D204 land deal for 3rd HS is off

Metea Valley Land.......HE GONE!

Actually the SD only really needs about 40 acres to build this HS. Once you start cutting out all the fat and excess and start using the land efficiently and effectively there is no way anyone can justify 80 acres. Which raises the point of why were we buying 87 if we only needed 80, but now they say we need 50.

30 acres times the $$/acre wanted by BB adds up to some serious money. Where is the fiscal responsibility or is the SB just shopping their wish list?

Is there any number that this SB will consistently stand behind? Why does everything continue to move and shift?

My take is the SB is PO'd and have their heels dug in over BB so don't expect much discussion or action there. One option would be for them to only go for 15 acres of the BB parcel and add it to the 25 they already own and get moving. They sure haven't told us anything about how they intend to get out of the mess they locked us into with those 25 acres either... or has everyone forgotten about that?

That leaves them with these options:
- Initiate merger talks with SD 203.
- Build some minor additions to NV and WV.
- File an eminent domain lawsuit against Midwest Gen.
- Start getting serious with discussions with MACOM about their parcel.
- Look at other available parcels. There are several parcels in the area of the Midwest Gen site alone. Some are within the boundaries of the district, some are not. The ones outside could still be used... the only significant difference would be that the SB would have to negotiate totally in good faith because their eminent domain power isn't any good outside the district.

I think this is a sad reflection of what has transpired in our district recently. We collectively voted that a third high school would make all of our children's educational experiences better, yet we have made it darn near impossible for our school board and administrators to proceed with any/all decisions regarding the building of this high school. We made the boundary discussions over Brach-Brodie nasty and long; the court system made it financially impossible to buy BB; and now a lawsuit has again made such a big deal about the environmental issues that no one wants to sell to us (probably for fear we'll sue them too!). We don't deserve a new high school; we deserve classes in trailers and split shifts. We have literally tied the hands of the people who were trying to make our referendum vote a reality.
The ones that have lost the most are the children. No doubt about it. Broch Brodie is not the answer. The land is too expensive and the intersection is unsafe. And so your lawsuit has done nothing but bring down this community; leave our children with overcrowded schools; and tarnish the reputation for a long time to come of Tall Grass and White Eagle, two nice neighborhoods. And today, after all this ugliness, we're no further along than we were 2 years ago. The NSFOC owes the rest of 204 and all of the children of this district a sincere apology.

Can you see the future? A smaller Matea HS. WE kids at WVHS and TG at NVHS. The rest of the boundaries stay the same.

That might really tick off that one WE plantiff but will be outvoted by the other 8.

I never understood the unrealistic goal of opening the high school in 2009, especially since the district has yet to acquire land. I hope now the first thing the school board does is say they're pushing back the opening to fall 2010. This whole process has seemed unneccessarily rushed. As far as where to build the high school, I liked the point made by the person who said if they build it on 50 acres of the church property at Eola, why did we need 87 acres at Eola or 80 acres of BB in the first place? That creates an impossible situation for the school board, because it would force them to renig on their promises made to residents that the schools would all be equal in terms of facilities. Eola is out, in my opinion. And you can bet they'll never buy the Macom property and let TG go to the new high school after all this. So I think the only logical solution is to bite the bullet, pay the extra money and buy BB, if they haven't already burned those bridges. That would resolve the lawsuits by the Brach and Brodie trusts, and at least keep some of the promises made to voters who rejected the first referendum and approved the second only after they were allowed to participate in the boundary process. This last selection of Eola shut people out of the boundaries discussion, and look what happened. They got sued, and now they can't get the land they wanted.

Way back when SD 204 was created the SD inherited a plot of land. This plot had been previously purchased as a site for a new high school in District 107, which was dissolved when SD204 was created. The site had already been bought and paid for and it was located in the area of Modaff and 87th St.

Does anyone remember what happened to this piece of land?

Eola is definately out. The rumor mill of buying the other part of the church's land is silly. While the contamination issue is gone, the big issue, which isn't going away, are the 2 x 36" and 1 x 20" high pressure pipes. The other issues of 9 ES areas crossing RR tracks (v. 4 at BB) and the 13% higher transportation miles / cost isn't going away either.

Even another site closer to the geographic center of the district still exposes the SD to at least 2 lawsuits, which could carry some significant costs. Heck, just our legal bills would probably run in the millions.

Since the referendum specifically stated a comprehensive 3rd HS, we couldn't really use the funds elsewhere either, and I think we all know what chances the next referendum has.

The responsible thing to do is to buy BB, and not piss another dollar of legal fees away. Swallow your ego Mark, it's getting us in trouble. Do what's right for all of us.

I too never understood the unrealistic deadline of opening in fall of 2009. There have been unforseen delays in this whole process to date, therefore the opening date should be delayed as well.

However, can we please stop bashing neighborhoods? I have communicated by email to the school board on several occasions with questions. I have also asked for their leadership in our community to bring us back together while expressing my support to their decisions. Guess what, I live in Tall Grass and I attended District 203.

As in everything, there are good people and bad people, generous and selfish, kind and unkind. No one can catagorize an entire street, neighborhood, school, town, city or country as evil. There will always be exceptions to any rule. Just as you would not wish to be labeled as something you are not, please reply in kind.

I only wish our school board some time to endeavor to find the best solution for all of our children in district 204. Does that mean a smaller school with less facilities? Or another location? Or adding on to the existing two schools? I do not know, but I do know I will continue to communicate with our school board by email to find out the details of their next proposal.

