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Perhaps the City of Cuyahoga Falls should have heeded this classic advice from “The Odd Couple” while hammering out details of the financial arrangements to redevelop the old State Road Shopping Center property.

The financial arrangements involved forging an agreement between the City and the Cuyahoga Falls Board of Education to reallocate property tax dollars to help fund the acquisition, demolition, and site preparation of the shopping center to allow for the proposed Portage Crossing development to proceed. The project entails replacing the 50-year-old shopping center with new construction for retail and other use.

The progress on Portage Crossing ground to a halt a couple of weeks ago when the school board rejected the proposed agreement to reallocate property tax dollars between itself and the city. After negotiations and adding some assurances for the school board, the two groups came to an agreement on splitting the property tax revenue Portage Crossing should generate once the project is developed.

One comment from Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Robart made me shudder – saying that the Cuyahoga Falls Board of Education held the project hostage:

“It’s unfortunate that the School Board held the project hostage for a couple weeks…”

With all due respect, Mayor Robart, excuse me?

Perhaps the city should have examined possible missteps on its part before pointing fingers at the school board.

It appears to me that the city assumed that the school board would just “rubber stamp” the agreement to reallocate property tax revenue between itself and the city. The school board was correct to say “wait a minute”, review the agreement, and work with the city to make sure the agreement was in the best interests of everyone involved.

Don’t get me wrong – I want the proposed Portage Crossing project to proceed – and succeed. But I also give the school board credit for having the political courage to slow things down a little and make sure the agreement is in everyone’s best interest.

A public entity making sure an agreement involving tax dollars is in the best interest of its constituents is not and should not be characterized as holding a project hostage. The Cuyahoga Falls Board of Education did its job – and did it well – in this case.

I am a great fan of the Kent State Golden Flashes. I’m a second-generation graduate of Kent State. I graduated from there in 1988 and have followed the Golden Flashes since I was a kid. But what I’m about to suggest may tick off some fellow Kent State fans:

This morning’s story on the Daily Kent Stater’s web site about Kent State’s football team being picked to finish last in their division of the MAC got me thinking again about the continued viability of Kent State University fielding a football team at its current level of competition in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly called Division I-A).

For a while, I’ve questioned the wisdom of Kent State University sustaining a football team at the FBS level. Given the continued futility that Kent State has had on the gridiron, I don’t think it’s a good decision in terms of stewardship or competitiveness to maintain a top-level NCAA football program. Kent State University would be better-served by either ditching football entirely – or moving to a lower NCAA level of competition (perhaps the old Division I-AA, now called the Football Championship Subdivision or FCS).

I think that Kent State can maintain top-flight, competitive programs at the NCAA Division I level in football – or basketball – but not both. Given the Golden Flashes’ success in basketball the last couple of decades, the university’s resources should emphasize building an even stronger program in hoops.

Fans of the Kent State football team can count on one hand the number of successful seasons the team has had during the last four decades. When I attended Kent State in the mid-80s, it was a repeated exercise in gridiron futility and frustration following the football team.

Perhaps the Golden Flashes can field a FCS independent squad in football – and a basketball team in one of the “mid-major” hoops-only conferences. I think Kent State could do well in the Horizon League – could have a natural neighborhood rivalry with Cleveland State – and have healthy competition with teams such as Butler and Valparaiso.

If Kent State would choose this “Extreme Athletic Makeover” for its sports teams, it wouldn’t be the first time the university has taken bold steps for its athletic program. Twenty-one years ago this fall, then-president Michael Schwartz disbanded the university’s mens ice hockey team after an alcohol-related hazing incident in which all but four team members were involved. It was a strong statement to constituencies inside and outside the university.

Kent State University should closely examine how the resources of its athletic department are used and look at all the mens and womens sports programs that are fielded. I think an impartial look at the sports programs would conclude that the university’s resources would be better used by downsizing its football program and having it compete at a lower NCAA level – and pouring more resources into its successful basketball program.

The university should engage in such an examination for the good of the athletic program, student-athletes, students, alumni, community, and the other constituencies involved. It would be a painful decision to back down on football – but I think it would be a good stewardship decision on the part of the university. As Michael Schwartz’s decision did in 1988, reallocating how the university allocates resources to its athletic teams would send a strong message about the priorities of Kent State University.

