We have set up two comment streams so the community may have an open discussion about the school bond. Please review the site, then return here to give us your thoughts. If you’d like to discuss the building specifically, we have set up a comment stream specifically for this purpose, it can be found here. The reason we have two comment streams is simply that many proponents of passing the bond have valuable and positive thoughts about the facilities.
If you wish to write more than 250 words on this, or any subject, let us know. We’ll be happy to post a separate, unedited, article for you of any length. Just shoot us your article, edited please, to salidacitizen@gmail.com.
Comments below are general thoughts and questions about the bond. If you’d like to talk to the Superintendent, Darryl Webb, feel free to call him at 719-530-5252. He’s an easy guy to talk to.
Some questions to the School Board remain and will be mailed to them in hard copy (per ill-advised new policy):
1. What is the annual budget for maintenance costs, debt service, payroll and other operating costs for years 1-10 of the new high school? This information needs to be posted on School Bond site to substaniate the propostion that “annual maintenance costs will INITIALLY web site wording) be lower” than keeping the olf school running.
2. What are the policies and firm plans that ensure that the new school will be avilable to the community for meeting space and recreation? How will this be coordinated with those facilities (SteamPlant, Hot Springs Pool, Boy Scout Hut, Touber Building, Salida CommunityCenter, etc,.) already competing to fill their spaces?
This commercial (plus residential) property owner is poised to invest $30,000 ($1,500 per year for 20 years of the bonds) for the good of the community, IF these common sense questions can be answered.
You bring up some good points Merrell. Your thinking is along the lines of mine. We are being asked to contribute to this major endeavor but are not privy to any of the details that we need to know to make educated decisions. Sort of like being asked to shoot from the hip and ask questions later. or…we’ll figure it out as we go. I don’t think so.
I get weekly newsletters from the ever-inspiring and thought-provoking TED conference and the video I’m sharing here came to me randomly today. It strikes me as timely and relevant to the broader discussion of education in our community in the leadup to the impending bond issue vote. I hope every school board member, educator and supporter of the school building bond issue will take time to watch this 17-minute video. For me, it is a reality check. http://tinyurl.com/35hghkx
Merrell: We take the costs associated with the new H.S. seriously and are working as rapidly as possible to get a good estimates and communicate them. We will compare them with the existing costs.
I know of no ‘cast in concrete’ plans regarding community use of new school. Have heard the Board and others say many times that the new facilities will be open to the community.
Thanks for your interest!
Dave
I never really noticed the current building was, in the web sites words, an “ailing high school”. Quality of education has more to do with supporting good teachers than building a brand new classroom. It would be nice hear specifics about these aliments and the cost of fixing them verses building a new campus from the ground up.
12 Million dollars! Is that just the state’s end?
So are we talking a 20 million dollar project?
Where would that money actually come from?
A grant does not just come out of the air, most likely, it comes out of some tax funded coffer someplace or it’s added on top of state or federal debt and we taxpayers have become very skeptical about what the government is doing with our taxes and the debt we will leave those very students we want to help educate.
I strongly suggest the supporters of this expenditure start selling it with some real facts to back up the hype. Then you might get some real support to back up your request.
More like $30 million Lou – assuming that there are no cost overruns (right). For a 20 year bond, that breaks down to $1.5 million a year…for 322 students. It just seems to me that we are falling into the trap that the facilities create the student….wrong. For a classroom size of 20 students, that equates to just a little less than 100 grand per classroom ($93,168 to be exact). For that much money, we should be able to do “a lot” more or get the same results for a lot less. We don’t need a 30 million building to teach 322 students – in my humble opinion.
http://www.salidaschoolbond.com should answer your questions, factually. Fixing the ailments was pursued, and the original BEST grant that was submitted with remodeling, was indeed denied.
Below is taken from the faq page of said website…..
“Is it less expensive to replace our existing high schools than to try and repair and renovate the existing facilities?
The facility engineers and architects estimate that it would be less expensive to replace our existing high school than to try and renovate the existing high school. The new facility also would be less expensive to operate, with a major focus on energy savings.
Why did the district focus on a new high school, rather than repairs and renovations to all three existing schools?
It was determined that our district would have a much better chance of accessing BEST funding as part of our first request if the request was limited to the new high school. Salida School District actually applied for grant money for three district buildings. 1) for a new high school 2) for a new elementary school and 3) for roof repairs at the middle school. The BEST committee saw the issues of the high school as the district’s greatest need. We were also awarded money to fix the middle school roof, however this does not require a community match in funds. The BEST program is also primarily interested in backing new construction projects rather than investing money in older facilities that will have a shorter useful life.”
