Seems we have at least ONE school board member that is voting against consolidation. Where do the rest of them stand? Good question.
As much as I would like to say it won’t happen, I’m sure most of the school board members will vote for consolidation, (besides Kate Parker)
The school board will vote Monday night on her recommendation to close Longfellow and Jefferson in 2015 and replace Mark Twain with a two-story school for as many as 600 students.
You will likely see the school board approving this measure. But let’s ask the important questions that the AL and Josh Verges did not ask;
1) Where did the $800,000 figure come from? If this is a salary figure, I totally understand. But tearing down three schools and building a new one isn’t free, and the mortgage payments will not come cheap. So are we really saving money? Not to mention as DT SF becomes revitalized, wouldn’t we think enrollment would go up instead of down at these schools? Wouldn’t upgrades make more sense?
2) Who has peaked interest in buying Longfellow and Jefferson? The hospitals?
3) What is the relationship between bonding companies and school board members and Homan?
What disappoints me the most isn’t that this may happen (I have no kids, so I don’t have a dog in this fight, except for paying property taxes) but that even after I asked Managing Editor Patrick Lalley on the ‘100 Eyes’ show last week to ask these questions, he and Ellis reassured me that they will. Well, Josh Verges certainly did not, and if he did, it was edited out of the story. Why is the AL neglecting to tell the bigger story here? What do they have to lose? They have told us on repeat occasions that the AD department and the NEWS department don’t dictate each others duties, but have yet to provide proof of this.
Who are two of the largest advertisers in the AL?
That article was nothing but advocacy.
whatever. I told those yahoos to follow the money, and this is the article? About how Fargo fought it? This should have came out a week ago. There is a part of me that wants to go tomorrow night to the meeting, but I already know the end result.
Congrats to Kate Parker! It is refreshing to see that somebody finally has a spine on the school board. She may be the start of other people wanting to run for school board if they can see some so sort of leadership and not a dog and pony show that is dicatated by Homan.
Alice, just because a member of the school board might not vote the way you would does not mean they are spineless. They are probably more well informed than any of us, and they may have very good reasons for voting however they choose to vote.
Either way the vote should be based upon what is best for the students and district, not based upon emotion or nostalgia.
I attended Longfellow as a kid.
It was a 13-block walk 4 times a day…
(Were I lived is now in the Mark Twain area – same distance)
Looking at the changing demographics stuff in the article there are probably some factors that weren’t mentioned. For inistance, if the same is true of when I attended – quite few privately schooloed kids in that area. And thinking about the changes that have come development-wise…. houses lost to both Avera and DT area commercialization – but a lot of that was in the General Beadle area then – which is now closed. The denizens that are re-populating the DT area are not likely to have kids. Most of the housing development that is going on DT would be served by Hawthorne, not Longfellow. It’s about more than just the money is all I’m saying.
Craig – I give Kate Parker credit for going against the grain – which as school board members – is their job sometimes. Their has been so little asking of questions that this community has lost faith in this board. Homan feeds them exactly what she wants them to know and very rarely do they question or vote against her wishes. It is nice to see someone question this incredibly large decision and not sit there and ask or comment without it being a robotic answer.
You obviously did not read the article in the AL yesterday that actually did some reporting and spoke with a school district in Fargo that went through the same scenario. The last quote was the thing that really made me think on this vote and that was “just because something may look good on paper, doesn’t mean it is a good decision for the community as a whole.” The school district is not only responsible for education, but also to the community which pays for that education.
Another example, it is stated that the district will gain $800,000/year with this plan. As a school board member, I would be asking what would be some initial plans for that $800,000? Will it go towards teachers, reinstating Reading Recovery, etc?
As I said, it is nice to see someone on this board publicly state they are not voting status quo – which for once – is refreshing as a parent of 2 kids in the district. It assures us there are checks and balances in place and if you read her editorial, it is for all the right reasons. Way beyond her kids attending Longfellow.
I’m with Alice on this. Sometimes it is not about cost savings. As a property tax payer that doesn’t have kids you would think I would be rooting for consolidation, but I am not. I have often believed investing in education is one of the best investments we can make as a community as a whole.
My point remains – just because someone votes against what you feel is “right” does not make them spineless. Even if they vote with the majority or “with the grain” it still does not make them spineless.
There is a possibility they are voting for consolidation merely because that is what everyone else is doing or because they fear the wrath of Homan… and if so yes they might be lacking spinal fortitude. However we don’t know why they are voting one way or another – we don’t know what they have learned in non-public discussions. We don’t know what conversations they have had with parents and taxpayers. We don’t know their histories and how familiar they might be with these schools.
We can’t just make assumptions based upon a few comments made in a school board meeting and an editorial printed in the Argus. There is a lot more to the story, and the cynical nature of bashing those whom you may disagree with isn’t beneficial.
