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Database: Ann Arbor Public Schools' Patricia Green is No. 1 highest-salaried superintendent in Michigan
AnnArbor.com file photo
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market think tank, compiled the total compensation and current contract information for about 570 conventional and intermediate school districts in Michigan. The center ranked districts based on total compensation, salary, insurance benefits, pension, annuity, travel and other allowances.
"Looking at superintendent compensation is important," Michael Van Beek, director of education policy for the Midland-based think tank, told MLive. "It is a relatively small amount (about 1 percent) of what public schools spend in general, but it is important just because it's the figurehead of the school district. So I think the public should have easy access to this information."
School districts are required by law to post some of the information on their websites, the MLive article states, but the center's new database makes it easier to compare this information. It also includes the number of sick and vacation days and links to employment contracts for most of the superintendents.
Ann Arbor's Green, who was hired prior to the 2011-12 academic year, is paid a salary of $245,000. The database shows this is nearly $33,000 more than any other superintendent in the state. Rounding out the top five highest-paid superintendents with Ann Arbor is the Oakland Intermediate School District ($212,183), Genesee ISD ($210,000), Troy ($204,793) and Rockford ($204,496).
Green ranks No. 7 in total compensation. She receives a pension of $22,925 and insurance benefits worth $5,626, bringing her total compensation package to $273,551.
Ann Arbor Public Schools is the sixth-largest district in the state based on its total enrollment, which according to the database is 16,668 students.
The districts ranked above AAPS in superintendent total compensation packages are Utica ($300,789; 29,541 students), Rockford ($290,445; 7,975 students), Kalamazoo ($280,468; 12,471 students), Farmington ($277,867; 11,763 students), Wayne-Westland ($273,875; 13,031 students) and Troy ($273,615; 12,125 students).
The Utica superintendent has served in her role for seven years; Rockford's superintendent has been at the helm for 24 years; the Kalamazoo superintendent has been in the role for nearly six years; Farmington's superintendent has been an employee of the district for 24 years and superintendent for seven; and Troy's superintendent has been in her position for nearly eight years. Wayne-Westland school officials could not be reached due to the district being on mid-winter break.
The statewide average salary is about $115,000, while the statewide average total compensation is about $155,000. All of the school districts in Washtenaw County, except for Manchester Community Schools ($113,500), pay their superintendents more than the state-average salary.
Manchester's total compensation package is $175,890, the sixth highest in the county, according to the database. The Washtenaw County school districts that compensate their superintendents at amounts below the state average are Milan, Dexter and Lincoln.
Ypsilanti Public Schools Superintendent Dedrick Martin has the second-highest total compensation package in the county, behind Green at AAPS. Martin receives a salary of $126,000, $22,925 in a pension, insurance benefits worth $24,431, a travel allowance of $3,600 and "other" allowance of $900, according to the database.
Martin's insurance benefits package is the largest in the county.
Laura Lisiscki, Willow Run Community Schools' superintendent, is paid a salary of $120,000 and receives a total compensation of $168,053, the seventh highest in the county. Her compensation package includes insurance benefits worth $10,538, a pension of $24,315, $3,600 travel allowance, other allowance of $1,200 and an annuity of $8,400.
Per the Mackinac Center's database, Lincoln Consolidated Schools' Superintendent Ellen Bonter receives the smallest compensation package in the county: a salary of $130,000 and insurance benefits worth $8,234, for a total compensation package worth $138,234.
Bonter's salary is the fourth largest in the county, behind Ann Arbor, the Washtenaw ISD ($157,500) and Milan ($134,266). Dexter Community Schools' superintendent earns the same amount, $130,000.
Lincoln currently is the third-largest district in Washtenaw County with 4,741 students. Saline Area Schools, the second-largest district with 5,331 students, pays Superintendent Scot Graden a salary of $125,000, the fourth lowest salary in the county.
Graden's total compensation package is $157,328, with a travel allowance of $6,000, other allowance of $6,500 and insurance benefits worth $19,828, according to the database.
Whitmore Lake Public Schools, the smallest district in the county with 1,171 students, has the third-highest superintendent total compensation package in Washtenaw County: $181,215. The package is comprised of a salary of $124,223, insurance benefits worth $20,159, an annuity of $6,211 and a $30,622 pension.
Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 11:40 p.m.
Gee, it's funny to talk about the Superintendent's salary. Usually the public only wants to hear about how grossly overpaid teachers are. NOT!!!!!
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 4 p.m.
Danielle, Using Mackinac Center data is like listening to Paul Ryan talk about his Ayn Rand philosophy of economics. People take it for what it is, an attempt by this Koch Brothers, Dick Devos funded group to portray public education as a runaway train of spending. Regardless of their so-called database, the real question is the matter of intent. Anyone with any gray matter understands that the objective of these people (Mac Center) is to demonize public education and educators to enable parasites such as the EMO's (ex. National Heritage Academies) that have come in and raped the taxpayers of their hard earned dollars while producing less than stellar results. The quest is to get their greedy hans on the money and turn it into an unregulated, exploitative business wher the educators are paid peanuts and expected to be miracle workers.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 4:47 p.m.
Wait, you were being serious in your comment earlier? Wow.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 3:23 p.m.
All that money in these economically challenging times, and first on her list is closing Roberto Clemente High School. Plus she takes every Friday off.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:52 p.m.
I know that The Mackinac Center conducts research mainly in relation to public policy, but I would love to see some comparison to the private sector. Since there is so much comparison to making the public sector in-line with the private, I think it would benefit the public to know what private school heads make. Take a look at Greenhills School or Cranbrook - the heads here make equal to or more than superintendents yet no one is shocked. The private sector, it seems, is completely untouchable and we chalk it up to private enterprises being able to do whatever they want (even though many tax breaks (such as non-profit status) allow these private entities to exist) without any discussion or accountability.
Nicholas Urfe
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:21 p.m.
The state? The state is not enough! We need the highest paid superintendent in the GALAXY!
Chester Drawers
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 1:37 p.m.
A previous commenter mentioned the middle-of-the-night raises for Deputy Superintendents Allen and Comsa. Patricia Green justified these salary increases in part by saying that she intended to 'subcontract out' these employees to other districts to create revenue for the AAPS. I'd like to know exactly how many dollars have flowed into the district from these superperformers!
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 1:13 p.m.
Grumble, grumble.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : noon
Problem I have with this type of hiring for extreme wages is that the claim "they have to to get someone qualified". Without even trying first! Guess it doesn't matter when it is somebody else paying the bills.
Morty Seinfeld
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 11:55 a.m.
The rumor I heard on why she is hard to get a hold of on Fridays and Monday mornings is that she is flying back home on the weekends and is not living here full time in Michigan. Again, it is only a rumor that someone told me, but perhaps should be looked into by reporter Danielle Arndt or others over at AnnArbor.com. If it is true, she needs to fully commit to living within the school district she is running, especially being paid that kind of money and benefits!
say it plain
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 6:41 p.m.
Good point...that should be easy enough to answer. Maybe Trustee Stead knows?! It would do a lot to dispel the 'rumors' if she could speak to whether Dr. Green maintains a home and family in PA she needs to visit, no? Or is that "none of our business"? Could/should we FOIA this info?
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 11:49 a.m.
Come on folks....lay off....I'm sure she's working 24-7......24-hours a week, 7-months a year.
J. A. Pieper
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 3:12 p.m.
Love your interpretation of 24-7!
Stuart Brown
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 8:44 a.m.
The thing that always bothered me about the Green hiring was 1) the passing over of many long term employees and 2) Green was willing to leave where she was at to come to Ann Arbor to get a big bump in pay--where is the loyalty?
J. A. Pieper
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 3:11 p.m.
She retired from where she previously worked. Heard some rumblings that they wanted her to retire. She is certainly padding her retirement through our community's expense!
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 4:07 a.m.
And the district is a hot mess.
Tom Todd
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:42 p.m.
Not everyone makes retail wages.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:08 a.m.
Thank you again Mr. Graden for taking a pay cut two years ago to balance the Saline budget. We will not forget this.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:07 a.m.
In the last off-year (non-presidential) election, when most of the contests were local, about 11 percent of registered voters cast their ballots in Washtenaw County. Eleven percent! And how many of you actually bothered to register? So if you don't like your school board, try to get to the polls next time. I think most of the people who care enough to vote in these elections have the school board and city council they want. The rest need to step up if you insist on complaining!
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 4:14 a.m.
I guess that means that means that all of the board members need to be replaced but one, Susan Baskett. Susan Baskett is the only member of the board that voted against that $245,000 salary. She earned my vote previously and has my vote in the future!
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:53 a.m.
great point! get off the couch and change it if you don't like it. We have the power to change this if you do not agree with it. BUT to sit on a couch and do nothing will not accomplish a thing.....
Tom Todd
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 1:20 a.m.
I Would need half a mill to deal with you parents.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 3:54 a.m.
I know more than a couple teachers and they are tighter than most when it comes to spending their money!
J. A. Pieper
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 3:30 a.m.
Some parents are like this in AAPS, it is the type of community we live in, and some of our schools have more of this than others. But then there are some students that I feel we should pay the parents for giving us the privilege of working with their children, and a half a mill sounds about right! This is why being a teacher is so priceless, because of these families.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 11:51 p.m.
Well let me try again. The obnoxious thing about the Green hire was.The B.O.E. said what they would pay publicly BEFORE they even decided WHO they were going to offer the job! Now here is where I must have went wrong before being deleted. I said what I thought of anyone that would do that without negotiating.After all it only seems like they were spending money that belonged to them! But then if it was there money they would probably have offered half as much. I bet they don't even tip 15% when its THEIR money!
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 11:40 p.m.
Perhaps with all of that salary, she could actually move to Ann Arbor and become part of our community, FULL TIME!
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 11:14 p.m.
