Oh, no! Mr. Calabrese is going to be "dealt with" by Colonel T. Futhermore, Ms. Carroll was going to let him know. Know what? Who's the boss? Colonel T.? Whatever he says, the board and the community must perform without dissent? Dissent is disallowed! Just like Mr. Bush kept protesters penned in "free speech zones" far removed from the sites where he and other members of his administration spoke. I'm very glad to see Mr. Calabrese and Ms. Curatolo have something dissident to say. I'm very glad to see Mr. Lytle _not_ tow the line (for a change). Naples' ruling elites are responsible for choosing the developmental path in both the civilian world of Naples schools and the unquestioningly pro-military world of the power elite. Our newspaper needs to directly address the push toward uniformity and conformity with Colonel T's ruling military junta. Colonel T's legitimacy and authority have been contested since his arrival, not only by the legally constituted political opposition and a constellation of organizations, insurgents, and expatriates, but also by concerned parents of the 42,000 enrolled students. I very much approve of Mr. Lytle's paragraph: Board members are not elected to always make nice. They are not elected to conform to an outside review board’s sense of civility and “governance,” which can be code for “Go with the flow” or “Be smart and do it my way, or else.” I very much disapprove of people being strong-armed out of their classrooms. I think Mr. Calabrese's remarks in the NDN's Guest Commentary of January 5, 2009 were very appropriate. He says: The time has come to stop inventing nonsense programs such as the "50 percent minimum grade." If a student takes a test and gets 35 percent, that is his grade, not 50 percent. Why should a student who works hard and gets a 40 percent on a test get his grade be increased to 50 percent — the same as a student who does no work and earns a raw score of zero? You have just eliminated any incentive for some kids to try harder and seek help. Furthermore, this policy distorts academic achievement. Where is the scientific-based research that supports this policy? What about taking credits away from our students who successfully completed Spanish I and French I? If we offer the courses and the students passed the courses, are they not entitled to the credits? We have been told by the administration that since the Hinshaw Report was released, course grading issues have been solved. Apparently this is not true. The administration is planning to make changes in the gifted program. We have an excellent gifted program in place. Why change it? Where is the evidence that change is necessary when the current outcomes are admirable? I have repeatedly asked that we examine lowering the cost of health insurance benefits for our employees. A year and a half later, I am very concerned that nothing has been done to examine promising alternative plans, particularly since the potential for savings is great. Another extremely hot-button issue of mine is teacher and support personnel compensation. The administration feels that their current compensation is adequate. However, facts indicate otherwise. Our district level administrators’ compensation averages 22 percent more than their counterparts around the state, while our instructional employees and support personnel receive only an average of 7 percent more than their counterparts around the state. In other words, Collier County Public Schools takes much better care of administrators than those who actually instruct and care for our students. The 2 percent raise for nonunion employees, including administrators, and nothing for union personnel has further exacerbated the problem. __________________ What has happened to CCPS in the past two years under Colonel T. and his junta is an atrocity.