Editorial on MV site

[gatordog]

In today's Beacon News.
They are in favor of the BB site.

Indian Prairie running out of options

October 18, 2007

The Indian Prairie School District is searching for land once again.

After doggedly insisting that the Brach-Brodie site was Numero Uno, and even pretty much Numero Only, on its list of places to plunk the new Metea Valley High School, having a judge decide that the land is worth about twice what the district thought it was has caused officials to cool their jets and aim their sights at other sites.

Because the district hasn't gotten any larger since the site search first began, and because land doesn't suddenly become vacant, presumably the four locations now under consideration consist of sites rejected during the initial search. A reminder -- that search came to the conclusion the Brach-Brodie parcel was the very best choice, so much so the district decided to go to court to get it.

If the board intends to stick to its guns and build a third high school -- something it has gone back and forth on in the past to the point of having freshman centers that were supposed to be substitutes for a third high school -- it really only has a couple of options, especially if it does not intend to ask taxpayers for more money because the favored site along 75th Street in Aurora -- at $518,250 an acre -- cost so much.

One is what it is doing now, looking at other sites and, if it finds one, proclaiming a silk purse out of land it formerly said was a sow's ear. If this happens, whatever is chosen probably will be a site originally deemed lacking in some respect but now acceptable because it will be the best of the rest -- assuming, of course, the price is right on this one.

For example, one parcel has street access issues; another is located next to a quarry, concerning officials that blasting could prove a noisy distraction. It's unclear if any of the sites originally considered are on the table now.

A second option might be to swallow hard, take the Brach-Brodie property and work to pare the cost of the new school to fit into the amount of money extracted from the referendum proposition.

We'd favor that approach, with the caveat that the school still have everything it needs to be as equal as possible to Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley.

[blankcheck]

pare down the costs and then sock it to us in 2009

[rew]

blankcheck, haven't we wasted enough money chasing "cost savings"?? People voted NO in 05 to save us all the waste, that move cost us $$$MMMs. We built the freshman centers because "people won't vote for the $$$ after they just paid for NVHS"...that cost us $$$MMMs. We condemned the land and delayed contruction 18mos because we thought we could save on land costs. Bite the bullet, in ten yrs we'll all be saying I can't believe that HS only cost XXX$$$.

[momof3]

2 things - didn't a jury, not a judge decide the price?

- I'm tired of the "folksy" way these are written. TW at the Sun does the same thing. "Numero Uno" "plunk MV" ... does this make it more assessable to me or am I just reminded that this is a "po-dunk" newspaper?

[doctorwho]

rew said:

blankcheck, haven't we wasted enough money chasing "cost savings"?? People voted NO in 05 to save us all the waste, that move cost us $$$MMMs. We built the freshman centers because "people won't vote for the $$$ after they just paid for NVHS"...that cost us $$$MMMs. We condemned the land and delayed contruction 18mos because we thought we could save on land costs. Bite the bullet, in ten yrs we'll all be saying I can't believe that HS only cost XXX$$$.

Well WVHS was build for $8.2M when started in 1973 ( hmm a time of recession and high gas prices as I remember) and opened in 75.
NVHS was $80M plus in 1997 --

need a CPA out there to do the time value of money calc's to see what these are in today's $$.

[lacy]

doctorwho said:

rew said:

blankcheck, haven't we wasted enough money chasing "cost savings"?? People voted NO in 05 to save us all the waste, that move cost us $$$MMMs. We built the freshman centers because "people won't vote for the $$$ after they just paid for NVHS"...that cost us $$$MMMs. We condemned the land and delayed contruction 18mos because we thought we could save on land costs. Bite the bullet, in ten yrs we'll all be saying I can't believe that HS only cost XXX$$$.

Well WVHS was build for $8.2M when started in 1973 ( hmm a time of recession and high gas prices as I remember) and opened in 75.
NVHS was $80M plus in 1997 --

need a CPA out there to do the time value of money calc's to see what these are in today's $$.

Using 6% inflation for both, 1973 starting point for WVHS, '97 for NVHS and a flat $80 mill for NVHS:

WVHS cost today $59,458,407.
NVHS cost today $143,267,815.

Was $8.2 the whole amount for WVHS?

[doctorwho]

lacy said:

doctorwho said:

Well WVHS was build for $8.2M when started in 1973 ( hmm a time of recession and high gas prices as I remember) and opened in 75.
NVHS was $80M plus in 1997 --

need a CPA out there to do the time value of money calc's to see what these are in today's $$.

Using 6% inflation for both, 1973 starting point for WVHS, '97 for NVHS and a flat $80 mill for NVHS:

WVHS cost today $59,458,407.
NVHS cost today $143,267,815.

