Let's talk.

The arrogance of that Moultrop lady is disgusting. People like her are responsible for the decline of this once proud suburb. Her and that Deanne Bremer Fisher nut who just want to be "inclusive" and dialogue and gush about diversity. This city is on the ropes. Face facts Garry: The schools were lost years ago and are now only populated by minorities fleeing East Cleveland and a few liberal losers who subject their kids to it. They should be brought before Children and Family Services for neglect. And that is a fact.

Garry, I really admire your chutzpah in trying to deal with these losers at the Lay Finance commitee and the incompetents on the School Board and City Council but they are so incestuous and connected that they suffer from groupthink in that they are unable/unwilling to even acknowledge that there is anything wrong with the city and its schools. The rest of the metro area is either horrified or just laughs out loud at the this city and schools. And you know what? Their right. There will be no meaningful change until they are all voted out, which will never happen in time to save Cleveland Heights. And that is a true shame.

Here's something I developed and posted at the "official" Facilities Levy forum:
------------
Sam Bell was gracious enough to spend a good amount of time yesterday afternoon bringing me up to speed on Boulevard - the physical building's limitations, and where I might find existing documentation.

What I thought I heard last year was this:

● "Boulevard Elementary has to be torn down. From a practical standpoint, the building has too many problems to fix, primarily caused by it being designed for (the fad of) "Open Classrooms".
● "Boulevard will then be rebuilt as an Elementary, centered around the concept of (the fad of) "Learning Communities".

What I concluded (right or wrong) was, "They're repeating the exact same mistake. And they want $16 MILLION to do it? Good grief! What other obvious mistakes are looming in the rest of the $205 MILLION they want to spend?"

What I learned from Sam yesterday was:

Unlike "Open Classrooms", "Learning Communities are *designed* to accommodate multiple configurations of classrooms. That is, to begin with - unlike the execution of CH-UH's Open Classrooms in the 1970s - it is understood that "one size does *not* fit all".

continued...

But here's the rub, also posted at the official forum. The plan is to remodel/rebuild Heights High, then the middle schools, and finally the elementary schools.

That means the unfit Boulevard and Fairfax will have another decade's worth of kids.

No. If Boulevard is that bad, make it right for the kids, asap. Not 10 years from now.
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I'm watching the January 9th LFC meeting video on the district's website.

If Boulevard is such a horrible building, as described above, would the students benefit if that remodel/rebuild project was moved to the beginning, rather than the end of the initiative?

I guess the question applies equally to the other footprint elementary, which is Fairfax, I believe.

Posted Jan 17, 2013

http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/ch-uh-school-facilities

My applause to both Michael and Garry. Stoopid starts with the Cleveland Heights School Board.

And possibly the Cleveland Heights City Council.

And the "Community Outreach" report included this startling and dispiriting info:

They've spent until now creating a survey. Which was still not "final" (The roster of the LFC was announced on October 2, 2012. That's 3 1/2 months. See the link way at the bottom.)

But wait, here's what the survey was developed for:
The first two "open ended questions" will:
"...Open up a realm of ideas that possibly will be used during the campaign phase, in terms of what people value about our schools, and why strong schools are important to them."

The remaining questions(s) are about priorities and willingness top spend tax $ on these priorities.

"Community Outreach". A 27 member committee created mainly to inform and engage the voters. And what they come up with for "Community Outreach" is: Levy campaign tactics.

After 3 1/2 months. And the final report to the BOE will be at the end of May.

This head-spinning report begins at about the 1 hour 12 minute mark of this link:
http://www.chuh.org/multimedia/videos click on the "Lay Facilities Meeting - January 9, 2013" video.

Here's the link announcing the membership of the committee on October 2, 2012. Some members of the community saw problems right away:

http://clevelandheights.patch.com/articles/lay-facilities-committee-expected-to-be-introduced-at-ch-uh-board-meeting

This is how Boulevard is described at the official forum:
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Deanna Bremer Fisher

I would recommend you also take a tour of either Boulevard or Fairfax to see firsthand how the buildings function. I was very glad that Krissy Dietrich-Gallagher and Dallas Schubert gave us a tour of Fairfax after our LFC meeting at that building. It was real eye-opener.

I had been in the footprint buildings on numerous occasions for meetings, but had never actually seen the entire space. Classrooms do not have walls or doors. There is little storage space for teachers or students. Most of the classrooms don't have windows. The entire school cannot assemble in the cafeteria/auditorium so they have to use the gym for that purpose. The gym is separated from the cafeteria/auditorium by a flimsy sliding partion, which means that the noise level must be incredibly loud. A ramp in the middle of the building takes up a huge amount of square footage. The building was constructed with low-quality materials.

In summary, my impression of the building was that it is energy-inefficient, ugly, noisy and depressing. It is a tragedy that we have been trying to educate our kids in those buildings for the last 40 years.

