If you haven’t seen YCJUSD’s crown jewel (a.k.a. Mesa View Middle School) we suggest you take a trip to the end of Ave. L (that’s on the Jack in the Box side of I10 in Calimesa) and check it out. You will be as impressed as we were with the full athletic facilities including a gym, the spacious grounds, the impressive entrance, the ample parking, and the beautifully maintained lawns and plantings. However, if you do want to take a look at it …
... you had better bring along a pair of binoculars, since you can’t get within a country mile of the buildings. You had also better wear your hiking boots since the front of the school is only accessible via a short hike from Ave L. or a long trek from Jack in the Box. It’s a good thing that the Trump Tower of the YCJUSD is so isolated. Can you imagine our Board having to face a constant reminder of its little oops had it been more accessible? But wait a minute, if it had been built in a more accessible location it would not be sitting unused, nor would the existing YCJUSD middle schools (sorry PVMS, the folks have a new favorite) would have alittle much-need breathing room. We suppose the Board has its reasons for leaving a beautiful, multi-million dollar facility unused for more than two years, but apparently you have to be a school board member to have the “technical skills” to understand such reasons.
16 comments:
Why aren't the citizens of Yucaipa and Calimesa jumping up and down in anger? It doesn't make sense! Is it just me or don't they care?
I'd love to know how much maintenance and upkeep on this unused school costs the district each year. I'd also love to know what those families who live across the street or within walking distance of the campus think about having their tax dollars spent on maintaining this campus while their children have to travel elsewhere for school. I'm sure this is one neighborhood where parents don't need very much explanation to understand that the YCJUSD board simply doesn't have its priorities straight!
Does anybody else find it odd that this school, that lacks a road, students or staff is fully landscaped? Maybe the board and administration should have been more concerned about how students were going to get to the school rather than what sort of trees and flowers will be there to greet them.
In the YCJUSD, it's all about image and perception. The school looks great, but doesn't DO anything. How many meetings have we all been to that perform the same function? It seems to me that much of our time and effort is spent in meetings, so some administrator can say we met. As a high school teacher I was amazed to find out all of the wonderful things our meetings had accomplished when I read our Distinguished School application (which was written by a $6000 consultant!). STYLE IS WAY AHEAD OF SUBSTANCE AROUND HERE!
Could you imagine the public uproar if our useless school sat at the Boulevard and Oak Glen? Out of sight, out of mind...
I heard a rumor that the District was stripping cafeteria equipment and furniture out of this facility. Anyone out there have any further information on this?
What if the parents group were to suggest that the next Board meeting be held at the new site?
During one of my more difficult semesters at Non-Technical U, after I pulled an all nighter doing my project for Underwater Basket Weaving and when I was cramming for my final in Multiplication for Poets I tried to expand my computer skills playing SimCity on my roommate's Commodore. I learned a valuable lesson from SimCity, if I built a powerplant but did run powerlines to it, it didn't do any good. If I built a school without roads connecting it to the community my approval rating with the voters went down and my tax values fell. I'm sure if I had been taking technical classes with the computer science majors and engineers I would have learned some "cheat codes" that would have made these impossible projects viable.
The new school will build with 100% state of california money. It was fully funded - no local bond money at all. That was why it was rushed to be built.
The new gym is OK but not great.
Electricity, landscaping, property taxes,are just some of the myriad expenses of maintaining this modern ghost town. Seems to me the money could be spent by providing adaquate wages and benefits to the TEACHERS of the ycjusd that are actively teaching our children. Our children should be the number one priority. The teachers that have accepted the responsibility of teaching our children should be priority number two. Salaries for the teachers of ycjusd are currently inadaquate. However, Mesa View Middle School DOES need the grass cut and the flowers watered, somebody might get lost and actually see the place.
I pay taxes in California, so it is MY money that financed this boondoggle. Calimesa doesn't want to sign off until safety issues are dealt with, because if they do, the liability is theirs. The fact that this school was built is merely a symptom of this board's seeminly limitless arrogance.
Maybe we should request that the District hold a Saturday morning nature hike and facility tour. We could invite the parent group and the press.
Whether it's local money or state money, this school was built using PUBLIC FUNDS.
Dr. Hovey and Mr. Alejandre should have to be accountable to the public why millions and millions of dollars of public money is going to waste because of the district administration's POOR PLANNING.
I agree YCJUSD should be held accountable for this disaster. I also think having some sort of meeting at Mesa View is a great idea. Can YCEA make anything happen there? I imagine that a chunk of Ted's over-budgeted accounts are padding for the Mesa View screw up. Yes Ted, I said you are over-budgeting your accounts (still).
Is there any state agency taxpayers can complain to about this situation? Does this represent a good use of taxpayer money?
At least the District's legal representation is using the new facility - as a fundraiser! As far as I can tell, the only winner in all of these battles is Andelson's office.
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