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Larry T. Spider

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Larry T. Spider last won the day on December 26 2019

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  1. Might just be talking out of my ass here but maybe there’s a middle between backing cops that do heinous shit and getting rid of all police.
  2. First, no need to thank me. I quit after 15 years in public education. Currently work for a company that provides exactly the types of specialized classrooms you are talking about to districts. Most districts just don’t have the capacity to meet the increased demand over the years. Waaaaay more kids need these services than even 10 years ago. See the other thread about kids that’s blowing up. The number one reason teachers are leaving is exactly the scenario you outlined. They can’t teach. Number two is dealing with parents in relation to why they can’t teach. Throw in testing score pressure and needing a second job and we are getting a “hell no” from teachers. FWIW, most districts want to do inclusion in a non-disruptive manner where the sped kids have assistants with them. This allows them to take breaks and only be in the class when they are focused and ready to learn. The reality ends up looking like the teacher being a 3 ring circus master all day then fielding parent complaints at the end of the day. The assistants get the shit kicked out of them for $15 an hour so even if the district is trying to hire, they usually can’t. We can go back to self-contained classrooms for those kids, but then we have to pay for it. I recently wrote a proposal that was for fewer than 50 students and the cost was over 2 million a year. Now, we are taking on the toughest kids, many of which would be in a residential treatment facility without us. But most superintendents just aren’t going to write that check unless push comes to shove - ie the state getting involved.
  3. Is the Texas GOP’s aversion to forcing them into mental health facilities purely financial? My family is almost all republicans in the Austin area and they are all for it. Now I don’t get into how we are going to pay for it with them….
  4. If there is strong evidence of a person committing a crime and they are deemed unfit to stand trial, they should go to a state run mental health facility. They stay there until they can go to trial. Every major city should have at least one. It will be expensive, but that is the cost of not having psychos roaming the streets. There should be youth facilities as well to give these kids the around the clock care that they need. The most mentally ill child I ever worked with was completely incapable (at that time) of safely living in a home environment. She bounced around foster homes until a residential treatment facility in another city could take her in. It took a year of hell, worsening mental health, and a move to a completely new city to get help. Right now they just go to Dell children’s until they are deemed to not be a threat to themself or others then right back home.
  5. Ha, just my luck. Well, in that case, who would you call to have them looked at?
  6. Double pane, I assume aluminum. It’s ‘99 builder grade stuff. The locks have “GA” on them, which I assume is the manufacturer.
  7. We’ll just go to a 4 day week for students because it’s the only way we can convince people to work in these conditions. Yet another one of my customer districts just announced this today. It’s about to be extremely common. Remember when we kept warning about how bad it was for teachers? The resounding response was to quit crying and find another job if you don’t like it. Well, here we are….
  8. These issues usually start well before they are running around Austin with a machete on the streets. Typically, they were public school students with a special education label that severely limited consequences for disruptive, or even violent behavior. There are some limits, such as bringing drugs or a weapon on campus but the daily insanity is legally protected. I talk to special education directors at major districts all day for a living. The increase they are seeing in students that fit this profile is disturbing. Districts are not funded to hire a bunch of mental health therapists, and the ones that find the money can’t fill the positions. They are able to get some kids into residential or other treatment facilities but then are on the hook for the cost. I talked to a superintendent in another state that’s paying 100k per kid in some cases. When I was a principal, I shared 1 therapist with 5 other campuses. Regular school counselors are not equipped to deal with this level of need. Private schools aren’t taking these kids with their $10,000 voucher if we go that route. We need a school to treatment facility pipeline instead of the current school to the streets pipeline. The teachers deal with it until it’s the cops turn. It will take funding and changing laws, but the alternative is more people getting stabbed.
  9. One of the recent hail storms cracked a couple of side windows on the house. Looking to pay for it out of pocket and not mess with insurance. Any recs on who would take on a small job like that at a fair price? I’m in western Round Rock, just east of Avery Ranch.
  10. But then I have to piss a lot and flush the toilet more. Back yard it is!
  11. Are there any places to get water data to compare normal usage to things like SXSW week. The hordes aren’t watering lawns but that’s a shitload of extra showers and toilet flushes. I’m sure it doesn’t have any measurable impact but I find it interesting.
  12. Posted my Caesar’s review a couple of weeks ago but it’s pretty much what everyone here is saying. Outdated. The sad thing is that CET is in so much debt, I doubt it gets a major refresh anytime soon.
  13. The reason they don’t leave it at or over 100% full is because the risk of flooding. Usually the ground is saturated so it would take much to generate a lot of runoff into the lake. I do think they have brought it down a little too far in the past though. For most of Austin’s history, floods have been a bigger threat than drought, but it’s time to recalibrate.
  14. I think we had one of these threads on TOS and it’s time to fire it up again. Travis is currently at 631 feet, which is 38.1% full. One year ago on this day we were a little over 45% full, so we are in moderately worse shape. It’s stayed pretty flat over the last month, but now come the months with a chance to make a dent in the drought. We’ve seen it get low before, but there are significantly more people drawing from Travis than in years past. It got down to 618 in 2013. Buchanan is at 46.2% full FWIW.
  15. Went for a short trip last month and stayed at Caesar’s. Gambled there plenty but never stayed there before. Had a room with a good view but overall it was very average and in need of a refresh. Honestly, the service was about as friendly/helpful as a local motel. Ate at Jaleo and China Poblano because I’m a slut for Jose Andres. Also the new Bobby Flay restaurant that replaced Mesa grill - Amalfi. Momofuku for lunch one day. All were good. Checked out Circa. It’s pretty bad ass if you are a sports bettor. Definitely worth the trip DT.
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