Comments on: Charlottesville City: We discriminate, but we have good reasons

By: Schilling Show

Schilling Show — Tue, 26 May 2009 10:16:08 +0000

Gary, yes, tax credits; I agree wholeheartedly! My point was not that all home school families are comfortable, but rather, that the city’s differentiation on the basis of economics was not warranted in any of the considered schooling scenarios.

By: Chiefcookandbottlewasher

Chiefcookandbottlewasher — Tue, 26 May 2009 02:38:43 +0000

Gary, what is “preposterous” about the sentence “Beware a feeling government?”

Color me confused……

By: Gary

Gary — Mon, 25 May 2009 19:35:30 +0000

Rob, you wrote:Beware a â€œfeelingâ€ government! What evidence backs this preposterous pretention? Many home-school families are economically comfortable. (Who else can afford a one-income existence in this tax-hungry metropolis?) It is my understanding that several families in
this area are making large sacrifices to home-school their children.
I am not sure that they are economically comfortable. Can we at least
agree to give them a tax credit for home schooling?

By: Chiefcookandbottlewasher

Chiefcookandbottlewasher — Mon, 25 May 2009 12:08:39 +0000

What Cville Eye said.

Sean, it sounds like you are taking this personally and are fearful that the commmunity will think that your group was behind the terrible policy. You are protesting too much and may cause the very problem you are trying to prevent (drawing too much attention to who was responsible for this policy may get people thinking it WAS your group when they never would have thought of that).

SURRENDER, SEAN!!!!!

By: Cville Eye

Cville Eye — Fri, 22 May 2009 20:43:10 +0000

It is quite common for the final result not totally reflect the recommendations of a city committee and I believe the resulting policy did not reflect the intent of the Parks committee. For example, at the last Council meeting, the Housing Advisory Committee and the CDBG Task Force made recommendations for spending $600K+ of the Housing Fund. The staff then recommended to Council to not fund two of the recommended projects. Council did not fund them. I think there was a great deal of confusion once the city staff got hold of the policy and posted it on the website.

By: Schilling Show

Schilling Show — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:20:25 +0000

@Sean McCord

Sean McCord :
To state that the City is punishing families of private-school students by not allowing them to purchase discounted pool passes also implies that the Park and Rec Advisory Board would have to be part of some larger conspiracy, which is asinine. The only embarrassment I feel is for Rob Schilling.

No such implication was made. However, if you inferred it from my comments, then the problem is with your lack of reading comprehension. Are you a product of government schools?

By: Sean McCord

Sean McCord — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:18:27 +0000

If Rob had just repeated this erroneous information, then I would have no beef with him. If Ric Barrick reported that the Parks & Rec Advisory Board had proposed excluding private school students from the discounted season pass rates, then that is something we need to take up with him. But Rob did write:

‘The City of Charlottesville hates the fact that so many potential indoctrination hostages (aka eligible government-school students) opt-out of our deficient division in favor of a quality, private education. And now, the City has found a way to punish for their civic disobedience, those tax-paying citizens who choose to have their children privately educated, all in the name of City-compelled â€œfairness.â€’

To state that the City is punishing families of private-school students by not allowing them to purchase discounted pool passes also implies that the Park and Rec Advisory Board would have to be part of some larger conspiracy, which is asinine. The only embarrassment I feel is for Rob Schilling.

By: Chiefcookandbottlewasher

Chiefcookandbottlewasher — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:53:59 +0000

Sean, you are embarrassing yourself. ROB never said that your advisory committee made a policy that excluded private school studentsâ€”RIC BARRICK apparently 1) told Rob that private school students WERE MOST DEFINITELY excluded from receiving discounted swim passes (see email above); and 2) told Henry Graff from Channel 29 that it was your advisory committee that set this exclusionary policy. Personally, when I heard Graff say this I said to myself that it was just the city’s (i.e. Gary or the Head of Parks and Rec) way of blaming someone else for their gross error. THE CITY, NOT ROB sloughed the mistake off on you and your cohorts . Please read and listen carefully in the future before attacking someone for nothing.It’s amusing but very unfair.

By: Schilling Show

Schilling Show — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:09:05 +0000

Typically liberal response: completely ignore stated facts; respond emotionally; attack the message bearer; blah, blah, blah…

By: Sean McCord

Sean McCord — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:59:12 +0000

Yes, Rob, the seasonal pass webpage now reads “Charlottesville City Student – valid for any student (excluding college students) that has residency within the City of Charlottesville”. But please understand that this is a semantic clarification, and that it was never the intent of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee to exclude any city student — public, private, or home-schooled — from the discounted rate. In fact, it was fully our intention to make the season passes affordable and attainable to as many city residents as possible. To imply that we were part of some larger conspiracy to punish families who choose to take their kids out of public school is simply silly. There must be better ways for you to get attention.

By: The Schilling Show Blog » Charlottesville City relents on defensless discrimination against private school families

Thu, 21 May 2009 11:16:39 +0000

[...] the story broke here on The Schilling Show blog last week, and later wasÂ picked up by The Hook and NBC 29, [...]

By: Schilling Show

Schilling Show — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:51:25 +0000

Glad to hear things have changed, Sean. However, you should speak with Ric Barrick. I asked him directly about this, and he insisted it was true, and that he confirmed the policy with Brian Daly. See his 5/12 email to me:

On May 12, 2009, at 02:38 PM, Barrick, Ric wrote:

No, students in private schools are not eligible for that discount.

From:Rob Schilling
Sent:Tuesday, May 12, 2009 2:30 PM
To:Barrick, Ric
Subject:Re: Pool Fee Inquiry

What about private schooled kids?

So, according to the City spokesperson, it was true that private school families could not avail themselves of the “sale” price. Since we ran the story, the policy has been made more inclusive. Please see the change in terminology on the city web site from the original text (pictured above in this story) to what now appears.

Regarding the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, Ric never mentioned them to me directly, so I did not reference them in my original story. But, did he put the blame on PARAC when he spoke with NBC 29′s Henry Graff. Please contact Henry for details and confirmation.