Does she get a handsome retirement package after 3 years? Just augmenting whatever other retirement packages she has from previous jobs? That would be the only reason to take a 3-year contract at or near the end of her career.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:48 p.m.
Christine Stead apparently has taken it upon herself to be the "truthsayer" for the BOE, and vocalizing her distaste with the comments on here. Well, here's one you may not like: AAPS is funded by TAXPAYERS, that pay the bloated administration salaries. Whether Mrs. Green works Monday through Friday or not is a moot point. As long as you work in the public sector as an educator, you should be willing to take criticism. It's usually the most transparent and honest entities that receive the least criticism.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:47 p.m.
Just because she is doesn't make it right.
Terry Star21
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:45 p.m.
She might be underpaid. Has anyone compared the salaries of Michigan's and America's largest and most productive corporations ? Thought not. She is in charge of Michigan's biggest and most prominent high school, and certainly one of America's best. It is absolutely true, that she spends 14+ hours a day and most weekends preparing, meeting, and TCB for the school system. And those few Friday's she used with her vacation time - wanna bet about the phone calls, emails, TCB that she completed for the district ? Ann Arbor was voted the best city for education most recently, and it includes the HS - wish more people from here would comment, besides myself and two other people, would love to hear some intelligent, constructive input. Probably too much to ask......
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 8:09 a.m.
If a person is working in education with the intention of maximizing their personal profits (as, rightly, many leaders of for-profit business are), then that person is in education for the wrong reasons and we should not want them involved with our school district. In a corporation, your stakeholders are investors whose involvement in your company is often strictly financial. In a school district, your stakeholders are parents, children, and the community members whose involvement in your district is both financial (tax money) and extremely personal. K12 education is what lays the foundation for the future of a community. The number of hours that Dr. Green spends behind her desk/computer (in whatever state she may be in) doing work-related activities is not really the issue here. I believe the issue is that people feel that she is out of touch with teachers, parents, and day-to-day issues in the classroom. Dr. Green is trying to lead an organization tasked with building the future of a community without becoming a member of the community herself. If the school board is knowingly allowing her to do this, then shame on them. The person that I would want to lead my school district is someone who recognizes his or her God-given talents and seeks to use them to lead the education of the children in our community. I want this person to be a natural born leader and have an understanding of both finances and the day-to-day issues that come up in the classroom. I want this person to care passionately about my school district. This will enable board members, teachers, parents, and community members to stand behind our leader's vision. This vision may sound idealistic, but if we are paying to get the 'best', then this shouldn't be an unrealistic expectation.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:59 a.m.
Comical, but I and others have had posts deleted for "attacking or taking personal shots at someone". but she gets away with this....... "wish more people from here would comment, besides myself and two other people, would love to hear some intelligent, constructive input. Probably too much to ask......" So my question is. Who is she is bed with? What a joke. An absolute double standard. A2.com should censor comments BOTH ways instead of letting Liberal knee jerk liberalism run rampant.......
Basic Bob
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:46 a.m.
Biggest high school - Saline. Utica has 3 high schools bigger. But thanks for speaking so highly of HURON HIGH SCHOOL!
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 11:18 p.m.
She is NOT in charge of Michigan's "biggest and most prominent high school" I assume you mean high school district, of which Michigan is down the list, Detroit being biggest. http://www.all4ed.org/about_the_crisis/schools/state_and_local_info/michigan/10_largest_districts
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 11:04 p.m.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 11:04 p.m.
Corporations are profit-generating entities. Publicly funding entities are not profit generating and need to be much, much more judicious in their use of funds. If someone wants to be paid top private sector wages they need to work in the private sector.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:44 p.m.
The only way to justify that kind of salary would be if she could bring in outside funds to supplement dwindling tax dollars or did the work of multiple deputy superintendents herself. It's just too much money.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:36 p.m.
And here is the real question everyone should be asking? How much does the Mac and Cheese Center for Preposterous Propaganda receive from Americans for Prosperity (Koch Brothers) and the greedy CEO of the pyramid scheme Scamway, Dick Devos to publish their anti- public education rhetoric whilst handing out 5 million per year to a thief like C.J. Huizenga to fleece the taxpayers with his corporate run, for profit charter schools ( National Heritage Academies). How about some real investigative journalism Danielle into the under the radar non-transparent rip-off that has been perpetrated by these so-called education reformers. Printing Mac and Cheese info is about as credible as quoting the National Enquirer.
Danielle Arndt
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:51 a.m.
Aquarius, like Basic Bob, I can appreciate the humor and enjoyed a nice little chuckle at your post. However, as the article states, districts are required by law to post salary information on their websites. So you can fact-check the Mackinac Center's numbers against the figures on each district's site. The Mackinac Center simply compiled all the info into a database for comparison.
Basic Bob
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:43 a.m.
I question everything they publish. But in this case the figures are accurate. These ridiculously overpaid school administrators are playing into the hands of the unions anytime contracts are discussed. "Well, the school has money to pay Dr. ____, you must have money for the CHILDREN!" Thanks for injecting some humor into the discussion.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:19 p.m.
@ Danielle - Thank you for following up on the questions about Dr. Green's work schedule. Trustee Christine Stead confirms that the contract does not allow for a shorter work week and says that is she has missed Fridays, it is because of personal day or vacation time. I am still still curious about the perception by people who know her or is it staff or teachers that she is not working as hard or as much as a superintendent ought to work at this rate of pay. What is this about? Is there something about her leadership style or management style that makes commenters over time say she is not a hard worker and also have a school board member log in and comment in Annarbor.com to defend the superintendent's work ethic? It bothers me that teachers or the teachers union president is not contacted routinely for comments on school/education articles. The top teachers in the district are who make the Ann Arbor schools have the good reputation they have had for years. If top teachers are not involved or retained in the district, I think quality overall will go down, despite what the new data measurements show. Is the superintendent planning to stay on in Ann Arbor beyond getting the numbers on paper to show improvement on achievement for kids in the district at all levels? Why does she have her own website? Is she looking to move from the Ann Arbor job to a national position or bigger job? I would think it will be hard to find a job with a higher salary and better benefits.
J. A. Pieper
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 3:24 p.m.
Many teachers and parents are concerned about her leadership style. She has made herself off limits to us, she has indicated that she does not deal with parents directly, and it is almost impossible to get an appointment with her. She has come in with her goal (and that of our school board) to improve the district in many important ways, one being the Achievement Gap, and her new baby, the Discipline Gap. Her priorities deal with looking good on paper, in the data that gets reported to the public and the state. The Discipline Gap will be solved because we are not allowed to discipline students who are involved with one end of the gap data. Not allowed, and are considered racist if we do. So now the discipline gap will magically disappear under her watch, but you might not want your child in some classrooms, because they will be afraid of the behavior they experience daily. No record of it though, only through dinner time conversations with your children. But, AAPS will look great on paper!
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:54 a.m.
i love people who go on social media/commentary.....to belittle social media/commentary, lol
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:15 a.m.
Trustee Stead - You raise some good points about the new format of online media and commenters. I agree and said in my post that Danielle Arndt has made a good effort to address the commenters over time who have questioned Dr. Green's work hours, her city of residence and her investment in this community and school district. These points are all separate from the difficult circumstances of state funding cuts and it is legitimate for tax payers to question how the dollars we spend are being managed by our top school administrator and the elected officials who hire her and manage her job. Depending on your point of view: The data the administration is either highly focused and aimed at helping students perform better and teachers be more accountable OR it is data this new administration is obsessed with collecting to the point of distorting obvious realities teachers face daily in their classrooms and will ultimately make our staff less accountable and more image conscious and not do much to help our students, especially those who are struggling. The strength of this district are the experienced teachers who care and work long hours and are invested in the success of their students. There is more for A2.com and Danielle Arndt to explore and dig and inquire about to understand why so many commenters consistently hit on certain themes and concerns about Dr. Green and the school board that hired her, set her salary and evaluate her performance. I hope the board understands how important it is to hold on to teachers who are qualified to teach and invested in their students.
say it plain
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 11:33 p.m.
Danielle also wrote a fine piece in July: http://www.annarbor.com/news/education/ann-arbor-will-continue-to-reject-document-based-superintendent-evaluations-board-leaders-say/ Where she outlined how the AAPS BOE has thus far danced around the issue of performance-based evaluations of the superintendent, even as performance-based evals of teachers are so deeply important that AAPS feels the need to get "ahead of the state" by putting in the NWEA testing to 'anticipate' it. Where she outlined the practices of a neighboring district, Saline, where the school board manages to utilize ratings and other more 'objective' measures of superintendent performance than a "conversation" had by board members. The response of board president Mexicotte seemed to be something on the order of "but we don't have big turn-over year to year anymore on the board so it's not like we'd forget what we said last year" in terms of goals and performance measures?! Are you serious?! Yeah, I'm sure the Board's biggest problem is dealing with this persistent 'rumor' about the workweek. It's not like it reflects a general feeling among *many* stakeholders that Dr. Green has a closed hands-off style of management that is very very demoralizing and that she's getting a pass on this from the Board. Maybe the Board should consider adopting the "philosophy" of their brilliant hire regarding being "data-driven". They can scoff, Trustee Stead, as you seemed to in the piece Danielle wrote, about the state "micro-managing" by requiring performance-measures and yet offering no "guidance" on that. Or they can do like the Saline board did and create an evaluation process that is more than a closed-to-the-public "conversation".
Christine Stead
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:39 p.m.
By the way, Danielle has done a fine job of responding to comments posted and looking for additional information (in this case posting a link to Dr. Green's salary). That kind of response does help to improve the accuracy of information that people have available to them. Just be aware that this model is difficult for catching all rumors and correcting them as people add comments.
Christine Stead
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:35 p.m.
