A reader, Tommy Times, disagreed with our "If You Got It, Spend It!" article in which we opined that the Grand Rapids Public School District should return to the taxpayers the excess funds from an infrastructure bond rather than spend it on a new elementary school building. The inestimable Mr. Times commented:
Oh, come on. GRPS has many more infrastructure needs than their last bond issue could cover. They spent less money on the first round of projects, so they are going to the next priority on the list. Doesn't that make more sense than giving the money back, then going back to the voters to fund the additional needs, with the cost of an election, selling new bonds, and paying a higher interest rate?
It may be true that Hall St. school is only 50 years old, and I certainly appreciate mid century modern schools, having attended them (boy, I loved walking outside in michigan winters to change classes on our six building campus), but there are some things they are likely to be missing, having been designed for a culture with different expectations from schools. Smaller schools in walkable neighborhoods are wonderful, but the baby boom is over, and neighborhoods do not have the density of kids to support pure neighborhood schools that are efficient to operate.
The school district cannot operate with the philosophy that 'this is what we can afford, if the suburbs can afford more, good for them.' They have to compete for students with the suburbs, because they lose dollars with every student. Education quality should be the number one point of competition, but the reality of keeping and attracting people to the district is that you have to have buildings that are competitive with the burbs. EGR and Forest Hills have plenty of 50 year old buildings, but they have also had much higher building millages to maintain and enhance their buildings.
Although I have already responded to Mr. Times in the comments section of that article, I'd like to post a more complete response here ...
Hi, Tommy.
Your argument is based upon a contradiction.
You say: "Smaller schools in walkable neighborhoods are wonderful, but the baby boom is over, and neighborhoods do not have the density of kids to support pure neighborhood schools that are efficient to operate."
If that were true, then fewer students means less infrastructure needed. For example, on the northeast side of town where I lived as a kid 30-40 years ago, there were six elementary schools (Huff, Aberdeen, Riverside, Crestview, Wellerwood, and North Park). Now there will be only one servicing the same area. That should translate into a considerable reduction in infrastructure expense, both capital and operational. Indeed, the sale of those unneeded facilities would provide more than enough capital to renovate and maintain the remaining school. So fewer students is hardly a rationale for dunning the taxpayers to cover more infrastructure spending.
However, what you say isn't true. They're about as many kids living within the Grand Rapids Public School District as there were when I was kid. The reason the GRPS student body has shrunk is because it now faces competition from suburban and charter schools. A large fraction of families living within the GRPS district have jumped at the chance to send their kids somewhere other than the neighborhood schools. Why? Do you seriously think it is because the school buildings aren't brand spanking new? Are parents these days that superficial? No. The problem is the lousy education provided and even worse, the undisciplined environment, even in elementary schools, that has been tolerated in the city schools. I know this from personal experience. It is a wretched situation that is INEXCUSABLE, period.
The discipline that produces the civility and decency needed for a good learning environment doesn't require another dime from the taxpayers. What is does require is the WILL of the GRPS superintendent and the board of education to lay down clear policies on discipline, back up the principals and teachers who enforce discipline in the classroom, take no crap from rabble-rousing parents who claim their little darlings do no wrong, and ultimately expel those students who will not get with the program. What is does not require is multicultural sensitivity training of administrators, teachers, and students that operates on the premise that a kid's skin color makes him or her any more or less capable of decent behavior. Black, brown, yellow, or white, kids are kids, and it is a nasty brand of crypto-racism that the educrats are pushing to avoid dealing with their lack of will to make every student behave properly while at school.
Absent that will to make city schools decent places for kids to learn, throwing taxpayer dollars at new infrastructure is like putting lipstick on the pig. Pretty new buildings won't fool the parents who have made the decision to send their children to a charter or suburban school. Indeed, that lesson should've already been learn last fall when the brand new schools the GRPS opened did not add any new students to the district's roster. In fact, I think Superintendent Taylor has learned that lesson, but in the wrong way, which is why it is now his policy to hold hostage as many kids as possible who live in within the district by restricting their release to suburban districts.
The bottom line for me, Tommy, is that the GRPS has to address its fundamental failures to retain students before hitting up the taxpayers for new capital expenditures.
Regards, Bill Tingley, Executive Director L.A.W.
Michigan this year. See previous articles at L.A.W. for complete historical facts and figures. 
Michigan.
You will recall during the recent Grand Rapids mayoral campaign, incumbent George Heartwell solemnly explained that he would not declare his position on abortion because as mayor there is nothing he can do about it. Of course, the truth was that Heartwell wanted to keep his pro-abortion politics concealed from the strong pro-life constituency among voters in the city. Evidence of Heartwell's deceit was furnished this week when he asked two city commissioners to draft a resolution opposing the "U.S. occupation of Iraq".
st movement that has touched us so profoundly on American shores and those lands across the seas. I have reviewed books such as “America Alone – Mark Steyn”, “The West’s Last Chance - Tony Blankely”, ”Because They Hate – Brigitte Gabriel”, “The Truth About Muhammad – Robert Spencer”, and “Now They Call Me Infidel – Noni Darwish (not reviewed in full, but given special credit in one article). 
