Distribution
Dear Distributors:
DC Public Schools needs help with its textbook distribution. I can
help in that area, since I have great expertise in it. I spent two weeks
working in the field as a summer job during high school. I’ll give
Chancellor Rhee free advice by describing how my public school district
did the job. At the end of the school year, each classroom teacher
filled out, by hand, a form listing all books that would be needed for
the next year. For books that would used again next year, the teacher
would order five or so copies to replace lost, damaged, and worn-out
books. For new texts or new editions, thirty or so copies would be
ordered. (This was in a time and place when a classroom of thirty
children was considered normal, and could be handled without lion tamer
equipment.) The school principal or assistant principal would approve
the request and send it to a secretary at the elementary school that had
been chosen as the central depository for book orders. That secretary
would add up the totals for each title, order the books from the
regional warehouses for textbook publishers and distributors, and the
books would be delivered to that elementary school after school was out
for the year.
The book cartons were stacked along the cafeteria walls. That’s
when I came in. Four high school students, along with a teacher
supervisor, were hired for a month each summer. (I remember only one of
my coworkers -- she was both a cheerleader and the lead cellist for the
school orchestra, and I admired her for her answer to the student
newspaper’s survey question, “What would you do to improve the
world?” Everybody else gave a sanctimonious answer worthy of a Miss
America contest; she said, “I’d make each day twenty-five hours, so
I could watch two episodes of Maverick.”) We were given the classroom
order lists, and we sorted the books for each classroom on the cafeteria
tables. When the books were sorted and cartons along the walls were
empty, we repacked the cartons with the books for each classroom and
taped the lists to the top. As I said, we were hired for a month, but
the summer I did the job we finished in about two weeks; the penalty for
our efficiency was that we were paid for only those two weeks. After we
finished, whoever worked for the individual schools over the summer
months — management, staff, and teachers alike — and had pick-up
trucks or station wagons (you remember station wagons; they were the
evolutionary ancestors of SUVs) picked up the cartons and delivered
them.
By contrast, here’s my prediction of how DC will fix its
distribution system. It will hire a new head of textbooks, at $150,000 a
year; renovate a textbook distribution warehouse center, at $500,000;
buy two textbook distribution vehicles, at $50,000 each; buy a new
textbook distribution computer system, at $1,000,000; commission
specialized textbook distribution software, at $250,000 (no commercial
spreadsheet program would do); and hire two full-time drivers and four
full-time textbook warehouse workers, all at $50,000 and up a year. Each
step along the way will be accompanied by a press release extolling the
great progress the system is making and, whatever the result at the
beginning of the 2008 school year, it will be described as a complete
success. Maybe it will be.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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I truly believe that Rhee was either set up or Fenty is playing a
game to make himself look like a savior. From the Washington
Afro-American’s research, we remembered that the Superintendent
sent notification in May that all the textbooks had been received, and
offered the press the opportunity to come and see. they were distributed
before the end of the school year. Maybe Fenty or Reinoso did not
realize it, so they started this campaign. I went to the textbook
warehouse. Mr. Winstead was quite surprised when his wife called him at
work and told him about it.
DCPS adopted a bar code system last year, something we were trying to
get in the 1990’s but finally was instituted last year. The system is
able to track each and every book when scanned. There were no elementary
books at Eastern. The business manager at Eastern said after a thorough
walk-through that they were not able to locate the books in question.
Rhee refused to divulge her source. She could not answer questions about
where the book was in the school; what the name of the book or its bar
code info was.
MM Washington was sent French books because they were listed on the
master list for the school. But don’t forget the books have been
issued since May. Why are we talking about these books in August?
Because schools were told, don’t make a move without Fenty’s
approval. I think Fenty wants to paint himself as a savior, when the
fiasco was never there. In other words, Fenty set Rhee up to lie! At
least one paper stood up to the mayor, while others repeated the
rhetoric like a parrot without investigation. Read the Afro’s
front-page article, http://www.afro.com/content/templates/?a=7714&z=12.
Don’t fall for the hype.
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After seeing the photos of all those textbooks that might not get to
the children’s schools, I think the time has come for everyone who has
a car or truck to volunteer for a specific day, decided upon by
Chancellor Rhee and the mayor, to appear at the text book location in
Northeast to fill and deliver. Let’s do it. It can be done and I would
be glad to help.
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Getting Norton-Davis Enacted
Jeffrey Norman, jeffrey.norman@att.net
I am a supporter of the DC Voting Rights Act of 2007 (also known as
the “Norton-Davis bill”), which will give DC residents voting
representation in the US House of Representatives. It has already passed
the House; and the news reports that I’ve read or heard say that we
are still a few votes short in the Senate. (The number needed to get
controversial bills passed in the Senate is 60, more than a simple
majority, in order to avoid or defeat a filibuster.) Some of the
opponents of this bill claim that it is unconstitutional. I think that
we could win over a few more Senators by adding a provision to the bill
calling for expedited handling of this legislation by the US Supreme
Court. I believe that such provisions have occasionally been added to
bills in the past.
