Champaign UNIT 4 Online Survey - August 2016 Open-Ended Responses

Champaign UNIT 4 Online Survey - August 2016 Open-ended Responses

Q 6. What's the main reason you are opposed to a bond proposal to maintain and improve the condition of Unit 4 school buildings? /
$257 is to much money to ask for at one time. I would vote in favor of it if we could do things in steps..... for instance approve $1 million now to add on to Central and improve some things at Centennial. Developing new athletic fields could come in time - (We have used one regulation football field forever and it works, just add other practice fields) Dr. Howard does need to be rebuilt immediately, but I think South Side, IPA and Edison can wait. Dial down what you are asking for. I work for the school district and can't afford to pay that much more in taxes as much as I would like to see things improved.
158 Million?!!! You have some explaining to do. Why that much? How does that compare to other high school renos and builds? What do we get for that huge dollar amount?
Again leaving out Dr. Howard school ! Something needs to be done. In some ways it is worse than all other schools. Cost is too high. Not happy with board and superintendent decisions and lack of information to tax payers.
And sell some of the older building
Both don't want taxes raised and unhappy with BOE. new people same shit jam it down our throats. If these schools were such a problem then why were they not in the first round of schools worked on. Dr Howard's problems were there long before they worked at garden hills Kenwood bottenfield. People are to concerned about sports and not education. They have been sharing football field long before I moved into the area. Then also it seams like this and the last BOE they bring up the fact that Bloomington and Peoria pay more. That's great for them we are champaign not them quit comparing to others. The BOE and superintendent has failed the parents of unit 4
Build a new Central. Quit cutting corners and putting on band-aids. If you are going to do it, do it right. This from a proud Central alumni.
centennial is fine to update in its current location. adamantly against keeping central "central." no way to provide students/staff, etc with quality facilities comparable to other schools in districts of our size. extremely upset & disappointed neighbors have no foresight to have accepted central on north side of town. but, of course, they didn't want to upgrade dr. howard a decade ago either. yes, district needs more money, better facilities, but current "ideas" are worthless. not enough space in "central" champaign to keep school there & expand.
Central has been left out since Centennial was built. I probably would not vote for anything with Centennial in it That is until schools such as Central, Edison, Southside and Dr. Howard are done first.
Central High is not air conditioned and should be expanded or remodeled before changes to other schools.
Central High School is where you should concentrate the referendum. The inequities are outrageous. Dr. Howard would be next. I would approve $100-$125 million. Maybe a bit more. Also, I strongly disagree with the whole Keep Central Central campaign. If you rebuild onsite the school/location will be obsolete in 5-10 years. There is no room for growth. And the current plan still includes offsite facilities. I've not heard one Central administrator champion this idea, Do you actually discuss plans with the people in the building who deal with these issues every day? 2 more points: 1) I am not aware of any remotely similar town (Normal, Dekalb, etc.) that didn't build out because of the long term advantages, and 2) Right here in town St. Thomas More and the new YMCA have been enormously successful by building where there was available land. I believe everyone has their heart in the right place but can't see beyond their own provincial interests. Too bad. Champaign deserves better (and frankly has deserved better for the past 30 years. Where was the planning in the 80s and 90s?)..
Central high school needs more room and should be moved to Interstate Dr
Central needs to be a brand new build. Will not vote yes unless Central is built new and not in the middle of town. Move it to where the town is growning.
Champaign Central should be the ONLY school included in this vote. My children are 4th generation graduates of CHS, and it has been far too long since meaningful/necessary updates have been done! I will not support a $158 million reno budget for both high schools, when Central is the one that deserves to be fully renovated/re-built at this time!
Champaign High School needs relocated and rebuilt, not renovated and kept in the same landlocked spot.
Champaign school district was given 1% of sales tax, which I voted for. I feel the money has been missed used. What is to say that won't happen again? Look at how much money has been spent on finding Central a new location. Then you decided you didn't like the answer so you choose to spend more money and a lot more time to research this again. I have lost trust in the Champaign school district. Also, I don't want my park district paying for what should be the school dist responsibility. Park dist and school dist should remain separate. Stop asking to take the park district land to build a school.
Champaign Unit 4 needs to look at all options. How about combining South Side with Dr. Howard? Long term will there be enough students to fill all these new buildings?
Don't like the idea of destroying historic buildings.
Dr. Howard first!
Dr. Howard has been in need of renovations and repairs for far too long.
Dr. Howard School should be included as a first priority for renovation along with Central High Schol.
Dr. Howard should also be included. As well, I do not support expanding/renovating Central at the current location. The Interstate Drive location would allow all the school facilities--athletic fields, band practice fields, etc.--to be located on-site.
Excessive cost. Set a much smaller budget and maximize that.
Expanding Central on the current site is short-sighted and does not allow enough space for athletic fields/other expansions.
Huge effort needs to focus on how the current education model is not engaging students adequately, nor preparing them for the adult world of work. Creativity and innovation are much desired... Unit 4 does minimal effort on recognizing creative potential in each child, helping the child to know their gift, and then providing tools to enhance that gift throughout their formal education years. It is a digital world outside education. Education is slow to really recognize this. Game people are 'on it'! Agriculture is 'on it'! Education? Toe in the water. FIRST develop curriculum, then design building needs! Cut way back on investment (time and money) on sports! Connect with Engineering Prof Bruce Litchfield, Read Sir Ken Robinson's books, Professor Tony Wagner's... Professor Clay Christensen's...
