Well, That $49.7 MILLION Repairs Backlog Seemed Pretty Important To The LFC...

I don't get it.

I've uploaded the Canterbury page from the LFC's Building Sub-committee's December, 2012 report.

It clearly shows the 2007 repairs backlog $ amount, plus the LFC's own estimate of new repairs for the next decade.

There's a page like this for all 11 schools, including the 7 elementaries that are being ignored by the proposed Phase I bond, and for the next decade.

They put this information in there for some reason, right?

(And it adds up to $49.7 MILLION. Not $40.4 MILLION. Not to worry, though. $9 MILLION would be a mere rounding error in that $238 MILLION Master Facilities Plan they came up with.)

But now, in his July 2, 2013 prepared remarks prior to the final vote, BOE member Zucker's comments are reported in this fashion:
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"In their comments preceding the vote, several BOE members addressed concerns that residents, including Kanter, had voiced previously.

...

"BOE member Kal Zucker said that he wanted to address the perception of a backlog in school facilities repairs and a lack of focus on elementary school repairs. “The backlog of $40.4 million is based on a 2007 audit,” he said, and added that in the last five years, about 60 percent of the permanent improvement budget had been spent on the high school and middle schools.

"“We need to stop taking about a backlog,” he said. “It’s a slice in time. It’s a reason why it makes sense to do the high school and middle schools first. If we address those schools' needs first, we free up a greater portion of permanent improvement funds to use on elementary schools.”"

"Perception of a backlog in school facilities repairs"?!?!

Where might such a "perception" come from, anyways?

Well, the superintendent made the $49.7 MILLION repairs backlog the centerpiece of his plea for passage of Plan C in Spring, 2012.

The publisher of the Heights Observer made prominent mention of it in her October 31, 2012 column.

The LFC's Building Sub-Committee - co-chaired by Alumni Foundation head Eric Silverman and Heights Observer Publisher Deanna Bremer-Fisher -  includes it in their December, 2012 report, and even adds on an estimate for a greater backlog to come.

But on July 2, 2013 Mr. Zucker admonishes:
“We need to stop taking about a backlog,” he said. “It’s a slice in time..."


Yeah. Because, why?