You're absolutely right, Slow Down. 2009 has got to be out of the picture! Hey guess what? We just saved the District $10M in expedited costs. Honestly, they need to go back, hire an independent consultant to come in and evaluate the situation. Right now, there is no confidence in the SB or Dr. D. Let someone else (a paid professional) come in and tell our inept SB what they should do.

When and IF this 3rd HS is ever built, I definitely think the name/mascot should be changed. Remember the name Metea is named after an Indian chief that died from alcohol poisoning. Ironic, huh (get it, alcohol poisoning - envirnomental poisoning?).

Eva, thanks for the comment, but I must disagree with you about hiring a consultant. This is an issue that the school board needs to involve the community in resolving, not outsiders. It's really going to take some strong leadership to try to pull the community back together. I think BB has the best chance of being mutually agreeable to as many people as possible and it's what was promised before the referendum. We don't need a consultant to tell us that the right thing to do now is to buy the rest of BB and get on with building the high school so it can open by 2010.

Anonymous on April 10, 2008 6:40 PM

Maybe you need to go back and reread your notes. The School Board and ONLY the School Board got us into this mess in the first place. Look at Mark Metzger's condemnation Lawsuit that really got us rolling in the wrong direction. If he didn't start down this destructive path we would already be breaking ground on BB.

Now they have multiple lawsuits which tells you that the voters are not happy on how this was handled. Return to what you marketed the voters to get your "YES" vote and put everything back the way it was. The school board needs to quit acting like a pre-schooler with a temper tantrum and grow up and start making good on there promise.

As far as the school board says that all options are now on the table, including the building of a smaller version of the high school on the remaining 50 acres.

Hello Daeschner! We own 25 acres at BB already purchase another 25 at BB and your probably still saving money.

Overcrowding at the HS level is a myth when factoring in the use of COD Frontier. HS Enrollment peaks in 2011 and then begins to decline. NVHS peaks in 2010 and then declines.
We have more than 1000 empty seats at the elementary school level (the 850 classroom seats at Peterson are still half empty).
Elementary school enrollment declinded the last 2 years in a row for a 284 student decline.

Get some portable classrooms for the middle school level until the bubble of students passes, keep WVHS freshman campus as it is and go back to educating students.

The district needs to stop wasting our money on attorneys and half empty schools.

Who in their right mind would enter into a business transaction with D204 now? The SB and Dr. Daeschner has divided our community and cannot be trusted. The MACOM property has even more owners than the EOLA property, which will make negotiations nearly impossible, given the SB track record. The only choices I see feasible at this point is to either by BB (which is what the people of D204 voted for in the first place) or expand the exisiting high schools (note, I do not live in WE or TG). Well, there may be one more option; vote the existing school board memebers off and start fresh. Then maybe the new SB can replace Dr. Daeschner with someone who unites, not divides the community.

To Time to slow down on April 10, 2008 6:53 PM and
204 parent on April 10, 2008 7:28 PM--

I remember during the 06 referendum discussions the SB saying that NV and WV would have to go to split shifts in the fall of 09 if a 3rd HS was not open by then. 2009 was when the beginning of the enrollment bubble was suppose to hit, by the SB's estimates. That explains the rush.

Plus, the SB did want to buy less than 80 acres at BB, but the BB trusts would not sell less. They told the SB if they wanted the land, they had to buy all of it or none.

Hope this helps clarify things.

A big THANK YOU to the thousands of supporters and contributors to WWW.NSFOC.ORG and for standing up to the district and committing the time and energy to fight for what many of us know is right.

I neither gave money or attended any meetings but I did register on the website and I salute you!

The whole referendum was a lie.
Costs up.
Enrollment down.

Dollars and sense, So, does this mean that after they threatened residents with split shifts to get them to approve the referendum and the voters approved the referendum, students will have split shifts anyway because there's no way they're going to sort out this mess in time to open the school by 2009? Or, does it mean that they won't have split shifts, which will prove that it was merely a threat to get people to vote for the referendum all along? Yes, NV and WV may be crowded but it's manageable, the bubble will pass. Is it true that the third high school will only really be needed for three years, and not opening it in time for '09-10 eliminates one of those years?

Thanks NSFOC you just made my decision a little easier as to whether or not to take a relo. I was hoping to stay here but it's time to move out of here. The last thing I want for my kids is anyone of the scenarios should we not get the 3rd HS. I am not willing to play russian roulette with my kids education.

From what I've seen in this community is a SB that has worked their pants off only to be slapped with law suits. At least 2 years ago when others weren't happy with the final boundaries they left unhappy and left it at that. But unfortunately our neighbors to the south feel they are more entitled to everything. Well good luck with your split shifts and mobiles. Hope a tornado doesn't hit midday and suck up a mobile. Now I have to laugh thinking how those who despise WV will now have to sit in mobiles to get an education. If that's not justice. Unfortunatley it's their kids who are suffering the consequences.

to eve, eve I wholeheartly agree with you. I am a tall grass resident and have been here almost 10 years, I am not party to any lawsuit but someone how it seems people have decided those who live here are horrible people and our children should not be allowed at this school or that school . It saddens me to think this is what the community has become. A lot of things have been said on these blogs , some polite others downright scary. Right now there is a very large majority angry and I feel the only way we can come together is to have indepentent consultants come in No more this subdivision against that subdivision, no bias ,just what is the best for this school district. I hope more people would back an idea like this, if all the people in the ipsd are truly wanting what is best for all the kids of ipsd I beleive this may be the only way to stop the splitting of this community. heres hoping for a better future........

Time to slow down,
You're right we don't need a paid consultant to come in and tell us to buy BB. There's no doubt we should just buy BB however, I have a hard time believing that our SB will actually recognize that. Maybe at this time they need an outside person guiding them as it's pretty clear they can't make good decisions.

