A citizen asks ?

Welcome to the club . Thank the liberal Democratic Party for making it so easy to rip off the USA taxpayers. Hey, we liberals like to help people... screw the system. But don't worry Obama will save us . LOL

--by another sucker on 5/17/08   Lives: Dearborn  

I'm glad the poster has all of their facts in line, especially the fact that they are apparently blind when they see hundreds of children bused from the River Oaks area over to Lindburgh and Haigh, not-withstanding the kids bused over that live there in the first place. Or, perhaps, the poster forgot about something called financing, which allows people with good credit to pay for a new car over 6 years that they could never afford to own by themselves.

If the poster wants to complain about paying taxes and for their own children's schooling at the same time, tough ! It's their choice to put them in a private school, and if they are a US Citizen it means they have to pay the same share as anybody else in their income bracket and property tax. They knew what they were getting into, and that's the price of making sure your children don't have to deal with those public schools that carry all the commoner's children in them. It costs money to keep your kids away from us chattel!

Good research, poster!

--by Brian on 5/17/08   Lives: USA  

You still don’t get the joke do you SUCKER? Every free and reduced lunch kid is bringing money into the district from state and federal grant money. The DPS recruits free and reduced lunch participants. Sure, they don’t deserve it and its costing the tax payer millions to support people who make more than us and pay, on the average, about 1/5th the taxes, but as long as the DPS gets their dockets, its all good!

Just like the, now infamous, DHS non attendance policy and seminar period, both of which have shown themselves to have taken hundreds of instructional hours away from our students, as long as we look “fashionable” to the rest of the state and country, they go for it hook, line and sinker.

Now we get to watch millions of our taxpayer dollars get flushed down the toilet on new football fields and field houses. Now that Arits has opened up the purse strings for DHS’s new super field, FHS wants to jump in and get some more money to rebuild their bleachers (after gleefully FAILING AYP for the 4th straight year), build new concessions stands and bathrooms and the Edsel folks want a new field house. Everyone is now involved in an orgy of money plundering at taxpayer expense.

Welcome to the rodeo SUCKER. Democrat or republican, they all are after the same thing, money and influence.

By the way, just you all wait and see what happens next year when FHS fails AYP. They will have to let students go where ever they want to go on the DPS. That’s right! When a school can’t make AYP for 5 straight years, they have to open the doors and let the parents take their kids where ever they want and WE get to pay for it!

You have not seen anything yet SUCKER. It’s just beginning!

--by We are all suckers on 5/17/08   Lives: Michigan  

To Another Sucker:
That reasoning doesn't make any sense. Up until a coupldyears ago, the conservatives have had control of both houses of the Michigan legislature. Plus, they've had control of the White House, and up until two years ago, they had control of both houses of Congress. How can you blame "the liberal Democratic Party" for our nation's ills when they've for all intents and purposes have been in the minority for much of the past 10+ years? You can't blame Granholm for everything wrong with society.

And tell me how neoconservative George W. Bush HASN'T ripped off the US taxpayers over the past 7.5 years. He's built the federal government to its largest size in generations.

--by Harry on 5/17/08   Lives: Dearborn  

"We are all suckers" is correct the district gets $$$ from the feds for each free lunch. The application for free lunch simply asks how much $$ your income is no verifaication required(or wanted). For fun get a list of Fairlane Club members and a free lunch recipient list-there will be tons of names on BOTH lists. People who live in the gated community next to the club are getting free lunch and picking their kids up in full length furs and driving new Caddies. Hey the administrator from Fordson got free luncvh for his kids and then a few years later is promoted. People rent the entire Fairlane Club out for family events and get free lunch. How? The district doesn't care-the district touts core values and can't manage to really possess them. They get $$$ to waste-just like knowingly allowing out of district students remain here-they get $$$ from the state per pupil. Even though the majority of these kids bring down our scores and are discipline problems. No one at Ten Eyck has to deal with them, so why should they care. Honesty-Integrity-BLAH BLAH BLAH

--by Don't ask how I know on 5/18/08   Lives: Detroit area  

Brian, wake up will you. You talk about the students that are taking busses. Their parents still drive big fancy cars you just don't see it. As far as having good credit and financing for 6 years. If your credit is that good you mean to tell me they can't afford your child's lunch lunch, or better yet PACK them a lunch. Open your eyes Brian. I know of students in DPS that have a better car than you or I drive, that's paid for by mommy and daddy, and they still get a free lunch. If mommy and daddy can pay for junior to have a nice car then why can't they pay a couple of bucks for lunch. It's true the DPS still kisses hiney to get those federal bucks too bad they know nothing about equality. The DPS preaches about the technological abilities of the east end because of federal money yet their MEAP scores SUCK. Look at the P&G from last week. But that's OK because they can make a movie or powerpoint, even though most of the words on it are spelled incorrectly. So tell me, is the district really concerned about the MEAP and state standards or just looking pretty.

