But it not nitpicking fiscal inaccuracies that is my main concern with this column, it is the rationalizing of the author’s parsimony. It’d be a “slam dunk” he’d be happy to vote for except the costs of the projects are only “guestimates,” and the list isn’t prioritized.

He also objects to specific items on the list. He sees the all-weather track and field at the high schools as a waste of money. Why should we encourage adolescents to get exercise during those months when a grass field is too muddy to play on? Let ‘em drink sodas and send text messages.

He objects to a new fine arts facility at Arcata High, suggesting that they trot the band, orchestra, choral, and theater arts participants up to HSU (plenty of unused facilities on the HSU campus, and and only a 20-minute walk each way!) or rent the Arcata Theater instead. The later sounds about as fiscally prudent as the state government’s plan to sell state facilities to investors and then rent them back from those same investors in order to accrue a short-term gain.

I do agree with Jack Durham that NHUHSD should have used a local printer for their mailer, and hope they will do so in the future. But of course then someone would have complained that the district wasted money by not using Creative Composition in Chico who might have done it cheaper.

The real reason I, as a voter in the NHUHSD, am agreeing to fork over a an extra seven or eight bucks a month for possibly the rest of my life is selfish. The pilot who is going to fly me to visit my daughter in ten years, or the doctor who is going to prescribe my arthritis medicine, or the engineer who is going to design my next- generation solar panels, or the soprano who is going to sing Violetta at the Met, or the mechanic who is going to replace the injectors on my truck engine just might be sitting in a high-school classroom in Arcata or McKinleyville. I want them to be engaged and active students in schools that demonstrate the community’s belief in the importance of their education – the kind of students who get out of school and want to give back to the community that nurtured them.

This is directly from the McKinleyville High School Bulletin:

Menu
Breakfast is available daily at nutrition break. Students may choose bagel and cream cheese, cereal and milk, fruit and juice all for $2.00. Come by the tables outside the multipurpose room to purchase and pick up.

All school lunch choices are prepared for a walk-around, social lunch and are delivered in a brown bag format. The main food changes daily and is listed in this section. Lunch choices include low-fat milk, vegetable, fruit and dessert. Students, please order a lunch in the attendance office before 8:15 in the morning. It is a nutritional bargain at $3.50 per lunch.

___________________________________________

So, breakfast is served OUTSIDE the multi-purpose room and lunch is for a “walk-around social lunch”. In other words, you must roam the cold hallways kids ’cause we aint got no place for you!!! The teachers have a warm breakroom! Why don’t the kids have a break room?

Fix the gross bathrooms and make them ADA accessible, upgrade the classrooms and GIVE THE STUDENTS A PLACE TO EAT LUNCH WITHOUT FREEZING THEIR BUTTS OFF!!!!

Prioritizing the list would give voters a better understanding of what would actually be built. After all, all of these numbers are guestimates. What happens if a project turns out to cost a lot more? Which projects will be dropped from the list? We don’t know.

An all-weather track might be a good idea. However, as a former cross country and track runner, I can assure you that an all-weather track is not necessary for kids to get exercise. But it’s nice, for sure.

A performing arts center might also be a great idea. However, I’d like to see an analysis exploring all of the different options. There might be alternatives that make more fiscal sense. Or, perhaps after a lengthy analysis, it would turn out that, yes, a fancy shmancy new performing arts center is the best idea.

Some people might find the idea of a detailed analysis rather geeky and cumbersome, but it seems like it should be done before we spend $25.8 million.

As for renting facilities, you might be right, or you might be wrong. Once again, where’s the analysis? Sometimes it makes sense to own your own property, while sometimes it makes more sense to rent.

Finally, I absolutely agree with you that we should support our schools and give students the tools they need to learn.

But it not nitpicking fiscal inaccuracies that is my main concern with this column, it is the rationalizing of the author’s parsimony. It’d be a “slam dunk” he’d be happy to vote for except the costs of the projects are only “guestimates,” and the list isn’t prioritized.

He also objects to specific items on the list. He sees the all-weather track and field at the high schools as a waste of money. Why should we encourage adolescents to get exercise during those months when a grass field is too muddy to play on? Let ‘em drink sodas and send text messages.

He objects to a new fine arts facility at Arcata High, suggesting that they trot the band, orchestra, choral, and theater arts participants up to HSU (plenty of unused facilities on the HSU campus, and and only a 20-minute walk each way!) or rent the Arcata Theater instead. The later sounds about as fiscally prudent as the state government’s plan to sell state facilities to investors and then rent them back from those same investors in order to accrue a short-term gain.

I do agree with Jack Durham that NHUHSD should have used a local printer for their mailer, and hope they will do so in the future. But of course then someone would have complained that the district wasted money by not using Creative Composition in Chico who might have done it cheaper.

The real reason I, as a voter in the NHUHSD, am agreeing to fork over a an extra seven or eight bucks a month for possibly the rest of my life is selfish. The pilot who is going to fly me to visit my daughter in ten years, or the doctor who is going to prescribe my arthritis medicine, or the engineer who is going to design my next- generation solar panels, or the soprano who is going to sing Violetta at the Met, or the mechanic who is going to replace the injectors on my truck engine just might be sitting in a high-school classroom in Arcata or McKinleyville. I want them to be engaged and active students in schools that demonstrate the community’s belief in the importance of their education – the kind of students who get out of school and want to give back to the community that nurtured them.