Post by rocky on Mar 8, 2006 11:08:14 GMT -6
Less than two weeks to go and I feel like I’m making progress. I’m now leaning YES (what a change from last year), but am keeping an open mind and am holding out on making a final decision. I still have this pit in my stomach that just hates the thought of increasing taxes. I want what is best for my kids, but I am not willing to write a blank check for it.
I have engaged in rigorous dialogue with both the Yes and No organizations. I have been impressed with the level of detail and justification provided by one particular school board member. No matter what I have challenged him on, he has continued to respond and communicate what I believe are logical and credible answers. On the contrary, the No organization has stopped responding to my questions challenging their information. Why did they intentionally leave out critical information about how school capacities are calculated? Why do they, in the same published document, state a case why we already have enough capacity to handle the growth in enrollment… then a few paragraphs later explain their plan for additions to NV and converting a middle school in order to handle the growth? Contradictory isn’t it?
Regardless, I am going to make my decision on the facts that I have uncovered. My decision will not be based on the information provided by the No organization or the Yes organization. Votes based on dislike or lack of trust for either organization, in my opinion, are unjustified and are more about spite than they are about what is best for our community. I have similar feelings about the boundary process. I have heard numerous times now that the SB said over and over that no boundary plan would be perfect and that not every neighborhood would be able to get their first choice. Everyone understood this, yet when a few neighborhoods didn’t get their first choice, it became an issue of dislike and distrust of the SB. I wasn’t there… but I just don’t get it. Sounds like spite to me.
After lots of research, I am now a firm believer that we will have an overcrowding issue in the very near future.
The question then becomes, what is the best way to handle the overcrowding?
Things I still need to sort through over the next two weeks:
I hate my taxes going up, but I realize my home value has consistently increased. How much of my home appreciation is due to our schools? If I vote No, and we go to split shifts, how does that impact my property value? There is no doubt it will hurt, but how much? I admit that for the last two referendums, which I voted No twice, I had a childish approach along the lines of screaming “I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you”, when someone would try to explain the benefits of voting Yes. I just didn’t want to hear it because I have always been a No vote when it comes to referendums (see my first post for my feelings about getting improved results while spending less).
What is best for my kids? For numerous reasons, I don’t like the idea of a 5,000+ HS. For that matter, I really don’t like a 4,000 or even a 3,000 student HS. I have not seen anyone, even the No organization, provide the pros, as it pertains to the children, for having a larger school.
Are my tax fears unfounded? Yes, we all seem to complain about taxes, but I as questioned people I work with who live in other areas around Chicago, everybody complains about their taxes. Everybody has experienced increases. Taxes in other comparable areas are on par with ours. Other areas experiencing growth are also putting referendums on the ballot this March for new high schools. And the costs are similar (Lockport $122m referendum, Algonquin $185m referendum (more than just new HS), Plainfield $83m (they already own the land). It's a part of our economy, costs rise but so do wages.
I ask that both Yes and No people reading this give me feedback and question my findings and thoughts. I’m not sure if my thought process is mainstream or not, but I think I am with the majority when it comes to wanting what is best for our kids AND our pocketbooks. It is just a matter of deciding the right balance.
Rocky
I have engaged in rigorous dialogue with both the Yes and No organizations. I have been impressed with the level of detail and justification provided by one particular school board member. No matter what I have challenged him on, he has continued to respond and communicate what I believe are logical and credible answers. On the contrary, the No organization has stopped responding to my questions challenging their information. Why did they intentionally leave out critical information about how school capacities are calculated? Why do they, in the same published document, state a case why we already have enough capacity to handle the growth in enrollment… then a few paragraphs later explain their plan for additions to NV and converting a middle school in order to handle the growth? Contradictory isn’t it?
Regardless, I am going to make my decision on the facts that I have uncovered. My decision will not be based on the information provided by the No organization or the Yes organization. Votes based on dislike or lack of trust for either organization, in my opinion, are unjustified and are more about spite than they are about what is best for our community. I have similar feelings about the boundary process. I have heard numerous times now that the SB said over and over that no boundary plan would be perfect and that not every neighborhood would be able to get their first choice. Everyone understood this, yet when a few neighborhoods didn’t get their first choice, it became an issue of dislike and distrust of the SB. I wasn’t there… but I just don’t get it. Sounds like spite to me.
After lots of research, I am now a firm believer that we will have an overcrowding issue in the very near future.
The question then becomes, what is the best way to handle the overcrowding?
Things I still need to sort through over the next two weeks:
I hate my taxes going up, but I realize my home value has consistently increased. How much of my home appreciation is due to our schools? If I vote No, and we go to split shifts, how does that impact my property value? There is no doubt it will hurt, but how much? I admit that for the last two referendums, which I voted No twice, I had a childish approach along the lines of screaming “I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you”, when someone would try to explain the benefits of voting Yes. I just didn’t want to hear it because I have always been a No vote when it comes to referendums (see my first post for my feelings about getting improved results while spending less).
What is best for my kids? For numerous reasons, I don’t like the idea of a 5,000+ HS. For that matter, I really don’t like a 4,000 or even a 3,000 student HS. I have not seen anyone, even the No organization, provide the pros, as it pertains to the children, for having a larger school.
Are my tax fears unfounded? Yes, we all seem to complain about taxes, but I as questioned people I work with who live in other areas around Chicago, everybody complains about their taxes. Everybody has experienced increases. Taxes in other comparable areas are on par with ours. Other areas experiencing growth are also putting referendums on the ballot this March for new high schools. And the costs are similar (Lockport $122m referendum, Algonquin $185m referendum (more than just new HS), Plainfield $83m (they already own the land). It's a part of our economy, costs rise but so do wages.
I ask that both Yes and No people reading this give me feedback and question my findings and thoughts. I’m not sure if my thought process is mainstream or not, but I think I am with the majority when it comes to wanting what is best for our kids AND our pocketbooks. It is just a matter of deciding the right balance.
Rocky