What Will Gas Cost in 25 Years?

Do you know what vehicle you will be driving next year? In 10 years, do you know where you’ll be working or living? In 20 years, do you know how many children you will have and where they will be going to school or participating in activities? Which restaurants will you want to try when you retire in 25 years? Will the senior center and medical clinic be the only places you want to visit? These are some of the questions the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (DMAMPO) is asking you to think about this week.

A public meeting will be held in the library at Roosevelt High School at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 29, 2008. This meeting will be to gather big-picture goals and smaller-scale objectives for the needs of the area transportation system in the year 2035. Officially the meeting is to discuss and to gather input into the Horizon Year 2035 Long-Range Transportation Plan Goals and Objectives. There will also be a meeting for the Citizen Transportation Congress immediately following the long-range planning meeting. The Congress is more of a regularly-scheduled informational meeting about the DMAMPO and any transportation issues or concerns the public may have, whether they be about roads, bicycles, pedestrians, or public transit.

Luke Parris of the DMAMPO talked with me about the long-range planning meeting for this article. He said the reason people should participate in this planning process is that this is their opportunity to be in at the beginning of the concept. Often when public hearings are held the plans have already been worked out so few changes can be made. But the long-range plan can take into account a variety of concerns and desires.

The draft plan includes 9 broad goals, each with more specific objectives. Here is a summary of the goals:

1. Integrate pedestrians into the year-round traffic patterns.

2. Integrate bicyclists into the year-round traffic patterns.

3. Ensure the operation of a public transportation system. The specific objectives include both passenger rail and a downtown (i.e., Des Moines) tram.

4. Improve the street and roadway system to promote safe passage by all types of users. This includes reducing congestion to reduce accidents, to remove opportunities for automobile/pedestrian collisions, and solving the complaints of bicyclists who get shooed off of roads and off of sidewalks.

5. Promote movement of goods within and through the region. While the I-80/I-35 highways may come to mind, the DMAMPO is looking at expanding cargo coming into the Des Moines International Airport and utilizing Foreign Trade Zones. (Note: Think of this as the antipathy of buying locally-grown and locally-produced food and products. Yet, it could also increase the options for Iowa manufacturing and agricultural industries to export products.)

6. Promote a safe and secure transportation system. This revolves mostly around the points where different types of traffic tend to intersect, e.g., at railroad crossings and at crosswalks.

7. Maintain the transportation system in a good state of repair. This includes making sure bridges do not collapse and roads do not have giant potholes.

8. Promote development that supports an efficient intermodal transit system. This includes making pedestrian and bicycle routes more direct and combining shopping and residences in compact districts. (Note: Many people think intermodal transit should also include bus or rail service to airports, to intercity bus stations, and to park-and-ride sites that include access by pedestrians and by bicyclists.)

9. Protect environmental, natural, and historic resources through use of alternative fuels and choice of routes.

For anybody who’s been paying attention to transportation discussions over the past year, this list looks very familiar. How much it can change depends upon visionary and community-focused citizens.

As a comparison, think of a long-range plan for 2010 created in the year 1983. Think of your own transportation needs, from the ease of night-time driving to the need for driving your teenage children to various entertainment venues, as well as getting to work. Think of the businesses you frequent. Are you driving farther for a bargain or are you supporting your locally-owned business? What roads would you like to see built for a more direct route to your favorite locations? Answer that question then think how much it will cost to maintain the extra roads, with ice in winter and patrol officers in summer. Would you be able to save more for retirement if you gave up a vehicle? If you gave up a vehicle what would you need to access jobs, community meetings, and other necessities of life? Would it be public transit or more consolidated communities? Do you want clusters of communities separated by expansive highways and acreage, such as the small towns of Iowa, or would you prefer as much density as possible in one location?

M.R. Field thinks back to 1983 and is shocked by how little her transportation concerns have changed.

Libertarians Nominate Barr/Root

It took 6 rounds of voting for the 643 delegates at the Libertarian Party’s national convention to select their nominee officially. The outcome was fairly certain after the first round, though, when the conservatives Bob Barr and Wayne Allyn Root combined took almost 43% of the votes. In the final round of voting, Barr beat out the liberal Mary Ruwart by a vote of 334 to 276.

