Miscellaneous Items

First off, kudos to phillyburbs.com and their new homepage.




Let's also remember that the PSSA testing is taking place over the next few days.

There's five districts that exceeded the 4.4% cap. Morrisville, as we know, is not one of them.

The Bucks County Technical School budget is out. Fulminations from the Stop the Schoolers to follow!

Complete breakdown of communication causes major issue with school construction! Correction: Oopsie corrected with media coverage attached. Check out the reader comments to complete the hilarity.

Education Articles of Note

The CSI crew won't be adding any new techs from the Las Vegas/Clark County Schools System anytime soon.
91% + 87% + 88% = FAILED

But...do we need to know this anyway?
What is the Rationale for Requiring Higher Mathematics Proficiency for All K-12 Students?

And why did we do so poorly?
It’s not easy to understand why students perform dismally on high school standard math tests

Starting over from scratch is easier than rebuilding and restoring?
Vallas: New Orleans is a breeze

At Least We're An Example

Here's a letter from today's BCCT regarding the new William Tennent High School. Sounds like someone has seen the long term effects of our bad decisions here in Morrisville. I'll post the direct link shortly.

The right decision

I believe that, in our great country, governments at all levels should operate as constitutional republics, wherein elected officials govern the people as opposed to direct democracies wherein the elected officials are bound by the so-called will of the people as oftentimes expressed by referendums.
In theory — at least at the local level, certainly not at the federal level — I wouldn’t have a big problem with a referendum vote as long as the electorate was informed of the facts surrounding the issue at hand and understood the facts and voted accordingly as opposed to voting based on emotion or self-interest or to follow a party line. I’m not big on anarchy or mob rule!
I have witnessed cases where the voting public was purposely given false information promulgated by a vocal minority of community members that resulted in the defeat of a worthwhile referendum in one case, and the passing of a very questionable, if not detrimental referendum in another case.
Regarding the construction of a new William Tennent High School,all the facts indicate that it is in the best interest of everyone concerned that a new building be constructed, as opposed to renovating the existing building or, as some have suggested, do nothing. Since people tend to vote with their wallets, a referendum asking for approval to raise their school tax would likely be rejected by the residents of the Centennial School District. In this case compliance with the will of the people would be a tragedy.
Robert A. Shaffer Upper Southampton

Documents Now Available

The rather incoherent and poorly written defeasement defense documents are available at the district website. Considering that the defeasement was approved January 30 and actually done in February, the documents are available on a timetable similar to the meeting minutes.

Also available is the proposed 2008-2009 budget.

Here's the district's strategery plan too.

Discussion?

Residents may see lower taxes

The BCCT today covers the budgetary aspect of Wednesday night's slugfest and headlines the story as "Residents may see lower taxes." Note the "may" in the headline. That's only because it's a proposed budget. The "may" there does not really apply. The correct word is "will." That's why the Emperor and His Court of Toadies exist.

I'm sure that if commonwealth law allowed it, the budget would start out something like this: We have decreed that the taxes are absolutely lowered in this, the first Royal Budget Proclamation released in the first Year of the Reign of William I, over all the Dominions and Countries which then did, or thereafter should belong, to the Imperial Educational Crown of this Realm.

I love the way royalty sure can speak the lingo goodly!

We've discussed this before, and the lower taxes are a certainty. The actual amount was the only variable. And I welcome it. Lord knows how much I cringe each month as that escrow payment goes out. Keeping in mind the story told Wednesday evening by one of the seniors in the audience, I know the folks on fixed incomes welcome it as well.

Echoing Ed Frankenfield for a moment though, what's the plan? Lower the taxes, and then what? "Shhh...", says the Emperor. "It's a secret."

My cloudy, cracked, and overused crystal ball sees what's next. Tell me if you agree.

In the first year, the bond money is returned, the taxes are lowered, and the Emperor basks in the general huzzahs and acclamations. As a result of this popularity, there is a general exodus of talented people from the district as well. Lily pads will be installed in the district offices as loyal toadies receive the jobs they were promised.

