204TheKids.org Weekly Update

[fence]

archwinsome said:

Stinks, don't confuse "can not afford" with "don't care as much".

I don't buy the "I can't afford it" position. It is more a matter of "we're not giving $xM of our money to THOSE people" sort of reaction that I'm hearing. I think we figured out we're talking about 20-40 bucks a month. That's a couch change investment in keeping our community in a respected position if you want my honest opinion. Anyone who says they can't afford that is not being honest with themselves.

[Avenging Eagle]

fence said:

I don't buy the "I can't afford it" position. It is more a matter of "we're not giving $xM of our money to THOSE people" sort of reaction that I'm hearing. I think we figured out we're talking about 20-40 bucks a month. That's a couch change investment in keeping our community in a respected position if you want my honest opinion. Anyone who says they can't afford that is not being honest with themselves.

Also, its a matter of priorities. In the 3rd best place to raise kids in America(#1 of larger sized cities), we should have a higher priority to spend on a new high school in our situation, instead of patching up existing ones with band-aids, hoping for the best, or allowing our schools to move towards split shifts.

If New Orleans fixed their levy system before Katrina hit, they would not have to spend zillions more in the aftermath.

I'm thinking the time is drawing near when we must all do the following:

• Reach into pocket.
  
• Open wallet.
  
• Shell out some cash in the name of the kids
  

[title1parent]

AMEN !!!

[Arch]

There are plenty of familes near the end of the debt rope that live in the district. I know some who lost their jobs and are floating around between contracts with no health benefits. Don't assume that everyone is a lawyer, doctor, CPA, and that any increase in living expenses is 'couch change'.

Also, comparing this to New Orleans is very bad taste, IMO. How many catagory 4 or 5 hurricaines have you gone through?

Better still, how many people from there did you have shacked up with you who lost everything they owned? I had 2 with me in September.

[stinks]

That's an unfair comment in an attempt to divert the main point.

If people can't afford the extra $20-$50 a month to live in this district to continue to support what makes this district special, then they maybe need to downsize or move to another district.

Harsh, yes. Reality, yes. My boss always says, "if you think that's not fair . . . well, life isn't fair."

[charmant]

If people can't afford the extra $20-$50 a month then they maybe need to downsize or move to another district.

salut I am new to this forum, but not new to this topic.


I believe that people have had enough 'opening their wallets' to fix failure after failure. Fiduciary responsibility is of the utmost importance in order to garner trust with the Dist. 204 public.

I think that people don't believe the School Board anymore and are ready to 'call their bluff'.

[Arch]

It's not unfair and it's not a diversion. Not everyone in the district is rolling in the dough as you seem to think. That's reality. Not everyone in that situation may actually believe that helping to prop up your property value is what makes the district special. That's reality too. There's plenty of people on fixed incomes and have no kids at home. That's reality. This stuff may be your priority but it may not be theirs. That doesn't make your choice any more or less right than theirs.

[admin]

Here the thing about blaming the SB. How many have been there longer than 5 years, how about 3 years? How can we blame the whole board when only 2-3 have been serving since the frosh campus decision?


BTW, we are getting way off topic for this thread. Someone is more than welcome to start a thread in the SB area about this issue.

[forthekids]

charmant said:

If people can't afford the extra $20-$50 a month then they maybe need to downsize or move to another district.

salut I am new to this forum, but not new to this topic.


I believe that people have had enough 'opening their wallets' to fix failure after failure. Fiduciary responsibility is of the utmost importance in order to garner trust with the Dist. 204 public.

I think that people don't believe the School Board anymore and are ready to 'call their bluff'.

This issue is not about believing the school board. It is about space for present and future kids. Past boards may have made mistakes but those mistakes have been in figuring too little enrollment not too much. Why can't you just see past the SB and look at the reality of what we have to work with now and what we need in the future. I hope no one ever questions your every move the way you question the SB. These people work for no pay for the betterment of their community. Get off the backs of the SB, please!

[charmant]

[quote author=forthekids board=school These people work for no pay for the betterment of their community.

These people, volunteered and ran for their positions. The only thing people are forcing them to do is look at all of the options available today and in the future.

[fence]

archwinsome said:

It's not unfair and it's not a diversion. Not everyone in the district is rolling in the dough as you seem to think. That's reality. Not everyone in that situation may actually believe that helping to prop up your property value is what makes the district special. That's reality too. There's plenty of people on fixed incomes and have no kids at home. That's reality. This stuff may be your priority but it may not be theirs. That doesn't make your choice any more or less right than theirs.

$40 a month isn't enough padding to keep someone afloat - its a tank of gas. If you're that close, you'd be upside down with a property value shift and you'd probably be living in an apartment, and the last time I checked they didn't pay PPT. And this is for better or worse an upper middle class area, regardless of a small number of people who might be having difficulty making ends meet. And I'm sorry, but the first thing you're supposed to evaluate when you're in dire straights are your housing expenses. Sometimes life brings you hard choices. That is just a cold hard reality.

And alot of us have parents who are empty nesters on a fixed income. I understand the situation. My parents would stand in line at Jewel literally arguing with the cashier over saving a dime, but still support the education needs of their area because that's just the right thing to do. Just as I support the Senior Presription Drug Plan. I could say it didn't affect me, that I have other problems I need to worry about, and that its too expensive, but I try to look past next week.

I'm not trying to be unsympathetic but saying that this is about money is a smokescreen. There may be people who don't have a ton of dough, but that is the exception and people are just dovetailing on it. To some of those outspoken people in Tallgrass where the houses are a million bucks, it is not about the money, even though they are indignant about saying so.

Someone just stated the real fact - this is all about an issue of trust with the SB. It is not about 40 bucks a month.

[forthekids]

charmant said:

[quote author=forthekids board=school These people work for no pay for the betterment of their community.

These people, volunteered and ran for their positions. The only thing people are forcing them to do is look at all of the options available today and in the future.

Which is exactly what they are doing. As I like to tell most people who complain about volunteers -- if you think you can do a better job, be my guest!

[Arch]

Raised taxes hit the renters too... the owners pass it right along to the consumer.

[charmant]

Not everyone in the district is rolling in the dough as you seem to think. That's reality. That doesn't make your choice any more or less right than theirs.

$40 a month isn't enough padding to keep someone afloat - its a tank of gas.

I don't ever presume to tell people how to spend their money.

I don't spend $40 a month on gas.

I sincerely doubt that this referendum when all is tacked on to it will ever be as cheap as $40 a month.

[admin]

Charmant, you need to put [ quote ] in front of the quote. I have been fixing them so far. Take out spaces


[ quote ] text [ /quote ]