Board of Education member Chris Wilson posted this as a comment on another thread, but I want to make sure that everyone sees it because it's important:
Some of my thoughts as to why I brought up the mall location as a possible location for a school on the West Side of town.
*the past 30 years has demonstrated that retail on that site has not been very successful. While Luxury condo's might seem appealing, with other locations throughout the city being built I do not see that site as very viable without much more significant investment in the surrounding area.
*if it was such a vibrant site a developer would have bought it before the city did. If it was such a vibrant site a developer would be offering the city $ for it now.
*this site is in the center of the 3 schools planned to be closed Bingham, Oconnell and Boulevard. While the other locations are not as closely nestled in these communities. This site possesses the amount of land necessary for a school campus.
*I acknowledge that using a prime piece of Real Estate for a school usually is not a prudent course of action. But in this case I do. Retail has gone to Route 6. It is a reality that we probably should accept. However, those critics who talk about a loss of tax revenue also must acknowledge no matter where we build the school there will be a loss of tax revenue so the impact is less than stated. Furthermore, last I looked we are not currently receiving any tax revenue on that site.
*The consultants (DRA) did in fact rate it as one of the best sites. If there was a viable commercial solution I certainly wouldn't bring it up. But the past 3 years has convinced me the Centre Mall won't end up with anything more compelling than NorthSide Square. Our history of successful development downtown is not a record of which we can be proud.
*Placing a school in the Center of your community I think demonstrates how much you value education and your children so I believe it is a wise investment. Whenever one evaluates the Bristol Community one of our best attributes named is that it is a great place to raise children. Building a school in the center of town would reinforce that message.
*Finally, for those who wonder who is pulling my strings! I kind of laughed at that one. If you knew me you'd realize that I am not really connected. I make my assessments based upon my experiences, what I read and the results. I wish I was more connected but I'm not.
Let me conclude that in my capacity as committee member I can support any one of the 4 sites. The critical concern is to get the school built so that we can focus all our energy on assisting the students of Bristol to be as successful as possible. It is imperative that we move the dialogue beyond the Physical buildings to the strategies which we can implement to assist schools, families and educators to advance the education of their students.
* While I understand that people may disagree with me I would hope that we could avoid the name calling and labelling which seems pretty prevalent. We can agree to disagree without all the vitriol that exists in this forum and others. While I might think trying to place retail development downtown as "Crazy, foolish or ridiculous" I think I could find words that were less perjorative so that we could continue the the discussion of ideas.
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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
7 comments:
Chris, you just talked yourself out of a position on the BOE.
"The critical concern is to get the school built so that we can focus all our energy on assisting the students of Bristol to be as successful as possible. It is imperative that we move the dialogue beyond the Physical buildings to the strategies which we can implement to assist schools, families and educators to advance the education of their students"
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That says it all. FIRST, build the school and stick the taxpayers with the bill; THEN, think of ways to educate the kids.
Give us all a break,Mr.Spendthrift.
Be honest with the taxpayers of this city.
In Bristol's Stategic Profiles for Schools, submitted every year by the school administrators, and posted on the STATE of CT DEPT of Education's website, every Bristol school is ranked for its physical condition. Numerous things are ranked. Guess what, in almost every category Bristol's schools rank well. The rankings are the following: excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor.
Only brand new schools garner the "excellent" ranking; however, Bristol's older building's rank very good, good, and fair. Poor doesn't show up. Our school buildings are well maintained and for the most part rank "good" across the board.
Of course, you don't want to talk about "structures".
Because if you are forced to do so, you're "new school buildings spending spree" (NSBSS) would fall flat on it's face.
I hope everyone checks out these rankings.
Nothing is stopping the BOE, at this very moment, from implementing changes in teaching methods or curriculum.
The BOE needs to listen BEFORE they act. It sure sounds like the votes (tax payers) are not in favor of the K - 8 system, 900 plus student schools and they want more input. That said, maybe it is time to STOP the madness before spending money on a pipe dream.
Chris I appreciate your vision.This process must take place,conversation,agree to disagree,good debate.
Correction:
The rankings are located under the "Annual Report of CT Public School Facilities" on the State Dept of Ed's website.
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.
asp?a=2636&q=320556
Strategic School Profiles are something else.
Some schoold do rank "poor" or "1" for some items, but not many. These are mostly related to playground space, or specialty spaces in the older schools. For the most part, the rankings are as represented by the previous poster.
HOWEVER, a striking observation if one scrolls down the page, is the discovery of an "air quality" section. A "1" or "poor" ranking is given to EVERY Bristol school- both new and old, across all school types?
What's up? Am I reading this correctly ?
Bristol school administrators are admitting that the air filters and related equipment aren't being cleaned, and the fresh air vents are blocked?
You might want to check this out, Steve.
All schools smell the same to me.
Again, this was the Bristol BOE ramming a new school down the throats of the city of Bristol.
Did the BOE ask anyone if they wanted a 900 student school? Did they ask anyone if they wanted to convert to a K-8 plan? No they didn't.
when are these elected "leaders" going to get the message that they do not OWN BRistol?
Steve: can you get an answer to this question: If the BDDC has control over the mall property and they are going to do wither RFQ's or RFP's for the property then would the BOE have to answer the RFQ or RFP before they build?
Also, Rosenthal has stated on several occasions that developers have contacted him regarding the mall property. How does Chris Wilson know that no one would be interested?
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