All of that being said if you believe the community has lost faith in the school board, I’m assuming you’ll be running for election the next time there is an opening?
I never said they were spineless – but the lack of dialogue and discussion that takes place on any issue is a concern. I am a very involved parent and keep my ear to the grindstone to make the best decisions for my own children when it comes to their education. I am very connected to many individules, including those that have sat on the school board under Homan’s reign. With that, I have been encouraged to run for school board, but have also been cautioned on the fact that my kids may reap the repercussions of not following the status quo and I have heard that from more than one person. There will be a day that I consider public service in this capacity, but that will be after my kids are out of the system. Until then, as a mother and a taxpayer, I can ask questions, expect answers, and expect these individulas that CHOSE to run for this office to be accountable to the very public that pays for the education that is provided by this community.
Funny how in small towns the superintendent fears the school board, and in Sioux Falls it’s the opposite. You wouldn’t think it would be too hard to elect 5 people who would vote not to renew her contract.
Alice – You should run. I have been trying to recruit a friend, and I know of a couple of others that are considering it. If snowgates gets on the spring ballot with the school board, it will be a prime opportunity for ‘out of the box’ thinkers to get on the board.
scott – I would love to see Homan’s ‘dirt’ file cabinet.
Watch the meeting live;
http://www.argusleader.com/article/20121126/UPDATES/121126012/Live-5-30-School-district-decide-fate-three-elementaries?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home
“I never said they were spineless – but the lack of dialogue and discussion that takes place on any issue is a concern.”
Well ok technically you didn’t, but you said it was refreshing that somebody (Parker) finally has a spine, which obviously suggests you don’t feel any of the others do. Let’s not focus upon semantics.
“I am a very involved parent and keep my ear to the grindstone to make the best decisions for my own children when it comes to their education. I am very connected to many individules, including those that have sat on the school board under Homan’s reign.”
That is awesome, because many parents are very disconnected and their kids grow up on autopilot. However, do you really have enough data on the current school board members to know they haven’t thought this through? I could just as well assume that Parker is voting based upon emotion and not logic but is that fair?
I’ll admit I don’t have a history with those schools and I don’t live in the area. I’m not as well versed as parents such as yourself or members of the school board, but I don’t think it is fair to judge them simply because they MIGHT disagree with you. Heck even if they did vote the way you would, it doesn’t mean they are doing so for the same reasons.
“With that, I have been encouraged to run for school board, but have also been cautioned on the fact that my kids may reap the repercussions of not following the status quo and I have heard that from more than one person.”
I know many people who run for school board have this view, but I don’t really find it legitimate. Many of the teachers don’t really care for Homan, so if anything the net effect upon your children might be a positive. Ultimately it is your decision to make, but I really don’t think the Superindendent is going to be so incredibly vindictive as to single out the kids of a school board member because in order to do so she would need to involve several others – and that is a risk no intelligent person would take.
Besides – as much as people like to bash Homan, I think she has bigger problems. It is no secret that Stehly has been a thorn in Homan’s side… but as far as I know Theresa is still allowed to be a substitute teacher.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t really buy into the conspiracy theories about school board kids being singled out.
“There will be a day that I consider public service in this capacity, but that will be after my kids are out of the system. Until then, as a mother and a taxpayer, I can ask questions, expect answers, and expect these individulas that CHOSE to run for this office to be accountable to the very public that pays for the education that is provided by this community.”
Nobody is saying you can’t hold school board members accountable. You should – and I respect that you are attempting to do so. I just feel you are being a little cynical. You have claimed there are back door deals between Sanford and Homan. You seem to be making assumptions about this particular vote. You seem to think the school board members are all running scared from Homan – yet I don’t see a lot of factual data to support any of this. If the school board agrees with Homan it doesn’t automatically mean they are following her wishes or that they are scared of her – it might just mean they are all on the same page and have come to the same conclusions.
I just hope (regardless of the outcome) that the school board has a good discussion and that they communicate the reasoning behind the final decision. Either way people are going to be upset and disappointed.
I do agree with L3wis though – if you are this passionate about school board issues you are doing the community a disservice if you don’t decide to run.
As I said, I have many reliable sources so for you to assume I make “assumptions” is not fair as well. I encourage you to watch a couple of school board meetings and observe the dialogue. It is so minimal it is ridiculous.
As a side note – we closed 3 neighborhood schools tonight but we are building a specialized school for one language? If they are spending taxpayer dollars, they better be able to accomodate every kid and family that wants to attend this school and be more than willing to listen to someone when they want a French Immersion Program, etc. Aren’t these called charter schools in the rest of the country?
As expected, the sheep (school board) followed the shepherd (Homan) and voted 4-1 to close Longfellow and Jefferson tonight. The fix was in before the meeting ever started – and elected officials wonder why people trust their government less every day. What was the point of having “public input” tonight?
