Just FYI, Rivers is saying that the Qscb funds have all been put on a deferrment by the governor. In other words, no funds are available. Wouldn't that throw a monkey wrench in the SB's plans if this is true. The meeting is going on now.
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Just FYI, Rivers is saying that the Qscb funds have all been put on a deferrment by the governor. In other words, no funds are available. Wouldn't that throw a monkey wrench in the SB's plans if this is true. The meeting is going on now.
I read the release from the Attorney General and don't see how Mr. Rivers has determined this.
Apparently, this wasn't from the release from the AG, it was a letter he apparently received from QSCB saying that the governor had deferred all funds. I didn't see the letter, but he did say that at the meeting tonight. He then stated that with this infromation, he did not see how the county could afford the consolidation, among other things.
Virginia attorney general says Wise School Board decides consolidation | TriCities.com
BIG STONE GAP, Va. -- Both sides in the longstanding debate over school consolidation in Wise County claimed a victory Thursday with the release of an opinion by Virginia Attorney Gen. Ken Cuccinelli.
?It is my opinion that a school board is solely responsible for the decision whether and how to consolidate schools,? Cuccinelli said in his written opinion, ?and a county board of supervisors may not instruct the school board to consolidate schools or how to consolidate schools.?
However, the attorney general further explained that a board of supervisors is free to express its desire for how certain funds should be spent, for example by endorsing a particular plan of consolidation. But, Cuccinelli wrote, such recommendations have no binding effect on the school board.
?We were right,? John Schoolcraft, chairman of the group calling itself CEASE, said Thursday after the opinion was made public.
But Jeff Perry, superintendent for Wise County schools, said the opinion, if anything, backs up the school board?s position.
?We are moving forward within our constitutional and statutory powers,? Perry said of the school system.
Cuccinelli was asked to offer an opinion on the consolidation authority by a local delegate, whose request came from a group of Wise County residents. The specific question was whether a county board of supervisors can instruct a school board on how to consolidate its schools. That is a chief concern for members of CEASE, or Citizens for Equal and Accessible Student Education.
Wise County?s current school consolidation plan ? already approved by both the school board and the board of supervisors ? would consolidate five very old high schools into two new, adjacent schools on a single site with some shared facilities. The plan is to build the $69 million complex in a central location within the county, and convert the newer St. Paul High School into a K-12 school with St. Paul Elementary rather than include it in the high school consolidation plan.
At a meeting held Thursday by CEASE, Schoolcraft said the attorney general?s decision has given more credibility to the group?s cause. Now, the group is raising questions not only about the supervisors? resolution, but about the legitimacy of the county?s application for federal Qualified School Construction Bonds for the project.
?They have to have a new resolution,? Schoolcraft said of the supervisors, who traded some guarantees on Appalachia Elementary School for a deciding vote on the consolidation project. ?If it started with something illegal over here as the first thing ... it?s like a stack of dominoes.?
Schoolcraft argues that the county board must pass another resolution that deals strictly with funding and doesn?t get into details of how the money should be used. Otherwise, he said, his group will have to consider taking the case to court.
Perry has said he wants to break ground on the project this spring, with the schools completed and ready to open for the fall of 2013. On Thursday, he said, the school system will move forward on the project.
?That won?t prohibit any group from filing suit,? Perry said, ?but I don?t think any of those suits would have standing or merit.?
Perry said he also takes issue with claims made by CEASE that the bond application contained errors. The information is documented and the qualifications are met, he said, so the county should be ?good to go? on the bonds.
J.H. Rivers, chairman of the Wise County Board of Supervisors, said the board did overstep its authority in passing a funding resolution that specified details of the consolidation plan and details related to Appalachia Elementary.
Rivers, who supported a plan to instead put three schools on separate sites, is opposed to the two-school, one-site plan. He said he plans to wait for advice from the board?s attorney before commenting further.
I just hope they can tie it up for 11 months so we can make some changes on the boards. It's a pretty pathetic situation right now.
Which board?Quote:
Originally Posted by pvfan
Not saying this to be a butthole to the folks in Wise County but the whole mess has made Wise County the laughing stock of our Region and possibly the state.
At first I thought the 2 in 1 site was stupid but it kinda makes sense too. One of these days with all the consolidations taking place throughout the state Wise may need just one school and the two on one idea would make that happen easily. But then again it may never happen.
I agree, but for one, we don't have an up to date highway infrastructure to accomodate the amount of traffic required for such a plan, nor do we have the tax base to support the current plan. I, for one, don't want to depend on the power plant in St. Paul to carry this plan forward, especially since it hasn't generated the first watt of electricity yet. Remember, Dominion has completed one in Northern Virginia and it still has not generated any power.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason
Next, nobody, and I mean nobody, can garantee the final cost of this project to come in completed at 69 million. Dr. Perry has stated that fact several times that he has that garantee.
I agree that we need to consolidate, but at what cost to the taxpayers of Wise county? Our citizens are aging and we are fast becoming an area for retired or fixed income people. Most of our youth are moving away and going to more urban areas in search of better paying jobs and careers.
You can't forget another factor either. If this plan is followed through, how many students in the county will opt to go to neighboring county school systems instead of going to these new schools? The parents of these children seem to be pretty determined to not let their children attend a consolidated school in Wise, no matter what.
Like I said, I am all for consolidation, but I do believe there is a better plan. CEASE wants a school in the western part of the county. Would they be willing to let it be builte in Appalachia instead of Big Stone? Would Wise be willing to let a school be built in Pound instead? Or better yet, would Wise or Pound be willing to let both schools be built at a site near Big Stone or near Coeburn? Think about it. This mess will never be settled, even after elections.
BothQuote:
Originally Posted by 1inStripes
Cornett, Thompson, Mullins, Bates and Greear on the SB, and Luntsford, Shortt, Rivers, Adkins, and Bates on the BOS need to go. We need some new, young faces on both Boards. Shortt is running scared because of his wife's job, Luntsford is getting ready to "bolt" and go the beaches of South Carolina. Rivers? What can I say....I know...Flip-Flop. Adkins, his only interest is how much money he can make off the construction. Bates, he is a "yes man" on everything for Wise and a "No man" on anything else.
Cornett probably doesn't know how to think without her husband's instructions on how to vote, Thompson, he is just down-right creepy and on a power trip. Greear(illegallly) appointed, Mullins, probably wants to do the right thing, but is afraid to, Bates, just plain old "needs to go". He has no real interest in doing the right thing, just as long as what gets done is done in his district.
I really want consolidation to happen, but at what point do we all have to say, "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH ALREADY!!"
Let Walter Crouse, Harold Greear, and Marlene Bush in on the boards. That will make things real interesting.:mooning: