APS - is the elementary debacle just a distraction from the Career Center?

[Anonymous]

I'm not normally a conspiracy theorist, but did the SB aim to pit parents against each other in a no-seats-added, zero-sum game of moving choice schools so they'd have less input on the Career Center site?

[Anonymous]

I think they did it because they saw an issue with keeping key where it is, since that would really increase busing in the ne.
I think though then they saw the uproar and saw an opportunity to sneak one past everyone

[Anonymous]

The CC plan can't really get enacted in this CIP though, can it? It is prospective and visionary. We don't have the money in this CIP and there are other more urgent needs. The initial 800 seats at CC will go through, but I doubt any more than that before the CIP is voted out in June.

[Anonymous]

No. The people who are paying attention to the elementary boundary process aren't largely not the same people as who are paying attention to the high school process. Most of the people this elementary process would affect (people with K/1st graders and younger) aren't paying attention to high school because it's so far off and they figure people with older kids are paying attention to that, oblivious to the fact that an awful lot of those people aren't focused on it because their kids will be out or nearly out of APS by the time any of these seats are created.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. The people who are paying attention to the elementary boundary process aren't largely not the same people as who are paying attention to the high school process. Most of the people this elementary process would affect (people with K/1st graders and younger) aren't paying attention to high school because it's so far off and they figure people with older kids are paying attention to that, oblivious to the fact that an awful lot of those people aren't focused on it because their kids will be out or nearly out of APS by the time any of these seats are created.

Sadly, this is me. I have a 1 and 3 year old so I have made myself pay attention to elementary, but I only have so much bandwidth. I can't even keep up with this Career Center nonsense. So what's the deal? They are putting 800 seats there on the CIP but don't have an actual plan for what kind of focus it would be or rationale why anyone would choose to go there with no amenities? And also, it's short term? Again, this is my completely unresearched impression of the situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The CC plan can't really get enacted in this CIP though, can it? It is prospective and visionary. We don't have the money in this CIP and there are other more urgent needs. The initial 800 seats at CC will go through, but I doubt any more than that before the CIP is voted out in June.

It's not going into this CIP, but the SB does a new CIP every two years, so the fact that they are only building the funding for Phase 1 of the project into this CIP doesn't mean it's off the table, the rest of the phases are still under consideration and could be worked into the 2021-2030 CIP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. The people who are paying attention to the elementary boundary process aren't largely not the same people as who are paying attention to the high school process. Most of the people this elementary process would affect (people with K/1st graders and younger) aren't paying attention to high school because it's so far off and they figure people with older kids are paying attention to that, oblivious to the fact that an awful lot of those people aren't focused on it because their kids will be out or nearly out of APS by the time any of these seats are created.

Sadly, this is me. I have a 1 and 3 year old so I have made myself pay attention to elementary, but I only have so much bandwidth. I can't even keep up with this Career Center nonsense. So what's the deal? They are putting 800 seats there on the CIP but don't have an actual plan for what kind of focus it would be or rationale why anyone would choose to go there with no amenities? And also, it's short term? Again, this is my completely unresearched impression of the situation.

I think you pretty much have it. Then there's the neighborhood trying to make a push for this to be the site of the next 4th comprehensive HS, even though it can't fit and we don't have the money without putting off a lot of other things in future CIP's and North Arlington is never going to let it get approved anyway. And also some Montessori reps are angling for a K-8 facility in exchange for vacating the CC site without a fight.

[Anonymous]

It looked to me like Stengel is doing the ES process and Nattress and Chadwick are the main staff on CC. They have to do both at the same time. There is a complete lack of leadership at the top though. WTF did the SB renew Murphy’s contract? Where is he in any of these conversations?

[Anonymous]

The neighborhood is pushing for it because they don't want to send their kids to Wakefield. But, they want all the amenities of Wakefield.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It looked to me like Stengel is doing the ES process and Nattress and Chadwick are the main staff on CC. They have to do both at the same time. There is a complete lack of leadership at the top though. WTF did the SB renew Murphy’s contract? Where is he in any of these conversations?

Murphy knows where his bread is buttered. That’s telling old guard Arlington Dem’s that we can out source our schools, go online, do shifts - ya know BE INNOVATIVE... and not have to spend money on seats the old timers don’t need. He’s telling the people who actually vote, what they want to hear. Please please please go to a SB caucus some day. Silver hair as far as the eye can see. The people making policy - meaningful policy - don’t have kids in the schools. We squabble over the crumbs we’re thrown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The neighborhood is pushing for it because they don't want to send their kids to Wakefield. But, they want all the amenities of Wakefield.

Yup. You're right. I don't want to send my kid to Wakefield - if it has over 3000 students. And if APS is going to build another high school, it should have facilities that are not less than the other high schools.

BTW - most of us already send our kids to Wakefield.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The neighborhood is pushing for it because they don't want to send their kids to Wakefield. But, they want all the amenities of Wakefield.

As well they should. A school needs to go somewhere. They are willing to take one for the team, they damn well better have the same amenities.

[Anonymous]

They are not 'willing to take one for the team." They want to get their kids out of wakefield and increase their property values. Wakefield isn't going to have 3,000 kids, WL is.

This is all about a wealthy area of south arlington trying to separate itself from the rest of south arlington where schools and resources are dominated by lower income family needs. I don't blame them and would do the same if I lived in that neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It looked to me like Stengel is doing the ES process and Nattress and Chadwick are the main staff on CC. They have to do both at the same time. There is a complete lack of leadership at the top though. WTF did the SB renew Murphy’s contract? Where is he in any of these conversations?

He sits in a dark cave, lit up by dozens of computer screens, working on the grand master solution, which he will slide in one day (night) before the scheduled vote, labeled option “4.1.b, revised”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They are not 'willing to take one for the team." They want to get their kids out of wakefield and increase their property values. Wakefield isn't going to have 3,000 kids, WL is.

This is all about a wealthy area of south arlington trying to separate itself from the rest of south arlington where schools and resources are dominated by lower income family needs. I don't blame them and would do the same if I lived in that neighborhood.

It’s still more traffic
It’s still a totally headache of construction
If they are willing to put up with the bullshit than they get the upside too