The strategy and tactics to secure Eola were flawed and wrong. Tomorrow is a new day. Let’s hope that the board and admin take some time to reflect and realize that this is a great community. We all want the best for our kids and if we're involved will support what needs to be done. Will the leaders emerge with transparency and encourage involvement in the selection of the site or will they go back into executive session and decide the next steps?

I am hoping for a change. If there was one perhaps (it’s a stretch) the community could come together. If there is no change then the only way I see healing occurring is a change in leadership.

My fear is that the pride and arrogance of Metzger etal will prohibit them from dealing with landlords they've jerked around for the last 2 yrs. The economy is in our favor and if the leaders can put their egos aside and work on behalf of the kids we may have a chance.

Nobody is pounding down the BB doors to buy our acres so I suspect the board can negotiate a fair (less than the jury decision) price for the rest of BB. Since that is what we all were told would be done with the referendum $$ the community should help pressure BB.

We also need to remember that Linda Holmes was helping the district during the condemnation and quick take legislation (read the articles in archive and she was heralded as a great advocate). Her reward was the SB walked away from the site she worked with them to acquire. When she tries to get environmental data for her constituents she's ridiculed and "investigated" by the same characters who used her for BB. She has done no wrong and her treatment is shameful.

Daschner's email to us yesterday was interesting... We all DO have pride in our district and its two existing high schools. What we've not been proud of is how he and the board have been conducting our business. Dr Dashner, if you think we've lost pride in our schools you are very wrong. It’s the admin who need a little tutoring on how to work with people.

I'm hoping for a change, tomorrow is a new day... carpe diem.

Does anyone know if the nsfocfraud.com site is down? The last update is from 03/29/08 and tomorrow is already 04/11/08. I was just wondering as there has been a lot of news releases during the last week and a half and it seems a bit odd that this would not be up to date.

Eva...if the school board hires the consultant and the consultant comes back and says Eola, the entitled nine will throw another hissy fit. I am sure the entitled nine have a list of consultants they would like the school district to hire but everyone of the consultants would live in Tall Grass.

I am yet to see anywhere why the entitled nine feel the SB has an agenda against Tall Grass. The boundary issue is demographics and geography.

No one has explained yet why the entire school district should buy the most expensive piece of property left within the district just so the entitled nine feel it is best for everyone.

There are plenty of properties left on the north side of the district that will cost the district about half the cost of the BB property. Each of those locations will save all of us a great deal of money. Even if the district found one with pristine soil and never been touched by human hands, the entitled nine would still demand that the entire district over pay for the BB land so they can get the new high school.

To Tar..I did not single out Tall Grass...just your select neighbors that have put their selfish needs before the entire district.

Looks like we finally found someone in the community that is thinking rationally and unfortunately it is Midwest Generation. Maybe this should be a wake up call for the SB and even NSFOC that it is time to stop the fighting be totally honest with each others and get to the real issue. We really don't need another high school in the district. In 15 years it will not be at peak capacity along with the other two schools. Both WVHS and NVHS will in desperate need of repairs and will be fighting for very limited resources that are going to operating all three schools, when only two were needed. Terms such as deferred maintenance will be the norm, cuts in programs and increase teacher/student ratios will be flying around.

The SB needs to take a hard look and begin a 20-25 year master plan for the two existing high schools that is going to project out what it will cost to perform routine maintenance and replacement of HVAC, Electrical, roofs, windows, carpets, etc. at these schools, in addition to the costs of running a third high school. This doesn't even include all the elementary schools in the district that will need these same repairs. What will start happening, because it has happened elsewhere, for example Evanston, Arlington Heights, and other school districts close to the city is that they have to start closing schools or increasing taxes through more referendum's and false promises.

This SB needs to look at a plan for all of this and then go back out for a new referendum that incorporates a project for additions to the existing schools and possibly a O&M fund increase to start saving for the days that will be here soon. This will be wiser then spending any more money on lawyers, undesirable property, and a high school we really don't need.

This is the only true fair way to move forward, especially since the predicted growth is not materializing as planned because of this little thing called a Recession.

I did not support the 3rd HS and still think it is not needed. People didn't agree with me in 2006, but with the virtual stoppage in home construction more see the light.

Expand NV & WV. Bring in some portables. Come on people, $130,000,000 is a lot of money!

Even Ricky Bobby knows you don't build a high school on a toxic waste dump. Ricky is glad to see that the Midwest boys feel the same way.

That land would be perfect for the Ricky Bobby Nascar Race Track! You all come up and see me when it opens.

Shake & Bake!

RB

The first paragraph of Dash's letter yesterday sounded like a resignation - hopefully he will realize what a pathetic job he has done here, and leave gracefully. Metzger also needs to realize he played a major role and needs to resign. When corporate leaders mess up like this, that's what happens. Heads roll. A change in leadership at the SB and Admin levels is required for us to get past this. With those 2 resignations, we can start to move past.

Well the d204 saga continues.

Some of the most spoiled of our community stomped, cried, and called for an adult in state government to do their bidding, and finally got their way with District 204 School Board, albeit through the back door, as the Midwest Generation Company today succumbed to the pressure-cooker that is school district 204 politics, declaring they wont sell their land to D204

more at ...

www.naperville-tv.com

Will somebody at the next SB meeting please make a motion to remove Metzger and at least restart the process at this good break in the action. It is time for some new leadership.

After all these many, many months I'm no longer sure what strengths Metzger actually has. He sure does not seem to be using any of them for either his own advantage or the SD. Everybody else's lawyers have completely boxed him in and he is totally clueless. There is no plan, heck there is no planning. Everything he has done for the last six months has been reactionary. Everybody else is jerking his chain. He is no longer in control of anything.

