Parents comment on the fields at Vista Ridge H.S.

Viste Ridge Parents write to board members:

Note: The posting date shown is the date of the first post in this category, not the last.

Parent Claims Bias and Misrepresentation in VRHS Recommendation

I am sorry and extremely disappointed to hear this. I am also upset that Ms. Collins represented that all 3 were in this favor - parents, staff & community. The parents & community are not in favor of an auditorium first.

I can tell you first hand that the community meeting was VERY one-sided to the sports multi-purpose facility NOT the auditorium. One single person stood up to be in favor of the auditorium first.

Then Ms. Collins summarized the evening by saying "I am hearing very loud support for an auditorium". One person - really? She herself said there were approximately 100 people there. Based on this, I feel that I and all of the parents who attended the community meeting were lied to.

Another sickening thing to me is that the football coaches and players are the FIRST ones in the school to support other programs. Practices have been cut short to attend important games of other sports programs. Football players have helped other events from a structural standpoint by lending their muscle and time. Football acknowledges it is nothing without all sports and participation. Now football is being shrugged off and treated this way.

This may in fact be a crushing blow to VRHS. The football family was willing to sacrifice 1 year of displacement for practice so the facilities could be built. I can’t speak for any other sport, but I know that many parents and their student-athletes will relocate to other schools. And I further know that Ms. Collins shrugs this off as, “oh well, that is their prerogative”.

There is no greater dissection of the school population than the football players. Football players are also:

1. In choir, band, etc.

2. In other sports

3. Cowboys, preps, skate boarders, rockers, rappers, hippies, etc.

4. Brains – There are many football players that will be receiving academic scholarships to schools of their choosing and have no chance of an athletic scholarship. But they want to play so bad they are willing to relocate.

5. You name it, there is a football player involved

I cannot believe this recommendation:

1. The number of kids affected by either choice. The shear number of soccer, football & baseball players has to far outnumber of those students in the arts.

2. The fact that drama, theater & choir have alternatives which are not as dramatic as those affecting the sports programs. Count the number of events by each, multiply that by the number of participates, then factor in the distance to be traveled (Sand Creek for the arts vs. Falcon for sports practice). An auditorium is not needed for practice of such events, and the finished product can be done at Sand Creek.

3. And I don’t want to hear any junk about needing an auditorium for assembly. First of all, that is not mass critical. Secondly, the gym is more than sufficient for such.

I understand that Ms. Collins has a complete power-grab situation here. And I also understand that she can make life difficult for those that disagree with her. I want it understood that football players and parents were at her side when she was targeted. She is forgetting some people in this deal.

VRHS Parent Name WITHHELD

RESPONSE - board member Mark Shook

It's not easy being in a leadership or decision maker role. Principal Sandra Collins had a tough decision to make, bound to disappoint a portion of the community. I think Sandy sees and feels the frustration that board members get a taste of on a regular basis. When you have to make important decisions, someone will feel passionately that you made the wrong one.

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Date: Saturday, July 25, 2009, 7:16 AM

I would like to take a moment to put in my 2 cents.

My Name is Julie Buras and I am a parent of a VRHS student who is to be a junior this year,I am also part of the fledgling Booster club at VRHS

Due to all the turmoil in D49 and now VRHS, my son was given an option whether to stay and finish his high school years at VRHS or go to another school which would afford him a stress free, memorable high school experieince with a high school that is aleady established OR... stay here in the D49 area and TRY to have a Decent high school experience.

As difficult as it has been, HE has decided to remain at VHRS for his friends, his team and the continuity of his education.

He is aware as I am that a brand new high school takes alot(A LOT) of hard work, sweat, frustration, tears, support and money in order to establish a school to where Falcon HS or Sandcreek HS is currently. He has hopes of playing at least one HOME game prior to graduating high school, but has come to the conclusion that that will not be possible in his future as he only has 2 more years left.

We are concerned with what was said in the meeting we had at VRHS and if we understood the meeting the other night ,Vista Ridge was built with out a consideration to complete the school right away(especially in the sports area). At least, was not included in the Mill Levy money. My question and My sons.....Why the H_ _ _ then offer a sports program if facilities are not to be part of this school for some time? Why then have a swim team when there is no plans for a Swimming Pool? Why offer Baseball if no field is planned? Why offer football if you can't even use the field in existence?(currently My son practices in the parking lot-AND that is a whole other topic we will not get into).

