-->

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Weekend Discusssion Questions

1) Read this article on the City Council's approval of the the adopted Unified New Orleans Plan. Explain in detail how a $14 billion haphazardly brainstormed wishlist citywide rebuilding plan will be funded by a questionable reworking of a $260 million bond issue combined with $117 million in grant money that LRA may withhold anyway in order to fund the Road Home program. What, in your opinion, is the difference between "capital improvements" and "citywide rebuilding" expressed in monetary terms?

2) Consider this quote from Karran Harper Royal that appeared at the end of Thursday's story about corruption on the Orleans Parish School Board.
Although some public school critics might use the Brooks-Simms episode to argue against any return of city schools to local control, Royal thinks the balkanization of the system could lead to bigger problems down the road.

"The School Board is just one board with seven members," she said. "Now, with the push to chartering, you've got many, many boards, and many, many members, and there's no infrastructure in place for proper oversight and accountability for things like this. You can't tell me that (U.S. Attorney Jim) Letten will be able to be on top of all these boards like he was on top of this issue. I think an atmosphere has been created for much more corruption."

Do you believe the bizarre experimental "reforms" which have fragmented the New Orleans public school system will lead to more or less incompetence and corruption in the future? Does this incident of employee abuse and corporal punishment of students at one New Orleans charter school affect your answer? Keep in mind that "It can't possibly get any worse" is not an acceptable response as thing most certainly can always get worse.

3) Bonus points will be awarded to anyone who can relate their answers to the above questions to a brief discussion of how potentially damaging "reforms" have exacerbated rather than eased the difficulties of rebuilding a post-flood New Orleans due to a "Myth of the Blank Slate" mentality prevalent among its daydreaming residents.

Extry Bonus Question: How many points of comparison can you derive between Ellenese Brooks Simms and Dolores Umbridge?

Update: Oh too late.. It looks like Professor Umbridge has already been spotted.

No comments: