines: Salaries and Fringe Benefits, Operating Expenses, and Capital Outlay.  Without this detailed department page on the August 7th budget, it was impossible for our commissioners to know where the money came from for these cuts. 

While I was pleased to see further cuts made between the July 15th and the August 7th budgets, I’m quite disappointed at the final product.  It looks as if numbers were changed without the detailed work being done.  The residents of Paulding County deserve a detailed budget - especially when their taxes are being increased.

Now when I check the minutes from the the Aug 11th BOC meeting, it references “Attachment A” and “Attachment B”. However, neither attachment is in the pdf file of the minutes or at the paulding.gov website. Here is the excerpt from the minutes:

The FY 2009-2010 Budget:

Wayne Kirby made a motion to approve the FY 2009-2010 Budget, seconded by Tommie Graham; motion carried three (3) for and two (2) opposed, Don Powell and Larry Ragsdale. (See Attachment A)

Resolution 09-21 setting millage rates for County, School System, and State of Georgia:

Tommie Graham made a motion to adopt Resolution 09-21 setting millage rates for County, School System, and State of Georgia, seconded by Wayne Kirby; motion carried three (3) for and two (2) opposed, Don Powell and Larry Ragsdale. (See Attachment B)

Also, I have requested the “final” budget on three occasions now. Here are the responses I received back from the county finance director:

8/24/09 – “I should have a copy available for download later this week.”

8/28/09 – “I am not able to put a detail of the budget out yet, but I should be able to very soon.”

9/8/09 – “The 2 page budget that is online is the budget that was adopted. I don’t actually have to publish anything else for the budget. I will put a more detailed budget out as soon as I can.”

By now, you’re probably asking yourself the same thing I am. How did they vote on the budget if one didn’t exist? Also, did they vote on the 6.650 mill-rate increase or some other amount?

Do me a favor, call your commissioner and ask him for a complete copy of the 2010 budget that was passed by David Austin, Tommie Graham, and Wayne Kirby on Augutst 11th, 2009. Then come back to the Paulding Pundit and post their response in the comment section. The citizens of Paulding County deserve a complete copy of the budget and they deserve to know what exactly the Board of Commissioners voted on.

- Parents do not trust a man who describes an unplanned teen pregnancy as being “punished with a baby”.

- Parents do not trust a man who voted against giving medical attention to survivors of botched abortions.

- Parents do not trust a man who hires population-control advocates as health-care advisors.

- Parents do not trust a man who wants the government to take over private health-care.

- Parents do not trust a man who appoints socialists as czars and cabinet members.

- Parents do not trust a man who spends twenty years under the preaching of a racist.

- Parents do not trust a man who refers to them as the “chattering class”.

- Parents do not trust a man who takes away school vouchers from needy children.

- Parents do not trust a man who throws law enforcement under the bus while playing the race-card.

- Parents do not trust a man who apologizes for America to Socialist and Islamic countries.

It is just that simple. The majority of Paulding County’s parents do not trust this President, this White House, and this new “Progressive” Democrat Party.  Therefore, we want no part of their influence upon our children, our neighbors’ children, and even our worst enemies’ children. What we do want is conservative leadership and conservative solutions from our “conservative” elected officials.  And when that is absent, the Paulding Pundit will be there to force the issue to the forefront.

Kim Cobb (District 3), Friday, Sept. 4th, 11:37 pm

Tom,

I also have concerns that I have shared with our superintendent regarding the Obama speech. We do not meet as a board until after the scheduled speech and we are not to micro-manage the district but to evaluate the superintendent’s performance. That, along with developing policy is the duty for which we are charged.

Please know that I have clearly communicated my opinion to the administration based on my opinion as well as the community input I have received. I was elected to represent the community and I have heard and spoken clearly on your behalf.

Thank you for taking the time to contact me with your concerns and please continue to do so.

