Dear School Board Members,
I read the entirety of the Roanoke Times article this morning regarding your new choices available. I want to encourage you to vote unanimously for the BMS campus option. I believe that option is the best of bad options that accomplishes the following: 1) keeps all Blacksburg students in Blacksburg; 2) does not put students into a substandard and perhaps dangerous facility as testified by teachers who used to work at OCMS; 3) puts county (our) money into a temporary solution for a temporary problem; 4) it mostly affects only one student body- the one that actually had this happen to them.
I still say you should be planning for the immediate construction of the new high school in Blacksburg- we all know the old building is going to be condemned. Perhaps this is the time you should be taking legal action against the insurance company to speed it's condemnation of that property?
I will reiterate my earlier points that I am extremely disappointed in the board and Superintendent Blackburn for delaying this decision making process when there was no reason to not be going through this process in April. There was absolutely no reason.
For board members in Blacksburg considering shipping BMS students to OCMS, if you vote in that manner, I will work tirelessly to have you removed from the board as soon as possible. For those of you outside Blacksburg- this decision should not affect your constituents in any manner- I implore you to look beyond short term cost and more toward the will of parents who are actually affected by your decisions.
Most Respectfully,
Doug Garnett-Deakin
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Letter to Representative Goodlatte
Dear Representative Goodlatte,
I read with interest your comments about the Poff Federal building in Roanoke and you not wanting GSA to spend Recovery Act money on the environmental improvements to that building. I do not write to comment on your position, but certainly understand it as well thought out. As a disclaimer, I am a HUBZone contractor working for the GSA in Blacksburg, Virginia so I understand the nature of the program and the intention of it to both stimulate the economy and encourage "greening" of public buildings.
As you probably know, Montgomery county and Blacksburg have had significant challenges since our high school gym collapsed in February of 2010. It is now very apparent that our High School will be condemned after an engineering report is finalized at the end of this month - one that has already necessitated the relocation of students for the coming year. The reason I am writing is that I would like to propose that you, Representative Boucher, Senators Webb and Waner, State Senator Edwards and Smith, State Delegate Shuler and Nutter together or separately petition the Obama Administration to allow a portion of the $51 million budgeted for Poff to become available for the building of a new Blacksburg High School to help our community.
I understand that you do not represent Blacksburg, but consider that Virginia Tech is undergoing great expense on community improvements to increase it's ability to recruit top notch faculty and that the improvements to Virginia Tech help the entire South West Virginia economy at large which you do represent. I also know that shifting this sort of funding is quite a stretch, but Federal Recovery Act money is completely fungible and can be directed to other programs as long as the funds do two things: stimulate the economy for which they were intended and advance green technologies. I believe replacing Blacksburg High School could do both of these: the new high school will employ construction workers, architects and engineers and could in fact be designed as LEED Gold or Platinum certified, fitting the greening requirement and even giving the Virginia Tech community a higher profile in this regard.
I simply request that you consider this and discuss it with Representative Boucher and other colleagues. It is a stretch, but the potential community impact and positive story this could generate- the true thinking outside of the box use of what is ultimately all of our money - could be tremendous. I do not advocate the Federal money solely as a "the Federal Government can come to the rescue" type of action- I am pushing the state and the local community to fund this solution as it can. I have advocated a special local tax assessment located just in Blacksburg, not all of Montgomery county, as well as the setting aside of county and state help. I have told the county as an individual and small business owner that I would donate to a fund for the High School construction. I think the solution to this problem can come from all levels of government and personal responsibility as all levels of government are simply an ever expanding extension of what we can all do as larger and larger communities.
The county estimates $24 million to complete the new High School, as the site has already been selected and purchased. The LEED platinum solution may require more in initial investment, recovered over the first 5 years of the project.
I simply ask that you consider this and please do feel free to contact me with any questions about our local situation that extends in so many ways beyond our small community.
Sincerest Regards,
Doug Garnett-Deakin
I read with interest your comments about the Poff Federal building in Roanoke and you not wanting GSA to spend Recovery Act money on the environmental improvements to that building. I do not write to comment on your position, but certainly understand it as well thought out. As a disclaimer, I am a HUBZone contractor working for the GSA in Blacksburg, Virginia so I understand the nature of the program and the intention of it to both stimulate the economy and encourage "greening" of public buildings.
As you probably know, Montgomery county and Blacksburg have had significant challenges since our high school gym collapsed in February of 2010. It is now very apparent that our High School will be condemned after an engineering report is finalized at the end of this month - one that has already necessitated the relocation of students for the coming year. The reason I am writing is that I would like to propose that you, Representative Boucher, Senators Webb and Waner, State Senator Edwards and Smith, State Delegate Shuler and Nutter together or separately petition the Obama Administration to allow a portion of the $51 million budgeted for Poff to become available for the building of a new Blacksburg High School to help our community.
I understand that you do not represent Blacksburg, but consider that Virginia Tech is undergoing great expense on community improvements to increase it's ability to recruit top notch faculty and that the improvements to Virginia Tech help the entire South West Virginia economy at large which you do represent. I also know that shifting this sort of funding is quite a stretch, but Federal Recovery Act money is completely fungible and can be directed to other programs as long as the funds do two things: stimulate the economy for which they were intended and advance green technologies. I believe replacing Blacksburg High School could do both of these: the new high school will employ construction workers, architects and engineers and could in fact be designed as LEED Gold or Platinum certified, fitting the greening requirement and even giving the Virginia Tech community a higher profile in this regard.
I simply request that you consider this and discuss it with Representative Boucher and other colleagues. It is a stretch, but the potential community impact and positive story this could generate- the true thinking outside of the box use of what is ultimately all of our money - could be tremendous. I do not advocate the Federal money solely as a "the Federal Government can come to the rescue" type of action- I am pushing the state and the local community to fund this solution as it can. I have advocated a special local tax assessment located just in Blacksburg, not all of Montgomery county, as well as the setting aside of county and state help. I have told the county as an individual and small business owner that I would donate to a fund for the High School construction. I think the solution to this problem can come from all levels of government and personal responsibility as all levels of government are simply an ever expanding extension of what we can all do as larger and larger communities.
The county estimates $24 million to complete the new High School, as the site has already been selected and purchased. The LEED platinum solution may require more in initial investment, recovered over the first 5 years of the project.
