Plan Commission to Consider Allowing Charter School in Fair Park Planetarium Building

• How will the kids get to school during the fair?

• If Uplift wants to compete with the school district by being open enrollment, why the cost of $500 uniforms and no transportation? Kids in West Dallas are being told they have to pass their TAKS to get admitted to the new schools. Dallas schools can certainly compete if these rules were in place. Competition means taking the same kids and keeping those same kids. Let's see Uplift's report card under those circumstances, and until then, teachers are fed up with the fairy tale this organization feeds the public.

• My mom used to docent at a museum/planetarium for one summer back in SoCal. I probably had those stories/speeches memorized, but it was still super-cool to see the planetarium show and play in the spinner (so flexible then--I miss the splits).

• Is this the building that has the old bomb shelter underneath it? If so, I went to pre-school there circa 1970. I remember we got to go down into the shelter at the open house.

• Hummmm, According to their website, they're already taking applications for the School. Looks like a done deal, even before the Council approves it? Annual report's pretty short on details, but interesting: -88% of their funding comes from tax dollars. -Board looks like a sub-committee of the Dallas Real Estate Council (HKS, Goldman, wonder who get the debt underwriting fees and is the contractor? Is the a smaller version of the DISD cash cow, with less public scrutiny?). -Per Google, looks like they issued $10.4MM+ Rated BBB- in tax exempt bonds ot build their school. www.tpfa.state.tx.us/csfc/OfficialStatements/CSFC_Uplift_2007AB.pdf -"Our schools consistently outperform other available public educational alternatives": They seem to think after "cherry picking" (i.e. no special needs kids, foreign, etc.) students they out perform DISD. (yeah right) -Why is Gilbert Prado a DISD employee President of the Board? WTF? http://www.uplifteducation.org/211110113152223720/site/default.asp Looks like a bunch of North Dallas Right Wingers working to undermine public education: Who would have guessed? One of their schools (Peak) is alleged to have had a teacher turnover rate of 71%!?! http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/01/temporary-teachers-in-texas.html Wonder when their last audit was by the state? "TEA doesn't audit schools on a regular schedule � only when someone brings a problem to the agency's attention or when a school's own outside audit raises questions." http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/040608dnmetCharterMain.3a5ff8c.html What could possibly go wrong?

• Gotta say, the Planetarium was my favorite field trip when I was a kid.

• You going to send lil 6 to this school, Robert? If for nothing else, not a bad field to use for PE.

• Those kids better not scribble on the restored murals or pee in the new fountains.

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