According to a press release posted on the Libertarian Party’s website, Wayne Allyn Root and Steve Kubby, another candidate originally seeking the presidential nomination, moved to a second round of voting to decide who would be the vice presidential candidate. Gail Lightfoot, Jim Burns, and Daniel Williams were eliminated in the first round. The party’s official totals omit None of the Above votes even though all ballots include that option and a few delegates chose it.

The line of state delegation chairs as they gathered to read the first-round ballot results made very clear that the Libertarian Party lacks diversity in terms of ethnicity or skin color. That was confirmed by the lack of any faces that were not white as the C-SPAN cameraman moved around the convention floor. There were women, but they were outnumbered by men. Of the 49 states that had delegates at the convention, only 5 of the people reading first-round results were women. (North Dakota did not have any delegates. Some states had a single delegate.)

Iowa’s delegation cast its first-round votes for George Phillies (3), Wayne Allyn Root (2), Mary Ruwart (1), and Mike Gravel (1). After reading the results, state party and delegation chairman Ed Wright recited Iowa’s motto: “Our liberties we prize and our rights we shall maintain.” In the final round, 2 of Iowa’s delegates supported Ruwart and 5 voted for Barr.

C-SPAN had non-stop coverage of the convention floor for close to 7 hours on May 25, 2008. A person giving a nominating speech for Christine Smith said she just missed out having enough tokens to participate in Saturday night’s televised debate. She used the support she had received from delegates to give enough strength to other candidates in order to expand the number of people participating in the debate. Candidate Michael Jingozian gave the nominating speech for Mike Gravel.

There was humor displayed by several delegation chairs during the first-round voting announcements. When the convention chair was corrected for skipping from New Hampshire to New York, the New Jersey chair said, “Once again, New Jersey is the butt of all jokes.” The Washington chair took pride in saying the airplanes on which delegates flew, the computers they used, and the coffee they drank to keep them awake at the convention were all from his state. Alaska “welcomes global warming with open arms,” according to its delegation chair and the lack of votes for the local candidate, Mike Gravel. The Minnesota chair said it is hard to tell the Democrats and the Republicans apart because they both “trip all over themselves trying to get stadiums built.”

Candidates worked the convention floor between voting rounds. The C-SPAN camera captured both Smith and Ruwart warning that, based on messages they have received, a ticket headed by Barr would result in many Libertarians leaving the party. Smith said Barr needed more distance from his Republican past and Ruwart cited Barr’s lack of support for the legalization of all drugs.

Correction: Barr voted for the Patriot Act but was not an author, as was reported in the article on the May 24th debate.

M.R. Field was editor of Leading Voices: Iowa, a newsletter focusing on politics, women, and change. 

The Libertarian President

Freedom was a frequent topic of discussion during a debate between seven candidates vying to be the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president. Liberty was also mentioned. In essence, liberty is freedom from government control of a citizen’s money and body. One person’s freedom ends where it meets another person’s property, with property being defined as body as well as land, or even as the air we share.

This was the final debate before delegates to the Libertarian Party’s national convention choose their nominee. That decision will be made today, May 25, 2008.

I watched the debate live last night as it aired on C-SPAN. Although labeled a debate, it was a forum. Candidates were asked a question and they all had the opportunity to answer with no opportunity for rebuttal. The result was much more the impression of a team sport. That image was first created when the moderator introduced the candidates. As each candidate entered the stage, he or she went down the line of previously introduced candidates clapping backs and shaking hands. Once the forum started, the candidates were more likely to hand the ball, or issue, to the next candidate, or team member, for his or her own chance at a better shot.

Bob Barr took some slings from other candidates for his days as a Republican congressman from Georgia, when he was among the authors of the Patriot Act and of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). He promoted his loyalty to the Libertarian ideology by mentioning his service as a member of the Libertarian National Committee and his chance to meet Charlton Heston as a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Mike Gravel, a Demoratic two-term U.S. Senator from Alaska, faced a tough crowd as he tried to convince the convention delegates that a Libertarian could also be a liberal. In his opening statement, Gravel said that the United States is at an “important juncture” and to “follow the money if you want to find out what will happen next year,” if a Republican or a Democrat is elected president.

George Phillies, a professor of physics at a technical institute in Massachusetts, describes himself as a centrist Libertarian. His theme for the forum was that he already has a network in place for his campaign, no doubt because he also heads the Massachusetts state party. He has formed political action committees, sent out news releases, and reached out to Ron Paul supporters in an effort to help local and statewide candidates get elected..

