LTE 2/4/08 - Naperville Sun

[we4]

Look who's back.......
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/opinions/letters/775123,6_4_NA04_LETTERS_S1.article

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Why can't D204 Frontier campus be expanded?

At District 204's Jan. 28 school board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Daeschner indicated that "we could be in trouble" after reviewing the number of students expressing interest in attending College of DuPage's Frontier campus next year.
The inference here being more than 600 students? Then school board member Alka Tyle chimed in with "expansion" being dependent on enrollment! So what's the problem of expanding if interest exceeds the current 600 seats?

Maybe an unneeded third high school?

Paul White

Naperville

[sleeplessinnpvl]

I'm not familiar with Frontier campus as I don't have an HS'ers. Do these kids stay at that campus all day? Or do they go back and forth to the main campuses at some point? They surely don't have band, PE, science labs etc. over there. I wonder if there is a way to expand Frontier to an area over by MV? Talk about a long bus ride for the MV students to Frontier.....

[rew]

You can access the Frontier homepage on the district's website.

The campus utilizes block scheduling, students come and go, no busses.

[oldmanpotter]

Paul White again. For my own curiousity does this guy come to any of the meetings or does he just hide behind his weekly rants without offering anything constructive. Maybe he could care less about our kids since I understand he doesn't have any. The people on this board would know better then I. It is just hard for me to understand this mindset.

[bob]

This clearly says that White has never even seen Frontier if he doesn't see the problem with expanding the current campus.

[sleeplessinnpvl]

rew said:

You can access the Frontier homepage on the district's website.

The campus utilizes block scheduling, students come and go, no busses.

So if there is no bus service, people from MV and WV will have to get to it by car? Seems another strange reason to put the new school all the way out at Eola.

So Paul is ignoring the fact that students will be coming back in at several points during the day and mingling with everyone else during the passing periods? Seems like Paul hasn't visited either campus during passing time.

Maybe if BB doesn't want our 25 acres back and we can't sell them on the open market, we can convince COD to build us a Frontier "gold campus" for the WV and MV kids to use. I'm obsessed with getting a school on that land yet, just to spite BB.

[bob]

sleeplessinnpvl said:

Maybe if BB doesn't want our 25 acres back and we can't sell them on the open market, we can convince COD to build us a Frontier "gold campus" for the WV and MV kids to use. I'm obsessed with getting a school on that land yet, just to spite BB.

I like the way you think.

[doctorwho]

bob said:

sleeplessinnpvl said:

Maybe if BB doesn't want our 25 acres back and we can't sell them on the open market, we can convince COD to build us a Frontier "gold campus" for the WV and MV kids to use. I'm obsessed with getting a school on that land yet, just to spite BB.

I like the way you think.

A good thought since Fronteir Campus is nothing but a pipe dream for those who will be at MV when it opens -

[magneto]

bob said:

sleeplessinnpvl said:

Maybe if BB doesn't want our 25 acres back and we can't sell them on the open market, we can convince COD to build us a Frontier "gold campus" for the WV and MV kids to use. I'm obsessed with getting a school on that land yet, just to spite BB.

I like the way you think.

Now that would be a good use of a "central location" In other words 1 facility serving the entire district.

[sushi]

I've been wondering if there is a limit to L'sTE. Haven't Paul & Rita White, Bob and (Wife) Swiminoga let us all know how they feel about the schools in Naperville?

Regarding the Frontier Campus. My son is taking classes there. It is made up of Seniors from NV & WV who take classes four days a week, M/W same schedule, T/TH same schedule. Each class is 1-1/2 hours in length, two days a week. There are a few Juniors who take a class there and still go to NV main campus. My son loves it; it is not crowded, low key, with a nice lounge area to congregate. I don't see it at all as a solution to the overcrowding; it is a way to allieviate a small amount of the crowding. Not a solution for the masses.

[rj]

Maybe if BB doesn't want our 25 acres back and we can't sell them on the open market, we can convince COD to build us a Frontier "gold campus" for the WV and MV kids to use. I'm obsessed with getting a school on that land yet, just to spite BB.

Too funny.

And how exactly would building a school on the 25 acres spite them? I am sure they couldn't care less what the SB does with it, they have their money from that sale. They also sold the front parcel for $500k some and acre, and they have the 55 acres left yet to sell. Sounds like is good at the BB estate.......

[sleeplessinnpvl]

rj said:

Maybe if BB doesn't want our 25 acres back and we can't sell them on the open market, we can convince COD to build us a Frontier "gold campus" for the WV and MV kids to use. I'm obsessed with getting a school on that land yet, just to spite BB.

Too funny.

And how exactly would building a school on the 25 acres spite them? I am sure they couldn't care less what the SB does with it, they have their money from that sale. They also sold the front parcel for $500k some and acre, and they have the 55 acres left yet to sell. Sounds like is good at the BB estate.......

Yes, they will be laughing all the way to the bank, that's for sure. We pretty much look like idiots. It will be interesting to see how much they eventually sell that land for and how long it will take....Interesting point you make that they sold the prime corner parcel for $500K an acre just recently. So a jury thought that our not-so-prime parcel was worth that same amount back in 2005? Guess they got $500K an acre today because of the "depressed market". They really should have gotten $800K an acre. If they got $500K an acre for the good land, I think our parcel is definitely worth less, even today. Maybe that is why one of the attorneys wanted to negotiate with us. Deep down in their cold little hearts, they know that now that the land is free, they won't get $500K today and never would have back in 2005 either based on what other land parcels sold for back then.

[rj]

Quite possibly BB decided when 204 decided to try and take the land by eminent domain, and then attempted to push quick take through they didn't want to play nice anymore. I wouldn't blame them as eminent domain usually is a losing proposition for the land owner.

In hindsight, 204 should have negotiated the best deal they could with BB when the second referendum passed. The school construction would be well under way and it would have been a whole lot cheaper than what it is going to cost now.

[sleeplessinnpvl]

rj said:

Quite possibly BB decided when 204 decided to try and take the land by eminent domain, and then attempted to push quick take through they didn't want to play nice anymore. I wouldn't blame them as eminent domain usually is a losing proposition for the land owner.

In hindsight, 204 should have negotiated the best deal they could with BB when the second referendum passed. The school construction would be well under way and it would have been a whole lot cheaper than what it is going to cost now.

I agree, they probably feel that the land was tied up for two years and maybe they could have sold it for $400/acre if it wasn't tied up. Who knows? I think the SB should have given up a long time ago but when you don't have a crystal ball in front of you, it's hard to know what to do. We would then have been saying "what a waste of our money" if they dropped it and today we are still saying the same thing. It was a very expensive gamble and we leave the casino in debt up to our eyeballs and no prize to show for it.

[Arch]

sleeplessinnpvl said:

rj said:

Quite possibly BB decided when 204 decided to try and take the land by eminent domain, and then attempted to push quick take through they didn't want to play nice anymore. I wouldn't blame them as eminent domain usually is a losing proposition for the land owner.

In hindsight, 204 should have negotiated the best deal they could with BB when the second referendum passed. The school construction would be well under way and it would have been a whole lot cheaper than what it is going to cost now.

I agree, they probably feel that the land was tied up for two years and maybe they could have sold it for $400/acre if it wasn't tied up. Who knows? I think the SB should have given up a long time ago but when you don't have a crystal ball in front of you, it's hard to know what to do. We would then have been saying "what a waste of our money" if they dropped it and today we are still saying the same thing. It was a very expensive gamble and we leave the casino in debt up to our eyeballs and no prize to show for it.

This is why I said we should have just taken the prize when we were told we could have it.