Why offer basketball when you do not have the space? Why offer gym classes when there are not enough lockers or showers for kids to use.(I for one am tired of replacing things that get stolen-due to the fact the kids have to leave their belongings in the hallway) Not enough room in the locker rooms, so currently there are boys having to dress in the hallways, this is inappropriate for teens with raging hormones! Not having enough showers for the kids after gym classes or sport is inappropriate as well. The health of my child and every child going to that school affects me, my family and anyone else.

I understand the need for an auditorium.....but currently this highschool is in need of far more pressing things than an auditorium. I understand the kids need a place for drama/theater, but really....how many kids is that in comparison to the other pressing needs?

I was in high school theater at a school of 1100-1500 and the numbers for drama did not compare to those in the athletics.

How many shows will be performed compared to how many sporting events occur in a school year, well for that matter all year?

I understand as a part of a district, any monies that comes in to the district (ie., mill levy) is to be shared among all the schools of the district. With that said, reasonably the money in question that every one is all HOT about will not be given to just one school, it will most likely be distributed to couple of different areas, as I understand many are in need of things.

I would just like to get my message clear that when making the decision.....please consider Vista Ridge High school as it is the school with the most pressing needs. An incomplete High school is shameful! Please consider those options carefully.

The students/athletes have Done superbly getting through the first inaugural year with a lot of work, sweat and determination.

The parents have done Fantastic with all the frustration, aggravation and determination to make it memorable for their kids.

So please just remember what your own high school experience was and the opportunities we all had without all this frustration.

Please help us to make it a successful school.

Please help us keep and sustain a successful athletic program, academic program, and creative program.

Please also remember that this year will be a new class of kids and then the next will have 4 very full clases. So consider the headaches, frustration, pain we So many more kids that will be affected by this incomplete high school. And...remember with all those kids comes all those parents that will have same concerns.

So I beg you to do the right thing.

Thank you for your time,

Julie Buras,parent of current Junior,MVP and A student and Booster Club officer.

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Dear Mr. Shook,

I am a proud parent of a Vista Ridge student and after attending last Wednesday's so called "parent" meeting at VRHS, I felt compelled to write to you and share some concerns, frustrations and to be quite frank-some overall disgust and disappointment.

First off, I want to thank you for taking the time to really and truly ask what we as the parents-and more important than that, what our children as the students and up and coming young men and women truly feel is priority for their school. I don't believe our principal Ms. Collins had those same intentions or desires at the forefront of her agenda last week. In fact, I have to share with you that I am very saddened in her poor decision making, blatant disregard of our opinions and apathetic approach used to try and coax us in her direction.

What is most frustrating to me and my husband is the fact that we felt as if the decision on priority was already made and set in stone prior to the gathering of the parents last Wednesday. The meeting of the "parents" was simply, in my view, an opportunity for Ms. Collins and "her staff" to be able to say to you the Board that they took the time to meet with us and listen to our input. My reasoning for my beliefs is as follows:

 The parent meeting was called last minute-approximately 2 hours before the meeting my son called me with a great sense of urgency and asked me to please get off work early to come to the parent meeting to give input on how we (parents) would like to see our levy dollars spent-as such, I immediately left work and drove 45 minutes at last moment's notes to support my son and his team.

 The different priorities were already listed up on a piece of paper, hanging on the stage-what if we had other ideas to share vs. what was already listed? This wasn't an open forum, it was a "pre-planned forum"

 Costs were already listed on the paper-estimates that were provided by the current VRHS contractor-What happened to sending out an RFP (Request for Proposal) and negotiating a lower cost to build what is needed?

 The entire meeting was spent as a discussion of football vs. baseball-who cares, as parents we want ALL of our kids to be able to play, enjoy, and thrive off the sport(s) our children love-whichever sport that may be.

 Ms. Collins, Mr. Knoche-and "her staff" want what's best for their future and whatever supports their growth and advancement-clearly this was shown at Thursday's board meeting.

I am ashamed to say that I also was in support of Ms. Collins when the board tried to oust her earlier this year. During this time, I encouraged my son to stand up for what he believed was right and to speak up whenever he believes the right thing is not being done.

As such, I am now standing up, speaking up and leading in the way that I have asked my son to do time and time again.

Ms. Collins has now shown us that "her and her staff” as she so eloquently refers to them as, “wants the best for the school and for our kids". This is not so-Ms. Collins is not the least bit concerned with what's best for our school, as if she was-we would already have a football field, baseball field, soccer field, etc. If she were, she would have been honest with you sir, and our board when she spoke to you, the Board, on behalf of us, the parents.