Part of the challenge we have as a community is that anyone can post anything on this site, portray it as fact and then let it spin out of control. There are no checks and balances here. The 'rumor' that Dr. Green has a four day week is only that, but as more people see it here, they pass it on and then soon enough it is 'fact'. This kind of gossip is common place with anonymous comment sections and online media. The business model for media has changed such that it is more beneficial to have the most controversial headline to attract the most views - which hopefully sell the most Google Adwords for those that purchase advertisements on this site. Not many people would be viewing a nice story, so there is an inherent conflict of interest to covering 'nice' stories and sharing good news in this kind of business model. Surely that is obvious.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:04 p.m.
Re. the four day week, if such it is, an executive will often have an unwritten agreement by which he may have a four day week, an afternoon off midweek, etc. If Ms. Green's family is out-of-state this would not be unusual. The unwritten agreement may usually be revoked at the will of the board, at any time, if it is seen to interfere with getting the work load done. Is she is doing the work that they expect her to do by working extra hours during the four days, or while she is not in the office but still working from "home," there is nothing unusual about this. Some of you are complaining about things that are pretty common in executive pay and compensation packages. The issue is whether the person is getting the job done!
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 4 p.m.
C. Stead that is true, just like teachers. Yet no teacher will ever get compensated for those extra hours like you claim Green should.
Christine Stead
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:23 p.m.
She has a full-time commitment with our district, which is a Monday-Friday position. She is also allowed to take vacation days, which can be any day of the week - including Fridays. However, she often continues to work on the district throughout the weekend.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:03 p.m.
We're Number One! We're Number One! We're Number One!
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 9:55 p.m.
It is very hard to be a teacher, an administrator, or a school board member in A2 because we do have a lot of diversity among the student body, and we try to challenge every sub-group to its highest potential. Keeping all those balls in the air is very hard. Also, there will always be vocal parents in each sub-group who believe that their child is not being challenged or supported appropriately. Sometimes they are correct, and we need that squeaky wheel to focus on the issues they raise. Sometimes they are not right. But addressing all the concerns can be very difficult and time-consuming. Believe me, the TEACHERS deserve every dollar they are paid, and until you have walked in their shoes, you do not know. I do not know if Ms. Green is an able and successful administrator, but I do not fault the school board for trying to attract the best talent with a high salary. Even lopping her salary in half would not mean there would be enough money to address the huge shortfall. I do not think we will need to raise the base pay again when we are looking for a new sup. And if there is any extra money it should go to the teachers. They earn it! - From a parent, not a teacher; my youngest graduated from A2 schools in 1999. I still am so grateful for most of my kids' teachers.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 3 a.m.
I do fault the school board for making this decision to offer such a high salary. First, it was arrogant of them to believe that Ann Arbor had to offer the most money to get someone "good"...without looking first. Second, now that the salary level has been set this high, it will stay there (it never goes down) encumbering the money year after year. Third, and most importantly, it is a PR nightmare...creating tremendous ill-will between the administration and the employees and between the district as a whole and the community. Poorly done. I think it's time for some new blood on the school board.
Danielle Arndt
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 9:54 p.m.
Just to jump in here again, Patricia Green's position is full time, meaning Monday through Friday. Here's a link to the story about her contract when it was approved: http://www.annarbor.com/news/new-ann-arbor-schools-superintendent-to-receive-245000-in-base-salary-for-five-year-contract/. There is nothing in her contract calling for a four-day week. You may download a copy of her contract in the link above or from the Mackinac Center's database. I also will add it to this story, so readers may download it.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 3:58 p.m.
C.Stead has to cover for Green since she hired her. The board is awful, and yes, this is coming from an employee in the district. The disconnect between the folks actually doing the work (teachers), and those making decisions (Green and BOE) is humungous. The bigger issue is that those putting in the hours to educate can do nothing about it. It is a shame!!
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 11:32 a.m.
C Stead - Some of us, leave the house to go to the airport right after lunch on Sunday (or earlier), work from before 6 AM until dinner time (6 or 7 in the evening) - do administrative work until bed time (11 PM or later), and then take a late Friday night flight home arriving at the airport early Saturday morning, only to repeat again on Sunday. Long hours come with some jobs, typically reasonable compensation comes with those long hours. Ask any superintendent in the state what kind of hours they keep and you will find that Dr. Green's hours are not unusual for a superintendent.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 6:27 a.m.
EyeHeartA2, what is the focus on "being in the office"? Are you worried she isn't working because she isn't in the office, or that she is working, but not "in her office"?
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:37 a.m.
@C Stead; You are sidstepping the issue. Is she in the office most Fridays all day or not? In the office. On Friday. At 3:00?
say it plain
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 11:24 p.m.
Here's a test for Ms. Stead and the BOE: systematically survey people *other than you who hired her* about how available she has been to them and how often she actually comes to Community Events versus sending a "deputy".
Christine Stead
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:21 p.m.
Don, Here is a test for you: watch her leave Board meetings at 1:30 AM, respond to emails at 4 AM and be at her office at 7 AM. And continue working on district issues on Fridays, and Saturdays, and Sundays, and even Monday mornings!
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:16 p.m.
Ms. Arndt - Here is a test for you, call her office at 3PM on Friday or 10AM on Monday for a few weeks. Let us know how many times you talk to her.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 9:50 p.m.
Oh sorry for two posts, but then she goes ahead and hires another administrator, a position that she had asked to have filled and denied, at a very high salary. Hmmmm, and what does this person do?
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 9:49 p.m.
Save face, and take a pay cut. This is disgusting. Dr. Roberts, former superintendent, took a pay cut when a millage did not pass. Then when he left, the BOE not only put the 10% cut back in but increased the salary by $65,000 -- and one wonders why AAPS is broke. Hmmmmmm.
Great Lakes Lady
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 9:38 p.m.
There seems to be a racket going where these superintendents write clauses into their contracts, that should they leave within a couple years, they receive an outrageous amount of money .
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 9:19 p.m.
According the the lists you publish periodically, Ann Arbor schools aren't even at the top of the list for best schools in the area!
J. A. Pieper
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 12:57 a.m.
Jay, my kids attended AAPS, I work for them but I so hope my grand kids don't attend AAPS.
Jay Thomas
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:17 p.m.
People used to come here for the schools. Now they are going elsewhere. :(
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 9:02 p.m.
If the new Ypsilanti Consolidated School District decides to keep both Martin and Lisiscki and if they both are paid at their current rates , I believe that means we could be paying $345,909 for our YCSD co-superintendents next year. Ann Arbor's $245,000 will look like quite a bargain!
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 11:05 p.m.
But wouldn't you be getting two (2) for the 345,909? That would be only 172,954.50 for one!
Jay Thomas
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:16 p.m.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:53 p.m.
There should never be a contract for municipal employees. They should serve at the discretion of the school board. If they don't like that then find someone with the confidence to do the job. I'm confident there are an abundance of qualified local candidates that would serve for dramatically less in salary & benefits. With a contract we're left with no recourse other than keeping someone who isn't performing to expectations or paying the full amount of the contact to get rid of them. Of course the focus then shifts to the school board, that is, how could they agree to this person & contract?
Charley Sullivan
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 3:17 a.m.
Anyone who isn't doing their job can be gotten rid of, even within contracts. But no-one worth their salt would move across the country to take a leadership position in an institution needing to undergo major change without some job security assurances.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:32 p.m.
RIDICULOUS concept . No person would EVER take the job. ANy person who did would be ineffective and useless. Make something perfectly clear. The school board is ELECTED. They do not have the same priorities as the superintendent does.The fact that there is a contract avoids political gamesmanship
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:46 p.m.
The buck stops, here. No, there... No, here. No, wait... it depends...
An Arborigine
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:44 p.m.
Your tax dollars at work Citizens!
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 11:01 p.m.
Yes, they are our tax dollars, but I would say they are NOT "working"!!
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:43 p.m.
Yes! Another No. 1 for Ann Arbor! But, this one might be embarrassing if you look at how easily tax payer money is spent, look at performance, look at posssible successes from the hiring decision, etc. Go figure!
Nick Danger
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:40 p.m.
This is insane. AAPS was facing a devastating financial crisis when Green was hired.The school board went out of their way to fatten the pay package while cutting other staff and programs. She has not demonstrated her value to the district and her performance is mediocre at best.With the budget debt escalating,isn't it time she made some sacrifices like the rest of the districts employees .Let's be honest ,where is she going to go and make this kind of money
Basic Bob
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:34 a.m.
Don't forget the unapproved assistant superintendents and the 2 am raises to deputy superintendents which she forced the board to make. Reminiscent of Dr. Hope-Jackson and her friend Dr. Hicks, only on a grander scale. @jns131, That is salt in the wound. (I voted for the other guy)
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 11:26 p.m.
You voted Mexicotte back in. She is worse then the others.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:46 p.m.
Be careful! The school board loves her, loves what she is doing, loves what she has done........ I don't get it either. Maybe our shcool board has shown us that they are again clueless and lost.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:39 p.m.
This is pathetic, NO way is this a good use of tax payer money.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:38 p.m.
Shut up and pay your taxes, this is school business!
Basic Bob
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:31 a.m.
I live in Pittsfield. I don't pay school taxes. Just kidding.
harry b
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:35 p.m.
What we need is more art on the streets of ann arbor. That would solve everything.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:34 p.m.
This headline is misleading - total compensation is the metric to look at, where she's seventh, for one of the best districts in one of the most expensive areas of the state. You get what you pay for.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:33 p.m.
Any wonder why people don't like to pass a school millage? It seems like every time the school needs to hire a new superintendent the price tag goes up. I'd like to know what the pension figure means. Is this amount put into a pension fund each year?
J. A. Pieper
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 12:51 a.m.
I am an AAPS teacher and I never vote for the millages because I know the waste that goes on in this district. Millage coming up in May, be prepared to vote it down!
