Sunday, May 22, 2005
To the editor:
Our Otsego superintendent sent out a letter saying he is $ 425,000 short on funds to pay the staff. The bids for the building project have come in high . The board is cutting out many extras from the project.
But they need to get to the heart to the matter. An fixed -seat auditorium that costs 3 million dollars to build is far too expensive for the school district at this time. Yes, this proposed auditorium is a beautiful building. But why not consider a multi-purpose facility? It would be classrooms by day, getting much needed classroom space. Move the chairs around, it is an auditorium at night. Many churches and schools are going to this multi-purpose model. It is much less expensive to put up a building like this. The new Nazarene church facility on Gorrell rd. is one of these. It holds hundreds of people for a morning service. In the afternoon , the chairs can be set up for a special event. In the evening , the chairs can be set up for music or a youth drama. Well over a million dollars could be saved here .
The weight room is a worthy project . But getting the crowded Haskins elementary a classroom addition should be done before a weight room is considered. It will not be easy, but this is a project for the sports dads to sacrifically take on.
The beautiful music building will be the first to be torn down . This building is used for music and choral instruction every day. It could be used in this way for many more years. These older , well kept buildings last for many generations. Look at the elementary school on Ridge st. as an example. My sister- in- law lives in England where these historic buildings are used for hundreds of years. The students there like to go to them. I have asked the board how much it will cost for the tearing down of the music and vo-ag buildings, and the parking lot . I think it is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. How many greatly needed buses would these savings buy if these buildings were saved ?
The primary mission of the school is education and instruction. Look at the school districts all around us. Voters are not in the mood for taxpayer funded extras in this tough economy.
The easiest change to make at this stage of the project is to make the auditorium multi-purpose. The board can petition the contractor for this change. The school board members are elected representatives. Their names and email addresses/contact information should be posted on the school website ,www.otsegoknights.org, to allow citizens to contact them with comments on this or any issue.
The school district is in a deficit going into this building project. The board should consider modifying the building plan, especially the auditorium. If this building is built as currently planned , many may consider it a symbol of excessive spending rather than wise stewardship. And the board needs to have a frugal face on as it is obvious it will be going to the voters soon for more money.
Our Otsego superintendent sent out a letter saying he is $ 425,000 short on funds to pay the staff. The bids for the building project have come in high . The board is cutting out many extras from the project.
But they need to get to the heart to the matter. An fixed -seat auditorium that costs 3 million dollars to build is far too expensive for the school district at this time. Yes, this proposed auditorium is a beautiful building. But why not consider a multi-purpose facility? It would be classrooms by day, getting much needed classroom space. Move the chairs around, it is an auditorium at night. Many churches and schools are going to this multi-purpose model. It is much less expensive to put up a building like this. The new Nazarene church facility on Gorrell rd. is one of these. It holds hundreds of people for a morning service. In the afternoon , the chairs can be set up for a special event. In the evening , the chairs can be set up for music or a youth drama. Well over a million dollars could be saved here .
The weight room is a worthy project . But getting the crowded Haskins elementary a classroom addition should be done before a weight room is considered. It will not be easy, but this is a project for the sports dads to sacrifically take on.
The beautiful music building will be the first to be torn down . This building is used for music and choral instruction every day. It could be used in this way for many more years. These older , well kept buildings last for many generations. Look at the elementary school on Ridge st. as an example. My sister- in- law lives in England where these historic buildings are used for hundreds of years. The students there like to go to them. I have asked the board how much it will cost for the tearing down of the music and vo-ag buildings, and the parking lot . I think it is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. How many greatly needed buses would these savings buy if these buildings were saved ?
The primary mission of the school is education and instruction. Look at the school districts all around us. Voters are not in the mood for taxpayer funded extras in this tough economy.
The easiest change to make at this stage of the project is to make the auditorium multi-purpose. The board can petition the contractor for this change. The school board members are elected representatives. Their names and email addresses/contact information should be posted on the school website ,www.otsegoknights.org, to allow citizens to contact them with comments on this or any issue.
The school district is in a deficit going into this building project. The board should consider modifying the building plan, especially the auditorium. If this building is built as currently planned , many may consider it a symbol of excessive spending rather than wise stewardship. And the board needs to have a frugal face on as it is obvious it will be going to the voters soon for more money.
