The school board and district office administration want the community to think it's o.k. for Mesa View to remain shuttered despite tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money being spent on its construction.
Yes, it's true that the state provided the money to construct this school. However, where does state money come from? You've guessed it....taxpayers like you, your neighbors and friends.
Perhaps we should invite residents of other California cities to protest the district's mismanagement of this costly, taxpayer funded asset. I'm sure the taxpayers in Redlands, Banning, Rancho Cucamonga and Calexico would be upset to know that their tax dollars went to fund a "ghost school."
Members of the Yucaipa-Calimesa community should also keep in mind that keeping this school shuttered is costing the district considerable money on a daily basis. The school is staffed with a custodian, there are utility bills to pay, grounds to maintain (that nice landscaping isn't an illusion), insurance to pay, and much more. A couple of months ago flooding from a pipe that broke in a classroom building required emergency response by numerous district maintenance personnel.
We challenge the administration and board to do what's right and reasonable and work to resolve the Mesa View crisis just like they should be trying to resolve the negotiations crisis that exists.
615 days without a settlement!
21 comments:
I hope about 20 years from now I hope some PhD student will write a true history regarding this school-
what happened and why
maybe 20 years rom now people will tell the real truth and the why and why nots.
How would you feel working in an overcrowded school knowing that a school had been built in another district and simply left empty for four years due to poor planning? Yesterday was Tax Day, and I felt little comfort in knowing that our district had left the State with the bill for their bad management. We'd probably have a different response from the public if the school wasn't so conveniently out of the way. BTW, HOW IN THE HELL DID THE DISTRICT BUILD A SCHOOL THAT WAS NOT PART OF CALIMESA'S GENERAL PLAN, AND DID NOT EVEN HAVE LEGAL ACCESS??? If I'd tried this as a private citizen, the Building Department would have shut me down before I'd even started construction!
Sure would be nice to see the News-Mirror (or perhaps another local paper) do some actual investigative journalism on this story!
Hey, who posted the first comment at 3:01 PM?? I though this blog was blocked on our teacher computers. Hmmm....
Settling the dispute over the road to the school is long overdue. That, however, is a legal issue that this incompetent school district administration and the Board (Patty and Sue) created. I'm sure that the district's attorneys will do an excellent job of spending OUR money to solve this problem (in due time!). Settling with the teachers is easy. Give us OUR COLA. Stop using MY money for your misguided priorities. Oh, and here's a thought: Turn the water off to the buildings at the new school. Turn it on from time to time to check things but if it's not on it can't leak. That's called forethought and planning....
New Name for MVMS: "Flying Dutchman Middle School"
AARGH!
The following is from "The Flying Dutchman" on Wikipedia:
"According to most versions, the captain swore that he would not retreat in the face of a storm, but would continue his attempt to round the Cape of Good Hope even if it took until Judgment Day."
Now, does that sound like Jim O., or what???
Our lawyers must love this district!
I wonder how long our "fiscally responsible" board members would be able to run their own businesses if they had squandered tens millions of dollars of taxpayer money as a result of a bad business decision? Maybe Jim O should be taking Economics or Public Policy classes instead of hanging around Dance classes at Crafton Hills College! Priorities, yet again...
Funny how the board takes credit for the Distinguished School award at YHS, but wants no responsibility for Mesa View. All of the credit, none of the blame!
I received an email from the district advertising yet another TOA position, this time for math and science. Just how many full-time TOAs do our district administrators need to do their jobs for them? Luckily for them, TOAs are not subject to the legal limits on how much of the district's budget can be spent on administrators. With all of the extra help, why can't they do anything useful?
If they take a science teacher from the classroom to be a TOA they may not have any left at YHS! I've heard that at least four outstanding YHS science teachers have been offered contracts by neighboring districts for more $$$.
I heard this evening that our fiscally conservative and responsible school district and Board just approved a reclassification for a NEW hire at the DO. Gosh, maybe all of us should try for some of the "new" jobs they seem to be creating and just maybe we can get an immediate pay raise to boot. Doesn't seem like you have to be around very long to reap those rewards. YCEA members get the shaft while DO seems to grow richer and fatter.
Job offers rolling in for Yucaipa teachers are not rumors (at least not for YHS Science teachers). These can be confirmed if you simply know who to ask. It is not a coincidence that Redlands rushed their hiring practices to put these positions first.
Pretty sad that an experienced professional needs to look outside of "home" in order to find school officials who value them. How sad that nobody working in a relevant position (even for a few hours in the evening, every couple of weeks) on Third Street even seems to care.
Do not for a moment think that the playing field is level when applying for DO positions of any kind. Only cronies need apply.
I heard about the YHS science staff leaving but the district's hit piece said no one was leaving. I checked the district's web site and there are 2 high school science positions posted as of last week. One is Biology and one is Chemistry/Physics. So the district said no one is leaving to the public, but posted the positions last week. That's rather dishonest. People are starting to leave, pay attention and settle this dispute.
Rather dishonest is the norm now. We've been experiencing extremely dishonest for over two years.
Is it just me? Is anyone else still noticing that quibbling over 9% or 7% or 6.5% is missing the rest of the picture. We are still not getting COLA. They've been holding the full COLA since July 2005 and July 2006 respectively.
Don't ever forget that they CAN afford to pay us what is fair....notice that they haven't even come close to saying "full
COLA into total compensation". Either way we are being short changed.
I am pretty flattered that we do such a good job training teachers for others districts.....then again, I don't have any kids in the YCJUSD.
Three simple questions regarding Mesa View:
1.) Are District funds being used to settle the lawsuits over Mesa View, and what is the cost to date of these lawsuits?
2.) Will District funds be used to build a road once (if) the lawsuits are settled, and what will be the cost of the road?
3.) Are district funds currently being used to pay for landscaping, utilities, maintenence and other costs of a school that has yet to service a single student, and what is the cost to date?
The facts don't support the District's "Facts". It's not so much that what they say is a lie, it's that they never tell the whole truth.
There's Lies, Damned Lies, and District Office "Facts"
-apologies to Mark Twain
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