It is time for someone else to step up and lead, really lead, our SD into the next chapter of its history. We desperately need someone who has a vision and who can articulate that vision to the community and unite everyone once again. There are serious wounds in this community that need to be healed and they can not be neglected or ignored while all of the uncertainties surrounding this project continue to shift and change on a daily basis. Right now the healing that needs to begin is far more important than a dirt pile or a stack of bricks. And if the SB doesn't understand that, then they have no business being responsible for our children's education.

Absolutely shocking how the NSFOC bloggers all say how is the SB going to get us out of this mess - my god people - you (yes TG and WE) are the reasons we are in this mess. Without a doubt, the schools are overcrowded and we all know the Eola land is as safe as any in our district. Driving around today I saw there are high tension wires everywhere - rr tracks everywhere - and yes I bet there's spilt anti-freeze in a lot of places as well. NSFOC - you are a disgrace,

carpe diem...you don't see a connection between the timing of Linda Holme's admitted conversation with the Midwest Gen people and when Vickers said the SB started feeling that Midwest Gen was getting nervous?

To Time to slow down on April 10, 2008 8:19 PM--

The answers to your questions depends on whose enrollment projection data you're looking at, and there's a couple different ones out there. It doesn't look like Metea will be opening by fall of '09 now, and the SB insisted back in 06 that split shifts would be necessary at NV and WV by 09 if there was not a 3rd HS, so we'll have to wait and see if that materializes. Whether or not a 3rd high school was needed to handle a bubble and how long that bubble would last has been bantered around since the push for the 06 referendum and, again, depends on whose stats you're using. Your guess is as good as mine.

To anonymous who is looking at taking a relo package, I wish you luck. You will be very hard pressed to find a better community or school district whereever you may move to. What makes this SD so good is the parental involvement and caring, professional teachers - not the SB. The thousands of parents all over the district who are involved with NSFOC understand this notion and do not want a HS on a marginal site (fortunately Midwest Generation believes that also) or have their vote disregarded. Every problem we are now facing is of the SB's making.

This SB is willing to spend $10M on expidite fees for the new school - had they stuck to their word originally and just paid the extra for BB the cost would be pretty much the same. $28M BB or $17M Eola + $10M expidite = $27M. Please keep in mind $3M from BB was original damages so that goes to both sites. BB does not come with a wet land problem, 40 years of pollution, $1M more in transporation costs annually, or a divided community. Again, good luck when you relocate and some good advice might be to look very carefully at the school district in your new home and try not to be so gullible this time. The problems in D204 are derived from 7 people that cannot keep their word.

To Anonymous 11:01 p.m. I, as much as I fault the D204 leadership for creating the current situation, I think it is premature to talk about removal of SB president or supt. That is, of course, provided the current leadership tries to reach out to the 204 community and tries to heal the divisiveness they have created. I think stubbornness caused this situation: hardball tactics with BB owners and TG homeowners proved disastrous, and we've seen an unwillingness to give any sort of serious consideration to the Macom proposal, not that I think that would be the best solution anyway. Truly I think the best course of action I would like to see from this point forward is for the leadership to humbly accept that they've been arrogant and stubborn, and to ask for the community's forgiveness and help in determining the best solution. If you ask me, the location that's best going to heal the divisiveness is BB, that's what was sold to the voters. Stick with the boundaries that were approved with the input from residents. It's time to start seriously talking about finding a way to pay the additional costs for the BB land. Anything else just seems to dig a deeper hole that ultimately will result in higher costs anyway.

Boy, did the school board ever underestimate NSFOC. They didn't see this coming, just like they didn't expect the verdict of the land price in the BB condemnation. How is this the fault of a group of residents who took action because they felt shut out of the process? NSFOC didn't have anything to do with the BB verdict. The Eola site has never made sense, it was only plan B all along. It's the school board that doesn't know what it's doing, going back to the first failed referendum. Faulty enrollment projections were used to sell the need for a third HS, and all other possible ways of dealing with the temporary overcrowding at the two existing high schools were rejected. So to get the referendum passed promises were made about the location of the third HS and what the boundaries would be. All the people who voted for that referendum are at fault, for not anticipating that the question of raising taxes to pay for construction never should have been put to voters until AFTER land had been acquired. We all know the rest of the story. Who's to blame? Everyone who put their trust in the school board.

I am ashamed how a small group is able to put their individual needs ahead of the needs of the whole district. Those of you that don't think our schools are crowded, try walking the hallways during passing period at either of the two high schools, its insane. Even with the freshman centers, there are way to many kids. Those of you who keep saying that high school students can fit into elementary buildings, you are gravely mistaken! Those are built to house smaller children, the hallways are narrower and classrooms are smaller, high school kids can't physically work in those buildings. I hope the school board decides NOT to build a third high school and decides to put portable class rooms all over the district. What a great selling poing that will be for realtors. I can just see it now the Taj Mahal with mobile classrooms in front of it. Won't those South Siders just love that. "Hey my kid gets to stay at Neuqua but only goes in the actual building for lunch and P.E., the rest of the day they are in a mobile class room, hey but we are still wildcats"! I have lived an taught in this district for over 25 years. I have always believed that the district was one of the best in the state until today. I am appalled how the district has been divided. I am extremely proud my child is graduating from W.V. this year and will not have to deal with the mess that the small group of individuals has left for the rest of the districts children.