Michael Jingozian is a business owner. His closing statement sounded more like a commercial for his business than a pitch for his candidacy. Answering a question about oil and gas drilling in the U.S., Jingozian said the arctic has more uses than just energy. He also pointed out that petroleum is used in many raw materials and products besides gasoline, so the discussion is about much more than energy.

Mary Ruwart is a physician who has run for the party’s nomination before. She stressed that she has had 25 years of Libertarian campaign experience. She played the gender card during the forum, arguing that many women in the country want to vote for a woman. She believes in traditional political issues such as a clean environment, reduction in crime, and affordable healthcare. However, she believes that only freedom, not government, can help us reach those goals.

Steve Kubby has adrenal cancer and that led him to battle for legalization of medical marijuana. When answering a question about philosophers who inspired the candidates, Kubby said he was inspired by David Nolan, founder of the Libertarian Party, who taught him that liberty works and from that everything else follows. When asked who he would appoint to the Supreme Court, Kubby said the justices “have too much power, and they’re idiots.”

Wayne Allyn Root has been a sports commentator and is a small business owner. His niche issue is education and he describes himself as a person who home schools his children. When he said he favored drilling for fuel in protected Alaskan lands, off the shore of California, and in other environmentally sensitive locations, the delegates let out a mix of boos and yeas.

More information on the background of the candidates can be found in an April 29, 2008, Reason Magazine article.

M.R. Field writes about events for AroundDesMoines.com. Kevin Litten is a delegate from Iowa at the convention. 

Iowans in Liberty

The Libertarian Party’s 2008 national convention is being held in Denver, Colorado, from May 23rd through the 26th. The Iowa party’s 2006 gubernatorial candidate, Kevin Litten, called AroundDesMoines.com to provide a report on the first day.

The Libertarian Party requires its would-be presidents and vice presidents to mingle with delegates to the convention. Each delegate has a piece of paper that is called a token and the candidates must collect enough tokens that they can then advance to the next round of the nominating process. This necessity forces the candidates to work the delegates just as Republican and Democratic candidates woo Iowa caucus goers with personal conversations and attention.

States are awarded delegates to the national convention based on the size of their state membership and on the number of votes cast for the Libertarian candidate in the previous presidential election. Iowa has nine delegates, mostly due to the size of the party. Other states have more delegates as a result of the presidential votes cast. The Iowa delegation notes that the state has about 1% of the national population and about 1% of the party’s delegates.

There are a total of 1,024 delegates permitted at the convention. About 20 people said they were running for president, but only 11 are at the convention. In the first round of elimination, a candidate must gather 30 tokens. In the second round, candidates will probably need to gather about 80. (The exact number required is a percentage of the total delegates registered on Saturday morning.) Candidates who meet the second challenge may participate in a debate sponsored by C-SPAN (to be shown at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, 9:30 a.m. Sunday).

Litten talked about meeting Bob Barr on Friday. “There was this guy chewing on his ear about medical marijuana.” Litten said Barr wasn’t keen on supporting that issue and described the candidate as “a drug warrior extraordinare back in his Republican days.” Litten compared Barr’s campaign style to that of Bill Clinton, i.e., schmooze, shake hands, and schmooze some more. (Barr’s congressional biography indicates he was born in Iowa City in 1948.)

While the Republican and Democratic parties tend to avoid sex and other topics, the Libertarians embrace them. Litten said one of the candidates, Daniel Williams posed naked for the cover of his book, The Naked Truth about Drugs. (Williams is listed on a Libertarian Party website as having withdrawn his candidacy in April.) In addition, a local strip club, Shotgun Willy’s, provided a free entrance pass in delegates’ packets. The bar also has an information table at the convention, as do Mutual of Omaha and other businesses.

Another candidate, whose name Litten could not remember, rode his motorcycle from New York to the Denver convention. Litten said this person didn’t have “an ice cube’s chance in hell” of winning the nomination. The candidate’s intelligent but his body language and gestures are not those associated with the image of a president.

M.R. Field wrote this post for AroundDesMoines.com based on information supplied mostly by Mr. Litten.

