The article identifies some of the fiscal challenges the new building presents but it does miss some key facts:
"Increases linked to the new middle school began in 2005 and are expected to continue through the 2010-11 school year."
- In actuality, we will be paying for this school through either February of 2031 or February of 2035, when the debt service will end. As a result any increase during this time could be attributed to the building because of the money that is being used for the debt.
- The figures quoted in the article only included the building cost and did not include the annual operations of the building, which are anticipated to cost $2,072,224 in year one.
21 comments:
The pool is the obvious and lazy thing to complain about. I think NOC has said that the better concern is a 2 grade school. I remember in elementary school our field trips to the HS pool. It was part of our gym class. As a 3rd or 4th grader, those HS kids were giants. Hehehehe.
The high school is the least desireable location for the pool. While it may be the most ideal location for the swim team, in terms of an educational facility it is less than ideal for two reasons. I agree that all students should learn to swim....but the time for that to occur would be in intermediate school....teach them at an early age. The other reason is that once kids, especially the girls, hit middle and high school they are too concerned with messing up their hair and makeup.....which would lead to cutting class and an implosion of acquiescing parents running to their doctor to get their kid a note to excuse them from swimming class.
Technically, it wouldn't be in the high school. The new athletic facility would be at the end of the parking lot to the north of the current Admin building (old junior high) as a stand alone facility according to the architects plans.
This facility is planned to be built and would include a new gym, weightroom etc.
As an educational facility, the Intermediate school will be housed in the current MS.
The new building where the pool discussion is taking place would be the 7th & 8th grade Middle School.
Intermediate school students would need to be bused to a pool in either location. Same holds true for elementary. Seems like it would take a lot of time out of an already short school day to be busing students, having them change, swim, change, and bused back to the home school.
That's not even considering drying hair before walking outside in the winter to get on a bus to take you back to your school.
Do we even know how many current phys. ed. teachers are certified to teach swimming or serve as life guards?
Sounds like a few more reasons to give this more consideration before diving in.
Quite honestly, why do elementary and middle school students need to have access to a pool facility?
When I was in school, my high school had a pool, but I never saw it until I actually got to the high school.
With an already bloated budget, I would be extremely concerned if NASD took on the additional expense of moving students between the various schools so they could have swimming lessons. As we have seen posted on this site, the transportation budget already eats up a LOT of the annual spending.
Do we really want to add to that so little Suzy can learn to swim? I personally think the basics are more important. Our childrens grades, not their swimming abilities (with a very few, one or two at the most) are going to get them into a university.
Spending is out of control at this point, and building a lot of costly non-essentials needs to be stopped.
I personally am completely sick of the pool discussion but with that said is it possible to leave room for one down the road if NASD miraculously comes into a windfall? To put it in perspective just take a look at Shafer Elem: all the 1st grade classes have 23-25 students, 15-25% over the school boards target of a 20:1 ratio---there are 30 out of 94 students in 1st grade identified as at risk--the enrichment pull out program was elimnated this year---and last year students would visit computer specials once every 6 days now it is once every 8, doesn't sound like much but that translates into 9 less computer specials a school year; additionally I just found out that the gifted teacher is also guidance counselor and title 1 reading (remedial)teacher--can't afford for her to focus on one area--when resources and programs slowly get whittled away like this, and classes are overcrowded, especially detrimental in 1st grade when literacy skills are being developed, how can anyone even think of a pool---I mean if you were having trouble paying your heating bills and purchasing groceries (ie essentials) would you be shopping around for a contractor to build you a pool? Maybe you could have your neighbor pay for it with their taxes :)
As I noted earlier, the pool supporters are doing a disservice, the conversation shouldn't be about it, but what are we going to get from this building that will benefit the student and teacher in the classroom.
Another problem with the pool is that it won't service many students if it is at the MS (7th & 8th only), because consider what it would take to bus (and consider the elem school day is six hours in length):
30 minutes in pool, 5 before, 5 after to change, 5 to load the bus, 5 to unload (do this twice 10 more minutes), then the trip to and trip back (say 5 shafer, 10 lower, 15 bushkill) and your looking at 65-75 minutes for kids to have a swim lesson at a minimum.
