-Congratulations to Katie Fjell, a Deer Valley Middle School teacher who was awarded $1,400 for school supplies from Office Max, in cooperation with their 'A Day Made Better' program and Adopt-a-Classroom, recognizing that classroom teachers incur exhorbitant out-of-pocket expenses to enable their students to succeed.  Ms. Fjell is one of 1,000 teachers, nationwide, to receive the award!  You go, Girl! 

     -As suspected, the DV Superintendent wants out - and then back in - at a much higher salary!  Upon requesting to be be allowed to retire, in 2006, and to then be rehired under a phased-retirement program, school board member Ron Bayer proposed this to be an attempt by Virginia McElyea(who denied this intent) to simply access her ASRS benefits for the minimum one-year, before resigning as a member of Educational Services, and to renegotiate her DV contract to a higher salary and benefits package, while maintaining her ASRS benefits.  Well, wouldn't you know it!  Bayer was correct!  Wouldn't it be great if the rest of the board either denied her this blantant salary-grab(DV teachers are among the lowest of comparable districts, in salary and benefits), or better yet, allowed her to opt out - and then refused to rehire?  It'll never happen, though, as she has a board-majority in her back pocket - or somewhere close to that! 

     -The Arizona State Board of Education is proposing increased math and science requirements for high school graduation, beginning with the freshman class of 2008.  This will, most likely, not happen, as Maw and Paw never needed mor than the sixth-grade education that high school graduates now receive, so why should their young'uns?