DMPS SB Meeting 05/20/2008: Elections

Will the school board of the Des Moines Public Schools vote to shorten Jon Narcisse’s term while adding a year to Patty Link’s term? That is the question left unanswered during a discussion at the May 20, 2008, meeting of the board. The discussion took place as a result of a new law passed by the Iowa legislature earlier this year.

The district’s communications official, Phil Roeder, presented information on the change in school board elections. He stressed that this was legislation (HF 2620) proposed by Iowa’s secretary of state (Michael Mauro) and opposed by the Iowa Association of School Boards and the Iowa Association of Cities. Roeder added that Mauro’s intent was to reduce the cost of staging elections. For voters in the Des Moines Public Schools district, there is also a matter of political strategy to consider.

Currently, the seven-member school board is elected for three-year terms with approximately one-third of the board seats voted on every year. Under the new law, terms will last for four years and approximately one-half of the board will be voted upon in each election (i.e., alternating between three seats and four seats). The law requires seats with terms ending in 2009, those positions now held by Connie Boesen and Teree Caldwell-Johnson, to convert to four-year terms with the 2009 election. The political maneuvering begins with those seats filled in the 2007 election.

School boards across the state will decide individually how they want to transition to four-year terms. In Des Moines, the board must change the length of term for Patty Link and Jon Narcisse, both of whom were elected in 2007. Both terms could be shortened or lengthened by a year, or one may be shortened and the other lengthened. The new law states that if the terms are split, with one seat up for election in 2009 and the other in 2011, then the board member who received the most votes in 2007 would have the lengthened term. Since the controversial Narcisse received the fewer votes, his term could end next year. In contrast, even though Link was seen by many people as being elected primarily to push through the final approval on the sale of the Rice school property, she received the most votes in 2007 and could see her term extended to 2011.

The board has the option of adjusting to four-year terms by resetting the length of terms for some of the victors in the 2008 school board election to one year. The board could decide who would have four-year terms and who would have a one-year term based on the number of votes each candidate receives. The board could also decide to split the ballot into races specific to four-year and one-year terms. All the law requires is for the board to end up with four members elected one year and three members elected two years later.

The DMPS school board will discuss potential new board configurations at its June 3rd meeting. If nobody speaks at that meeting, the board may decide to vote on its own plan(s) at that time. However, the board also left itself the option of delaying its decision until the June 17th meeting. Candidates for the 2008 school board elections may begin filing papers on July 7th. (July 31st at 5:00 p.m. is the deadline.) The board must have its transition plan to the secretary of state by August 1st.

Narcisse said he intended to serve only one term but did not think it fair to voters for that term to be shortened. Link did not express her opinion, merely asking if she could vote on the plan since her position would be impacted. (The answer is yes.) Jeanette Woods expressed concern about the cost of running for school board and said she did not think it fair to ask someone to run two campaigns in two years. Ginny Strong did not express any particular preference but was ready to vote on a transition plan. Dick Murphy said he wants a decision as quickly as possible to allow potential 2008 candidates the opportunity to decide if they will run. Woods, Strong, and Murphy all have terms expiring this year.

M.R. Field reports on the DMPS school board for AroundDesMoines.com.

Barack Obama Returns to Iowa

A few of us gathered at E. 6th and Locust on Tuesday the 20th.

We waited in line politely. We were entertained well by Faculty Lounge, a very talented and energetic group of local teachers.

It was a chance to see friends while well-protected.

But the highlight of course was the stirring return to Iowa of Barack Obama.

You can see and hear excerpts.

Related posts: Are we too divided?

What great fun it is to live in Iowa! Guest Writer: James G. Lindberg (Jim) is the Purple Wren’s sweetie and is a visiting chemistry professor at Grinnell College and retired from Drake University.[tags] Iowa, Des Moines, Central Iowa News, Barack Obama[/tags]

DART Commission Meeting 04/22/2008 - Part 2

This post is about money, political and economic power, and public transit service. It includes information from the April 22, 2008, meeting of the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) Commission; comparison information from other sources, and personal observations. The writing of the post has been delayed by a few weeks but it is important for it to be finished now. On May 14, 2008, the DART Commission will hold a daytime meeting to hear from city managers and other officials in its region regarding the formula used to calculate each municipality’s financial responsibility to the DART budget.