We should examine the costs of rennovating, rather than rebuilding, Boulevard, but we'd also need to have an architect show us how/if the building could be redesigned to fix its flaws.

continued...

That is the kind of inconsistent, poorly thought out "analysis" that I've been trying to correct.

If Boulevard is *that* bad - and Fairfax is presumably just as bad (and it's why Coventry and Taylor are no longer elems) - then replacing Boulevard, and moving kids out of Fairfax, *must* be the *first* priority. Not the last!

As far as I can tell, Fairfax Elem is a goner. But not until *after* the HS and middle schools.

So, another 10 years until we get the kids out of those two supposedly unfit buildings. Nice, eh?

But these guys on the committee aren't interested in data gathering and logic. Frankly, I don't understand their motivations.

But I will not placate them.

The absolutely most disturbing thng about this fiasco is the COST and everyone on the Lay Finance Commitee and City Council blatant ignoring of the potentially CRIPPLING effect on homeowners should a levy in the amount of some $205 million will do to the city. If you think Cleveland Heights is on the ropes now, just wait until this levy passes and homeowners are facing an unprecedented increase in their property taxes. You will see an exodus and panic selling the likes which have never before seen. There really needs to be an organized opposition to any school levy formed early as the Board and their toadies will have overly paid pr flaks and the like spouting off feel good talking points and flyers to confuse residents and bullet points like " it will only cost you an extra $75/month or so" rubbish.

The lay facilities plan is a joke. I went to one of the meetings and I was appalled by the incompetence of our elected officials. First off, I want to address the point Schwartz made about people fleeing East Cleveland and coming to the Heights. Who's greedy decision was it to let section 8 in? That's where the blame needs to be placed. These land lords don't care what people are doing out of their properties as long as they get their money. The land lord lives somewhere in Chagrin Falls and collects his money monthly. He bought property in Cleveland Heights, but could care less what happens here, as long as he gets his money. If you don't have to work to live where you want there is no incentive to act accordingly lol. I hope that makes sense. I can't stand section 8 in my city. Ten years ago it wasn't as bad as it is now. We need to pass an initiative to kick section 8 out. I don't know how this can be done, but it should be top priority. They had their chance and blew it . The current school system is in shambles, mostly because of section 8, but also incompetent city officials. Spending 200 million plus dollars for some shiny building will do nothing to improve performance. The desire to learn comes from within. If this thing goes to a vote we must do everything in our power to vote it down. Look at east Cleveland they have shiny new school buildings and performance is unsatisfactory at best. It's not the building, it's the people in it.

Cleveland Heights pays some of the highest taxes in the state, not just county, the state. Solon, Beechwood, and Orange all pay lower taxes than us and their schools make our schools look as if they are for the mentally retarded. I don't mean to offend anyone, but you know it's the truth. Chagrin Falls does have section 8, but when they drew up the district lines for the school they cut around it lol look it up. Now why would they go and do a thing like that? I know cause they weren't willing to let the irresponsible destroy their school system that's why. Any homeowner who still lives here needs to take their head from their rectum and pay attention. If you want to ever have a chance of selling your house for what it was appraised for say in 2003 you better start cleaning house and you better do it now. I'm done I doubt anyone is listening.

Nathaniel, I am listening. You are right on all counts. Section 8 has effectively finished this city and from what I can tell nothing can be done about it. All any responsible citizen can do is alert their neighbors to the pending school tax levy disaster and encourage everyone you know to vote NO.

Can we stay on topic, please?

My four daughters all went through the CH-UH School System, starting with Fairfax, and they all turned out okay. Fairfax was a terrible building when it was built, but that, I feel does not have a whole lot to do with the quality of education. The teachers have to spend a lot of their time on things that should have been learned at home - basic reading (Good NIght Moon), manners, and discipline. You can build all the fancy buildings you want, but $200,000 will not make the parents any better. There are many who feel that it is the school's problem, not theirs.

Sorry, $200,000,000.

UH resident believe what you want, but that doesn't make it true. I don't know what critical mass of wealthy well educated individuals you are talking about, but I've never met any. Paying a mortgage is not the same thing as owning your home at least to me it's not. I guess people have their own definition for the word own. One might think that because you have money, or live in a nice suburb that it equates to intelligence, well it doesn't. A lot of the money floating around North East Ohio is Old money with a capital O lol. You didn't build that your great grand dad did lol.

Or your great grand dad forced someone else to build it under the tyranny of bondage and then tried to take credit for it. Look at George H W Bush lots of money, prestige, still stuck on stupid. He stole the election with his daddy's help. I guess it goes to show you, it's not what you know, it's who you know. Orange and Beechwood are nice Solon on the other hand reminds me of a po dunk town. Moreland Hills makes Solon look like East Cleveland so let's keep things in perspective. If you have real money you move out to G Mills or in the West G area. Solon beechwood and Orange are faking it so to speak. I've been inside each of those schools and they aren't that impressive. University School makes them look like a shack. It really isn't fair to compare the two because one is private and one is public. The point I am making is that many people who are neighbors in Beechwood, Solon and Orange choose to send their children wherever they want. So the statement about being invested in the school is somewhat skewed.