I simply ask that you consider this and please do feel free to contact me with any questions about our local situation that extends in so many ways beyond our small community.
Sincerest Regards,
Doug Garnett-Deakin
Saturday, June 19, 2010
A response to Mr. Wendell Jones, MCPS chair
Mr. Jones,
Please feel free to call me Doug.
One point in rebuttal of your taking exception- the last communication from the school system in fact looks to limit the "choices" put in front of the community. While the "choices" are expanded to 4 from 2 they are still extremely narrow in focus, thus going counter to your point entirely.
I fully acknowledge this community and everyone involved have been through some horrendous events - not just this last year but the entire decade. Rather than list these, let me just say this is exactly why you are being inundated by cries from parents who are so against our children being moved out of our community- to being farther from home for when they have simple colds or have some student bring two guns to school. After meeting with a group of both BMS and BHS parents last night, that was the single most unifying point. We are unanimous in insisting that our children not be moved out of Blacksburg- middle or high schoolers.
Now, to points that may actually make this possible, I am wanting to know in what capacity the board and superintendent have looked into non-traditional spaces to house BHS students within Blacksburg. Even if they do not conform, my group would like a list of possibilities discovered by your group and reasons they were ruled out. We would like to know of searches which places might marginally be made available. We would like to know what laws require in these spaces, and what might simply be school board rules (e.g., is a cafeteria required of a school space for a year). Specifically, I have confirmed from two sources that Virginia Tech has offered space for BHS students and I would like to know why this is not acceptable. My group is of one mind that Virginia Tech is absolutely the best atmosphere and place available. I cannot imagine Virginia Tech as a University that wants to attract world class talent can be at all happy that they now have to explain we have no high school and that students may be sent to another town in near condemned facilities.
As to timing, the board and other leadership absolutely should have been planning this coming school year in March if not April. I have now had insight from several people who have walked the inside of BHS to know that any person confronted with sloping floors and wall damage would know this school is going to be condemned, or at the very least not ready for 2010. Dr. Blackburn was kind enough to call me yesterday and discuss the situation, and she confirmed that there is visible sloping and mis-matched slabs on the floor of the main BHS building.
So why the wait? It is not the OWPR report- not with such visible damage. The perception the wait must leave in anyone's mind, and it certainly does in mine, is that you waited to hold public working sessions until vacation had begun because so many parents have left the area. The second perception is that the time-line is thus compacted and the community is forced to make a quicker decision than it would normally. That is a common negotiation tactic in business, and I am very hopeful this was not your intention. Whether intentional or not is really beside the point in many ways, however, the wait should not have happened given the internal makeup of BHS. The result is quite justified anger and anguish.
I have no insight to budgetary matters, but please give me any information on that side you care to write up and I will work on it. I think you would be surprised at how many residents would be willing to support a special tax assessment to get the new BHS started ASAP. Also, I think you would be surprised about the incredible ground swell of support this body would get if you simply stated "our second priority we will pursue until we have a comprehensive plan, after housing students for 2010, is to build a new BHS. We will get the students housing for 2010, then we will work solely on the construction of the new BHS, period."
Most Sincerely,
Doug Garnett-Deakin
---------------------------------------
Doug Garnett-Deakin
Phn. 540-443-9245
Cell 540-818-3098
Fax 703-997-1478
---------------------------------------
From:
To:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Cc:
Date: 06/18/2010 05:46 PM
Subject: RE: An open letter to the Montgomery County School Board
Mr. Deakin,
Thank you for your recent email, concerns and efforts. First, as parent of a rising 6th grader at BMS and a rising Junior at BHS, I fully understand the concerns cited by parents and the Blacksburg community. Additionally, my daughter graduated from BHS this year - so my family dealt first hand with the revised school schedule and the impact it had on the Blacksburg School Community. Also worth mentioning, on February 12th, 2010 - my entire family was inside the BHS gymnasium prior to its collapse on February 13th. After observing the destruction of the collapse first hand, I feel very fortunate that my family is safe (as well as other’s in attendance that evening) and we were able to complete the school year and no one was injured as a result of the collapse.
I do take exception to defining our process of generating options as resulting in poor ideas when they haven’t been given the appropriate amount of the time to be discussed. The only “bad” idea is the one that is not discussed and dismissed without careful thought. Plus, I don’t believe taking the appropriate amount of time required to insure our school buildings are safe for daily use should be termed as wasteful. This is very complex and difficult problem to resolve and it has required the involvement of multiple entities to insure proper procedures and policies are followed.
While the educational setting for both BHS and BMS students will be potentially impacted for the short-term and the proposed options, ideas and resulting decisions will not be palatable to everyone (including myself), we must recognize that other school communities within Montgomery County deal with overcrowded conditions, aging buildings and the increasing use of mobile units.
Plus, as we move forward, let’s be mindful and keep in perspective the BHS / BMS building and facilities decisions we are making have a short term impact, but the greater long term impact on the educational quality of all students in Montgomery County was the nearly eight million dollar reduction in the division operational budget. The rebuilding of a building is simple when compare to the budgetary challenges we face in rebuilding the quality of education for all students in Montgomery County.
I look forward to developing a solution that is able to provide a quality and safe educational experience for both BMS and BHS students.
Again, thank you for your email and your efforts to support the students and staff of the Blacksburg Community.
Best Regards,
B. Wendell Jones
MCPS - Chair
392-2750
From: doug.garnett-deakin@jpidev.com [mailto:doug.garnett-deakin@jpidev.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2010 10:18 PM
To: Jones, Wendell; Christine.McCann@jpidev.com; Doug_Garnett-Deakin@jpidev.com; drfoster@mcps.org; jbond@mcps.org; jtivers1@comcast.net; michael.stowe@roanoke.com; palbritton@mail.mcps.org; pfranklin@mcps.org; pgarnett@vt.edu; whopkins@vt.edu; anna.mallory@roanoke.com; Kelly Linkenhoker; district21@senate.virginia.gov; district22@senate.virginia.gov; DelJShuler@house.virginia.gov; deldnutter@house.virginia.gov
Cc: Doug_Garnett-Deakin@jpidev.com
Subject: Re: An open letter to the Montgomery County School Board
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to submit some excellent ideas from Kelly Linkenhoker that have already been sent to you. They are listed below after some more comments to follow my email from yesterday and further research on my part.