DART evolved from the Metropolitan Transit Authority at the end of 2006 as recognition of the reality that transportation services were being provided beyond the core Des Moines metropolitan area. Although, the routes were (and are) still heavily targeted towards downtown Des Moines. The old formula calculated how many miles a bus traveled in a city and how many passengers were on the bus. This calculation included buses that merely passed through an area without stopping. With the express bus service from Waukee to Des Moines that was to have started this year, Urbandale officials were concerned that they would be charged for that service even though it made no stops in Urbandale. Similarly, people commuting from Ankeny to Des Moines were charged to the Des Moines contribution even though the consequences were that the property taxes and jobs from those commuters benefitted Ankeny, not Des Moines residents.

           

At the April DART meeting, General Manager Brad Miller cited numbers he said came from the Ankeny school district. The city’s average age is 32 and the population is 37,000. In two-parent homes, there are 5,000 stay-at-parents but 13,000 parents commute to jobs in Des Moines each day. Miller also gave a presentation that showed possible financial consequences for DART and for commuters if certain communities were to withdraw from DART. Commissioner Steve Van Oort clarified that ridership from Ankeny is up 27% and that “we’re in folks,” meaning that Ankeny was not going to pull out. However, Van Oort represents a district that includes other communities that are re-considering the direction of DART.

Commissioners seemed to be in consensus that the original reworking of the formula from the miles-and-passenger calculation to a more general population-based formula. Commissioner Bob Parks talked about the need to “continue stirring until we get the lumps out” of the formula. Commissioner Angela Connelly, a Polk County supervisor, said, “I have changed my mind on what we did a couple months ago,” indicating the need to revise the funding calculations used. Miller noted that while the base charge was more equal, the actual amount paid by a community would be impacted by the value of housing. Des Moines’ contribution has been subsidized by revenue from city-owned parking garages.

Miller is interested in keeping ridership up because the federal government gives $0.13 per rider to transit agencies. That also explains so much emphasis on the Unlimited Access program. If communities start pulling out of DART and regular routes need to be shortened or eliminated, that would also have an impact upon the Des Moines Public Schools, Miller said. The school district uses DART routes to help transport students to and from school and if those fixed routes disappeared, then the school district would need to spend more for transportation.

At the April DART meeting, it was estimated that the 90th van pool would start operating in May 2008. The monthly System Performance Report Summary for March 2008 showed an increase in ridership from March 2007, except that weekend passengers were fewer in 2008. In addition, approximately 10,000 fewer miles were shown as being operated. Given the fact that Sunday service existed in 2008 but not in 2007, this is interesting. When I asked Miller after the April meeting why there was such a drop, he didn’t have an explanation. I have noticed during May weekend bus trips that ridership seems to continue to be down. This raises questions about people not having money to spend and possibly staying home, but it also raises concerns that DART staff may start questioning the need for weekend service, if the trend continues. These statistics go to the heart of the purpose of DART. Is it to bring out-of-town residents to downtown Des Moines for jobs or is it to serve as a full-life alternative to reduce all of the pollution and financial strain of automobiles?

Even as DART faces the challenge of immediate financial contributions, other political entities are looking at long-term funding. Senate File 2420 requires the state’s Department of Transportation to study public transit funding. The Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is seeking funding to study rapid transit options.

M.R. Field writes about public transportation for AroundDesMoines.com. Unfortunately, she is unable to attend the May 14th DART Commission meeting. 

Candidate: One Susan Follows Another

The Democratic challenger for the Iowa House seat now held by Ralph Watts (R-Adel) was in Des Moines on May 3, 2008, to talk about the women’s suffrage movement and to raise money for her campaign. Susan Temere (D-West Des Moines) said she chose to view the documentary, Not for Ourselves Alone, because of the affinity she has with Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt.

Temere’s issues include a world-class education, the environment, affordable and accessible healthcare, and the economy. She currently teaches in the Adel and Waukee school districts and at the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). She spent 15 years at General Motors, working in management-related and union positions.

While working on a rape reform task force to strengthen the sexual assault laws in Michigan, Temere, then 22, decided she would run for office some day. “I saw the caliber of the all-male legislature [and] knew [I} could do better,” she said. Jennifer Temkin in her book Rape and the Legal Process, as excerpted on Google Book Search, notes that 2 years before the Women’s Task Force on Rape worked to help enact “radical and influential legislation in 1974,” 90 people in the entire state of Michigan were convicted of “unlawful carnal knowledge,” as rape was then defined. In contrast, “in Detroit alone, at least 3,370 alleged victims of rape were treated in hospitals and 900 rapes were reported to the police.”

