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Post by Arch on Feb 11, 2010 11:36:53 GMT -6
Aside from building a HS that we knew we no longer needed before we even broke ground, Someone's multi-year game of trying to maximize every single penny that can be squeezed from the Feds and State for re-embursement has come back around to bite us in the ass. When you budget RELIES on that, you're screwed when it goes away or changes.
For example: All someone talked about at the ADK initial presentation was how much money this would eventually get us in re-embursements. We'll operate in the black with it!!! BZZZZT WRONG!
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Post by casey on Feb 11, 2010 11:38:46 GMT -6
All right I guess I get what I deserve. Not stupid but overly optimistic. I was well aware we would have a major downfall in the economy but I forgot what we have had in Ryan, Blago etc. Illinois has always been one of the worst states in the Union for education (among other things) but North and West suburban Chicago has always been an oasis for education. And this district has always forked over money for schools. The next referendum will really be interesting. And yes Casey I have seen the light. Not only have you seen the light (and for that Im glad  ) but you've also seen Waubonsie and know the differences between the high schools. The inequity is appalling. You and I both know the reason that the SB/SD does little to repair the inequity (as well as the physical needs) is because Wausbonsie will be on the chopping block soon. Our district is a mess and we can't afford the 3 high schools. Big changes are coming. I will be VERY sad to see Waubonsie close. Those of you that are not there don't know what you're missing. |
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Post by casey on Feb 11, 2010 11:40:30 GMT -6
For example: All someone talked about at the ADK initial presentation was how much money this would eventually get us in re-embursements. We'll operate in the black with it!!! BZZZZT WRONG! Yeah and before you know it we'll be looking at adding breakfast to the district as a federally funded money maker  . |
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Post by brant on Feb 11, 2010 12:27:32 GMT -6
And thank you Casey for being such a strong advocate of WV as have Doc and Arch. More people are begining to see the light especially now that they realize there is a real danger of WV closing which makes me almost physically ill to think of. And yes I know well of the inequities in both the physical plant and attitude of the SD. I really believe this was planned years ago by Howie. It was HC that started this mess and inequities of WV began under him. It is just my feeling and I am sure Doc and Arch would have a better insight into HCs motives.
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Post by Arch on Feb 11, 2010 12:38:15 GMT -6
Don't blame Howie cuz if this was his little thing, someone else who was there before him and still there today could have 'fixed it'.
Well, that person certainly 'fixed' us alright...
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Post by casey on Feb 11, 2010 13:10:59 GMT -6
I really believe this was planned years ago by Howie. It was HC that started this mess and inequities of WV began under him. It is just my feeling and I am sure Doc and Arch would have a better insight into HCs motives. Interesting theory and I'm sure that there's some truth to it. I have to admit that I was not a Howie fan but I don't think that there would have been a chance in the world that HC would have chosen to place a 3rd HS in the wastelands of Eola. He was hell-bent on Brach Brodie and I think he would have done anything and everything to ensure it would have gone there (as evidenced by the BB mess that we're still in). It's only when we brought in the yahoo that we ended up in the ridiculous location. You know how Dr.D personally meted out the negotiations with the church  . I worry that we'll close Waubonsie leaving us 2 high schools at polar ends of the district and something will go wrong with MV (pipelines, earthquakes, EMR problems, etc.). What a fine mess that would be, eh? Fortunately we have people like Steckdad who are experts and can ensure us nothing will happen at Metea. |
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Post by doctorwho on Feb 11, 2010 13:47:32 GMT -6
All right I guess I get what I deserve. Not stupid but overly optimistic. I was well aware we would have a major downfall in the economy but I forgot what we have had in Ryan, Blago etc. Illinois has always been one of the worst states in the Union for education (among other things) but North and West suburban Chicago has always been an oasis for education. And this district has always forked over money for schools. The next referendum will really be interesting. And yes Casey I have seen the light. well brant - we were all where you were at one point -- riding the hopeful bus to ahppytown. I sincerely thought that those on the SB and those in power in the SD were only out for the kids - and maybe een the taxpayer. Once inside the belly of the beast when I went thru the process to replace Bruce when he resigned, I really got to see the level of personal agendas and either I want my area to get this, or I don't wantmy area to get this nonsense. Many other previous decisions began to make sense- and personal alliances - and witch hunts. Springfield has nothing on 204. |
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Post by doctorwho on Feb 11, 2010 13:52:01 GMT -6
Excellent! Now you need (like the rest of us) to educate the other voters of this district. Talk to your friends, give them this web site to read and become informed. That is what we really need is informed voters getting out there and voicing their opinion at the voting booth! I can't repeat what blankcheck says enough. Take time to get the facts and educate those at block parties, super bowl parties, swim meets and other athletic events. If you need any blanks filled in- just check here- the archives are full of facts that cover especially the last 5 years. The only way to change the culture here is to rid ourselves of some leaders that have been around forever and have proceeded to really muck it up the last few years. -- also we have to stop voting in people with little to no knowledge how to run anything- or any financial knowledge and then expect them to be the board for what amounts to a decent sized company. Then they rely on the old standbys -- and make no mistake the olg guard wants more people like that there- it only increases the power base. --if everyone on blue would have listened more closely to blank check from day 1 - we might not be in this mess today... and if I didn't have a hand in helping the problem for a period of time, I would have left this long ago. I want to be there when we right the ship. |
