Getting old

I’m getting old and one of the major indications of this is my increasing concern over what is inappropriate. Heelys shoes are a prime example. You have probably seen these shoes; they are the ones with little wheels in the heel. It is my contention that there is no place in civilized society for Heelys. Every time I see some kid scooting around church, or in a store, or restaurant in Heelys, I think to my self, “Oooh I hate those stupid shoes.”

But I wasn’t always such a curmudgeon. I freely admit that had those shoes been around when I was a kid, I would have thought that were the coolest thing ever, and would have petitioned my parents for a pair. So what has changed? I’m getting old I guess.

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Heelys

March Fourth

I’m new to the Union Public School District, I moved here just in time for a school bond vote. Tomorrow residents in Union Public Schools will vote on whether or not to pass a 19.4 million dollar bond.

I did a little research and decided to vote yes. I found out when I did research on Union in preparation for my move that Union spends less per student that the state average and less than TPS…or at least they appear to spend less. Gretchen Haas-Bethell, Executive Director for Communications of Union Public Schools, explained to me that Union is state funding poor, and so they appear to spend less per student. Union relies on their bonds to purchase many things that TPS gets with their state funding. You can find out the breakdown of items in this bond here.

Next I found out that the Union school bonds are on a 5 year cycle. Union contends that taxes will not be raised for 2 reasons: 1, the new bond replaces an old one, and 2, the tax base of Union is expanding so any increase in the cost of the bond from the one five years ago will be absorbed by the new tax payers in the district.
Here are the last 5 bond amounts.
Feb 13, 2007: $17,000,000
Feb 14, 2006: $15,200,000
Feb 8, 2005: $13,000,000
Feb 24, 2004: $17,000,000
Feb 11, 2003: $16,000,000

So this new bond is a couple million heavier than the 2003 bond which it replaces, but I buy the idea that all the new houses and business in the area will absorb the difference.

Lastly I thought it important to determine Union’s bond rating. They get an Aa2 rating from Moody’s and an AA rating from Standard & Poor’s. Moody's assigns bond credit ratings of Aaa, Aa, A, Baa, Ba, B, Caa, Ca, C, and Standard & Poor's AAA, AA, A, BBB, BB, B, CCC, CC, C, D. Moody’s can add a numerical modifier, 1 2 or 3, only Aaa and Aa1 are higher, for S&P AA+ and AAA. So Union has a great bond rating.

I didn't find anything that would convince me to vote no tomorrow, and since I moved into Union specifically for the schools I’ll keep the status quo. If you live in the union school district don’t forget to go and vote tomorrow.


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school bond
vote

Adjusting to the New School

I have not had the opportunity to blog as much as I would like, we have been settling in to the new house. When I get the opportunity to relax I find myself wanting to veg instead of really doing anything productive. I'll try to get on the ball and put some more posts out there...

Anyway, I thought I'd share this nice note we got from the five-year-old's teacher:

Good Afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Roemerman,

I wanted to let you know what a pleasure it has been to have ****** (the five-year-old) in our classroom. She is fitting in so nicely and her behavior is excellent. If you have any questions about anything please call or email me. I know how overwhelming it can be when you start a new school. My kids started last year in December and it took us a while to feel comfortable with everything.

I hope you have a wonderful evening!

One of the things I really like about our new school is the level of communication we receive. We routinely get emails from our teacher letting us know what our class has been doing, and what to expect each upcoming week. And of course, this note was very nice. Several things about the new school have impressed me over the past week and a half, and this is just one more thing to add to that list.

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Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules in Favor of STCC

I've been out of pocket for a few days on account of my move. So I'm a bit behind the times with regard to local news. I got an email from the South Tulsa Citizens Coalition (STCC) a few days ago with some great news.

...the Oklahoma Supreme Court reversed the trial court's opinion and found in favor of STCC. While we have not yet seen the opinion, it is our understanding that the opinion was unanimous (all nine justices concurring) that neither the City of Jenks nor IVI can build the proposed South Tulsa Bridge. This decision is final and cannot be appealed.

I have little doubt that the bridge will get built(hopfully not for another 10 years), but now it seems as if the terms when and how will be placed more squarely on the shoulders of Tulsa. This is a huge blow to Jenks and Infrastructure Ventures, Inc. (IVI). IVI will hopefully go away with their tails between their legs, while Jenks will be forced to work with Tulsa as partners and equals.

Congratulations to the STCC, I look froward to hear more about the case once you have digested the Court's opinion.


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Jenks
South Tulsa
Toll Bridge
Arkansas River
South Tulsa Citizens Coalition
Oklahoma Supreme Court
Infrastructure Ventures, Inc.

We Did It

We finally moved! It took a while, 9 months since our decision to move, but we finally sold our house and bought a new one.

We are 75% moved in and settled, and the five-year-old starts school on Monday, so we are extremely happy.

