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$16.5 million. Sick. Do any of these people that voted "Yes" have a clue??? How many new school teachers would that pay for one year? I calculate 412 at $40,000 per. I'll go out on a limb and suggest that the 412 teachers would have more impact upon education in one year than this wild expenditure.

We have a lot of seats coming on line during the next 12 months. We have got to stop buying trailers and pods. Buying trailers that will only be used 1 or 2 years makes no sense whatever.

The worse thing is the way they did it. The guy admitted that the former owner of the Smith building basically sold them down the river.

To buy it with no inspection is very, very irresponsible. Somebody should be fired!

As far as Central is concerned I just dont believe that it will last!

Just like Anita asked last night - how many times are we going to pay to renovate the Tomlinson building at Central?

Morgan and Jennifer - please, please, please find out what those Culinary Arts students at Central are doing???? This facility won't be ready until fall of 2007, yet the enrolled the kids in the program this year. What could they possibly be doing???

I'll bet that in 2 years' time Grier will be asking the board for another $10M or so to renovate the Tomlinson building yet again. Maybe this time it will be a hair salon.

Funny Quest,

I mentioned a cosmotology track to the board members a long time ago and specifically, Dot Kearns scoffed at the idea because she said, "there is a cosmotology school nearby in Kernersville." She mentioned Leon's or something like that.

So that leads this overly taxed taxpayer to this question, isn't there a culinary program close by?

Oh my! Yes there is! Supposedly there is one right around the corner at ANDREWS!! And ANOTHER one on the Campus of GTCC!! And God knows how many more!

So what's the REAL reason Grier wants to flush money down the crapper? Wouldn't it be easier for him to just rub his rocks together and start a big money bonfire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Does Grier have magic rocks?

Did I see on the HP news that 2 Guilford County buses had accidents today? Does anybody know if those were neighborhood bus rides or cross-county bus rides?

shush! I think the N&R is not supposed to talk about the bus wrecks!

Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a culinary arts program at High Point Central makes no sense when GTCC has a well-established culinary arts program. Heck, the GTCC program is one of the most respected in the state.

What's more, there are a number of programs that allow Guilford County students to pick up credits at GTCC, usually for free. If GCS had wanted to do a culinary arts program, they could've used the resources already in place at GTCC - it would've been cheaper and the students would receive much better training.

I'm all for giving students the skills they need to get a job after high school. After all, not all kids will attend college.

But it makes no sense to waste money duplicating programs that already exist. This strikes me as an ill-conceived plan that sounds good on paper, but makes no sense when you really sit down and think about it.

It doesn't even sound good on paper. And to hear Grier say it'll "die" if they don't spend all this money on it makes me see that it's not even a good idea! A good program will not "die" no matter where it's located!

Guilford County has some excellent programs that are offered in BASEMENTS AND TRAILERS!!!!!! So I don't buy the bull that this one needs a new state-of-the-art building!

Not to mention that "cookin" makes and excellent point. CULINARY PROGRAMS ALREADY EXIST!!!!!!

I agree that the culinary arts program at Central is a complete waste of my tax dollar!! Who decided on culinary arts as the career of choice? It's obvious that no one consulted the students to see if there was enough interest.

We cannot even have an AP course in our school with less than 10 students or a kindergarten class with less than 18!!! Yet, we will spend millions of dollars on a completely unplanned out program like this. Who ever had this brainiac idea and it's supporters should be fired for incompetance?

The ones that voted this through are idiots also!!!

The 10 students enrolled in this could have duo-enrolled in GTCC and at much less expense to the county and they would have achieved a much better
education.

Wow, money, money everywhere and still no reading writing and Arithmetic. We can spend a fortune for buildings for special programs and Johnny and Sally still can’t add. This crowd SPENDS so much time on spending and so little on education you would think they were the Board of Spending. Would someone please tell them they are on the wrong Board already.

On another note, ENRON repeats again at the school house. Boy those estimates were a bit off weren’t they guys? Aren’t we taxpayers lucky the competitive bid process was circumvented? Heads should roll, but let’s give Terry another raise, after all, this wasn’t his department. Remember your “Managing the School Board” Class 101”, plausible deniability, your doing good there Terry. Keep those little minds distracted Terry (referring to school boards minds, not kids), I’m sure there’s another raise out there waiting for you. Your management of the staff and Board was incredible! Even if you don’t deserve the raise, you do deserve the Oscar for your performance.

ACCOUNTABILITY!!!! Real questions need to be asked as credibility can no longer decay, it has decomposed and reeks. Anita and Nancy have their heads on straight and Darlene is right there with them and even Alan is beginning to look like he wonders when Alice and the white rabbit will pop up for tea. My question would be, who stacked the deck? This looks like the High Point Coupe all over again only this time real money changes hands. GREASY little tidbit would be a quid pro quo analysis of who got what behind the scenes.

County Commissioners, HELP!!!, Oh, there’s the white rabbit now.

We need an AUDITOR not an AUDITION.

Whether intentional or not (and I'm really not accusing anyone of dishonesty), the whole deal with the Smith Academy has become a bait-and-switch.

When the board approved this proposal, the costs were relatively modest and seemed reasonable. Plans were made, teachers recruited, students enrolled, etc.

Then, the administration comes back a few months later and says they need several million more dollars to make the program work. The school board is in a no-win situation: either dump a program that's already underway or blow the budget to keep it going. Personally, I felt they made the wrong decision - Smith needs additional resources, but this program is too expensive. There are better uses for that money

But that's in the past. Now that a decision has been made - for better or for worse - the school board needs to ask some tough questions of the staff, figure out why the cost estimates were so out of whack and demand that it not happen again. I won't hold my breath for that, however

I think the programs for Smith have merit, however with only about 200 kids enrolled it will not be the salvation that the school needs. Also they have 23 staff members with 200 students.. that's right about 10 students per teacher, while my 8th grader has 36 in his Algebra class.