I pay property tax in Cleveland Heights does that mean I'm invested in the school? If so I want my money back because I see no profit from it. For the most part public schools are for the middle class. People who can afford to send their children to private school, usually don't mind footing that bill. You mentioned a plethora of industry. What industry? Is there some steel mill out in Solon that I don't know about? Is there some GE manufacturing plant they recently put out in Orange? I don't consider the selling of consumer goods also known as retail to be an industry in the sense of the word's original meaning. America produces nothing except crappy people lol. When they originally drew the lines for the school district in Chagrin Falls the area that I stated was cut out for section 8 was previously inhabited prior to section 8 by low income people. Call it poor people, call it section 8, it's all the same to me. \When a majority has the opportunity to stick it to a minority they usually do. I'm just saying.

Nathaniel, UH resident is a fraud who hides behind a fake name and who apparently has duped Garry with her "facts" without links. On thread after thread he/she does nothing but attack those who would tell it like it is about the state of the city and its schools. I guess that is all you can do when the state of the city and schools speak for themselves--attack the messenger, but that is what one has come to expect from those who defend the disasterous status quo. I suspect the UH resident is either a public school teacher with a vested interest in high taxes
or just one of the few white lib losers still forcing his/her kids to attend the Heights schools. Any self respecting black or white family has either moved out to the suburbs which UH resident speaks so deridingly of above, or will do anything to pay tuition to a private school to give their kids a fighting chance. People like UH resident are those that are directly responsible for cleveland Heights decline from the suburb of choice to just another low income, rudderless inner ring suburb that in the next 5 years will look like East Cleveland, just like the PD article pointed out today about another suburb Garfield Heights and its high tax aura that people are high tailing out of.

As a sidenote, I bet the sobering multitude of blue light security cameras up and down Lee road that were placed there as a result of numerous muggings and demanded by the merchants are rather not their for their stated purpose of detering the out of control crime, but are there as some form of public art that should be celebrated like the street graffiti artists who tag cars and buildings, huh UH resident?

It is not necessary to own peoperty in Cleveland Heights in order to have an opinion, express an opinion, or vote. One of the rules of Patch, however, even though it is not enforced, is to use your own name. Perhaps people might place more credence in what UH Resident has to say it he/she were to use his/her real name. I suppose it is possible that UH Resident is a real name.

It could be that his property is in a relatives name, or a corporate name. Many do that for a multitude of reasons. How do we know from your alias that do not live in Butte, Montana? Follow the rules and use your real name. What are you ashamed of?

Thanks Richard for your input. I feel no need to explain myself to Miss Misrepresention. After I outed her for trying to compare the Beachwood schools as a "peer" district of CHUH a few threads ago she has become increasingly bitter and hostile and is unable to post on the topic at hand ( in this case the upcoming school levy) and instead resorts to childish personal attacks and worthless links that have nothing to do with the topic. If he/she is representative of whats left of the Heights schools supporters, I think it speaks for itself and more than prove my points as outlined above. As for shame, I believe UH resident has alot to be ashamed of as evidenced by the immature posts and may be actually be a5th or 6th grader based upon the maturity level of the posts. That could be the reason for the fake name.

Just a rhetorical question, UH resident, are you in the 5th or 6th grade?

Hey guys! Thanks for commenting on Cleveland Heights Patch. Let's keep discussion here polite, meaningful and without personal attacks, ok?

We were talking about school bonds. And...go!

Thanks, Nikki. You are absolutely right. If posters cannot stay on topic and just resort to attacks, let alone using fake names, they should not be here.

Hey guys - I know it might be confusing, but Patch updated their Terms of Use to "encourage, but not require" users to use their real names. You can read the update here: http://clevelandheights.patch.com/terms

But again, we're talking about school levies, right?

Here is the point. Cleveland Heights school system is in shambles. Every freaking year these public officials from the BOE ask us for more and more money. In exchange for our hard earned dollars we are given an unsatisfactory result. How dare they ask the citizens for $200 million dollars. It is shameful to ask for $200 million dollars to fix external problems and then make the claim that it will also fix the internal problems. Let me tell you here and now it will not. They already tried this in East Cleveland and it did not work. We are still waiting on those perfect SAT scores to come out of East Cleveland. The desire to learn comes from within. Shiny buildings with garage doors, with walls and partitions that rotate is not going to improve algebra scores, or reading comprehension. If any money is to be spent it should be on teachers and not the inflated salaries of public officials. I think who ever did the study for the facilities proposal must have though we were fools. If you brought that crap proposal to Laurel or University school they would have laughed in your face and they could actually come up with the funding. Prove to the citizens that you can maintain a viable school system in our district with the money we already gave you. When you show me a high school with a 90% graduation rate, I'll show you a city that supports its schools. That is all.