Post by sushi on Mar 29, 2008 6:53:56 GMT -6
District 204 needs to change course
Published: 3/29/2008 12:09 AM
Next month, it will be three years since voters told Indian Prairie School District 204 "NO" to the idea of a third high school. But the district, undeterred by the vote and confident they could overturn the will of the voters, hired The Center for Community Opinion (CCO) to do just that. The CCO "surveyed" residents, surveys paid for with taxpayer money.
Then, using the results of these surveys against the residents who paid for them, the district set out to flip the vote by using scare tactics about overcrowding and split shifts as well as a carrot promising no tax increase.
But these deceptions weren't enough. The district wanted to ensure the yes vote, so the district went on a road show, promising certain boundaries based on a third high school site called Brach-Brodie. Now, two years after the district flipped the vote, the facts are starting to come out.
We now see that elementary school enrollment has declined the last two years in a row and the district has backed away from the high school enrollment numbers used to "sell" the referendum. The district now projects that high school enrollment will peak in 2011 and then decline. In fact, their latest projections show that in a few short years, enrollment will be back down to the same number of students that we have today.
But, the district isn't done wasting your money yet. Now the district is going to blow millions fighting district residents who are starting to see through the district's deceits. The district now wants to change the boundaries and the location of the third high school to a site surrounded by high voltage power lines on two sides and railroad tracks on a third! In addition, the site could be possibly polluted from a peaker plant.
Will the district stop at nothing? It's time to move on. The district should admit its past failings and apologize to the public. At a minimum, they need to cancel the third high school because the facts show there is no need.
Paul White
Naperville
Acting in interest of students, taxpayers
Published: 3/29/2008 12:09 AM
I say "shame" on those few homeowners who are filing a lawsuit demanding that District 204 purchase the Brach Brodie property. Excuse me, but we have a school board that is looking out for the best interest of the taxpayers and students. They fought, lost and moved on so a school can be built; asking for feedback along the way. They are saving taxpayers $13 million by not buying the original property. I say THANK YOU to the school board!
This small minority of people who have to have their "status" in a school name is selfish. All homeowners pay the same rate to the school district, so that doesn't make their subdivision more important than anyone else in the district. They are just sending a horrible message to the kids that go to school here, saying their school isn't good enough. Now the school will be delayed again and we will continue to have over-crowding, no matter what the school name is!
Our schools are award-winning and the majority are all proud! Stop messing with the majority's children's education.
Tammy Schenekl
Aurora
Don't be fooled by this obvious ruse
Published: 3/29/2008 12:09 AM
I am amazed by the thoughtfulness of my Naperville School District 204 neighbors to the south, who regard my children's health and safety above their own families. They are fighting with such passion and zeal to protect my children. I thank them for their noble efforts.
However, I find it difficult to believe that their consideration for my children is greater than their own. Their concern, which cites pipelines and high-tension power lines, is clearly a ruse. Those "hazards" at the Metea location run north and south -- passing directly though those very same neighborhoods opposed to the Metea location. The Tall Grass subdivision clubhouse is within 100 feet of a high-energy electrical switchyard and substation, which is much closer than where the high school will sit.
Next time you drive south on Route 59, notice the construction of the people bridge and its proximity to those overhead high-tension power lines. Are they opposed to that bridge due to EMF concerns?
I am certain that no one - not the school board, our local government, the press, our communities, and our judges -- will be fooled by this obvious scam. Of course there's always coercion and intimidation. Nonetheless, thanks for raising the issue of safety for our children.
Eric Hale
Naperville
Published: 3/29/2008 12:09 AM
Next month, it will be three years since voters told Indian Prairie School District 204 "NO" to the idea of a third high school. But the district, undeterred by the vote and confident they could overturn the will of the voters, hired The Center for Community Opinion (CCO) to do just that. The CCO "surveyed" residents, surveys paid for with taxpayer money.
Then, using the results of these surveys against the residents who paid for them, the district set out to flip the vote by using scare tactics about overcrowding and split shifts as well as a carrot promising no tax increase.
But these deceptions weren't enough. The district wanted to ensure the yes vote, so the district went on a road show, promising certain boundaries based on a third high school site called Brach-Brodie. Now, two years after the district flipped the vote, the facts are starting to come out.
We now see that elementary school enrollment has declined the last two years in a row and the district has backed away from the high school enrollment numbers used to "sell" the referendum. The district now projects that high school enrollment will peak in 2011 and then decline. In fact, their latest projections show that in a few short years, enrollment will be back down to the same number of students that we have today.
But, the district isn't done wasting your money yet. Now the district is going to blow millions fighting district residents who are starting to see through the district's deceits. The district now wants to change the boundaries and the location of the third high school to a site surrounded by high voltage power lines on two sides and railroad tracks on a third! In addition, the site could be possibly polluted from a peaker plant.
Will the district stop at nothing? It's time to move on. The district should admit its past failings and apologize to the public. At a minimum, they need to cancel the third high school because the facts show there is no need.
Paul White
Naperville
Acting in interest of students, taxpayers
Published: 3/29/2008 12:09 AM
I say "shame" on those few homeowners who are filing a lawsuit demanding that District 204 purchase the Brach Brodie property. Excuse me, but we have a school board that is looking out for the best interest of the taxpayers and students. They fought, lost and moved on so a school can be built; asking for feedback along the way. They are saving taxpayers $13 million by not buying the original property. I say THANK YOU to the school board!
This small minority of people who have to have their "status" in a school name is selfish. All homeowners pay the same rate to the school district, so that doesn't make their subdivision more important than anyone else in the district. They are just sending a horrible message to the kids that go to school here, saying their school isn't good enough. Now the school will be delayed again and we will continue to have over-crowding, no matter what the school name is!
Our schools are award-winning and the majority are all proud! Stop messing with the majority's children's education.
Tammy Schenekl
Aurora
Don't be fooled by this obvious ruse
Published: 3/29/2008 12:09 AM
I am amazed by the thoughtfulness of my Naperville School District 204 neighbors to the south, who regard my children's health and safety above their own families. They are fighting with such passion and zeal to protect my children. I thank them for their noble efforts.
However, I find it difficult to believe that their consideration for my children is greater than their own. Their concern, which cites pipelines and high-tension power lines, is clearly a ruse. Those "hazards" at the Metea location run north and south -- passing directly though those very same neighborhoods opposed to the Metea location. The Tall Grass subdivision clubhouse is within 100 feet of a high-energy electrical switchyard and substation, which is much closer than where the high school will sit.
Next time you drive south on Route 59, notice the construction of the people bridge and its proximity to those overhead high-tension power lines. Are they opposed to that bridge due to EMF concerns?
I am certain that no one - not the school board, our local government, the press, our communities, and our judges -- will be fooled by this obvious scam. Of course there's always coercion and intimidation. Nonetheless, thanks for raising the issue of safety for our children.
Eric Hale
Naperville
