D204 proposed Metea boundaries - Part 3

[sleeplessinnpvl]

doctorwho said:

no problem - we'll just saddle them kids up here for that 1 1/2 a day on the bus - after spending one of the longest commutes in the district for MS- hey at least they'll be used to it -

it's a shame they don't get frequent flier (rider) miles for bus rides- at least they'd get a trip out of this or something

who's going to break the news to McCarty ( especially the walkers) that they get to travel north but their immediate neighbor ( and far closer to AME than Cowl or Watts) Steck gets to stay @ WVHS ?
But you likely got yourself into NVHS so my kids surely won't mind riding the bus for hours knowing that.


And 1045 @ Hill ? No problem - there are kids that cant eat lunch in the cafeteria todau and only 920 kids in the school-- 125 more should be no problem.

yep- looks real fair to me

Hey, doc. I know this boundary plan doesn't solve your travel woes but at least Watts won't be the longest commute in the city with this plan. You are going to your third farthest high school and second farthest middle school, but Springbrook will be going to their fourth farthest middle school and second farthest high school. And Watts to MV is around 6.69 miles per mapquest and Springbrook is 7.43 miles from WV. So while your kids are going on the bus 40 minutes one way, they can wave to the SB kids who will be on the bus for an hour one way.

[doctorwho]

sleeplessinnpvl said:

doctorwho said:

no problem - we'll just saddle them kids up here for that 1 1/2 a day on the bus - after spending one of the longest commutes in the district for MS- hey at least they'll be used to it -

it's a shame they don't get frequent flier (rider) miles for bus rides- at least they'd get a trip out of this or something

who's going to break the news to McCarty ( especially the walkers) that they get to travel north but their immediate neighbor ( and far closer to AME than Cowl or Watts) Steck gets to stay @ WVHS ?
But you likely got yourself into NVHS so my kids surely won't mind riding the bus for hours knowing that.


And 1045 @ Hill ? No problem - there are kids that cant eat lunch in the cafeteria todau and only 920 kids in the school-- 125 more should be no problem.

yep- looks real fair to me

Hey, doc. I know this boundary plan doesn't solve your travel woes but at least Watts won't be the longest commute in the city with this plan. You are going to your third farthest high school and second farthest middle school, but Springbrook will be going to their fourth farthest middle school and second farthest high school. And Watts to MV is around 6.69 miles per mapquest and Springbrook is 7.43 miles from WV. So while your kids are going on the bus 40 minutes one way, they can wave to the SB kids who will be on the bus for an hour one way.

And that is supposed to make me feel better ? All it does is make me feel for SB - and say the plan is even worse than ones currently floating around.

My goal is not to make someone else have more of the same pain already lined up for us -- so I fail to follow your logic. Telling my kids hey, you bus ride sucks but someone else has an even worse one than you helps no one.

How can you look at a plan that would put anyone's kids on a bus for 2 hours a day and think that was a solution ?

[sleeplessinnpvl]

doctorwho said:

sleeplessinnpvl said:

Hey, doc. I know this boundary plan doesn't solve your travel woes but at least Watts won't be the longest commute in the city with this plan. You are going to your third farthest high school and second farthest middle school, but Springbrook will be going to their fourth farthest middle school and second farthest high school. And Watts to MV is around 6.69 miles per mapquest and Springbrook is 7.43 miles from WV. So while your kids are going on the bus 40 minutes one way, they can wave to the SB kids who will be on the bus for an hour one way.

And that is supposed to make me feel better ? All it does is make me feel for SB - and say the plan is even worse than ones currently floating around.

My goal is not to make someone else have more of the same pain already lined up for us -- so I fail to follow your logic. Telling my kids hey, you bus ride sucks but someone else has an even worse one than you helps no one.

Actually, I was being sarcastic. I wasn't assuming you would really be happy. Someone will get the short end of the stick. I still hold out hope for you that maybe the Steck/McC folks will have to travel a bit farther so you can have a decent commute. (Sorry if I made any Steck/McC folks mad) Every time you pull a school and change things, it just makes it worse for another school, so yes, all we are doing is sharing the pain, shifting the pain, or bearing the pain, but we are definitely not eliminating the pain.

[doctorwho]

sleeplessinnpvl said:

doctorwho said:

And that is supposed to make me feel better ? All it does is make me feel for SB - and say the plan is even worse than ones currently floating around.

My goal is not to make someone else have more of the same pain already lined up for us -- so I fail to follow your logic. Telling my kids hey, you bus ride sucks but someone else has an even worse one than you helps no one.

Actually, I was being sarcastic. I wasn't assuming you would really be happy. Someone will get the short end of the stick. I still hold out hope for you that maybe the Steck/McC folks will have to travel a bit farther so you can have a decent commute. (Sorry if I made any Steck/McC folks mad) Every time you pull a school and change things, it just makes it worse for another school, so yes, all we are doing is sharing the pain, shifting the pain, or bearing the pain, but we are definitely not eliminating the pain.