Something very important you need to understand is that your current poor ideas are throwing up two huge, terrifying warning signs to BMS parents- 1) you are proposing moving our children into intrinsically more dangerous environments (either an over crowded new school or into a substandard facility) and at the same time 2) you are moving them much farther away from us so that when situations from simple colds to say a kid bringing guns to school or the Westboro Baptist Church setting up a protest occur, it is that much more of a hardship for us to get to our children and remove them from those situations.
I will also say, it is most clear to me now that the BHS building will be condemned. I spoke to Phyllis Albritton today and understand that the construction company that ripped Blacksburg off with this horrible building is no longer in business and the county cannot sue them. I also discovered from the reporting in the Roanoke Times and other sources, that the structural flaws below the floors and in the extremely dangerous strut work (reason for gym collapse) are most definitely going to lead to a report of condemnation and if not there is no way any sane, safety minded person would allow students back into that facility. Therefore I have contacted Senator Edwards, Del Nutter and Del Shumer to pursue state or federal emergency funds and would encourage the community to support Kelly's last point that without delay the MCPS begin bid and selection for construction of a new high school. And for you to NOT fritter away another 6 months coming to that absolutely necessary understanding.
I apologize to Kelly for lifting her work as supplied to me by a friend, but her ideas were so much better than mine and certainly yours, that I could not help but forward them on and will read them on Monday in your public session.
I will be hosting a BMS parent planning session at my house tomorrow night to further collect ideas. I would also add that I would very much be in favor of a special assessment tax for funding the high school and other creative funding ideas. I would be willing personally to donate money to a fund for construction of a proper high school and/or investment in the ideas below. My company would be as well. I would personally organize and lead fund raisers to do the same. I will contact government representatives and lobby for any funds available to make this happen. But I will do absolutely none of this to pay one dollar to poor ideas that put my children and others in danger, as I believe your ideas will.
-----------------------
1) Keeping 6th grades in their respective elementary schools and putting mobile units on the BMS site to house 7th and 8th grade students, with BHS occupying the BMS building with 9th through 12th grades. This would keep all Blacksburg students in the communities that they are comfortable with and depend on. This way high school students have the
technology and equipment necessary to keep from compromising their education and the middle school students (7th and 8th) are not displaced from the security of their community school. 6th grade students would remain in nurturing environments during the transition to more demanding curriculum. I would be very disappointed to see any Blacksburg students removed from the community they call home. This interferes with supports for students before and after school hours.
2) Make a campus at the BMS ??? Take the money you would spend to get the OLD CMS ready and put the money into building a campus that could service our students for the next 1-2 years while a new high school is built on the land we have ready for a new school.
3) Start building a new High School ASAP. Blacksburg needs a high school and to wait makes no sense to our children or our community.
I understand that all solutions will be complicated but I hope to see our community work through this without the added stress of an alternate location.
Thanks and take care,
Kelly Linkenhoker
---------------------------------------
Doug Garnett-Deakin
Phn. 540-443-9245
Cell 540-818-3098
Fax 703-997-1478
---------------------------------------
From: Doug Garnett-Deakin/JPI
To: palbritton@mail.mcps.org, pfranklin@mcps.org, drfoster@mcps.org, jbond@mcps.org, BJones@moog.com, jtivers1@comcast.net, whopkins@vt.edu
Cc: michael.stowe@roanoke.com, pgarnett@vt.edu, Christine McCann/JPI@JPI, Doug Garnett-Deakin@jpidev.com
Date: 06/16/2010 04:11 PM
Subject: An open letter to the Montgomery County School Board
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Like so many parents in Blacksburg, I have been following the debate of what to do with Blacksburg High School students in the upcoming year. I am the parent of an upcoming 7th grader and 4th grader, but do not have a child enrolled in BHS. First of all, I would like to express my displeasure with the progress of the safety report to date and the lack of planning that, in my view, should have been done in March and April of this year. I have little doubt in my mind that the safety report could have been done well before now and, more importantly, that the board and superintendent could have been planning with public involvement in the Spring regardless of the report completion.
That aside, I am appalled that you consider the movement and disruption of two groups of children a correct decision as opposed to disrupting a single group- the high school is affected in this situation, not the middle school, so the high school student body should be the only group disrupted. I worked on Pentagon relocation after 9/11 and know that the primary rule to follow in relocation due to disaster is to effect as few groups or individuals as possible. I see no reason you could put forward as a group as to why this rule should not be applied here. The principal of BHS is even on record stating that the lab facilities at BMS are not adequate for the high school students.
I agree with Joe Ivers' quote in today's Roanoke Times:
"Nowhere in here do I see anything but them being put in situations where they're going to be vulnerable," board member Joe Ivers said. "It just seems to beat the middle school students."
Middle school is an incredibly hard transition time and they are the wrong group to disrupt in this manner, much less bus them into either 1) a dilapidated old structure that is barely able to hold up to Upward basketball games or 2) a complete over crowding in the new Christiansburg MS.
I will also say that there is little likelihood that the report will come back to you with a suggestion that BHS can be used. I know few professionals that would sign off on that. The only real option you have is to move immediately to constructing the new high school in the new site as planned, just simply moved up in priority. As for the high schoolers for this year, I see little palatable option than moving them to trailers or splitting them up to various high schools in the county.
If the school board does move forward with the idea of busing middle schoolers, I will remove my daughter from the school system and I will explore my legal options for having the county compensate me for said move. As superintendent Blackburn was quoted "Time is our enemy at this point". To this I would add, time has been our enemy since day 1 following the collapse of the gym and you should have acted then for planning for the coming school year. For anyone to use time as a pressure point on parents at this moment for your own lack of action is unconscionable.
---------------------------------------
Doug Garnett-Deakin
doug.garnett-deakin@jpidev.com
Cell 540-818-3098
Fax 703-997-1478
---------------------------------------
Please feel free to call me Doug.
One point in rebuttal of your taking exception- the last communication from the school system in fact looks to limit the "choices" put in front of the community. While the "choices" are expanded to 4 from 2 they are still extremely narrow in focus, thus going counter to your point entirely.