It was at a public hearing on pay equity held by the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women that I first met Temere. I was giving testimony as editor of Leading Voices: Iowa and Temere was attending as part of a pay equity committee she headed for an area chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW). I told of a woman at an old-line manufacturing business in Boston who expected the company to promote her because she earned a master’s degree, while the company continued to see her only as a secretary. Temere shared that she had similar stories from her time working in Detroit.

District 47 is essentially Dallas County with a sliver of Guthrie County to the east and a square of Boone County to the north. Portions of Dallas County, one in the southwest and one in the north central, are in Districts 73 and 48, respectively. District 47 includes the rapidly growing communities of Dallas County’s eastern half and the rural communities of the western half. The 2000 U.S. Census has a countywide population of 40,750. Perry is the largest town completely in the county with a population approaching 8,000. Approximately three-quarters of the population is in towns or cities. Linden, with a population of 226, is considered part of that statistic. According to the Iowa State University extension office in 2006, 82% of the land in Dallas County is agricultural.

Temere, who supports VOICE legislation for publicly-financed elections, said she was just getting started on her fundraising for the general election. She will not have a primary contest. She has been endorsed by the South Central Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO.

Since Temere’s list of issues includes both developing an energy independent Iowa and promoting clean air and water, I asked her how she intended to balance those two items, giving the proposed Marshalltown power plant as an example. The candidate said she did not support coal-fueled power plants. When I then asked her about bio-ethanol, she said she needs to learn more about it but leans toward it. Although, she acknowledged there is concern about food supplies when crops are grown for fuel.

M.R. Field covers local issues for AroundDesMoines.com. 

Going to the Market

Neither rain nor seasonly-limited produce kept people from the first downtown farmers’ market of the year in Des Moines on May 10, 2008. Rhubarb, a few leaves of spinach, some young garlic, greenhouse tomatoes, and a bit of asparagus from Polk City were the local fruits and vegetables for sale. One vendor clearly labeled out-of-state produce. There were plenty of bakeries, a few wineries, meat producers, and value-added agricultural businesses with booths. Most of the people I saw making purchases were waiting for warm food prepared for immediate consumption.

There are several residents of Des Moines who believe the best economic plan for the city would include no zoning laws. Seeing several signs with rules scattered around the market this year, I kept thinking about the idea that too much legal restriction leads to economic contraction. On the public side of the market, there are instructions on how dogs should behave and times when vendors must start and stop selling. On the business side of the market, there is a new application process that requires vendors to apply online and submit photographs of every type of item to be included with instructions that they cannot depart from that list at all. There may be good reasons for all of these attempts at control; nevertheless, they threaten to squeeze the vitality of experimentation out of the market.

One of the new cottage industries that made it onto this year’s vendor list is Beaverdale Confections Co. You can buy blocks of gourmet marshmallow, lollipops (marshmallows on a stick), and hot cocoa gift boxes. The Kahlua marshmallow was a well-balanced taste but there was competition between the smooth creaminess of the Kahlua and the granular chewiness of the marshmallow. The coconut and marshmallow combination offered uniformity in textures and sweetness. These are not the air-puffed marshmallows sold in most grocery stores.

Often what I find most useful about the downtown market is learning about the many non-profit and political events happening around the city. At the May 10th market, I picked up literature for Walk Now for Autism, talked with Rep. Leonard Boswell’s (D-3rd District) primary challenger, and learned more about Bike to Work Week.

Autism Speaks was founded in 2005 by the grandparents of a child with autism. The organization informs about, funds research into, and advocates on issues related to autism. The Iowa Walk Now for Autism fundraiser will take place June 7, 2008 in Gray’s Lake Park.

Ed Fallon was shaking hands and talking with voters so I took the opportunity for an impromptu interview. I asked him how the campaign was going. He replied, “good,” then talked about Boswell’s refusal to debate and linked that to democratic injustice. I asked Fallon if he thought Boswell’s campaign mailings and his own personal appearances did not satisfy democracy. The challenger said people want to see the two candidates side-by-side, answering the same issues.

