Tag Archives: budget cuts

Announcing that five Ypsi schools share one librarian, 826 Michigan asks for volunteers to staff libraries so that our children can once again check out books

By Mark | October 24, 2012

When I received the above message earlier this afternoon, I didn’t think there was any way that it could possibly be true… I knew, of course, that Ypsi’s schools had suffered severe cuts. Just a few weeks ago, I’d watched Linette design a poster for Fly Children’s Art Center, drawing attention to the fact that [...]

Posted in Art and Culture, Education, Ypsilanti | Also tagged 826Michigan, Amanda Uhle, Amy Sumerton, Big Bird, books, Bush tax cuts, childhood, deregulation, dismantling of public education, epic rants, FLY Children's Art Center, librarians, libraries, military budget, Mitt Romney, PBS, public education, tax the rich, Wall Street deregulation, Ypsilanti Public Schools | 43 Comments

On the further downsizing, and possible merging of Ypsilanti’s police and fire departments

By Mark | October 17, 2012

According to AnnArbor.com, our elected leaders are apparently “weighing a plan to combine the city’s police and fire departments” into a single public safety entity, in hopes of cutting costs even further during this unprecedented period of sharply rising costs and falling revenues. Here’s a clip. …The proposal would cross-train police officers and firefighters, cutting [...]

Posted in Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged class warfare, Georgia, Jon Ichesco, Ken Hobbs, local income tax, Pete Murdock, prisoners, public employee unions, public safety, regional aurhority, SCIT, Stop City Income Tax, Ypsilanti Fire Department, Ypsilanti police department | 40 Comments

The subject of poverty finally makes its way into the presidential campaign

By Mark | September 15, 2012

As I’ve mentioned before, I was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the day before Robert Kennedy arrived there to begin his tour of Appalachia. I don’t know that it explains why, over the course of my life, I’ve been so drawn to Kennedy, but it’s an odd coincidence, I think, and I find it hard to [...]

Posted in Mark's Life, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged Appalachia, assassination, Baptists, Bruce D. Meyer, Bush tax cuts, Christian, Christianity, Conference of Catholic Bishops, entitlements, faith based initiative, homelessness, hunger, hunger in America, James X. Sullivan, Jesus, John Edwards, Kairos Prison Ministry International, Kentucky, Lexington, Martin Luther King, Matthew Yglesias, MLK, National Association of Evangelicals, Obama, poverty, poverty tour, Presidential politics, RFK, Robert Kennedy, Romney, social safety net, tax the rich, The Circle of Protection, wealth inequality, welfare | 12 Comments

WISD Superintendent Scott Menzel on the proposed merger of the Ypsilanti and Willow Run school districts

By Mark | July 15, 2012

A few days ago, I posted something here about the proposed merger of the Ypsilanti and Willow Run school districts. Well, what I’d written was apparently brought to the attention of Scott Menzel, the superintendent of the Washtenaw Intermediate School District. Scott asked for an opportunity to clarify a few things concerning the proposed merger, [...]

Posted in Education, Michigan, Sustainability | Also tagged Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, Chapelle, charter schools, civic involvement of students, community gardens, consolidation, curriculum, discipline, dismantling of public education, EAA, Early College Alliance, Eastern Leaders Group, Eastern Michigan University, education reform, Educational Achievement Authority, Emergency Financial Manager Act, Emergency Financial Manger, Emergency Manager, Great Start Readiness Program, Head Start, Houghton Mifflin, Lead and Learn, Maria Cotera, mentorship, Muskegon Heights, New Tech HIgh School, persistently low achieving, PLA, privatization, public education, School Aid Act, school budget, school calendar, school vouchers, Scott Menzel, social justice, STEMTech, student court, United Way of Washtenaw County, urban agriculture, Washtenaw Intermediate School District, Willow Run Community Schools, WIllow Run high school, WISD, Ypsilanti Area Community Fund, Ypsilanti Public School Alliance, Ypsilanti Public Schools | 10 Comments

State of the City of Ypsilanti 2012 — the Five-Year Plan

By Mark | April 3, 2012

The following was just sent out by Ypsilanti Mayor Paul Schreiber. As I don’t know if it will get picked up in what remains of our local press, I thought that I should reprint it here, so that people could share it by way of Facebook, etc. That, of course, doesn’t help the thousands of [...]