In year 2, it's much harder. The three schools are still here, and without an overall strategy (as in the Frankenfield plea for a plan), money is thrown left and right at issues and problems. All of a sudden, the money used to repair something yesterday becomes meaningless as it now has to be replaced today. The budget, well folded, spindled, and mutilated, has no room for the expansion to cover the rising expenses that we all face. Where does the money come from? Glad you asked.

Watch November 2009. There will be a general election that will have four board seats up (depending of course, on the primary results from the previous May), but there will be a referendum on the ballot to raise the taxes because they were lowered too much this year. And when the referendum fails, then what?

Yes, I did say that taxes are being lowered too much. Without an overall plan in place, there is no real way to plan for the future and how to pay for it. This is no different than the idiots who took out home mortgages without a clear plan on how to actually pay for them. We're all paying for the home mortgage mess. And we're going to all pay for the penny-wise and pound-foolish follies right here at home.

And then all local control will be stripped from Morrisville. The Hellmann dream of having the state come in will finally be fulfilled. We'll be mandated to do certain things and pay certain costs. And there will be no one to complain to.

Update on Ed Frankenfield

I received this message and the poster asked that it be spread out to the public. Please consider dropping Ed a line. He has come through for all of the people of Morrisville. Despite the "shame on you" catcalls the other night from some of the duller witted people in the crowd, Ed has a vision and sees a future for this little town and all of us together.

I'd like to request that you put this information up as a post, please.
Ed Frankenfield is in the ICU at Frankford Hospital (Oxford Valley).
I spoke with his wife, Pat and she said he'll probably be in the
hospital for a while as he's fighting a bad case of pneumonia. It
would be great if we can get a Santa-bag of Get Well cards mailed to
Ed's house. The address is 613 Crown St., Morrisville, 19067.

--Some believe there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills -- against misery, against ignorance, or injustice and violence. Yet many of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the Protestant reformation, a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth, and a young woman reclaimed the territory of France. It was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and 32 year old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that all men are created equal. ‘Give me a place to stand,’ said Archimedes, ‘and I will move the world.’ These men moved the world, and so can we all. - Robert F. Kennedy

March Business Meeting News

Any updates from last night's meeting?

Dear Abby

I received this email today and I thought I would leave it to the audience to answer the question posed.

Hello,

I was reading your blog and found it very interesting. My fiancé' and I are contemplating buying a house in Morrisville. I don't know much about Morrisville other than it's close to Princeton, where I work. Your blog makes it seem like Morrisville is, well simply, a mess. The taxes are high and the school system, which is not on par with others in the region show's no sign of improvement. So, would you recommend that a young couple with a 8 month of child move to Morrisville?

Thanks.

Dear Reader,

I can understand why this blog would appear to make Morrisville appear to be a mess. There's some validity to that statement. I would compare Morrisville to a maturing teenager where the process is somewhat messy and painful, but will ultimately be successful. Right now is the messy and painful part.

This is a great place to raise a family. I've been here for quite a while now and I'm glad I made the choice to live here for my family's sake. My children are receiving a good grounding and education at the high school. They received a very good education at the elementary schools. The town seems ready to move forward (hopefully) with a downtown revitalization program that will ultimately lead to a much more prosperous Morrisville.

Williamson Park is a great place to take the children to play. Check out Imagination Island. It was built by the hard work and dedication of community volunteers, damaged by fire, and rebuilt better than before. There are many, many other opportunities available. Yes. Come. Explore Morrisville and see the opportunities and join the team making Morrisville better. Do not let the actions of a few unhappy people stop you.

Yeah, But Could Rich Little Do It Better?

Here's an interesting item. An impression of the Emperor, as performed by an aspiring impersonator. It's as haughty, disdainful, and dismissive a performance as the original. So?

Speaking of the original, come on out tonight to Wednesday Night Live, starring Bill Hellmann and eight other rather insignificant and minor cast members. The warm ups start at 6:30 with the Education Committee and at 7:00 with the Human Resources Committee. Both of those meetings are in the G-Hall conference room.

