The Observation Deck

One thing that I have not heard diddly-squat about in all of this school election business is what can constructively be done NOW in order to address and correct the monumental fiasco that we have up at Lakewood High School- where, winter upon winter, hundreds of students, teachers, administrators, and support personnel have to risk their lives, often several times daily, crossing dangerous Franklin Blvd. while carrying schoolbooks, supplies, and equipment out to those "temporary" classrooms across the street and back again.

While the powers-that-be sit and wait for some opportune time, or state money, or whatEVER, in order to complete "Phase III", virtually every student and staff member at the high school must brave intolerable conditions in all types of weather every day, while we wait, and wait, and wait...for the old buildings to be demolished and have new ones built to take their place.

I say, either build a handicapped-accessible enclosed corridor over that street, or re-open the doggone old buildings for now.

We've heard nothing. Nothing at all, to the best of my knowledge, about what our staff and students have had to go through these past years, have we?

I'm all for Lakewood schools, and "building Lakewood's brand", but how Lakewood High School been able to do what's been done so far has been amazing, because as far as I'm concerned, the "outdoor learning experience" with running Franklin's gauntlet, that our community has put Lakewood's students and attending staff through every single school day at the high school, has just been a disgrace.

Better schools, improved buildings and programs for the students?

We can't even keep a roof over their heads.

Or at the very least please allow our children to wear coats with hoods or hoodies while crossing the street. Please allow them to cover their heads in bad weather.

Gary--- Kristine Pagsuyoin has consistently and constantly from the beginning of this campaign put completion of the high school as her top priority. She has stated it in her many pieces of campaign literature which have been distributed door to door for over a half a year. She has stated it at all the block parties which she has attended over the summer and fall months. She has stated it at all the candidates forums. And, in her many one on one contacts with parents and concerned Lakewood citizens, she has stated that top priority.

And----- I got a sneaking suspicion she's gonna get on the Deck shortly and say it one more time------finish the danged high school!!!!!!!!

Stan

Stan Austin wrote:Gary--- Kristine Pagsuyoin has consistently and constantly from the beginning of this campaign put completion of the high school as her top priority. She has stated it in her many pieces of campaign literature which have been distributed door to door for over a half a year. She has stated it at all the block parties which she has attended over the summer and fall months. She has stated it at all the candidates forums. And, in her many one on one contacts with parents and concerned Lakewood citizens, she has stated that top priority.

And----- I got a sneaking suspicion she's gonna get on the Deck shortly and say it one more time------finish the danged high school!!!!!!!!

Stan

Hi all,

Since I imagine that Kristine is pretty busy today, I thought I'd come on an post what she's said about FINISHING THE HIGH SCHOOL.

This is in response to Scott Meeson, on October 22, 2011, in the "Just How Reliable Are the Schools Financial Forecasts" thread at
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=10485



Hi Scott,

Thanks for giving me the chance to clarify my position. No. We shouldn’t, and can’t, complete Phase 3. My position is that we make finishing the high school a priority (another candidate has said repeatedly that we must "finish the '50-year Committee Plan'").

We are not able to move the entire Phase 3 in its current form forward—here’s why. All along, the funding that we were supposed to receive from the OSFC (Ohio School Facilities Commission) was only going to cover part of the cost of the Phase 3 plan. That is, finishing the second half of the high school and rebuilding/renovating 2 out of the 3 remaining elementary schools. When our school board made the decision in 2009 regarding Phase 3 we were “locked-in” with the OSFC for the amount of funds we were awarded for two years. Then, the waiting started for our number to come up to receive those funds. However, our number didn't come up.


In fact, Lakewood has received the new rankings and we are further down the list than we were before. Now, we will need to be re-evaluated by the OSFC. They will look at our enrollment and other criteria to figure out what they will fund. In other words, the Phase 3 facilities plan is on hold indefinitely. I am going to guess that any funding we would receive will be less than we originally anticipated. Too much has changed since the Phase 3 decision. The OSFC will re-evaluate our plan and so the new school board must re-visit Phase 3.



Typically, when we talk about funding problems we automatically jump to figuring out what should be cut. I think it is important to first ask the question, “Where should we invest?” I think investing in finishing the high school is a good investment for our community. Research is early on this issue, but there are studies that show that school facilities can have a positive impact on local economic development, and may help to increase student achievement. Do we really want an unfinished high school sitting in our community for the next 7-10 years? We can choose to wait to see if the state will give us money. If we do, the cost of the project will only get more expensive. What will be the long-term cost to our community and students with continuing to wait? Our current 2nd graders might not start as freshmen with a finished high school. Our high school should be the gem of our district. I think an unfinished high school is unappealing to families who are looking to move to our community, and may be a possible reason for students to choose to attend high school elsewhere.


As we move our district forward in these challenging times, we are are going to have to figure out, as a community, what we value and where we want to invest. If we begin to view funding problems as possible opportunities: investments, revenue generating ideas, creating community oversight, collaborating with businesses, etc. then I think levies will still pass. Do you agree that we cannot keep relying on levies and state money? Here’s our chance to make (and demand) changes. It won’t change overnight. We have a long road ahead. However, it isn’t acceptable to allow our high school to remain they way it is now.

Kristine

I hope that SOMEONE will exercise the leadership necessary to get these kids in out of the cold. They would certainly be a real hero or heroine to many people.

To use a well-worn expression-

The paradigm is ever-shifting in life, and in the case of local public school districts, they are being confronted with ever more somber financial and educational realities. Like it or not, they are being forced to be more competitive. Between school choice, home schooling, the charter movement, and more and more online educational opportunities, public schools are discovering that children are starting to leave in droves, and they are taking public money with them too.

I am a long-time supporter of the fundamental concept of public schools, but I'd be the first to say that there are changes in the air. Whether "fair or not", first of all, more and more of our tax dollars have flown downstate to Columbus. Unfunded and underfunded mandates have also bled our public schools raw, as this or that edict has come down from on high without sufficient means to pay for what is being demanded from the local districts by law.

A HUGE sum of money is already leaving our district annually to pay for Lakewood school children whose parents have already chosen alternative settings for their children's education.

We'd better fix up that high school, and do so quickly, or there may not be that many students left to fill it. They need to be under a roof all day too.

Even concentration camps generally had roofs...

(By the way, as a historical point of interest, in the 1930's there was a "fresh air" movement in some of the public schools, whereby some schools chose to hold classes with open windows, or even in open-air pavilions in the dead of winter.)

I guess what goes around...but I digress here.

You just can't adjust a thermostat in the middle of Franklin Blvd.

Not sure how much any of this matters though, to the powers-that-be.

After election day tomorrow, school stuff will probably fade off the 'Deck again.

Just in time for the snow and ice to arrive...

All just my opinions, and I may be wrong on this point or that...In this case at least, I almost wish I was.

Back to the banjo...