I was horrified to hear that our Board voted to use the levy dollars for an auditorium and multipurpose field. There was maybe one supporter that thought the auditorium should be priority. Hence, what convinces me that Ms. Collins and Mr. Knoche already knew what they were going to ask for even before meeting with the parents. SHAMEFUL!!!!

The role of principal and assistant principal are both Servant Leadership roles. In my book of definitions, the servant leader serves THE PEOPLE (not themselves) he or she leads, focus on meeting the needs of those they lead, and most IMPORTANTLY they LISTEN and BUILD a sense of community. Ms. Collins and Mr. Knoche have failed in this arena.

We have nearly hundreds of students that play various sports, that have been working hard and delivering as asked-and who have been given the pretense that their sport is important. How can we say to these boys and girls that building an auditorium (because we need 3 new drama classes according to Ms. Collins) is more important than their sport??? You can hold a "drama" class in any classroom, but you CANNOT play football in the halls of VRHS.

What in heavens is going on here? What happened to prioritizing according to "need"? Furthermore, our sports, specifically football, are REVENUE GENERATING and can clearly pay for themselves. I don't understand Ms. Collins and Mr. Knoche's thought process here when making these decisions. I am now wondering what their motivation behind this is? Is there additional information the parent's aren't aware of????

Again Mr. Shook, I ask of you and our board to please consider the broader picture and the future of our kids as you decide how to best spend these precious dollars. I hope and pray that you all will move forward with preparing our football field and then baseball field to follow. This is what we, as the COMMUNITY has asked for. In fact, are Mr. Knoche and Ms. Collins even a part of our community??? Are they D49 parents-if so, they should be ASHAMED of themselves.

Our kids need us to unite together, as one community and support them in their endeavors-not talk one way and act another. We don't want our kids to spend their entire 4 years of high school hoping they can play a home game-we want them to be able to experience the sheer energy that erupts when that touchdown/homerun is made on THEIR home turf-not Sandcreek’s.

Please consider reversing the order of the new Football Turf Field and Auditorium-we need the football/soccer field first-then we can move on to the less crtitial auditiorium. We don't have the luxury of time on our side, so the idea of redesigning the plan is not an equitable option at this time.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and recognize a parent's perspective. We all want to be represented fairly and accurately.

Warm Regards,

Karen Walker-Sparkman

Proud parent of a VRHS football player and basketball player

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Another parent writes:

I also attended the community meeting at VRHS prior to the board meeting.

I think it is sad that this issue has not been put to rest and something done by now but since it hasn't I have a few more things to add.

I believe that we need a turf field built before the auditorium for several reasons

1.The time factor for the kids

2:10-3:10 Study tables/because the coach actually cares about there grades

3:10-3:30 Load bus with kids and equipment needed for practice

3:30-4:00 Time to get to field (at least)

4:00-4:20 Unload bus

4:20-6:50 Practice

6:50-7:10 Load bus back up again

7:10-7:30 Drive back to VRHS

7:30-7:45 Unload bus again then wait around for all the kids to be picked up

Hopefully everyone home at least by 8:30

2. When do they study?

3. When do they get to eat supper?

4. What time do they get to bed once they have done everything that they need to do ?

5. It also helps the baseball team and the soccer team not have to travel for practices either.

I think that Ms. Collins is forgetting that the school doesn't belong to her, it belongs to the community and the kids. Our kids want to have memories of a school that they where proud to belong to and parents want them to have all the opportunities that they had in school.

I hope that your decision on this matter moves in a timely manner so that the sports teams can utilize there new field as soon as possible.

Thank You

NAME WITHHELD

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July 29, 2009

Mr. Shook:

… Now it is my understanding that the principle and vice principal are supporting putting in an auditorium first before funding of any field work. I would have to say that this is absolutely ludicrous given that these athletes have worked as they have to receive such treatment. Without getting ruffled under the collar, I think logically a field that athletes can use not only for the image of the school but for the SAFETY of the athletes overrides the need for an auditorium. I listened to Mr. Knoche's argument for an auditorium and didn't quite understand what he was talking about because I didn't think that was the subject of the discussion at hand. Now that I have a better understanding, my stance is that I disagree with his argument. Please let me know what else I must do to stand behind my stance on the issue.

Regards,

NAME WITHHELD

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Dear NAME WITHHELD

I have read both your e-mails, and I see you got answers to your questions before I got a chance to answer your letter.

I don't want this to turn into a situation where drama parents are pitted against football parents. The truth is, the school needs ALL the facilities that are on the master plan. That includes the auditorium.

The issue for me is: What is the most urgent need, and what order should these needs be funded given the busing of our athletes to daily practices.

