I want to clear something up about my personal thoughts about Buist and so called cheaters.

First, I do not think that Buist is a safe environment for any child. Why?
Take the death threats a few years ago by two students against another. It is my understanding that these kids were never even suspended nonetheless expelled according to the CCSD code of Conduct. Who stood up and protected the victim? When the District 20 board did they were crucified.

Second, I don't think that it challenges any child including the super smart ones to have hours upon hours of homework every night after a full day of school. Vit D is important.

Third, I do not think that children should be forced to maintain a B average....especially with the high divorce rate in Charleston-according to the CCSD. Kids go through enough just being kids.

Fourth, I do not think that any school should be able to make up there own rules as they go along which is what Buist seems to do. If they were honest and true 25 percent of the kids that attend Buist would live yes live downtown.

Fifth, I don't think that my child or any other child benefits from being forced to maintain even if they are so smart that they are bored. Did we forget the part where kids are also meant to be kids? I have much more enthusiasm for a child that works hard on their own, personally I think that they have a higher long term success rate.

I do not think that parents should be forced to turn their friends in. So no Mark I will not ask you or any parent to turn someone in. I think that the CCSD should do their job and live up to their responsibility. As a society that is what we expect.

As a community everyone who lives in Charleston County should be very concerned. Charleston is growing, most of the medical care is downtown and we can not attract people and families to buy homes in the downtown area because there is no place for people to send their children to school. So the downtown area including parts of West Ashley have little choices to send their children to public school. Not everyone wants or can afford to send children to private school. Gas prices are estimated to go up. So if nurses and new doctors who have families are choosing to live in other urban environments as gas prices creep up where does that leave us?

As for everyone who did cheat, I don't know who they are. I am not even guessing and I don't want to know. I would hope that they would recognize that they are taking a spot of a child who really needs it. Who ever did or does cheat...I have no doubt that if you are meant to be at Buist it would be so, there are other powers that control the CCSD and Buist Lottery. Nothing is by chance! For those of you who are thinking about putting your child on the list think hard, go to every school. I think that you will find that Buist isn't what you thought is was. Although music lessons for all is very nice. Did you know that some kids down the street don't have any microscopes?

You may ask why I am behind a more honest Buist then...well part of being a kid is having kids in the neighborhood to play with. Charleston has lost that, downtown needs to he humbled. There is something bigger then us, the sooner we recognize that the sooner we can get back to what made Charleston great in the first place.

Honestly Buist isn't good enough for my children thus they are not on the list.

Federal Funds

It was my understanding that Federal Funds were supposed to go to specific causes and required a certain procedure...Oh and it has to be used up to get any more.

1.So why is it that a principal of a school is using federal funds for an after school program to fund something else? I must sympathize with him or her though because they have to use up the funds to receive any more.

2. Why does every child at Buist receive the SAIL program for free because it is a federal program when not every child qualifies? Yes we have kids downtown that do not have enough books and these kids who already have so much and some who's parents lied get even more.

3. What has the CCSD done with it's federal money? Not much for the kids downtown or in North Charleston. What do you think that the federal government would do if they found out that the local school district may not be correctly using the grants that were given to them?

You all should challenge the CCSD to be upfront with these federal funds and where this money goes and should go. I wonder what happened to the groups that were supposed to be fighting for these schools. Have they all left us to fight for other battles or have they given up because this happens everywhere. Life is too short to accept that answer.

Wake up and smell the coffee the world is changing and it is leaving us behind. Charleston is growing but has no school system to keep the great parts of a society evolving.

Farewell

Word is a former editor of a local newspaper has left the peninsula and moved back to West Ashley now that he has all of his children at Buist Academy. Should we be happy you actually did live downtown unlike so many of the other cheaters? Should we say thank you for the time and energy you gave to our community? We should have known there was a reason you wouldn't stand by your neighbors and openly criticized the District 20 Board's fight for our residents last year. I guess it's nice to be living in the house you actually own now, huh?