Cost vs. Value

This post was previously posted at the Redmond Neighborhood Blog on July 30, 2013, which I linked on my Facebook page.

For those of you not on Facebook, I'm posting it again here on my personal blog.

Cost vs. Value

As you drive by Redmond Middle School and Redmond High School this summer; make sure you count the number of portable buildings on site at each school.  RMS will be adding one more portable; and RHS will have an additional two; bringing the total to 7 between the two schools.

I asked Kathryn Reith, Communications Director at Lake Washington School district for the cost of the new addition at Redmond High School (the brick building that faces 104^th) and the cost for each of the portable units including all related expenses (permits, furniture, painting, etc.).   

Her answer:

“With regard to classroom cost, here’s the answer:

·  Per permanent classroom cost (this is for the addition) = $728,484

·  Per portable classroom cost = $190,000 (*each portable is actually a double-classroom, so this figure per portable is $380,000)”

There is an additional portable that will be added to Redmond Middle School – bringing the total to three on-site.  This portable will be used for classrooms as the school needs “additional space”. 

By my count this means three portables at RMS and four portables at RHS:

7 portables at $380,000 cost per (double) portable = $2,660,000 total cost (14 classrooms)

Let’s focus solely on the additional portables at Redmond High School which would be just 4 portables at $380,000 each (Total $1,520,000).  This adds an additional 8 classrooms to the RHS campus in portable buildings.

Redmond High School was originally built in 1964; demolished and rebuilt during the LWSD modernization process (Phase 2) in 2003.   The modernization updated the 1964 school from student capacity of 1,375 to the 2003 capacity of between 1431 and 1500 (specialized classes and ELL have different class and population capacities).  The budget for the 2003 construction was $50,575,931. 

Page 11 of History of LWSD states:

 • 1965 – Redmond – A new Redmond High School was opened on Education Hill and Redmond students returned to this high school. With 134,294 square feet of floor space in three buildings the cost was $2.2 million. Walter Seabloom was the first principal in the new school. Remodeling was done in 1984 and 1985.” http://www.lwsd.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/About-Us/HistoryofLWSD.pdf

The construction completed in 2012 added 30,000 sf of space and included an auxiliary gym addition and a classroom addition. http://www.lwsd.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/For-The-Community/Construction/RHS/Neighborhood-meeting-4-21-2011.pdf According to Kathryn Reith’s figures above, the cost for the classroom addition was $728,484 of the $1,400,000 construction budget cost listed.  14 classrooms are housed in the brick addition; all classrooms were used in one way or another throughout the school year. 

Each portable building houses two classrooms – for a total of 8 classrooms on the RHS campus.  A class size is based on a 32 student capacity; although some classes may have more or less than that number.  Capacity is no different for a portable vs. standard classroom.  8 classrooms with an average of 32 students per classroom is a total of 256 seats available.

14 classrooms for $728,484 (cost of the building) vs. 8 classrooms for $1,520,000 (four portables)

Let’s assume the district decided to double the size of the 2011 addition; using the cost of the 14 classroom structure it would have cost roughly $1,456,968.  WELL BELOW the cost of installing four “double” portable buildings for one school and with six more classrooms than are currently available. 

Could the district have built the 2003 RHS campus with capacity for the future?  Certainly!  LWSD states in their modernization information that schools being built are theoretically intended for use for 40 years.  Modernization projects began in 1998 and will continue until 2033 (http://www.lwsd.org/For-Community/School-Construction/Modernization/Pages/Modernization-Program-Basics.aspx.

Would this completely avoid the need for portables?  In the long term probably not; however portables have a shorter life-span than a brick-and-mortar building and would need to be replaced and repaired more frequently.

Buildings should be planned, designed and built for long-term use and for many generations of students.

There is a projected increase of roughly 4,000 students coming into the district in the next 10 years (http://www.lwsd.org/News/News-and-Announcements/Pages/Lake-Washington-School-District-Predicts-Enrollment-Growth.aspx).  Redmond Mayor John Marchione expects Redmond to grow from a city of 56,000 to 78,000 (http://redmondcity.blogspot.com/2013/05/redmond-mayor-marchione-gives-state-of.html)  Although many of the new housing developments are apartments and other multi-family buildings intended for the younger, single or no-kids couples; there are far too many places to live in Redmond when matched against the number of schools and classrooms available for incoming children. 

