183 replies to this topic

[EDF]

Hey Ya'll

I read the article about those folks over in the Parkway who complain that they have to ship their kids off to Judah...

You see, I remember them (the developers) promoting the Parkway development at a meeting of the Lexington Hills Neighborhood Organization at Oak Chan I think in late 1993 or 1994... they were talking about the trails and the parks.. which they did put in...

They did address the school issue because it was going to cause overcrowding at Oak Chan... this was a "big concern" for current residents....

When my boys were there, I remember a standing room only crowd back in 91 or 92 for a student "Christmas" pagaent that made a sardine can look roomy..then they opened up Folsom Hills...and that helped...a little... we had fights back then among neighbors because they wanted to put more kids at Oak Chan and not Folsom Hills...

The reason they can't build the new school is because the land is so expensive... I know the reason behind this... but I'd like to hear what some of the "school board" critters think... especially the ones that support the "south of 50" development... I can see a train wreck coming with regards to "school facilities"...

I think this is another glaring example of bad management on the part of the School District/board and the City.....

What do you think...?

[Robert Giacometti]

Ed,

Isn't it amazing, how many times have we seen this before?

The bigger question is, how long before the citizens south of 50 start complaining about their lack of schools as a result of measure W?

I am truly sympathetic to the good citizens in the Parkway and their valid concerns regarding a lack of a neighborhood school! There isn't an easy solution for them, however we must stop this from happening to future new neighbors.

I am more empathetic than Ed in regards to the School Board members. Its the City Council who approves these Developer Agreements and then the School Board has to build schools with only 1/3 of the required money. I understand Ed's frustration with school board members who supported W, they knowing the City's dismal track record of ensuring that there is a funding mechanism in place to get schools built in the community.

Why is it the landowners in North Natomas, were willing to give up $300 million in profit to build an Arena, so they could develope their land and we in Folsom can't get them to build schools?

How many more times do we have to go thru this?

[tessieca]

Why would anyone think that land values reaching nearly $1 million an acre would be the school board's fault?

[old soldier]

the thing I'vd noticed about folsom new folks is that if something like water meters or south of 50 doesn't effect them then there is not a lot of interest.

this may be a wake up call to those parkway folks to see the impact years later of the old council dancing to the developers tunes.

the think I like about old EDF is he gets mad and the other thing is he has been there before.

it would seem that the parkway kids will be going to a little more of a melting pot school with kids that don't live in the fancy houses. they won't be able to play ball in the old park that is going to be the library...

will be fun to see just how upset the parkway folks get....I hope a few of them get mad enough to shine the lighs on the council as they get ready to let the developers build a bunch of homes south of fifty and dance away from the school issue.

[EDF]

Tessica....because wasn't that land supposed to be "dedicated" for the purposes of a school... the district should have purchased the land way back...if that's what they have to do... but in my mind "dedication" of a school site would be the "cost" of doing business for these developers... why should the district have to pay for the land at an appraised price of a "single family lot"....

maybe some of the folks at the School District and especially the board should make it a "priority" about having the land "donated"... don't know why that can't be done...

It's a lot like the Folsom Kids Play park... anybody remember that way back when... Long before it was ever built we had to buy it from the stinking developer... We had an appraisal for about $25,000 for it... but the developers came in with their appraisal of $600k and guess what...? the city paid it....over the objections of the residents in attendance that night...

This Parkway issue is just more of the same kind of "crap-ola"....

Too many "incumbents" on the School Board and City Council who don't care and don't "pay attention"...except maybe at a "fund raiser"

No...these folks are more concerned about dog crap on the trails and people popping a beer in a City Park....

[tessieca]

You might recall the two failed bond measures in Folsom. There wasn't money to pay for land that wouldn't be used for ten years, so it wasn't bought years ago. When the money was finally available, the wrangling with the developer began. Some might realize that the demands were so out of line with the then-appraised value that no contract could be made (no willing buyer and willing seller at the same price as developer wanted far more than the appraised value). That's why the condemnation proceedings were started. So, I guess the intransigence and delay tactics of the landowner worked to their own advantage this time. It's now out of the district's price range, and as a taxpayer I am glad they are not pursuing a $10 million piece of land.

Donating land is a good idea, which has been fought by the BIA for years and rejected by congressmen for years. It's not that nobody's trying. The Quimby Act provides for parks to obtain land in this manner, but somehow it's too ticklish to try it for schools.

[tessieca]

As an aside, many might not realize that the Parkway school would have been a small school with only 400-450 students. Schools of that size are less economical to operate, and they're the first ones that get shut down when population declines in an area.

[zach5]

I just can't believe that the kids from the parkway have to go all the way to T Judah, it seems that there are at least 3 schools closer.

[tessieca]

"All the way"????? It's 3 miles. The 3 closer schools are full or soon will be.

Parkway kids will be disbursed to closer schools in the next year or so since they will not have their own school now.

[forumreader]

"All the way"?????  It's 3 miles. 

The hardest part about getting kids off to school is dressing, serving breakfast, making beds, packing lunches and checking that their homework is in the backpack. Once the seatbelts are buckled, driving an extra few miles is insignificant.

It is a shame that the students can't walk to school. However, I can think of numerous situations in Folsom where walking to school from the farther points of the school boundaries would be unrealistic, especially for younger children.

[benning]

I can think of numerous situations in Folsom where walking to school from the farther points of the school boundaries would be unrealistic, especially for younger children.

The very long queues each morning at the elementary schools illustrate how fearful and indulgent we parents have become. I doubt whether 10% of kids walk to their local school, even when they live mere blocks away!

[EDF]

Right on to this last post...

When I lived in Lexington Hills... I was amazed at all the little monsters that had to have their parents drive them...

and worse yet...?

the kids at Folsom Middle School... when my boys went there... I made them ride their bikes... and only drove them there when it rained...

so many parents think that they are the "servants" of their kids... when if anything, the kids should doing so much more for themselves...

I was cooking when I was 8 or 9... my mom never ironed my clothes when I was in high school...

Doing too much for your kids is what causes them to be "brats"...because they don't appreciate anything.... they just "expect it"...

[tessieca]

True, true, there are an awful lot of brats out there these days. But, on the other hand, you have the Couey's of the world who grab, molest, and kill little people. It's a much scarier world than when we grew up. Or, possibly the scariness is just more publicized because of technology.

[forumreader]

Or, possibly the scariness is just more publicized because of technology.

This is what criminologists claim. In fact, some violent crimes are on the decline, in spite of what we read in the news.....Is ignorance truly bliss?

[bishmasterb]

the kids at Folsom Middle School... when my boys went there... I made them ride their bikes... and only drove them there when it rained...

so many parents think that they are the "servants" of their kids... when if anything, the kids should doing so much more for themselves...

I was cooking when I was 8 or 9... my mom never ironed my clothes when I was in high school...

Dagnabit! When I was a kid we had to walk uphill both ways to school in the snow, and we had to eat dirt for lunch. And that's the way we liked it!