[Purple Haize]

Have you been to Heritage? The place is a dump and will probably fall down before they decide whether to renovate, merge or build new! At least they put a new gym floor down. It's not too bad and looks good. Considering just about every school uses it for indoor track it was long over due.
IMO, a big problem is that the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing in day to day operations.

[jbock13]

Have you been to Heritage? The place is a dump and will probably fall down before they decide whether to renovate, merge or build new! At least they put a new gym floor down. It's not too bad and looks good. Considering just about every school uses it for indoor track it was long over due.
IMO, a big problem is that the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing in day to day operations.

My high school is a dump, even when they renovated it they screwed it up. Now they want to close schools when a middle school was built 10 years to avoid an overcrowding problem? Ha. It's a lie and I can see right through it.

Sorry, talking about BoCo, not Lynchburg.

The answer is simple. Chalk and Blackboard. For 200 years it worked, so why not now? Do we really need promethean boards for all elementary classes? Yeah, I think not. Now by that, I mean stop investing on stupid social justice and technology crap, and focus on the basics of teaching. I could buy a new car with all the funds Botetourt County uses to render their internet system useless from blocking every website. I'm sure they even have FF.com blocked!

[rogers3]

Have you been to Heritage? The place is a dump and will probably fall down before they decide whether to renovate, merge or build new! At least they put a new gym floor down. It's not too bad and looks good. Considering just about every school uses it for indoor track it was long over due.
IMO, a big problem is that the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing in day to day operations.

My sister went there. It is a mess, but I still think the city needs to be wary of totally replacing a 35 year old building ( with a new gym floor). It wasn't too long ago that Bedford County was struggling with the same issues regarding JF; they ended up doing a major reno and adding sq ft. Maybe we need some more creativity on the school board.

[Purple Haize]

The flaw in your argument is that when we were kids, we were a 'chalk and blackboard' culture. Shoot I remember when overheard and opaque projectors were cutting edge. We are in a technology world and it only fits that you would use that in education.
I will say I think we are using technology as a crutch. I always laugh when I ask our kids to do long division or figure a percentage without a calculator.

ROGER The decision to NOT build either a larger JF or a new school entirely was stupid. JF is now starting to get over crowded again. I don't care how old something is, if it is broke, fix it. We aren't building the pyramids for goodness sake. Why should they be wary of replacing a building that does not fulfill its function? They made a mistake 35 years ago and have been putting band aids on it since.
The gym floor is a great case. They did all they could, and just NOW replaced it for the first time. It is getting to a point where it is becoming prohibitively expensive to upkeep the facility. And in the grand scheme of things I wouldn't put a new school on hold just because they put in a new gym floor.

[rogers3]

The flaw in your argument is that when we were kids, we were a 'chalk and blackboard' culture. Shoot I remember when overheard and opaque projectors were cutting edge. We are in a technology world and it only fits that you would use that in education.
I will say I think we are using technology as a crutch. I always laugh when I ask our kids to do long division or figure a percentage without a calculator.

ROGER The decision to NOT build either a larger JF or a new school entirely was stupid. JF is now starting to get over crowded again. I don't care how old something is, if it is broke, fix it. We aren't building the pyramids for goodness sake. Why should they be wary of replacing a building that does not fulfill its function? They made a mistake 35 years ago and have been putting band aids on it since.
The gym floor is a great case. They did all they could, and just NOW replaced it for the first time. It is getting to a point where it is becoming prohibitively expensive to upkeep the facility. And in the grand scheme of things I wouldn't put a new school on hold just because they put in a new gym floor.

OK. I'll pay 10% more tax- it will make a real difference, just like those wider halls at Sandusky are.
Now, if LU ran the project, they'd cut costs in half... and so would any other team with some common sense.

Sorry- but I have been involved in education, and I think that the city is giving the school board way too much leeway in this instance than is wise. How can you trust a system that has a leader telling the city council that the community and the teachers/administration need to figure out why there is grade disparity between the races. What a bunch of dopes.

[Purple Haize]

You mean like the dorms on the circle that were temporary? Or the unfinished DeMoss? Or the leaky Vines Center? Or 'TheHangar'. LU can't really claim excellence in all their building projects.
I am not arguing about Dunbar, I'm talking about Heritage. I'm not sure how it plays into the learning disparity of races. I do know Mrs Purple is involved in that project. I also can tell you her suggestion : Parental or Guardian involvement. They should be required to attend at least 3 meetings/functions during the school year or their child will not be promoted to the next grade.

[rogers3]

You mean like the dorms on the circle that were temporary? Or the unfinished DeMoss? Or the leaky Vines Center? Or 'TheHangar'. LU can't really claim excellence in all their building projects.
I am not arguing about Dunbar, I'm talking about Heritage. I'm not sure how it plays into the learning disparity of races. I do know Mrs Purple is involved in that project. I also can tell you her suggestion : Parental or Guardian involvement. They should be required to attend at least 3 meetings/functions during the school year or their child will not be promoted to the next grade.

The LU comment was facetious- but I think that most of the dorm circle has outperformed Heritage!

Sadly Purple, I don't think there are enough Mrs. Purples getting the message across, and from what I have heard, the kids on the low end of the spectrum are just as likely to come from "families" that don't care about promotion through the grades as much as they do about having their kids out of the way until dinner.
As a resident and a taxpayer, I have very little confidence in the city's school leadership. I believe that we have seen the system really take some backward steps compared to where we where when Charles Church was city manager. I'd actually say that for most departments, save for the Assessor's office and the Commissioner of the Revenue's office.

