Save Williams Elementary School

Dale Fisher sent this out and asked for it to be posted.

Dave Strahan and I chatted via email today several times, and he has made a good point that I wanted to share and get sent out.  Would it be possible for you to send this out (if you agree with it).  I have posted the following on my blog per Dave’s request:

Today, Dave Strahan our school board chair sent out an email with a great message, and I wanted to share it here.  This is a plea for help, and something that needs immediate action.  Will you please support Dave, no, will you support our kids and take action on this?  

We need to have every person that has given ANY thought to rightsizing, school closure, common prep., trimesters, limited busing, etc… etc… etc… to understand that while we pick at slivers, the very framing of our educational institution is being torn away,  and we need the people that asked for our votes and support to go to to stand up, take notice and help us out here.We need to understand that it doesn’t matter if we close two or three schools, it doesn’t matter what tweaks we make to our schedules, it doesn’t matter what bus routes we drop, we are looking at short term, non-effective in the big picture, cuts that will only get us a few more years until we are fighting the same fights again.

Rather than the time and energy that seems to be going into nit picking individual staff members and each other, I really think we could do our kids and our district much more good by channeling our efforts to the real, baseline problems in our district, which is lack of adequate funding from the state. Below is a note I sent to Rep. Peter Buckley, Chairman of the Education Committee in the State Legislature. 

I strongly encourage you to share his address with your peers and ask that they too, let our elected officials know that we are tired of continually cutting and gutting our school district and we look to them to help us out. Leslie and I have been involved in the cutting of this district for a decade or better. Enough is enough. We need to be heard loud and now. There is power in numbers and the squeaky wheel does get the grease!! Can I rely on your help?

Sincerely,

Dave Strahan

And now that letter…

Honorable Representative Buckley,

Please excuse the informality of this note, as I am sending it out of frustration and desperation, and striking while my emotions are hot. (and I am rushing to get to my paying job…..) I am the Chairman of the Three Rivers School District Board of Directors and our district is embroiled in, once again, a nasty game of  “what artery do we  cut  this year”,  with our budget. We are trying to make decisions we simply should not have to be making!! While my note below specifies only “local elected officials”, that is not totally fair or accurate.  I have never approached you, or our new Representative Ron Maurer on this issue, but over the years I have had a deaf ear turned to me by Carl Wilson, Gordon Anderson, Dennis Richardson and Jason Atkinson. I have personally, or as part of a group, approached all of these individuals only to be ignored or blown off.  Heck, in some cases they didn’t even know what we were talking about or give any indication of any desire to learn what we are talking about!! It is with deep frustration and heartfelt disappointment that, if nothing else, I needed to point out that our schools are dying a slow, painful death and it seems that no one outside our district knows or cares. Is there anything you or your committee might find to assist our struggling school district and the 5,000+  Rogue
Valley children that we serve??

Respectfully,

Dave Strahan

Chairman, Three Rivers School District Board of Directors

You know what?…Dave is right on the money with these statements.  Let’s put some energy into this action, as we have the legislature now in session.  Let’s make them hear from us.  You have issue with what is going on?  Do something!  Don’t sit on your hands a gripe about what decisions are going to be or have been made by someone else…let’s get the word to Salem!

Thanks and God Bless,

Dale Fisher

Note: The status of this post is unclear. Apparently a lot of of rumor is flying around, part of which I guess is my fault for posting what is more heresay than fact. I would be pleased to post any factual information that people send to me, or you can comment on the posts themselves.

