Letter: UCF repeats errors

Posted by ChaddsFordLive on October 22, 2024

I read with interest, the three articles about UCFSD School Buildings. While they indicated that people have called attention to the limitations of the middle school building for years, it was in June that a study was commissioned, with a vote by the board to take place in seven to eight months. Other columns indicated the need for work in three of the elementary schools. It strikes me that a little more long-term planning may have been helpful earlier in the process to avoid all of these projects occurring at the same time.

When I read about the “community” sessions to avoid the problems that occurred with the high school, it seems as if they are repeating a pattern of leaving many taxpayers out of the process (those who don’t have students currently enrolled). That was a challenge the last time, and the voters rejected the plan because of cost and lack of information. The negative reaction was magnified when the district devised a workaround for voter approval. This caused high annual tax increases for the foreseeable future. It sounds like the plan is the same this time around, looking for a way around the ACT 1 index. A better engagement strategy, although time-consuming, might work.