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So let me get this straight, and feel free to jump in and help me out here so you don?’t think I am maligning people without just cause. Lisa, let this thread run a while before you jump in and tell us we?’re all fools and certainly not as smart as you. OK?
When I cast my vote for the new schools in November, I was sure I was voting for three schools. Two elementary schools, which were mirrors of Tussing, would each be built at the Sycamore site and the Tollgate Site. The remaining school was a mirror of Harmon and would also be located at Tollgate. End of discussion and so I thought I could support that issue. Here?’s one of the major reasons I supported it. Cost Savings! I figured, as was told this by levy supporters, that the school would hand over the designs of Tussing and Harmon and tell the contractor to get started. Now all of a sudden I find that I might have been lied to by the levy boosters. While I am having trouble putting together an exact timeline, thanks to the board seldom to never posting minutes to meetings in a timely fashion, it occurs to me that given the report following this posting that the board may have made a decision to merge two schools earlier than last Monday. Matter of fact, trusting this board as far as I can throw them, I wonder if they might have made this decision even before the election.
Some of the things that are leading me towards my conclusion are as follows and I?’ll try to follow the story line since Ms Sattler has an uncanny knack for reporting the schools so well. First the architect Maletz expounds on the subject he apparently brought up November 20. This subject involves combining school at Tollgate to reduce cost. Now what has me curious is did Maletz magically dream this up between election night and November 20 or had he been working on it for a while? I think it is possible but not probable that this is the case. One reason I say this is because of my experience building 3 new homes for my family and participating in the construction of a new office for the small firm I work for. In all these cases, the architect never made a move without customer input. Given that this is a public contract with taxpayer dollars, I can?’t imagine that the architect ever made a mover without involvement of all or part of the school board since they, and they only are the only people smart enough to oversee the contracts.
Let?’s say that Maletz was indeed meeting with one or more board members to iron this out. Given the diverse schedules of the board members, especially those that actually have jobs, scheduling meetings takes time. So for the benefit of the doubt, let?’s say that is was possible to schedule a meeting in the thirteen days between the election and the November 20 work session. Would one meeting have been enough to get the proposal in the condition it had to be in to present on the 20th? I doubt it because drawings had to be revised; cost estimates had to be revised etc., so let?’s assume more than one meeting had to occur. So that brings me back to the question and this time the answer is much more doubtful.
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By Central Dad
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Tinkering, 2
Now on to the next issue. Oakes also asked, ?“Have you (Maletz) gone creative at all and just done your own thing?...I was just wondering have you been able to bring us a totally different concept that still achieves similar goals?...We (this board) did not necessarily say to go out and meet the needs of all the administrators after you got their (input).?”
Have you gone creative and all and just done your own thing? Was Oakes left in the dark up to this meeting? Did she miss the meeting and all the levy press that said that these new schools would be carbon copies of Tussing and Harmon? What do you mean ?“Gone creative??” Unless you knew there were going to be significant changes, why ask questions about creativity? ?“Totally different concept?…similar goals?” makes me wonder if Oakes participated in the change of direction apparently given to the architect. She assumed that the design would change. Why make that assumption since the voting taxpayers selected mirror schools to existing schools? And the last statement above by Oakes simply terrifies me. You speak for the Board of Education in this statement when you told the architect to meet with the administrators and then NOT meet their needs after seeking their input! Who is working in these schools Oakes, you or the administrators? How dare you placate those truly responsible for the quality of this district and then belittle them with this statement. How dare you! No wonder the principals got up and walked out of the meeting. If you scheduled these meetings when some of us taxpayers could attend instead of working to give you more and more money, I am sure many taxpayers would have walked out in disgust with those principals.
And then, Carla Fultz, who I have little regard for, earned some respect back from me with this statement that summarizes what I am getting to. After securing the support and trust from the taxpayers, to not include everybody in the decision-making process is unacceptable.?” Ms. Fultz, please realize that this board did not earn the support and trust of the taxpayers, Dr. Thiede did. DO NOT give them credit where none is due. I?’ll get back to Dr. Thiede in a minute.
Now we get into a little ?“deal?” with the Trustees. Well, actually, a developer made a deal with the Trustees. Oh don?’t act surprised after everything they and their minions on city council are doing to us. A residential development that has been in the works for years suddenly comes to a halt. Let?’s review class. This was one of the principal reasons for selecting a building site so far away from everything else in the community. To grant the exclusivisity, if that is a word, to the people building all these $400,000 and up houses in that part of the township. Does this sound like history repeating itself? Drive past Refugee and Pickerington Road to jog your memory.