…a friend of mine replied to my concerns about more schools instituting mandatory summer reading programs. The high school from which I graduated has assigned summer reading – for incoming freshmen all the way to those who’ll be seniors. Students are expected to take notes on this reading and complete at the beginning of the school year assignments based on this summer reading. The friend replied jokingly that “reading and writing” were over-rated.

I said in my original Twitter post that required summer reading programs in schools violate the boundaries between “school” and “home”. While I understand the rationale for such required reading, I think it dampens the whole concept of students having a “summer break”. Students shouldn’t have school work hanging over their heads during this time.

If schools want academic accountability for work assigned during the summer – they shouldn’t be telling students early June through late August is “summer break”. They should just keep the kids in school during this time. For a while, I’ve thought that schools across the board should go to a full-year schedule. Here’s why:

1) The original intent of having a summer break from school was so children could assist with farming on the family fields. Since farming has turned mostly into a full-time profession with paid workers in the fields – for virtually all families, this is a moot point.

2) Year-round school has the potential to increase retention of material learned – and lessen the need to review at the beginning of each academic year. More could be learned in an academic year or those needing help could get the assistance they need.

3) Year-round school would remove a major burden from parents in terms of childcare and simply wondering “what to do?” for their children during summer breaks.

4) Finally, I think that having school year-round would mirror the way most adults have to work year-round – and don’t take a three-month break in summer. It has the potential to instill a better sense of “work ethic” in students.

Do I see this happening any time soon? No. I know most students won’t initially like it but they don’t have much say in these matters. I have a feeling the most resistance might come from unions representing teachers.

I’ve been following the saga of a Toledo-area senior at a Baptist faith-based high school who is expected to be suspended this week for taking his girlfriend, a student at another school, to her prom.

Tyler Frost attends Heritage Christian School, which requires students to adhere 24/7 to a strict Baptist moral code that bans dancing, listening to rock music, and hand-holding.

While I’m not a big fan of such old-fashioned rules, I have to side with Heritage Christian School this time. The school is a private school – and Tyler Frost and his parents knew what they were getting into when he enrolled. When you play in someone else’s ball park, their rules apply. If someone chooses to ignore said rules, they have to face the consequences. Having attended private schools, my mom’s dire warning still rings in my head more than 30 years later: “they don’t have to let you go to school there.”

A few years ago, a student athlete at a faith based university (Liberty University I think) was caught violating that school’s moral code – and removed from the team. He was African-American and some tried to play the race card saying he was being disciplined because of the color of his skin. My position back then was the same as it is today – he chose to attend a Baptist university – he obligated himself to act accordingly. He broke the rules – and rightfully so faced the consequences.

In both cases, these private educational institutions have the right to hold their students to higher standards of behavior and conduct than for students at public educational institutions – and at private schools, part of the social contract involved can make those standards apply on- or off-campus, in and out of class.

Tyler Frost’s stepfather is pondering going to court against the school if his son is suspended – if he chooses to do so, he won’t have a legal leg to stand on…

It’s spring – and the fancies of some teens and post-teens turn to thoughts (or lack thereof) of drinking heavily, rioting, setting fires, fighting the cops, and generally making asses of themselves?

I was sad to read (and watch) the ignominious events unfold last night near the Kent State University campus. A late spring semester party turned into a drunken riot – and cops in Kent (with help from a large number of other area law enforcement agencies) ended up closing off three blocks of a street near campus to quell riots and let firemen put out fires.

Props to Cleveland Fox affiliate WJW, the Kent State student media web site KentNewsNet.com, and the Plain Dealer’s web site, cleveland.com, for having things covered very well last night. Even Cleveland NBC affil WKYC was using pix from KentNewsNet.com last night for its “breaking news” coverage of the events.

Two articles online sum up the pre-May mayhem pretty well. Last night, an article on Cleveland.com summed up things pretty well. The best coverage of the events came last night and this morning came from KentNewsNet.com – and their multimedia coverage IMO gets my gold medal along with their posts at @kent360 on Twitter. (more thoughts on some things I gleaned from their article a little later).

And Fox 8 had during its 10pm newscast a number of live reports from Kent near the scene of the riots – and while their visuals paled in comparison to KentNewsNet.com’s – give them props for the hustle to get their live truck down to Kent and at least have a presence down there.

