JHB Column 4/19

[we4]

From the Daily Herald, Sat 4/19
www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=175356
**************************************************

Voters to blame, not board, for Metea mess

Apparently miracles in the 21st century don't happen quite like they did in the old days.

As they say, the impossible takes a little longer.

But perhaps (nothing is ever certain in this one) the Metea Valley High School saga, which seemed to be a never-ending story, has come to an end -- appropriately thanks to a group of faithful believers. Thank you, St. John AME Church.

The ups and downs of the past week of Metea's short and volatile history included lots of time for talking with district parents, mostly during a particular spectacular event.

Over and over, the conversation touched on the idea that some blame our school board members for the delays and glitches that have plagued this project.

How short some memories are. If you blame the school board for not being able to buy the land they believed they could buy in 2006 for the price they hoped to buy it, perhaps you should look in the mirror. Did you vote in favor of the 2005 referendum request for land at Brach-Brodie?

If the 2005 referendum request had gone as all other District 204 referendums up until then went and passed, a beautiful new Metea Valley High School would be opening this fall on the Brach-Brodie land that some say they now want.

Naysayers contend the failure of that election proved the "true" feelings of the district and the school board hired consultants to "sell" the idea the following year.

I see it differently -- no surprise, I'm sure, to my many friends on the naysayer side.

The way I remember the 2005 referendum was that many people ignored it, didn't get it, weren't even completely sure what was going on. A strong anti-referendum group was created and was well organized.

The sleeping majority went away on spring break and returned to a Tuesday election with little else on the ballot.

If I had a penny for everyone who told me later, "I feel so badly that I forgot to vote, it never occurred to me it might fail," I'd no longer need a paycheck.

So, rather than blame the school board for the various things I've heard them blamed for, why not blame the voters for not approving the school when they were first given the chance?

Whatever extra costs the district has incurred since then are clearly the fault of the voters, not the school board. They just have to react to what is thrown at them, fair or not.

Personally, I'd like to thank them for sticking with the goal of a third high school and not capitulating to the very vocal minority, no matter their tactics.

Some still say we don't need a third high school. I guess that depends on what your definition of "need" is. If you value education, if you want the kids in our district to attend a much more desirably sized school -- the size of most of the high schools around us instead of a mammoth high school that is overcrowded -- then we need a new high school.

Consider this: Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 has 29,000 students and is finishing its fourth high school right now. Naperville Unit District 203 has 18,000 students and operates two high schools that have stayed full through ups and downs in enrollment trends.

Indian Prairie has 28,825 students in two schools.

Consider this as well: research on optimal sizes for high schools consider 600 to 900 students to be the ultimate size. "Large" is considered 2,500. More than 4,000? A size unfathomable to most in theory and no better in practice.

Much of this subject is a numbers game. The fact that Midwest Generation withdrew its offer just over a week ago to sell land to the district because the district was "divided," plays with strange numbers.

Estimates of people involved in the anti-Eola land, the Neighborhood Schools for Our Children group, hover between 200 and 1,000. Compare that to the 29,000 students and their families in the district and it's hardly a deep "divide."

In the next few days, I have high hopes for a couple of long-awaited improbable events: warmer weather and breaking ground for Metea Valley High School.

[we4]

Apr 19, 2008 6:17:20 GMT -6 we4 said:

why not blame the voters for not approving the school when they were first given the chance?

Don't blame me. I voted "yes" in 2005 even though I feel I was an uninformed voter.

[rew]

Blame the school board and admin for not making a strong enough case to voters...and assuming it was going to pass.

I was a supporter in 05 and I was maddened when HC said "if that's what the parent committee wants then we will go forward". HC tried to block the parent com from even considering a thrid HS. It was obvious to me back then that he was not supportive.

[blankcheck]

Give me a break - The voters were told that the freshman centers would be enough room . So we voted for it - Heck Joni - You even wrote such a sad story about how your little high school had to close because there were not enough students to fill it.

Then they come back to us for yet another referendum to fix that mistake with very incomplete information? No, the mistake was made when they decided to do the freshman centers (of which we voted for) instead of a third high school.

No Joni - don't blame it on the voters - Why is it the SD can do nothing wrong in your eyes?

[Arch]

Odd...

At the last meeting, JC gave a range of optimal sized HS where the upper range was 2,500. JHB and JC need to sync up on their sources for this 'information'.

MWGEN does not give a rat's behind about a 'divided district'. It does not effect their bottom line. The Federal EPA crawling up their butt's with a microscope for pollution violations at all of their power producing plants effects their bottom line. Sorry, JHB.. you've been hoodwinked on the reason, but you are free to believe what you want. Common sense says otherwise.