Watching the public testimony and impassioned pleas from parents tonight reminded me of the four-hour public hearing on the event center location before MMM broke the 4-4 tie of the city council. But I will give Homan this much – at least she didn’t have her kid get up there to testify like MMM did on the Arena location.
One more thing – is it just me, or does it seem odd that we’re going to build another immersion school on the extreme edge of the Sioux Falls school district? Rosa Parks is literally across Highway 11 from the Brandon district, and this new school (as well as the replacement middle school) are within a stone’s throw of the West Central and Tri-Valley districts.
From a practical standpoint, you can only build where you can buy land. Regarding Rosa Parks, there’s nearly two square miles of undeveloped residential land within its current boundaries, and the school already has enrollment that exceeds that of Longfellow and Twain put together. It wouldn’t surprise me if at some point 5-10 years from now another elementary school near 57th and Hwy. 11 is built to accommodate new residential growth.
Tonight’s discussion is the product of kicking the can down the road for years and not dealing proactively with changing enrollment patterns in regard to geography. Consolidation is never an easy topic, but combining Twain and Longfellow and closing Jefferson is precisely what will help sustain elementary schools in our urban core. The less attractive alternative, as fewer families with kids locate in our central neighborhoods, is flipping the bussing paradigm, shuffling those kids out to schools beyond the interstates.
It’s unfortunate, however, that so much of this discussion deviates into ad hominem attacks and tinfoil-hattish conspiracy theories regarding motives of either board members or the superintendent. I’m not going to suggest Kate Parker’s some patsie for the Mark Twain PTA because I might disagree with her on this issue.
Insinuation is what you do when you want to malign someone but are too lazy to find proof of wrongdoing – whether it’s Harry Reid insisting that Mitt Romney didn’t pay income tax or the author suggesting that the AL writers and editors are burying information because of an advertising relationship with the school district, and then challenging them to prove otherwise. There’s just no place for that kind of garbage in civil discourse.
Why is the AL neglecting to tell the bigger story here? What do they have to lose? They have told us on repeat occasions that the AD department and the NEWS department don’t dictate each others duties, but have yet to provide proof of this.
Interesting point. Me thinks the paywall has a “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy when it comes to ruffling the feathers of it’s two major advertisers.
The paywall is content to keep the general public in the dark on important topics with little REAL investigative journalism. Look at today’s argus. Or any days argus for that matter. IF you can get past the paywall, and look at a story of your choice, you will find the 5 most “popular” articles posted on that page. Today, and today is certainly no exception, three obituaries are more popular than the school closings, and the snowgate issue.
I believe strongly if the Shopping News were to put any sort of emphasis on obit’s the death rattle of the argus would come much sooner.
I just can’t wait for the next Argus Leader editorial telling everyone interested in any of these issues to just shut up and read my latest awesome triathlon (training) story.
“It’s unfortunate, however, that so much of this discussion deviates into ad hominem attacks and tinfoil-hattish conspiracy theories regarding motives of either board members or the superintendent.”
Conspiracy theory? All I said is that our local media ask the question. What’s wrong with ‘Do either of the hospitals have interest in the land?’ Is that some kind of conspiracy theory? I think not. Even Vernon Brown said in the meeting last night that the school district has yet to meet with the city about what is going to be done with these lots. I think it is a very fair question to ask, and for you to suggest that it is a conspiracy theory is hogwash. As for bonding, why aren’t we asking about it? Seriously, we decided to close 3 schools and build a new one yet there has been no questions about bonding. Seems a bit strange if you ask me. Like I said, I just think some questions should be asked. No conspiracies.
“whether it’s Harry Reid insisting that Mitt Romney didn’t pay income tax”
Well, because he didn’t, and never offered proof otherwise.
“or the author suggesting that the AL writers and editors are burying information because of an advertising relationship with the school district”
Did I suggest that? I was talking about their relationship with the hospitals, not the school district.
“There’s just no place for that kind of garbage in civil discourse.”
I agree with you 100% on that statement, so when will the MSM in SF come clean? I have been waiting for years.
hornguy: “It’s unfortunate, however, that so much of this discussion deviates into ad hominem attacks and tinfoil-hattish conspiracy theories regarding motives of either board members or the superintendent.”
Well said, and that has been my point as well although seem to have articulated it better than I did.
And l3wis I don’t think this comment was directed at you based upon what you said here… it is just that we are seeing some pretty wild accusations being tossed around including some back alley meetings between Homan and the hospitals regarding land purchases… none of these statements have been substantiated, thus they are nothing short of conspiracy theories and rumors from unnamed people who might have biases of their own.