Reports peg the number of revelers at 400 and arrests at 125 – which likely means a pretty busy next month or two for the student conduct authorities at Kent State. The students arrested at the scene will almost certainly not only have dates in court – but hearings with university disciplinary panels; students can face university disciplinary action ranging up to expulsion for off-campus criminal violations. I’m also guessing that a number of non-students were involved too.

Just some quick observations from what I read online:

“The cops were being nice, and two minutes later we were shot by rubber bullets for no reason…”

This quote activated my BS detector – while I’m pretty cynical about law enforcement, especially when they use force, I’m pretty sure the cops had a reason for using it last night.

It’s pretty easy to spend hours and days and weeks second-guessing decisions that cops have to make in a split-second. Cops are trained with the hope they will make the right decisions in those split-second moments; but they’re human and can make mistakes.

The actions of everyone involved (cops and non-cops) will be reviewed in the coming weeks and months – and I have a feeling that while the cops were justified in their initial reaction to the unrest – there might be some specific instances that will be noted as items that could have been handled better. But the cops had “no reason”? Yeah, right.

President Lester Lefton would not comment on the incident and said it was inappropriate for a reporter to call him at his home late on a Saturday night.

I don’t blame Lester Lefton for not wanting to comment – but I so call BS on him for deeming inappropriate a reporter calling him at his home late on a Saturday night. Lefton, the president of Kent State University, was being asked about an event that involved campus police from the university of which he is in charge and that almost certainly involves students from that university. The reporter had every right to call him, even if it was late on a Saturday night.

While the reporter might have been better served calling someone from the university’s communications department to get an official comment on what happened – Lefton had no business saying trying to contact him was inappropriate. Taking contacts like he got from the Daily Kent Stater reporter is part of his job. He could have handled the request for comment more gracefully and professionally.

“I have all the respect for cops in the world,” (Kent State graduate student Evan) Middleton said, “but what they did is bullshit.”

I bet this quote might get a little review for its use of profanity – and will likely be a topic of discussion in some Kent State journalism classes this coming week – but I think it was completely appropriate. News stories, especially in mainstream print or broadcast media, should avoid using profanity – but in this case I think the exact quote was used appropriately and in a way to convey the emotions the witness felt at the time.

Overall, it was interesting from a “media observer” viewpoint seeing last night’s events unfold – from the first emails from the KentNewsNet.com newsroom to the live shots on Fox 8 to the live Tweets about what happened.

maybe it was the nuns with their rulers holstered at the ready. Ganked from one of my work co-conspirators. Enjoy!

Little Zachary was doing very badly in math.

His parents had tried everything…tutors, mentors, flash cards, special learning centers. In short, everything they could think of to help his math.

Finally, in a last ditch effort , they took Zachary down and enrolled him In the local Catholic school . After the first day, little Zachary came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn’t even kiss his mother hello.

Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying.
Books and papers were spread out all over the room and little Zachary was hard at work. His mother was amazed. She called him down to dinner.

To her shock, the minute he was done, he marched back to his room without a word, and in no time, he was back hitting the books as hard as before.

This went on For some time, day after day, while the mother tried to understand what made all the difference.

Finally, little Zachary brought home his report Card. He quietly laid it on the table, went up to his room and hit the books. With great trepidation, His Mom looked at it and to her great surprise, Little Zachary got an ‘A’ in math.

She could no longer hold her curiosity. She went to his room and said, ‘Son, what was it? Was it the nuns?’ Little Zachary looked at her and shook his head, no. ‘Well, then,’ she replied, Was it the books, the discipline, the structure, the uniforms? WHAT WAS IT?’

Little Zachary looked at her and said, ‘Well, on the first day of school when I saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew they weren’t fooling around.’

Those five words were a key part of the advice Fr. Mike Matusz gave to parishioners this evening at St. Martha Parish in the North Hill section of Akron. At the end of the 4:30 p.m. mass, Fr. Matusz read a three-page letter he had received earlier in the day from Bishop Richard Lennon (PDF, 300K) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.

The letter gave the news parishioners had expected to hear: that the current St. Martha site will be the location of a new parish combining St. Martha with nearby Christ the King. The letter also announced the closure of St. Hedwig, another nearby parish with a predominantly Polish congregation – and no substantive changes to another nearby parish, St. Anthony of Padua. For now, the two Catholic schools in North Hill, North Akron Catholic School and St. Anthony of Padua, will stay open – with a proviso from the bishop that consolidation may be needed in the future.