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:46 p.m.
Jaime - FYI, recently the voters in the Ann Arbor public school district overwhelmingly passed a millage for a technology bond - 70% 'yes' and only 30% 'no'.
Erich Jensen
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:30 p.m.
Overpaid, invisible, non responder!
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 4:34 p.m.
yes, yes, and Yes!!
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:24 p.m.
This is an outrage. Once again, Ann Arbor taxpayers are taken for granted. Shame on you, A2 School Board! We have one of the worst superintendents in recent memory working four days a week and paid like royalty. When is it going to stop? We must have new standards and compensation for all Ann Arbor school administrators especially the Superintendent. We must have a new Ann Arbor teachers contract that mandates longer work hours, more working days and a lower pay scale with performance-based increases. Ann Arbor schools do not need an entire week off in February--most other districts have trimmed that to two days. Professional development for teachers should occur during the summer months--no more days off for students while teachers get training during the academic year. Wake up, taxpayers! We are the bosses of our public schools!!
Tue, Feb 26, 2013 : 2:37 a.m.
Teachers have a challenging job just as other professionals do. I come from a family of teachers and have kids in Ann Arbor public schools. My kids have had outstanding teachers who are truly dedicated to their students. They have also had really bad teachers who should not be in the profession. Why do the really bad teachers receive the same "merit increase" as the excellent teachers? Because of their contract. We should not have public-employee unions. Michigan has a shrinking tax base and a shrinking number of students. Parents do not need an "education mediator" especially in the highly educated Ann Arbor school district. In fact, many Ann Arbor parents are choosing to home school or put their kids in charter schools. You cannot take taxpayers for granted anymore. We must critically examine all aspects of our public education system especially here in Ann Arbor.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 10:22 p.m.
From this comment, I don't think you understand the workings of our schools. I am sure you could reach out to any teacher in your neighborhood and they would allow you some chance to shadow or discuss their work day. I have been in an AAPS elementary school for the past year and have witnessed teachers pulling ten to twelve hour days in their classrooms, to go home and continue working. These teachers are getting professional development during the summer but it continues during the school year because the goal is for teachers to be consistently improving on their practice. Every year teachers are getting a different classroom, different personalities, ways of thinking . If PD stopped in the summertime it wouldn't give educators a chance to tailer the PD to their specific classroom. On top of professional development many teachers are furthering their education by taking courses through the universities in the area, to again hone their pedagogy. Your suggestions are backwards in terms of where educational thinking needs to be going. Lower pay scale? Don't be degrading. It's a difficult job, you are fostering at times thirty diverse minds and catering to standardized test and standards. On top of the minds within the classroom you are also serving as an education mediator for parents. These aren't ideal working conditions. In order to attract strong teachers, pay must reflect their worth, which is a lot. Wake up, MSG! You shouldn't be the boss of anything you don't understand, in this case, the school system.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 12:57 a.m.
They didn't "trim" anything. AAPS used to nickel and dime everyone with three day weekends...instead, they have gotten rid of all of those and in it's place, is the February break. It makes more sense for families who want to travel - and they do travel during this break - probably more than spring break - everyone travels then.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 11:25 p.m.
O and get this one. I just heard that the crew over in Lansing want to make teacher salaries the same across the board. I believe they said starting at $50,000. Now that would suck if the district couldn't afford it. But I blieve AAPS can.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 9:16 p.m.
Being the son of two school teachers, I feel completely the opposite about your comments on teachers. Teachers deserve every dollar we pay them. Teaching school children is a lot harder than it looks and most (I say most) deserve every dollar, if not more for the crap they put up with children, parents and administrators. I cannot speak for the superintendent, as I have not had any interaction with her.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:15 p.m.
You get what you pay for!
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 4:32 p.m.
not this time you don't!
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 1:17 a.m.
We aren't so far!!
Geoff Larcom
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:14 p.m.
Five things to consider in setting such a salary: 1. Ann Arbor = among the most diverse/wealthy areas in the state. 2. Thus, it has a demanding, sophisticated clientele and complex issues, plus very active media. 3. History of very difficult supt. tenures, thus a need to hire top talent that will remain in place. 4. Great need for sophisticated, long-term planning. 5. Need a strong manager during a time of change, tight budgets and unionized environments.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 1:49 p.m.
Geoff, I think most of this is optics. It's not clear from the article if the school board looked at the compensation of similarly-sized or larger districts as a metric when setting Green's salary. From a pure PR standpoint, does the school board want to be in a position of proposing cuts while paying its Superintendent the highest salary in the state?
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 12:15 a.m.
I continue to be amazed at how far off-base Geoff is, time after time, except when I check my EMU in-box. He is never more relevant than in my in-box.
Stephen Landes
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:38 p.m.
Geoff -- None of the issues you cite are reasons for paying a school superintendent more than the manager of the entire City of Ann Arbor.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:14 p.m.
Mr Larcom - While I agree with those 5 criteria and could add more, lets see what we got? 1. Yes Ann Arbor is diverse and wealthy but would you rather work in a district with resources or a district that is poor and not diverse with a reputation for drop outs and violence? 2. Yes the clientele is demanding - and fooling them is hard. So far Dr. Green is NOT wowing the clientele. 3. The difficult superintendent tenures mostly boil down to poor hiring decisions or mismatches between the board and the superintendent. This one may end up being put in the former bin. 4. Long-term planning - well the district spent more than $2 million dollars creating the strategic plan during the prior superintendent's tenure - so far almost none of it is implemented - why would we want to redo something that has not even been implemented yet? 5. Strong manager - we will see what happens in this score. Right now we have an extension to a teacher's contract that promises them a share of any new revenue and an unknown set of promises to the administrator's union. So far no real negotiation with either union has surfaced to indicate that the superintendent is working on either contract. So - I would say the jury is still out on this hire more than 1/2 way thru year 2 of a 3 year deal. Does not sound like a strong long term hire to me. Does it to you?
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 9:23 p.m.
Geoff With all due respect. Your salary is paid with tax dollars so I don't put quite so much weight in your opinion!
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 9:08 p.m.
This is a good list to guide hiring, but I agree with others that this does not justify a salary out of line with comparable districts. Many of these points are very important except our last superintendent nullifies point three since Todd was a good superintendent, and Dr. Green's age means that she is probably near the end of her career and won't remain in place that long. Dr. Green seemed like a great candidate for point 5 during the interview process but she has not stepped up to the plate as a manager at all. It is already February in a year that will call for hard budget choices and none have been made. All the new hires have worked on a very big list of possible cuts, but there has been no procedure outlined for how this list will be prioritized. This lack of transparency in processes was exhibited during the hiring process for Pioneer High School and it is not the hallmark of a good manager.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:51 p.m.
Geoff; I can agree that the Ann Arbor School System may be a difficult place to work. But I am not buying that over paying someone will get "top talent with sophisticated long term planning, that will stay around for many years". If it is true that Ms. Green only works 4 days per week, I would love to be the person sitting across the table representing the Teachers during contract talks.
Danielle Arndt
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:25 p.m.
Geoff, interesting thoughts. Thanks for commenting and sharing these considerations.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:21 p.m.
No - those are HIRING considerations, not salary considerations.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:13 p.m.
Sadly some times you don't " get what you paid for " but the Ozonians don't live in reality and could care less....
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:12 p.m.
Is "the No. 1 highest-salaried superintendent in the state" the same thing as the highest-salaried superintendent in the state? Just axin'.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:09 p.m.
If I remember correctly, the School Board raised the pay when the search began to get "the best" to come to Ann Arbor. Why would anyone think that it would be hard to get the brightest and the best to come to Ann Arbor. Great health care, a University town, etc. Now we're stuck with a starting salary of 245K for future applicants. The Board really didn't serve the community well.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:36 p.m.
And yet they keep getting re-elected. Go figure...
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:04 p.m.
This is so sad. According to the annarbor.com article in December http://www.annarbor.com/news/theater-athletics-competitive-edge-school-board-debates-how-to-preserve-and-cut-17m-from-next-years/, the following measures that would affect a very large number of students would save a very limited amount of money compared to admin. pay: Eliminate instrumental music for fifth graders (5 FTE), $500,000. Eliminate the seventh-hour option at Huron and Pioneer (5 FTE), $500,000. Reduce noon-hour supervisor costs by increasing student-to-supervisor ratios, $200,000. Move Skyline to a semester schedule, saving an estimated 3 FTE, $300,000. Eliminate block scheduling (3 FTE), $300,000. Eliminate high school transportation, $466,000. Eliminate middle school transportation, $1.2 million. Reduce teacher assistants' hours by one week per year, $160,000. Suspend furniture and fixture purchases for 2013-14, an estimated savings of $200,000. Suspend the purchase of library materials for 2013-14, $100,000. Renegotiate gas purchase costs for transportation, $100,000. Reduce grounds personnel by 1 FTE for a $50,000 savings. Eliminate all of the head custodians at the elementary schools (16 FTE), $600,000. Please just don't tell us that you guys are "putting students first".
David Paris
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 1:14 a.m.
You really should move out of the Ann Arbor School District if that's the level of Austerity you'd be happy with, because the only thing you left off the list is- Raise the Mississippi State Flag!
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 4:45 p.m.
a2schoolparent: The list of cuts from the article that you are quoting also included "Decrease media center support staff by 12 FTE, $1.2 million." Translating this means that administrators would like to close all the middle and high school libraries. I am saying this because there are 12 positions at those levels and they have already cut the hell out of the elementary level.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 11:23 p.m.
