Gramps, (10/25/2009 7:25:19 AM)

Good grief, Harlem as a model for Tulsa...I'm scared and moving the hell out of here!

Eagle 4, Tulsa (10/25/2009 7:56:01 AM)

Tulsa's broke and our Mayor and an entourage are touring New York? Are they on furlough or what? It might as well be Copenhagen.

ndnprincess, (10/25/2009 9:29:44 AM)

Tulsa Public Schools already has the ability to make the initial changes for community schools. The problem....TPS is a "School of Choice." Stop allowing students from other schools to transfer to a school that is not in their community. Students that are "kicked out" of their home school are allowed to be enrolled in another TPS school. These students have no connection to that community and usually turn out to have major discipline issues. There is no cost in restructuring TPS to make the changes needed to go back to community schools. Actually, wouldn't it be cheaper on transportation to not have to run buses from one side of Tulsa to the other for 2-3 students?

The Good Doctor, Tulsa (10/25/2009 9:30:39 AM)

Hey, sweet! They got a free trip to New York. I'm sure they'll whip that school district into shape now.

CWG, Tulsa (10/25/2009 9:51:52 AM)

What got my attention was the $40 million cost.

Can any of those students read their diplomas when they graduate?

Few Clothes, America (10/25/2009 11:09:57 AM)

Gramps, lol. What an inane person to suggest that what works in Harlem will work in Tulsa. I made a wrong exit in my rental car and wound up in Harlem and became extremely uncomfortable at the scornful stares I received. I think the Kool Aid has pickled the Mayor's brain.

Mar, Tulsa (10/25/2009 11:26:08 AM)

ndnprincess, I agree.

Use to the elementary schools were basically community schools in Tulsa, almost every neighborhood had an elementary school. But due to the decrease in child population starting in the 1970's and in the 1980's, community schools like Fulton, Mayo, etc. started getting closed and those neighborhood students were sent to other schools.

I think TPS should quit allowing students to transfer to other public schools out of their district, be it elementary, middle or high school. If the child lives in the district to attend Hale High School, then the child goes to that school. If the parents don't like that, they can always move to the neighborhood that feeds into the school they want their children to attend.

Some aspects of those schools in NY, seemed like a good idea, but on the other hand, it was almost like the schools were orphanages, where the children are taught basic things that should be taught by parents. Of course, with a lot of the lousy parenting now days, I guess the children aren't being taught those things by their parents.

Observer3, (10/25/2009 12:12:16 PM)

The idea of neighborhood schools goes WAY back--and it worked; kids could read and count and write legible sentences, which is more than they can do now. Keep kids in their neighborhoods, teach them the basics, and quit busing them around the city. Everyone is looking for the magic answer to teaching, and the answer is GO BACK TO WHAT WORKED!!!!!

CWG, Tulsa (10/25/2009 12:53:24 PM)

Observer3 is correct,they taught us the three R's without wasting so much money and us older folks read,write,and count better.

cosmo7, (10/25/2009 3:50:02 PM)

CWG-
It's "we older folks" not "us older folks"

SKULL, (10/25/2009 4:15:25 PM)

Gee... On Friday a meeting was held regarding the impending layoffs of Tulsa police officers due to budget constraints. On Friday Mayor Taylor was in NY prepping for her new job. Guess she's not that concerned about the public safety issues anymore.

J C OK, Tulsa County (10/25/2009 4:58:01 PM)

THANKS----


Mars

ndnprincess

I agree with you fully. The points you made I have said repeatedly. In our family, four are either retired or presently teach in Tulsa. My sons went to Mayo. Now the kids have to pass Mayo and walk to Skelly. My husband and I often see six or more school buses parked in front of Mayo. I start complaining about the waste of money all the time. Also, next to Skelly there is the special school where all classes are taught in Spanish. What a waste of our money when there is such a shortage.

Washington High School students ride a bus for long periods when they could attend near home.

Thanks guys for your comments.

J C OK, Tulsa County (10/25/2009 5:03:46 PM)

WHAT? This trip was paid for by the tax payers. What business is it of hers telling Tulsa to improve and learn from Harlem. Tulsa is superior to many schools most of all the likes of where she is saying.

Mayor Kathy Taylor is moving on to a state job. Good riddance. She is arrogant and we do not need her opinions any more.

oldrustytulsa, Tulsa (10/25/2009 5:25:03 PM)

Yeah all this forced Busing for racial equalizing, what a mess this has been.Now whose idea was it anyway?

tfromtulsa, Tulsa (10/25/2009 8:14:16 PM)

Well, well, Kitty and her daughter got a vacation to NYC at taxpayer expense.

Is there anything they can't rip us off to pay for?

fld11, (10/25/2009 8:41:16 PM)

Why do you people allow for this arrogant waste of taxpayer money to continue to be spent, and then do nothing but sit back and complain about it? Here's an idea for you folks - Do something for a change, like unelect these so called leaders.

007, Tulsa (10/25/2009 9:16:11 PM)

God forbid the Mayor Taylor go outside the bible thumping belt for ideas.

forkandknife, Tulsa (10/27/2009 4:54:32 PM)

Wow, I just read in one of the financial magazines where Tulsa has one of the top 20 economies. Now the city is on the brink of being bankrupt....Why, this mayor has spent the city into a hole that will take years to get out of.

New City Hall.....check
New Ball Park......Check
Pay off former boss......check (Great Plains)
Took care of family members.....check
Hired consultants because city
employees were not competant.......check
Settle dozens of lawsuits before
the public finds out.........check
Hire dozens of IT people laid off from
husbands and his friends companies.......check
WE COULD GO ON AND ON.....

She forced the police officers to take furloughs even though she was told we would have to hire officers and pay them overtime to cover the shifts. She didn't care and how our OT budget is close to 20% over where it was this time last year.

Take home cars cost very little, the city could furnish you the actual number, but the won't. The did their study and refused to release it to when the figures didn't come out like she wanted. But hey, if she would gurantee no one would be laid off she could have my car. But it won't save enough to pay for one officer.

And if you are at Tenkiller Lake and their is a TPD unit there, you need to call and report it. Not on some message board, but to the PD. It shouldn't be there.

I am wondering where the media went to sleep on this mayor. Each and every year the three labor unions hire an auditor to look at the citys books. The city claims each year they have no money. Each and every year the auditor finds money the city tried to hide. Except for this year....The auditor found no money, nothing, millions of dollars that was sitting in various accounts tied directly to the general fund was no gone....spent....on crap the mayor wanted.....

The citizens of Tulsa should be afraid of what is coming. It will get worse.

For a city our size, Tulsa is dead last is expendures for public safety. Think about that...OKC, Little Rock, Kansas City, Colorado Springs, etc. They all spend more money per capita than Tulsa. That also have more Police per capita than Tulsa.

The mayors own study said we needed 90 plus more officers on the streets. Now she wants 21 less. You think you have to wait a couple hours to get an officer to take a report. Just wait, we are now determining which crimes we won't respond to. We already don't investigate some crimes, now we won't even respond to some.

You get what you pay for....Now we will be paying for hiring someone to run this city like a business. A business that is now bankrupt.