In 2005, the voters who wanted to simply voted. In 2006, the District set out to convince the voters they need to vote a SPECIFIC WAY. Tasks were performed to secure a YES vote. There was deliberate prosecution to secure a YES vote from the voters. That included, among other things, promising site and boundaries because it was told to them by their consulting group that they needed to do that.

The SB is to blame for approving the Eola land recommendation by the Administration. With that, we are all going to get nailed in the pocketbook from the B&B trust. Every one of them was able to vote NO to the admin's recommendation. Only one did at the last meeting.

The 'mess' hasn't even started. It will make this prior 'mess' as you call it seem rather insignificant.

This 'mess' about to happen is easily remedied. Buy the BB land or the trusts are going to drag us through the ringer and then some. The damages fall right on your tax bill.

Enjoy and thank the proper people.

[d204mom]

The voters voted NO in 2005 and also elected the school board who hired Dr. Daeschner.

BUT HEY WHY stop there!!!

It's the VOTER'S PARENTS FAULT for having the voters!! And the VOTER'S grandparents fault for having the voter's parents!!!

The lack of accountability out of our district leadership is appalling. Enable away with ridiculous editorials, Joni.

[doctorwho]

Apr 19, 2008 6:17:20 GMT -6 we4 said:

From the Daily Herald, Sat 4/19
www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=175356
**************************************************

Voters to blame, not board, for Metea mess

Apparently miracles in the 21st century don't happen quite like they did in the old days.

As they say, the impossible takes a little longer.

But perhaps (nothing is ever certain in this one) the Metea Valley High School saga, which seemed to be a never-ending story, has come to an end -- appropriately thanks to a group of faithful believers. Thank you, St. John AME Church.

The ups and downs of the past week of Metea's short and volatile history included lots of time for talking with district parents, mostly during a particular spectacular event.

Over and over, the conversation touched on the idea that some blame our school board members for the delays and glitches that have plagued this project.

How short some memories are. If you blame the school board for not being able to buy the land they believed they could buy in 2006 for the price they hoped to buy it, perhaps you should look in the mirror. Did you vote in favor of the 2005 referendum request for land at Brach-Brodie?

If the 2005 referendum request had gone as all other District 204 referendums up until then went and passed, a beautiful new Metea Valley High School would be opening this fall on the Brach-Brodie land that some say they now want.

Naysayers contend the failure of that election proved the "true" feelings of the district and the school board hired consultants to "sell" the idea the following year.

I see it differently -- no surprise, I'm sure, to my many friends on the naysayer side.

The way I remember the 2005 referendum was that many people ignored it, didn't get it, weren't even completely sure what was going on. A strong anti-referendum group was created and was well organized.

The sleeping majority went away on spring break and returned to a Tuesday election with little else on the ballot.

If I had a penny for everyone who told me later, "I feel so badly that I forgot to vote, it never occurred to me it might fail," I'd no longer need a paycheck.

So, rather than blame the school board for the various things I've heard them blamed for, why not blame the voters for not approving the school when they were first given the chance?

Whatever extra costs the district has incurred since then are clearly the fault of the voters, not the school board. They just have to react to what is thrown at them, fair or not.

Personally, I'd like to thank them for sticking with the goal of a third high school and not capitulating to the very vocal minority, no matter their tactics.

Some still say we don't need a third high school. I guess that depends on what your definition of "need" is. If you value education, if you want the kids in our district to attend a much more desirably sized school -- the size of most of the high schools around us instead of a mammoth high school that is overcrowded -- then we need a new high school.

Consider this: Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 has 29,000 students and is finishing its fourth high school right now. Naperville Unit District 203 has 18,000 students and operates two high schools that have stayed full through ups and downs in enrollment trends.

Indian Prairie has 28,825 students in two schools.

Consider this as well: research on optimal sizes for high schools consider 600 to 900 students to be the ultimate size. "Large" is considered 2,500. More than 4,000? A size unfathomable to most in theory and no better in practice.

Much of this subject is a numbers game. The fact that Midwest Generation withdrew its offer just over a week ago to sell land to the district because the district was "divided," plays with strange numbers.

Estimates of people involved in the anti-Eola land, the Neighborhood Schools for Our Children group, hover between 200 and 1,000. Compare that to the 29,000 students and their families in the district and it's hardly a deep "divide."

In the next few days, I have high hopes for a couple of long-awaited improbable events: warmer weather and breaking ground for Metea Valley High School.

What a load !

I'll tell you what - let's announce today that Springbrook is going to Matea Valley - replacing May Watts or Owen West or whoever -- then let's see her article the next week.


Obviously her memory is short- she doesn't remember driving past the vote no signs that started in her neighborhood.


