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State High Vision
State High Vision Update
Friday, February 29, 2008
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
(George Santayana)
Just a few short months ago, we were sending updates, holding public meetings, and encouraging the community to come out en masse to the SCASD board meetings. They told us it was a “done deal” but we knew that RIGHT MAKES MIGHT. Because you responded and our community engaged, we were able to work together and successfully bring about change.
We need you again.
On Monday, March 3 at 7:30 in the board room at 131 W. Nittany Ave. the SCASD board of directors will vote on who will be the replacement for the open position. While State High Vision cannot endorse any candidate or intervene in the process, we believe that the community MUST engage in the discussion. Will the will of the people be respected OR will they choose to return to the ways of the past? This vote is crucial to our future. Please try to attend and BRING A FRIEND, your spouse, your children…we must remain engaged.
Senator Proxmire Would Be Shocked!
Most of us are old enough to remember Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire’s Golden Fleece Award given in honor of those who abused the taxpayer dollar. The award used humor to put the public spotlight on programs of excessive waste ranging from surfing subsidies to the Great Wall of Bedford, Indiana. Past award winners include:
· Office of Education for spending $219,592 in a “curriculum package” to teach college students how to watch television.
· United States Department of the Army for a 17 page, $6000 study on how to buy a bottle of Worcestershire sauce
Were Senator Proxmire alive today, he would probably be focusing on a project that the State College Area School District administration is proposing to carry over from the previous School Board. According to a presentation at the last board meeting, the board will soon be reviewing bids on a proposal to construct an estimated $300,000 concession stand at the South Building Track. That’s right, three hundred thousand dollars. According to the Chamber of Business and Industry of State College, the average cost of a home in Centre County is $115,549. Do we need a concession stand worth over twice that? How many hotdogs will we need to sell to pay-off this outrageous expenditure?
Even more disturbing is the fact that, according to the advertisement in Sunday’s Centre Daily Times, the bids are being returned to architect L. Robert Kimball and Associates (who must therefore be designing the project). That’s right - the same group who pocketed over $4 MILLION for their work on the High School renovation project – a project in which actual construction bids came in over Kimball estimates by 18% and was eventually abandoned.
While we aren’t disputing that the South Building track could use a permanent concession stand (and lavatories) for sporting events, have they explored something more modest and less expensive? Should we be talking to alternative architects? Our neighbors in Philipsburg are closing schools on Wednesdays because they can’t afford to pay teachers overtime for additional curriculum planning. What might $300,000 buy for Ferguson Elementary or for Boalsburg Elementary? How could $150,000 upgrade music and theatre facilities? How does this project and this large expenditure fit in our District Wide Facilities Plan?
“Taj Mahal” building project. The public isn’t included in the discussion. Less expensive options aren’t considered. Not a part of the District Wide Facilities Plan with criteria and priorities identified with public input. Sound familiar?
Barney Grimes was elected on the basis of his impressive experience in project management and his pledge for fiscal responsibility and oversight. On Monday, the Board will make a selection to fill Barney’s vacancy and that decision will impact this concession stand discussion as well as others coming down the road. PLEASE TRY TO ATTEND.