I asked for a report from our principal on what the parents wanted done, and in what priority. It has now been called into question whether her report to the board (that the staff and parents of "the VRHScommunity" wanted the auditorium first) is accurate.

I want to do what the parents want done within the bounds of fiscal responsibility.

I think the points you bring up will be of interest to other parents.

May I post your letter with your name at:

http://district49.blogspot.com

or would you prefer I post it with Name With held, or not at all ?

Mark Shook

Director/ Falcon D49

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Dear Mark:

I totally agree that a new school is going to have severe growing pains. I think we can all agree that we want a complete school to support our students.

The problem is in what order. My big thing is safety and financial impact. I understand the impact that bussing the athletes will have. I think that there needs to be a comparison of what is getting impacted the most, put up the numbers, and go from there. Of course, this sounds easy but I'm sure it definately isn't.

Since I am a musician I understand that without a decent place to practice, I don't have the tools to hone my craft. An auditorium is definately needed so that those who pursue the arts can hone their craft.

At the same time, I played football in a parking lot when I was a kid and have the concussion to prove it. Not fun.

I try my upmost to be reasonable given that I can look over all of the facts. I understand your position and stand behind fiscal responsibility.

You can go ahead and post my letter without my name attached.

Thanks again.

Regards,

NAME WITHHELD

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A Parent asks If the board is against adding the auditorium at Vista Ridge HS originally planned as a future phase?

Speaking for myself, I have to ask, why would you think that?

I asked for a report from the VRHS principal. I wanted to know the staff's recommendation for the fields at Vista Ridge.

Their recommendation was to do nothing with the fields for now, and save the money for higher priorities.

Although I wish the board had that information a month ago, I am glad to know that now before we commit to build something that is not what the school leadership and community wants.

As to someone not wanting the auditorium, that was never the question. The auditorium was not the subject of this discussion.

The question is and was, do you want the board to vote to approve replacing the (first reported as dead, now reported as slowly reviving) natural grass main field at VRHS with artificial turf as soon as possible for the fall season, yes or no.

The answer was NO.

...MARK SHOOK...

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Members of the D49 School Board,

I am a parent of a student at Vista Ridge High School. I attended the board meeting this past Thursday evening, July 16th. I listened with great interest to the discussion that took place regarding some Mill Levy interest funds that are apparently available for expenditure for school needs.

Let me first say that I appreciate the time and effort each of you put into serving as School Board members. I know it carries great responsibility and sacrifice and is often probably a thankless position. But we, as a community, rely on you and I am thankful for your service. I also know that you are in a difficult position of trying to decide where the limited funds that are available might be best spent. I know the needs or requests are more than what is available. No matter what you do, you may not be able to please everyone.

I listened to a representative of the football team, Coach Johnson, advocate on behalf of turf for the football/soccer field. I listened to Coach Krainock advocate on behalf of the baseball team and the fact that there is no baseball field at VR. I spoke with numerous people before and after the meeting and I know there are other needs, like repairs to the gymnasium, a need for an auditorium, completion of the softball field, need for bleachers and lighting, and many other things.

The part of the conversation that I was most pleased with was when the discussion seemed to gravitate towards some type of proposal that might include multi-functionality. I would like to encourage each of you to continue in this mode of thought.

Rather than have to choose which programs or needs get met and which don't, I believe the community as a whole would be better served and more responsive to a plan that includes a multi-purpose function that would meet as many needs as possible. It sounded as though it would be possible to build a field that would allow for use by possibly all of the teams needing one, like a large turf surface that would provide room for practice and/or PE use by multiple teams and classes, and could even include enough area and design to serve as a baseball field. If we are able, as a community and board, to find such a workable solution, everyone would come out ahead. And perhaps there would even be enough funds to construct this type of surface and an auditorium as well. If not, perhaps whatever funds we are lacking to complete both could be raised through solicitation of the business community, including builders and businesses in our area.

I am a member of the Vista Ridge Athletic Booster Club. As such, I support all athletic programs at VR. I truly believe in the importance and value of good athletic programs at a high school. Such programs offer students a variety of opportunities and teach them valuable life lessons and skills in leadership, problem solving, communication, teamwork, sportsmanship, goal setting and many more things. I believe the whole school and the surrounding community benefits from these programs, not only the student athletes who participate on any given team.

The entire school and community gets involved in supporting and participating at different levels. This brings so much to the overall high school experience. I again encourage you to consider this when deciding how to meet the needs of the various athletics and academic programs. I hope that potential solutions that meet the broadest scope of need will receive the greatest attention and consideration.