I am a teacher at the high school level for District 204 and I am sickened by the events that have transpired. NSFOC, you are a disgrace. Every day I hear STUDENTS say that the district should just let your kids go to Neuqua so you will shut up and the school can get built. They know your real reasons are that you don't want your kids to go to school in a slightly older building with "black people." Again, STUDENTS are well aware of this--not only is it painfully obvious, enough of your members have admitted this "off the record." Now they see that your lies, bullying, and temper tantrums have caused a company to back out of a business deal, so as to avoid years of lawsuits from you if you don't get your way. Sadly, everyone knows you don't need the truth on your side...you have an ambulance chaser and and too much time on your hands to figure out how you can slander people and tie this up in court. Midwest was smart to back out, who would want to deal with you. I am not alone as a teacher who is planning to leave the district. My only complaint with the school board is that they have not done enough to throw this back in your faces and make the public well aware that you are simply RACIST. Good job NSFOC, you are for a FACT causing GOOD teachers to leave the district, suing and taking money away from the schools our children attend, and you have now stopped the construction of a new high school which would alleviate massive overcrowding issues with your LIES. Pretty ironic that CPS is trying to deal with children getting KILLED on their way to school, and you are whining about your kids possibly attending an older building. You would shut up tomorrow if you could go to Neuqua, meaning you DON'T care about the environmental and other lies you are spreading. I care about teaching kids and I feel I need to step out of this district to show that I don't approve of what the kids in our district are learning from this mess.

Macom cost less then BB.
Macom cost less then BB.
Macom cost less then BB.

The boundaries are similar to BB.
The boundaries are similar to BB.
The Boundaries are similar to BB.

The reason I have to say this three times is because we need three groups to realize this. NSFOC, Brookdale and the SB.

Then, we have a school. Then, we have no more crowding. Then, we are done with the problem.

About these comments against NSFOC -----

C'mon, if the property were safe, the SB and Midwest Gen would have ignored NSFOC. Bottom line is there are "unanswered questions" with 100s of dangers. It's just LESS safe then other properties, but "how" unsafe is what's in question.

Leave NSFOC alone. Leave TG and WE alone. This is America, people have a right to speak out. Argue with the facts, not people.

The only element of this district tearing it apart are the SB and Brookdale group that tries to 'divide' the district when someone in TG or WE disagrees with them.

History tells the success of TG:
1) First ref 2006: TG desires to stay at NVHS: response, "no" you go to Metea: Tall Grass says "OK" and votes overwhelmingly "Yes" for the new school.
2) Can't buy the BB land, TG desires to stay at NVHS: response "no" you go to 6.5 miles away to Waubansie, even know you overwhelmingly helped us pass the new school.
3) During both processes TG takes a beating; sb members say negative things about the community. Other neighborhoods speak negatively "fry babies" about the community. Threats to the TG community.

I'm pretty damn proud of TG and I'd put the subdivision up as the #1 subdivision in Naperville.

It does not give up. It supports education. It has one of the finest grade schools.

Take a step back. Tall Grass is a fantastic community. In fact, it's had the biggest 204 supporters around. It's just tired of being the punching bag of the district.

Congrats to NSFOC.

I you really are sincere about what's best for the children in SD 204 (and not just about securing your spot in NVHS), the first thing you can do this morning is to withdraw your lawsuit.

We own 25 acres on Brach Brodie. Let's build the 7th middle school there which is why we bought that land in the first place. This will help with our overcrowding on the MS level. When it is no longer needed then Still MS gets sold and turned over to a commercial site which was the intention of that location in the first place.
WVHS is land locked with no room for expansion it is already a maze from the numerous additions that it already has. Also no room for trailers there.
NVHS has plenty of room for an addition let's expand that school. Deal with the fact that it will be a mega-size school, no one wants to leave, so make it bigger so that they can all stay.
I do not agree with buying BB with the cost the court has set. Face it the BB heirs will not take less then the price that has been established. Nor do I agree with building an inferior HS on less acres.

To the School Board, please make sure the next site sends Tall Grass and White Eagle to WVHS. Since their focus was on the quality of the land, they won't mind at all. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

By Anonymous on April 10, 2008 9:42 PM
Eva...if the school board hires the consultant and the consultant comes back and says Eola, the entitled nine will throw another hissy fit. I am sure the entitled nine have a list of consultants they would like the school district to hire but everyone of the consultants would live in Tall Grass.

I am yet to see anywhere why the entitled nine feel the SB has an agenda against Tall Grass. The boundary issue is demographics and geography.

No one has explained yet why the entire school district should buy the most expensive piece of property left within the district just so the entitled nine feel it is best for everyone.

There are plenty of properties left on the north side of the district that will cost the district about half the cost of the BB property. Each of those locations will save all of us a great deal of money. Even if the district found one with pristine soil and never been touched by human hands, the entitled nine would still demand that the entire district over pay for the BB land so they can get the new high school.

To Tar..I did not single out Tall Grass...just your select neighbors that have put their selfish needs before the entire district.
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See the signs? God doesn't send any more obvious signs than what he has been showing the SB supporter, or should I be saying Hate mongers since you all like lables so much. It's time to back the right causes. Don't cry because your head just slipped below water. I saw the lord reach his hand out to pull you up and you just called him names and drowned. You know in your heart that the things you are saying is just flat wrong. Stand for something or fall for anything. The SB is playing you for a fool and you are right there. Pull back and take a deep breath. I know some of the people who are in the NSFOC and I know that some of them are your neighbors too. You and the others that are spreding hatred should look a little closer and see that you are acting way more entitled than the NSFOC who are actually standing for something.

Anon at 11:01, pot shouldn't call the kettle black. Quite obvious you don't have the strength to go to the next board meeting and as you say "make a motion to remove Metzger". Why does someone have to do the work for you. If you feel that strongly about removing him why don't you do it. If your not willing to fix the problem don't complain. Everyone wants to remove the SB but nobody wants to step up and do their jobs. Why, because you couldn't handle the heat that you yourself are giving this SB.