This has always been and first on the list for BOE. Save the hub. Save the hub. Burn the spokes but don't touch the hub. Guess what? In 2006 they privatized the lunch room. Chartwells took over and now the food sucks. Then 4 years later? They went after custodians and busing. The drivers and monitors were laid off and the custodians were saved. I hate to say it but custodians are still negotiating their contract and were with out one since last June. Hate to say it, if the busing issues fall? So will custodians. Folks we need to get real and start out sourcing Balas. Way too much over head and too many doing the same job. Hack and slash the hub and then lets see what is left.
Jay Thomas
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:20 p.m.
Get rid of 5th grade music instruction... but not administration I'm sure! So sad. :(
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:06 p.m.
But Chris - Do you see any - even one - administrative cut in that list?
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:36 p.m.
Um, all of these look much larger than the $245k salary, even less if you say just lop a hundred grand off of it.
Macabre Sunset
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 7:56 p.m.
Not only was this a terrible hiring mistake, but not even the most brazen candidate would even ask for that amount, given the salary range. Every single school board member involved in this fiasco should step down in shame. But none will. They don't care.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:48 a.m.
We had a chance to vote the president of the board out last August, but.... apathy wins again.
Basic Bob
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:26 a.m.
No candidate had to ask for this amount, since the goal from the beginning of the search was to spend $250k in base salary. The board president who led the fiasco was easily re-elected. So not only don't the board members care, neither do the majority of voters.
Silly Sally
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:56 p.m.
But it is "for the children"
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 7:50 p.m.
Ann Arbor voters do not have anyone to blame but themselves for this spending outrage . The Ann Arbor Public Schools constantly cry for more revenue, with the worn out refrain "but it's for the children," and another millage passes. Ann Arbor, the Ann Arbor Public Schools is taking the district to the cleaners.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:10 p.m.
Can't agree more.
Danielle Arndt
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 7:44 p.m.
The following information has been added to the story to compare how long each of the top-seven compensated superintendents in the state have been in their current positions: The Utica superintendent has served in her role for seven years; Rockford's superintendent has been at the helm for 24 years; Farmington's superintendent has been an employee of the district for 24 years, superintendent for seven; and Troy's superintendent has been in her position for nearly eight years. Wayne-Westland school officials could not be reached due to the district being on winter break.
Danielle Arndt
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8 p.m.
To add the last district: the Kalamazoo superintendent has been in the role for nearly six years.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 7:38 p.m.
Any time someone says they need to spend top dollar to attract or retain talent it indicates they don't know how to hire. I prefer to find hires who actually want to do the work, not just cash the paychecks. Almost the entire time Bo Schembechler was head football coach at Michigan he was one of the lowest paid head football coaches in the Big 10. People good at what they do usually aren't in it for the money.
Basic Bob
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:23 a.m.
"Shelter my family and save for retirement" Those are reasonable goals. Now let's say that you are already retired, double-dipping, and receiving a salary in the top 1% of all wages. Are you _that_ good? Is anyone?
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:02 p.m.
And how much is "enough" for you, Chris? Are you willing to damage your employer to line your own pockets?
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:41 p.m.
I consider myself good at what I do and would also like to shelter my family and save for retirement. Settling for less than I can get lets them all down.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 7:33 p.m.
She is clearly overpaid. She had a dramatic jump in salary from her predecessor, for no reason whatsoever. Not bad for working 4 days a week....... AAPS would be better served if they used her excess salary ($100,000) toward reducing class sizes at the elementary level.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 4:27 p.m.
amen to that. somebody get me a barf bag!
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 7:30 p.m.
For what? Patricia Green, for example, has several assistant superintendents, who probably do the majority of the actual work. Most superintendents at least are visible in the community, but Green fails to even do that.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 3:05 a.m.
my bet is not only will she bring in one of her own, it will be determined that position was being underpaid and needs to be brought up to speed as far as being a "competitive salary" same story different day
J. A. Pieper
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 12:32 a.m.
Her top notch finance guy has taken a job in one of the Carolinas, guess he was fed up with being dressed down by her in front of other people at Balas! She'll bring in one of her own for another huge salary.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:28 p.m.
Alan Goldsmith
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 7:27 p.m.
say it plain
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 7:23 p.m.
We knew this already. Whether she's the highest-paid, or the third-highest, matters not so very much. The important thing is our BOE decided they wanted to spend spend spend to hire the very very best, in their view. Let's see her lead at least as well as the median-pay districts. From so many accounts so far, she's yet to do so. *That's* the scandal, not the compensation per se.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:31 a.m.
The next step, of course would be to see if the prior superintendent recieved a similar rating - for about $80/year less. (also known as one teachers salary less)
say it plain
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:36 p.m.
@Johnnya2, what makes you think I've claimed that *I* have evaluated her for reporting purposes? I claim only that many people--teaching staff, administrative staff, parents, etc--have been unimpressed with her responsiveness and with her very *presence* (she leaves every Thursday evening to go back to her home in PA). The school board gave her 'positive' evaluations, but I would need to revisit their rubric. There are organizations out there that publish guidelines for this sort of thing. Here's a link to one of many such resources: http://www.aasa.org/SchoolAdministratorArticle.aspx?id=6672 One would think the school board might also balk at her requiring them to FOIA info relevant to their jobs and their evaluations as well. My point was merely that her pay is what it is, and not really scandalous if it is highest in the state. What's important is whether we've gotten the 'value' the BOE assured us we would by offering so much more than her predecessor made.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 9:46 p.m.
Of course, YOU are the one who determines if she is the very best or not? Let us know what ANY superintendent performance metrics are.
Danielle Arndt
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:10 p.m.
JRW, thanks for reading and for your suggestion… Also, just to provide some additional information and hopefully to fuel more dialogue, here are a few links to stories that highlight some of what Patricia Green has been working on since coming to the district: This story reviews Green's goals for the current school year and shows she has checked a number of reports off her list, as well as software purchases, implementing zero-based budgeting and creating discipline and achievement gap plans: http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbors-patricia-green-makes-progress-on-superintendent-goals-for-2012-13/ This story talks about Green's push to help the district carry out its eight strategic goals: http://www.annarbor.com/news/ann-arbor-gets-serious-about-strategic-plan-school-officials-explore-online-learning-international-s/ This story talks in more detail about Green's plan to eliminate the "discipline gap:" http://www.annarbor.com/news/education/green-highlights-23-steps-to-closing-ann-arbors-discipline-gap-at-aclu-forum/ It should be noted, too, that Green received a favorable evaluation from the school board in January. Here's a link to that story: http://www.annarbor.com/news/education/superintendent-evaluation-ann-arbor-school-board-congratulates-green-on-successful-first-year/
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 7:34 p.m.
Maybe aa dot com should research and write an article on exactly what her accomplishments have been to date.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 7:14 p.m.
This is out of line and shows why the district is in the hole like we are. Why are there two week long breaks in the winter term b/t/w? All it does is extend the school year. Was this another concession to the teacher's union. I love teachers and think they should be paid well, but all these days off and vacations just does not seem to make sense in these economic times. Especially when my kids are in split classes that are beyond capacity. Also, why are not more teacher's assistants used from U of M or other universities?
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 7:03 p.m.
ok lets get her in line and use the money for SCHOOLS.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 11:18 p.m.
Might want to do that to a former transportation director who was shifted from Huron High as their principal and after the layoffs? Moved his $120,000 salary to maintenance. Guess what? That is documented. Go figure.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 6:57 p.m.
...especially when you consider she takes every Friday off.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 1:37 p.m.
Um. . .Lettuce not overlook the mechanism of the voter score metric herein. 1,021 theoretical votes yes and 1,000 theoretical votes no = 21 net yes votes . . . to ascribe any importance or significance on these "scores" (or to actually cite them as support for any particular "black helicopter" conspiracy theory) is really grasping at straws. . .
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 1:21 p.m.
She's told people around Balas that she goes back to her home town hairdresser on Friday.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 6:32 a.m.
She probably puts in 40 hrs in a 24 hr day....educational genius
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 3:12 a.m.
Does she attend any of the sporting events on Friday night? Any of the High School musicals performed on the weekend? Future Stars? Tournaments held on the weekend? Any school related functions (not administrative, but with the common folk)? Just asking as I often saw the previous superintendent at these functions.
Thu, Feb 21, 2013 : 2:28 a.m.
I can believe she doesn't have it written down. May be worth some investigation. Perhaps AA.com can call over there a few Fridays in a row and see if she is in or out? I think the rumor is more about presence in AA on Fridays than what is "official".
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 11:10 p.m.
Jack, thanks for taking the initiative to clear this rumor up rather than assuming EyeHeart's claim had any truth to it, as i see 21 other people did.
Christine Stead
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:13 p.m.
That would be nice, Jack. Unfortunately, it seems people enjoy believing something negative, so perhaps this rumor will continue on, despite it's complete lack of truth.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 10:04 p.m.
Thanks Danielle and C Stead. Hopefully EyeHearA2 sees this and the rumor will finally be put to bed (I doubt it, though).
Danielle Arndt
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 9:58 p.m.
Jack, she has vacation time and allowable personal days, which she could take any day of the week she chooses. Her position is full time. You can download a copy of her contract from the Mackinac Center's database, or I'm also adding a link to download to this story. Also, please see my comment below.
Christine Stead
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 9:55 p.m.
She does not have Fridays off. She may take an occasional Friday off as part of her vacation days, but her job is much more than a full-time job. She often works weekends and certainly closer to 18 hour days, on average (that's just based on my experience in seeing her at events, addressing issues, etc.). This rumor has gone on long enough. It is not true. If you have further questions, please email or call me directly.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 9:48 p.m.
Danielle, any chance you can confirm with AAPS? Or have you guys already tried in the past? It would seem it should be a pretty straightforward question for them to answer? "Does or doesn't she have Fridays off?" ...but something tells me the situation isn't that clear cut. My guess is she maybe works away from the office on Fridays, etc.
Danielle Arndt
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:56 p.m.
