tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post3446816544640506856..comments2023-05-05T03:15:17.710-05:00Comments on D181 Parents for Accountability and Transparency: D181's Plans for a New Hinsdale Middle School? Sound Off!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-52994118069590823232015-10-17T13:40:09.549-05:002015-10-17T13:40:09.549-05:00Check out the Board Docs on the SD Website...looks...Check out the Board Docs on the SD Website...looks like the Second Round of scoring shows what the Staff, Public all agree on that the Cordogan design was the best and they should be the architect for the project. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-5786423426015608222015-10-13T11:14:10.027-05:002015-10-13T11:14:10.027-05:00Does anyone know if the Facilities' Committee ...Does anyone know if the Facilities' Committee rescore results ranking the 3 architecture firms have been published anywhere? I know they met right after the last BOE meeting and were supposed to score the firms a second time since there was confusion about how to score the firm the first time they did it. I'd like to know if Cordogan placed ahead of White, since that firm was only behind 5 points last time. I went onto the D181 website this morning and can't find any new results.<br /><br />Also, has anyone signed up yet to run a citizen's committee if the BOE votes to go to referendum? I think the BOE and Dr. White are really naive to think that the referendum is going to have any chance of passing without a strong citizen's committee ready to hit the ground running the day after the BOE votes. <br /><br />If anyone in Blogland has answers to these questions, please share!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-33594623067592171062015-09-29T12:01:01.331-05:002015-09-29T12:01:01.331-05:00Agree with 10:19. The BOA needs to set prioritie...Agree with 10:19. The BOA needs to set priorities. It seems like everything is a fire drill with this administration. Obviously, we expect them to be able to handle more than one task, but it seems like we are fighting multiple fires at once.<br /><br />In my opinion, the curricula and LFA are the top one, two, and three priorities. If your child is in 3rd grade, she gets one chance at third grade. She can't wait two or three years until it gets fixed. My sense is that our current kids have had multiple years of changing priorities and direction, endless rounds of tests and experimentation with a social justice system. This has to get fixed yesterday.<br /><br />While urgent, HMS is not the top priority. Students have been learning from outstanding teachers, hard work, and parental support at that building for 40 years. Let's take the time to get it right. Several of the elementary schools are north of 60 years old. Whatever we do will need to last a very long time.<br /><br />I don't think the current group of administrators is strong enough to fix urgent curricula issues AND tackle a major construction project.<br /><br />BOA, here are your top priorities:<br /><br />1) Fix curricula/LFA/Ability Grouping/Gifted/Special Needs<br /><br />2) Fire/Upgrade current administrative staff ( perhaps as part of priority one)<br /><br />3) Repair or Replace HMSAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-20916362119983330172015-09-29T10:19:34.928-05:002015-09-29T10:19:34.928-05:0011:03 is correct. Many of us will not support spen...11:03 is correct. Many of us will not support spending an additional dime until the LFA mess is cleaned up. If school administrators can't educate our children properly, how can we expect them to handle the construction of a new $50 million school? <br /><br />Maybe if we "retired" the current top 3 levels of administrators (directors thru superintendent) and hired competent administrators at reasonable salaries, we could get this district on the right track! <br /><br />When you overpay staff and administrators, they become more interested in keeping their cushy positions than in doing their jobs properly and with integrity.<br /><br />We need to bail out of this mess now. More meetings mean more double talk.<br /><br />White and Schneider have shown their true colors and their lack of transparency. Throwing out hundreds of pages of indiscernible materials is not transparency. Referring us back to meetings from months ago is not transparency. Backslapping is not transparency.<br /><br />As long as we allow these administrators to continue their useless rhetoric, they will. By the way, useless rhetoric, doublespeak and backslapping are what makes these meetings so long. <br /><br />And to the BOE: do something! Merely asking questions without holding the administrators' feet to the fire is a waste of time. Start listening to parents that speak at meetings. You may find, however, there are fewer and fewer speaking since these parents never get the respect they deserve. Instead they are looked upon as wasting your time and unnecessarily extending the duration of the board meetings. