Submitted by Wayne Page:
Dear School Board Members and Administration,
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Speaking at meetings don’t seem to work as many roll your eyes or become instantly defensive.
I am totally against the plan to build three new schools, why?
RESIDENTS –
1. More than 10 families a month are losing their homes, this does not include Short Sales.
2. There are over 525 homes in Bristol Township up for Sale.
3. Bristol Township Residents are the ones hit the hardest by the recession with loss of jobs, hours and pay cuts.
4. A large number of Seniors on fixed incomes that are struggling to survive, many having to chose between food, medication, or heat.
5. The residents cannot afford this plan.
ISSUES WITH PLAN –
1. All three locations were not designed to handle that kind of traffic, take a trip to the schools now and see how twice a day traffic is, now more than double that amount of traffic.
2. Croydon with the train track tunnels (both ends) will create huge gridlock. Croydon train station tunnel can only handle a bus through it which will back traffic up to Rt 13 and create a huge safety issue.
3. Longer time on buses, some will have bus time more than doubled.
4. All reports show ideally small schools are the best option, we already have that.
5. BTSD was designed for local elementary schools, closing of nine schools (which will be turned into what?) will directly affect property values.
6. Closing FDR, which has consistently been one of our best schools has a huge negative impact on the lower end as students will now be bused across town.
7. Taking the Administration building and turning it into a school, then take a school and turn it into the Administration build is a huge waste of money.
8. Building schools behind a school is a huge safety issue, most of those areas student use to get to and from school now will have to walk greater distances and some along busy highways to get to their homes.
9. Construction vehicles and noise during the school day will affect education.
10. New schools will be too large for young students to feel comfortable in between size of building and number of bodies.
11. Up keep of the new schools will require more personal which will mean very little staff savings in that area.
12. Truman, our high school, which should be the shining spot of the district, needs are not being addressed.
13. The taxpayers in Bristol Township cannot afford should a HUGE project.
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ONCE AGAIN MY SUGGESTIONS –
1. Close two elementary schools, if you but your minds to it you will see it is totally possible.
2. Create a five year plan to address
2. Create a five year plan to address the needs of the buildings, with debt service gone and two schools closed you should have $12 million a year to spend.
3. Keep Franklin as the Administration Building and move other offices over there. Store buses at Franklin and convert gym into maintenance garage.
A bad plan at a low interest rate is still a bad plan. Your plan does not improve education which should be top priority. If we just kept doing what we’re doing the schools will still be standing. There are no reports or studies that show large schools are better other than in the cost of building, we already have the best learning environment we just need to make it better. If you setup a separate account for school renovations with a $12 million a year budget plus available grants for energy savings as an example that yearly budget may be even higher.
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I implore you to do some soul searching before you make your final decision, don’t let the Unions push you around, think of the residents. Of course the Unions are 110% behind you,they gain to profit heavily from this plan, think of those that stand to lose everything from this plan THE RESIDENTS. You’ve already spent about $500,000 on this that could have been better spent on education, think about it, what could you of purchased for $500,000 that would help improve education. In no way does this plan improve education, there is no study or report that would back your argument. Improving education will make the district better and increase property values far more than three new schools and higher taxes.
Please vote for what’s best for the Township not your Union supporters.
Thank you for your time!
Sincerely,
Wayne Page
