The (Sad) State of FWCS Facilities Plan
Posted by Jeff Pruitt - 5/28/08 @ 12:46 am - Filed Under 2008 Local Elections, Featured, Local Politics
The News Sentinel recently ran a 3-part series on the state of FWCS facilities problems and there were several parts that left me shaking my head after reading it. I’m sure it won’t come as a surprise that I feel the board and the administration have failed in their duties. I think the board requires wholesale change to become functional and aligned with the public will.
Note that when I say “board” I’m typically referring to everyone except Jon Olinger who I feel has done a standup job balancing the educational and financial demands of the community. Kevin Brown has also impressed me at times and yes even Mark GiaQuinta manages a nugget of truth worth contemplating every once in a while. So with those caveats let’s delve into the NS articles.
A big problem with the FWCS budget is that they’ve raided their own Capital Projects Fund to the tune of $8-9 Million/year and placed that money into the Racial Balance Fund. Never mind that this is the only fund of it’s kind in the state, never mind that the Supreme Court struck down similar racial diversity plans, FWCS still thinks this is a wise use of capital project money:
FWCS spokeswoman Krista Stockman said the solution is not as easy as eliminating the racial-balance fund. First, the district lacks the power to do so. Second, even if it did, it wouldn’t want to. “We absolutely don’t want to cut into our programs to fix our buildings,” she said.
I’m not sure the first part of her statement is accurate but the second part is just flat ridiculous. I don’t want to cut into my beer money to pay for gas either but I can’t just bilk a few extra dollars out of the taxpayers now can I? Stockman’s statement sums up the problem with FWCS in a nutshell. They want it all but we’re in an economic environment that forces everyone to make tough decisions - they shouldn’t be immune from that.
Everyone, Code Blue supporters included, felt that the schools needed some work done. But what’s truly disturbing is that the board and the administration have squandered the last 10 months and done absolutely nothing towards defining the next facility project since losing the remonstrance battle last summer. I think board member Kevin Brown sums up this sad state of affairs quite well:
“What were we doing last year?” asked board member Kevin Brown. “We were screaming, ‘Our schools are falling down, and we can’t put your kids in those schools,’ and now it’s a year later and here we are. You can’t say the buildings are falling down and not come back with a new building project a year later.”
This is why we need new leadership at FWCS - politics is trumping safety and eduction. The board and the administration (they’re basically the same thing) could’ve taken $300 Million last year and fixed nearly everything that needed fixing. Instead they chose to go for the gusto and they got nothing. If that bit of poor decision making wasn’t enough to convince you we need new leadership then just look at what’s happening now. The board still hasn’t put forward a new proposal - hell they haven’t even started discussions.
Part of this might be because they’re still getting advice from some of the insanely naive people they listened to before.
“I think one of the problems that we had before is we didn’t paint a picture of the gathering storm,” said John Peirce, leader of the “Write Yellow Right Now” group that supported the project. “Let’s put it out in front of the public.”
Surely he jests. Let me make this clear - FWCS didn’t lose because they ran a poor public relations campaign. They lost because taxpayers aren’t willing to spend $500 million - period. Instead of trying to figure out how to sell a project to the community, why not try something bold and daring such as listening to the public. I bet we can all come to some sort of compromise.
Not all is lost however as it appears some common sense might be creeping into the board’s group-think mentality.
Board President Mark GiaQuinta suggested that a scaled-down proposal covering one or two buildings would be a way to win taxpayers’ trust before resubmitting a districtwide plan.
That’s the most reasonable suggestion I’ve heard in some time. I think the board could get even more than one or two buildings but they have to be willing to engage the community to do so. And nothing should be done until they figure out a way to restore the capital projects fund so we can get this district’s future facility work on a pay-as-you-go basis…
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3 Responses to “The (Sad) State of FWCS Facilities Plan”
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For the last year, the district has been talking about improving their image and their academics with their “balanced scorecard”. That’s fine, but as Kevin Brown’s statement indicates, they’ve had time to do that because the condition of the buildings is nowhere near as desperate as they claim. Cut the crap and the whining and come up with an accurate number for a COST EFFECTIVE fix, not remodeling, of the buildings. Let’s get on with it and work on the test scores.
And with due apologies to Kevin Leininger, I canceled my subscription to the Sentinel.
Jeff - aside from the fact that you make common sense and plain-as-the-nose-on-your-face comments regarding this situation - let me tell you - you’re hilarious!
I don’t want to cut into my beer money to pay for gas either but I can’t just bilk a few extra dollars out of the taxpayers now can I?
This is a classic - classic quote.
It’s good to see/hear that perhaps, a few board members are thinking…
Thanks Kristina! Occasionally a cup of sarcasm with a dash of cynicism can make one’s point better than any alternative…