Left of Centre http://thorsteinveblen.blogspot.com Rampage22, I've been busy, but I will respond this weekend when I have more free time.

I understand. Hopefully I'll get a chance to check out the blog over the weekend too. But thanks for at least acknowledging me! I'm looking forward to having a rational discussion with you. In the mean time, please check out the comment posted by Patty Kleban on the CDT's comment page for the story about the borough council members backing the write-in candidates. http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/story/249992.html She did a heck of a lot better job explaining the role of State High Vision than I ever could hope to. Her comment is on page 2 of the comment pages. I copied it and pasted it into a Word Document so I could save it in case someone says something stupid on the comment pages and the CDT takes them down.

Left of Centre http://thorsteinveblen.blogspot.com Rampage22, Let me begin by saying that I am sympathetic to your position. There is a great income divide in this country which has not been seen since the Gilded Age and the divide is very evident in State College. This places financial burdens on working families that want the best for their children. First, I want to try to get a handle on what you are thinking. From what I gather in the the last thread you are motivated by a desire for a good education for your children at a price which you can afford. If I am correct in that assumption, then I would like to know if prior to the high school controversy you or your wife had a particular complaint or complaints about the quality of education which your kids were getting. If you did, did you approach teachers, administrators, or the board to to try to have the problem resolved and if so what were the response? Or was the State High renovation project the first problem you have experienced with the school district? Whether the renovation was the first problem you encountered or not, is there something in particular about the renovation plan which you think is not in the educational interest of your children? Or, are you concerned that the renovation plan is too expensive? Is is is some combination of the two? That's it for now. I'll check back again over the weekend to see your answers and to continue the discussion.

Thanks again for your response Velben. I’m going to post this in two or more parts because it’s probably, once again, going to be too long to be accepted. I’ll try it as one first so if it works, ignore the other statement.

Yes, I am motivated by good education for my children. I am a product of the State College school system. My wife and I graduated from State High together and we both appreciated the education we received. We're proud to send our kids to the same schools we attended. The teachers that my kids have are wonderful and I have no complaints about them or the education my kids are receiving. I question some methods and practices from time to time and am told that it’s the way the board wants things done.

I began to take notice of the activities of the school board going back potentially 20 years, well before High School controversy was even a thought. I didn’t particularly like the way they did business, raising taxes every year, believing they were better than the rest of the community, etc. but it didn’t really affect me that much. When I became a homeowner in the district, it did start to affect me and I may have mentioned before that I did not vote for any of the current board members in the last election and the one person I did vote for, lost.

I was looking for an excuse to get involved and the High School controversy was the final straw. I had had enough and I got involved with State High Vision believing that a large group could do much more than a single individual. At that time, the renovation still consisted of fixing up both the North and South buildings for just under $70 million. I didn’t particularly like the “solution” proposed by the founders, ie., building a new school on a new site, but after talking to Dr. Suhey and Ms. Kleban, I quickly came to realize that the proposal was made merely as a comparison what else we could have for just a few million more; brand new versus renovation. There was no greed involved and no one in SHV stood to benefit from the idea. It was a spark that unfortunately grew out of control very fast.

I did not like the renovation plan as proposed by the board for two main reasons. One obviously was the cost; enough said. Second, I like the two building design of State High. The student body is huge and having two buildings creates enough of a separation that even though we have a large school, it seems a little smaller and more personal. I could not stand the thought of placing 2700 kids together under one roof; it scared the heck out of me. One of my kids has learning difficulties and I know that she would be lost in a building of that proportion.

Moreover, I didn’t like the way the board handled the entire situation. No one argued that something needed to be done to both buildings that make up the high school and had the situation been handled differently, we more than likely wouldn’t be having this conversation. The cliché that the project was rammed down our throats has been overused, but it is accurate.

From calling us stupid to telling us what we want (rather than need), this particular board has been arrogant at best. I understand that there needs to be order at board meetings but imposing ridiculous rules to keep the status quo (another overused cliché) got way out of hand. How do you (you in general, not you personal) promote dialog when all questions need to be asked first and the answers, if any, are given with no chance to respond? To me, an open dialog is: I ask a question, you answer, I respond, you respond, etc... Basically, I may have several questions, but my second question needs to be based on your answer to my first question. Does that make sense?

I believe that the five candidates who won in the May primary will work to bring civil dialog back to the board meetings. They are all very smart people who each bring a unique perspective to the district. They can all have a very positive affect and rest assured, if they don’t, I’ll be at the front of the line at a school board meeting to point that out to them, as will everyone who supported them.