We've heard this rumor, too, and are looking into it. If anyone has any documentation of this, it would be helpful if they could contact me via phone or email at firstname.lastname@example.com. Right now, it appears to only be a rumor.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:27 p.m.
annarbor.com, have you heard of this?
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 8:27 p.m.
I have heard this a lot, any source for this? I am very curious how she swung that? Maybe there are some family things she must do on Fridays?
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 6:57 p.m.
I'm clearly in the wrong racket.
Wed, Feb 20, 2013 : 6:54 p.m.


text:
This week, HBO answers cord-cutters prayers, new gadgets from Google & Apple, hackers hit Snapchat & Dropbox, bad news and good for women in tech, and the new Tesla D.
See the full post here at Geeks of Doom!
The Drill Down on iTunes (Subscribe now!)
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Geeks Of Doom's The Drill Down is a roundtable-style audio podcast where we discuss the most important issues of the week, in tech and on the web and how they affect us all.
Hosts are Geeks of Doom contributor Andrew Sorcini (Mr. BabyMan), marketing research analyst Dwayne De Freitas, and Box tech consultant Tosin Onafowokan. Occasionally joining them is Startup Digest CTO Christopher Burnor.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Jewish World Review July 22, 2013/ 15 Meanachem-Av, 5773
In Detroit, we're broke --- but we're not broken
By Mitch Albom
Yeah, we're broke.
But we got up this morning.
Yeah, we're broke.
But we woke the kids. We went to church.
Yeah, we're broke.
But we ate breakfast. We cleaned the plates. We called friends. We lit the grill.
Yeah, we're broke.
But we carry on.
Yeah, we're broke. But we saw it coming. We've had an outsider in charge for the last four months. His background is bankruptcy. The first word of his job title is "emergency."
Yeah, we're broke; we're not na�ve. We know it. We expected it. We watched for years as our leaders mismanaged funds, made patchwork repairs, borrowed and borrowed and didn't pay back.
Does that sound familiar? Hasn't our federal government done the same?
Yeah, we're broke.
But we're not the first or the last.
It was the perfect storm. We're built for 2 million. We're down to 700,000 people. We're too big for our numbers. We're too small for our britches.
Yeah, we're broke. Our city grew on automotive explosiveness and shrunk on economic implosion. Manufacturing died or was sent away. Jobs dried up. So did tax revenue. Our pension funds teetered; when the big recession hit, they fell over. Other cities suffered similar fates. We just took it harder.
Yeah, we're broke.
But we're not some national joke. We didn't "have it coming." What happened to us nearly happened to New York City the great New York City 38 years ago. Our No. 1 ranking on Forbes' "Most Miserable Cities" list might sting, but Chicago is listed as No. 4 and Modesto, Calif. home of "American Graffiti" was No. 5, which means misery is equally scattered across this nation.
Yeah, we're broke.
But we're uniquely built to handle it. We don't give up. We don't start crying. Some had us buried when the auto industry nearly sank four years ago.
It's still here. So are we.
Yeah, we're broke. But there's a lot of people out there filing Chapter 11, Chapter 7, Chapter 13, a lot of people having their houses yanked away, their life savings depleted, their companies shuttered.
Yeah, we're broke.
How's your city doing? Or your bank account?
But it's not who we are. It's not our first name. We've been "Burning Detroit" and "Rust Belt Detroit" and "Unemployed Detroit" and "Abandoned Detroit" and "Racially Divided Detroit." We're not any of those.
We're not "Bankrupt Detroit," either.
What we are is a city of dogged citizens, all races, all ages, who still work, pay our bills and take care of our responsibilities even if our leaders don't do the same.
What we are is a city whose kids want to stay here and live downtown, whose business folks refurbish office buildings and build new stadiums, whose volunteers board up rotting houses and beautify decaying neighborhoods, because beneath the bad news, we still believe in green shoots of a good future.
What we are is a city of Americans who trusted Americans would buy American cars, trusted our elected officials would look out for us, trusted the U.S. economy could withstand anything.
If we were guilty of anything, it's putting our trust in the wrong places.
Which in this housing crisis, government secrets, Wall Street-wins era makes us pretty typical, doesn't it?
Yeah, we're broke.
But we're no different than you. Just maybe geographically unluckier. Cities rely on many things: industry, taxes, labor forces, local leadership. Those things may have collapsed under the weight of decades here, but we, the citizens of Detroit, have not. We still get up, go to work, kiss the kids, believe tomorrow could be better.
We still call this place home. Proudly.
Yeah, we're broke.
But we're not broken.
And if you know anything about us, you know this: We're not going anywhere.
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49: Eyes 2
As I was inking this I found myself thinking of Rajan Khanna's short story Flowing Shapes (you can listen to it free on Escape Pod).
I love shape shifters and the interplay of consciousness with physical form. It's always cool to see someone else do interesting things with shape shifters. I bet Rajan's ocular physics composting in my subconscious inspired this comic.
Edit: And my sweetheart has pointed out that I am hysterically funny when I try to wink. He is an excellent winker, apparently my winks look more like I'm scrunching up my entire face with a very strange blink. So my sweetie's awesome, well practiced winks are also inspiration.
And that is why creative influence and inspiration is often more like compost, sneaky sneaky compost than a direct line… and it's important to manage your compost well. Manage the ph and make sure it doesn't get to acid or sour, water it and grind up lots of things into it.


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Young Wha Lee
I am a graduate student in the University Program in Genetics and Genomics at Duke, advised by Dr. John Willis (Duke) and Dr. John Kelly (University of Kansas). I am interested in complex trait variation and evolution.
- What is the the genetic basis of complex traits?
- What processes maintain standing variation for complex traits?
- Is the genetic architecture of the trait itself evolvable?
- Does the genetic architecture of standing variation constrain adaptation and divergence?
I work mostly on a population of Mimulus guttatus on Iron Mountain in the Oregon Cascades.
The site
is an alpine meadow of about 1200 sq ft, at elevation 4000 feet off a wildflower hiking trail. The population census is in the hundreds of thousands, the monkeyflowers are annuals producing usually one fruit, there is a lot of micro-habitat variation in soil moisture and temperature, and the growing season is short and extreme - plants germinate under snow and die of dessication. Here are some pictures:
The trait
The focal trait is flower size.
Biometric tests (see Kelly and Willis 2001) have shown that much of the abundant standing variation for this trait in the Iron Mountain population is due to alleles at intermediate frequency. Flower size is genetically correlated with variation in pistil/anther and flower length (affecting mating strategy), flowering time (drought escape), water use efficiency (drought tolerance), as well as pollen number and seed set. Considering the heterogenous environment, a growing season demarcated by extremes in temperature and moisture, and extensive and variable pleiotropy, what maintains flower size variation at a given locus?
There is also a lot of variation in the same traits among the members of the Mimulus species complex, often correlated with differences in mating system (pictured at right). The system is ideal for an assessment of the relationship between standing variation and adaptive divergence.
Genetic dissection
- Genetic architecture of flower size standing variation:
I have generated 3 independent F2 mapping populations of large flowered individuals from Iron Mountain crossed to small flowered individuals, sample size 400 each. I have completed linkage maps of 150-180 markers for each population and measured 11 traits: flower size and other floral morphology traits, flowering time, leaf width, and fertililty components such as seed set, pollen viability, and pollen number. The goal of this study is to describe the genetic architecture of flower size & floral morphology traits, compare the latter with that of fertility components, and show the degree to which morphological variation in floral traits is a pleiotropic consequence of unconditionally deleterious mutations affecting fertility. Two papers are in prep from this work, one focusing on the genetic architecture of standing variation for floral and life history traits and another on the genetic architecture of inbreeding depression.
- Defining the alleles:
Simultaneously I have introgressed the same F1 alleles into a common background (IM62, an Iron Mountain inbred line) and generated 4th generation near-isogenic lines (NILs) in a breeding design that combined phenotypic selection with backcrossing. Though a large undertaking, this NIL generation approach allowed us to relatively quickly and cheaply screen up to four alleles at each QTL locus for effect size and consistency in the cloning genetic background.
I have confirmed the effects of many of the same flower size QTLs mapped in the F2 genome scan in the NILs by phenotyping BC4F2s. By phenotyping BC4F3 progeny, I have successfully pegged 3 QTLs (mapped in both the F2 populations as well as the NILs) to scaffolds in the 7x build of the Mimulus genome. Recombination rates are quite high in these QTL regions (50-100 kB per cM), facilitating cloning efforts. Current finemapping resolution ranges at 200-900 kb depending on locus and recombinant progeny testing in additional BC4F4 and BC4F5 populations is projected to rapidly narrow the region down to a target of 50 kB, after which I will move to an LD mapping approach to define the alleles using an existing panel of 200 randomly extracted Iron Mountain inbred lines. Identification of the segregating units underlying flower size QTLs will enable us to connect sequence variants to the observed aspects of genetic architecture for this evolutionarily labile trait. It will also allow us to look directly at allele dynamics of flower size alleles in the source site as well as test for molecular signatures of selection.
- Comparative QTL mapping:
I am also doing a comparison of the genetic architecture of the same set of floral morphology traits across three levels of divergence - within population (Iron Mountain annual guttatus), between ecogeographic races (perennial and annual guttatus), and between species (M. nasutus and annual M. guttatus)
Wu, C. A., D. B. Lowry, A. M. Cooley, K. M. Wright, Y. W. Lee, and J. H. Willis. (2007). Mimulus is an emerging model system for the integration of ecological and genomic studies. Heredity 100:220-230
Xu X, Hotta CT, Dodd AN, Love J, Sharrock R, Lee YW, Xie Q, Johnson CH, Webb AA. (2007). Distinct Light and Clock Modulation of Cytosolic Free Ca2+ Oscillations and Rhythmic CHLOROPHYLL A/B BINDING PROTEIN2 Promoter Activity in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 2007 Nov;19(11):3474-90
B.A. Biology. Vanderbilt University. 2002.