This is followed by the full show at 7:30 in the LGI. Bill's topics tonight include waffling on the $2.4 million dollars he spent to save the district, and seeking to remove the superintendent, Dr. Yonson, and the facilities director, Tim Lastichen. It looks like Mr. Lastichen is going to be the ceremonial scapegoat to take on all of the sins of the past boards for failing to fund proper maintenance.

We're also going to go ahead and use the $2500 Hellmann Buildings Report to fund repairs. This might be a problem as Robin Reithmeyer has already shown that once this item was defeated at the February meeting, it needs to be off the schedule for three months before it can be reintroduced. (Memo to Emperor: You really needed to have an item in the agenda rescinding the rule before introducing the repairs item.)

Finally, we're going to approve some of the minutes outstanding since Marlys Mihok assumed the secretarial office. It doesn't seem like this is all of them though.

Come on out and join the fun. Come out and SUPPORT YOUR KIDS!

Or Maybe Sheepish School Board Members?

Has anyone found out ANYTHING specific about the $2.4 million toilet flush yet? Have any of the other eight lemmings even squeaked public disapproval since the last business meeting about the lack of information provided to the public?

Considering all factors, I'm guessing the information will be released at 7:29 P.M. tomorrow night, just in time to proudly say "We released it before the meeting." This is the public equivalent of a report in the board packet two hours before the meeting, and would also effectively silence the public commenting that would ensue for at least another two to four weeks.

Isn't anyone else tired of the silliness?

MHS Students Working in Community

Those horrible MHS kids (you know, the ones we want to farm away?) are at it again.

Morrisville students collect sneakers to help families in Africa

Do you have some sneakers hanging around unused at home? Donate them to Morrisville High School students, who are collecting them to help families in need in Africa.
The money from refurbishing and selling the sneakers would help pay for livestock, wells and other essential resources. It would help families create a perpetually sustainable income through the tools that the sneaker money would buy.
So far, National Honors Society advisor Elizabeth Glaum-Lathbury has collected about 20 pairs in her classroom. She’s working with the middle school service advisor and said she expects the Sneakers for Africa initiative to bring in more than 600 pairs by the end of the school year.

The High Cost of Repairs

My commute was impacted rather severely by the innocent yen for a sausage sandwich that was experienced by a PennDOT engineer, yet the Inquirer today talks about an even larger bill to repair and maintain the 50-year old U.S. Interstate Highway System.

Sounds like the Morrisville school system, except that thousands of commuters do not use the school here, just a few kids that we can safely farm out. Who cares what those kids and their parents think: Just lower my taxes!

For the people who voted in the Stop the School candidates, let's re-ask the question I've been posing: What's Next?? It's pretty clear that you voted to lower your taxes. Have they dropped yet? Well, fast on the heels of the $2.4 million dollar squander to give back the bond money, it's nearly time for the Emperor's budget to be unveiled.

The budget and your taxes will be a bit lower, I'm sure. But how much? And what will we have to show for it? The $4.5 million dollar open-air sports complex pretty much looks like it used to, except that the grass grows a little faster due to the dumping of post-board meeting waste in the fields. Expect for the grass to be REALLY green around the time the budget comes out.

Just imagine...you're still paying the same taxes, but if the school had been allowed to be built, it would be just about half completed. For all the distress about the high taxes and how the school would bankrupt us, I guess you were right. We still have the high taxes, and the cost of the school that never was is bankrupting us.

Oh The Comments I Receive...Part 2

Sorry to take everyone's time up with housekeeping details, but I've received several responses so far to the anonymous posting and comment I discussed earlier, and several of them are probably not the person I want to talk to.

If you are the anonymous commenter who left me a detailed response, please, go to Google or Yahoo, or another free emailer, create a fictitious email for yourself, and drop me a line at savethemorrisvilleschool@yahoo.com so that we can communicate in some sort of real time. To prove you are really the same person, you mentioned a person's name in the 3rd paragraph of your reply. Please mention that name again.

Don't Hold Your Breath Waiting for the Answer

A letter from the BCCT today:

How can they run a school if they can’t run a meeting?

Regarding the Feb. 27 meeting of the Morrisville school board: I found it interesting that in the public comment portion of the meeting, when people were trying to figure out why it would cost so much to dissolve the $30 million bond, board President William Hellmann said, “It is too complicated to explain here.”

