PPS Big Ideas (Contracts for Friends) Q & A

April 20, 2009 PPS Big Ideas Q & A offers some insight into the future.  Pull your wallets out because it will require BIG BUDGETS.

Q9: Is high school redesign leading to a facilities bond for PPS?

YES. However, to make any decisions about high school buildings, we must make decisions about the programs within those buildings.  How many high school buildings do we need?  What size, and where?  Should they include special spaces such as labs, workshops and performance space?  This high school design conversation will answer those questions and allow us to finalize a long-range facilities plan for PPS that includes high schools. 

No shit.  There’s a long-range plan?  How were K-5 and 6-8 school closures and reconfigurations included in those long-range facilities plans?  What does it mean to PPS to finalize the long-range plan? 

Did the district factor in the cost of the portables that Zarwen has written about? 

Have they looked north at Seattle’s experience with high school closures?  Seattle closed schools but had to reopen them one year later due to overcrowding.  Seattle’s anticipated school closure savings of $3 million cost their district $47.8 million.

No doubt that PPS will follow Seattle’s lead.  They’re experts at replicating failure.