Post by doctorwho on Aug 2, 2011 15:03:43 GMT -6
Finally - a school board with common sense AND a conscience.
Oswego won’t build third high school By JENNETTE STURGES jsturges@stmedianetwork.com July 25, 2011 9:52PM
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The Oswego Board of Education has opted not to build a third high school. This property at the southeast corner of Plainfield and Ridge roads was a proposed site for the school. | Marianne Mather~Sun-Times Media
Updated: July 25, 2011 11:10PM
Oswego will stay a two-high-school town.
The Oswego Board of Education voted 5-1 Monday night to terminate all planning and design for the construction of a third high school, effectively closing that option for the foreseeable future.
What board members haven’t decided on is what to do now.
“We have multiple options,” said Board President Bill Walsh. “We have options to expand other high schools, we have redistricting, expanding one high school. Utilizing additional facilities. All of these could be possible alternatives to keep taxes down.”
Taxes, ultimately, became the overarching theme of the night.
“We need to have people who can afford to live in Oswego, and I don’t think we can afford a third high school,” said trustee Laurie Pasteris.
The meeting grew heated when one parent interrupted to ask the board for answers, and Walsh threatened to shut down the meeting.
But other parents and community members just expressed frustration.
“My tax bill is $14,000. It’s embarrassing,” said Jeanine Zuppo, who brought her son, a student at Bednarcik Junior High who has an early lunch due to crowding.
“Kids should not be having lunch at 10:30 in the morning. It’s overcrowded. He deserves to know that my husband’s and my investments have paid off, and by the end of this meeting, I hope you can look at him and your decisions will do him and his friends justice.”
“This is 2011, not 2006. Times have changed drastically since that referendum has passed,” said resident Leland Hoffer, who said the April election constituted a mandate from the voters to halt the third high school.
“What do you want, do you want education, or do you want buildings?”
Construction on a third high school, slated for a site in Plainfield, has been on hold since April, when new School Board President Bill Walsh, and new trustees Alison Swanson and Brent Lightfoot, were elected.
Seeking less expensive alternatives, the newly seated board received estimates on building additions to Oswego East High ($39 million) and Oswego High ($33 to $42 million, depending on upgrades) schools earlier this summer. That may be the silver lining for at least some of Oswego’s students. With additions to OHS and OEHS looking more likely, students may still see new amenities like a synthetic turf football field, more seating in the gym, or a pool.
But more building is only one of many options that the board will look at to address crowding. After the vote, board members directed the administration to gather information on when Murphy Junior High and Old Traughber could be opened, either as junior high schools or freshman centers.
Traughber is home to the Oswego Senior Center, the YMCA and the Opportunity School, all under contract to the School District.
Board members also inquired about value-engineering additions to OHS and OEHS: asking administrators and architects to go back to the drawing board with a slimmed down, no-frills budget that maximizes classroom space only.
The already-proposed additions to the two high schools would create space for another 1,600 students. According to enrollment projections that assume no newcomers moving into the district, the additions would reach capacity in 2022.
The third high school would have added space for 2,400 students, reaching capacity in 2030.
While the high school crowding issue is still up in the air, the School Board still has a number of decisions to make as it approaches November, the deadline by which it must sell bonds to finance any new construction projects around the district.
Administrators will be seeking approval for a new elementary school, maintenance facility and transportation facility, all of which must be approved by the board’s first meeting in September
Oswego won’t build third high school By JENNETTE STURGES jsturges@stmedianetwork.com July 25, 2011 9:52PM
Reprints4Share
The Oswego Board of Education has opted not to build a third high school. This property at the southeast corner of Plainfield and Ridge roads was a proposed site for the school. | Marianne Mather~Sun-Times Media
Updated: July 25, 2011 11:10PM
Oswego will stay a two-high-school town.
The Oswego Board of Education voted 5-1 Monday night to terminate all planning and design for the construction of a third high school, effectively closing that option for the foreseeable future.
What board members haven’t decided on is what to do now.
“We have multiple options,” said Board President Bill Walsh. “We have options to expand other high schools, we have redistricting, expanding one high school. Utilizing additional facilities. All of these could be possible alternatives to keep taxes down.”
Taxes, ultimately, became the overarching theme of the night.
“We need to have people who can afford to live in Oswego, and I don’t think we can afford a third high school,” said trustee Laurie Pasteris.
The meeting grew heated when one parent interrupted to ask the board for answers, and Walsh threatened to shut down the meeting.
But other parents and community members just expressed frustration.
“My tax bill is $14,000. It’s embarrassing,” said Jeanine Zuppo, who brought her son, a student at Bednarcik Junior High who has an early lunch due to crowding.
“Kids should not be having lunch at 10:30 in the morning. It’s overcrowded. He deserves to know that my husband’s and my investments have paid off, and by the end of this meeting, I hope you can look at him and your decisions will do him and his friends justice.”
“This is 2011, not 2006. Times have changed drastically since that referendum has passed,” said resident Leland Hoffer, who said the April election constituted a mandate from the voters to halt the third high school.
“What do you want, do you want education, or do you want buildings?”
Construction on a third high school, slated for a site in Plainfield, has been on hold since April, when new School Board President Bill Walsh, and new trustees Alison Swanson and Brent Lightfoot, were elected.
Seeking less expensive alternatives, the newly seated board received estimates on building additions to Oswego East High ($39 million) and Oswego High ($33 to $42 million, depending on upgrades) schools earlier this summer. That may be the silver lining for at least some of Oswego’s students. With additions to OHS and OEHS looking more likely, students may still see new amenities like a synthetic turf football field, more seating in the gym, or a pool.
But more building is only one of many options that the board will look at to address crowding. After the vote, board members directed the administration to gather information on when Murphy Junior High and Old Traughber could be opened, either as junior high schools or freshman centers.
Traughber is home to the Oswego Senior Center, the YMCA and the Opportunity School, all under contract to the School District.
Board members also inquired about value-engineering additions to OHS and OEHS: asking administrators and architects to go back to the drawing board with a slimmed down, no-frills budget that maximizes classroom space only.
The already-proposed additions to the two high schools would create space for another 1,600 students. According to enrollment projections that assume no newcomers moving into the district, the additions would reach capacity in 2022.
The third high school would have added space for 2,400 students, reaching capacity in 2030.
While the high school crowding issue is still up in the air, the School Board still has a number of decisions to make as it approaches November, the deadline by which it must sell bonds to finance any new construction projects around the district.
Administrators will be seeking approval for a new elementary school, maintenance facility and transportation facility, all of which must be approved by the board’s first meeting in September