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Tulsa

The Tulsa World Finally Does Some Good

With the big move just days away, we are in full packing mode. Of course packing means packing materials: boxes, tape, markers, and news print. I went to the box store and got five bucks worth of news unprinted news print…It was kind of a rip off actually. Searching for a more economical way to pack my dishes, I found myself in front of the news stand looking at Tulsa Worlds and Daily Oklahomans. I decided that if I was going to pack my dishes with news paper that I paid for that I’d put my fiver down to The Daily Oklahoman, because purchasing the Tulsa World would violate my principals.

Ultimately I decided that five bucks of news paper wasn’t really any better a deal than the stuff at the box store. My wife had the bright idea of taking newspaper from the recycling center. She was right, free is much more economical than paying five dollars. Of course that means that I’m using the Tulsa World, but I didn’t pay for it, so that's okay. Plus it might as well be used for good…for a change.


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Tulsa World
moving

Murray Electric

If you listen to KFAQ you have probably heard the Murray Electric commercials. “No Phone Shuffle! A real live courteous licensed electrician answers the phone when you call.”

Recently, I had a chance to test their claims. The buyer of our old house wanted us to fix some electrical problems that came out in the home inspection. Remembering the commercial I heard on KFAQ, I called Murray to get a quote. I talked to an electrician who was very nice, and gave me what turned out to be the lowest quote. They guy who came out was professional, courteous, and did a great job. The final cost was exactly what I was quoted, so I’m pretty happy. If you ever need an electrician I would highly recommend calling Murray.

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Murray Electric
KFAQ
electrician

Amazon.com Customer Service Success

I have recently had a customer service problem with Amazon.com. I had ordered an SD memory card on Dec 29th but as of yesterday, it still had not shipped. I kept getting emails from Amazon telling me that the shipment had been delayed, yet the item continued to show “in stock.” One of estimates for the arrival of my item was on the day that I happen to be moving, almost a month after the initial order. I obviously wasn’t really happy about any of this, so I called Amazon customer service. Armed with lessons I learned from reading The Consumerist I was able to get my way.

I remained calm, courteous, and I started by telling the customer service rep what I wanted, I told her why next. I stated that I wanted to find a solution that did not involve me canceling the order, and that I would either accept different item that could be shipped sooner, or for Amazon.com to comp me next day shipping. After I got to the point, it was then that I stated that I was moving and that I wasn’t happy with the delay. She asked me to wait while she investigated the problem and looked for a solution. Ultimately she agreed to send it overnight, and I received an email from Amazon stating that my item had been shipped.

I think the best advice I gleaned from The Consumerist is to kindly and calmly get directly to the point. Because I gave her several possible solutions, was willing to be flexible, and was nice, the Amazon.com rep gave me what I really wanted.


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The Consumerist
customer service

Comparing Schools

I thought it interesting to compare our current "District of Choice" TPS elementary school with the new school my kids will be going to in Union. I'll preface the discussion this is likely to create with the following statement:

I have been generally impressed with most of the teachers and educators I have encountered at our current TPS school. They seem to be genuine in their desire to provide a good education. However, when looking at test scores, they just aren't getting the job done. I understand that our current school may have a whole host of challenges with which they face, and that the looking only at the scores may not be fair, but I'm not particularly interested in fair when it comes to my kids. The measure has been provided, I'm going to take note, and the contrast is stark.

Comparing the new school in Union with the old school in the "District of Choice"

Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests 2006

Third Grade
New school reading: 94% satisfactory
Old school reading: 67% satisfactory
The state average: 82% satisfactory

New school math: 87% satisfactory
Old school math: 54% satisfactory
The state average: 72% satisfactory

Fourth Grade
New school reading: 95% satisfactory
Old school reading: 82% satisfactory
The state average: 86% satisfactory

New school math: 93% satisfactory
Old school math: 63% satisfactory
The state average: 79% satisfactory

Fifth Grade
New school reading: 90% satisfactory
Old school reading: 60% satisfactory
The state average: 75% satisfactory

New school math: 86% satisfactory
Old school math: 59% satisfactory
The state average: 76% satisfactory

Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch program (2005-2006)
New school: 9%
Old school: 100%
The state average: 55%

Spending Per Pupil
Union: $5,553
TPS: $7,057
The state average: $6,610


I got my data from greatschools.net who got their data from the NCES and the OK SDE

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Union Public Schools
moving

Moving Update

We have contracts on our old house, and we found a new house as well. If all goes well, we will close on Jan 24th. The new house is four miles south in Tulsa but in the Union School district.

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East Tulsa
moving

Finally We Really Are Moving

It has been a while since I've blogged about it, but we really are still going to move out of East Tulsa. After over 6 months on the market and three price drops, we finally have an offer on our house. Now all we have to do is find a new house further south, close on both houses on the same day and move. No big deal right? I can't wait until this is all over.

Oh, and by the way, Happy New Year!

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East Tulsa
moving