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Post by fence on Apr 13, 2008 12:01:10 GMT -6
I also think this was probably the plan all along. I think they tried to use Midwest Gen to position this as a "win" due to the big difference in price. They probably figured that if they met too strong a resistance, they'd go to all AME as an option. Who knows, maybe they'll trade AME the 25 acres at BB. That's why there's a planted quote from "AME" in the paper. They're here to fall on their swords to save us from ourselves. I am sure we will make them a very sweet financial offer. If we have not already. And I believe that they are simply dismissing the possibility that BB may win their lawsuit, and they obviously feel NSFOC is a non-issue as was evidenced in DD's open letter to the community. They had to propose BB to the public because that was the piece of land they needed to use to get a YES vote. And they were probably willing to build there if we could get the land at the price we wanted, but if we couldn't, we were going to build on AME. And I think they seriously knew that this was what was going to happen. Just my perspective. Found this on a blog yesterday. It caught my eye because yet again it is mentioned that the Church was approached by the district a few times to sell the land. I really think it's time for us to be told the real story. I guess this was not only plan B. It seems it was originally plan A. _____________________________________________ Old Chicago-area church is getting a new homeThe City Council of Aurora, Ill., voted unanimously Tuesday night to annex the land needed for the 145-year-old St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church to build a 6,500-square-foot church. Plans for an expanded church began in 2000 when the Rev. Jesse Hawkins recognized the need for a larger space for his growing congregation. The church, which began in Aurora with seven Black men and women in 1862, now has 700 members. The congregation has worshiped at Granger Middle School on Aurora’s west side for the last two years. St. John’s previous building, which seated only 550 people, was sold in 2006. In 2004, the church bought 84 acres on Aurora’s west side, east of Eola Road and south of Diehl Road. The church is selling 49 of those acres to Indian Prairie School District 204 for the district’s third high school but will keep the remaining 35 acres for its church campus. The site of the new school was controversial because the district fought for years to buy land near the site. The school board finally gave up and decided to buy land elsewhere, clearing the way for the latest council action. “This is a great opportunity for the church,” said Mike Roth, the church’s attorney. “It enables the church to meet the demands of the community.” The proposed church campus will contain three buildings, each one built in a separate phase. |
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Post by Arch on Apr 13, 2008 12:11:09 GMT -6
And this is why BB will pin the tail on the donkey. Attached to that pin will be half the cost of a new HS when it's all said and done. See how much cheaper the Eola land is!!   |
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Post by momof156graders on Apr 13, 2008 12:25:24 GMT -6
‘It is easy to say that Indian Prairie should build a third high school. But that decision was made years ago. At this point, time is too short for the urgent need and land is too expensive. Besides that, even if all those obstacles could be overcome, the ‘third high school’ eventually could end up the white elephant my high school was…[my own high school] opened in 1970, large enough to hold more than 2,500 students, but the enrollment never reached much more than 1,600. Districtwide, enrollment peaked at 12,500 and then began to decline [closing in 1981].The school district tried to sell the building. But for years, it sat there…ut as I’ve listened to the debate around me in the past several months, I’ve thought a lot about what a waste in taxpayer money it all was.
Joni Hirsh Blackman, Naperville Sun, 2/11/01
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Post by snerdley on Apr 13, 2008 13:18:48 GMT -6
Sleepless, thank you for seeing that. We may not agree on everything but let me ask you this. But for the Grace of 5A instead of 5B, this could very well be your community being called rascists and Elitists by some, I hope you realize that. How would you feel then. And let's face ti with a SB election in April - who knows if boundaries are really a done deal anywhere any more-- I would hope everyone speaks out against these types of slanderous comments - they are a reflection on our entire community - and are an embarassment. Would you not agree Also does ANYONE beleive ALL options are back on the table. If another decision is made Monday, did they go back thru everything ? C'mon -- I don't believe revisiting BB or looking at MACOM are anywhere near the table - one of which I don't believe was EVER on the table - let alone now. This whole thing has got to stop. I can't stand the racist etc comments. We all know it is being thrown out there because people are desperate. Yes, if it was option 5B instead of 5A, my community could also be in TG's position. That is why I feel their pain. It's this labeling of everyone based on what one person said at the board meeting who just moved here. That gets translated into a buzz word "racist/elitist" which is used by another group to feed the flames to get what they want. It's all about agendas. Everyone has one and they aren't all the same. Hence the conflict. And doc, at this point, I don't even care where they put my kid. Go ahead and change the boundaries. I frankly would drive to Matea if it meant my kid will not have to go to school with 4999 other kids. As for all the options being on the table, I fear that is not true either. I have sent out emails to the SB pleading for them to consider everything again. It's the only way we can have rest in this community. I agree with much of what you said, but I wanted to point out that the "elitist" label came from Dr. Daschner at the start of the boundary meeting. He said this prior to any public comment. I somehow get the feeling that all of this goes back to the board meeting where they selected the AME/MWG site. At that meeting BG and MM referred to emails that would "curl your hair" or something like that. I have always been very suspicious about this. It looked like they were setting the stage for something. Have these "emails" been used throughout the process to turn various parties (the church among others) against certain sections of the district? But at a minimum, I wanted to say that the term elitist came from Dr. D before anyone from the public opened their mouth that night. And 99.999 percent of the comments were respectful. I'm calling BS on all of this - it is too orchestrated. |
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Post by d204mom on Apr 13, 2008 13:34:17 GMT -6
‘It is easy to say that Indian Prairie should build a third high school. But that decision was made years ago. At this point, time is too short for the urgent need and land is too expensive. Besides that, even if all those obstacles could be overcome, the ‘third high school’ eventually could end up the white elephant my high school was…[my own high school] opened in 1970, large enough to hold more than 2,500 students, but the enrollment never reached much more than 1,600. Districtwide, enrollment peaked at 12,500 and then began to decline [closing in 1981].The school district tried to sell the building. But for years, it sat there… ut as I’ve listened to the debate around me in the past several months, I’ve thought a lot about what a waste in taxpayer money it all was.