And oh BTW Joni - I voted yes the first time out also- even though the SB your are praising did absolutely nothing to inform the voters and give them information -

You thank you should go to BG who gave your area everything it wanted ( btw very vocally )

[sleeplessinnpvl]

I personally don't care if the pioneers who settled here are to blame. I think the voters have a responsibility to their children to get informed and to take the action of voting. Everyone learned that the hard way in 2005. Joni has the right to her opinion about the SB, and I think it does represent a lot of people's beliefs. IMO her point about optimal school size is correct. No one has a crystal ball. In hindsight, the freshman centers may have been a bad idea but we are doing the right thing by "reusing" one of them now that things have changed. This district is so transient, I don't know how anyone can accurately predict enrollment and how the city is going to allow more residential or whatever. Situations change because you don't have a crystal ball. Instead of putting things on hold, you find a plan B. The freshman centers were useful for a while and now we are on to plan B. The situation changed with the jury trial, and now we are on to plan B. Whether they are wrong to adopt a Plan B, we shall see.

[Arch]

SB to Metea.. I like that Doc.

We already know groups who were not assigned to the shiny new school changed their tune when they got assigned this time around.

I would venture a guess that Joni would want to be our newest bestes buddy if SB was assigned to MV like we are... Same goes for many others who dodged a boundary bullet to remain at their school and not be shipped off on a silly long bus trip to the furthest HS from their area.

[d204mom]

Hey Joni, you think a bad decision coupled with treating people like garbage in 2000 (hubbub over bussing Ashbury kindergartners) can't sink a referendum 5 years later? Think again.

After the way we've been treated they better give it 10 years before another referendum.
-------------------------------------

Time for healing in District 204
Naperville Sun, The (IL)
March 4, 2001

The bitterly contested Indian Prairie School District 204 election is over, and the district's residents will have some new school buildings, some new teachers, and some higher taxes.

Strangely enough, the district's tax increase proposals did not become bitterly contested until a scant few weeks before the election, when opposition coalesced around a group calling itself WE CARE 2.
Then the fur began to fly, with each group accusing the other of misrepresenting the facts.We are not going to rehash the respective stands, or decree who is right and who is wrong.

Though we believe there were more good reasons to vote for the referendum questions than against them, we also believe there were valid concerns, as well as some that were not valid, raised by the opponents.

Unfortunately the debate became rancorous, and sometimes more heat than light was generated.

It seems to us many of the people involved in this took it much too personally, and what should have been a discussion of the needs of the district and the merit of the referendum questions got bogged down in the questioning of character and motive.

What we would like to see now is for everyone to join together and move forward for the good of the district.

This referendum fight was sort of like a civil war without borders.

Residents in both counties approved both issues, so it did not become a DuPage vs. Will, north vs. south contest.

This is good, because the district needs cohesiveness.

Rather, it was a neighbor vs. neighbor disagreement.

In Ashbury subdivision, which had both strong proponents of both questions and the leadership of the opposition, one resident told the Sun of enforcing a "no referendum talking" rule when friends got together for dinner.

But, as another Ashbury resident said, "Now we need to put this behind us and move forward."

We agree.

This issue is over, and it is time for residents to move on to other things, for the good of the district, the good of their children and the good of the neighborhood.

[d204mom]

Apr 19, 2008 7:00:07 GMT -6 @sleeplessinnpvl said:

I personally don't care if the pioneers who settled here are to blame. I think the voters have a responsibility to their children to get informed and to take the action of voting. Everyone learned that the hard way in 2005. Joni has the right to her opinion about the SB, and I think it does represent a lot of people's beliefs. IMO her point about optimal school size is correct. No one has a crystal ball. In hindsight, the freshman centers may have been a bad idea but we are doing the right thing by "reusing" one of them now that things have changed. This district is so transient, I don't know how anyone can accurately predict enrollment and how the city is going to allow more residential or whatever. Situations change because you don't have a crystal ball. Instead of putting things on hold, you find a plan B. The freshman centers were useful for a while and now we are on to plan B. The situation changed with the jury trial, and now we are on to plan B. Whether they are wrong to adopt a Plan B, we shall see.

I could've written this post a year ago, sleepless, however, my eyes have been opened and I am disgusted with what's gone on and how the school board has used and mislead the voters.

I WANT TO KNOW WHEN THOSE PLANS WERE DRAWN UP FOR AME. If it is truly less than a month after Bradshaw, Metzger, and Tyle were re-elected, as everyone suspects, how are you not disgusted as well. THEY WERE RE-ELECTED due to the public's desire to stay the BB course and they know it.