I agree there may be unanswered questions, but some people seem to be suggesting all the questions have been answered behind closed doors when in reality it is very possible we simply don’t have the answers yet because the questions haven’t even been asked.
Take for instance what is to be done with the land and buildings which will be closed – that isn’t a decision that needs to be made now, and it shouldn’t have any impact upon the decision to consolidate.
Now that they have voted they can evaluate options. Maybe the facilities have alternate uses, maybe a city department can utilize them for some purpose, maybe private developers want to turn them into apartments, or yes maybe a hospital would like to buy them for future expansion. I’m sure there will be several discussions to be had there, but I think people are a bit too quick to claim these types of decisions have already been made.
I also have to agree with hornguy that you can only build where you can find land. Like it or not, you go to where the students are – and that is generally in areas of town with growth. That isn’t downtown but instead at the borders. This is the same reason Harrisburg build new schools in Sioux Falls because they wanted to build the schools near the students they serve. The alternative is shuffling kids around via bus, and that isn’t really a great solution for a number of reasons.
I hope they do find uses, but let’s be realistic. The school district has abandoned several properties and done nothing with them. Maybe it would be a blessing to sell them to the hospitals. Maybe I have lost my marbles (well, I kind of have) but doesn’t anyone think it is strange that the School Board would vote to close schools and build a new one w/o having a plan with what to do with the old ones? Most people either sell their current home or car or trade it in before getting a different one. But for some reason, the school district doesn’t have to have a retirement plan before buying a new wife. Hmm. Because, it is not their money, who cares. And to tell you the truth, the apathy around this decision really pisses me off for those reasons.
Here’s what I don’t get. For the last few years I’ve read all of these stories about how people are or are going to be moving closer to the center of town. Yet enrollment is continuing to decline at these schools, and Homan’s crowd says there is no data that says this trend will change. Which is the truth?
I guess, that most of the people that are moving DT are empty nesters and single people.
“… doesn’t anyone think it is strange that the School Board would vote to close schools and build a new one w/o having a plan with what to do with the old ones?”
Not at all actually – because this is pretty common practice for government. The need for a new school doesn’t really have any bearing on the future uses of the old schools and old land so it should be a separate discussion.
You are correct that individuals can’t follow this same pattern, and perhaps some of that is due to it being taxpayer dollars rather than their own, but it isn’t exactly a new concept. Many government buildings end up sitting idle until another agency moves in or until they are finally auctioned or sold off. Same way with government equiptment – they might replace a vehicle in February, but they don’t auction the old one off until October… that is just how they operate.
Of course we know the approximate value of the land and we know the facilities won’t be very useful as is without extensive remodeling. The real story however is will they have sincere talks about the future of those facilities? Will they consider earmarking some of the land for city parks to fulfill the needs which are currently fulfilled by schools themselves?
I will admit I hate the idea of a 100 year old building being torn down. I’d much rather see the buildings re-purposed and used for offices or even converted into apartments. The idea of a building with that much history being leveled and replaced with modern vanilla structures is less than appealing.
“Like it or not, you go to where the students are – and that is generally in areas of town with growth.”
Are you kidding me? They are planning to build the specialized school out by STI. That’s an area of growth? No way – in fact – this school will be built within a rocks throw of West Central’s school district. There now is plenty of places to put the new school and they go out there? Idiots.
And I have to say, I am amazed that people are so up in arms regarding snowgates but people are not furious about building a new specialized school with taxpayer dollars? How the hell did this happen?
Well Alice the other part of that equation is they can only build schools where they can get land. It isn’t like they can put one out near the East side building boom since that is the Brandon Valley district. They can’t go South as that is Harrisburg. The North side doesn’t really have any significant building because people fear crossing I-90.
So what is left? You pretty much have to go West. There are several developments in that area that are growing, and if you look at pricepoints of those homes you will soon notice they are entry level. That is also where numerous Habitat for Humanity homes have been built in the past five years, and it is also home to new townhomes and apartments for low to mid income earners. It is a growth area for families that actually have children as opposed to the growth in the core which is older people with no kids.
So I ask what types of students will attend a Spanish language immersion school? I really don’t know the answer – but I am guessing it will be a lot of lower income students from families that may have generational connections to Spanish speaking countries and even have native Spanish speakers in the home.
Just like a business – you go where the customers are. Of course I could be wrong… maybe the people who want this type of program are upper income people who want their children to be bilingual?
As to people being upset about the new school, I think it comes down to the point that we would need a new school either way. What they decide to teach in it probably doesn’t really matter, because if that program ends up being a gimmick and they decide to convert back to traditional education in five years – they will still need the building to house all of those students.
I’m not sold on these immersion programs myself – and I tend to think they are nothing more than a trend that won’t be around in a decade, but I can’t say as I’m upset about them building a school since there are lot of young families over there that will directly benefit from it.