in which your narrator answers some questions, but not all, and asks your forbearance...

To all who comment:

I ask your forbearance. I have a great deal of information I wish to share, and ideas I wish to explore.   I will try to answer your questions as well,  as time permits, but I do actually have a general plan in mind for the direction of this blog, and I do not plan to make it simply a response to anyone else’s agenda or commentary, no matter how well thought-out those may be.  Do not expect that I will post something daily.  

This evening, though , I will attempt to answer a few of the questions raised, since, quite frankly, I couldn’t have asked for better if I’d paid Garry Kanter to post them!  

Q:  Garry Kanter asks:

What about touring the elementary schools, which have been documented to be in the same derilict [sic] condition as the HS and the two MSs?

A:  Please re-read the last sentence of the blog.  I hope you will take the time to visit all the district’s facilities.  

Q: Garry Kanter:

So, Sam, tell me how Issue 81 benefits the students and the community. And tell me why the elementary students can be ignore [sic]  for a decade.

A:  Issue 81 provides for sustainably designed renovations of the High School and Monticello and Roxboro Middle Schools.  Among the many benefits for students (as well as faculty and staff) will be improved Indoor Air Quality [IAQ].  Better IAQ correlates strongly with fewer sick days and with improved achievement test scores.  [Is there a causal connection?  The jury is still out.]  The schools will  make significant use of “daylighting” technology, which, as it happens, also correlates strongly with improved test scores, decreased absences, and improvements in self-reported mood.  [Once again, the issue of causation is still being explored.] 

Issue 81 also provides for returning the  CTE [Career Technical Education] students from their exile at Taylor Rd (oops, make that the Delisle Learning Center!) allowing them full participation in aspects of campus life previously not available, such as school plays and other extra-curricular activities. 

Issue 81 also consolidates our current three middle schools to two.  This change will allow for a wider range of course offerings at each by meeting certain “critical mass” or minimum class sizes. This will also thereby allow for greater equality of access to courses between students at each of the schools.

So, how does the public benefit from Issue 81?  In addition to the student benefits above, the public gets the increased staff productivity gains from healthier buildings, and, perhaps more importantly, the substantial operational savings from well-renovated buildings.  For example, the three buildings covered by Issue 81 use on the order of 150,000+ BTUs of energy per square foot per year.  The design target for energy consumption in the renovated digs is more like 35,000 BTUs.  Additionally, a careful design process will increase staff productivity.  For example, if a filter must be changed weekly, it should be located where it can be accessed easily vs one that must be changed only annually. 

The public benefits as well from the gradual increase in property values as the school district’s performance ratings continue to improve.  (Let’s be clear about this: the trajectory is UP, and our district’s straight-A  “Value Added” scores are tied for first place with only a handful of others as the best in the state.)  What else does the public get?   Try this: Better environmental quality through rainwater/stormwater capture, bio-remediation, and retention.  Reduced urban “heat island” effects through better thermal engineering and management. Increased community access to, and usability of, the schools for civic events. Even, I hope, an increase in civic pride, for, make no mistake, these are public properties.

Q: Garry Kanter:

Can the elementary students be ignore[d] for a decade?

A:  No, and no one ---I repeat, no one---- is suggesting that they can or should be.  I promise to answer this question and others, more fully in another posting, but, since I have a family, a full-time day job, and a number of other interests and obligations, I cannot spend the time tonight. See the first paragraph above, and please be patient.  I will get there in good time, before the election.