I don't envy you the tough decisions you face. But I do encourage you to hang in there and I appreciate the opportunity to express my opinion to you.

Sincerely,

Richard DuVall

My RESPONSE:

The cost to fully finish VRHS far exceeds the funds available. The cause goes back to the 2005 Mill Levy. The estimates given the voters were not firm bids. By the time the Mill Levy passed, and the contracts were signed, steel and concrete had gone up dramatically. Cost overruns and time delays were suffered due to site prep and soils issues.

It may take a "VRHS completion funding addition " to be tacked on to the next Bond issue to fully finish all the needs and master planned facilities.

We do not have the money for all of them at this time. So we must prioritize.

HERE IS WHAT THE OFFICIAL RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD FROM THE D49 ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN:

" Staff recommends that the existing natural turf fields be used for the fall, 2009 sports program home games; and that practices be scheduled for an alternate site, likely PLC. The sports fields at Vista Ridge have recovered remarkably since April, due to a coordinated maintenance program and abundant healing spring and summer rains.

It is the opinion of the staff that the fields have recovered sufficiently to provide a safe environment for the fall 2009 home games; and that this is the only option that assures any home-field presence at all this coming season. Given unforeseen weather or construction delays, there is no assurance that any artificial turf facilities would be available in the fall, 2009 season.

Staff recommends that the further consideration of artificial turf fields be assigned to the Long Range Planning Committee; and that the Committee be fully briefed on the findings from this process and the experiences of other school districts in this regard. Certainly multiple benefits have been identified regarding artificial turf in general, but this specific situation may not optimize the district’s return. "

Mark Shook

Director/ Falcon D49

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July 31, 2009

Dear Board Members,

...I am the parent of an incoming freshman at Vista ridge High School. I was unable to attend the community meeting, but did attend the Board meeting last week. I’ve seen several e-mails going around from concerned parents, and have a few things to offer. I support completing athletic fields at the school and strongly oppose the option to bus players to a different location for practice.

The commute to and from practice will upset the balance of family and study time in the evenings that parents already struggle to maintain. It is critical we work to find an option that does not further burden our kids and families.

At the Board meeting, the administration from Vista Ridge told the board that the auditorium first was the choice of parents, staff and the community. That is contrary to what I saw at the Board meeting, where the vast majority of support was in favor of completion of athletic fields first.

I’m told that was the case at the community meeting as well. The only support I heard in favor of the auditorium was from a few of the VR administration staff.

As a result, parents felt their interests were misrepresented by the recommendations of the administration. That, combined with intimidation tactics many witnessed, if allowed to continue, will eventually created an environment of mistrust and raise concerns about professional conduct.

I hope you as a board will do whatever is necessary to keep that type activity from controlling the important decisions that need to be made about Vista Ridge High School. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

NAME WITH HELD

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7/30/2009 10:38 PM MDT

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ms80831 wrote:

An Unidentified Anonymous reader asks: ..."the new superintendent ...is quoted in todays Gazette article that their is no evidence that VRHS employees were out trying to get people to withdraw their signtures from the recall partitions. It is pretty funny to make a statement like this, when they are known by name and association with VRHS. "...

Your quote is not correct. Dr. Schoeppey said:

" there is no proof of any wrongdoing, and no evidence that school or district policies have been violated." Thats a bit different from what you said. Of course there are Vista Ridge employees, and Sand Creek HS, and Falcon HS employees and central office employees that don't support the recall. Why are you surprised that some would walk in support of what they believe in?

The charge of wearing a Vista Ridge booster shirt off school grounds while talking to parents about the other side of an issue, violates no policy.

I have not heard that there was any complaint from a voter that stated that an employee stated that his visit was official or that he represented the school district.

My personal experience tonight going door to door was quite pleasant and enlightening. We really had only one unhappy person, who we politely thanked and went on to the next door.

I didn't see any "thugs" out there tonight. Just this grandfather of four D49 students, and Kent Clawson, father of three D49 students.

Many many people told the same story. They were at a store, or a neighborhood garage sale, and these "ladies " said all this stuff about the school board and I didn't know the facts, so I just signed.

Even before we showed some people the fact sheet, we got some signatures just because board members came in person. "You are the kind of people we want on the board, those who are not afraid to talk to the voters face to face."

Some were skeptical, but as long as they wanted to ask questions, we stayed and answered them. If they said "not interested", we thanked them for listening and left.

My prediction, there will be no recall election in November of 2009.

Mark Shook

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Note: The posting date shown is the date of the first post in this category, not the last.