LWSD is guilty of not adequately projecting the school-age population increase in a growing and thriving community for the future.  They have consistently discounted growth trends in the last 10 years with Redmond Junior High (now Redmond Middle School), Horace Mann Elementary and Redmond (Senior) High School; not to mention Rosa Parks Elementary in the Redmond Ridge neighborhood.  Of course, they can’t be certain to the letter of the number of students coming into a district, but with all the media attention the district receives about awards of distinction and test scores; calculations should be over-planned instead of conservatively placed in the lower estimates.  In addition, the cities and the District should work together to develop communication about future residential projects and how many projected school-age children those developments could bring.

In 2014, LWSD will once again ask for more money to finance modernization and upgrades to existing schools.  This money will be used towards “Phase 3” schools http://www.lwsd.org/For-Community/School-Construction/Modernization/Pages/Future-Phases.aspx including Juanita High School and Rockwell Elementary.  If the “Phase 2” modernizations have required portables and additions within 10 years of construction; how will the district address the increase of students in the next 20 to 30 years?

Is it really more expensive to build larger structures than are currently needed for new schools and have 3 or 4 (or even a few more) classrooms sit empty for the next 10 years?  Is it of value to the taxpayer to have to band-aid enrollment issues every year because of poor planning by the district?  Does the District truly expect the voters to approve yet another bond issue so they can waste more time and more money on buildings that are crowded before they’ve even been completed? 

I urge you to carefully consider your vote in the 2014 levy process. 

A word is just a word…until it’s not

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

~ Romeo "&"; Juliet; 

William Shakespeare

According to Wikipedia, the word “Nigger” comes from the ” Spanish and Portuguese word negro (black), and from the now-pejorative French nègre (negro). Etymologically, negro, noir, nègre, and nigger ultimately derive from nigrum, the stem of the Latin niger …”

The word “colored” “…is a term that was formerly used in the United States to refer to black people (i.e., persons of sub African ancestry; members of the black race). According to the Webster dictionary, the word colored was first used in the 14th Century.^[1]

“People (or persons) of color” “is a term used primarily in the United States to describe any person who is not white. The term is meant to be inclusive among non-white groups, emphasizing common experiences of racism. People of color was introduced as a preferable replacement to both non-white and minority, …”

“Caucasian” ” is the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western, Central and South Asia.^[2] 

Ethnicity or ethnic group is a socially defined category based on common cultural heritage, shared ancestry, history, homeland, language or dialect, and possibly other aspects such as religion, mythology and ritual, cuisine, dressing style, physical appearance, etc. 

What about the word “Cracker”?  Urban Dictionary defines the word as “Originally the white slave driver because he would "crack" the whip, hence the noun cracker.” Also, “Noun. Slang word used to refer to those of European ancestry. The word is thought to have either derived from the sound of a whip being cracked by slave owners, or because crackers are generally white in color.”  And, “opposite of nigger, an insult to whites... except white people aren't dumb enough to walk around calling each other that word because it's intended to be demeaning.” 

But what about “White Hispanics”?    This makes no sense at all!

So personally, I can be a “Caucasian Cracker”, even though I’ve never whipped anyone and I wasn’t born in Europe.  I’m also considered “White” although my skin tone is more tan than white and my heritage (ethnicity) is from Italy and Ireland. 

I can’t use the word “Gay” because I would be hateful and bigoted, but people who are homosexual can have groups named after them that use the word “Gay” and that’s not hateful or bigoted – it’s just giving them a place to feel safe.   When I was younger, “gay” meant happy.  Kookaburra the bird had a song about how “gay your life must be” and my parents regularly used it to mean joyful or very happy.  Now, “Gay” is a sexual orientation and if someone is “Gay”, they can use the word, but if you’re not “Gay”, then it’s mean and bullying to call someone else “Gay” (even if they are, in fact “Gay”).

Rap artists and people of color can use the word “Nigger” or any variation they want when they sing or talk or joke, because it’s their identity.  But I can’t use the word “Nigger” or any variation because it means I want them to be slaves and that I think less of them (don’t get me wrong – that word isn’t in my vocabulary; nor do I want it to be).

I’m not saying that I agree with using words that have a hateful meaning or that cause pain to groups or individuals, but at what point does any word or EVERY word make someone angry?  Many people who are incorrectly called “African-Americans” are neither African in descent nor are they related to any African country.  Many are Jamaican or Australian or from New Guinea. 

People who are considered “Caucasian” for government forms like the Census, are not from any of the countries that are considered ethnically Caucasian.  I know many people who are American – born in the United States – that may look “Asian” or “Latino” but identify as American.  Not white, not Asian, not “of color”.  Originally census forms asked for the country of birth for the respondent, and each of their parents.  It did not identify the person as “white” or “African” or Irish. 

