One of the email lists I belong to has a member that occasionally forgets that working with educators is vastly different than working in the business sector. He is the network manager of a K-12 district and is still learning the nuances of working with educators and how education works (or doesn't). His email signature ends with this: "CCNA/CCDA/CCDP/CCNP, MCSE 2003, CNE/CNI 5 and 6, LPI 1, CCA, and a few more."
At times, "foot in mouth" disease is rampant on his part. He was at it again last week, although this was a very mild case. One reply came from a fellow tech coordinator who said:
"Maybe you could just sugar coat things a little? I like to reflect on a quote from one of my favorite movies, A Few Good Tech Coordinators.
Kaffee: I want the truth!
Jessep: You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has firewalls. And those firewalls have to be guarded by routers with access lists an supported by Technology Coordinators and Network Administrators. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Wetech? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly Wiki. You weep for Carmen Sandiego and you curse the Technology Coordinators. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Sandiego being lost somewhere in the world, while tragic, will eventually be found. And my existence, while Open Source and incompatible with Vista, saves bytes...You don't want the truth. Because during deep system scanning, in places you don't talk about at WAN and LAN parties, you want me on that firewall. You need me on that firewall.
We use words like binary, HTML code, script...we use these words as the Internet backbone and to a life spent downloading something. You use 'em as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very network I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it! I'd rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a flash drive and go blog yourself. Either way, I don't give a widget what you think you're entitled to!"
I thought this was a stitch. What do you think?
(Thanks to Jason Schenzel, Technology Coordinator at Newman Catholic Schools in Wausau, WI for the original post).
Showing posts with label School Libraries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label School Libraries. Show all posts
Monday, October 27, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
In Praise of Visionaries
With school libraries facing ever increasing cutbacks in staffing and funding I thought it would be nice to mention some visionary people who have put into law a secure funding source for school libraries.
The visionaries I am writing about today had nothing to do the technology, the web, web 2.0, Student 2.0 or anything else we see today, unless you happen to venture in to a school library in Wisconsin.
FEEs, FINEs, and FOREFITUREs or Why Wisconsin likes Speeders!
Wisconsin is unique in many ways - and I am not talking about Brett Favre (retired or not), the Packers, cheese, bratwurst or beer. The visionaries I am talking about were the founders of this great state (motto: FORWARD) who developed a plan to provide funds for school libraries and inserted it into the state's constitution in 1848.
The Common School Fund Library Aid (CSF) is an annual entitlement program to all Wisconsin public school districts that distributes the net earnings from the Common School Fund, one of the state trust funds set up by the Wisconsin Constitution.
As directed by the constitution, the beneficiaries of the CSF are the public school libraries of the state. Each year in April, the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands (BCPL) informs the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) of the total interest that has accumulated in the Common School Income Fund.
The principal of the CSF grows by about $25 million each year through revenues from:
- Civil and criminal fees
- Fines and forfeitures
- Wisconsin's Unclaimed Property Program
- Timber sales on Trust Lands
(NOTE: Thus in Wisconsin, speeding really does pay - it pays right into the fund that assists school libraries!)
The BCPL, whose current Executive Director is Tia Nelson, daughter of Earth Day founder and former US Senator Gaylord Nelson, is in charge of the managing the board whose mission is to "Manage Trust Lands and Trust Funds for the Benefit of Public Education in Wisconsin." Through the use of timber sales, investments and interest, the BCPL funds the CSF. I should note that the BCPL has the power to loan money to school districts, cities, counties and other governmental agencies usually with interest rates less than commercial lenders - so some school districts will borrow for building programs at a lesser interest rate and the interest they repay on the loan goes into the CSF! A win-win if I ever saw it!
This principal is invested in loans to local governments and school districts and in state and local bonds. The remaining funds are deposited in the State Investment Fund. The annual earnings of the CSF are distributed on a per pupil basis each spring with more than $375 million distributed over the last 25 years.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (WDPI) calculates each school district's allocation, basing the amount on the number of children ages 4 through 20 living in the district. The allocation is sent to school districts by May 1. Districts must spend the total Library Aid allocation for appropriate library materials by June 30 of that same year.
In the school year 2006-07 the CSF provided $29.2 million worth of library materials to public schools in Wisconsin - not toooooooo shabby! Of course, there are rules and restrictions on what can be purchased with the CSF but for the most part, the CSF is a driving force in keeping our Wisconsin school libraries well stocked.
What is disappointing is that with the continuation of "Revenue Limits" placed on school districts in Wisconsin, more and more districts are using the CSF as the ONLY source for library books and materials.
All this started with the visionaries in 1848 thinking that a great way to provide the needed books and materials for school libraries should not fall just on the back of the school district residents. I really believe the genesis for this idea came from the fact that in 1848, book cost was high and that stocking a school library needed a boost or head start.
Who would have thought this idea would pump over $29 million a year in school libraries 150 years later.
CSF is distributed to every school district - no application is needed. A truly wonderful program!
Any other state have such a program? Anyone envious of this program? Your thoughts?
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