This is not a win for anyone. Being saddled with debt for decades, creating a segregated school full of underperforming students, all in the name of equity? Has this city lost its mind? Anyone who thinks this Board would sue and therefore admit anything here is amiss…ain’t going to happen. This is disgusting. Just disgusting. Every Board…
This is not a win for anyone. Being saddled with debt for decades, creating a segregated school full of underperforming students, all in the name of equity? Has this city lost its mind? Anyone who thinks this Board would sue and therefore admit anything here is amiss…ain’t going to happen. This is disgusting. Just disgusting. Every Board member should resign and new elections held. Slash and burn at JEH. Keep Turner for the long-term interim (no perk package, keep her at current salary and no contract) only because the search is expensive. Public apologies are needed. But to say the Board was lied to, poor them, how could they know, is disingenuous. They have all the access to all the financials. If they didn’t bother or simply don’t know how to read a P/L statement, well that’s their fault. It is their job and they failed. Maybe don’t apply for a job you aren’t qualified to hold. In all of this moving forward, the Board is ultimately and completely responsible for this mess. They hired that con man Horton and kicked his boots. They failed to ask questions or do the research. What incompetent boobs. Their hubris is even worse. If they were remotely contrite, maybe people wouldn’t think they were garbage. But they aren’t. This is all their fault. Even if moronic voters elected them in.
I agree with a lot of what you are saying .. but last night at the meeting there were a ton of folks at the meeting who were not equity types advocating for the school. Average regular people with kids who live in the fifth ward .. I didn’t see any of the facebook crew. I think it’s fair to say that for those folks, this is a win.
Not when they are stuck in a school with all underperforming classmates and some PTA funds coming from PEP or when the area gets a burst of development and then they have to move because of further gentrification. Where would you move to if the 5th ward was too expensive? Away, or to Oakton. Most of these families won’t even be students there by the time it’s built- they will be walking to Haven same as they would be. Just with higher rents. Btw I am an average regular person.
I think a strategy of deliberately inconveniencing families in order to keep real estate prices low so the area doesn't gentrify is unethical. I also think the rapid gentrification this will cause / has caused is also a problem. You have to balance the two.
Either way, I still don't see a way out of this other than to build.
TBD what happens with PEP, it was a three year program. Let's see if the PTAs renew it next year.
This is not about inconveniencing families to keep real estate low. It is about the absurdity of the BOE argument justifying the obscene expenditures to build the new school at the outset of this whole disaster.
Tom, I should know this but is there anything prohibiting the bonds be used on major capital improvements for other schools? So not sexy but man, $40M could do a long ways towards improving aging schools.
This is primarily why I think the Board was very stupid here and was mislead by Raymond James. The next largest lease certificate in the state of IL was for about $25m. The reason I would assume most districts don't use lease certificates for big projects like this is because it's a very inflexible funding mechanism, unlike a general obligation bond, etc.
You absolutely cannot do that - the lease certificate is very specific that the funds can only go towards the specified project. My assumption is because the bondholders get a lien on the property.
I meant I am an average regular person with kids in the 5th ward. We were promised this glorious build with all the amenities including STEM facilities and LEED or LEED-like green aspects and now we are forced to accept a stripped down school as cheap as they can build it. It’s not a win. I’d rather have nothing and not have my taxes go up ANOTHER 33% in 3 years. Yes- that’s how much my taxes went up.
Oh, I see what you're saying, point taken. Yeah, my taxes here have been going up crazy, the last round we had was a 25% increase and we always challenge it but don't win the challenge anymore, like we used to.
This is not a win for anyone. Being saddled with debt for decades, creating a segregated school full of underperforming students, all in the name of equity? Has this city lost its mind? Anyone who thinks this Board would sue and therefore admit anything here is amiss…ain’t going to happen. This is disgusting. Just disgusting. Every Board member should resign and new elections held. Slash and burn at JEH. Keep Turner for the long-term interim (no perk package, keep her at current salary and no contract) only because the search is expensive. Public apologies are needed. But to say the Board was lied to, poor them, how could they know, is disingenuous. They have all the access to all the financials. If they didn’t bother or simply don’t know how to read a P/L statement, well that’s their fault. It is their job and they failed. Maybe don’t apply for a job you aren’t qualified to hold. In all of this moving forward, the Board is ultimately and completely responsible for this mess. They hired that con man Horton and kicked his boots. They failed to ask questions or do the research. What incompetent boobs. Their hubris is even worse. If they were remotely contrite, maybe people wouldn’t think they were garbage. But they aren’t. This is all their fault. Even if moronic voters elected them in.
I agree with a lot of what you are saying .. but last night at the meeting there were a ton of folks at the meeting who were not equity types advocating for the school. Average regular people with kids who live in the fifth ward .. I didn’t see any of the facebook crew. I think it’s fair to say that for those folks, this is a win.
Not when they are stuck in a school with all underperforming classmates and some PTA funds coming from PEP or when the area gets a burst of development and then they have to move because of further gentrification. Where would you move to if the 5th ward was too expensive? Away, or to Oakton. Most of these families won’t even be students there by the time it’s built- they will be walking to Haven same as they would be. Just with higher rents. Btw I am an average regular person.
I think a strategy of deliberately inconveniencing families in order to keep real estate prices low so the area doesn't gentrify is unethical. I also think the rapid gentrification this will cause / has caused is also a problem. You have to balance the two.
Either way, I still don't see a way out of this other than to build.
TBD what happens with PEP, it was a three year program. Let's see if the PTAs renew it next year.
This is not about inconveniencing families to keep real estate low. It is about the absurdity of the BOE argument justifying the obscene expenditures to build the new school at the outset of this whole disaster.
Tom, I should know this but is there anything prohibiting the bonds be used on major capital improvements for other schools? So not sexy but man, $40M could do a long ways towards improving aging schools.
This is primarily why I think the Board was very stupid here and was mislead by Raymond James. The next largest lease certificate in the state of IL was for about $25m. The reason I would assume most districts don't use lease certificates for big projects like this is because it's a very inflexible funding mechanism, unlike a general obligation bond, etc.
You absolutely cannot do that - the lease certificate is very specific that the funds can only go towards the specified project. My assumption is because the bondholders get a lien on the property.
Was not implying you are not an average Joe/Karl!
I meant I am an average regular person with kids in the 5th ward. We were promised this glorious build with all the amenities including STEM facilities and LEED or LEED-like green aspects and now we are forced to accept a stripped down school as cheap as they can build it. It’s not a win. I’d rather have nothing and not have my taxes go up ANOTHER 33% in 3 years. Yes- that’s how much my taxes went up.
Oh, I see what you're saying, point taken. Yeah, my taxes here have been going up crazy, the last round we had was a 25% increase and we always challenge it but don't win the challenge anymore, like we used to.