Some people may not be aware that the Three Rivers School District includes elementary schools, middle schools and high schools. As part of the $1.19 million in budget cuts required for the 2008-09 school year, about $500,000 was to have come from re-organizing the high schools into a trimester schedule. I don’t know much about it but it is a very contentious issue. (You can read more about it at Dale Fisher’s Blog) At Tuesday’s Rightsizing Committee meeting, they said that $700,000 of the $1.2 million in cuts had been identified. Well, the trimester plan has been postponed or cancelled (I’m not sure which) for the coming year. This means that these 500 G’s must come from some place else now. Instead of $700,000 in cuts identified, the number is now $200,000, leaving $1 million in cuts that need to be identified for 2008-09. Despite the Daily Courier’s painting of the Williams School Bell Ringing Event as a victory celebration (It was not planned that way, though the occurence of events sort of made it that way. It was originally planned to be the same morning as the RSC meeting on Jan 30 but was postponed due to snow) it’s purpose was to rally the Williams community to action and raise a little money for the school. We succeeded in both endeavors.We are aware that the RSC has no real power. In fact, some believe it to be nothing more than a screen to diffuse blame from the board and Dr. Fritts when the axe finally falls. I have nothing to say about motives other than mine and those of the Williams community. We will continue to respect them and provide them and the TRSD board with factual evidence to back our claims that Williams School is a NET REVENUE GENERATING SCHOOL worthy of remaining open.As a community, Williams is prepared to meet the Three Rivers School District halfway. In fact, we have met these good people more than halfway and will continue to do so. We hope that they perform the jobs with which they have been entrusted with due diligence and a mighty conscience.

Sad, but true. We are postponing the rally until sometime next week. Snow is forecast for 1000 feet tomorrow morning and looks terrible through next Wednesday so we will wait and see how the five day forecast develops going into the weekend. Even if the weather changes and schools are open in the morning, it’s just too touch and go (and too much work to talk to and email people) to operate on such a slim time margin. Our hopes are to have it as early next week as weather permits. I will update on the blog as soon as we know anything definite.

Meanwhile, plan to attend the Rightsizing Committee meeting tomorrow night at 5:30 at the district office. 8550 New Hope Road, Murphy. Turn onto New Hope between the Veterinarian clinic and the gas station.

Whether or not the Save Williams School Bell Ringing Rally takes place tomorrow, Jan 30, 7:30 AM, as planned depends upon the weather. If the schools are open, the rally will go on, whether or not KOBI TV can make it. The forecast doesn’t look promising, but we will stay tuned. As the weather shapes up tonight, we may get a better picture of what to expect when dawn breaks. The school district makes the final decision and that can be found at:

www.threerivers.k12.or.us

Then click on School closures/Delays on the menu bar on the left. Or call 862-3111.

If the event is cancelled, please still plan on attending the Rightsizing Committee meeting tomorrow night, Wed Jan 30, at 5:30 PM at the District Office. 8550 New Hope Rd, Murphy. Turn on New Hope Rd, which is between the Veterinarian’s office and the gas station in Murphy. The district office is across from Lincoln Savage Middle School.

Our neighbors at Applegate School are having a forum on Feb 7. I’m thinking that we should support each other, Williams and Applegate, and let the RSC and board know that we support them in creating a solution to keep all of our historic and cherished schools open. In dusting off some old adages such as “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” and “Build it and they will come” we can create a powerful vision to move toward. Our little corner of Jefferson is endowed with brilliant minds. In these times of globalization, we all know what “flexibility” really means. So, let’s approach our school board, composed of citizen volunteers by the way, and the rightsizing committee (volunteers all), and join them in creating the only real solution, the solution that resides in our hearts and our minds, that of keeping all the school open. We are brilliant, we are flexible. We can do it.

AUSTERITY-YES; CLOSURES-NO!

I just got a nice note from Dale Fisher, a high school teacher in the district and author of a great blog called TRSD Wroingsizing at www.trsdwrongsize.blogspot.com. He’s got alot of information and perspective worth listening to. Please look at the cost estimates for the schools that he has posted and take a hard look at them. I believe that we can keep all the schools open if we adopt realistic austerity measures across the board, and not resort to the amputation scenario developing in the district’s budget office.

Check out the thread started on a local forum at ILoveGrantsPass.com.