So if elementary is out, and HS & MS are mostly not interested, we're left with Intermediate Students and after school.
The cost/benefit doesn't look so good.
But again, I digress, why are we paying $57 million for 33 traditional classrooms? More than the pool needs to be cut and it seems the plans need to be redrawn.
I am toatlly in agreement with the last 2 blogs. No is just not the time for such extra costs. No computer special for a rotations or should say computer certified teacher. I heard the 4 day cycle will probably be a go again for year too. Do not think nasd consider one comment when parents spoke out against the overcrowded specials. Hear we go again....Overcrowded rooms, not so desirable pssa scores. A very axed out or lack of science programs and social studies due to 40-45 pssa practice preps everyday, hiring freeze, the crazy location of the ?pool, please look inside the classrooms and see the nasd is just not totally up to par and then there is talk of cutting educational student services and programs...yet a pool at the ms....I don't think so. Is it going to make for better ACT and SAT scores or increased pssa results?
Doesn't seem like the NASD cares much about what the majority of taxpayers feel or say. They have always done exactly what they wanted to do. I for one am not only worried about this new school but also the tax increase it brings to my family. We live week to week now,Our child care has gone up quite a bit because I beleive of the minimum wage increase and we are now having to pay much more for our healthcare. Maybe it is no big deal to them since their salaries are significantly higher than ours. I don't know what we are going to do if our school taxes hit $3000.00 a year. I basically work for health care after I pay child care expenses. This big extravagant school isn't going to do my family any good becasue we won't be able to afford to live here and it is ashame because we have lived here our whole lives. I think things are out of control. Starting to wonder if the teachers were right when they said the school din't respect them because I don't feel the school district respects us, the taxpayers of this community. I really feel This whole issue should be put to a community/taxpayer vote and let us decide (those who are footing the bill) what is most important to have in this new school. NASD has been behind other school districts for many years as far as extra curricular activities go and now all of a sudden they want to do it all at once. They should have put a pool and athletic feilds in years ago. Northampton school had a pool 24 years ago, where has nasd been the past 20 years or did they just get a swim team now and haven't they been using the feilds at the nazareth park for many years and I haven't seen much improvement to their football feild either. Many schools have outweighed them for years in all of these areas and now all of a sudden they want to do it all in such a short period of time. We just built a huge Middle school not long ago. Sorry if i am getting carried away but I just can't stand this college campus they want to build.
Anon 8:55-
Nazareth (my opinion) wants to be like Parkland and East Penn. They use those districts whenever they compare facilities, test scores, etc. (recently they used those districts when comparing special education costs). However, NASD is not, and will not be like those districts because we lack the commerical and industrial tax base that those districts (and other so called "rich" districts) have from which to draw revenue. It's a fact that seems to have been lost by the board.
I recently went through NASDs PSSA scores and compared them to the surrounding districts. From that, it would appear that our districts "highly" regarded educational status is slipping some. We need to get back to focusing on our children's education and not building redundant facilities in every building. There doesn't seem to be much planning going on. Just a bunch of "wishes" that the district wants and that the residents will end up paying for.
FWIW, I moved to this district from central PA (Altoona area) in 2000. My property taxes have gone up approx $1200 in that time frame.
I'm hoping that Brad Molton and lots of the other bloggers are saying out loud what they are writing in their comments on NOC! It is stuff that must be said publically to the board at the meetings! It might not help, but you never know. It must be said at a public forum. Great stuff!
Amen to the fact we need to say ALOUD to the schoolboard that we are NOT happy. But we all seem to prefer hiding behind "anonymous"
Again-------WHERE are the 600 plus voices that targetted borough council this summer?????
In fighting the proposed municipal building the citizens probably felt that they had a fighting chance. They knew that at least 3 council members were on their side.
In going against the school board (which I believe is unanimous) one would have to expect that it is alot to go up against. It tends to make you weary. It would be exasperating to have none of them on your side.
The citizens would have to be very well organized and come in big numbers with their arguments against the plan backed up by facts. ETC.....
I for one would like to get involved but I am way to busy with all the stuff I'm involved in on council.
