posted by Mike Madison at 9:23 PM /
Another candidate for School Board asked me to post her responses to the facilities questionnaire. The following is from Electa Boyle:
Dear Mr. Reese and Members of the Mt. Lebanon Field Sports Facilities Partnership,
It is with interest that I respond to your email dated April 9th regarding your hopes to form a non-partisan collaboration between the Mt. Lebanon School Board, the Municipality and your Partnership to create athletic facility upgrades for Mt. Lebanon’s students, as well as, the community. Since I was unable to attend the discussions regarding your planned proposals, I have relied on discussions with some of my running mates to understand your ideas. As such, I would like to give you an overview of my thoughts with hopes that we can review together the particulars of your plan at a later date.
As a school board candidate, I support a well rounded education including academics, fine arts and athletics which will allow our students to fully develop. The school facilities should reasonably support these activities in a way that demonstrates our pride in Mt. Lebanon’s students and in our community. The current high school facilities do not accomplish this and I believe we can do better.
Regarding the specific questions within your questionnaire, you will find my responses below.
Best regards.
Electa M. Boyle
1. What is your view of the current condition of the field house, track & field and stadium complex on the campus of Mt. Lebanon High School?
The field house should be renovated or replaced – depending on which is the most cost effective solution. There may already be some consideration of this within the High School Project proposal. The outdoor facilities, reportedly, present some safety risks to our student athletes. I will review these with someone more experienced than myself to understand these hazards further. Student safety is very important.
2. Do you believe that it is necessary to address significant upgrading of the outdoor athletic facilities as part of the proposed High School renovation project?
It is necessary to treat equitably all aspects of a student’s education – academics, athletics and fine arts. By necessity, the High School Project should include enhancements to the facilities supporting all three of these areas.
3. If so what is your specific plan (including order of priorities for such upgrades) and how much money do you believe the District should commit to this endeavor in Phase I as part of the overall High School renovation?
Keeping in mind that I believe specific plans for any construction project should include architectural drawings and associated cost estimates, I do not have specific plans, nor am I aware of anyone who does, for prioritizing the outdoor athletic facilities upgrades. Public opinion on such upgrades seems to vary widely according to community interests. I would first like to see the architectural schematics for the High School Project. I think that is a good launch point for open and public discussions of any gaps in the athletic facilities.
4. Separate and apart from how much money the District “should” commit to this initiative, how much money do you believe the District “will” ultimately commit as part of the High School renovation project and at what stage (i.e., Phase I) will it be committed ?
Given that the first schematic and budget for the High School Project is not complete, it is premature for me to say what the District should or will commit to the outdoor athletic facilities. For me to venture a number at this stage would be like grabbing it out of thin air – and this I will not do. We should wait until we have the schematic for the High School Project in hand to begin any further analysis of the outdoor facilities.
5. Would you support our group “bridging the gap” between the resources that “should” be dedicated to address this need and the resources that “will” be dedicated by the District to address the needs articulated by our group?
I support the concept of a private and public partnership as long as it done in a spirit of collaboration and service to our students and our community.
6. Are you committed to prioritizing your specific plan while serving on the School Board and, if so, do you believe you are capable of building a consensus to support your plan on the Board?
My intention is to become a collaborative member of the Mt. Lebanon School Board. As such, I do not come to the board with a personal agenda in mind. I will listen, with an open mind, to all viewpoints regarding academics, athletics and fine arts with the goal of providing an excellent education for each and every Mt. Lebanon school student.
7. During the past 12 months, the School Board has referred to a two million dollar commitment of funds to upgrade the outdoor athletic facilities at the stadium/field house. At a minimum, will you vote to commit to advance funds from the capital improvement reserve of two million dollars in Phase I of the high school renovation project to address outdoor athletic facility upgrades at the stadium as part of our proposed joint private-public venture?
Since I am not a sitting board member, I am unaware of any ‘committed’ funds within the High School Project. All funds within the High School Project at this time, I believe, are ‘proposed’ funds. I believe that the current process of obtaining schematics and associated costs for discussion prior to committing funds is an appropriate one as it will allow for reasonable review and discussion before funds are committed. Fully understanding the proposal before voting is appropriate and that is the path I will follow.
8. What is your position regarding either renovating or demolishing Building B of the High School? If you are in favor of renovating Building B, what was the basis for your decision both financially and politically?
The High School Building B, along with many of our historical structures in Mt. Lebanon, contributes to the ambiance and esthetic beauty of our community. I support the preservation of building B so long as it is not cost prohibitive to do so. I believe that building B can be renovated in a cost effective manner to provide functional educational and administrative facilities for our school.
9. Would you support financially a collaborative project with the municipality regarding immediately “turfing” the field at Mellon in preparation for the High School renovation project?