God bless,

Kim Cobb

Theresa Phillips (District 1), Sat., Sept. 5th, 9:47 am

Tom,

I too have very strong feelings concerning this. The timing was very cleverly crafted with the holiday weekend not allowing us as a board to meet. There have been options presented and we have been working on them. I requested a call to go out to the parents informing the of their option for their children not to participate. Teachers are also not required to participate. I have spoken with other members and we will be looking into policy that will hopefully prevent such a surprise event in the future. Personally my children will not participate but I will be in the school myself to watch it because I need to be aware of the content. I wish I had better news for you but I am only one voice and there is only so much one person can do especially with so little time. Be assured this will be addressed at Tuesdays meeting.

Thank you for your concern and willingness to be a voice for the students of Paulding County.

Theresa Phillips

Message regarding President Obama’s Address to Students Across the Nation:

 - 9/4/2009

TOM MILANESE:

Mr. Ragsdale,

Per Policy IKI-R ”Lesson Plans”, if any teacher plans on using the U.S. Dept. of Education’s suggested lessons for the Obama student address this coming Tuesday, then that teacher would have had to include it in his/her lesson plans that were submitted to their Principal this past Monday, August 31^st.

Therefore, I request that you email all 33 county school principals and have them look through their submitted lesson plans to see if any teachers included the U.S. Dept. of Education lessons.  

I understand that parents have the choice of excluding their children from the Obama speech, however, I personally know of some parents who would like their child to view the speech but do not want to risk having these controversial lesson plans used.  All I’m asking for is visibility for all of Paulding County’s parents due to the inability of the school board to hear my appeal prior to this event occurring.

For your convenience here are the lessons in question:

http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/lessons/prek-6.pdf
http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/lessons/7-12.pdf

Also, I’ve copied the above referenced policy:

POLICY IKI-R “LESSON PLANS”
“Lesson plans will be done at least one week in advance. A copy of the lesson plan should be provided to the principal or designated assistant principal for the week by the end of the day on Monday during such week.

Lesson plans should include objectives, activities, materials and resources, and planned evaluation (either graded or non-graded). Teachers may use the lesson plan book provided by the county office or another lesson plan book of choice. Objectives should be referenced to the Quality Core Curriculum (QCC) for Georgia Schools guide.”

Sincerely,

Tom Milanese
www.pauldingpundit.com

LARRY RAGSDALE:

Mr. Milanese,

I am sorry, but your appeal will not be dealt with before the next board meeting. As I have addressed, you should go through your child’s school if you do not want he/she to participate.

While the speech will be available for student viewing, we have not directed any teacher or school to use it in their class, nor have we advocated the use of any lesson plan. We were unaware that a lesson plan existed until you brought it to our attention. As an educator, I do not see the recommended lesson plan as being the appropriate cognitive level for the primary grades.

Many teachers may choose to have their class view the speech as part of their lessons. Some may actually want to use the lesson plan. If a parent does not want their child to participate, they may inform the school and teacher in writing as per the policy.

Any action by the Board of Education would come through the process as described in the policy. If you want to continue your appeal, a committee will be established to review the complaint and the work in question; however, this certainly will not be done before Tuesday morning.

TOM MILANESE:

I’ve attached the “Appeal Form For Re-Evaluation Of Instructional Materials” and also faxed it to 770-443-8089. Will this appeal be dealt with prior to the next School Board meeting? If not, it will be too late since the school board meeting occurs after the event that is being appealed.

LARRY RAGSDALE:

“Any parent has the right, by filing a written request with the principal of a child’s school, to remove any book or other item of instructional material from the own child’s curriculum.”

TOM MILANESE:

Mr. Ragsdale, as a tax-payer I have a vested interest in every student of Paulding County.  I’m appealing the county-wide use of the curriculum in-question.  I do not see in the policy you referenced that the form is to go to each and every teacher in the district.  Please provide some clarity.  Thanks.

Policy KNBA:

“Members of the public wishing to complain about the curriculum or instructional materials must fill out a complaint form.

The complaint will then be referred to a committee, to be appointed by the Superintendent, which will review the complaint and the work in question.  The complainant shall have the right to attend such committee meetings.  If the committee decides that despite the complaints, the facet of the curriculum or the instructional material has merit in our instructional program, it may so decide.  If the committee decides otherwise, it shall refer the matter to the Board.

In any case, a complainant dissatisfied with the committee’s decision may appeal the matter to the Board.

