There are too many things being legislated that should be left up to the DOE.
Now that we've got a good system in place, the hope is that student achievement will follow suit.
It is a great improvement from when we first started out.
It is just an effort to increase and improve customer service within DOE, both in administrative office and at schools, that is consistent with Board of Education policy on user-friendly schools.
Some of this is everyone getting to know the ropes.
We can't hand out the food free, much of it is very heavily federally subsidized and provided through federal food sources, and we have to account for that.
We're not saying let's make everything easier. There will be the need for a new test because of the new standards, but they have not been reduced in difficulty.
These are standards you need in today's modern world. It's not a question of lowering the standards but of making sure the students are able to improve and meet them.
The survey is intended to give informal feedback and not be heavy-handed. It is to recognize efforts already in place through positive reinforcement.
The money appropriated has been used to fund projects as they're ready to go. The additional money we're seeking is for additional projects that are needed. It will be encumbered. There will not be anything lost.
That's what's holding things up now. It is always hard to chase down additional money when it hasn't been budgeted.
There's a whole process laid out involving hearings and public input and Board (of Education) approval. It's very thorough.
It seems like every time we take a step forward, others take a step forward, also -- maybe two steps.
For many of them there's a limit, and that limit is something that normally isn't reached until there's been a lot of communication with the parent, and a lot of request to repay the loan, and the loans just simply aren't repaid.
It makes sense. In terms of having a single administration for an enrollment the size of ours, it creates cost efficiencies.
If you look at the individual schools and their progress, you'll find that most of them, indeed, are improving.