formerhick76 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I can understand the desire to consolidate staff
> under a single roof. But is/was Gatehouse *really*
> the best way to go?
>
> On the other hand, I remember Mychele Brickner (I
> suspect she is a fave among the disaffected here
> on FFXU) was tossed on her rear a few years ago. I
> wonder if 'back to basics' is going to do well in
> 2011.
>
> Maybe staggered SB terms ought to be put into
> place?

I like your idea, but we need to get rid of the dead beat SB members also.

Lee Dad Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> formerhick76 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I can understand the desire to consolidate
> staff
> > under a single roof. But is/was Gatehouse
> *really*
> > the best way to go?
> >
> > On the other hand, I remember Mychele Brickner
> (I
> > suspect she is a fave among the disaffected
> here
> > on FFXU) was tossed on her rear a few years ago.
> I
> > wonder if 'back to basics' is going to do well
> in
> > 2011.
> >
> > Maybe staggered SB terms ought to be put into
> > place?
>
> I like your idea, but we need to get rid of the
> dead beat SB members also.

Staggered terms would make the School Board a little more responsive. The costs would be minimal as there's always an election going on.

It'd be nice if we all dropped the pretenses and allowed the Board to be openly partisan (we all know the Dems endorse a candidate and the GOP endorses another candidate) but I am not sure if that would open a Pandora's Box.

On the downside, there might be a slight downturn in turnout, but if you fix it so you have (in odd years) EITHER a school board or a Board of Supervisors or a School Board election in your district, that wouldn't be a factor.

I am the head of a watchdog organization that focuses on municipalities in eastern northern Virginia. I have studied the Gatehouse II purchase in great detail, and it is unquestionably a shrewd move that will improve administrative operations and save our County millions in the long run.

To say otherwise is ridiculous. Please spare us the ignorant anti-Dale rants and spend that time learning more about what a great deal this is for everyone involved. Overall, FCPS does a fantastic job educating our children and this deal will be another feather in its cap.

I like your idea. How does one go about getting the elections staggered? does that idea have to be generated from the SB (as they seem to write their own laws)?

Eastsider:

You sound almost sarcastic here. What are the alternatives facing FCPS? One (self-reported) real estate professional has said the Gatehouse project seems a little pricey in terms of price per square foot for purchase/renovations.

A shrewd move? have you studied the recent real estate market in Merrifield? and the leases that they were currently paying were outrageous - all they need to do was to renegotiate the current leases or look for other leases. The status quo is $100 million. the business case is $100 million to renovate a building built in 1973? to be locked in with no choices? The feds only lease - it makes more sense in the long run. And 92% of those people are school-based...And the business case brought in ridiculous savings from a warehouse...A WAREHOUSE THAT CONTAINS BAND EQUIPMENT THAT SHOULD NOT BE PART OF THIS BUSINESS CASE - THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN SAVING THAT $500,000 anyway. Now let's talk about GHI - it ended up costing us $25 million, not saving $47 million as they claimed. WE CAN PROVE IT FROM FOIA ...

Perhaps Eastsider is one of the ones getting a kickback from this deal.

or a friend of one of the SBs...

or just an idiot.

I know... Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> or just an idiot.

Jack Dale is the Eastsider. He is an IDIOT and is the one who is getting the kickbacks.

One more rant, FU Dale.

I still say "follow the Money". There's a reason why Dale, Tisdadt, and cronies are still pushing for GatehouseII.

Why wouldn't they push for it? Why wouldn't they want all their friends to have nice offices?

No kidding Wrote:
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> Why wouldn't they push for it? Why wouldn't they
> want all their friends to have nice offices?

There is one big reason, there is no money. Put Dale, the SB and all their friends in nice portable trailers so that they can hold hands when they need to go to the rest room.

Get ready for upcoming elections - REAL candidates that care about kids are running ....we need to support them.

formerhick76 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ...
> On the downside, there might be a slight downturn
> in turnout, but if you fix it so you have (in odd
> years) EITHER a school board or a Board of
> Supervisors or a School Board election in your
> district, that wouldn't be a factor.

A downturn in turnout would be a good thing considering that the SB members get re-elected over and over again, regardless of performance, because of so many voters who blindly choose the democratic party candidate.

SBS Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> formerhick76 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > ...
> > On the downside, there might be a slight
> downturn
> > in turnout, but if you fix it so you have (in
> odd
> > years) EITHER a school board or a Board of
> > Supervisors or a School Board election in your
> > district, that wouldn't be a factor.
>
> A downturn in turnout would be a good thing
> considering that the SB members get re-elected
> over and over again, regardless of performance,
> because of so many voters who blindly choose the
> democratic party candidate.