He did make an offer to explain it in private.

How as a resident and taxpayer can I get that information — and the explanation should be public record and explained at a board meeting in detail.

The new school board ran on a platform to save money and now it will cost the borough another $2.4 million (as reported in the Feb. 28 Bucks County Courier Times). This “new” board and its president showed that they cannot conduct a proper meeting — how are they going to run a school? Has the board ever read the Morrisville schools mission statement?

Hellmann has created a new fiefdom in Morrisville.He continues to go around the board members by acting on his own with his own agenda, as pointed out by several board members and by the board’s legal council, Thomas Kelly.

I applaud Robin Reithmeyer, Edward Frankenfield and Joseph Kemp for not following Hellmann and the other members of the board and actually speaking their mind for the good of the children and the residents of the borough.

The question that we have no answer to as of yet is, “What is the plan for the schools in Morrisville Borough?” Does anyone see that we are in a Catch-22 here? No school plan = lower property values = more rental properties = less involvement in the community = less tax base = HIGHER TAXES for all. Good schools mean families moving in to the borough and getting involved.

Mr. Hellmann, what is your plan? Please tell us; we are waiting.

David H. Masse` Morrisville

Oh The Comments I Receive...

Going back to the February Job Performance Poll post of February 10, a thread of comments was started on March 16 that I am reposting below.

I have an answer from anonymous addressing peter's comment that is currently pending approval for posting. I generally have no problem posting anonymous comments. This one is rather lengthy and specifies certain areas where there appear to be issues.

Without corroboration or substantiation, I cannot print this reply. If there is something the poster would like to add with some sort of independent proof, I'd be happy to post it. Send me an email at savethemorrisvilleschool@yahoo.com with the details. To prove you are really you, you mentioned a person's name in the 3rd paragraph of your reply. Mention that name when you reply.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone realize that over the past 10 years, almost 10 million was appropriated to address the physical conditions of our school buildings? Yes, all of this for absolutely nothing. Face it, were a big cow that's been getting milked for years through corruption and mis-managment but it is politically incorrect or people are the scared to speak of it. Good concerned citizens are to busy working 2 jobs to pay attention. So who then runs for the power positions? Yes, the oppertunists. If you divide the total school budget by the TRUE amount of students and compare that cost to state assessment scores, taxpayers should be outraged. Clearly, as much as it may hurt some, Mr. Stout is absolutely correct.
March 16, 2008 2:22 PM

Peter said...

anonymous said...

"Does anyone realize that over the past 10 years, almost 10 million was appropriated to address the physical conditions of our school buildings? Yes, all of this for absolutely nothing. Face it, were a big cow that's been getting milked for years through corruption and mis-managment but it is politically incorrect or people are the scared to speak of it. Good concerned citizens are to busy working 2 jobs to pay attention. So who then runs for the power positions? Yes, the oppertunists. If you divide the total school budget by the TRUE amount of students and compare that cost to state assessment scores, taxpayers should be outraged. Clearly, as much as it may hurt some, Mr. Stout is absolutely correct."

Anonymous, I'd really like to understand your position. I have a few questions:

[1] What corruption and/or mis-management are you speaking of? I'm not saying none exists, or has existed, but what specifically do you mean?

[2] Why do you feel opportunists run for the "power positions?" I can only speak for myself, but I really had the best of intentions, to serve our town as best I could and do what I thought was best. I can think of several others that have also served on the school board and I believe their intentions were pure as well. I'm not sure what personal gain you think we get from this.

[3] I do agree that our cost per student is high. I also know that we have areas that require improvement. I'm not sure that makes Mr. Stoudt right, though.
March 16, 2008 9:43 PM

Are You Sure This Isn't From Morrisville?

When the words "Residents Are Split..." show up in the headline, I assume that our intrepid BCCT reporters have just come from another Palmer Avenue free for all session.

However, this time it's our brethren in Neshaminy where the fight is over closing some schools to save money. The only real difference between this fight and ours in Morrisville is that the Neshaminy students would remain inside their own district. The Morrisville school closure would scatter the students to the lowest bidder.