After reading the letter from Bishop Lennon, Fr. Matusz took a few moments to give some “fatherly” advice to the parishioners assembled at the Sunday vigil mass. He emphasized that the people of the current St. Martha parish shouldn’t take the attitude that outsiders are being brought in – and that this is going to be a “fresh start” and the beginning of a new parish for everyone who’s there from the start. He also echoed Bishop Lennon’s call for all the faithful to evangelize as a central call of being Christians. He also implored parishioners to re-examine their financial support (or lack thereof) of the parish and the school it runs along with Christ the King.

The mood I sensed tonight during the reading of the letter and as people left mass could be described as somber but hopeful. I saw a lot of long faces in the pews tonight as Fr. Mike read the letter from Bishop Lennon and then gave his remarks. Some of it had to be chalked up to the letter being long to read – some of it I think had to be chalked up to the magnitude of the news that was being delivered – and the challenge being posed to everyone in attendance.

The next 16 months will be filled with both blessings and challenges for all the constituencies who will be affected by these changes – which if you think about it include every Catholic in the Cleveland Diocese. Whether or not someone’s parish is closing or merging, these changes affect everyone.

The five words in the subject line of this blog post were the words from Fr. Mike that stuck most in my mind: “others are not joining us”. He was absolutely justified in counseling parishioners not to take a territorial, “high school clique” attitude as faith communities come together. Having welcoming attitudes and open minds will serve Catholics in the Cleveland Diocese especially well during this time of transition. My other big concern is that ministry to ethnic communities will suffer as a result of the consolidation – in particular, the Polish population. At least two parishes with large Polish constituencies have been slated for closure, along with at least one parish with a large Hungarian consituency.

This weekend’s developments are also making me think long and hard about my current lack of being “anchored” at one particular parish. As I mentioned in last night’s post, I’ve been kind of drifting between St. Martha’s, St. Bernard in downtown Akron, and Immaculate Heart of Mary in Cuyahoga Falls. I’m feeling a very strong call to “get off the fence” and call one parish “home”. It’s something I’m working on forming – and something into which I need to put more thought and prayer…

EDIT 3/15/09 @ 19:00: Here is a complete list of parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland to be merged or closed, direct from the website of the Diocese.

Tomorrow will be a red-letter day in the history of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.

Sometime between 9 am and 2 pm, each of the 225 parishes in the diocese will receive a letter from Bishop Richard Lennon telling them of his final decision on its future. Some parishes and/or their schools will stay open. Others will be closed. Yet others will end up merging with another parish or faith community within the diocese. Unconfirmed reports have 30 churches in Cleveland and 5 in Akron closing. A total of about 50 parishes are expected to get the sad news tomorrow.

The pastor of each church is expected to read the letter from Bishop Lennon at tomorrow’s Sunday vigil mass or the first mass on Sunday. The diocese is very insistent (rightfully so) that the news about each parish be first disseminated by its pastor to his parishioners. On Sunday morning at 10:00 am, a press conference will be held by Bishop Lennon and the complete list of parishes to be realigned will be released publicly by the diocese.

The announcements this weekend will be the culmination of a multi-year process in the Diocese of Cleveland known as “Vibrant Parish Life” – an initiative for the church to better serve Catholics in NE Ohio in light of declining numbers of priests, shifting populations, and dwindling Sunday collections. The more cynical have called it a “downsizing” of the Roman Catholic Church in the Cleveland/ Akron region.

The process has involved priests, diocesan staff, parishioners, and other constituents of the Diocese of Cleveland – it was a thorough and prayerful examination of the resources the Church has now – the projected resources in the future – and how to best allocate those resources in light of modern economic, pastoral, and demographic realities. I think the diocese has made valiant efforts to engage as many potentially affected people as possible. For this the Diocese of Cleveland deserves credit.

During the last couple of years I’ve been a tad unanchored in terms of association with a particular parish. I split time between three parishes: Immaculate Heart of Mary in Cuyahoga Falls (where Emma-Grace went to kindergarten at its parish school and I’m in the Knights of Columbus), St. Bernard in downtown Akron (where Trish and I got married in 2000), and St. Martha in the city’s North Hill section (where Jacob and Emma-Grace were both baptized).

