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.
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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
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