Was $8.2 the whole amount for WVHS?

it appears so - I was kinda stunned also

wvhs.ipsd.org/about_WVhistory.asp

Thanks for doing the work --

With this done, I am looking at this for the first time and we all ( those who want a 3rd school ) want an equal school to the others ( regardless of site preference ) - yet how would we do that for less money than NV would cost today ? Interesting amount -- as if you take the $124M referendum and add in the $20 interest and other monies ) - now it becomes an equal expenditure it appears.

Need time to noodle on this as I had not thought to look at it this way before.

[lacy]

gatordog said:

In today's Beacon News.
They are in favor of the BB site.

Indian Prairie running out of options

October 18, 2007

The Indian Prairie School District is searching for land once again.

After doggedly insisting that the Brach-Brodie site was Numero Uno, and even pretty much Numero Only, on its list of places to plunk the new Metea Valley High School, having a judge decide that the land is worth about twice what the district thought it was has caused officials to cool their jets and aim their sights at other sites.

Because the district hasn't gotten any larger since the site search first began, and because land doesn't suddenly become vacant, presumably the four locations now under consideration consist of sites rejected during the initial search. A reminder -- that search came to the conclusion the Brach-Brodie parcel was the very best choice, so much so the district decided to go to court to get it.

If the board intends to stick to its guns and build a third high school -- something it has gone back and forth on in the past to the point of having freshman centers that were supposed to be substitutes for a third high school -- it really only has a couple of options, especially if it does not intend to ask taxpayers for more money because the favored site along 75th Street in Aurora -- at $518,250 an acre -- cost so much.

One is what it is doing now, looking at other sites and, if it finds one, proclaiming a silk purse out of land it formerly said was a sow's ear. If this happens, whatever is chosen probably will be a site originally deemed lacking in some respect but now acceptable because it will be the best of the rest -- assuming, of course, the price is right on this one.

For example, one parcel has street access issues; another is located next to a quarry, concerning officials that blasting could prove a noisy distraction. It's unclear if any of the sites originally considered are on the table now.

A second option might be to swallow hard, take the Brach-Brodie property and work to pare the cost of the new school to fit into the amount of money extracted from the referendum proposition.

We'd favor that approach, with the caveat that the school still have everything it needs to be as equal as possible to Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley.

My concern is there was a backlash regarding the construction of NVHS because some people felt the cost was too great and they feel there is a disparity vs. WVHS. Those feelings remain today.

I think the same thing could happen again if the SB overspends for the land at BB. Maybe the building won't be the cost-overrun - instead it will be the land. $31 million for DIRT.

Add to that the cutbacks necessary to build the school there and not go overbudget, and the number of people unhappy with the whole thing increases to include the people who actually go there.

Using land-cash donations and interest and whatever else they've got socked away prohbits those funds from being used on anything else for any of the other schools.

So at the end of the day, maybe there is a district-wide backlash.

Hopefully there is another solution besides BB where the land can be obtained for less, and the school delivered (the same way it was originally planned to be) and some of these other excess funds can be spent on improvements district-wide.

[Arch]

Using an online calculator that tracks CPI,

What cost $8200000 in 1973 would cost $38173299.38 in 2006

www.westegg.com/inflation/

They do state up front that their pre-1975 CPI data is from a publication and they only calculate up to 2006, not 2007.

[doctorwho]

lacy said:

gatordog said:

In today's Beacon News.
They are in favor of the BB site.

Indian Prairie running out of options

October 18, 2007

The Indian Prairie School District is searching for land once again.

After doggedly insisting that the Brach-Brodie site was Numero Uno, and even pretty much Numero Only, on its list of places to plunk the new Metea Valley High School, having a judge decide that the land is worth about twice what the district thought it was has caused officials to cool their jets and aim their sights at other sites.

Because the district hasn't gotten any larger since the site search first began, and because land doesn't suddenly become vacant, presumably the four locations now under consideration consist of sites rejected during the initial search. A reminder -- that search came to the conclusion the Brach-Brodie parcel was the very best choice, so much so the district decided to go to court to get it.

If the board intends to stick to its guns and build a third high school -- something it has gone back and forth on in the past to the point of having freshman centers that were supposed to be substitutes for a third high school -- it really only has a couple of options, especially if it does not intend to ask taxpayers for more money because the favored site along 75th Street in Aurora -- at $518,250 an acre -- cost so much.

One is what it is doing now, looking at other sites and, if it finds one, proclaiming a silk purse out of land it formerly said was a sow's ear. If this happens, whatever is chosen probably will be a site originally deemed lacking in some respect but now acceptable because it will be the best of the rest -- assuming, of course, the price is right on this one.

For example, one parcel has street access issues; another is located next to a quarry, concerning officials that blasting could prove a noisy distraction. It's unclear if any of the sites originally considered are on the table now.