Amazing how everything was fine until the boundaries were laid out.

By Snakes in the Tall Grass on April 10, 2008 10:36 PM
Well the d204 saga continues.

Some of the most spoiled of our community stomped, cried, and called for an adult in state government to do their bidding, and finally got their way with District 204 School Board, albeit through the back door, as the Midwest Generation Company today succumbed to the pressure-cooker that is school district 204 politics, declaring they wont sell their land to D204

more at ...

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I can see by your title and comments that you're upset because someone else was getting "the business" through the back door. You should be used to it given you support a SB that practices this regularly. Ironic?

By Anonymous on April 10, 2008 11:01 PM
Absolutely shocking how the NSFOC bloggers all say how is the SB going to get us out of this mess - my god people - you (yes TG and WE) are the reasons we are in this mess. Without a doubt, the schools are overcrowded and we all know the Eola land is as safe as any in our district. Driving around today I saw there are high tension wires everywhere - rr tracks everywhere - and yes I bet there's spilt anti-freeze in a lot of places as well. NSFOC - you are a disgrace,

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Are you blind or just dumb? I don't mean to pick on you as I see you are disabled but inflamitory comments like yours continually bashing TG and WE is exactly why Stonebrige is probably the one with the black eye here. Why don't you get the media to go down to that "Safe" Eola land together and you can show us how safe the drinking water is by having a glass. Maybe you just want to sit or roll in the grass. You might want to but I bet you don't have the guts.

To:By Anonymous on April 11, 2008 12:30 AM - I AGREE!

The actions of the school board have put us in this mess. I wonder if there is another school disrtict in the entire country that passed a referendum for a new school with location and boundaries in place, then didn't do it. They have wasted sooo much money, and we have nothing to show for it. After the first Brach Brodie disaster you would think they would procede with extream caution, yet the forge ahead as if our tax pockets are bottomless. They have no accountability. I see the NSFOC as a way to hold them accountable on some level.

According to yesterday's article in the Herald, Christine Vickers stated that they suspected that the land deal might not happen a few weeks ago, but that no Plan B was discussed. If the SB thought the deal might fall through, why wouldn't they try to negotiate with BB while we still had some negotiating power? Now Christine Vickers is back on her stance that we don't need a third HS.

With the success of the Frontier Campus, maybe we could build a second Frontier Campus on the 25 acres we already own at BB. In the future, when enrollment drops the disctrict could sell the building.

Also, I think the SB needs to understand that there is more than a "very small and vocal group" that was against the Eola site. You don't need to be a member of NSFOC to be against this site. There are many, many people who are unhappy with the site. Think of the increased transportation costs, especially with the increasing cost of fuel.

Dr. D's letter on Wednesday was laying the ground to blame NSFOC for what transpired yesterday. Let's stop playing into the SB's hand and stop fighting. It does nothing more than damage our community.

To Anonymous on April 11, 2008 12:30 AM--

The referendum raised the money to buy the land, as well as pay for construction.

The SB might want to forget about the MACOM property because environmentally, it isn't that much more desirable than Eola. Drive by, check out the EMFs associated with that property in addition to the RR tracks!

What happened to the land around 111th and north of 248th?

toBy Time to slow down on April 11, 2008 12:12 AM
The Macon site will be subject to more scrutiny than the Eola site. There are more antiNSFOC supporters than NSFOC supporters and you just know that the testign that will be required. More owners of that land. More people to call out in the newspaper NSFOC style (a fullpage ad to discredit Midwest Gen). Do you really think the numerous owners of that land welcome that kind of pressure?

On that same note. Collins brought up same points about testing and the BB site will have to go through incredible testing of that site. It will have to be held to the same standards that Collins wanted for the Eola site. Let's make sure the land is tested for banned pesticides and fertilizers from the 60's & 70's. Make sure we get front page press from the Sun everyday as we question every possibel chemical that may be at that site.

The NSFOC thinks the school board under estimated them. If these tactics work, the rest of us will give those tactics a try.

http://www.ipsd.org/Uploads/news_17332_1.pdf

According to the above document, NVHS enrollment will peak in 2010, before a 3rd high school could even be ready, and overall HS enrollment peaks in 2011 and then declines.

It is way past time to even think about building another high school.

Get some portable classrooms for the real need we have now with the bubble of students at the middle school level.

Remember, we already have 5 high schools:

NNV main campus, NV freshman campus, COD Frontier, WV main campus and the WV freshman campus

We have plenty of capacity to handle the district's lowered and now more realistic enrollment projections, not the ones below which they used to "sell" us the 3rd high school.

http://www.ipsd.org/newsevents/news_item_detail.asp?id=5768

To summarize, the district said "we are very certain that by 2015, high school enrollment will total between 10,200 students and 10,500 students".

Now even the district admits that enrollment will peak at 9254 and then decline.

Can the district find common sense and do what is right for the citizens of 204? Only time will tell if they can overcome their arrogance and admit they were wrong.

Dr. Daeschner keeps claiming we need a 3rd high school, just because he says so doesn't make it true. The district's own enrollment projections are far below the capacity of our 5 high schools.

Anonymous on April 11, 2008 12:30 AM, are you saying that NSFOC strong armed Midwest Gen into not selling their land to the SB when you said "Boy, did the school board ever underestimate NSFOC"? That is interesting if that actually happened...I am sure that people who live in WE and TG are high enough on a corporate ladder at their companies that if one of them did business with Midwest Gen they could make things tough for them.