Otherwise, it's the same fight. Senior citizens want the board to close schools to ease growing tax bills. Kids and parents want the schools to stay open.

Take a look at the comments from the BCCT readership. Looks like another contentious schools fight is brewing in Lower Bucks.

Residents are split on closing schools

By RACHEL CANELLI
Bucks County Courier Times

To many Neshaminy students, parents and teachers, a school isn't just people - it's a place they call home.

That's what some educators, parents and pupils told the Neshaminy school board Friday night when more than a few hundred people turned out for two public hearings to discuss the possible closure of Neshaminy Middle School and the Tawanka Learning Center, the district's alternative program facility.

That program would be moved to another district building, officials said. But kids and teachers said it's important that Tawanka have its own separate place.

“I strongly believe that the program will not be as effective in any other setting,” said senior Katie Colon. “It's a tremendous difference to go to school where the hallways are never crowded, and the classrooms are safe and inviting.”

The edifice, built in 1964, and its 21 acres, could be worth $4.25 million officials said.

“My fear is that students will return to the very environment where they felt unknown and unwanted,” said teacher Josh Krieger.

Many senior citizens, though, asked the district to consider closing both schools to help ease their burden of growing tax bills.

With declining enrollment, underutilized buildings and a projected more than $12 million deficit, business administrator Joseph Paradise said the district has to consider closing schools.

Neshaminy Middle School was previously scheduled to close next year when ninth-graders move to the newly renovated high school. The board recently decided to reconsider this year as an option due to financial constraints and a strict timeline.

But students asked the board to wait one more year.

“We're searching for our identities,” said Jacqueline Kramer, an eighth-grader at Maple Point Middle School who presented the board with a petition of 260 students opposing the closure. “If our schools are combined, we'll be lost in the crowd.”

Both educators and parents like Fran Weiner said they're concerned the board is rushing into the decision to close a middle school and redistrict without planning.

“Allow the ninth-graders to finish in the school they started,” said Weiner, of Langhone.

With more than 660 students, Neshaminy Middle was built in 1965. The school, nationally recognized for its health initiatives, has 47 classrooms and 40 acres, officials said.

Teacher Kevin Knowles called Neshaminy Middle School a community that's created a tradition of culture and achievement.

“It's more than just a building, you'll be closing the spirit of our school,” said ninth-grader Mark Stanford.

Students also expressed concern over continuing extracurricular activities at another school and asked for the chance to have one last great year in their building.

In anticipation of a possible closure, a redistricting committee has already been formed of board members, administrators and parents. Their recommendation is expected in May, administrators said.

The school board did not make any decisions Friday night to close either facility because school code mandates that 90 days pass before they vote.

Schoolyard Bullying

I found some of these articles and links fascinating. Just wish I could remember why I was drawn to them...

Expert Answers on Workplace Bullying

Workplace Bullying: What Can You Do?

The Workplace Bullying Institute, WBI

Agenda Meeting Wrap-Up

I usually start this out by asking if anyone has anything to report. The first report is in! Thanks jon.

Any news to report from tonight's agenda meeting? I heard the following has made the agenda for the March 26 board meeting - whose theme should be "We've learned nothing, except how to punish anyone who disagrees with us or tries to tell us things we don't want to hear":

1. Hiring law firm Curtin & Heefer to review Dr. Yonson's contract;
2. Replacing Solicitor Robert Kelly;
3. Replacing the district's insurance broker.

Attempts were also made to put on the agenda the ~$200,000 in repairs to the Middle-High School that failed in a 3-3 vote at last month's meeting. But Robin Reithmeyer pointed out that the rules say this (and other items that failed at last month's meeting), can't be put back on the agenda for 3 months. Rules? We don't need no stinkin' rules!

Can't wait until everyone takes the "How to be a School Board Member" class at taxpayer expense - then things will be just grand...

Let's watch the rules get speedily changed at the next meeting in item 4a so that the repairs can be done in item 4b. It's school safety! Don't you care about the children?? *sigh*.