I am glad to hear it was sarcasm -- nerves are very raw over this whole thing, so not easy to spot humor right now

[Arch]

sleeplessinnpvl said:

doctorwho said:

And that is supposed to make me feel better ? All it does is make me feel for SB - and say the plan is even worse than ones currently floating around.

My goal is not to make someone else have more of the same pain already lined up for us -- so I fail to follow your logic. Telling my kids hey, you bus ride sucks but someone else has an even worse one than you helps no one.

Actually, I was being sarcastic. I wasn't assuming you would really be happy. Someone will get the short end of the stick. I still hold out hope for you that maybe the Steck/McC folks will have to travel a bit farther so you can have a decent commute. (Sorry if I made any Steck/McC folks mad) Every time you pull a school and change things, it just makes it worse for another school, so yes, all we are doing is sharing the pain, shifting the pain, or bearing the pain, but we are definitely not eliminating the pain.

If going to the farthest of 3 HS's is OK, then perhaps SB can join us at MV and let Steck/McC folks stay put so we're not spreading it around more than it needs to be. We can all enjoy the morning glory of a northbound commute each morning. Maybe they can even pass notes between buses at the red lights.

Looked at another way, that would be one way to thank Mr. Spangler for stopping the quick-take that he took a lot of credit for. What better reward than to go to the new location?

[sleeplessinnpvl]

We obviously want a proposal that will be as fair to everyone AS IT CAN. I would like to see the board look at the long commutes. At Neuqua, it is probably currently Builta but there is nothing that can be done there to fix that. At WV, it could end up to be Petersen. Their total commute would be X miles. So I think the board should look at nearby communities currently at Neuqua and see if they could fit them into WV so that Petersen could go to NV. That, in my book, would be Welch or Fry. So now, if Petersen goes to NV, the next longest commute would be, say, Fry with y miles. Then they need to see if someone else could fit in with a better commute. If it was Welch, then maybe they replace Fry. If it's not do-able, then Welch remains at NV. Then they repeat that process with MV. If Steck and Mc Carty do have shorter commutes to MV, then they probably should be considered. I know they have walkers so maybe it's not an option, but it should be explored. At least then whoever is stuck with the short stick knows that it is the best option given the circumstances and not just random filling of schools with "who cares about their commute."

[confused]

sleeplessinnpvl said:

We obviously want a proposal that will be as fair to everyone AS IT CAN. I would like to see the board look at the long commutes. At Neuqua, it is probably currently Builta but there is nothing that can be done there to fix that. At WV, it could end up to be Petersen. Their total commute would be X miles. So I think the board should look at nearby communities currently at Neuqua and see if they could fit them into WV so that Petersen could go to NV. That, in my book, would be Welch or Fry. So now, if Petersen goes to NV, the next longest commute would be, say, Fry with y miles. Then they need to see if someone else could fit in with a better commute. If it was Welch, then maybe they replace Fry. If it's not do-able, then Welch remains at NV. Then they repeat that process with MV. If Steck and Mc Carty do have shorter commutes to MV, then they probably should be considered. I know they have walkers so maybe it's not an option, but it should be explored. At least then whoever is stuck with the short stick knows that it is the best option given the circumstances and not just random filling of schools with "who cares about their commute."

I agree with you on this point, that if Fry or Welch is made to go to WV although they sit right next to NV and are walkers, then the same should apply to the schools closest to WV - they should go to MV. If the SB is going to send Watts to MV, since they are far from everything, then they should apply the same logic at NV. Springbrook is already far from NV and already on a bus and they would be contiguous with Owen. I don't think it's a fair drive for either, but I think the standard needs to be consistent.

[Arch]

www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=55950

Send them to the new location to celebrate it not being a "land grab"

[sleeplessinnpvl]

confused said:

I agree with you on this point, that if Fry or Welch is made to go to WV although they sit right next to NV and are walkers, then the same should apply to the schools closest to WV - they should go to MV. If the SB is going to send Watts to MV, since they are far from everything, then they should apply the same logic at NV. Springbrook is already far from NV and already on a bus and they would be contiguous with Owen. I don't think it's a fair drive for either, but I think the standard needs to be consistent.

I don't think poor Owen is contiguous with anything. Maybe the southeast tip of Watts. If you look on an elementary school boundary map, the eastern part of Owen is surrounded on the north and east by Dist. 203 and by the Springbrook Forest Preserve on the west and south. They are truly their own little island. The thing that would be the least painful for Owen east is to go to WV with Watts. Those three out there are very separate and have a lot of non-residential stuff around them. I also don't think SB is contiguous with Owen because of the forest preserve either but that's getting off the point. I personally wish all three of these schools (Owen, Watts and Cowl) could go together as a group.