Contact Info
Department of Biology, Duke University. Box 90338 Durham, NC 27708
here is a CV:


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The Lebanon Rescue Department invites you and your family to its 8th annual Halloween Open House from 5 to 7 p.m. on both Sunday and Monday, Oct. 30 and 31.
The event will be held at the Lebanon Rescue Station at 1524 Carl Broggi Highway in South Lebanon. Lebanon Rescue offers this event each year to give children a safe and fun place to visit during trick-or-treating and to meet the local rescue personnel.
This is a free event sponsored by the Lebanon Rescue Corporation and area businesses, including K&M Towing of Sanford, Go Deep Mud, Just Chevy Trucks, Belgian Meadow Farms and Over Budget Racing.
Lebanon Elementary School's (LES) skiing program takes place at King Pine Resort in Madison, New Hampshire. The group will ski on Friday nights starting on Jan. 6, 2012, and will continues through Feb. 10. The bus will leave the school promptly at 3 p.m. and skiing will last until 9 p.m.
Ski Club registration is open now through Nov. 18. Registration forms can be picked up in either office of Lebanon's two schools.
For more information, please contact Gini Sardinha or Chris Lanoie at the Lebanon Elementary School at 457-1126.
In other news, the Lebanon Elementary School Ski Club is holding its annual calendar raffle. The raffle is for the month of November, and a winner will be drawn each day. Some of the calendar sponsors include Lebanon House of Pizza, Goulet's Auto, the Sanford-Springvale YMCA, Gateway Antique Auctions, Triple J Feeds, Bluegrass Landscaping, Aroma Joe's and others.
The calendars sell for $5 each and will be on sale until the end of this month. They can be purchased at either Lebanon Elementary or Hanson schools. All funds raised from calendar sales will go directly to transportation costs for busing students to the ski lodge.
The Lebanon Historical Society's meeting on Monday, Nov. 7, will be held at the Sanford-Springvale Historical Museum at 505 Main Street in Springvale at 7 p.m.
Historian Harland Eastman has offered the society's members and friends a private tour of the museum. If you have any questions, please call Marilyn Bolduc at 324-8588.
The Lebanon Historical Society is always looking for new members and all of its meetings are open to the public.
Lebanon Elementary School's annual fifth-grade online auction is up and running. There are 40 items listed online that are up for bids.
Register to bid at http://www.les5th.org and help the fifth-grade students go to Ferry Beach Ecology School this coming spring.
As always, if you have something you'd like to donate, the fifth-graders would welcome it to add to their list of donors. Sponsorship banners are also available to purchase.
For more information about the auction, you can call or email teacher Mary Hammond at 457-1126 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
There will be a rabies clinic at the East Lebanon Fire Station on Sunday, Nov. 6, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Dog licenses will also be offered at the same time.
Noble's youth basketball program for boys and girls is designed for children ages 3 through grade 6. The camps are run by boys' and girls' varsity basketball coaches from Noble High School. The program will be held on Saturdays.
You can register your child on Tuesday, Nov. 1, and Thursday, Nov. 3, in Noble High School's lobby between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Preschoolers can be registered for $25; students in kindergarten through the second grade, $30; and students in grades through five, $40.
The following is a list of upcoming Lebanon Schools events
q Thursday, Nov. 3: MSAD 60's board of directors will meet at the Noble High School Library at 7 p.m.
q Thursday, Nov. 10: Early Release Day. All Lebanon students will be dismissed at noon.
q Friday, Nov. 11: No school in observation of Veterans' Day
Rescuers' annual Halloween party on Sunday
The Lebanon Rescue Department invites you and your family to its 8th annual Halloween Open House from 5 to 7 p.m. on both Sunday and Monday, Oct. 30 and 31.


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Skip to 0 minutes and 7 seconds Hi. My name's Will Jakes. And I'm a former MChem student from the University of East Anglia. I carried out my final year research project at the Institute of Food Research using benchtop NMR spectrometer. Unlike their high field cousins, benchtop NMR spectrometers are small, robust, and much lower cost. They are based on a permanent magnet, and work without needing any cryogens. Edible oils are ideal samples to study using benchtop NMR, as good quality spectra are obtained quickly and easily from substances that are mainly composed of triglycerides. Composition values such as the amounts of mono or polyunsaturated fatty acids in the sample can be calculated directly from the spectra in a quick and accurate analysis.
Skip to 0 minutes and 49 seconds My research project was also concerned with measuring triglycerides, but extracted from samples of meat. The project was conceived following a news story which broke early in 2013, would soon come to dominate the headlines – the discovery of horse meat in beef burgers sold in the UK and Ireland. In the days that followed, undeclared horse meat was detected in a range of other processed meat products. This led to millions of pounds worth of food being recalled from supermarket shelves across Europe, and substantial brand damage to the companies involved.
Skip to 1 minute and 18 seconds The crisis exposed the potential vulnerability of the meat supply chain to fraud and highlighted gaps in testing regimes which could potentially be filled by new, fast, and low-cost analytical methods to screen meats and verify their species. With this in mind, the Institute of Food Research carried out some exploratory experiments using benchtop NMR. The fat components in a range of ground meat samples were isolated using a simple extraction in chloroform. Over the course of my project, this method was refined and repeated on hundreds of meat samples from different animal species, including horse meat. NMR spectra were acquired using the 16-megahertz benchtop instrument called Pulsar, manufactured by Oxford Instruments. Collecting data is quick and simple.
Skip to 2 minutes and 1 second The triglyceride solution in a thin glass NMR tube is inserted into the cavity in the centre of the spectrometer's permanent magnet, which also houses the electronics that generate a radio frequency pulse, and record a free induction decay. The results obtained were both striking and convincing. Each of the different meats examined exhibited clearly different spectra. In the case of beef and horse, the spectral profiles were found to be entirely distinct. Even with natural variation, no overlap between the two types was found. And the test was 100% accurate in determining whether an extract originated from a piece of horse or a piece of beef.
Skip to 2 minutes and 38 seconds Easy-to-use software to carry out mathematical analysis of the spectral data was developed at IFR to give a complete system in which to authenticate beef. From start to finish, the test takes a total of 10 minutes. This makes it an ideal and affordable approach for high throughput screening, or for pre-screening ahead of a more time-consuming DNA testing. So how is it that this NMR approach is so effective? Well, we know from everyday experience that beef and pork fat, say, are physically quite different from one another. This is mostly due to differences in their fatty acid compositions, which arise in turn from differences in their diets, digestive systems, and metabolism.
Skip to 3 minutes and 16 seconds Benchtop NMR is a really effective way of measuring these fatty acid compositions. In it's current form, the test is suitable for key points in the supply chain. For example, at meat wholesalers and processors, where incoming raw materials are in the form of frozen blocks of trimmings. And in fact, trials of the system have recently been carried out in the industrial setting of this kind, and with the results now undergoing evaluation.
Benchtop NMR spectroscopy
This video introduces "benchtop" NMR spectroscopy, a new approach for harnessing the power of NMR at a much lower cost, with robust low-maintenance instruments suitable for industrial settings. Learn how this technology has been used in the development of a new method for screening raw meat for species confirmation.
© University of East Anglia


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DelPen wrote:Don't get Quenville but not Bylsma.
Gaucho wrote:Adams finalists are Boudreau, Quenneville and MacLean.
MacLean would be my choice. I'm a little shocked that Therrien is not a finalist.
Idoit40fans wrote:Alfie, Brown, and Toews Messier Award finalists. Gotta say...I don't care about this award at all. Insert Mike Richards joke here.
DelPen wrote:Boudreau turned the Ducks from a franchise on the decline into a contender.
Don't get Quenville but not Bylsma.
Idoit40fans wrote:These playoffs are making me laugh over Babcock not being a nominee.
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Top 10 reasons we think you should attend this TEDx TALK in Paris.
TED, which stands for technology, entertainment and design, began as a conference in 1984 and is now a global platform that covers many topics in multiple languages. The nonprofit believes that ideas should be shared and spread, leading to energetic, vibrant conversation. These ideas are shared at events via talks, videos and other presentations, with the aim of fostering discussion to enable growth.
TEDx is a version of TED geared toward communities sharing ideas on the local level, such as the upcoming event in Paris. You should attend this event, not just because it's TED, which is awesome, but it also represents the local international community coming together to share experiences. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity you won't want to miss. Here are some other great reasons we are planning to ( and we think you should) attend.
1. It gathers the expat communities in Paris
More than 30 volunteers or team members among whom are 20 different nationalities are working to bring you this event. It represents cooperation across the board that is truly inspiring. If you've been struggling to meet others like you, or want to get more involved with expats, this would be a great way to do so.
2. The theme: Beyond Our Limits is a collection of presentations that push the inhibitions of humanity.
The presenters will be talking about overcoming limits, in one form or another. They seek to inspire, provoke conversation and challenge their listeners to think outside the box and test themselves. You will learn new things about yourself and the world that may cause you to reach a new level of personal growth.
3. It's been endorsed by a large number of partners.
The support for this event is astounding. Yelp, The British Council, Theatre in Paris, Expatriates magazine, AngloInfo Paris, Institut Des Hautes Etudes a Paris, Little Bakery and Expats Paris are among the many organizations who believe in TEDx and are helping to make it happen.
4. The speakers
The presenters at this event are world class:
Ana Saldariaga
Image courtesy of Twitter
Ana is the first Latin American (and Colombian) woman to become CEO and President of AIESEC, a global nonprofit. She aspires to transform the world on a grand scale in a positive fashion. Ana has spoken in numerous distinguished events at the United Nations, Global Youth Assembly and International Peace Day and has trained over 40,000 participants ranged from student leaders to CEOs from Fortune 500 companies on leadership and organizational change in over 40 different countries.