Wasn't the Emperor "doing lunch" with the insurance broker candidates mano-a-mano last month in violation of board rules? Did anyone call him on this?

Anyone else? Anything about the survey? Anything about the $2.4 million dollar toilet flush? Anything about Marlys and her magical writing skills?

Now What?

You talkin' to me?

Yeah. I'm talkin' to you.

If you're angry, irritated, infuriated, exasperated, aggravated, upset, wound up, bothered, maddened, frustrated, displeased, provoked, riled, incensed, cheesed off, put out, hacked off, narked, ticked off, dissatisfied, discontented, disaffected, displeased; fretful, complaining, querulous, pettish, testy, petulant, cranky; chafed, annoyed, piqued, vexed, aggravated, amplified, angry, anxious, augmented, beset, bothered, browned-off, bugged, burnt-up, chafed, deliberately provoked, distressed, disturbed, embarrassed, embittered, enhanced, enlarged, exacerbated, exasperated, galled, griped, harassed, heated up, heightened, hotted up, huffy, inconvenienced, increased, intensified, irked, irritated, magnified, miffed, nettled, peeved, perturbed, piqued, plagued, provoked, put-out, put to it, puzzled, resentful, riled, roiled, ruffled, sore beset, soured, troubled, vexed, worried, worse, worsened, or something else in that general mood, then you're exactly the one I want to talk to.

The problem is that I need you to take action. Are you ready? Thanks to jon for providing this comprehensive list of the Hellmann Administration's successes so far:

1. Hire a note-taker for Marlys;
2. Pay back this year's portion of the $2.4 million bond defeasement costs;
3. Pay this year's costs to switch banks to satisfy Bill Hellmann's vendetta against the original bond broker, if he succeeds at next month's meeting in passing the vote, provided his buddies Marlys, Al, & Gloria are there this time to bail him out);
4. Pay for the $2,500 flimsy unauthorized study Hellmann unilaterally commissioned on the Middle-High School;
5. Pay for $8,000 in similar flimsy studies Hellmann wants to do on the elementary schools, if he succeeds at next month's meeting in passing the vote, provided his buddies Marlys, Al, & Gloria are there this time to bail him out);
6. Pay for the ~$200,000 in repairs to the Middle-High School mentioned in the flimsy unauthorized $2,500 study above that Hellmann claimed were safety-related but Dr. Yonson, Reba Dunford, the District's maintenance guy, and about 15 other engineering firms indicated are not - again, if he succeeds at next month's meeting in passing the vote, provided his buddies Marlys, Al, & Gloria are there this time to bail him out);
7. Pay again to fix the doors at MR Reiter that were not fixed properly on the cheap in another unilateral move by Hellmann and will now have to be re-done, at a greater cost than the original estimate.

I know there's more. But isn't this enough?

The parents WILL be shut out of the decision process unless you take action now.

Tell the board you are disgusted with their antics so far. You can do it by email or by telling them face to face at one of the opportunities listed below:

**Parent Advisory, Tuesday March 11, 6:00 P.M. in the MHS LGI
**Infrastructure and Finance Committee Meetings, Wednesday March 12 at 6:30 and 7:00 P.M. MHS G-Hall conference room.
**Board of Ed Agenda Meeting, Wednesday March 12, 7:30 P.M. MHS LGI
**Education and Human Resources Committee Meetings, Wednesday March 26 at 6:30 and 7:00 P.M. MHS G-Hall conference room.
**Board of Ed Business Meeting, Wednesday March 26, 7:30 P.M. in the MHS LGI

Your silence or inaction gives them the courage to continue their disregard for the parents as an integral part of the education process. Don't let that happen.

Push Polling

Thank you to everyone who has contributed their experiences with the biased push poll that they received from the "school district." As previously noted, the district did not authorize this poll.

So before we take a look at this poll, let's review some of the bias that the phrasing of the questions and the recording of the answers can cause. A great sample of this bias comes from the Non Sequitir comic from Sunday.