Bike to Work Week Project Coordinator Tina Hadden said over 1600 people have registered, which is nearly 300 more than last year. Approximately 70% of the registrants are in the greater Des Moines area. Most of the remaining 30% are in the Iowa City-Cedar Rapids corridor. There are several events being held in Des Moines during the week, which officially runs from May 10th through the 16th. Hadden said the new Johnston trail allowed a bicyclist to miss beating a motorist by only a couple minutes on an annual race from Johnston to downtown Des Moines. Registering helps bicyclist activists to demonstrate support to elected officials for bicycle-friendly polices.

M.R. Field covers local events for AroundDesMoines.com.

DMPS School Board Meeting 05/06/08 - Part 2

A recommendation by the Des Moines Public Schools’ calendar committee led to a discussion on professional development and student achievement at the May 6, 2008, DMPS School Board meeting.

State law requires 180 days of education each school year. In addition, there must be 5.5 hours of instruction per day or 27.5 hours within a consecutive 5-day period. When the DMPS calendar is prepared, consideration must be given to major holidays. In addition, DMPS breaks need to be coordinated with breaks at local colleges and universities to accommodate student teachers’ schedules. Hot weather is also a concern since some school buildings do not have air conditioning.

One recommendation of the calendar committee was accepted with little discussion. The early dismissals (20 minutes early) on the days before the Thanksgiving and the Winter Holiday breaks will be eliminated starting with the 2008-2009 school year. This is an amendment to the calendar adopted last summer.

The recommendation that faced opposition was a proposal to let all schools out early every Wednesday starting with the 2009-2010 school year. The purpose of the proposal is to allow teachers time for required professional development and class planning. The weekly early release would replace ad hoc schedules created at elementary, middle, and high school levels.

Superintendent Dr. Nancy Sebring described the three levels of professional development. The first occurs at the individual level, when teachers set their own development goals and discuss them with their principals. The building level is next with decisions being made on how graduation ends, No Child Left Behind, and that school’s culture are promoted by all teachers. The district is the final level and it will also set some policies on government mandates and academic programs.

The 90-minute early dismissal would not all come from instruction time. It would be calculated from the time teachers are scheduled to leave. The Wednesday dismissals would replace other early dismissal days already in the schedule for professional development but would not replace full-day sessions, such as the one held on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

District staff sent an electronic survey to teachers and queried parents via parent-teacher conferences on their support for a consistent professional development day. Those who responded were predominantly in favor of a weekly early-release day. However, there was much more support for such a schedule in the elementary grades. Sebring said if only elementary students were released early, the extra demand on buses and drivers would cost $1,000 each Wednesday. The superintendent added that another part of the reasoning for an across-the-board release time was so older siblings could babysit those students too young to be at home by themselves.

Several board members said that nearly everybody who sent them e-mails were opposed to the weekly development schedule. One teacher who spoke during public comments said that the Federal Aviation Authority insists upon a certain number of hours in the aviation program and that the proposal could jeopardize the program’s certification due to lack of instructional hours. Board President Dick Murphy said he had heard from music and art teachers concerned that their lessons would be cut out of instruction time under the plan. Sebring asked the board to request people contacting them to also copy district administration as the opposition was coming somewhat as a surprise, given the results of the teacher and parent surveys. Board members volunteered to forward messages they had already received.

Board Member Jon Narcisse said that $1,000 every Wednesday, for approximately 25 Wednesdays, would be worth the cost if it resulted in improved achievements for students. Murphy agreed with him on that point. Board Member Patty Link was concerned about comparing DMPS early dismissals to those of nearby districts, preferring to see how other urban districts handled professional development and early dismissal. There were frequent comments that teachers had told board members there already is enough professional development and class planning; what is considered more important is face time with the students.

Several board members stressed that the final decision had to be based on student achievement. The board also was insistent on having some way to measure the success of any professional development, both for individual teachers and for students. There was also concerned expressed in public comments and by some board members that not all professional development training is worthwhile. Would there be enough quality development to justify an early release every week?

The board wants to hear from the district’s professional development committee. If a weekly early out is needed, is Wednesday the best day? Board Member Connie Boesen, throwing out ideas, asked if maybe Friday would be better, which would give parents options for early weekends.

Sebring and her staff will gather more information and update the proposal before the board at the May 20th meeting.

M.R. Field reports on school board meetings for AroundDesMoines.com. 

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