[lacy]

sleeplessinnpvl said:

We obviously want a proposal that will be as fair to everyone AS IT CAN. I would like to see the board look at the long commutes. At Neuqua, it is probably currently Builta but there is nothing that can be done there to fix that. At WV, it could end up to be Petersen. Their total commute would be X miles. So I think the board should look at nearby communities currently at Neuqua and see if they could fit them into WV so that Petersen could go to NV. That, in my book, would be Welch or Fry. So now, if Petersen goes to NV, the next longest commute would be, say, Fry with y miles. Then they need to see if someone else could fit in with a better commute. If it was Welch, then maybe they replace Fry. If it's not do-able, then Welch remains at NV. Then they repeat that process with MV. If Steck and Mc Carty do have shorter commutes to MV, then they probably should be considered. I know they have walkers so maybe it's not an option, but it should be explored. At least then whoever is stuck with the short stick knows that it is the best option given the circumstances and not just random filling of schools with "who cares about their commute."

I think if Petersen (who is farther from NVHS from Fry), goes to NVHS and Fry goes to WVHS, the s*it will hit the fan down here.

If they decide to make 59 the boundary they will have to take all of Petersen (Tamarack too) and Fry.

Taking Welch instead makes more sense from the middle school perspective and would be consistent with a boundary line drawn east/west which it looks like what they're doing in the north.

[sleeplessinnpvl]

archwinsome said:

www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=55950

Send them to the new location to celebrate it not being a "land grab"

I know I am getting off topic here, but since Arch brought up the quick take misfortune, can anyone who is knowledgeable on this subject guess what the status of things would be today if the SB HAD gotten quick take proceedings at that particular point in time? We would have been granted access to the land, right? I'm not up on this but would we have started building structures without knowing the final price tag? If so, huge financial irresponsibility on the part of the district.

[sleeplessinnpvl]

lacy said:

I think if Petersen (who is farther from NVHS from Fry), goes to NVHS and Fry goes to WVHS, the s*it will hit the fan down here.

If they decide to make 59 the boundary they will have to take all of Petersen (Tamarack too) and Fry.

Taking Welch instead makes more sense from the middle school perspective and would be consistent with a boundary line drawn east/west which it looks like what they're doing in the north.

I agree with you lacy. For some reason, Fry and Petersen seem to be joined at the hip and it must be because of the Rt. 59 thing. So Welch going is the next logical thing, at least to me. For the southern part, it solves the Plainfield people's long commute time and doesn't make anyone else have a laughable commute. Now if we could just solve the northern problem.

[pof2]

I agree that Welch is a definate candidate to go to WV..they would also switch to the WV Gold MS which helps the overcrowding at Scullen. Woodlake which is just south of Stillwater could remain at NV since they are probably the "true walkers"...not that walker or non-walker is even in the priorities for setting boundaries

[concerned]

I agree with lacy and pof2. Welch should also be considered to go to WV.

[gatordog]

momof156graders said:

Thanks for the capacity info! Looks like this option could work. The northern middle schools would still be crowded, but as a whole the district would improve it's overcrowding, and still keep middle schools together.

These numbers are based on the current enrollment numbers on the district website.

Elem. school Current pop. Middle school

Waubonsie Valley High School
Steck 663 Still
Owen 561 Still STILL ENROLLMENT =920
Georgetown 615 Still
Gombert 528 W. Gold
Springbrook 667 W. Gold W. GOLD ENROLLMENT = 887
White Eagle 579 W. Gold
Total Students = 2,408 (using 2/3 the elementary population)

Neaqua Valley High School
Builta 705 Gregory
Clow 491 Gregory GREGORY ENROLLMENT = 970
Patterson 745 Gregory
Welch 833 Scullen SCULLEN ENROLLMENT = 852
Fry 871 Scullen
Graham 666 Crone
Kendall 710 Crone CRONE ENROLLMENT =855
Peterson 444 Crone
Total Students = 3,643* (using 2/3 the elementary population)
*This leaves room for growth in the Peterson, and Builta communities

Metea Valley High School
McCarty 673 Granger
Young 741 Granger GRANGER ENROLLMENT = 1038
Brooks 662 Granger
Brookdale 481 Hill
Longwood 477 Hill HILL ENROLLMENT = 1045
Cowlishaw 595 Hill
Watts 538 Hill
Total Students =2,778 (using 2/3 the elementary population)

Clear boundaries, not as many changes, and no split elementary or middle schools.
I see Longwood Elementary is currently over capacity, and Brooks has room to grow, maybe if some of Longwood went to Brooks, and then for middle school went to Granger that could help. It would help the numbers, and seems to be closer proximity for the southwest portion of the Longwood area. Just a thought!

Thank you for posting this, momof156. This is a good piece of work.

I have to say, I think this highlights in my mind the problems with the SW.

1) If you want Fry and/or Peterson to be at NV, you have to make a tough choice on who leaves. In this case its SB. Others have suggested Welch.
2) If you have all the high future growth areas concentrated at NV (Peterson, Kendall, Builta), there is a real danger of over crowding NV. We dont want to build a new school to address overcrowding, and then by boundary plans force one of the schools to be overcapacity. Or trigger future painful boundary reshuffling. To quantify this, assume district grows by 1200 HS students (from your 8800 HS enrollments-thats low already- to 10,000). If 80% are in those three ES areas plus the other NV schools (from growth projections last boundaries), then your NV enrollment grows to >4400

As a district, we have to think long and hard on these two things: is that reasonable and fair?