I’m planning to be at the 4:30 mass tomorrow at the latter church, St. Martha Parish – because it’s one of the parishes that likely will see a lot of changes by July of 2010, when the changes are expected to take effect across the diocese. If Bishop Lennon’s decision is to go with the recommendation of the “cluster” (group of parishes) in which St. Martha’s belongs, it will be the site of a new parish consisting of parishioners from there, along with those from nearby St. Hedwig (a parish with a special ministry to the Polish population) and Christ the King parishes. The other church and school in the cluster, St. Anthony of Padua, has been recommended to stay as is. North Akron Catholic School, the church jointly run by St. Martha and Christ the King, has been recommended to be kept open, though the diocese had recommended that one of the two schools (St. Anthony of Padua is the other school) be closed.

This whole process, while having been prayerful and deliberative, has also raised strong feelings in many parishioners, especially from people in parishes expected to be closed next year. No matter how the process ends up, I don’t think anyone will be 100 percent happy with the results.

The decisions to close and consolidate I’m sure were difficult and painful for everyone – from Bishop Lennon and his staff – to the priests – to church staff – and to every single parishioner in the diocese. And while these decisions are painful, I think they’re very necessary changes.

I’d rather see a smaller, more focused ministry effort of the Roman Catholic Church in the Cleveland/Akron region than none at all. The goal of Vibrant Parish Life can be boiled down to one word: stewardship – how to take limited God-given resources and best use them to further His kingdom.

The current way parishes are aligned and priests assigned in the diocese doesn’t make sense – many of the more than 750,000 Catholics in the diocese are outside its urban centers of the cities of Cleveland and Akron – and a shift in resources and people has been long overdue. I think one key to the long-term success of Vibrant Parish Life is to engage suburban parishes in the ministry of inner-city areas.

It’s almost certain a reallocation of church resources from inner-city areas to suburban areas will take place. My biggest fear is that the Diocese of Cleveland could irreparably harm its outreach to inner-city residents – people who frequently need the most help and support from faith communities. With the prospect of fewer parishes in the city, the diocese needs to redouble its ministry efforts there. I hope these areas don’t end up shafted in the long run.

Bishop Lennon had some simple advice in an article last week in the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Universe Bulletin: “be not afraid”. While the next 16 months will be difficult for many, the changes are necessary. It’s a case of sacrifices needing to be made by all for the greater good of the Roman Catholic community in Northeast Ohio. My prayer is that the diocese and its people handle these upcoming changes with grace – and that these changes make the diocese better able to use its limited resources to minister to all people.

A debate’s raging on the campus of Kent State University in Ohio about the necessity of “Liberal Education Requirements” (LERs; they were called “General Education Requirements” when I went there 20+ years ago).

Click here to read the article from the Daily Kent Stater about LERs.

Most students pursuing a bachelor’s degree at a college or university spend the lion’s share of the freshman year and a good portion of the sophomore year with courses in English, Math, Science, Philosophy, History, and other courses some consider not directly related to their major fields of study. Same goes to a lesser extent at two-year institutions of higher education. Proponents of requiring these courses say they provide for a “well-rounded” education; opponents often say they’re rehash of high school courses and a waste of time. Many private providers of career education courses cite the lack of need for many of these classes as an advantage over traditional higher education choices.

My thoughts? The LERs need to stay. The sentiment against taking “general education” classes at institutions of higher education might be rooted in the drive many in our society have for “immediate gratification” – wanting something now or ASAP. Going to a two- or four-year college or university is a multi-faceted experience. Yes, the main reason is to pursue a major field of study that theoretically leads to a career. But it’s so much more. The whole college experience includes facets of appreciating diversity, developing social acumen, learning how to navigate and play in the political world, and so many more facets that serve students in “the real world”.

My major was in radio-television; but I realized after eight years in the field that I needed to take another career direction. Just as important as pursuing a major is “learning to learn” – having the flexibility to change career directions and learn quickly. Having “general education” courses during my four years at Kent State helped me develop the intellectual agility to quickly switch from being a broadcast journalist to a fundraising professional to a call center representative to a credit dispatcher.

If students want just “career education” and quick learning to get a job, there are plenty of programs at two-year colleges and universities – and programs at career schools that do a good job and serve their purpose of training people to quickly become qualified for specific fields of work. But people who go to colleges and universities usually (whether they specifically intend to or not) attend for a broader experience and broader base of learning. “General education” classes help build that broader base of learning. And they need to be kept as graduation requirements at Kent State and other four-year colleges and universities.