I am both unhappy with the current decisions that are being made about the buildings for the schools, the sizes that are being planned, and current locations. There is little planning done for the future. We are putting a very small bandage on a very large bleeding artery. At some point the means for paying will be exhausted and there will be no more renovating the current buildings. We need to be cost effective and maximize out building size for the future. Renovation can come a very steep cost. Many times it's more cost effective to sell old buildings or use them for a different purpose and build new.
I am greatly disappointed with how the money was spent from the 1% sales tax increase. Dr. Howard's needs should have been addressed at that time along with South Side's. I'm baffled that Westview, Bottenfield, and Kenwood has priority over Dr. Howard and Southside. As a person who has stepped into a lot of school buildings throughout the state, I don't feel the need to remodel the high schools is there. You can't fix all of the problems at once; these issues need to be better prioritized with future 1% sales tax money. Also, we constantly hear about the increasing numbers, but I have yet to see the data on how many students are currently in each grade level to see how big the demand truly is down the road to justify any additions. I also don't think it's very wise to tear down the church and former YMCA building for only a soccer field and softball field. Those costs are not justifiable!
I am still unhappy about the shady dealings that the previous board used to 'secure' the land where they wanted the new Central High School. Are the taxpayers paying taxes on this land? Likely so.
I am tired with ideas or patch work plans. Come to me with a common sense long range plan and I will probably vote yes. The last two plans were trying to buy votes not a smart plan. Just an idea stealing from normal. Rebuild central to the north and centennial to the south of town. Turn both current schools into middle schools. Sell Edison off as that land should be in demand. Then turn Jefferson and Franklin buildings into grade schools. Something along those lines that would solve school issues for multiple years to come. That is what I want. A smart plan that you have to come to the voters once and done.
I believe the plans have been extravagant and need to be more reasonable.
I can't approve a plan I haven't seen. I also don't know if I approve without knowing where Central will be.
I do not believe that keeping central central is the best proposal. I think they should build new out on Olympia drive where they purchased the land so that they will not be land locked like they are now at the current Central site.
I do not think they should relocate Central High School from its near-downtown location to the far north side completely irrelevant location.
I don't agree with asking for all the money at one time to do all of these projects. Some planning should have been done in the past to prepare for future needs. It is not right to ask the taxpayer to make up for lack of planning on the part of the school district. Also, I prefer to see Central High School at the Interstate Drive site. It makes much more sense for fuiture expansion needs. Also, a lot less money would be spent at Interstate Drive to build the same things that are planned for the current Central site. I feel it is all a big mess. Unfortunately, the overcrowding issues don't get solved when this huge proposal is voted down.
I don't have confidence in the decision making process by the board and administration on the subject of new schools for the district. I know BOTH high schools need major improvements. Dr. Howard needs to be replaced. South side needs additions such as a larger gym, more library space, and a kindergarten wing with bathrooms in the room. Kindergarteners should not share a bathroom with fifth graders. A study needs to be conducted to see which would be better economically ..replace Southside or add on to it. Proposals change constantly. The district needs to take responsibility for not maintaining the buildings and managing their 1% tax money better. The "secretly" purchased 80 acres are tying up a lot of dollars. Centennial, Southside, and Dr.Howard seem to be in terrible shape and need to be replaced or renovated. Central is not far behind.
I don't see how you could make all the renovations Central needs and keep it in its present location.
I don't trust the board to spend the money wisely. I worry we will end up with a building that will require more work in a short amount of time or have facilities that do not fit our needs because the school board went with the "cool" options rather than the practical ones.
I firmly believe that ONE unified high school in Champaign would better suit the needs of the students and the community at large.
I have seen firsthand an extreme amount of money wasted in unit 4. Maybe try cutting out some of the perks at the Mellon building (expensive catered meals, expensive supplies, etc). Another option is to not spend so much on taxi's carting kids in from outside community's to come to school here. How about going back to neighborhood schools and greatly reducing the cost of transportation. A lot of my tax money is thrown away on these things instead of properly being used where it should be used. There is absolutely no reason to cater in gourmet meals for mellon building staff, bus kids across town to a school when they live across the street from one, and to spend hundreds of thousands on taxi's bringing kids in from other communities who are in communities with schools. Quit wasting my tax money and maybe I will vote yes.
I need to know more about the complete plan for all district buildings.
I really supported the previous referendum. The cost was less and the facilities proposed seemed to fit the bill of what was needed to improve Central High School. The current location of the high school does not allow students the opportunities that are provided at most other high schools throughout the state -- on site athletic fields. The newly proposed plan also does not include this. Why so much money for something that still won't provide the improvements needed most at the high school. Children will still have to commute to off-site locations, wasting time and compromising safety. The previous referendum also provided some improvements to Centennial HS and Dr Howard -- I also supported these. Dr. Howard does not provide the proper learning environment for students and is not fully accessible, and I understand the concerns that students attending Centennial may feel like they're not getting the same opportunities at a recently built/renovated Central High School. I'm sure they are receiving the same education -- but unfortunately, students and some parents may not see it that way.
I strongly supported the recent sales tax increaee. Many people cannot handle repeated tax increases