I fully acknowledge this community and everyone involved have been through some horrendous events - not just this last year but the entire decade. Rather than list these, let me just say this is exactly why you are being inundated by cries from parents who are so against our children being moved out of our community- to being farther from home for when they have simple colds or have some student bring two guns to school. After meeting with a group of both BMS and BHS parents last night, that was the single most unifying point. We are unanimous in insisting that our children not be moved out of Blacksburg- middle or high schoolers.
Now, to points that may actually make this possible, I am wanting to know in what capacity the board and superintendent have looked into non-traditional spaces to house BHS students within Blacksburg. Even if they do not conform, my group would like a list of possibilities discovered by your group and reasons they were ruled out. We would like to know of searches which places might marginally be made available. We would like to know what laws require in these spaces, and what might simply be school board rules (e.g., is a cafeteria required of a school space for a year). Specifically, I have confirmed from two sources that Virginia Tech has offered space for BHS students and I would like to know why this is not acceptable. My group is of one mind that Virginia Tech is absolutely the best atmosphere and place available. I cannot imagine Virginia Tech as a University that wants to attract world class talent can be at all happy that they now have to explain we have no high school and that students may be sent to another town in near condemned facilities.
As to timing, the board and other leadership absolutely should have been planning this coming school year in March if not April. I have now had insight from several people who have walked the inside of BHS to know that any person confronted with sloping floors and wall damage would know this school is going to be condemned, or at the very least not ready for 2010. Dr. Blackburn was kind enough to call me yesterday and discuss the situation, and she confirmed that there is visible sloping and mis-matched slabs on the floor of the main BHS building.
So why the wait? It is not the OWPR report- not with such visible damage. The perception the wait must leave in anyone's mind, and it certainly does in mine, is that you waited to hold public working sessions until vacation had begun because so many parents have left the area. The second perception is that the time-line is thus compacted and the community is forced to make a quicker decision than it would normally. That is a common negotiation tactic in business, and I am very hopeful this was not your intention. Whether intentional or not is really beside the point in many ways, however, the wait should not have happened given the internal makeup of BHS. The result is quite justified anger and anguish.
I have no insight to budgetary matters, but please give me any information on that side you care to write up and I will work on it. I think you would be surprised at how many residents would be willing to support a special tax assessment to get the new BHS started ASAP. Also, I think you would be surprised about the incredible ground swell of support this body would get if you simply stated "our second priority we will pursue until we have a comprehensive plan, after housing students for 2010, is to build a new BHS. We will get the students housing for 2010, then we will work solely on the construction of the new BHS, period."
Most Sincerely,
Doug Garnett-Deakin
---------------------------------------
Doug Garnett-Deakin
Phn. 540-443-9245
Cell 540-818-3098
Fax 703-997-1478
---------------------------------------
From:
To:
Cc:
Date: 06/18/2010 05:46 PM
Subject: RE: An open letter to the Montgomery County School Board
Mr. Deakin,
Thank you for your recent email, concerns and efforts. First, as parent of a rising 6th grader at BMS and a rising Junior at BHS, I fully understand the concerns cited by parents and the Blacksburg community. Additionally, my daughter graduated from BHS this year - so my family dealt first hand with the revised school schedule and the impact it had on the Blacksburg School Community. Also worth mentioning, on February 12th, 2010 - my entire family was inside the BHS gymnasium prior to its collapse on February 13th. After observing the destruction of the collapse first hand, I feel very fortunate that my family is safe (as well as other’s in attendance that evening) and we were able to complete the school year and no one was injured as a result of the collapse.
I do take exception to defining our process of generating options as resulting in poor ideas when they haven’t been given the appropriate amount of the time to be discussed. The only “bad” idea is the one that is not discussed and dismissed without careful thought. Plus, I don’t believe taking the appropriate amount of time required to insure our school buildings are safe for daily use should be termed as wasteful. This is very complex and difficult problem to resolve and it has required the involvement of multiple entities to insure proper procedures and policies are followed.
While the educational setting for both BHS and BMS students will be potentially impacted for the short-term and the proposed options, ideas and resulting decisions will not be palatable to everyone (including myself), we must recognize that other school communities within Montgomery County deal with overcrowded conditions, aging buildings and the increasing use of mobile units.
Plus, as we move forward, let’s be mindful and keep in perspective the BHS / BMS building and facilities decisions we are making have a short term impact, but the greater long term impact on the educational quality of all students in Montgomery County was the nearly eight million dollar reduction in the division operational budget. The rebuilding of a building is simple when compare to the budgetary challenges we face in rebuilding the quality of education for all students in Montgomery County.
I look forward to developing a solution that is able to provide a quality and safe educational experience for both BMS and BHS students.
Again, thank you for your email and your efforts to support the students and staff of the Blacksburg Community.
Best Regards,
B. Wendell Jones
MCPS - Chair
392-2750
From: doug.garnett-deakin@jpidev.com [mailto:doug.garnett-deakin@jpidev.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2010 10:18 PM
To: Jones, Wendell; Christine.McCann@jpidev.com; Doug_Garnett-Deakin@jpidev.com; drfoster@mcps.org; jbond@mcps.org; jtivers1@comcast.net; michael.stowe@roanoke.com; palbritton@mail.mcps.org; pfranklin@mcps.org; pgarnett@vt.edu; whopkins@vt.edu; anna.mallory@roanoke.com; Kelly Linkenhoker; district21@senate.virginia.gov; district22@senate.virginia.gov; DelJShuler@house.virginia.gov; deldnutter@house.virginia.gov
Cc: Doug_Garnett-Deakin@jpidev.com
Subject: Re: An open letter to the Montgomery County School Board
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to submit some excellent ideas from Kelly Linkenhoker that have already been sent to you. They are listed below after some more comments to follow my email from yesterday and further research on my part.
Something very important you need to understand is that your current poor ideas are throwing up two huge, terrifying warning signs to BMS parents- 1) you are proposing moving our children into intrinsically more dangerous environments (either an over crowded new school or into a substandard facility) and at the same time 2) you are moving them much farther away from us so that when situations from simple colds to say a kid bringing guns to school or the Westboro Baptist Church setting up a protest occur, it is that much more of a hardship for us to get to our children and remove them from those situations.