Any parent has the right, by filing a written request with the principal of a child’s school, to remove any book or other item of instructional material from the own child’s curriculum.”

LARRY RAGSDALE:

Any form should go to Your child’s local school (teacher).

TOM MILANESE:

To which fax number does the appeal form go to?

LARRY RAGSDALE:

Thank you for sharing your concerns, Mr. Milanese. I will be glad to give you a “public” response.

As with any other instructional materials, the viewing of President Obama’s speech and the use of the “recommended lesson plans” is a decision that will be made by our teachers at the local schools. We trust our teachers as professionals everyday to make decisions concerning appropriate instructional methods and materials. We also trust our teachers to teach our students to think critically.

Parents who object to the participation of their child in viewing the speech or completing the “recommended lesson plans” may contact their child’s school. The school will ask the parent to put their request in writing. The child will then be given an alternative assignment. This is the standard practice in our school district. Please refer to Board Policy KNBA and KNBA-E, “Complaints About Instructional Materials” by clicking on the following link: [https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/Index.aspx?S=4125] https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/Index.aspx?S=4125. Click on “Policies” on the drop-down menu. Click on “K. General Public Relations.” Select the policy you would like to view.

I hope this addresses your concerns. Have a good day.

TOM MILANESE:

DearPaulding County School Board Member,

I’m writing in reference to President Obama’s planned speech to our school children on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. While the idea of a sitting president addressing our young people does not immediately raise any red flags for me, I do have several reservations about the recommended lesson plans put out by [http://www.ed.gov/] www.ed.gov and the White House. Please refer to the following story ([http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/02/wh-withdraws-call-students-help-obama/] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/02/wh-withdraws-call-students-help-obama/) in the Washington Times this morning which indicates that the White House itself is having second thoughts concerning these proposed lesson plans and the language that is contained in them.

I sincerely hope that you will join me in advocating for these lesson plans not to be presented or used with Paulding County students. While I see nothing wrong with students viewing a speech by our President, I do believe it to be inappropriate for our students to be directly addressed and petitioned for a response without their parents’ consent and/or participation. I would appreciate, for the record, a public response from each of you by this Friday, September 4th, in order for parents to have a clear understanding of what is going to take place next Tuesday.

Sincerely,

Tom Milanese
www.PauldingPundit.com

Sharon Roper, Chief Communications Officer, did provide the following three facts:

1.  The school district was unaware of the speech prior to me calling them.

2.  Keeping your child out of school solely because of the Obama speech would not meet one of the legal definitions of an excused absence.

3.  Ms. Roper goes on vacation end of today and doesn’t return till next Tuesday, which is the same day as the speech. 

Ms. Roper also stated that she informed the “Curriculum” folks of my request for an official statement on what the school district will be doing on the day in question.  She stated that they would try to get something up on the Internet.

Personally, I’m not sure what to make of this event. I do know that Obama sure gets a lot more face time in our schools than GWB ever saw.  At this point, I just want to know what the plan is.  Will they just be airing the speech?  Will they be using the edu.gov follow-up lesson plans?   

http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/lessons/prek-6.doc

http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/lessons/7-12.doc

Here is a list of the School Board members, just in case you want to drop them a line.

Theresa Philips
District 1
phillipssalon@aol.com
770-443-1584

Kathy West
School Board Chair
District 2
kabwest8588@bellsouth.net
404-641-2868
 
Kim Cobb
District 3
kimberlycobb@bellsouth.net
770-943-2243

Michael Skelton
District 4
michaelskelton1@bellsouth.net
770-942-6485

Sammy McClure
District 5
smymclr@bellsouth.net
770-445-1663
 
Kim Curl
School Board Vice-Chair
District 6
kimcurlrx@bellsouth.net
770-445-2600
 
Joe Watson
At Large
joesjr@bellsouth.net
770-445-7844

Larry Ragsdale Superintendent
lragsdale@paulding.k12.ga.us
770-443-8000
 
Cliff Cole
Deputy Superintendent
ccole@paulding.k12.ga.us
770-443-8000
 
Tom Cable
Attorney
Talley, Richardson & Cable, P.A.
770-445-4439