Illuminati

What happened to the concept of "light pollution"? You remember--one of the key elements of the Village Overlay when this city was foisted and hoisted. Village lighting had to prevent overspray. Of course these ordinances have been "updated" as in "better suited to the business community" but they are very specific and actually quite stringent. And it isn't just the overlay--if your front porch light illuminates your neighbors' yards then you, sir, are a criminal. Motion light stay on for more than 10 minutes? Then it damn well better be pointed down--not that you really wanted to see what tripped it, right? Check out Sec. 27-250 of the ordinances, and for real fun notice that neon lighting is verboten by way of Sec. 27-248. Of course signs aren't lights are they?

And what IS it with the Dunwoody High School and outdoor lights? Why is this a mission ranking up there with Save Darfur or #BringBackOurGirls? And why the Trumpian propaganda that would make Goebbels blush? From the Go Fund Me blather:

"Neighborhood friendly LED lights could extend our practice time without bothering the neighbors..."

Seriously, did you guys actually graduate from a High School? A real one? So you expect smart folk in the smart city to believe you can install field lighting and magically the laws of physics will not apply and nary a single photon will escape the confines of your Blessed Child's event?

Fine, it isn't Wrigley in the Good Ole Days. You know, before they won. But they weren't playing in the dark they just weren't trying to not suck. Anyway, there are only a few ways that field lighting is "neighborhood friendly." It can either not be there at all (best); be turned off (second best); or be used only during the day (suboptimal). Somehow it seems Boosterus Maximus on City Council would not approve of any of these options.

Some might suggest it is "free lighting for a backyard 'cue" but they've not seen the number and size of bugs these lights attract. And it isn't just the bugs--that's not mustard on your dog, that's bat guano. And so what if it keeps YOUR child up late at night? Watch Close Encounters with them and they'll be so scared they'll pull covers over their heads and the light won't bother them. And you KNEW there were lights there when you bought your house didn't you? Oops--there weren't. So what. We've got someone on City Council who just loves all things Dunwoody High, so screw you.

Georgia Races to the Bottom

Of integrity.

Knowing full well what was required and what rules would apply, the State of Georgia aggressively pursue Federal "Race to the Top" grants and was awarded $400M to participate in the program.

Now that they have the money they don't like the rules and they want them changed. They claim that teacher evaluations under the federal rules would result in lawsuits -- tells you something important about "educators" in Georgia, namely that litigation is directly proportional to incompetence. For the teachers out there who didn't get that it means that the more worthless the teacher the more likely they are to sue whenever their inadequacies become an issue.

And is a litigious employee base some kind of recent occurrence? Hardly. But the state is hiding behind "a new administration" claiming it was an old administration that agreed to the rules with which the current administration takes issue. Which is to say that the integrity of the Sovereign State of Georgia is little more than a wind sock.

Perhaps the folks down in the ATL should be told to man-up and if they don't like the rules give back the money. Only honorable thing to do. And while they're at it they should consider growing a pair and rid us of the incompetence dominating our education systems. That should be worth $400M.

Orwellian Education

Georgia "educators" have won their battle against accountability and will do better than merely return to the opacity of the former status quo. The will begin by replacing the NCLB Pass/Fail designations with a system that institutionalizes their self-congratulatory inclinations.

Some have described the new labeling system as "warm and fuzzy" and the enthusiastic embrace by "educators" is sickeningly sweet:

"These new labels, I think,  are going to be great" 

Really?!? YOU think? But this is followed by:

"they're going to get us away from pass or fail"

Well, you certainly got that right, because what "educators" want to see is a system of "pass" and "pass", where "pass" means whatever the hell they want it to mean.

But since the new labels are not only malleable but intentionally obfuscating, let's ensure we have a clear set of "taxpayer" definitions that not only speak the truth, but expose the hypocrisy of a system that takes credit for others' hard work while hiding their own failures. These are the "educators'" new school labels:

• REWARD (Educators take all the credit) -- This signifies a school with a statistically unlikely aggregation of "Teacher-Proof" students often correlating with a large concentration of Asian families. Teachers and principals rejoice as they will burnish their reputations on the accomplishments of hardworking students and the parents that motivate them. Only the toadiest of sycophants are allowed to work in these increasingly rare schools.
• FOCUS (Educators take credit where it makes them look good, avoiding responsibility where it doesn't) -- These are often associated with what few middle class neighborhoods remain that can still offer "student outliers" for the "educators" to trot out at the appropriate times and places so as to take credit for their hard work. These schools are often the proving ground for aspiring toadies and the well connected "educators".
• PRIORITY (Educators blame parent(s)) -- These are schools formerly labeled as FAILING. These are your regular run of the mill, prison preparatory programs littering the landscape of Georgia education. This is where disenfranchised "educators", often with the wrong friends and from an undesirable family, are sent to retire on the job.
• ALERT (Educators blame society, parents and government) -- FAILED. Simple, abject, complete failure. No dead-cat bounce. No hope of recovery. This is what makes many a Georgian look forward to the day they can proudly proclaim to be from Georgia. "Educators" found in these schools are on the system's "de-hire" career path.

Keep this handy so you can translate from the finely crafted orwellian blather about to spew from the mouths of "educators" into what this really means for you, your child and your taxes.

Valuing Schools

If you, like many in Dunwoody, believe that good schools drive property values up then you should be quite concerned about living in DeKalb, and particularly in Dunwoody. Recent SAT scores show that Dunwoody High not only did not lead the county, but scored fifth place behind Chamblee, Lakeside, DeKalb School of Arts and Druid Hills.

But it gets worse. Four of the top five Cobb County high schools scored above the best in DeKalb, and Cobb's fifth ranking high school would be listed in third place were it in DeKalb. And Cobb is not alone in besting Dunwoody High and DeKalb.

Were someone looking to buy a suburban home in this depressed market and that parental bromide of "wanting the best schools for their kids" is really true, then a better option is had by looking only a little further to the west or east. Given this reality, perhaps it is time for Dunwoody to transform itself from a suburb "dedicated to the worship of children" to a modern urban oasis for young and old alike.

Dunwoody High School: A Record of Decline

RENAULT: And what in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca?
RICK: My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters.
RENAULT: Waters? What waters? We're in the desert.
RICK: I was misinformed.

If you moved to Dunwoody for the ``great schools'' it would appear that you, like Rick in Casablanca, were misinformed.

If Newsweek Magazine is to be believed Dunwoody High School is far from the best in the area. In fact it ranks outside the top 50 in all of Georgia and no Georgia school could break into the top 100.

But we're improving, right? Well actually, no, we are in steady decline in these rankings.

Year	Ranking
2003	548
2005	676
2006	898
2007	1339
2008	1409

Dunwoody High has never been in the top 500 and is moving rapidly towards falling entirely off the list. And DHS wasn't beaten just by the likes of Walton, Lakeside, Milton and Sprayberry. No, DHS was bested by Tucker, Central Gwinnett, Cambell and Clarke Central, each with close to 50% of students receiving federally subsidized lunches.

You can choose not to believe objective outside measures of Dunwoody's dismal school performance. Many parents do. It is much easier to believe the teachers, administrators and principal when they tell you what a great job they're doing (even though they are underpaid) and what a wonderful education your child is getting (even though their teachers are underpaid).

But sooner or later your children will pay the full price of their lies and your denials.

TOD