We can’t let this debate turn into a desperate scrum among Wolf Creek, Applegate, and Williams schools. We can create a solution that will keep all schools open. You know the Charles Dickens line about “The Best of Times, The Worst of Times?” Well…? These are going to be the good old days for the present generation of school kids. Our good old days (I’m 42) are past. What about the kids? I have studied the proposed cost estimates for Williams School and found them to be very amenable to alteration, creating a much more reasonable fiscal scenario once the creative padding has been eliminated. (Do they still call that “pork barrel politics”?) Other schools need to do the same with the proposed cost estimates devised for them. Our current budget director, David Marshall, is leaving on April 1 to take a job in California. His attention is elsewhere, but we will still live here when he is gone. The school board and rightsizing committee members will all live here when he is gone. Let us remember the minutes of the November 2007 TRSD board meeting:

“Business Manager David Marshall presented the board with the 2008-2009 budget calendar. He said the first budget committee meeting was scheduled for May 2008. The final fiscal year payment from the Department of Education was not until May 15th so he could not build the budget before that time. Member Weaver moved to approve the proposed budget calendar. Member Meier seconded.

Discussion followed on having the first meeting so late. Member FMeier stated she would like to see the “Priority Driven Budget Process” brought back. She felt it gave the community a greater voice in the process. Business Manager Marshall stated that there was only about 5-6% of the budget that was fluid. The motion carried unanimously.”

Let us do what needs to be done by those of us who live here and will continue living here long after Mr. Marshall, Superintendent Fritts, and Dick Withycombe (RSC consultant from Portland) are long, long gone. Let us roar in a collective voice, “Keep all our schools open!” With that clear goal in focus, we can move forward and do what needs to be done. These are the good old days.

Facility Improvement Projects
Applegate

Projects – Exterior

Activity/Location

Description

District Estimate

Remarks

1.0

Raze old building

$ 200,000

Use space for addl parking and playground

2.0

Siding

New siding on west and east ends of gym

$ 25,000

3.0

Replace exterior door and panic h/w

South side of gym

$ 2,000

4.0

Re-roof four portable classrooms

Aloso cafeteria/kitchen and concession shed

$ 124,875

5.0

Install exterior doors for office and classrooms

For fire safety in portables

$ 6,000

6.0

Asphalt front parking lot and playground

Additional parking; reduce dust

$ 107,250

7.0

Upgrade ramps/handrails to ADA standards

$ 60,000

8.0

Construct roofs over ramps

For safety and weather protection

$ 4,000

9.0

Paint exteriors

$ 68,000

10.0

Construct additional student restrooms

$ 150,000

Some students walk over 200 feet, in bad weather, to restrooms

Total Exterior Projects

$ 747,125

Projects – Interior

1.0

Replace 13 heat pumps

Next 5 – 20 years

$ 91,000

School heated exclusively by electricity

2.0

Gym ceiling

Insulate and cover with interior finish

$ 68,000

3.0

Retrofit lighting

Lights and ballasts

$ 57,000

4.0

Paint building interiors

$ 52,500

5.0

Retrofit boys and girls shower rooms

Girls have no lockers

$ 32,000

6.0

Replace vinyl floor covering

$ 7,950

7.0

Replace carpet in 12 classrooms

Existing carpet is 28 years old

$ 33,150

8.0

Install water to four portable classrooms

$ 9,000

9.0

Additional electrical receptacles

$ 28,200

Total Interior Projects

$ 378,800

Subtotal All Projects

$ 1,125,925

Contingency (@ 10 percent)

$ 112,593

Subtotal

$ 1,238,518

Escalated Costs at 5 percent per year

$ 1,512,636

Permits (@ 2 percent)

$ 30,253

Subtotal

$ 1,542,889

Architectural/Engineering Fees/Reimbursables @ 15 percent

$ 231,433

Total Budget Estimate

$ 1,774,322