Strong School Shovels Expected In Ground By Spring

Biggest Waste of Money Ever Notes:

Is this really happening?

We read articles about budget concerns, taxes going up for our cars, East Rock, Wooster Square, Westville being attacked for stable housing prices, SCHOOL COUNSELOR SHORTAGES within the community ALL the while we're building another school.


Who is going to work there? with what budget can we hire all these new people? This school will pump these kids out only to have them teach at a suburban school that pays better with less trouble and less inconsistency.

This is an unneeded joke in a comedy show I'm tired of being forced to buy tickets to.

well, Noteworthy does raise some unassailable points...

New Haven, and its monstrously large school system, has consistently failed to deliver the educational benefits the children deserve, and the tax-payers should be demanding.

This endless cycle needs some rational thought, and throwing dollars at it is not the answer.

thus continues that New Haven government & education shell game. Started under Johnny D and continued by Harp and union owned BOA. For those new to the game, it goes like this. The city approves a building of a fancy new facility but has no resources for physical upkeep or high end teachers so the kids continue being churned out unprepared for college and/or life. The contractors make huge dollars and thus write big checks during the next election cycle - thus insuring that the same players vote the same way in the future. Check out http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/oct_campaign_finance_filings/ for the info during one election.

Is there anything that those of us who have seen this game for too long can do??

all these new schools that are build look good for a couple of years but lack of enough custodians and lack of funds to keep themthat way. the a/c and heat sys. are always breaking down and all the boe does is patch them together. new haven is broke so why build new schools now.

Look out: From the NHR story on an aldermanic liaison leaving for a union job: "The campaign is in debt, part of it to Melita, who said so far he has gotten paid "for a couple of weeks" of his campaign work.
"I believe they are still fundraising," Melita said."
This for a campaign that had no real opposition.

I'm happy that New Haven has rebuilt our school buildings in general. But agree with the others on here, they have taken it too far. The city should have built a couple less schools and used the money to fund maintenance, teachers, and student services. They've drastically over-spent on the buildings and under-spent on the the other things. Its so obvious that it makes you question the fiscal competence and trustworthiness of those in charge.

It would be interesting if the NHI made the following poll: If you had to choose between building a new school at a cost of $45 million, or putting the same money towards student services (guidance counselors, teachers, mentoring, maintenance, supplies, after school programs, etc), how do you feel the money would be better spent?

But perhaps, the latter isn't an option - you can't milk the state for another $35 m towards teachers and such because they won't approve it. But somehow if you say we need a new building, the state approves it.