Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
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Thursday, December 14, 2006
Breaking News: Teachers approve deal
Dayton teachers Thursday approved a contract with the school board that includes a 1.25 percent raise this year.
Union President Pat Lynch did not release the vote total but said the contract was approved by “a good majority” and that the vote had strong turnout.
The two-year deal is retroactive to June 30 and does not address pay for the second year. It includes language that says the sides can negotiate next year’s pay increase and benefits later. The board has said a levy will come in May for new operating money.
Last month, teachers rejected a deal that offered no raise but included a one-time lump sum equivalent to 1 percent of annual pay for this school year. That followed contentious talks in which teachers demanded the board make a better offer or face a possible strike vote.
The district is struggling with a cash crunch that is projected to result in a deficit in 2008 without new money or drastic cuts. Layoffs and other cost cuts are still planned for January. School officials have said they would make those cuts public later this month.
Permalink | Comments (8) | Categories: Dayton Public Schools
Too late to save Roosevelt?
On Wednesday, I received an E-Mail copy of a letter to the editor from Beth Duke, the influential and well-known Dayton developer responsible for the rebirth of the Cannery and the Second Street Market downtown (and also, interestingly, Gail Littlejohn’s next door neighbor).
Duke’s letter is very direct — she says Roosevelt High School must not be torn down and she asks the city to refuse any school board request for a demolition permit.
When I shared this news with a few people involved in city and school district affairs, their reactions amounted to a collective “where has she been?” One observer of district affairs called Duke’s statements “irresponsible” because they could only create false hope among those sentimental about the school.
The Roosevelt decision was an agonizing one for the board and the total process took more than two years. Back in May, the board finally decided to reject a development proposal because board members said they felt the financing for the project was too iffy. Instead, the board signed onto a joint redevelopment plan with the city that calls for a city-run recreational center on the site paired with a new K-12 school for boys run by the district.
As I wrote then, there were strong arguments for saving Roosevelt. But, as I also wrote then, there was surprisingly little public outcry against the board’s demolition plan. And there’s been hardly a peep for the six months since the board made its decision.
As one person I consulted yesterday said, this is now very much a done deal. The district has removed all keepsakes from the building. A community “open house,” meant as a final goodbye, attracted hundreds of people over the weekend. At a city commission-school board joint meeting this week, both sides spoke openly of the progress of their redevelopment plans for the site.
Could the done deal be undone? Perhaps, if there was a real groundswell of support.
The question is whether that’s what the community wants. One “save Roosevelt” sympathizer told me yesterday that Dayton is the kind of place where sometimes it comes down to the last minute to motivate people.
So far, Dayton has not shown any urgency to keep the building rather than redevelop the site. The board and the city appear to have their minds made up.
What do you think of Duke’s letter?
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Beth Duke: Block Roosevelt demolition
Here’s developer Beth Duke’s letter to the editor asking the city to block the demolition of Roosevelt High School, planned for early 2007:
There aren’t enough column inches available in the universe to enumerate all the reasons why the Dayton Public Schools’ decision to demolish the Roosevelt Center on West Third Street is such a bad idea. Here are the most important:
The building and site can be redeveloped. In fact, the DPS refused to consider a still viable, and very bankable, proposal from a local development team.
The building is in marvelous structural condition and could easily house the new school contemplated for the site – all within the financial guidelines of the Ohio School Facilities Commission. Moreover, as any architect will attest, new school construction simply will not match the quality, character and facilities of the existing building.
The building could also accommodate the recreation center tentatively planned for the Roosevelt site. The facilities available in the existing building – two swimming pools, large indoor track, mammoth auditorium, and practically unlimited common space – dwarf the facilities and amenities proposed for the new rec center.
The DPS’s alleged concerns about inheriting a building that will stand vacant for a long period of time is a lot of bunk. As already mentioned, there is a viable development deal on the table. Moreover, if others in the community resorted to the DPS logic, the Old Court House, the Arcade, the Duncarrick Mansion and even the house I live in (Red Oak at the Hook Estate) would have been demolished a long time ago. I could also say the same about my redevelopment projects, The Cannery lofts and the 2nd Street Public Market. It just takes creativity, vision and a sincere commitment to the community to create projects like the Cannery and the 2nd St. Public Market. The Roosevelt building is just waiting to be reenergized to again serve the greater Dayton Community in a new way.
Demolishing a perfectly good building – let alone a building with tremendous historic, architectural and cultural significance – simply because its preservation poses a challenge to the intellect and imagination of Dayton school officials is simply unacceptable.
In my view, the City of Dayton should refuse to grant a demolition permit until the DPS can demonstrate that redevelopment of the building and site is not feasible.
Sincerely,
Beth Duke Developer
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Dayton Public Schools
