CommonSenseForOkemos is a group of Okemos Taxpayer Citizens who support a balanced and fiscally responsible approach to Okemos K-12 education and funding. We support a high quality K-12 Okemos education and high academic standards for all of our children in Okemos schools. However, at the same time we question the inordinate emphasis on "Technology" in K-12 education (in part thru the Technology Bond request) and its associated high and recurring commensurate costs. We are not convinced that these excessive expenditures on "technology" enhances the quality of education in the K-12 system, and there are numerous articles and books referenced on this site that support this point of view. In some cases we feel it may even be a distraction and take time (and precious resources) away from focused learning, studying, concentration, imagination and creativity in K-12 education and cognitive child development, as well as drain valuable dollars away from other important aspects of quality K-12 education. Please review the links on our Resources page in this regard. Our position is supported by documented research and publications by experts, and not just by "popular public opinion", as many of the Pro Bond supporters would like you to believe.
Additionally, CommonSenseForOkemos does not buy into the falacy that if our kids don't have access to the latest and greatest in state-of-the-art computers and technology, that they will somehow "fall behind" everyone else. We simply see no evidence to support this, and in fact this is specifically countered by interviews with prospective employers in some references sited herein. In fact it has been documented that excessive emphasis on technology and various software tools and programs in K-12 may in fact put some students at a disadvantage in later years.
CommonSenseForOkemos is also not convinced that costly high tech "bells and whistles" such as Electronic Whiteboards, Wireless Computer Labs, Sound Room Amplification (hundreds of them!), Digital Photography Equipment, PDAs, DVDs(hundreds of them!), multiple PCs in every K-12 classroom, and other high tech and rather expensive gadgetry will improve the quality of education in our schools. We find little evidence to support this and in fact do find evidence in some cases to the contrary. This is a time in our history when the Michigan state budget is in the red by nearly a Billion dollars. Local communities, municipalities, and large companies as well as small businesses nearly everywhere around us in the state are cutting expenses, trimming costs and tightening budgets wherever possible. The real estate market in Michigan is undergoing record foreclosures. Increased property taxes on Okemos property owners to fund non-essential technology for Okemos schools is NOT going to change that. Yet, the Okemos School Board plows blindly forward asking (for the second time in the past year) for millions more from local taxpayers, already heavily taxed, to spend on numerous non-essential technology gadgetry for our schools.