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Post by doctorwho on Feb 11, 2010 13:55:49 GMT -6
All right I guess I get what I deserve. Not stupid but overly optimistic. I was well aware we would have a major downfall in the economy but I forgot what we have had in Ryan, Blago etc. Illinois has always been one of the worst states in the Union for education (among other things) but North and West suburban Chicago has always been an oasis for education. And this district has always forked over money for schools. The next referendum will really be interesting. And yes Casey I have seen the light. Not only have you seen the light (and for that Im glad ) but you've also seen Waubonsie and know the differences between the high schools. The inequity is appalling. You and I both know the reason that the SB/SD does little to repair the inequity (as well as the physical needs) is because Wausbonsie will be on the chopping block soon. Our district is a mess and we can't afford the 3 high schools. Big changes are coming. I will be VERY sad to see Waubonsie close. Those of you that are not there don't know what you're missing. This is so sadly true. There are even powerpoint presentations that show 2 high schools - one of them NOT being Waubonsie going back years. It truly was a great school that they turned their backs on when they opened Neuqua. Immediately Jeannette Clark and her posse demanded to know where their Neuqua was -- and now they have it -- and it will bankrupt us all- not that they care. This contuned for 10 years until they got it -- look at the behavior when they were assigned to Waubonsie when MV was going to be at BB.... |
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Post by doctorwho on Feb 11, 2010 14:01:39 GMT -6
And thank you Casey for being such a strong advocate of WV as have Doc and Arch. More people are begining to see the light especially now that they realize there is a real danger of WV closing which makes me almost physically ill to think of. And yes I know well of the inequities in both the physical plant and attitude of the SD. I really believe this was planned years ago by Howie. It was HC that started this mess and inequities of WV began under him. It is just my feeling and I am sure Doc and Arch would have a better insight into HCs motives. -- although not a Howie flag waving fan...I will give him this re: WVHS -- he was going to not strip them of their heritage and was assigning Brookdale to the school to keep some stability. Thsi left him on the 'outs' very quickly...and soon was gone as JC formed a new alliance with M2- to rebuild WVHS in the image they wanted ( as well as assign some people there they knew would not like it ). -- much of the core of Waubonsie left with Watts and Brookdale who dominated the volunteerism at the school for years. I am glad to see new people embracing it...but they are more vocal in calling out the inequities that we just lived with as the district waited for the North Side Neuqua -- Howie was also accurate in his HS attendance numbers- the committee that worked on freshman centers had the peak number dead on at 8800 ( not 10400 that we paid for ) -- and they also had the capacity numbers correct to show we did not need the 3rd high school at all... but other agendas took over and now here we are... those who whined for years that 'they paid to build 204' now have what they wanted at the expense of all of us... and yes I know this very well- having been here 20 years I have been involved in the entire evolution. |
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Post by macrockett on Feb 11, 2010 15:56:48 GMT -6
I really believe this was planned years ago by Howie. It was HC that started this mess and inequities of WV began under him. It is just my feeling and I am sure Doc and Arch would have a better insight into HCs motives. Interesting theory and I'm sure that there's some truth to it. I have to admit that I was not a Howie fan but I don't think that there would have been a chance in the world that HC would have chosen to place a 3rd HS in the wastelands of Eola. He was hell-bent on Brach Brodie and I think he would have done anything and everything to ensure it would have gone there (as evidenced by the BB mess that we're still in). It's only when we brought in the yahoo that we ended up in the ridiculous location. You know how Dr.D personally meted out the negotiations with the church . I worry that we'll close Waubonsie leaving us 2 high schools at polar ends of the district and something will go wrong with MV (pipelines, earthquakes, EMR problems, etc.). What a fine mess that would be, eh? Fortunately we have people like Steckdad who are experts and can ensure us nothing will happen at Metea. While I generally agree Casey, I believe the drivers were Metzger and Clark. They were in control of the Board. They were the ones who hired the arrogant "yahoo," and he was their front man. If Metzger and Clark did not want the Eola location, it would not have gone there. Look at both Metzger and Clark in the Board meetings. At the Feb 08 meeting they sat there as the "yahoo", before an important vote, stepped outside the scope of his authority to call out citizens of the community as "entitled." Did Metzger and Clark do anything about that? Of course not. Their finger prints are all over this mess. |
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Post by casey on Feb 11, 2010 16:04:13 GMT -6
Ok everyone here comes the official party line from the district. KB is doing her best to get the hysteria going and blaming the state at the same time. My HS daughter came home from NV and informed me that "all" the teachers at Neuqua were talking about all the teachers that are going to be cut next year. They were also talking about all the programs that were going to be cut (according to my kid she said they mentioned B teams in sports as well as intramurals and some of the clubs). They also said that they may be cutting music programs just like 203 is doing (does anyone know anything about that?). My daughter came home spouting all this off and citing it as the gospel truth. Poor thing, she hasn't yet learned to not trust a thing our District says. FWIW, I don't complain or say too much about the misgivings of our district. Some day she'll figure that out on her own. I'm pretty sure that my Waubonsie kid has figured that out, though ;D.