Now?…all of a sudden?…mysteriously?….the bond issue passes and the developer says HOLD ON, I might have changed my mind. At least I?’ll give the Trustees and their developer patrons the credit for waiting for the right time. Notice this wasn?’t announced until AFTER (supposedly) changes were made to the school site. Changes that in and of themselves would require changes to the site and infrastructure. All of a sudden the developer is claiming financial problems and that he should wait while the schools HAVE to march forward. So now someone has to pay to extend water and sewer lines to that area and?….wait?…this is good?….someone has to pay for roadway improvements outlined in a traffic study. Folks, neither of these are cheap tasks. So guess who is paying for turn lanes, possibly a signal and sidewalks and water and sewer lines and whatever else that residential developer needs to make a profit ?– US!!!
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By Central Dad
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Tinkering, 3
Ok, I?’ve typed my fingers to the bone with this one. Let me close by saying that I now better understand the reason for Dr. Thiede?’s and so many other administrator?’s resignations. I first bought his story about greener pastures and leaving on a high note. Fact of the matter is he and many other rats are jumping ship as they know exactly what this board is doing to the district with their creation of Taj Mahal II on Tollgate. They know exactly what will happen when this all sinks into the voter?’s thick heads. This board will have created a monument to themselves like a previous board did at North and they will condemn the district to NEVER passing an operations levy again.
Trust me, we will be pissed enough to tell them ?“Go ahead and build your testament but we will never pay to open it.?”
I would expect to hear more high level resignations before the end of the school year because there are enough moral and ethical administrators who won?’t take it any more.
Finally a note to Katelyn Sattler and her editor and I?’ll get on to church to pray for us all. Ms. Sattler, I met you on several occasions before you became a reporter for the Messenger. While I always thought your heart was in the right place, I often wondered if your head was. You have turned out to be one of the most insightful and articulate people in the area reporting Pickerington news. I am just glad you are reporting schools and nothing as nauseating as city council. Keep up the great work and have a Merry Christmas.
To the editor ?– thanks for the column inches!
By Central Dad
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The Messenger Article
By Katelyn Sattler
Staff Writer
Andrew Maletz, architect for Steed Hammond Paul, presented to the Pickerington Board of Education, at its Dec. 18 workshop, ideas for the new elementary and middle schools at the Tollgate site.
He discussed the approach he had presented at the Nov. 20 workshop, which is to connect the elementary and middle schools to save on construction costs.
Maletz met with school principals who had expressed concerns about a combined elementary and middle school. He said the overall concern was that the district currently has buildings specific to the way teachers teach, and the principals don't want to compromise the educational quality of the district.
Maletz reiterated the benefits of connecting the two schools. The district could save approximately $500,000 by building only a single boiler and chiller and a central kitchen. A single fire loop would circle the combined building, and only a single water tap connection would be necessary.
It?’s unclear if the savings also include a common administrative area, shared media center and a shared bus drop off.
Since the total square footage doesn?’t change, the school district would be able use the approximately 4,000 square feet to add additional classrooms, music rooms or physical education areas for the same dollar amount.
The exact layout of the buildings has not been designed yet, and board member Gail Oakes stated, ?“As a board we did not rule out a two-story concept.?”
However, only the middle school would be two stories, not the elementary school.
Oakes also asked, ?“Have you (Maletz) gone creative at all and just done your own thing?...I was just wondering have you been able to bring us a totally different concept that still achieves similar goals?...We (this board) did not necessarily say to go out and meet the needs of all the administrators after you got their (input).?”
Board member Wes Monhollen said, ?“I want to clearly delineate between the elementary and middle schools.?”
Maletz cautioned the board that, ?“If you decide that yes, it makes sense in the long-term view of the district, to have these buildings touch in some way, the next exercise is to draw the limits. As you probably can imagine, the Marysville (school) example is one where they started with a very tenuous connection and it became truly one building. Again, for different reasons. They have a long-term vision that makes that a 7-8 middle school for them. You owe it to yourselves to set the limits on how many things you really want to start pushing together because it can really dramatically affect the final outcome.?”
The board voted unanimously to amend the Facilities Master Plan to include an elementary school and a middle school at the Tollgate site that connect. The board previously approved the Master Plan on October 23, after three and a half years and eight drafts.
Principal/teacher viewpoints
Several elementary and middle school principals attended the workshop, but the board did not ask any of them if their concerns had been addressed and resolved.
The principals contacted by the Messenger did not wish to comment.
Carla Fultz, Pickerington Education Association president, commented, ?“The Pickerington Education Association are on the front lines of how education is done in this district. We know what works and what doesn?’t work. It?’s admirable that board members have ideas on how to save money. However, the professionals (teachers, support staff and administrators) that make it work every day need to be consulted before these plans are finalized. After securing the support and trust from the taxpayers, to not include everybody in the decision-making process is unacceptable.?”
By Central Dad
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