I will also say, it is most clear to me now that the BHS building will be condemned. I spoke to Phyllis Albritton today and understand that the construction company that ripped Blacksburg off with this horrible building is no longer in business and the county cannot sue them. I also discovered from the reporting in the Roanoke Times and other sources, that the structural flaws below the floors and in the extremely dangerous strut work (reason for gym collapse) are most definitely going to lead to a report of condemnation and if not there is no way any sane, safety minded person would allow students back into that facility. Therefore I have contacted Senator Edwards, Del Nutter and Del Shumer to pursue state or federal emergency funds and would encourage the community to support Kelly's last point that without delay the MCPS begin bid and selection for construction of a new high school. And for you to NOT fritter away another 6 months coming to that absolutely necessary understanding.
I apologize to Kelly for lifting her work as supplied to me by a friend, but her ideas were so much better than mine and certainly yours, that I could not help but forward them on and will read them on Monday in your public session.
I will be hosting a BMS parent planning session at my house tomorrow night to further collect ideas. I would also add that I would very much be in favor of a special assessment tax for funding the high school and other creative funding ideas. I would be willing personally to donate money to a fund for construction of a proper high school and/or investment in the ideas below. My company would be as well. I would personally organize and lead fund raisers to do the same. I will contact government representatives and lobby for any funds available to make this happen. But I will do absolutely none of this to pay one dollar to poor ideas that put my children and others in danger, as I believe your ideas will.
-----------------------
1) Keeping 6th grades in their respective elementary schools and putting mobile units on the BMS site to house 7th and 8th grade students, with BHS occupying the BMS building with 9th through 12th grades. This would keep all Blacksburg students in the communities that they are comfortable with and depend on. This way high school students have the
technology and equipment necessary to keep from compromising their education and the middle school students (7th and 8th) are not displaced from the security of their community school. 6th grade students would remain in nurturing environments during the transition to more demanding curriculum. I would be very disappointed to see any Blacksburg students removed from the community they call home. This interferes with supports for students before and after school hours.
2) Make a campus at the BMS ??? Take the money you would spend to get the OLD CMS ready and put the money into building a campus that could service our students for the next 1-2 years while a new high school is built on the land we have ready for a new school.
3) Start building a new High School ASAP. Blacksburg needs a high school and to wait makes no sense to our children or our community.
I understand that all solutions will be complicated but I hope to see our community work through this without the added stress of an alternate location.
Thanks and take care,
Kelly Linkenhoker
---------------------------------------
Doug Garnett-Deakin
Phn. 540-443-9245
Cell 540-818-3098
Fax 703-997-1478
---------------------------------------
From: Doug Garnett-Deakin/JPI
To: palbritton@mail.mcps.org, pfranklin@mcps.org, drfoster@mcps.org, jbond@mcps.org, BJones@moog.com, jtivers1@comcast.net, whopkins@vt.edu
Cc: michael.stowe@roanoke.com, pgarnett@vt.edu, Christine McCann/JPI@JPI, Doug Garnett-Deakin@jpidev.com
Date: 06/16/2010 04:11 PM
Subject: An open letter to the Montgomery County School Board
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Like so many parents in Blacksburg, I have been following the debate of what to do with Blacksburg High School students in the upcoming year. I am the parent of an upcoming 7th grader and 4th grader, but do not have a child enrolled in BHS. First of all, I would like to express my displeasure with the progress of the safety report to date and the lack of planning that, in my view, should have been done in March and April of this year. I have little doubt in my mind that the safety report could have been done well before now and, more importantly, that the board and superintendent could have been planning with public involvement in the Spring regardless of the report completion.
That aside, I am appalled that you consider the movement and disruption of two groups of children a correct decision as opposed to disrupting a single group- the high school is affected in this situation, not the middle school, so the high school student body should be the only group disrupted. I worked on Pentagon relocation after 9/11 and know that the primary rule to follow in relocation due to disaster is to effect as few groups or individuals as possible. I see no reason you could put forward as a group as to why this rule should not be applied here. The principal of BHS is even on record stating that the lab facilities at BMS are not adequate for the high school students.
I agree with Joe Ivers' quote in today's Roanoke Times:
"Nowhere in here do I see anything but them being put in situations where they're going to be vulnerable," board member Joe Ivers said. "It just seems to beat the middle school students."
Middle school is an incredibly hard transition time and they are the wrong group to disrupt in this manner, much less bus them into either 1) a dilapidated old structure that is barely able to hold up to Upward basketball games or 2) a complete over crowding in the new Christiansburg MS.
I will also say that there is little likelihood that the report will come back to you with a suggestion that BHS can be used. I know few professionals that would sign off on that. The only real option you have is to move immediately to constructing the new high school in the new site as planned, just simply moved up in priority. As for the high schoolers for this year, I see little palatable option than moving them to trailers or splitting them up to various high schools in the county.
If the school board does move forward with the idea of busing middle schoolers, I will remove my daughter from the school system and I will explore my legal options for having the county compensate me for said move. As superintendent Blackburn was quoted "Time is our enemy at this point". To this I would add, time has been our enemy since day 1 following the collapse of the gym and you should have acted then for planning for the coming school year. For anyone to use time as a pressure point on parents at this moment for your own lack of action is unconscionable.
---------------------------------------
Doug Garnett-Deakin
doug.garnett-deakin@jpidev.com
Cell 540-818-3098
Fax 703-997-1478
---------------------------------------
Friday, June 18, 2010
Another great email
Such a creative and intelligent community. I'm going to keep posting these until I get into big trouble.
From: Hope
Subject: [Bms-pta] Letter from BMS Staff
To: bms-pta@listserv.bburg.bev.net
Date: Thursday, June 17, 2010, 9:24 PM
Dear BMS families,
As a follow-up to the information about the online input form, we would
like to share with you what the BMS staff has done in response to the
proposals presented at Tuesday's school board meeting. We met as a
faculty yesterday and discussed the impacts of these proposals on our
BMS community. Collectively we composed a document outlining our
thoughts and concerns. We have created this document for you to
consider. We encourage you to contact the superintendent and each of
the school board members and invite you to use any of the points from
our document in your discussions. Please also consider attending the
community meetings on Monday, June 21st at 3pm and 7pm in the BMS
auditorium. We appreciate your continued support of our school
community.