A quote that has been attributed to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin goes like this: Those who cast the Votes, they decide nothing. Those who count the votes, they decide everything. A variant translation is: The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything. **Please note: Hold the hate mail. Despite the dictatorial similarities between the Emperor and Stalin, I am not comparing them. Stalin is still far more autocratic than a local school board president.**

So in this case, we answer a biased poll and the desired answers are pulled from the loaded questions already asked. Check out this short video on how to make a biased poll.

For those of you who were not blessed by the postal fairy with a survey, TA-DA! Here it is.

The sound you just heard was a million English teachers crying out in unison in great pain and torment.

Among the misspellings and grammatical errors are "INFARSTRUCTURE" in the title (should be "INFRASTRUCTURE") and return no later "that" 3/17/2008 rather than "than." Question 4 references "formally" rather than "formerly", and also does not capitalize "high school" as in "Morrisville high school."

That's the easy stuff that probably lowers this by at least one grade level. Now for the advanced errors in presentation.

Question 1 sets up the idea that *gasp* we might need a single school to service the approximately 1000 students.

Question 2 addresses the urgent need for plumbing, HVAC, electric and window infrastructure upgrades, as well as an opportunity to determine which one is more important, of if we should do them all together. This sounds like one of those triage scenes from M*A*S*H where Hawkeye and BJ decide who gets to be operated on first and then get into a fight over the diagnosis. The patient is terminal. Almost no amount of renovation will be a cost-effective life saver.

Question 3 goes to the heart of the screaming from the people so concerned that their little 4 year old pre-schoolers would be subjected to 18 year old seniors in the same school building. Do we need one, two, or three buildings in town. For everyone who missed it, the defeated new high school was specifically designed to keep the grades separated in different wings. Now we'll reverse engineer the process on the fly.

Question 4 is the payoff question that you were led to from the first three questions. You already agreed to renovate the high school for 1000 students. You agreed that one or more of the critical systems are failing, and you agreed to fix at least one building. So you are committed to answering yes. You are further committed to closing the two elementary schools OR closing 75% of MHS. How? To "continue as usual" is a ridiculous answer because you already said that we cannot continue along the same path.

You also unknowingly agreed to the fallacious argument that a reduction of 75% in the number of students means that 75% of the school is unused. With this same logic, since we had nine school board members for 4000 students, we should now reduce the board down by 75% and eliminate 6.75 members. Ouch! Sounds like it might be painful to be the designated 1/4 member.

What about the heating costs? We're using oil heat in inefficient boilers with antiquated single pane window glass. Both are well past their useful life and need to be replaced. Just doing the boilers and windows would reduce the heating costs. I'd even like to see floor plans of just what 75% you want to shut off. With the hallway configurations available, show us what is superfluous.

Question 5. My, oh my. There was an audit done in 2008? Perhaps you are referring to the I'll take "Cover The Emperor's Butt" for $2500, Alex hastily prepared defeasement report? If that is an audit, then I want these people working at the IRS for my next audit. You have an RFP out for a real audit that includes poking and prodding into critical systems.

In fairness, we pretty much already know what the audit will find. That we were getting off easily with a $32 million dollar new school. We'll probably find that even with cost overruns, we were getting off easily with a $37 million dollar new school.

There's another issue here as well. Have you ever heard about the the five phases of any project: “Enthusiasm, trouble, search for a scapegoat, punishment of the innocent, and praise and reward for all non-participants”? It looks like the board is setting up one or more scapegoats to accept punishment for the condition of the schools. Maybe they should keep in mind that the political side (the board itself) sets priorities and spending limits and the operational side (the people who actually do the work) work within those limits.

So you want to hire a "skilled facilities director"? With what money? What rich uncle died and left money to the district? Maybe we can ask the secretary to give back her (so far) under-earned stipend to help defray part of the cost. I see a lot of spending going on ($2500 for the Hellman building report, $2.4 million to return the bond money, for example) but I am unclear on the savings that have been achieved so far.

Final thoughts: Where are replies sent? Where is anything identifying this as a product of the MSD? Well, maybe that was a saving grace, because this is an embarrassing contribution to this contentious battle. Is there no one else out there who can obtain the information in a reasonably fair and unbiased way without embarrassing us all?