Joni Hirsh Blackman, Naperville Sun, 2/11/01
If there is one thing JHB is consistent about, it her unquestioning support of every admin/sb decision. At what point do you take a breath and say - Hey wait a minute. There have been too many contradicting messages. I'm going to stop for a minute and do some investigation of my own. Are they really telling us the truth? When you read Metzger's explaination of why the site was unsafe in '05 - "because the peaker plan was operating" and then you see concrete evidence that the peaker plant shut down in 2004. And the bad data/ misinformation regarding the pipelines and Macom and the park district and the EPA... At some point you have to say - well maybe their data is bad and they are making bad decisions because of their bad data/misinformation and maybe we need some fresh eyes to make sure they have good data with which to make such a huge decision. Maybe I should do a little digging myself. I sure wish some of the school board members would do a little independent digging of their own. |
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Post by d204mom on Apr 13, 2008 13:38:30 GMT -6
"Every phone call that I've received, every e-mail has not been about 'I'm so upset that my kids don't get to go to Metea,'" Streder said. And there you have the fraud group's platform - GET US OUT OF WVHS! |
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Post by Arch on Apr 13, 2008 13:38:56 GMT -6
I had M2 admit to me that an important piece of their data was incomplete about the Eola site and the data I gave him was much more complete than what they were working from at the end of January 2008.
I'm out here working for free and the people pulling 5-6 figures to get this data simply can not or will not or they actually DO have some of the data and they report to the public data to the contrary of what they admit to knowing (saying there was A pipeline out by the tracks and later M2 admits to me in email that they knew of the 3 bisecting the property and "we thought everyone knew that").
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Post by d204mom on Apr 13, 2008 14:03:11 GMT -6
I frankly would drive to Matea if it meant my kid will not have to go to school with 4999 other kids. If they could find a way to provide the classroom space, is there really any difference in extra curricular opportunities between NV at 4200 and NV at 4999? I still think we need a third high school but in Daeschner email earlier in the week he talked about the extracurricular opportunities. I don't think that message applies to the kids at NV. I was talking to a friend in Patterson and he told me as much. |
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Post by d204mom on Apr 13, 2008 14:07:24 GMT -6
But the votes weren't for BB-- they were for a third HS. I won't go down this road- already addressed over and over on the boards. Well, Brookdale voted No in 2005 and 2006. Maybe the extra NO votes in 2006 were due to the middle school splits, but that neighborhood was consistent in their message - both times - NO THIRD HIGH SCHOOL. |
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Frosh
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Post by acm on Apr 13, 2008 14:24:29 GMT -6
D204mom
Honestly, I can not speak for anyone but myself about 2006 (didn't live here prior to that), and even though I could not check Yes in 2006 (middle school split issue I spoke to earlier), I knew in my heart it would pass anyway. My neighbors and I were at the SB meetings supporting the need for a 3rd school. We as a community clearly support WV not only thru the parental support given to the school over the years, but we also have WV teachers, coaches, etc who live here!
You are taking the quote from the DH about recieving emails of disappointment out of context-- so nice try. Clearly not a message about getting out of WVHS. I think it is honest to express disappointment. I would guess for the majority of us, it was a surprise change to a closer location and some resolution to the boundary issue we were disappointed about last time (island issue-- not school choice). It would only be natural to be disappointed about a possible reversal. It is also a shame and disapointing to see that the misinformation circulated by the anti Eola crowd seemed to affect the land deal.
I think we are all at least on the same page that this has been a rollercoaster for everyone.
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Post by Arch on Apr 13, 2008 14:28:18 GMT -6
It is also a shame and disapointing to see that the misinformation circulated by the anti Eola crowd seemed to affect the land deal. I've never seen anyone actually quantify this: What misinformation? The land is contaminated. The Phase2 report says so. |
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Post by al on Apr 13, 2008 14:29:10 GMT -6
If they could find a way to provide the classroom space, is there really any difference in extra curricular opportunities between NV at 4200 and NV at 4999? How could that not make a difference? That's an extra 799 people competing for the handful of spots available for (ex.) Marching Band drumline, Speech Team, National Honor Finalists etc. As it is it's out of reach for anything other than the super-talented overachievers. In Neuqua's case, there is rarely a place available for the average student who just wants to participate and/or see where his interests lie. That said, 4,200 is already a huge problem... but at 4,999 yes, i believe it can be much worse. |
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Post by sashimi on Apr 13, 2008 14:30:59 GMT -6
Is this Greg Forrest thing true (there is no Greg Forrest affiliated with the AMES church??).
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Post by d204mom on Apr 13, 2008 14:31:24 GMT -6
Arch. do you think the SB will buy God's land, I mean the AME's land? I fear they are delusional enough to think they can make it work. It's like when a football player thanks God or Jesus for the win. I just think, Oh, this week God loves the Packers and hates the Bears? Um, ok. |
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Post by Arch on Apr 13, 2008 14:32:48 GMT -6
I fear they are delusional enough to think they can make it work. It's like when a football player thanks God or Jesus for the win. I just think, Oh, this week God loves the Packers and hates the Bears? Um, ok. Well, he did punish New Orleans... |
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Found this on a blog yesterday. It caught my eye because yet again it is mentioned that the Church was approached by the district a few times to sell the land.
