Below is an image showing the new gym and high school renovation plan the Madison Central School District proposed last year:
Compare that plan with the blueprint the school has provided for its revised new gym and renovation proposal:
The red-circled areas represent what appear to be the major architectural changes. In the southwest corner of the building, we gain one classroom by keeping and repurposing the current four "B" rooms of the science wing instead of knocking out the walls and converting them to three larger classrooms.
The other three circles show five classroom spaces that are removed from the original renovation plan. We lose one new classroom in the northwest tech area to reflect the fact that we have cut the auto shop program, one new classroom next to the new gym, and three existing classrooms in the high school's northeast hallway, the current "E" rooms of the math wing.
Note that the gym has been narrowed by ten feet as well. However, according to board member Shawn Miller, the new gym should still be able to accommodate 2300 to 2500 people.
So the net changes: four fewer classrooms, same number of spectator seats.
Now I did note during the last bond election campaign that the original plan appeared to create ten more classrooms than teachers. Reducing classrooms may thus be a step in the right direction.
But this revision of the plan to reduce academic space but not cut the amount of space where people can sit around and watch sports seems to belie high school principal Sharon Knowlton's silly contention that gym space is just as important as classroom space. If Knowlton believed that, we'd see a plan making equivalent decreases in gym and classroom space. But this plan puts the cuts disproportionately on academic space in favor of protecting the number of spectators we can house to gaze lovingly on the figureheads of the jockocracy... and on the big sponsor banners draped in our temple to sports.
Vote Yes! I'm waiting for my sign to appear or are we supposed to pick those up ourselves???
I can give you one John. Give me a call.
John--contact Mrs. Knowlton for signs, or let Matt know you would like one, or two.
There will never be a perfect plan that will keep everyone happy. Present company included.
But of course, John, you'll need to contact Mrs. Knowlton at home, since she surely would not want to conduct any campaign-related activities while she's on the clock at the school.
Didn't think she would either so got mine from Matt's front lawn. He had three. Still time to put one out there west of Lake Herman.
Curious, John: How many signs are you seeing around town? How does sign density compare to last time? And are there any "No" signs this time?
While going trick or treating with grandkids one house gave a card along with treat asking people to vote "Yes".
John, we don't do signs on the west side of Lake Herman anymore. Only open water signs, etc. year around kind of stuff put out by people who control the waters. If a good idea came along we might be tempted to hang a sign right where the boaters and fisherpeople drive by. It's a mellow neighborhood.
Cory, I feel it will pass this time because the property tax burden has been dramatically reduced (as much as 70% less). Sign density is much higher. By the way, Matt, I'd love a Vote Yes sign in my front yard. I'm also hearing positive comments from several of those who opposed the first bond attempt. The key is people need to get off their lazy butts and do their civic duty and VOTE Tuesday.
Campaigning on trick-or-treaters: I guess it's a secular holiday, so game on! I'll remember that next Halloween when I want to hand out political propaganda to children coming to my door.
That idea was courtesy of your fellow liberal friend, Ashley Kenneth Allen... who handed out hundreds of these Vote Yes cards on Maplewood drive.
I tried to hand them to parents as much as possible, rather than give them to the children. Some of the older, Middle School age children were given cards by me along with a "Happy Halloween and please ask your parents to vote yes for MHS".
I find this much more acceptable than people trying to put Pro-Life or Pro-Choice stickers on my kids at all the parades. You think my 3, 4 or 7 year old daughters care or even know what these stickers mean? It is about as bad as being in church this past weekend and hearing things about "pornography" and having to explain that to my 7 year old when she asks.
People need to consider their audience when it comes to campaigning and issue discussion.
With that said, I don't normally like to involve kids in politics... but this is about the school that many of them will attend someday.. so Halloween campaigning was a go! In three days we will know if it was successful or not. The mood in town towards the vote seems to be a positive one, but I am not stopping with the campaign until every vote is counted.
So there is the back story, Cory.