Even if the bill passes without such a provision, it is a near
certainty that someone will challenge it in the federal courts, and that
it will eventually reach the Supreme Court anyway. By setting up a
procedure to test the legislation, we may get the support of enough
additional Senators voting to pass it. I’m hoping that such a
provision will also prevent a possible veto by President Bush. The
President has another option if he still does not like the bill, but is
not totally against it. The US Constitution provides that a bill passed
by Congress automatically becomes law if the President neither signs nor
vetoes it within ten days after it is sent to him provided that Congress
is still in session. I’m hoping that President Bush will consider that
option; maybe some of the pro-Norton-Davis Republicans, including the
bill’s co-author, Cong. Tom Davis (R-VA), can persuade him to let it
become law without his signature, if necessary.
When it gets to the Supreme Court, we should have a pretty good
chance of not having it declared unconstitutional. Former Chief Justice
Rehnquist said in a footnote to one of his opinions that he thought it
would be Constitutional for the Congress to use some creative means to
give District residents Congressional voting rights. Rehnquist was an
icon for the conservative community and greatly admired by the current
Chief Justice Roberts, who may well deem this legislation to be just the
kind of creative solution that Rehnquist was talking about. Justice
Alito often votes with Roberts. If Roberts and Alito vote with the five
liberal and moderate members of the Court, that would be enough to
uphold the law.
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Loitering at Thomas Circle
Raven McKlintock, mamccredz@yahoo.com
There is a group of people (at this moment ten) who are camped out
the Luther Place Church at Thomas Circle. They have even brought their
lawn chairs and block the sidewalk so that pedestrians have a hard time.
They have blocked the parking meters with their grocery carts.
I have not personally seen drug or alcohol use. Is setting up a lawn
chair camp on the sidewalk blocking pedestrians and/or blocking parking
meters against the law?
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A law should exist that prohibits the spouse of any DC government
official to be allowed to work directly or indirectly with any business
to obtain contracts, funding or other matters that involve tax payer
dollars or properties bought with tax payer dollars.
DC Attorney General Linda Singer's husband Joe Sternlieb should, as a
case in point, be barred from representing EastBanc in any deals with
the government of the District of Columbia or on behalf of any business
seeking to obtain a contract, grant, et cetera.
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I think it unfair to criticize the current school administration for
the problems associated with the opening of school. Look at the date.
They were just hired in June/July! Be fair and be supportive. A year
from now your critique will be fair game.
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Responses to John Wheeler’s comment concerning the infamous
Jonathan Rees [themail, August 1] amount to quibbles. Wheeler did not
name a specific person surnamed Stewart as the owner of the E-mail
moniker stewart2007, he merely connected the nickname to Rees. Moreover,
while ListServ is a software trademark, who hasn’t "Xeroxed"
something sometime?
The important point Wheeler made remains fundamentally correct: Rees
is not a credible writer. Even with my own very passing acquaintance
with Mary Cheh’s life as a private citizen, I was easily able to spot
indisputable falsehood in Rees’ farrago of spam.
[The information referred to by Wheeler, that he said was available
by Googling “Rees” and “Stewart,” does indeed link the E-mail
address to Roy Stewart. The more important point, however, is that the
charges made in Rees’ complaint about Cheh’s campaign are not of the
“he said, she said,” variety that can only be decided by determining
who is the more credible witness. They are factual charges that can and
should be determined by examining the factual evidence, not by making
innuendoes about either party’s character. I think we’re just
replowing the same ground in this discussion, so I’m going to call a
temporary halt on this subject until and unless there are new
developments. — Gary Imhoff]
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
DC Public Library Events, August 7, 9, and
following
Randi Blank, randi.blank@dc.gov
Tuesday, August 7, 1:00 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial
Library, 901 G Street, NW, Enhanced Business Information Center (e-BIC),
1st Floor. Get Licensed and Legal. If you are starting a business or
want to take your existing business to the next level, speak to the
experts from the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs and the
Office of Tax and Revenue during special office hours. For more
information, call 727-2241.
Tuesdays, August 7-28, 6:00 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial
Library, 901 G Street, NW, Room A-5. Hot Movie Hits! August 7, Daddy’s
Little Girls, 2007, Rated PG-13; August 14, Shooter, 2007, Rated R;
August 21, Black Snake Moan, 2006, Rated R; August 28, Pride, 2007,
Rated PG.
Thursdays, August 9 and August 23, 11:00 a.m., Martin Luther King,
Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Room 215. Talking Book Club.
Members of the DC Regional Library adult book club will discuss a
talking book. For more information, call Adaptive Services at 727-2142.
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Shiloh Church Homecoming, August 18-19
Hazel B. Thomas, thomashazelb@aol.com
Plans are underway for the members of Shiloh and the community to
come together in Unity under the theme Our Village, The Church and
Community Connected. All members of Shiloh, family members, friends, and
the community are invited out on Saturday, August 18, from 10:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m. for fun, food, games, and live entertainment. The WiFi
(Internet) Cafe will be open all day and there will be tours of the
Shiloh facility at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Homecoming weekend will culminate on Sunday, August 19, with our
guest preacher, the Rev. Dr. William Epps, Senior Minister, from Second
Baptist Church, Los Angeles, California, who will be preaching at both
the 7:45 a.m. and 10:55 a.m. services. We look forward to seeing new and
familiar faces on homecoming weekend. Remember everyone is welcome as
the church and community come together in unity! Shiloh Baptist Church,
1500 9th Street, NW. No cost.
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