If we are truly to be a country of diversity and tolerance, we should stop identifying people by groups of race, ethnicity or color.  No more hair or eye or skin color on licenses or applications.  I’m not sure how to identify two women named “Joan Smith”; but forget about age and race and identifying by looks.

Perhaps we should just tattoo everyone with a number and that’s how we ‘classify’ them.  Let’s just jump ahead a few centuries and tie everyone’s identity to a number which can be put into a system and logs everything about that person ever.  I think there's a name for that too...

Beach musings ("Four Days at the Beach")

I don’t know how people make a living here.

Internet coverage is spotty; especially when overcast.  I’m not sure I could make it very long without that outside world connection.

We discovered the “secret” to the Mexican Mocha that’s so delicious here at the beach.  I may be tempted to share it with others; but then again, maybe not. 

Walking the beach has been beautiful.  Tonight we found a perfect shell among all the broken and eaten crabs. 

Pelicans are huge.  I wonder what they eat (I’d look it up but there’s limited Internet).

I’ve stayed in all three rentals at this location and I have to say my favorite is the upstairs unit.  Hearing the sound of the waves from the deck is so peaceful. 

We locked ourselves out of our unit – the lock wouldn’t lock and the latch wouldn’t latch, so we finally gave up taking our key.  And then, it latched and locked and we couldn’t get in.  Good thing the owners are on-site and could get us in with an extra key. 

You know you’re a mom when the only sunscreen left is kids 60 SPF sunscreen lotion (because the older children have taken all the spray-on sports sunscreen).

Best $3 event EVER!  We took a 2+ hour canoe/kayak tour along the waterways around Astoria.  We left from Natul Landing, near Fort Clatsop and paddled around for over two hours with a guided tour.  We learned some more about Lewis & Clark and saw some beautiful scenery.  No wildlife except a cormorant – which Jennifer was impressed I knew the name to.  No sun to speak of, but the weather wasn’t too chilly either.  I need to work on my steering skills, but we had a blast, didn’t have to swim and made it (and burned over 500 calories to boot!)

Yes, we really did buy Chinese food on Thursday night and eat it all three days.  The lady at “Chens” was a bit shocked when we ordered the to-go meal – it was reminiscent of Sandra Bullock in “Two Weeks Notice” ordering Chinese take-out.  We also had scrambled eggs, English muffins, smoothies and a really yummy salad.  Plus popcorn, nuts and don’t forget at least ONE Mexican Mocha every day.

I have great friends who appreciate me and are really smart about lots of things I’m not good at.  That’s what makes the world go around.

We had dinner out at “Lost Roo” our last night.  Our server was a lovely woman named “Nancy”.  She’s a single mother, working a full-time job, home-schooling her three children who doesn’t look a day over 35.  She has a 17 year old, a 12 year old and a 10 year old.  She had a fantastic attitude and outlook on life and I don’t know how she does it.  I want to keep her in my prayers for a very long time.

Movies, movies and books.  I finished a book (I brought 5 with me); purchased another at a used store AND brought my Kindle.  We watched 6 movies; laughed and giggled and ate popcorn.  Oh, and don’t forget the wine. 

I learned that in Texas, one should never go ANYWHERE without lipstick on; that women in Texas wear high-heeled cowboy boots, rhinestone jeans and “Handle Hair”. 

I learned that I tell myself way too much that “I’m not very smart” or “I’m not smart enough” and I have to stop that.  I am smart and I know lots of things; I just don’t always know everything or what other people know.

Sacajawea (or "Sacacawea")

Berry Tree at Lewis and Clark Visitor's Center, Astoria OR

Wondering if this is the same "Christ" family as my son-in-law

 It wasn’t long enough of a get-away, but it will have to do with limited funds and over-booked schedules.

Falling in love with a song

I have this song in my head and I have to admit I’m not really bothered by the earworm.  It brings out my inner Diva and I’m singing it almost every moment I’m awake.  I’ve tried to listen to it so many times that I’m sick of it and it’s just not happening.

I paid the money to download this particular song from iTunes so that I can put it on my Zune and listened to it probably 25 times in about 3 days.  It’s not enough.  I haven’t yet memorized all the words (which means I hum or ‘du, dah, daa’ the words I don’t know) and I’m singing my diva bad self when I’m in the car and mouthing the words with all the motions when I’ve got the earphones on.

I cannot get it out of my head. 

…okay, it’s been about two weeks now and the song is no longer following me everywhere and waking me up with the words.  I’m still loving listening to it and it’s still pinned as a favorite.