A second option might be to swallow hard, take the Brach-Brodie property and work to pare the cost of the new school to fit into the amount of money extracted from the referendum proposition.

We'd favor that approach, with the caveat that the school still have everything it needs to be as equal as possible to Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley.

My concern is there was a backlash regarding the construction of NVHS because some people felt the cost was too great and they feel there is a disparity vs. WVHS. Those feelings remain today.

I think the same thing could happen again if the SB overspends for the land at BB. Maybe the building won't be the cost-overrun - instead it will be the land. $31 million for DIRT.

Add to that the cutbacks necessary to build the school there and not go overbudget, and the number of people unhappy with the whole thing increases to include the people who actually go there.

Using land-cash donations and interest and whatever else they've got socked away prohbits those funds from being used on anything else for any of the other schools.

So at the end of the day, maybe there is a district-wide backlash.

Hopefully there is another solution besides BB where the land can be obtained for less, and the school delivered (the same way it was originally planned to be) and some of these other excess funds can be spent on improvements district-wide.

As someone who's been here well before that time I can tell you the backlash ( although yes there are some who feel that way) is not an all encompassing thing either - I never knew anyone i n my area that felt that way - the honest truth. I think the backlash had as much to do with lingering boundary issues as anything else ( sound familiar) - my 2 cents

So unless you are telling me those who attend NV today ( most of whom would be new to the district since 1997) would feel also that way now - after criticizing some old timers for doing the same thing to them - ( the old pot and kettle example) why would there be a district wide backlash ?

Interesting that that scenario would exist.....

[warriorpride]

lacy said:

My concern is there was a backlash regarding the construction of NVHS because some people felt the cost was too great and they feel there is a disparity vs. WVHS. Those feelings remain today.

I think the same thing could happen again if the SB overspends for the land at BB. Maybe the building won't be the cost-overrun - instead it will be the land. $31 million for DIRT.

Add to that the cutbacks necessary to build the school there and not go overbudget, and the number of people unhappy with the whole thing increases to include the people who actually go there.

Using land-cash donations and interest and whatever else they've got socked away prohbits those funds from being used on anything else for any of the other schools.

So at the end of the day, maybe there is a district-wide backlash.

Hopefully there is another solution besides BB where the land can be obtained for less, and the school delivered (the same way it was originally planned to be) and some of these other excess funds can be spent on improvements district-wide.

You can turn that around and guess that there'd be a backlash about having to go thru boundary discussions again, or choosing a far-less optimal location, or selling out to PL. I'd be happy to go to an MV on BB, just as much as I won't be calling MV taj 2, since we feed into WV.

[lacy]

archwinsome said:

Using an online calculator that tracks CPI,

What cost $8200000 in 1973 would cost $38173299.38 in 2006

www.westegg.com/inflation/

They do state up front that their pre-1975 CPI data is from a publication and they only calculate up to 2006, not 2007.

So based on this analysis, in today's dollars, all of WVHS cost only about $7 million more than what the dirt at BB will cost?!

Maybe there were some additions or something along the way?

Still...not a pretty figure.

[Arch]

lacy said:

archwinsome said:

Using an online calculator that tracks CPI,

What cost $8200000 in 1973 would cost $38173299.38 in 2006

www.westegg.com/inflation/

They do state up front that their pre-1975 CPI data is from a publication and they only calculate up to 2006, not 2007.

So based on this analysis, in today's dollars, all of WVHS cost only about $7 million more than what the dirt at BB will cost?!

Maybe there were some additions or something along the way?

Still...not a pretty figure.

If I am not mistaking, one gets more than just the actual dirt. Certain property rights are purchased with that money along with the rights to build whatever one wants to build within zoning, easement and other limitations. I could be wrong, but I believe that is how that works.

If all that was being purchased was dirt, I am sure we can find free black dirt all over the district. I've taken advantage of that when builders stuck a sign on their piles in the past. Apparently, they did not buy the land for the dirt and I do not beleive we are either.

[doctorwho]

lacy said:

archwinsome said:

Using an online calculator that tracks CPI,

What cost $8200000 in 1973 would cost $38173299.38 in 2006

www.westegg.com/inflation/

They do state up front that their pre-1975 CPI data is from a publication and they only calculate up to 2006, not 2007.

So based on this analysis, in today's dollars, all of WVHS cost only about $7 million more than what the dirt at BB will cost?!

Maybe there were some additions or something along the way?

Still...not a pretty figure.

yes there were additions after that - and just spent $7.5M there a few years ago.

[slp]

Personally, I think the biggest backlash may result if the School board abandons the plans for building Metea Valley on the Brach Brody property. Whether right or wrong, most people I have spoken to about this issue feel that if the school board leaves the Brach Brody site that is a bait and switch.