Is Carroll High School Mismanaged?
On September 21, 2006 I recieved this from a staff member at Carroll.
I'm not sure how you got my email or why I keep getting your trash but I'm sick of it. You can manipulate these numbers and say whatever you want to say but the fact of the matter is that you are grasping at straws. The board has spent countless hours and has done real studies to get their numbers.
I am an employee of NACS and we can't even talk about this situation when we are in the building. So why is it you can send me your garbage without me having ever asked for it?
I work in CHS everyday. We need renovations now. You may think we are 80% capacity but we need more room now. There are new teachers who don't have a classroom and move from room to room on carts, teachers who can't use their classroom for there prep period because it's being used by someone else. The offices are cramped and inefficiently set-up. The cafeteria is packed. The gym is standing room only for pep sessions and convocations. You don't have any first hand knowledge of what this building needs.
You and your group of remonstrators should have spoke up long ago when all the studies and demographic studies were being done. Now, if your side wins, you are going to but this whole process on hold which is going to negatively affect the upcoming students of this building. My son is one of those kids.
This is the 3rd email I have received from you and I prefer not to receive a 4th. Email your little group of supporters but keep me out of it
I find this interesting because of several statements.
"There are new teachers who don't have a classroom and move from room to room on carts, teachers who can't use their classroom for there prep period because it's being used by someone else.
This is a very interesting statement when you think about it. The feasibility study states that design capacity is calculated by the number of classrooms times 25 students per classroom. Pretty straightforward and I have no problem with it. Based on the 2205-06 school year, the student to teacher ratio at Carroll is 18.3 to 1. At the Freshmen Academy it is 15.6 to one. Carroll had 68 teachers while the Academy had 30. However, 11 of these teachers are dual schoolteachers who teach at both schools. The student-teacher ratio is very low.
- How do you have more teachers than classrooms? Are these teachers teaching in the hallways?
- Are some teachers only part time?
Yes, they may have spent countless hours, but this does not make their study valid nor real. A readl study provides references, assumptions, methodolgy and results. This is done so that anyone may pick up the report or study and verify its validity. As I have shown Table T-9 does not add up. This table is the sole basis for the NACS board voting to support renovation. Did anyone review their report?
"The offices are cramped and inefficiently set-up. The cafeteria is packed. The gym is standing room only for pep sessions and convocations. You don't have any first hand knowledge of what this building needs."
Yes, it is crowded now with 1,303 student this school year at Carroll. According to the design parameter it should be able to handle another 497 students with no problem. Keep in mind Carroll went through an $18 million renovation ten years ago. Did they not foresee this problem during the last "feasibility study?" But the renovation wants to add another 700 students on top of the 497 students. If you think it is crowded now, just wait until after the renovation. Let us add up the cost of renovations and additions to increase Carroll High School.
- $18 million to renovat and add 200 seats
- $0.9 million to convert Carroll Middle School to an Academy and added 700 seats.
- $35 million to build a new Carroll Middle School to replace the one they converted.
"You and your group of remonstrators should have spoke up long ago when all the studies and demographic studies were being done."
I went to several board meetings and asked direct questions of the superintendent and the board. Not only did they not answer the question, but also in some cases said the meeting was to vote on renovation only. The board has never presented to the taxpayers a side by side analysis or presentation of a new school and renovation. They voted no on a new school years ago and then moved onto renovation. This is not the old Soviet Union where there is just one choice and you support the party. This is the United States of America and in this great land I expect two or more options be presented. I will not sit by and not raise my voice in protest to the sham.
"Now, if your side wins, you are going to but this whole process on hold which is going to negatively affect the upcoming students of this building. My son is one of those kids."
Yes, if there are more blue signatures than yellow, then the board cannot move forward with renovation. I want a real study done using good assumptions that are documented, with real estimates for land, buildings, parking, athletic facilities and soft costs. I want to know what technology upgrades mean. I want to know what the costs are estimated to be. Table T-9 in the Feasibility Report is WORTHLESS!
Based on the Feasibilty study they person relies on so much, the combined capacity of the high school and Academy is 2,400. On August 29, 2006 the combined enrollment was 1,1819. According to the demographer capacity will not be exceeded until 2015-16 school year and then by just 31 students.
In God I trust, all other bring data.
posted by William Larsen @ 7:49 PM
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