Thank you,
Carol Fox and Andrea Langston
An Opportunity for Excellence
Our community has proven numerous times that we are resilient and committed to our children and each other. This is just another opportunity to not only persevere but to look to improve on our educational ideas and environments.
§ We feel the tragedy for our BHS community should not be turned into a double tragedy by displacing our BMS community. The focus is to support the needs of the faculty and students of BHS as they cope with this crisis. To do this, we need to create an educational environment for all students impacted that best meets their developmental and academic needs in the short term and can benefit our district's educational progress in the future.
§ As professionals we should see this as an opportunity for educational improvement. If we use a proactive thought process with a focus on long-term implications and enduring solutions, opportunities will become apparent. It is imperative to address this problem with paramount consideration for the educational needs of all students involved. Long-term educational objectives and implications should drive the decision, not capacity numbers or athletics, both of which can be solved through alternative physical arrangements.
§ A decade ago members of the BMS and CMS communities collaborated to select the building design utilized in the two new middle schools. At BMS we use this specialized physical environment to foster important tenets of the middle school concept addressing the unique developmental and instructional needs of young adolescents. These buildings feature separate hallways for each grade level subdivided into smaller areas for academic teams, a design that helps middle school educators meet the needs of middle school students and builds smaller learning communities within a large school. The environment is actually used as a teacher. Our space supports teaming, inclusion, flexible grouping, collaboration, and integrated curriculum which are all essential components of a strong middle school program. Additionally, family involvement in the education of their children is an essential characteristic of a successful middle school. This becomes problematic if our school is not located in our community.
§ Current enrollment at BHS is 1,117 and BMS is 883. The difference in enrollment is 234 students. OCMS, with a capacity of 775, is not adequate for either school population. Therefore, relocating either school would require extensive modifications and mobile units so all costs must be considered.
§ Although BMS has a capacity of 1200 students, it was not designed to house four grade levels. It is a middle school designed to house three grade levels. The BMS campus cannot support the entire BHS program.
§ Remaining efficient is crucial in the final decision of the placement. We want this plan to have positive long term effects on all impacted in our division. Customizing a building to meet the high school needs is necessary. It would be beneficial to utilize a building that can benefit from this expense after the high school has left the facility. OCMS fits this description because of the alternative high school programs that would re-inhabit the facility. Customizing BMS to support BHS involves spending scarce funds on modifications that will require subsequent funding to restore BMS to its original state once BHS has its own facility.
§ If BMS were moved to OCMS there would also be costs for customizing this facility to meet our needs as a middle school. OCMS would need to be greatly modified to meet our teaming, technology, and instructional program needs. The cost of relocating two schools and seven grade levels to provide for their academic needs compared to the cost of housing one school with four grade levels, which is already displaced, must be considered. Furthermore, any money invested in any facility should continue to benefit the students of MCPS long after the temporary housing needs of BHS are resolved.
§ During the shared occupancy, the facilities at BMS did not meet the needs of students enrolled in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. In addition, they were concerned that their students’ ability to compete well in VICA and other such competitions would be affected. These competitions lead to opportunities for post-high school education and employment. This group of students is often overlooked in the rush to provide academic and athletic needs.
§ The challenge this crisis presents provides an opportunity to look to research-based education reform for innovative ideas to enhance the educational offerings of MCPS. For example, research shows that 9^th grade is a pivotal year for students as they transition from middle school to the changing demands of high school. The idea of a Ninth Grade Academy, which separates the 9^th grade from the traditional high school, addresses this critical transition by creating a smaller learning community which provides more structure and direction for students. An option like this would open up new ways to think about a space for BHS students. We have facilities in our district such as the OBMS annex building that could house a 9th grade class. This would leave only grades 10-12 relocating to OCMS.
From: Hope
Subject: [Bms-pta] Letter from BMS Staff
To: bms-pta@listserv.bburg.bev.net
Date: Thursday, June 17, 2010, 9:24 PM
Dear BMS families,
As a follow-up to the information about the online input form, we would
like to share with you what the BMS staff has done in response to the
proposals presented at Tuesday's school board meeting. We met as a
faculty yesterday and discussed the impacts of these proposals on our
BMS community. Collectively we composed a document outlining our
thoughts and concerns. We have created this document for you to
consider. We encourage you to contact the superintendent and each of
the school board members and invite you to use any of the points from
our document in your discussions. Please also consider attending the
community meetings on Monday, June 21st at 3pm and 7pm in the BMS
auditorium. We appreciate your continued support of our school
community.
Thank you,
Carol Fox and Andrea Langston
An Opportunity for Excellence
Our community has proven numerous times that we are resilient and committed to our children and each other. This is just another opportunity to not only persevere but to look to improve on our educational ideas and environments.
§ We feel the tragedy for our BHS community should not be turned into a double tragedy by displacing our BMS community. The focus is to support the needs of the faculty and students of BHS as they cope with this crisis. To do this, we need to create an educational environment for all students impacted that best meets their developmental and academic needs in the short term and can benefit our district's educational progress in the future.
§ As professionals we should see this as an opportunity for educational improvement. If we use a proactive thought process with a focus on long-term implications and enduring solutions, opportunities will become apparent. It is imperative to address this problem with paramount consideration for the educational needs of all students involved. Long-term educational objectives and implications should drive the decision, not capacity numbers or athletics, both of which can be solved through alternative physical arrangements.
§ A decade ago members of the BMS and CMS communities collaborated to select the building design utilized in the two new middle schools. At BMS we use this specialized physical environment to foster important tenets of the middle school concept addressing the unique developmental and instructional needs of young adolescents. These buildings feature separate hallways for each grade level subdivided into smaller areas for academic teams, a design that helps middle school educators meet the needs of middle school students and builds smaller learning communities within a large school. The environment is actually used as a teacher. Our space supports teaming, inclusion, flexible grouping, collaboration, and integrated curriculum which are all essential components of a strong middle school program. Additionally, family involvement in the education of their children is an essential characteristic of a successful middle school. This becomes problematic if our school is not located in our community.
§ Current enrollment at BHS is 1,117 and BMS is 883. The difference in enrollment is 234 students. OCMS, with a capacity of 775, is not adequate for either school population. Therefore, relocating either school would require extensive modifications and mobile units so all costs must be considered.