[Purple Haize]

...and GLTC

[jbock13]

...and GLTC

In speaking of, I think they're mad at us. On campus one blantantly pulled out in front of me, it had to have been purposeful, and I had to slam on my breaks. I made then proceeded to ensure that if he ever saw my car he would not make that same mistake ever again.

[badger74]

I have worked in big business all my life. Guess what--not that efficient either and rarely do people get fired for missing one budget. How much does L spend per student? Is it more or less than state average? If it is under $10K per it is very good. I cannot get too worked up over a bad construction project 35 years ago. Take your lumps and move on. There are lots of bad private construction projects out there too--and was it not built by a private contractor? Private is no panacea.

[Humble_Opinion]

The most egregious rip-off in our country is the ROI we see on the amount we spend per student in the public education system. The root cause of the problem is self-discipline. Kids are too easily distracted and are always looking for entertainment. Learning is about disciplining the mind to expand into realms previously unknown. Until the political correctness is done away with, until the parents begin to parent, and until the institution of entertainment is changed in the culture - education will continue to spiral down the tubes along with all of our $$. While there are some bad teachers out there, they are not the problem. It's the parents and the culture.

[rogers3]

I have worked in big business all my life. Guess what--not that efficient either and rarely do people get fired for missing one budget. How much does L spend per student? Is it more or less than state average? If it is under $10K per it is very good. I cannot get too worked up over a bad construction project 35 years ago. Take your lumps and move on. There are lots of bad private construction projects out there too--and was it not built by a private contractor? Private is no panacea.

I have to disagree with you on this one badger. The issue isn't just one budget year; these things have been going on for quite a while. I question a 56% in funding for the airport over the last two years when services have seen a decline. Interestingly, GLTC has only seen a .3% increase over the same period. Why an almost 10% increase in government services (this is the inner workings of the government- not public services) and less than a 3% increase for public safety. Why hasn't the city forced departments to defer capital purchases during a time when they are realizing much lower than expected revenues? Comparing costs per student across the country doesn't really work- you have union states where educators are paid higher than is really justifiable that really skew the numbers. Virginia is non-union; I had a friend who moved to Westfield, NJ- her base pay went more than doubled, but she didn't see a marked difference in her classes, other than the increased parental involvement (it is a very affluent area). I don't think that cost per pupil is the best determiner of an educational system's success; spending more when get slacker parents involved in their kids schooling. Lastly, a bad project here or there isn't so bad unless it is more than a fifth of the city's annual budget. That is one big mistake and I don't think we should just say "hey, mistake, let's just rebuild it."

[adam42381]

I have worked in big business all my life. Guess what--not that efficient either and rarely do people get fired for missing one budget. How much does L spend per student? Is it more or less than state average? If it is under $10K per it is very good. I cannot get too worked up over a bad construction project 35 years ago. Take your lumps and move on. There are lots of bad private construction projects out there too--and was it not built by a private contractor? Private is no panacea.

I have to disagree with you on this one badger. The issue isn't just one budget year; these things have been going on for quite a while. I question a 56% in funding for the airport over the last two years when services have seen a decline. Interestingly, GLTC has only seen a .3% increase over the same period. Why an almost 10% increase in government services (this is the inner workings of the government- not public services) and less than a 3% increase for public safety. Why hasn't the city forced departments to defer capital purchases during a time when they are realizing much lower than expected revenues? Comparing costs per student across the country doesn't really work- you have union states where educators are paid higher than is really justifiable that really skew the numbers. Virginia is non-union; I had a friend who moved to Westfield, NJ- her base pay went more than doubled, but she didn't see a marked difference in her classes, other than the increased parental involvement (it is a very affluent area). I don't think that cost per pupil is the best determiner of an educational system's success; spending more when get slacker parents involved in their kids schooling. Lastly, a bad project here or there isn't so bad unless it is more than a fifth of the city's annual budget. That is one big mistake and I don't think we should just say "hey, mistake, let's just rebuild it."

[prototype]

The Real Estate Tax Rate is 1.18% in Salem, and Lynchburg's meals tax even with the raise won't compare to Virginia Beach, Norfolk, etc (http://hamptonroads.com/2012/03/virgini ... tax-survey) Stop whining, this won't kill the city.

Not true it's lower there. This is a joke. Restaurants struggle to make money on this market already unless you are a big chain and add in the the business license fees and Lynchburg is about the unfriendliest business town in America. Why do you think I moved my business to Bedford? And I would be affected by this rate hike at Bloop and that is a big blow to a little business like that.

[badger74]

OK, fouund some facts on schools. L spends less per student than Roanoke and Harrisonburg and is 36th in spending in Virginia at very close to the statewide average of $10,928/student at $10,861 per for L. No way is it a high spending district overall. One would have to say it is right around the center.
Now for a smallish city trying to run a bus system and an airport will always be problematic and they will LOSE money. Just a fact. But it is a necessary service too. Without them your economic decline is worse. I am POd at Delta for making it harder to fly into L when I want to but hopefully they find another to replace them. So I'll make do flying on USAir for now. And I'll be in town Friday! For a week. Looking forward to seeing al the new construction around LU and whatever else is new in the area. And some warmer sunny days.

[rogers3]

Looking forward to seeing all the new construction around LU and whatever else is new in the area. And some warmer sunny days.

Too bad they aren't so far as putting steel up for the new Library, but you will find a new route around the campus! Things are really changing.