You're assuming Fairfax voters are too dumb to pick the 'right' candidate and openly hoping for lower turnout. How ... charming.

formerhick76 Wrote:
>
> You're assuming Fairfax voters are too dumb to
> pick the 'right' candidate and openly hoping for
> lower turnout. How ... charming.

It's not that they're too dumb. They simply cast votes in ignorance because it's easy to do so. A lot of voters won't leave any ballot option blank, so they typically vote along party lines when they are not familiar with the canidates, or even the office they are running for.

Reality check -- How many votes do you think the SB candidates get from people who don't know, or even care one little bit about the school system's recent performance? Answer: More than the number of votes from people who have followed the candidate's performance, and are able to place an INFORMED vote.

If the elections were staggered, then those voting will have had to make more of a distinct effort to vote, meaning it's more likely they have at least some knowledge about the candidate they are voting for.

The way it is now, SB members are voted in with as little thought from the voters as when they approve virtually any school bond referendum.

Wait until Fairfax Caps wins the lawsuit about re-districting. That will show the school board that they can't get away with this.

I agree with SBS - people don't generally have time to research the candidates and what they stand for. At least CAPS put together an education debate to get people out to hear what the candidates stand for - it is a start....

I research SB candidates right here on FFXU...and then I vote for the one that will piss off the most FFXU whiney assholes.

I research SB candidates right here on FFXU...and then I vote for the one that will piss off the most miserable FFXU whiney lowlife pro FCPS assholes.

tubby Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I research SB candidates right here on FFXU...and
> then I vote for the one that will piss off the
> most FFXU whiney assholes.


Thanks for trolling.

Eastsider Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am the head of a watchdog organization that
> focuses on municipalities in eastern northern
> Virginia. I have studied the Gatehouse II
> purchase in great detail, and it is unquestionably
> a shrewd move that will improve administrative
> operations and save our County millions in the
> long run.
>
> To say otherwise is ridiculous. Please spare us
> the ignorant anti-Dale rants and spend that time
> learning more about what a great deal this is for
> everyone involved. Overall, FCPS does a fantastic
> job educating our children and this deal will be
> another feather in its cap.


Sorry, I have been in commercial real estate for 21 years - the Gatehouse II deal was at least 50% over market value (at least). The concept of consolidation is certainly sound but the execution in that case was gross negligence. No way should we be paying 150% market value for purchase or lease of property...

Sounds about right

Sorry, I have been in commercial real estate for 21 years - the Gatehouse II deal was at least 50% over market value (at least). The concept of consolidation is certainly sound but the execution in that case was gross negligence. No way should we be paying 150% market value for purchase or lease of property...

The above statement is true. So we need to follow the money regarding kickbacks/payoffs.

What friend or family member of Dale's is getting paid?

Hmmm....

commented Roy C. Perry, senior vice president who oversaw the acquisition along with George Haines, Project Executive for BPG. “We look forward to serving the Red Cross as landlord over the next few months and are eager to present this historically owner-occupied building to the market for lease.”


Jeff Roman, Michael Pepper and Malcolm Schweiker have been named the exclusive leasing agents for the property. CB Richard Ellis will also handle the property management.

chipmunk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> commented Roy C. Perry, senior vice president who
> oversaw the acquisition along with George Haines,
> Project Executive for BPG. “We look forward to
> serving the Red Cross as landlord over the next
> few months and are eager to present this
> historically owner-occupied building to the market
> for lease.”
>
>
> Jeff Roman, Michael Pepper and Malcolm Schweiker
> have been named the exclusive leasing agents for
> the property. CB Richard Ellis will also handle
> the property management.

Why would FCPS want to buy or lease a building that is falling apart and needs 50 million dollars worth of repairs? Plus this building has lost over 20 million dollars in value over the last year.

Maybe the SB wants to buy the Brooklyn bridge? It would be a better deal.

If you ask me someone is being paided off big time. Dale? Storck? Entire SB?

How is it that Dale can use federal stimulus money to spend $45 million to renovate GHII which they are now leasing 3 floors? The VA application states that it is to be used to save teachers' jobs.

Something is very fishy with this school board, they can not be trusted

During the negotiations, Stu Gibson declared, "It is a great time to buy real estate!!"


I guess somebody in FCPS should talk with the folks in the budget office in Fairfax County Govt.

In The Post today:

Home values, which declined by more than 12 percent last year, will probably continue to drop but at a slightly slower rate.


More dramatic will be the impact of declining values in nonresidential real estate such as hotels and high-rise office buildings. Nonresidential real estate makes up less than a quarter of tax receipts but is projected to sink in value by about 18 percent in the next fiscal year -- the largest drop since at least 1991, according to the analysis.