You will also find where this BEST funding comes from on this page…
“What is the BEST program?
Established in 2008, Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) provides an annual amount of funding, in the form of competitive grants, to school districts, charter schools, institute charter schools, boards of cooperative educational services and the Colorado school for the deaf and blind. BEST funds can be used for the construction of new schools as well as general construction and renovation of existing school facility systems and structures. Sources of funding for the BEST program come from the Colorado Lottery and Land Trust Reserve.”
Also, our intent is to support our teachers whenever possible, however programs and salaries are funded from a completely different pot of money. This BEST money absolutely can not be spent on anything other than what it was intended for….construction.
Mr, Drakulich, I hope that this provides you with some of the answers that you are looking for. Again, please visit the site to get other factual information. Great questions. Many of the answers to these questions have also been published in our local newspaper, as well as various other venues. Thank you.
If the expenditure is necessary, then it is necessary. However…The photos raise the question, “How did the school get into that condition and who is responsible?”
Was it inferior design and construction, neglect, poor maintenance, lack of funding for basic maintenance and upkeep or incompetence on the part of administrators to insure regular maintenance procedures are followed.
Before the taxpayers are asked for more money, they have a right to know who and what created this problem and what will be done to insure the same thing does not repeat itself.
Mr. Drakulich: The website, http://www.salidaschoolbond.com includes numerous facts, questions and answers about the proposed high school and process including maintenance. In terms of the condition of the high school and your question of “how did the school get into that condition and who is responsible”, the first thing to note is the buildings are old and past their prime -”the current high school is comprised of structures dating 1922, 1958, 1962, and 1969″. There have also been dozens of school boards and administrations since the original structure was built 88 years ago so to lay blame on one person or administration would be difficult. What is important is the current board and administration DOES take maintenance seriously. “Salida School District hired a Maintenance Director one year ago. This experienced professional develops and oversees maintenance projects and plans, ensuring better care of our buildings”. In addition, the BEST grant requires a maintenance plan as part of the building process, as the state understands how important maintenance and upkeep is to buildings. By hiring and monitoring an individual as well as creating and reviewing a maintenance plan regularly, the state and board is creating a process to ensure “the same thing does not repeat itself” as you state. Again, good questions!
The more I read about the new high school proposal, the more infuriated I get. OK, I get that the current facilities are outdated and in (evidentially) a state of major disrepair. Putting aside the incompetence that allowed the current facilities to get to that state how do we justify spending over 30 million dollars to build facilities that will only be able to adequately educate 322 students? For the life of the 20 year bond, that works out to a cost of $93,000 for a classroom of 20 students for each year. WOW! As quoted from the district web site…“We are not designing for growth, as the trend over the past ten years and the projections for the next several years does not indicate growth.” Give me a break – it’s this same lack of foresight that leaves us where we are at today. “…next several years”, so let’s commit to a 20 year bond and only plan for the “next several years”. Get real! If it were up to the city government, by the way that they hand out permits like candy, we’d be another overpriced tourist trap 10 years down the road with double the population. Do we really “NEED” to build a 30 million dollar monolithic structure which pays homage to the architect and school board when other, simpler structures, which could be built at a fraction of the cost would more than suffice? Why not a simple educational “city”, replete with single classroom school houses and a few small buildings for administration and maintenance. A dozen small, simple structures could easily be built for under $500k each – a la log cabin style. As attractive as TWO new gymnasiums may seem, they have to be viable ONLY after every student has all the books they need, after each classroom seat has an up to date work station and ONLY after each teacher is getting paid a salary which would allow them to truly dedicate themselves to the student the way that we expect them to. Let’s get our priorities straight, our feet back on the ground and make common sense decisions based on getting real and keeping within our means.
Mr Kainz I am not sure about your math, assuming 322 students a year for twenty years that seems to work out to $4658.39 per student per year. As well half the money is coming from the BEST grant so you can cut that to $2329.19. While this is still not free, the economic development opportunity provided by a new high school should more than off set the cost. Perhaps you could sit in on a few of Mr. Maxwell’s classes.
P.T.
The bigger question here is, “what are we going to do inside this building”. Now that it has passed we need to look at our educational philosophy and create a culture that puts students needs and interests first. It is a perfect opportunity for SHS to revamp its vision.
In a building like this we know we can successfully teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us. Coming from a building that was falling apart we already know more then we need to do that. Whether or not we we do it must finally depend on how we feel about the fact that we haven’t so far.