Everything is Clear Now

After reading the article about the fabulous five in the Dickenson Star today everything is abundantly clear! The building of the grandest school in all the land was a true labor of love (Mrs. Robinson’s words). When you truly love someone you spare no expense in completing the project. You will do whatever it takes to fulfill that love. This explains how $85 million dollars can be spent on one school campus! $85 million dollars! Along the way I assumed this was a joint effort between the Corp of Engineers and the school board, but apparently not. Apparently it was built with a blank check that was not safeguarded to ensure the waste was cut out. So group of 5 what have you accomplished in doing your “labor of love”? You have spent money in areas that provide no direct instructional benefit to our students, just a little jewelry on the crown. I assumed that the Corp had guidelines that had to be followed for each project, ensuring the money would be protected; after all it is taxpayer money that was being allotted. Of course there was no protection in place; the dream team was allowed to run wild fulfilling their wildest dreams. This explains how you could build a hallway 1/8 of a mile long connecting two schools, the hallway of course had to have 30 foot ceilings, and it enhances the educational value for the students. It explains how we have 3 football fields, we really have to or the world would end. I am so glad we did, it has helped us to win a championship! Oh wait I cannot forget about the lovely turf field. We absolutely had to have that! The football team does not take in enough revenue to paint the field for its games and practices! It explains how they could reportedly pay $75,000 to an artisan for a custom mosaic tilework piece at the entrance way, which also thoroughly enhances the educational experience. It also explains how you can create and entrance way that is so large and elaborate that it is truly breathtaking to behold. Of course the public was not allowed to have any questioning time during the meeting with the fab 5, just the politicians that were ultimately responsible for the process. In the end the school board expressed gratitude to this group for doing such a fine job. I would have to disagree, I would like to thank them for overspending and forcing the Haysi Elementary project to take whatever scraps are left. My question for the fab five comes in this, how much experience did you have in building a school. Oh wait I already know, none and it damn well shows!

The part I find the most interesting is that the ringleader of the circus, Mrs. Robinson finds this all appropriate because it is a “labor of love”. She wants to make sure that it is the best of the best, nothing less would do. It is just a shame that she does not want the same for her staff and the educational opportunities for her students. In her 8 years she has managed to only give raises when the state sends down the money. She has led the effort to take insurance and retirement from the new bus drivers. She has managed to cut position after position, except at the central office. She also wanted to cut benefits from the spouses of retirees last year. During her tenure we have also lost program after program, with very little gains at the new school. At what point will she realize that it is not the building that makes the school system but the individuals who work at it.