--by Get Real on 5/19/08   Lives: Dearborn  

The original poster fails to see logic because the poster first states that 50% of students receive free or reduced lunch and equates that with low-income families. The poster, however, does not argue what income level the other 50% has. Let's talk about Fordson for example. Assuming there are two-thirds of families in the low-income category, that would mean 800 students are not from low-income families since there are about 2400 students at Fordson. The school allots approximately 130 parking spaces at Fordson and I can attest that not even half of them are the types of cars you say there are. This does not mean there are not the type of cars you state because there are. Furthermore, there is a ton of carpooling going on at FHS. When I used to pick up my brother from school, I would drop off his friends as did many other families. You also forgot to mention the students that walk to school since many of the schools in the district are within our neighborhoods. Finally, the students parking in the lots are also taking students home or bringing them to school. I'm sorry to say that without research, your argument lacks any weight of authority and is strongly without merit.

--by Hassan on 5/20/08   Lives: Dearborn  

HARRY-
Only a lamo would turn an article about free lunches into an anti-Bush agenda. The street sweeper didn't show up on Monday when they picked up the garbage, and I KNOW it was Bush's fault. Get a life and pass some more of that free cheese, please.

--by smedley on 5/21/08   Lives: Dearborn  

I have conducted no research, other than the research I conduct while driving in my city, making observations, and drawing conclusions. It would appear that the intent of the original post was to highlight the fact that there are abuses and frauds being committed concerning various types of government programs. Without a doubt this is true.

I have seen people using a bridge card at Kroger and driving away in a Hummer.People also use another person's address for school purposes and for defrauding Auto Insurance companies. No good deed goes unpunished. Government handouts that are intended for the truly needy often end up in the hands of those who abuse the system. The original post didn't lack merit, it lacked a statistical foundation. Personal observations, however, are often times just as relevant.

--by Mrs. Claus on 5/21/08   Lives: Dearborn  

It's all about the money. The Feds. give out $$$ based on the number of students who get a free lunch. There is no incentive to find the cheaters.

--by Moe on 5/21/08   Lives: Dearborn  

To "Get Real":

Having good credit has nothing to do with the breadth of your finances, just how well you manage it, oh-wise-and-all-knowing realist. I have near-perfect credit and I've never made more than $20,000/year in my life because I pay my bills when I get them and I never spend money I don't have. It's called being a responsible adult... apparently something you're not well acquainted to if you think it's impossible.

All of these stories about people with fur coats and Cadillacs are repeated in every aspect of the social services argument. People made that claim in the 70s when there were loopholes available for welfare, legitimately, and ever since then everyone talks about people in fur coats and caddies taking every single social service possible even when it doesn't make sense. School lunches? Come on!

Of course, you don't give any proof for your claims either, you simply say "if only you knew what I know" or "you should see what I see" as if you're some all-knowing, omnipotent being. Well, unfortunately we can't, because your claims are as false as your vague-at-best facts. Some abuses obviously do occur, as stated in the article, but your theatrical lies just prove how truly misinformed you are.

--by Get facts! on 5/21/08   Lives: USA  

Get Facts where are your facts that disprove the allegations someone asked to correlate data from private exclusive clubs and free lunch lists so you get the facts and prove em wrong then they don't have to prove to you they are right maybe they are afraid of retaliation if they work i the schools like any of the office ladies who might see the forms

--by just curious on 5/22/08   Lives: Dearborn  

We know we're all "suckers" is correct.
There's no incentive for the school administrators (and teachers) to turn in the school lunch cheaters. . . . because the feds won't do anything about it. (Are the feds paid off, lazy, or pressured by their bosses . . . or all of the above?)

Yes, it is confirmed - Gucci toting Fairlane Club members kids are free lunch recipients too.
Dearborn gated community homeowner's kids get free lunches too because their parents know how to play the system.

Learn how to cheat the system and your kids too will get free lunches.

--by Don't ask how we know too on 5/29/08   Lives: Dearborn