§ Although BMS has a capacity of 1200 students, it was not designed to house four grade levels. It is a middle school designed to house three grade levels. The BMS campus cannot support the entire BHS program.
§ Remaining efficient is crucial in the final decision of the placement. We want this plan to have positive long term effects on all impacted in our division. Customizing a building to meet the high school needs is necessary. It would be beneficial to utilize a building that can benefit from this expense after the high school has left the facility. OCMS fits this description because of the alternative high school programs that would re-inhabit the facility. Customizing BMS to support BHS involves spending scarce funds on modifications that will require subsequent funding to restore BMS to its original state once BHS has its own facility.
§ If BMS were moved to OCMS there would also be costs for customizing this facility to meet our needs as a middle school. OCMS would need to be greatly modified to meet our teaming, technology, and instructional program needs. The cost of relocating two schools and seven grade levels to provide for their academic needs compared to the cost of housing one school with four grade levels, which is already displaced, must be considered. Furthermore, any money invested in any facility should continue to benefit the students of MCPS long after the temporary housing needs of BHS are resolved.
§ During the shared occupancy, the facilities at BMS did not meet the needs of students enrolled in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. In addition, they were concerned that their students’ ability to compete well in VICA and other such competitions would be affected. These competitions lead to opportunities for post-high school education and employment. This group of students is often overlooked in the rush to provide academic and athletic needs.
§ The challenge this crisis presents provides an opportunity to look to research-based education reform for innovative ideas to enhance the educational offerings of MCPS. For example, research shows that 9^th grade is a pivotal year for students as they transition from middle school to the changing demands of high school. The idea of a Ninth Grade Academy, which separates the 9^th grade from the traditional high school, addresses this critical transition by creating a smaller learning community which provides more structure and direction for students. An option like this would open up new ways to think about a space for BHS students. We have facilities in our district such as the OBMS annex building that could house a 9th grade class. This would leave only grades 10-12 relocating to OCMS.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Follow up letter to the MCPS School Board
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to submit some excellent ideas from Kelly Linkenhoker that have already been sent to you. They are listed below after some more comments to follow my email from yesterday and further research on my part.
Something very important you need to understand is that your current poor ideas are throwing up two huge, terrifying warning signs to BMS parents- 1) you are proposing moving our children into intrinsically more dangerous environments (either an over crowded new school or into a substandard facility) and at the same time 2) you are moving them much farther away from us so that when situations from simple colds to say a kid bringing guns to school or the Westboro Baptist Church setting up a protest occur, it is that much more of a hardship for us to get to our children and remove them from those situations.
I will also say, it is most clear to me now that the BHS building will be condemned. I spoke to Phyllis Albritton today and understand that the construction company that ripped Blacksburg off with this horrible building is no longer in business and the county cannot sue them. I also discovered from the reporting in the Roanoke Times and other sources, that the structural flaws below the floors and in the extremely dangerous strut work (reason for gym collapse) are most definitely going to lead to a report of condemnation and if not there is no way any sane, safety minded person would allow students back into that facility. Therefore I have contacted Senator Edwards, Del Nutter and Del Shumer to pursue state or federal emergency funds and would encourage the community to support Kelly's last point that without delay the MCPS begin bid and selection for construction of a new high school. And for you to NOT fritter away another 6 months coming to that absolutely necessary understanding.
I apologize to Kelly for lifting her work as supplied to me by a friend, but her ideas were so much better than mine and certainly yours, that I could not help but forward them on and will read them on Monday in your public session.
I will be hosting a BMS parent planning session at my house tomorrow night to further collect ideas. I would also add that I would very much be in favor of a special assessment tax for funding the high school and other creative funding ideas. I would be willing personally to donate money to a fund for construction of a proper high school and/or investment in the ideas below. My company would be as well. I would personally organize and lead fund raisers to do the same. I will contact government representatives and lobby for any funds available to make this happen. But I will do absolutely none of this to pay one dollar to poor ideas that put my children and others in danger, as I believe your ideas will.
-----------------------
1) Keeping 6th grades in their respective elementary schools and putting mobile units on the BMS site to house 7th and 8th grade students, with BHS occupying the BMS building with 9th through 12th grades. This would keep all Blacksburg students in the communities that they are comfortable with and depend on. This way high school students have the
technology and equipment necessary to keep from compromising their education and the middle school students (7th and 8th) are not displaced from the security of their community school. 6th grade students would remain in nurturing environments during the transition to more demanding curriculum. I would be very disappointed to see any Blacksburg students removed from the community they call home. This interferes with supports for students before and after school hours.
2) Make a campus at the BMS ??? Take the money you would spend to get the OLD CMS ready and put the money into building a campus that could service our students for the next 1-2 years while a new high school is built on the land we have ready for a new school.
3) Start building a new High School ASAP. Blacksburg needs a high school and to wait makes no sense to our children or our community.
I understand that all solutions will be complicated but I hope to see our community work through this without the added stress of an alternate location.
Thanks and take care,
Kelly Linkenhoker
I would like to submit some excellent ideas from Kelly Linkenhoker that have already been sent to you. They are listed below after some more comments to follow my email from yesterday and further research on my part.
Something very important you need to understand is that your current poor ideas are throwing up two huge, terrifying warning signs to BMS parents- 1) you are proposing moving our children into intrinsically more dangerous environments (either an over crowded new school or into a substandard facility) and at the same time 2) you are moving them much farther away from us so that when situations from simple colds to say a kid bringing guns to school or the Westboro Baptist Church setting up a protest occur, it is that much more of a hardship for us to get to our children and remove them from those situations.
I will also say, it is most clear to me now that the BHS building will be condemned. I spoke to Phyllis Albritton today and understand that the construction company that ripped Blacksburg off with this horrible building is no longer in business and the county cannot sue them. I also discovered from the reporting in the Roanoke Times and other sources, that the structural flaws below the floors and in the extremely dangerous strut work (reason for gym collapse) are most definitely going to lead to a report of condemnation and if not there is no way any sane, safety minded person would allow students back into that facility. Therefore I have contacted Senator Edwards, Del Nutter and Del Shumer to pursue state or federal emergency funds and would encourage the community to support Kelly's last point that without delay the MCPS begin bid and selection for construction of a new high school. And for you to NOT fritter away another 6 months coming to that absolutely necessary understanding.