Another problem with Smith if you watched the school board meeting is the work will maybe be completed in March. Students were to be in after spring break which is April 2007. Why do they need to spend all this money now, may rush the job and have to pay labor overtime (sound familiar?) for students to be there for about one month? If the students can get by until April why can't the construction be done later? Kris C mentioned that deciced her vote.

As we know from past experience many projects do not finish on time.

Regarding Central and the construction of the cooking "labs", where are all the students supposed to be while the construction is going on? what safety procedures will be in place for the students and staff during this construction period? what about students inhaling dust?

And we read in the news that that fire marshall had already appeared this year about the overcrowding? Will this not compound the problem of overcrowding?

Regarding safety....What I found laughable while I subbed yesterday at an elementary school was a janitor buffing the floors while he wore a face mask. Where were the face masks for the children as we filed past to go back to our classroom?

There was a similar circumstance in May at Florence as the maintenance guys mowed the dry dust (there was no grass to be mowed) and drove his tractor as he wore a face mask. Where were the face masks for all the children on the playground? And why were our tax dollars paying this man to mow no grass?

In conclusion how will the safety of the students be addressed during this construction phase?

The janitors should not be buffing floors with
children in the building......................
problem solved!!

We had the same problem at our school last year
and the buffing equipment was propane powered!!
Totally against OSHA regulations and it's about
time they were called.

Grier and his staff are totally out of control!! Our school board is too weak to stop him from doing whatever he wants to do.

Please, how can we get in touch with Garth to help with his campaign and get some leadership on the school board?

Garth, if you are listening, I AM READY TO HELP!!! DO you have a website or a volunteer schedule? Please tell me how I can get involved in your campaign.

Griers construction fly by night mob said it "might" be ready by April. Lets all remember this.

It will not open this school year. This money did not need to be committed to!

Well, I think we know how the Smith Academy situation became such a boondoggle.

The former GCS Director of Facilities admitted that he was in a hurry and just took the building owner's word for the condition of the former Oakwood Homes office. In other word, the school system didn't perform due dilligence on the property and - imagine this - now finds itself having to spend more money on repairs than they originally thought.

Suppose you and your family are going to buy a home. You read in the paper about a nice-sounding property. You call up the current owner and she says, "Oh, it's in good shape."

Now, how many of us would say, "Well, I'll just take their word for it; I won't bother to check it out myself"? But that's exactly what GCS did with the Smith Academy building. And then they wonder why people don't trust them with our tax money!

That same thing happened to us! When we were moving to High Point, we found the house we liked, (NO Deena, we did NOT go door-to-door to see what color the neighbors were, we just liked the house) so we went to the school administration office to see what the school district was. We then asked if this would remain or was there a chance of getting redistricted? They said, "No, that area has already been redistricted so it's done".

HAHAHAHAHHA!!!!!!!!! We should NOT have taken their word for it! Since then we've been redistricted, lotteried, and redistrcited AGAIN!

So good advice, NEVER take anyone's word for ANYTHING, especially if they work for Guilford county schools!

There is some talk that more white bodies will have to be stolen from the North to help Andrews.
Are Jamestown, the Meadows and Cedarwood next?

How can the school board start new projects and ask for more money when old projects aren't even finished yet? Does anyone know about the trailers at Florence and why they haven't been removed yet? I heard it was for lack of funds. Also, what did they do with all the walkway covers that were only 1 year old and were taken down this year? We have been asking for coverings at SW high and middle for 4 years now with no luck.

How does the school board always "find" money for the things they want to do but never have enough for the necessities? I think an audit is way over due.

Florence looks absolutely disgusting. Its a disgrace.
How they can leave that sort of mess around a childrens enviroment is bewildering to me.

Noenroll

Not if GC has any hope of getting a future school bond passed. Opening this can of worms would be like opening Pandora's Box.

Well, audit or not I won't be voting for any more bonds. The board doesn't keep its word and you never know where the money will be spent. Just look at Jamestown middle. If my child went there and I voted for a bond with the school on the list and then it was scrapped I would be furious. People should not accept this kind of performance. These 11 people are supposed to be working for the good of the whole school district, that right the WHOLE school district not just for their schools they represent.

According to the boards meeting minutes of Thursday, February 9, 2006. It was Terry boy that said the renovation costs would only be 1.5 Million. Thats why he was rather quiet at the last Board meeting when Anita was grilling his "team".

http://www.guilford.k12.nc.us/boe/2006/3_7/minutes_2_9.htm

Superintendent Grier then recommended the Board direct the administration to do the following: 1) the pursuant to N.C.G.S. 115C-426.1(f), request that the Board of County Commissioners approve of the price to be paid for real estate ($2,350,000) on the terms described in the option; 2) request the Guilford County Board of Commissioners to join in applying to release funds from the 2005-2006 Public School Building Capital Funds (PSBCF), which, when joined with the requisite matching regular capital outlay funds (one dollar for every three dollars of PSBCF dollars) will be used to fund the purchase and renovation of the site; and 3) request approval, pursuant to N.C.G.S. 115C-433, to transfer an amount equal to the match requirement from Jamestown Area Middle School project to a Relocation of Mobile Units project, freeing up regular Capital Outlay dollars to be applied to the match. He informed the Board that the renovation costs were estimated to be approximately $1.5 million when combined with the purchase price totals approximately $3.9 million.

From the same minutes it said that the Smith Academy would serve about 60 students in both 10th and 11th grades. That means 120 kids which adds up to 100,000 USD per child.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I wonder if the 5.7 million is on top of the 1,5 to renovate that they originally estimated or if the 1.5 is included?