So if the SB has to go back to BB and pay the increase, will NSFOC pay the difference? Will Shawn Collins represent the district against the greedy lawyers of the BB land to get them to lower their price?

What this comes down too is all of the tax payers who live in D204 are going to pay for this disaster...higher taxes because of lawsuits, higher taxes because of the higher land price at BB and higher taxes because of poor planning by the SB when they try to rush to the Fall of 2009 to open the school...bottom line...is there really a need for a third high school now? It seems one of the SB members doesn't think so...maybe that should explored more.

Thank you to all members of the SB and Dr. D. for all that you have done to continue the awesome education that many in this community have received. It's sad, however, that a handful of newcomers have ruined an awesome education system that this community has made for itself over the years.

I have always been a big supporter to the SD over the past 25 years not only as a graduate of WV but also as a taxpayer. It's sad to see what the new folks in this area have done.

By reggie on April 11, 2008 6:14 AM
I am ashamed how a small group is able to put their individual needs ahead of the needs of the whole district. Those of you that don't think our schools are crowded, try walking the hallways during passing period at either of the two high schools, its insane. Even with the freshman centers, there are way to many kids. Those of you who keep saying that high school students can fit into elementary buildings, you are gravely mistaken! Those are built to house smaller children, the hallways are narrower and classrooms are smaller, high school kids can't physically work in those buildings. I hope the school board decides NOT to build a third high school and decides to put portable class rooms all over the district. What a great selling poing that will be for realtors. I can just see it now the Taj Mahal with mobile classrooms in front of it. Won't those South Siders just love that. "Hey my kid gets to stay at Neuqua but only goes in the actual building for lunch and P.E., the rest of the day they are in a mobile class room, hey but we are still wildcats"! I have lived an taught in this district for over 25 years. I have always believed that the district was one of the best in the state until today. I am appalled how the district has been divided. I am extremely proud my child is graduating from W.V. this year and will not have to deal with the mess that the small group of individuals has left for the rest of the districts children.
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If you keep smoking pot you're going to stay this delusional. Why is is anyone from WV can bash on TG and WE and anyone else but I don't hear a whole lot of WV bashing? Maybe cause you all are smoking the funny weed. Try a big dose common sense. Or maybe you can buy the EOLA land and donate it to the school so they can build. Boy you have a new plan now.

By 204Teacher on April 11, 2008 6:33 AM
I am a teacher at the high school level for District 204 and I am sickened by the events that have transpired. NSFOC, you are a disgrace. Every day I hear STUDENTS say that the district should just let your kids go to Neuqua so you will shut up and the school can get built. They know your real reasons are that you don't want your kids to go to school in a slightly older building with "black people." Again, STUDENTS are well aware of this--not only is it painfully obvious, enough of your members have admitted this "off the record." Now they see that your lies, bullying, and temper tantrums have caused a company to back out of a business deal, so as to avoid years of lawsuits from you if you don't get your way. Sadly, everyone knows you don't need the truth on your side...you have an ambulance chaser and and too much time on your hands to figure out how you can slander people and tie this up in court. Midwest was smart to back out, who would want to deal with you. I am not alone as a teacher who is planning to leave the district. My only complaint with the school board is that they have not done enough to throw this back in your faces and make the public well aware that you are simply RACIST. Good job NSFOC, you are for a FACT causing GOOD teachers to leave the district, suing and taking money away from the schools our children attend, and you have now stopped the construction of a new high school which would alleviate massive overcrowding issues with your LIES. Pretty ironic that CPS is trying to deal with children getting KILLED on their way to school, and you are whining about your kids possibly attending an older building. You would shut up tomorrow if you could go to Neuqua, meaning you DON'T care about the environmental and other lies you are spreading. I care about teaching kids and I feel I need to step out of this district to show that I don't approve of what the kids in our district are learning from this mess.
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You are a racist pig and I hope they find out who you are and throw you out of our school system. I am offened that you are representing anyone in the district with a comment like this. Neuqua and the student (And thier Parents)are very diverse. I don't ever remember a racist comment comming out of anyones mouth about any other school. I don't want my child to go to WV only because I live less than one mile from Neuqua and don't think it will be easy for me as a parent to help my child participate in activities if I need to drive them back and forth at that distance. You are unbelievable. What a disgrace to all of us. I would hate to see your Teaching Methods. Did you learn that from Dr. Dillweed.

Look at all of the anonymous posts. Wow, you are all COWARDS!
White Eagle RULES!!

Has anyone thought of shifting grade levels?

We have space at the elementary level which keeps being said by parents, by SB, etc. and seems to be something that is agreed upon.

We had so much space -- we thought of a good educational use as all day kindergarten. I do actually feel it is a good addition but somewhat of a bonus not usually available to people using public funds. One of my children attended all day K in another district and it was a great start!

Other districts have K-6 in a building. Then have 7-9 and then have 10-12 as high school.

This might alleviate some of the space issues. I know that educationally, socially, etc. some adjustments would have to be made but as we really do have a district filled with excellent teachers and administrators.......they could make it work....and excel.

Truly think about it.....stop saying NO to every creative idea.

Roll up the sleeves and come up with a solution. Role play this...pretend it is an outside district that has no additional funds..they have come to you looking for advice. In our homes when the funds dry up....intelligient people trim expenses!

You know I emailed a state legislator regarding this situation, the D204 lawsuit and all, their response all be it generic or not was that this issue was "not one to be handled at that level." That's what I pay taxes for! It's really great for our kids to see bureaucracy at work isn't it? Too bad our childrens well being has turned political, and as in many other cases we see how the almighty lawsuit is the ultimate tool to procreate results, all be it good or bad. But it's certainly reassuring to see the heartfelt concern Midwest has put forth by backing out of this deal to deter our community bickering over this matter is it not? What I would like to know is who is pulling all the strings and making all these puppets dance?