[sleeplessinnpvl]

Apr 19, 2008 7:12:05 GMT -6 d204mom said:

Apr 19, 2008 7:00:07 GMT -6 @sleeplessinnpvl said:

I personally don't care if the pioneers who settled here are to blame. I think the voters have a responsibility to their children to get informed and to take the action of voting. Everyone learned that the hard way in 2005. Joni has the right to her opinion about the SB, and I think it does represent a lot of people's beliefs. IMO her point about optimal school size is correct. No one has a crystal ball. In hindsight, the freshman centers may have been a bad idea but we are doing the right thing by "reusing" one of them now that things have changed. This district is so transient, I don't know how anyone can accurately predict enrollment and how the city is going to allow more residential or whatever. Situations change because you don't have a crystal ball. Instead of putting things on hold, you find a plan B. The freshman centers were useful for a while and now we are on to plan B. The situation changed with the jury trial, and now we are on to plan B. Whether they are wrong to adopt a Plan B, we shall see.

I could've written this post a year ago, sleepless, however, my eyes have been opened and I am disgusted with what's gone on and how the school board has used and mislead the voters.

I WANT TO KNOW WHEN THOSE PLANS WERE DRAWN UP FOR AME. If it is truly less than a month after Bradshaw, Metzger, and Tyle were re-elected, as everyone suspects, how are you not disgusted as well. THEY WERE RE-ELECTED due to the public's desire to stay the BB course and they know it.

I guess I am one of the few stupid ones around here that still tries to see the good in people and I want proof before I go hating someone. If it comes out that there were deceitful things going on behind closed doors, I may change my tune. Yes, I am more skeptical based on rumors right now. I want facts.

[d204mom]

Apr 19, 2008 7:23:50 GMT -6 @sleeplessinnpvl said:

Apr 19, 2008 7:12:05 GMT -6 d204mom said:

I could've written this post a year ago, sleepless, however, my eyes have been opened and I am disgusted with what's gone on and how the school board has used and mislead the voters.

I WANT TO KNOW WHEN THOSE PLANS WERE DRAWN UP FOR AME. If it is truly less than a month after Bradshaw, Metzger, and Tyle were re-elected, as everyone suspects, how are you not disgusted as well. THEY WERE RE-ELECTED due to the public's desire to stay the BB course and they know it.

I guess I am one of the few stupid ones around here that still tries to see the good in people and I want proof before I go hating someone. If it comes out that there were deceitful things going on behind closed doors, I may change my tune. Yes, I am more skeptical based on rumors right now. I want facts.

Sorry, sleepless, I re-read my post and it sounds harsh. I wasn't directing it at you (the harshness . I appreciate your perspective on things.

[steckmom]

Apr 19, 2008 7:23:50 GMT -6 @sleeplessinnpvl said:

Apr 19, 2008 7:12:05 GMT -6 d204mom said:

I could've written this post a year ago, sleepless, however, my eyes have been opened and I am disgusted with what's gone on and how the school board has used and mislead the voters.

I WANT TO KNOW WHEN THOSE PLANS WERE DRAWN UP FOR AME. If it is truly less than a month after Bradshaw, Metzger, and Tyle were re-elected, as everyone suspects, how are you not disgusted as well. THEY WERE RE-ELECTED due to the public's desire to stay the BB course and they know it.

I guess I am one of the few stupid ones around here that still tries to see the good in people and I want proof before I go hating someone. If it comes out that there were deceitful things going on behind closed doors, I may change my tune. Yes, I am more skeptical based on rumors right now. I want facts.

I too really want to believe that the SB is truly doing what they think is right. Right now it seems that is only CV. I tend to be naive about people and assume they do what is right most, if not all, of the time.

Now though, this bullish insistence to the AME site, without clarifying why the BB site cannot be done other than a simple "we can't afford it" doesn't make sense. Why didn't they spell it out to us like we were 2 year olds? Why didn't they listen or even acknowledge concerns about boundaries? Why did they just gloss over environmental concerns when many of us non-NSFOCers had true concerns?

It just doesn't make sense to me, unless something fishy is going on. The more I think about this the more I think it's got to be more than just bad PR. Maybe it's as simple as some sort of payback for the north or maybe it's something more.

I will proudly wear my tin foil hat.

[snerdley]

It's funny, but I just wrote in another thread how CB was laying the blame at the Fry meeting this week on the voters for the 05 referendum! Got their talking points down!

I think this is beyond silly and almost not worth the effort to type anything back. I voted yes in 05 after attending meetings where people from the northern side of the district stood up and screamed that they wouldn't build another Taj Mahal for the south. To be honest, I found these people a little deranged.

I voted no in 06 because I began to see the light with this SB. I think my inclination about them could not have been more right.

Let's move SB to WVHS or MVHS and see what Joni has to say! Since Fry can walk in the fall to NVHS, leave them there. SB is bused anyway. This is probably what should have happened anyway. (And I think she knows that)

And the notion that it's just a vocal minority opposed to the SB is more spin. I bet there are more unhappy people than happy. I think the vocal supporters (like Joni) are the true minority.