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Post by doctorwho on Feb 11, 2010 16:35:48 GMT -6
Interesting theory and I'm sure that there's some truth to it. I have to admit that I was not a Howie fan but I don't think that there would have been a chance in the world that HC would have chosen to place a 3rd HS in the wastelands of Eola. He was hell-bent on Brach Brodie and I think he would have done anything and everything to ensure it would have gone there (as evidenced by the BB mess that we're still in). It's only when we brought in the yahoo that we ended up in the ridiculous location. You know how Dr.D personally meted out the negotiations with the church . I worry that we'll close Waubonsie leaving us 2 high schools at polar ends of the district and something will go wrong with MV (pipelines, earthquakes, EMR problems, etc.). What a fine mess that would be, eh? Fortunately we have people like Steckdad who are experts and can ensure us nothing will happen at Metea. While I generally agree Casey, I believe the drivers were Metzger and Clark. They were in control of the Board. They were the ones who hired the arrogant "yahoo," and he was their front man. If Metzger and Clark did not want the Eola location, it would not have gone there. Look at both Metzger and Clark in the Board meetings. At the Feb 08 meeting they sat there as the "yahoo", before an important vote, stepped outside the scope of his authority to call out citizens of the community as "entitled." Did Metzger and Clark do anything about that? Of course not. Their finger prints are all over this mess. they are not the only ones to blame but absolutely the main drivers of what we have today/ JC got what she wanted for her constituency ( remember her orange shirt support - nice for a SB pres at the time eh ?) - and got the hell out....expect that statue outside of Metea someday... I believe her plan all along was to scuttle the BB site to get it closer to her area -- |
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Post by Arch on Feb 11, 2010 17:11:02 GMT -6
Notice that Mark Metzger will probably not have the balls to remind us that the school board is a Republic form of governance and those elected officials have the authority and responsibility to decide important things for us like school sites and the spending of money (budget).
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Post by doctorwho on Feb 11, 2010 17:40:29 GMT -6
I replied to KB's districtwide email of yesterday (had to look up her district email address - she has the kahunas to ask us all to do her dirtywork downstate for her, but won't send it from or use her email address). I let her (and Curt) know rather point blank that I won't be their pawn to play downstate politics this time. In my opinion our State is broke, and there's no more money to be had there. The state money doesn't just appear out of nowehere - as it is we have a governor looking for any excuse to RAISE OUR INCOME TAX BY 50%. I won't give him more ammo. They (the board and Kathy) now seem to have suddenly forgotten that they need another $5million per year to run this new school ("We have not talked about referendums at all" my ass - you knew full well that you would need one right away after it opened). They will assign blame and responsibility everywhere but themselves. I for one won't support another penny, they'll have tro pry it out of my hands after all of the games that have been played (with overpaying, accelerated schedules, bond premiums) and lies. I recommended they start cutting right away and cut deep. I'll help them with the pinks slips if they like, and they'd better include a whole lot of admin in the front of the stack. They're trying to play the parents again as pawns in politics and I'm not playing this time. I didn't seem to get a reply from Kathy, I guess mine was not the response she was looking for  they are going to get the same response from me-- what they get for sending me the email -- -- enough bs and lies -- time to step up and admit to the people what you did - then step aside and let someone else clean up the mess |
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