I apologize to Kelly for lifting her work as supplied to me by a friend, but her ideas were so much better than mine and certainly yours, that I could not help but forward them on and will read them on Monday in your public session.
I will be hosting a BMS parent planning session at my house tomorrow night to further collect ideas. I would also add that I would very much be in favor of a special assessment tax for funding the high school and other creative funding ideas. I would be willing personally to donate money to a fund for construction of a proper high school and/or investment in the ideas below. My company would be as well. I would personally organize and lead fund raisers to do the same. I will contact government representatives and lobby for any funds available to make this happen. But I will do absolutely none of this to pay one dollar to poor ideas that put my children and others in danger, as I believe your ideas will.
-----------------------
1) Keeping 6th grades in their respective elementary schools and putting mobile units on the BMS site to house 7th and 8th grade students, with BHS occupying the BMS building with 9th through 12th grades. This would keep all Blacksburg students in the communities that they are comfortable with and depend on. This way high school students have the
technology and equipment necessary to keep from compromising their education and the middle school students (7th and 8th) are not displaced from the security of their community school. 6th grade students would remain in nurturing environments during the transition to more demanding curriculum. I would be very disappointed to see any Blacksburg students removed from the community they call home. This interferes with supports for students before and after school hours.
2) Make a campus at the BMS ??? Take the money you would spend to get the OLD CMS ready and put the money into building a campus that could service our students for the next 1-2 years while a new high school is built on the land we have ready for a new school.
3) Start building a new High School ASAP. Blacksburg needs a high school and to wait makes no sense to our children or our community.
I understand that all solutions will be complicated but I hope to see our community work through this without the added stress of an alternate location.
Thanks and take care,
Kelly Linkenhoker
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
An open letter to the Montgomery County (VA) School Board
The issue: http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/250511
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Like so many parents in Blacksburg, I have been following the debate of what to do with Blacksburg High School students in the upcoming year. I am the parent of an upcoming 7th grader and 4th grader, but do not have a child enrolled in BHS. First of all, I would like to express my displeasure with the progress of the safety report to date and the lack of planning that, in my view, should have been done in March and April of this year. I have little doubt in my mind that the safety report could have been done well before now and, more importantly, that the board and superintendent could have been planning with public involvement in the Spring regardless of the report completion.
That aside, I am appalled that you consider the movement and disruption of two groups of children a correct decision as opposed to disrupting a single group- the high school is affected in this situation, not the middle school, so the high school student body should be the only group disrupted. I worked on Pentagon relocation after 9/11 and know that the primary rule to follow in relocation due to disaster is to effect as few groups or individuals as possible. I see no reason you could put forward as a group as to why this rule should not be applied here. The principal of BHS is even on record stating that the lab facilities at BMS are not adequate for the high school students.
I agree with Joe Ivers' quote in today's Roanoke Times:
"Nowhere in here do I see anything but them being put in situations where they're going to be vulnerable," board member Joe Ivers said. "It just seems to beat the middle school students."
Middle school is an incredibly hard transition time and they are the wrong group to disrupt in this manner, much less bus them into either 1) a dilapidated old structure that is barely able to hold up to Upward basketball games or 2) a complete over crowding in the new Christiansburg MS.
I will also say that there is little likelihood that the report will come back to you with a suggestion that BHS can be used. I know few professionals that would sign off on that. The only real option you have is to move immediately to constructing the new high school in the new site as planned, just simply moved up in priority. As for the high schoolers for this year, I see little palatable option than moving them to trailers or splitting them up to various high schools in the county.
If the school board does move forward with the idea of busing middle schoolers, I will remove my daughter from the school system and I will explore my legal options for having the county compensate me for said move. As superintendent Blackburn was quoted "Time is our enemy at this point". To this I would add, time has been our enemy since day 1 following the collapse of the gym and you should have acted then for planning for the coming school year. For anyone to use time as a pressure point on parents at this moment for your own lack of action is unconscionable.
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Like so many parents in Blacksburg, I have been following the debate of what to do with Blacksburg High School students in the upcoming year. I am the parent of an upcoming 7th grader and 4th grader, but do not have a child enrolled in BHS. First of all, I would like to express my displeasure with the progress of the safety report to date and the lack of planning that, in my view, should have been done in March and April of this year. I have little doubt in my mind that the safety report could have been done well before now and, more importantly, that the board and superintendent could have been planning with public involvement in the Spring regardless of the report completion.
That aside, I am appalled that you consider the movement and disruption of two groups of children a correct decision as opposed to disrupting a single group- the high school is affected in this situation, not the middle school, so the high school student body should be the only group disrupted. I worked on Pentagon relocation after 9/11 and know that the primary rule to follow in relocation due to disaster is to effect as few groups or individuals as possible. I see no reason you could put forward as a group as to why this rule should not be applied here. The principal of BHS is even on record stating that the lab facilities at BMS are not adequate for the high school students.
I agree with Joe Ivers' quote in today's Roanoke Times:
"Nowhere in here do I see anything but them being put in situations where they're going to be vulnerable," board member Joe Ivers said. "It just seems to beat the middle school students."
Middle school is an incredibly hard transition time and they are the wrong group to disrupt in this manner, much less bus them into either 1) a dilapidated old structure that is barely able to hold up to Upward basketball games or 2) a complete over crowding in the new Christiansburg MS.
I will also say that there is little likelihood that the report will come back to you with a suggestion that BHS can be used. I know few professionals that would sign off on that. The only real option you have is to move immediately to constructing the new high school in the new site as planned, just simply moved up in priority. As for the high schoolers for this year, I see little palatable option than moving them to trailers or splitting them up to various high schools in the county.
If the school board does move forward with the idea of busing middle schoolers, I will remove my daughter from the school system and I will explore my legal options for having the county compensate me for said move. As superintendent Blackburn was quoted "Time is our enemy at this point". To this I would add, time has been our enemy since day 1 following the collapse of the gym and you should have acted then for planning for the coming school year. For anyone to use time as a pressure point on parents at this moment for your own lack of action is unconscionable.
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