There is obviously something suspicious about the Eola Road site and how that whole deal was handled. There clearly is something Midwest Gen knows and doesn't want discovered is the simple truth and reason behind why they have pulled out of voluntary negotiations with the SD. IF they sell the land to the SD they would be liable for not disclosing what they know.

On the other hand, if the SD proceeds to condemn the land and take it from them under eminent domain they do not bear the same liability and it would be transfered to the SD since they wanted it so bad to take it by condemnation.

It is amazing how many writers to this column have pitted boundaries against boundaries, neighborhoods against neighborhoods, neighbors against neighbors. The issues are much more complex than what a lot of writers think. It is way more complex than I live here, you live there... since you live there you must want "X". I'm amazed at all the speculation and assumptions that have been made with little though as to who are the stakeholders and voters in this matter. For example there are a lot of stakeholders in this who do not have children in school. There are other stakeholders who send their children to private schools. There are stakeholders who own other than residential property. There are stakeholders who are not arguing Eola vs BB; they just don't want a new school period. There are stakeholders who do not want boundary changes because they want their children to stay at the same school There are stakeholders who want boundary changes because they want their children to go to a different school. These are just a few examples of stakeholders, there are a lot more. Now how about voters, meaning anyone who can vote on a SB matter? Anyone care to look at what is on their agenda?

Anyone who thinks their entire neighborhood has a 100% consensus for or against building a school, for or against a certain site, etc is very mistaken. There has been a lot of finger pointing to certain neighborhoods, probably because some of their residents are more vocal than others. Anyone who assumes those who are vocal represent everyone is making a big mistake.

It is time for everyone to recognize this issue has divided the SD, it has divided neighborhoods, it has divided neighbors, hell it has even divided some families. Yes, a couple of groups with common positions have banded together, but right now each and every one of them are a minority. A noisy minority for sure, each vying to be the squeaky wheel that gets greased.

It is time for the SB to step back and find out what the true, albeit silent, majority really thinks and wants at this point. That means the SB needs to start talking to every single landowner who pays property taxes, not just school parents. Anyone who does not have children currently enrolled in a public school is cut off from the SB informational stream and has to rely on information from other sources such as neighbors, newspapers, radior or tv, etc. If the SB wants support they need to do a much better job of being inclusive when it comes to property owners, taxpayers, residents, and voters.

By earth to SB. If you keep smoking pot you're going to stay this delusional. Why is is anyone from WV can bash on TG and WE and anyone else but I don't hear a whole lot of WV bashing? Maybe cause you all are smoking the funny weed. Try a big dose common sense. Or maybe you can buy the EOLA land and donate it to the school so they can build. Boy you have a new plan now.

Where in my posting did I bash WE and TG?

Yo Earth, sounds like 204Teacher really struck a nerve with you. Is there perhaps some truth in what he/she is saying that set you off?

Glad to hear you admit it was really about boundaries.....

204 teacher

I applaud you for saying what everyone already knows. This is about some TG/WE folks not wanting their sheltered kids exposed to the likes of oh my, Blacks, Hispanics, It is about race, class and boundaries. What a joke to say it is not, no one believes you. TG/WE folks I feel bad for those that live there but hold different beliefs the NSFOC has made you all look pretty bad

It seems everything comes full circle and all parties' actions based on their own self-interests have back-fired! Dist 204 does not need a 3rd high school in the first place. It's time the school board members take this opportunity to turn things in the sensible direction. If not, they should all resign.

Looks like the Eola elitist group are throwing a tantrum because they are not getting a contaminated school in their backyard.

Are you Eola elitist so selfserving that you can not see that D204 is costing the taxpayers millions, and millions of dollars because they have their own agenda.

It is interesting in your blogs that you say NSFOC is only 200-300 people and they will not stop the school board and then in your next blogs AFTER Midwest Gen doesn't move forward you start blaming NSFOC. Which is it?

How about looking at the school board who started with a condemnation lawsuit and put the price of BB out of range. Of course you don't want to BLAME THE SCHOOL BOARD who are a bunch of greedy selfish arrogant (dare I say true elitist) incompetents.

You may want to look at the school board, look in the mirror and rethink your position.

If you look at the illustration of the Eloa site on the Sun website this morning, it appears we can still build the HS if we eliminate the tennis courts and find room for the maintainence buildings. Maybe we just purchase some of the eastern portion of the church acreage for the sake of the tennis team.

By Kevin on April 11, 2008 8:27 AM
Anonymous on April 11, 2008 12:30 AM, are you saying that NSFOC strong armed Midwest Gen into not selling their land to the SB when you said "Boy, did the school board ever underestimate NSFOC"? That is interesting if that actually happened...I am sure that people who live in WE and TG are high enough on a corporate ladder at their companies that if one of them did business with Midwest Gen they could make things tough for them.

So if the SB has to go back to BB and pay the increase, will NSFOC pay the difference? Will Shawn Collins represent the district against the greedy lawyers of the BB land to get them to lower their price?

What this comes down too is all of the tax payers who live in D204 are going to pay for this disaster...higher taxes because of lawsuits, higher taxes because of the higher land price at BB and higher taxes because of poor planning by the SB when they try to rush to the Fall of 2009 to open the school...bottom line...is there really a need for a third high school now? It seems one of the SB members doesn't think so...maybe that should explored more.

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Looks like you have all the answers. No use debating it! Thank god we have you to point out all this information.

To bad this wasn't happening 15-20 years because we wouldn't have these damn blogs for everybody to fight with each other. Nobody could call themselves experts because they read