Danica Jurisic
Image courtesy of Tedxiheparis
is a longtime refugee from the Balkans who will be sharing her insights on life as a refugee, the challenges and what countries can do better. Did you know that most of the refugees you meet today are still in initial phases of their journey ?
To address and promote refugees issues, Danica will explain how the path, from a very normal, ordinary to a lifelong odyssey a refugee life seems endless. Being a refugee is something difficult to explain if you didn't have that unfortunate experience or if you are not directly involved. I have been a refugee for a long time and I would like to explain the path from a very normal, ordinary life to a lifelong odyssey that seems endless. "The decision we make now, the treatment we are giving them will decide in long terms not only their individual destinies, but the main features and characteristics of our society" Danica says. Since her childhood, she's been observing the position of refugees and their position in our modern, western world, and she'll share her observations on how, in a smaller but equally tragic war in the Balkans almost three decades ago, she lost everything and she gained an insight on life and problems of a refugee.
Anna Katrina Davey
Image courtesy of Twitter
a multiculturalist who strives to help companies succeed in the global marketplace at all levels. She is fluent in many languages and a champion of intercultural modes. Anna Katrina has lived and worked on three continents, traveled 45 countries and is fluent in Italian, German and English. She also speaks Spanish, has forgotten much of her Vietnamese, has studied Latin as well as Ancient Greek. She obtained her Master in Geography and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Freiburg, Germany and received her further professional training in intercultural communication in Bonn prior to working for the German Development Service in Hanoi, Vietnam. Anna Katrina has furthermore served for four years as President of SIETAR Austin, Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research.
Jothy Rosenberg
Jothy is the living example of "Who Says I Can't?" He has overcome cancer twice and lives with one lung and one leg. He holds a doctorate, is an amputee athlete, author, entrepreneur, YouTube Channel & TV Show presenter profiling people with disabilities.
Ramin Farhangi
Image courtesy of Twitter
Ramin is passionate about education. Throughout his early teaching career, he became dissatisfied with the methods used on students in the school system. He felt the methods could be improved upon and has come up with a democratic approach for learning. Ramin is the Founder of l'Ecole Démocratique. Its mission is to transform Schools into Democratic Communities. 5 years ago, he decided to resign from the Boston Consulting Group to follow his lifelong passion for education. Throughout his experience with teaching Math and Physics in high school, his doubts grew all the way to completely losing faith in the modern schooling system. He therefore, decided to quit teaching to create a democratic community in which children are free to do whatever they want with their lives.
Jacquelyn Quinones
Jacqueline will explore the effects of technology on our humanity. She asks, "Is technology killing our empathy?" and will share her desire for interconnectedness and how to reinvent ourselves in this modern world of online communication and social media.
Samuel N. Bernier
Samuel is not yet thirty and has already made his mark in the digital design world. His innovative projects can be found in printed media and museums around the globe. Samuel Nelson Bernier is a Canadian industrial designer and a prolific Maker. Born and raised in the Quebec countryside, he now works in Paris as Creative Director for le FabShop, a renowned design and innovation consulting firm.
Elena Herdieckerhoff
Image courtesy of Twitter
Elena is an entrepreneur who focuses on turning sensitivity into an asset. She strives to empower others to use their natural strengths and move beyond their self-imposed limits.
André Brugiroux
Poster courtesy of Tedxiheparis
André Brugiroux is a lifelong traveler. What he's learned about countries and how they interact has helped him form a philosophy of how humanity can find peace.
5. Inspiring and innovative topics addressing current global challenges
Many of the topics that will be presented address global challenges in the here and now. Refugee issues, the way kids are taught in school, whether peace is possible in a world of war and strife; how not to lose yourself to technology with Twitter, Facebook, and the like cluttering our lives. These discussions are relevant and timely for all of us.
6. Tickets are affordable
If you book now, you only pay 30 euros for this event, and if you're a student it's 20 euros. That's a steal for such a life-changing, one-of-a-kind event!
7. Networking opportunities
For 10 euros more, you can attend the exciting after party at the Belushi's Gare du Nord, mingle with your expat peers and network. Maybe you have ideas you want to share with a presenter. Perhaps you'll start a conversation with some of your fellow attendees on various issues. Either way, it's an opportunity you won't want to miss.
8. It's the only TEDx event in English that you can find in Paris
Image courtesy of Pixabay
This is a very unique event in Paris because it's all being done in English. You won't have to worry about a language barrier, or feel left out because it's in French.
9. To show support
Support your expat community by turning out in full force. The team who put this together worked very hard to get great speakers, a wonderful venue and opportunities for everyone to learn from each other and have fun. Think of the ideas that will be shared. It could transform your life forever.
10. The venue
Image courtesy of theatre de la madeleine
The Theatre de la Madeleine is located in the 8th arrondissement in Paris. It's close to the Gare Saint-Lazare, should you want to take the train, Galerie Lafayette, if you need to get the perfect outfit before you attend, and the always wonderful Opéra Garnier. It was built in 1924 by Charles Imandt and is a gorgeous piece of architecture constructed in the English style. It has seen such revered actors as Gérard Depardieu and Anouk Aimée grace its walls, with works by Edward Albee and Molière. You will be seated in this wonderful building, taking part in a historic event in an equally historic, beautiful structure.
Get your tickets now!
Now that you know all about the upcoming TEDx event, it's time to buy your tickets!
Look forward to seeing you there!
Do you want to receive some awesome articles about the joys, challenges, and lessons learned from expatriation adventures in Paris every week?
Don't worry, you can unsubscribe at anytime.
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The days in Tokyo are so hot and gf's air conditioner today doesn't seem to be working.
It's good being here rather than in Tomioka though.
Derek arrived home friday night angry, banging on the door because I locked it when he arrived. He hasn't been very happy since Reina broke up with him.
Also, with the infestation of fruit flies that have been partying in our rubbish bin and house, gf (and I) are relieved to be away from that for a while.
It's difficult to decide what to do when we have all the time available to us.
Tonight we went to the Tokyo Bay Fireworks.
We took the train to Tsukishima station to go where it was free to view the fireworks. It looks like tonight everyone else had the same idea. I would easily say that there were more people here than Sumidagawa fireworks.
The fireworks were easily more impressive. Check out the love hearts in the sky! There were also smiley faces. You can see some other examples here.
After the fireworks we made a joint decision to go to Shinjuku and get a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts to end an enjoyable night.
To gf's disappointment we went through the UFO catcher arcades. Seeing the look on her face sucked out any enjoyment I would have had to play them so I didn't spend any yen there.
We walked home to Yotsuya stopping momentarily to grab another doughnut out of the box. We also stopped along the way to get two bottles of shochu and an energy drink.
On arriving home I finished one of the 220ml 25% shochu bottles quickly and felt pleasantly intoxicated. I love this place!
Saturday, 11 August 2007
Tokyo Bay Fireworks
The days in Tokyo are so hot and gf's air conditioner today doesn't seem to be working.
Posted by Jimmy In Japan at 9:56 pm


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R. Allen Stanford was sentenced to 110 years in prison on Thursday after orchestrating a $7 billion international fraud that fueled an illicit lifestyle while bilking investors. To the end, Stanford insisted that he did nothing wrong, and his attorneys said that both the conviction and the sentence will be appealed.
Bloomberg reported that the sentence, imposed by U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Houston, was 40 years shorter than that given to Bernard Madoff in the wake of Madoff's Ponzi scheme. Hittner, who also ordered Stanford to forfeit $5.9 billion, said he had been found guilty of "one of the most egregious criminal frauds ever presented to a jury in federal court." In March, Stanford was convicted of 13 charges that included five for mail fraud and four for wire fraud.
Stanford was found to have lied to investors who bought certificates of deposit that were issued by his Antigua-based Stanford International Bank Ltd. and sold by his Houston-based securities firm. Prosecutors said that he secretly borrowed $2 billion from his bank, and used investor funds to finance failing businesses, yachts and cricket tournaments.
Jurors disagreed with defense arguments that investors were given adequate disclosures of how their money was being spent and that Stanford's finance chief, James Davis, was the one guilty of wrongdoing. Davis pleaded guilty to fraud and was a witness for the prosecution.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William Stellmach was quoted saying before the judge at the sentencing hearing, "From beginning to end, he's treated his victims like road kill. Allen Stanford doesn't deserve anyone's sympathy, and he doesn't deserve your honor's mercy." The prosecution asked for a 230-year term, while the defense requested a 10-year term.
One of Stanford's attorneys, Ali Fazel, said in the report, "We're very disappointed in the outcome. It's a harsh punishment, and it's tough on him. He is upset because he feels like he didn't do anything." Stanford showed no visible reaction to the sentence.
In a 30-minute address to the judge, Stanford said, "I've been called a lot of things—arrogant, abrasive, a son of a gun, difficult, very opinionated and strong-willed. But I am not a thief. I never planned to, never did, either corporately or personally, defraud anyone and never set out to do that."
He also said, "I worked my butt off for 30 years to build this company." Later he added, "If we'd been allowed, we could have liquidated every single asset and paid off every single depositor liability and every single depositor and still had significant and substantial assets remaining."
Stellmach disagreed, saying in the report, "Stanford is proclaiming himself a scapegoat. According to him, he's the only true victim in this case. That shows the depth of his deceit and lack of remorse that have been his trademark. That's obscene."
The judge said that he had read all 350 letters received from victims, and said, "Stanford ruined the lives of thousands of victims all over the world who entrusted him with their life savings."
One victim, Angela Shaw Kogutt, said in her letter, "He treated our savings like they were Monopoly money. Make sure the knight never sees the light of day again." The Antiguan government had conferred a knighthood on Stanford, hence the reference in the letter; later the honor was rescinded.