Open Thread

Let's start this with an "Open thread" discussion. Please comment on any topic of concern. Its not that I can't guess what's on your mind these days, but sometimes we suprise each other. I'll open individual threads for the relevant topics as they come up.

P.S. I would appreciate any comments on one old post I left up below, with some modest ideas for a better Monona.


Update 4/21 8PM:
1) Thanks for keeping it civil!

2) In general I don't intend to argue the points, I just want to hear what people have to say. But let me respond to a couple of things posted in the comments:

First, the "silly" comment: There is only one reason to close Maywood and that is the relative cost of maintaining two small schools vs. one larger one. This is of course balanced by the benefits of maintaining a small school environment. As far as I can see the less these two schools cost the less reason there would be to consolidate them. No?

Second, the comment about these schools being "half-staffed". I invite the poster to look at the number of teachers and staff (there are 30+ people who work in each of these buildings) and divide that into the number of students. You will find that the student/teacher ratios are much lower than other schools in the district, and that they among the very lowest in the state. These schools are by no means "half-staffed". Next year there will be one principal between the two, but we are also adding a teacher at Maywood.