ction to the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and the downing of Flight 93 in a Pennsylvania field which resulted in the loss of massive life altered world views - short term. Then Britain fell asleep again. Bombings impacted Spain’s public safety and train system and killed numerous citizens and changed an electoral vote in 03’. The British napped yet again. The gruesome murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gough in 2004, left the public stunned, but oddly unchanged. Once again, they drifted off. Bombings happened on home soil with deadly results to London’s underground trains, tube and bus system in 05’. Although many because upset and frightened by such a local tragedy, still British citizens and public officers denied the full ramifications of such deadly intentions. It wasn’t until 2006 when home grown British Muslims were identified as operating out of London mosques and were involved in worldwide global terrorist movements which originated from small Hamlets throughout Britain that the public realized the reality of events - London had become the European hub for terror networks throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s. They had their own ground zero. It took over thirty years for Brits to finally recognize the horror of this movement in which they themselves had silently given their consent and approval. 
the name of tolerance and human rights – especially minority rights, they loosened the restrictions and standards when it came to education, religion and government benefits for the sake of being an enlightened society that takes care of it’s own and finally, they embraced diversity and multiculturalism as the answer to a being an advanced and modern society (does any of this sound a warning bell my fellow Americans?). Their goal, make everyone equal, no one better than anyone else. That is the progressive thing to do if you are a great nation in the 21st century. The loss to the British public in regards to many of the basic foundations that make up a democratic, safe and orderly society, was traded in favor of extreme tolerance, diversity and extra rights that played perfectly into the hand of a silent and growing radical Muslim population. 
aders of the country without their being aware of the events as they happened until it was simply too late. 
now terrorist groups have infiltrated the U.S. in mass numbers – especially prior to the year 2000 - and have since pursued multiple plots involving critical infrastructure in the U.S. since 9/11? They have targeted federal buildings, transportation, commercial driving licenses, tunnels, bridges, subways, buses, passenger ferries, financial centers, forest fires, nuclear power plants, oil infrastructure, port, food/water & drug contamination plots. Not to mention civilian casualty programs – airliners, shopping malls, apartment buildings, and well visited vacation destinations. This book details all those plots foiled by capture of operatives and the information given up during their interrogations and subsequent trials. The details being too numerous to mention here. 
citizens who want “to get it”. 
After winning last Tuesday's election, incumbent mayor George Heartwell (a.k.a. Big Sister) declared that the voters of Grand Rapids have given him a "mandate" to serve for another four years. A mandate? Hmm. As I understand the word, a mandate is not merely a victory but an overwhelming vote of confidence that demonstrates public unity behind the victor's agenda. Good examples are LBJ's rout of Goldwater in '64 and Reagan mopping the floor with Mondale in '84. Even then, even with taking 60% of the vote from broad segments of society, a mandate can be fleeting. Think Nixon, who departed office in disgrace less than two years after trouncing McGovern in '72.
reported their results and the voters have spoken. Are you curious to know where things stand? Do we have important changes or the same ole’, same ole’? Do we get to pay more taxes to the local community college or stay at our current level? Who has a job for the next four years and who is job hunting starting tomorrow? The city clerk is reporting that voters showed up to the polls as expected and about 18% of eligible voters turned out to voice their opinion. Results are as follows:
the voting results. They were quick to provide the numbers, praise the winners and ignore the loosers. It's a shame they didn't spend as much time and effort giving out information during the actual debating cycle - perhaps they could have contributed to greater citizen interest and increased voter turnout. Although the city clerks office is all abuzz over 18% voter turnout numbers, I'm not sure that should be their proudest moment. We are missing 82% of the remaining voter population - I guess that makes me seeing the glass half empty. We still have plenty to do in this city before we start patting ourselves on the backs. 
After losing as the Democratic candidate in last fall’s congressional election, 
Like Rinck, 
lion to school for recess and that punk kid in your class would kick and scream and throw his cheerios because he didn’t have one too?
mayoral candidate Jim Rinck’s campaign manager. I believe in full disclosure and do not wish to mislead the readers. I will try to remain objective in my analysis of the candidates and will provide notice when my bias rears its ugly head.
e moment that you have all been waiting for… GR Mayor. 
Wards and the hotly contested mayoral race may bring a near record 27% of registered voters to the polls for this municipal Primary election. (My prediction anyway) There are large pockets of support for each of the three top candidates, no matter how you slice it, this election could be split in nearly thirds- It will be close. Tormala’s support is mostly concentrated in portions of the 2nd Ward, his downfall will be the 1st and 3rd Wards where he is not known nearly as well as he is in the 2nd. Rinck has been a city-wide elected official for 14 consecutive years and is well known equally in all three Wards. This should play to his advantage. Even though support for Heartwell has dwindled nearly as quickly as Pres. Bush’s support; he is still the incumbent and will have the incumbent’s advantage. 
I've noticed recently that there is a special sort of fool who has become more common around River City: Grown men on bicycles wearing helmets while riding on the sidewalks. A couple of things. First, whatever argument there is for a child to wear a biking helmet (not much) or for a contestant in the Tour de France (admittedly some) is no argument for a 35-year-old man be-bopping through the city. You don't need to be a Hell's Angel to dispense with that piece of plastic atop your noggin. Second, no one over the age of twelve should be riding his bike on the sidewalks. Those curb cuts at each intersection are for the wheelchair-bound, not for helmeted adult males who need to grow a pair. Get your bike out onto the street! Better yet, walk or drive a car.
their increased refinery production and requested special permits will pose no threat to our local environment. They assure the Great Lakes region that they will keep as much pollution out of Lake Michigan as possible. Why is it that those of us who use the water for everyday living, swimming, hunting, fishing, drinking and pure enjoyment, are still uneasy? Probably because their track record makes such claims dubious at best. 
Recent Comments