Guess I’ll wait for the next obsession to hit me and just go with the flow.  Does anyone else fall in love a bit with the artist that sings the song when they fall in love with a song?  I mean, I have to admit I swoon just a bit when I hear “Summertime” by Kenny Chesney.  It makes me smile every.single.time.  

Some songs remind me of people no matter how long it’s been since I’ve seen them. "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys reminds me of my nephews Ryan and Jeff every time.  We were camping as a family over Thanksgiving one year; every night one family was responsible for cooking and cleaning up.  On the night my nephews' family was responsible, the boys did dishes.  The rest of us are playing games in the living area and in acapella voice we hear the two boys singing the words to the song.  It's those voices I hear every time the Beach Boys sing this song on my Zune or anywhere else.

What song is in your head right now?

What song reminds you of someone or an event or memory?

G’day Mate!

Today we took a “field trip” up north to Arlington, WA.  It’s a little over an hour from Redmond, so it’s not too far away.  I’ve wanted to take the kids (okay, I’ll confess I wanted to take ME!) to the Outback Kangaroo Farm for a couple of years now.  It’s never worked into the summer schedule between camp, vacation, tutoring, childcare, etc; but this year I decided I was setting a date and going.  

Cue the onset of children getting sick.  Oh well, I guess I get to go by myself – If I’m going to drive all the way up there; I’ll just take a “quick” detour to the outlet malls in Marysville and maybe the Tulalip Casino before I come home.  It’s a good thing the kids got better and came with me or I might not be back yet!

And yes, the weather has been gorgeous ALL WEEK LONG and today I wake up to overcast, cold and drizzle.  Sigh.  Fortunately, the weather broke as we hit Marysville and the sun came out!

You have to be careful you don’t miss the sign off Hwy. 9 – it’s really not very visible.  Not much parking (I recommend you back into the space as there is one entrance and one exit).  Tours are four times a day and they keep them on time.  The tours are about an hour long and you get to pet and feed a variety of animals as well as learn lots about them.  We saw Chickens/Roosters, rabbits, wallabies, kangaroos, llama, alpaca, ostrich, emus, lemurs, tortoises, Peacocks/hens, miniature pony, goats and donkeys.  

Co-Owner Joey gave us the tour around the farm and had plenty of food on hand for the kids and adults to feed the animals.  I asked her how she got started and she said, as a child, people always commented on her name “Just like the baby Kangaroo!”  Fast-forward a few decades and she wanted to adopt an ostrich.  While taking a class on adoption, she sat next to a woman with a baby kangaroo in her lap – the baby was for sale.  She bought a couple of kangaroos and people started hearing about her pets, knocking on her door and asking if they could see them. And, that began her pet/hobby/farm life with kangaroos. 

TIPS:

• It’s best to call ahead and let them know you’re coming.  They have four tours a day and hold the size to about 20 people.  There are no “reservations” – although you can reserve a private tour at an increased cost.

• Show up at least 10 minutes before the tour starts to allow for parking and getting settled.  Tours start ON TIME and they don’t let you catch up (*although we were late and they were gracious to allow us to join in).

• CASH OR CHECKS ONLY.  Don’t be a city girl like me and miss that part of the website.  IF you do, there is a gas station about a mile up the road (away from Arlington proper) that has a cash machine.  There is also a grocery store and other ATM machines about 2 miles before you get to the farm.

• There is a gift shop, but again cash or check only.  Peacock feathers, stuffed outback animals, postcards and other souvenir type items are available as well as candy bars and sodas.

•  Bring snacks and a lunch (although don’t bring them to the animals).  There are several picnic tables outside under trees where you can eat before or after your tour.

• Bring a camera and take lots of photos.  LOTS!

• The toddlers in my group (2 and 4) didn’t get as much out of it as the older kids, but it was definitely a fun trip. 

I will definitely do this trip again; probably without the time limit we had of rushing back home for son’s football work-outs.  The staff is friendly and the yards are well-maintained – yes, there’s poop and rugged wood and old farm houses and implements, but there were people cleaning up as we toured and we were instructed to make sure to use hand sanitizer (provided in the gift shop) if we touched ANYTHING.

We spent $50 for entrance for an hour tour and another $50 on souvenirs (you could skip that part and just keep the photos).  Two adults and four children under 12.  There is a senior rate too.

Photos (sorry the formatting is wonky)

Tortoise

Albino Wallaby -- very rare

 

Lemurs -- Zaboomafoo or King Julian?

Grandson enjoying the tortoises

Their chest and shoulders are impressive!

 

Emu

Peacock on the roof

Ostriches bite!  9 feet tall and can live to 100 years!

Miniature Pony

Feeding the llama

Petting the alpaca