Maybe that is the case with others as well. I don't know. But I do know that all the work we did to keep spending down in the issue of the new municipal building is now going to be made up for and then some by the new school. Taxes for the citizens of the borough will be astronomical.
Maybe it's a matter of those in favor of all the bells and whistles for the new school actually have no problem financially paying for it so they are all wanting to go ahead.
I guess it's hard to wear a shoe belonging to someone else.
I'm not sure how many petition signatures there were (there were a lot) this summer, but I never saw 600 people at a meeting (maybe 60).
Even the rally didn't come close to that number.
I agree that there is a feeling that the NASD will eventually get whatever it wants regardless of hearings or complaints.
I also believe that a lot of people are simply not well enough informed to understand what is happening and therefore have no need to attend a meeting because as far as they are concerned there is nothing wrong.
They'll perk up when the tax bill comes and each year thereafter when it goes up, and up, and up.
or like in my case when you start to see some wrinkles in your children's educational experience-
Anon 10:16-
Yes, I comment to the school board. I'm usually at most (if not all) the board meetings. I've written letters to the board and Dr. Lesky. I made the same comment seen here to the school board at the Act34 meeting...
Ross-
You hit it dead on, with your comment about people not knowing. I've talked to many people in the area (w/ or w/o children in the district) who didn't even know that the district was planning to build a school down off Freidenstahl Rd!
Cindy Werner-
I commend you for your actions in the Borough. Like you, I don't have time for everything. I've made the NASD my issue. I'd like to be able to spend some time keeping up with Upper Naz affairs, but I haven't found the time....
Someone needs to get their facts straight about Shafer. They have a title one reading teacher as well as a part time title one math teacher, she is also the gifted teacher for the other half of the day. In addition, my child is in the gifted program and has been for years. The past 2 years has been the best program that they have, sometimes my child receives pull out services and other times the gifted teacher pushes into their classroom. Also their is a full time guidance counselor in all elementary buildings. Just wanted to clarify an earlier comment by 2:15. I will however agree with the statement that this person has made about overcrowding, the class size is getting worse by the day. It doesn't seem that the board intends to do anything about this. We all need to be at the next school board meeting and continue to confront them about the class size and what they intend to do about it.
It seems to me the board sees the problem and their answer is the new middle school. That would pull 2 grades out of each elementary school.
Everyone seems so ready toconfront and challenge. If everyone researched the issue, most of the tems brought up in this blog would not be said. There are issues to discuss and consider, but it is not the pool or the possibility of a tax increase.
OK........so spell out the issues.
Kudos to those who point out that the real issue is the school that is estimated to cost us $58 million dollars. We all know that this will cost us a lot more then tnat.
Kudow also to those who note that we need to get back to educational issues, the real purpose of education.
We also need, as part of the consideration, to look outside just the matters we are talking of here. Look at your municipal highways and state roads, they are a mess. Today's Express has an article on the concerns of the good folks in Upper Nazareth and the mess they already have on their streets. What will the cost be to all of us for a new traffic pattern? The district and my township, Bushkill, are raising the Earned Income Tax and other townships are doing the same in order to preserve open space. Talk about your horse being out of the barn. The governor wants to bring heatlh care to those who do not have it in PA and end smoking at the casinos. In addition he has talked about an increase in tobacco taxes, gas taxes, and income taxes. And let us not forget the replacement of the 21 billion dollars to the pension fund with no recommendations on potential changes to it---do we really need to pay for eternal health care for state employees? Think about the 4+ percent increase in this year's school budget and paying for the yet to be revealed teachers' contract. Does it feel like your head is about to explode. For some reason this crisis has caused me to think of a young man on the floor reading in front of his fireplace, growing up splitting rails, becoming an attorney for the railroad, ending up at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, striving to save this nation, and gave his life for it. No 58 million dollar school, no pool, no multi-million dollar sports complex with an astro-turf field. So was the life of Abraham Lincoln. No I'm not recommending the return to that cabin and reading by the firelight but I am urging the return to common sense.
to chris millr, looks like the commo problem in allthe issues you brought up were because of lack of planning and not antcipating the future, not lack of common sense.
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