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-87975074242468647612015-09-28T23:16:44.203-05:002015-09-28T23:16:44.203-05:00It should be audio taped. All a board member has ...It should be audio taped. All a board member has to do is ask. Remember, the BOE is in charge and this is a public school district. <br /><br />Mike Woerner, thank you for speaking up. And 11:03, my sentiments exactly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-11125310686880898522015-09-28T23:07:59.034-05:002015-09-28T23:07:59.034-05:00So is tomorrow's facilities committee meeting ...So is tomorrow's facilities committee meeting going to be audiotaped? Hopeful Parentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-68744666087012936402015-09-28T23:05:28.836-05:002015-09-28T23:05:28.836-05:00YES, YES, YES 11:03. And thank you to all the com...YES, YES, YES 11:03. And thank you to all the community members who not only listened to the BOE meeting but also contributed to this running commentary during tonight's meeting. The Parentshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06479785630757500730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-86933318603118066512015-09-28T23:03:47.061-05:002015-09-28T23:03:47.061-05:00Meeting adjourned at 11:01. I waited hours to hea...Meeting adjourned at 11:01. I waited hours to hear a substantive discussion on anything about curriculum. How disappointing that that didn't happen. What is wrong with this picture? I'll tell you. The admin and board shouldn't be asking anyone to pay more taxes to build a new school when they won't/can't/refuse to discuss what is going on in the existing building. Fix the LFA mess once and for all before you ask taxpayers to fork over more money and for god's sake, if it's really true as Giltner pointed out that student population is way down but staffing is way up, then can the BOE finally look into firing some of the dead weight administrators?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-56672446385637811572015-09-28T23:01:14.336-05:002015-09-28T23:01:14.336-05:00Clarification on last comment -- Woerner is also o...Clarification on last comment -- Woerner is also on the facilities committee.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-15152709234573881852015-09-28T23:00:20.752-05:002015-09-28T23:00:20.752-05:00Mike Woerner made a closing public comment. For t...Mike Woerner made a closing public comment. For those who don't know him, he was a former D181 BOE member and Hinsdale Village trustee. He schooled the BOE on fine line that exists between being rubber stampers of committee work and actually rejecting committee recommendations. Final decisions are up to the BOE and the board shouldn't be afraid to make a final decision. Sound advice. Thanks Mr. Woerner.<br /><br />He then expressed his confusion about what the facilities committee was going to do at the Tuesday meeting. "How's it going to go down tomorrow" is what he asked and then asked for the committee to be given specific direction. Good luck getting that Mr. Woerner. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-2953698335857415262015-09-28T22:51:11.458-05:002015-09-28T22:51:11.458-05:00Paton Insight should be asked to re-do the phone s...Paton Insight should be asked to re-do the phone survey, online survey, and analysis. They did a terrible job. Not worth $50,000.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-7833254704727712812015-09-28T22:41:04.119-05:002015-09-28T22:41:04.119-05:00Bravo to Rich Giltner and Leslie Gray to stand up ...Bravo to Rich Giltner and Leslie Gray to stand up for common sense and the community's needs. We need to compare apples to apples. Not apples to creme brûlée. The scoring process was silly and confusing, so right on, Marty. Let's all slow down this speeding train. Don't let anyone score anything until the scoring process is simplified and made clear to everyone. No wonder the meetings go on until 11 p.m. <br /><br />No one should be ranking architectural firms if the firms were not all given clear, specific criteria on what to build. It was premature and embarrassing to waste the architectural firm's, the BOE's, and the public's time taking surveys that were not thorough. Even more embarrassing that we paid $50,000 to create an incomplete survey.<br /><br />No one, not even facilities committee members, should be making decisions if the public does not have equal access to drawings, information, and price quotes. This should all be available online. It is vital that this information be provided for a renovation or expansion project, too. People in the community want to see the plans for a renovation and we demand to know what the price will be. <br /><br />I feel like White is trying to force the board into a hasty, poorly thought out decision. Had the district done better due diligence and provided the community with more information about the renovation, then they would have been ready to present something for a referendum. It is the the administration's own fault that they failed to meet their deadline. Silly for White to ask Bridget and Ken how this failure to make a decision about architects will negatively affect their jobs. If they did their jobs the right way the first time, they wouldn't be redoing it now again. Taxpayers do not want to be forced into making poorly thought out decisions. Nor should the board be made to feel guilty about it. <br /> <br />The facilities committee will not be the only ones voting on the referendum, so please include the public's opinions before deciding to limit our options. And for God's sake, please give everyone the same phone survey before anyone starts analyzing results in public. Start with a bare bones remodel and compare it to a bare bones new school. Add in the cost of demolishing HMS, too. Remember, apples to apples. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-37076077657739738992015-09-28T22:34:35.741-05:002015-09-28T22:34:35.741-05:00So basically the BOE did not decide on a firm toni...So basically the BOE did not decide on a firm tonight. The facilities committee is meeting again tomorrow and will now be tasked with coming up with better norms for scoring, restoring and/or creating a pro and con list for each firm. It's not really clear. Then there will either be another meeting before October 19 or not. Again not clear. Wow. All this lack of clarity makes it clear as day that this whole process is a mess and it's just the beginning. Good luck passing the referendum. I agree with 9:14's husband. I have zero confidence in this process and plan to vote NO on a referendum, no matter what firm is selected. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-63410138740321159402015-09-28T22:30:35.722-05:002015-09-28T22:30:35.722-05:00All this discussion about dates to decide on going...All this discussion about dates to decide on going to referendum is absurd. The BOE needs to decide ASAP if they have any hope at all of launching a successful referendum. <br /><br />Why doesn't anyone suggest that the current timeline -- less than 6 months until a March referendum -- is simply not enough time, especially since no one has begun discussing the necessary citizens committee that is critical to the successful passage of a referendum.<br /><br />This train needs to be slowed down and a referendum shouldn't even be on a ballot before next November. it is clear from the messiness up to this point that this whole process has been rushed. It needs to be slowed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-31530269691864514982015-09-28T22:27:36.516-05:002015-09-28T22:27:36.516-05:00I'm sitting here chuckling because it looks li...I'm sitting here chuckling because it looks like the BOE needs to have a special meeting after the facilities committee meeting. So funny after all the naysaying by board members about having more meetings.....They look foolish.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-37503223568586948822015-09-28T22:24:35.729-05:002015-09-28T22:24:35.729-05:00Giltner must be reading the blog. He just almost ...Giltner must be reading the blog. He just almost verbatim quoted an earlier comment that pointed out that 5.5 point difference in the score sheets was statistically insignificant!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-39081206288334815122015-09-28T22:23:27.883-05:002015-09-28T22:23:27.883-05:00Jill Vorobiev wants committee to come up with pro ...Jill Vorobiev wants committee to come up with pro and con list for each firm and have the BOE make final decision. I agree. The BOE needs to make the final decision.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-64575639170149482702015-09-28T22:22:16.886-05:002015-09-28T22:22:16.886-05:00Leslie Gray agreed with Giltner. Wants to know if...Leslie Gray agreed with Giltner. Wants to know if norms existed as to what ranking amounts even meant. Need norms to avoid subjectivity of the scoring. Doesn't want end results thrown off due to subjectivity. Also expressed concerns about references. Jennifer Burns agreed with concern about getting more reference info -- more due diligence needed not just with someone who provided references, but someone who didn't but worked with the various firms. Burns also suggested the committee come to consensus through a discussion of the members. Didn't that happen already? Wasn't each point discussed by the committee or did they just go right to the scoring sheets? Who was guiding this process?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-32224998896432568692015-09-28T22:17:53.285-05:002015-09-28T22:17:53.285-05:00Richard Giltner said he wasn't on the committe...Richard Giltner said he wasn't on the committee but attended meeting and it is clear there was a misunderstanding or miscommunication about scoring. Wants committee to go back and wants each committee member to rank each firm 1, 2, 3 after further discussion. Glitter said committee members have said they didn't understand. Say what? How is this mess possible? They've met and met and met. If the administration guiding this whole process can't get this right, this project is doomed. Elm parentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-34120901359345538852015-09-28T22:14:35.759-05:002015-09-28T22:14:35.759-05:00Marty not confident in scoring sheets. Wants comm...Marty not confident in scoring sheets. Wants committee to revisit and come back with an actual recommendation with pros and cons. i agree with him! Go Marty!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-65123868011790230922015-09-28T22:12:11.756-05:002015-09-28T22:12:11.756-05:00Board approved motion to remove admin center off H...Board approved motion to remove admin center off HMS project.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-8954668398248655552015-09-28T22:11:04.896-05:002015-09-28T22:11:04.896-05:0010:09 -- I completely agree with you. Stop the Ed...10:09 -- I completely agree with you. Stop the Eduspeak Dr. White!Elm Parentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-52125734518952610602015-09-28T22:09:19.596-05:002015-09-28T22:09:19.596-05:00Finally back to discussing HMS. Moving right to m...Finally back to discussing HMS. Moving right to motions. Ridiculous if there is no discussion.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-70132616330217292282015-09-28T22:09:13.415-05:002015-09-28T22:09:13.415-05:00What the heck is White talking about "4 depth...What the heck is White talking about "4 depths of knowledge" in response to Jennifer Burns' question about MAP results? Answer the question she asked, Dr. White. How is the district dealing with this issue and why? I found his answer very convoluted and meaningless. As an educator, he should be able to explain answers to educated professionals in a way that does not confuse. <br /><br />White likes to toss out education terms and references that people who are not fluent in Eduspeak are not comfortable with. <br />This is order to throw people off his scent. Board members may not be conversational in Eduspeak, but we, and they, know when they are being bluffed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5961215159419443702.post-91038511574444811572015-09-28T22:00:14.288-05:002015-09-28T22:00:14.288-05:00It is ridiculous that it is now 10 pm and the boar...It is ridiculous that it is now 10 pm and the board hasn't begun discussing the selection of the architectural firm and is instead now talking about test data. Why the moving shell game? So the community can't follow anything coherently or just gives up?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com