Miss Marp
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On the article Background Check Will Soon Be Required to Enter D157-C Buildings
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On the article Background Check Will Soon Be Required to Enter D157-C Buildings
Miss Marp
5:22 pm on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
ReplyI work at a school and yes, we want everyone to be safe but, sadly, the measures that are truly reasonable and possible to put in place do little more than add to the workload of an already overburdened staff and take away from the ability of that staff to fulfill their reason for being there: teaching the children. As "Get Real" so crudely stated, someone who is bent on doing violence is not going to pause to get their ID scanned or ask politely to be let in. We can't crazy-proof the world, hard as we try. This does not mean we should make it easy for them -- this is where gun control is helpful -- but we must be careful not to be led to think that we can prevent these instances from ever happening. I have heard the NRA's idea to arm teachers (really? a gun in every classroom is going to help? hey, that way, if the kook drops his, he knows where to go get one! The teenager who loses his temper in class could decide to use it too!) and other ideas being tossed around that try to make our schools into virtual jails with armed guards. We need to keep ourselves grounded in reality, have reasonable security measures, amp up our mental health system to make it more accessible to people who need it, and accept that we can only do so much. Some may cry out "that's unacceptable!" but that is life. There will always be things beyond our control. To believe otherwise is unrealistic.
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On the article UPDATE: Andrew's Caily Friel is Patch MVP
Miss Marp
8:42 pm on Tuesday, November 13, 2012
ReplyGo Caily! Hope to see you in the Olympics someday!
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On the article District 161 Board Meeting Roundup: Keeping Fees the Same
Miss Marp
12:13 pm on Monday, March 21, 2011
ReplyHi everyone. I'm still waiting to hear some justification for why, at a meeting where a board member stated that EVERYONE was going to need to make sacrifices, and this member and three others voted to cut wages and benefits for nurses (who already did not make a great deal of money), these same board members then voted to give a 1% tax-free stipend/bonus to administrators, some of whom were already making WELL in excess of $100,000. I would like a good reason for this. No poster has yet addressed this.
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On the article District 161 Board Meeting Roundup: Keeping Fees the Same
Miss Marp
12:16 pm on Sunday, March 20, 2011
ReplyMary, I won't stoop to the level of making disparaging comments about other posters. Everyone is entited to their opinions. I stand by my statements. The evidence of what I stated is in the audio of the board meeting. We DO have a great school district (no one ever said it was not), but that does not mean that one should turn a blind eye to what is not right with the way things are run. I have felt for years that responding to legitimate concerns of parents has not been a high priority for certain members of the board, and that these concerns are often brushed off (and the parents voicing them sometimes treated very condescendingly). This is only my opinion. I do know for a fact that some district employees have been verbally warned against speaking against something that the board is proposing, and others have been reprimanded or otherwise punished for doing so. Does free speech end when the district employs you? I am not talking about employees "ranting" but calmly giving an opinion that is counter to the board's. I have also witnessed a parent who dared to speak out at a board meeting being intimidated by a board member at a school function. This is reprehensible! These are occurrences of which I have first-hand knowledge, but if you choose not to believe me that is your right. I know these are true, and I feel that this kind of toxic environment should not be allowed to continue. My vote will continue to be for Borgens. P.S. I don't even like koolaid!
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On the article District 161 Board Meeting Roundup: Keeping Fees the Same
Miss Marp
12:54 am on Sunday, March 20, 2011
ReplyI did read the articles, Tom, and they really don't get very specific. The last three just refer back to what is stated in the first without getting any more detailed as to what exactly was done or not done. I've learned over the years (from personal experience) to maintain a healthy skepticism about much of what is reported in the media. I make my own decisions about a person's character based on what I myself observe as much as I am able. Regardless, Mrs. Borgens IMO is doing what is right here and now. What I don't want my property taxes used for is to quietly give bonuses to the people who need them least (for example, someone making in excess of $160,000!). Do you? I believe it is important to be attentive to what is happening now.
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On the article District 161 Board Meeting Roundup: Keeping Fees the Same
Miss Marp
10:04 pm on Saturday, March 19, 2011
ReplyCONTINUED: All I need to do is examine what they having been doing in the PAST YEAR (not 20 years ago) to realize that these school board members' priorities are not the same as mine. I attended a meeting in which Mr. Doyle I believe talked about how everyone needed to make sacrifices in these tough economic times. The board then voted (4-3!) to make a change in the nurses' hours and days that effectively made them part-time and stripped them of benefits (and just so we are clear here, the nurses even before this change were making an amount annually that put them close to the federal poverty level for a family of four). Then, later IN THIS SAME MEETING, the board voted a 1% bonus (oh, excuse me, a STIPEND, making it tax-free, I think) to the administrators. Hmmm -- take away hours and benefits from the poorly paid who need them most, give extra money to those who are the highest paid...what's wrong with this scenario? This is the reality NOW. This is why Mrs. Borgens will be getting my vote.
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On the article District 161 Board Meeting Roundup: Keeping Fees the Same
Miss Marp
10:00 pm on Saturday, March 19, 2011
ReplyI clicked on these articles and was surprised to see that they were from 20 years ago! A lot can happen in 20 years, and frankly, I'm more interested in what is going on now. You must have been pretty interested in looking for dirt on Mr. Perros to pull these out of the pile. And then to try to use this to throw mud on Mrs. Borgens, SHAME ON YOU. You probably looked for dirt on her and couldn't find any, so you decided to pull this to try to discredit her. Anyone who is really following what has been going on in this district knows that, whether you agree with her or not, Mrs. Borgens is genuinely interested in making this district about what is best for the kids. And, sadly, this is not something that by my observations is true of the three incumbents who are running. As for these articles from so long ago, they don't get too specific about what may or may not have happened. I don't know what they really mean. But I do know what's happening NOW, in our district. And "it ain't pretty," that's for sure....
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On the article District 161 Board Meeting Roundup: Keeping Fees the Same
Miss Marp
2:12 pm on Saturday, March 12, 2011
ReplyTo "Matrix" and "Whit": Mrs. Borgens is at every board meeting. I think that you each ought to go up to her at the next meeting and introduce yourselves. You both seem like reasonably intelligent people and I'm sure that she'd be pleased to meet you and have a chance to talk to you in person. Most meeting attendees should be able to point her out to you -- she has never hidden who she is while there. So have the courage of your convictions and allow her to respond to your concerns. Unless there is some reason you can't...hmmmmm, what could that reason be????
Miss Marp
1:10 pm on Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Hello, MommyTwoThree. Gun control is not the same as banning guns – it is a means to try to control who gets them and to try to keep track of who has them. Yes, many illegal items can still be obtained; the difference is how hard it is to obtain them. The easier it is to get them, the more likely it is that some nut will get one and use it. Also, this issue is a separate one from catching child molesters, so I won’t address that in this comment. My point is that a person bent on doing this sort of violent horrific act is not going to stop to swipe a card. They will break the glass, break down the door, or whatever else will get them in before there is much time to react. A “Panic Button” hooked up from the front office to the classrooms and the Police Department is one idea that would be helpful, although that won’t do much to save those on the front lines (in the office). The thing to do here is to react to this tragedy, but in a reasonable way, all the while understanding that there are no guarantees in life. Background checks will do nothing to stop these kinds of events.