Association for A BETTER CHRISTINA
Vote "NO" on the April 3rd Referendum
Renovate for the Future--Not the Past!Most of us are parents of kids in the Christina School District, we care deeply about the schools they attend, and we are OPPOSED to the April 3rd referendum. We need a referendum for Christina's future, not its past! A vote against the current referendum is NOT a vote against kids! It's a vote against mis-management. We are asking the District administration to give us a referendum that represents the future of this district, and we'll support it 100 percent!
Background
Christina School District (CSD) is proposing a $67.7 million major capital bond referendum. The stated purposes of this referendum are to:
ABC supports the district's efforts to provide a better learning environment for our children, but we recommend voters vote "NO" on this referendum, and urge CSD to bring a better referendum to the voters this fall. Yes, it's tough asking our kids wait another half-year for air-conditioning and other renovations! But we don't believe this is referendum Christina really needs. We have questions about the district's administration of prior renovation projects, and serious reservations about the planning, timing and promotion of this referendum.upgrade nine suburban elementary schools: Jones, Brookside, West Park, Smith, Gallaher, McVey, Downes, Maclary and Wilson ($24.9 million local funds plus $37.3 million state funds for a total of $62.2 million). Improvements will include electrical, plumbing and heating upgrades, air conditioning, more computers, improved security surveillance, etc. build a swimming pool at Christiana High School ($5.5 million, all local funds). Our Concerns:
Our primary concern is that this referendum takes no account of impending Neighborhood Schools Law compliance and likely school district realignments. Some of us like the Neighborhood Schools Law and some of us don't, but like it or not, some of the suburban schools slated for renovation will probably need to accommodate fifth and sixth grades very soon. State law specifies different maximum class sizes for different elementary grade levels. Do we really want large numbers of sixth graders jammed into classrooms designed for smaller numbers of first or second graders? We want CSD to renovate for the future, not the past. Let's see what grade and program configurations these schools will have before we commit major renovation dollars to them.
It takes a lot of work to pass a referendum, and a lot of community support. Let's not squander that support prematurely. If this referendum passes, it will probably be years before we get another one passed. The CSD administration is emphasizing the urgency of this referendum, noting that some buildings slated for renovation are 43 years old, and suggesting the state component will disappear if the referendum fails. In fact, CSD can put another referendum on the ballot as early as this October. We believe that getting these renovations done right is well worth a six-month delay. We don't like having our children spend an extra six months without school renovations, but we simply can't afford to get this referendum wrong. We don't want our kids stuck in poorly-configured schools for the next five or ten years. The CSD administration needs to do its homework!
Second, CSD's prior renovation efforts have been very poorly managed. A typical School Board meeting involves review and approval of multiple "change orders" to renovation projects; many of these are costly, and simply reflect bad planning. The delayed opening of the Leasure School because of missing windows was a particularly embarrassing example--a very costly, stupid mistake. Brandywine and Red Clay School Districts have construction and renovation consultants on their payrolls who save those districts a lot of money. Christina should too.
We are troubled by the State Auditor's pending investigation CSD's roofing contracts. Information about this investigation is just starting to come out, and we don't want to jump to conclusions. But the District's voters deserve better, more open accountability from the CSD administration, and we need strong assurances that referendum funds will be spent efficiently. If the CSD administration is suggesting that some buildings are so decrepit that we can't afford even a six-month delay of this referendum, well whose fault is that? What happened to the funds from the 1995 referendum?
Third, CSD has failed to provide much detail on how and where the $62.2 million in building renovations will be spent. Compare the vague language of CSD's referendum pitch on its website against the detailed referendum information provided Red Clay School District's website, which includes links to school-by-school breakdowns of specific renovations and costs. Our children are bringing home glossy color flyers urging a "yes" vote, and some of these flyers purport to be school-specific, but include only a generic list of promised renovations. Why won't CSD provide real details?
Finally, we object to the fact that CSD is using your tax dollars to finance its political campaign to pass this referendum and increase your taxes. The 20,000 schoolchildren in the district are told to deliver color flyers to their parents and warned that they won't have any building improvements if their parents don't support the referendum. The School District administration has hung large banners promoting the referendum across the fronts of many schools in the District. It has paid for a radio advertising blitz urging a "yes" vote. It has committed a huge amount of CSD staff time visitng senior centers and other community organizations to lobby for this referendum. CSD recently hired a highly-paid public relations expert whose main focus is this referendum. It is wrong to brainwash our children into being political lobbyists, and it is wrong to make the taxpayers pay for all of this expensive lobbying to raise taxes. We certainly didn't get equal time, equal funds or equal banner space on school facades to oppose this referendum.
In choosing the April 3rd date for the referendum vote (one week prior to City of Newark elections), CSD is clearly counting on a very low voter turnout to help get this referendum passed. Voter turnouts on school referenda are typically around two percent! We wish CSD would simply communicate better with the parents and other citizens of the district, rather than relying on stealth elections and a slick, carefully-targeted PR campaign financed with our own tax money.
We encourage all citizens of the Christina School District to get out and vote on Tuesday, April 3rd. Voting is from noon to 9PM at the District's school sites. We understand that it's hard for district parents to vote against this referendum, but we believe this is the wrong referendum at the wrong time. A vote against this referendum is not a vote against kids, it's a vote against mis-management. Do your homework, Christina! We need a referendum for this District's future, not its past! Give us the right referendum and we'll support it 100 percent! Until then, we're urging citizens to VOTE "NO" ON APRIL 3rd.