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John Mason June 19, 2013 at 06:28 pm
Roger,
All of the numbers I quoted can be found online. Serb, US Census...where is it again that…Read More it says that 80% of adults in Westlake have a BA or higher as you claim?
You are very good at sticking to your anti-levy, anti-school talking points. We get all of the reasons why you are angry and a no vote but the question asked is very simple....what do you want the Westlake Schools to do now? What changes would it take to turn your no vote into a yes?
roger June 19, 2013 at 08:54 pm
Johnnie,
The issue is not where you find numbers, but your complete lack of understanding on how…Read More to apply the numbers. Let me explain the degree percentage. The census states that 50.1% of Westlake POPULATION has a bachelor’s degree or greater. What is the POPULATION (32,729 people), and that is everyone. Are there kids (under 18) in that POPULATION? Yes! In fact, the Westlake population that is under 18 is 21.5% (or 7,036). Just out of curiosity, do you know any 5 year old kids with bachelor’s degrees? No, I didn’t think so. Then there is 19% of the population that is over 65. There are two issues with the inclusion of these people. First, they are from an era that did not NEED a degree for a good career. Second, they are likely not working (retired). So they should be removed 19% equals 6,218. Combine the two numbers 7,036 + 6,218 = 13,254. Back to the original number 50.1% of the population 32,729 has a bachelor’s degree or higher. That means 16,397 fall into this category. Take 32,729 and subtract 13,254 (kids and retirees) which gives us the base of 19,475. Here comes the hard math, take 16,397 and divide by 19,475 and you get 84.19%. That is the true percentage of working individuals with bachelor’s degrees in the city of Westlake.
John Mason June 19, 2013 at 09:34 pm
If you actually read what it says next to that number Roger you would see that the 50.1% is for…Read More adults 25 and older. Minors are already excluded. So all your Math is wrong. Also you can't just assume all seniors don't have college degrees....another major flaw in your number. Regardless Roger what changes would it take to make you vote yes for the levy?
Charles June 13, 2013 at 01:41 pm
Melissa,
You are right a lot of those high salaries are for teachers that have many years of…Read More experience. A lot of those are not though. As Gail says 4 teachers at Hilliard retired. So how many teachers retired in total? The more important question that is still unanswered is how can the teachers keep receiving obscene pay raises? As an example, one teacher started at ~$48k in 2008. In 2012 she was receiving ~$69k. That's a $20k (nearly 50%) jump in salary over 5 years. There are many examples like this. And yes, you are right please do the appropriate research before saying that they are all paid appropriately. Without those crazy raises perhaps we wouldn't need another levy. And I did vote YES for the prior levy. So I'm not just against all levies. I just won't vote for ones that don't make sense.
Charles June 13, 2013 at 01:44 pm
Regarding our teachers. Well, we did try to contact them and speak with them. You can only do so, so…Read More many times before it becomes apparent that it is what it is.
And in my prior post I meant to say that a lot of those teachers with high salaries are not necessarily close to retirement. I did not mean to say they didn't have many years of experience.
Valerie Paul May 13, 2013 at 05:40 pm
yet another example of why Westlake teachers should be valued.
Jake Nabookney May 22, 2013 at 06:05 pm
Unfortunately, outstanding individual teacher performance can not be recognized because Westlake…Read More teachers are unionized.
Steve Novak May 29, 2013 at 02:34 am
Melissa, I don't know if these people care more about themselves than others. I do think they hold…Read More incorrect positions and are unwilling to compromise. Here is something for you to remember in the state elections next year. Just today, it came out Rocky River is going to have to go to the voters with some sort of tax increase. The main reason is mayor Pam Bobst said the city is looking for ways to replace $3 million in state funding cuts, the largest being the estate tax which was always used in the past for permanent improvements. So when the Governor says how he is lowering taxes, all he is doing is transferring the funding needs to the cities. It is a classic pass the buck situation. Just like in Westlake, these tax cuts at the state level is causing locals to ask for tax increases. I wonder how individuals against the tax levy would react to this upcoming vote in Rocky River where tax rates haven't gone up since 1977. Would they look up what police and firefighters are making and if they are 5-10% above other West Shore communities, demand they take a pay cut first?
Quinton Robinson May 29, 2013 at 04:00 pm
It really makes me sad that we could not have enough voters to turn out in support of this levy. I…Read More do appreciate that people come to sites like this and share their opinions but in the end it does not matter, what does matter is that you get your butts out there and vote in favor of this levy next time it appears on the ballot so our community can continue to have a great school system.
Jake Nabookney May 29, 2013 at 09:04 pm
A suggestion to Steve, Melissa, Val and Quinton. Ask the School District to detail to the voters…Read More how it intends to spend the money to be received by any future levy proposal. A levy campaign of "Real Need, Proven Value" without supporting facts, budget and historical data demeans the intelligence of the citizens of Westlake.
Michael P, Neylon April 24, 2013 at 05:52 pm
Bay Villiage has a much higher rating than Westlake. They do it for substantially less cost per…Read More student. Its time that Westlake look at Bay as a benchmark on how to reduce costs rather than asking for more money when they are already the highest cost per student verses all other adjoining school systems.PS When and what cost will be phase two of the replacement school program?
Westlake Hires New Assistant High School Principal
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