Since the earliest I could vote for any proposal would be next year, it would be premature for me to speak to any ‘immediate’ plans. However, I think your proposal is very interesting and has in it opportunities to benefit the school district and the community. I would like to hear specifics with regards to plans and costs before venturing a final opinion.
10. Do you support re-turfing the high school stadium’s field this summer in preparation for Fall sports in 2009?
The idea of re-turfing the field, before other High School plans are known, is also premature. We do not know the sequence of construction and, thus, do not know how the field facilities will be impacted by the High School improvements. While re-turfing appears to be a good idea, it should be planned in conjunction with the entire High School project, not in isolation.
Dear Mr. Reese and Members of the Mt. Lebanon Field Sports Facilities Partnership,
It is with interest that I respond to your email dated April 9th regarding your hopes to form a non-partisan collaboration between the Mt. Lebanon School Board, the Municipality and your Partnership to create athletic facility upgrades for Mt. Lebanon’s students, as well as, the community. Since I was unable to attend the discussions regarding your planned proposals, I have relied on discussions with some of my running mates to understand your ideas. As such, I would like to give you an overview of my thoughts with hopes that we can review together the particulars of your plan at a later date.
As a school board candidate, I support a well rounded education including academics, fine arts and athletics which will allow our students to fully develop. The school facilities should reasonably support these activities in a way that demonstrates our pride in Mt. Lebanon’s students and in our community. The current high school facilities do not accomplish this and I believe we can do better.
Regarding the specific questions within your questionnaire, you will find my responses below.
Best regards.
Electa M. Boyle
1. What is your view of the current condition of the field house, track & field and stadium complex on the campus of Mt. Lebanon High School?
The field house should be renovated or replaced – depending on which is the most cost effective solution. There may already be some consideration of this within the High School Project proposal. The outdoor facilities, reportedly, present some safety risks to our student athletes. I will review these with someone more experienced than myself to understand these hazards further. Student safety is very important.
2. Do you believe that it is necessary to address significant upgrading of the outdoor athletic facilities as part of the proposed High School renovation project?
It is necessary to treat equitably all aspects of a student’s education – academics, athletics and fine arts. By necessity, the High School Project should include enhancements to the facilities supporting all three of these areas.
3. If so what is your specific plan (including order of priorities for such upgrades) and how much money do you believe the District should commit to this endeavor in Phase I as part of the overall High School renovation?
Keeping in mind that I believe specific plans for any construction project should include architectural drawings and associated cost estimates, I do not have specific plans, nor am I aware of anyone who does, for prioritizing the outdoor athletic facilities upgrades. Public opinion on such upgrades seems to vary widely according to community interests. I would first like to see the architectural schematics for the High School Project. I think that is a good launch point for open and public discussions of any gaps in the athletic facilities.
4. Separate and apart from how much money the District “should” commit to this initiative, how much money do you believe the District “will” ultimately commit as part of the High School renovation project and at what stage (i.e., Phase I) will it be committed ?
Given that the first schematic and budget for the High School Project is not complete, it is premature for me to say what the District should or will commit to the outdoor athletic facilities. For me to venture a number at this stage would be like grabbing it out of thin air – and this I will not do. We should wait until we have the schematic for the High School Project in hand to begin any further analysis of the outdoor facilities.
5. Would you support our group “bridging the gap” between the resources that “should” be dedicated to address this need and the resources that “will” be dedicated by the District to address the needs articulated by our group?
I support the concept of a private and public partnership as long as it done in a spirit of collaboration and service to our students and our community.
6. Are you committed to prioritizing your specific plan while serving on the School Board and, if so, do you believe you are capable of building a consensus to support your plan on the Board?
My intention is to become a collaborative member of the Mt. Lebanon School Board. As such, I do not come to the board with a personal agenda in mind. I will listen, with an open mind, to all viewpoints regarding academics, athletics and fine arts with the goal of providing an excellent education for each and every Mt. Lebanon school student.
7. During the past 12 months, the School Board has referred to a two million dollar commitment of funds to upgrade the outdoor athletic facilities at the stadium/field house. At a minimum, will you vote to commit to advance funds from the capital improvement reserve of two million dollars in Phase I of the high school renovation project to address outdoor athletic facility upgrades at the stadium as part of our proposed joint private-public venture?
Since I am not a sitting board member, I am unaware of any ‘committed’ funds within the High School Project. All funds within the High School Project at this time, I believe, are ‘proposed’ funds. I believe that the current process of obtaining schematics and associated costs for discussion prior to committing funds is an appropriate one as it will allow for reasonable review and discussion before funds are committed. Fully understanding the proposal before voting is appropriate and that is the path I will follow.
8. What is your position regarding either renovating or demolishing Building B of the High School? If you are in favor of renovating Building B, what was the basis for your decision both financially and politically?
The High School Building B, along with many of our historical structures in Mt. Lebanon, contributes to the ambiance and esthetic beauty of our community. I support the preservation of building B so long as it is not cost prohibitive to do so. I believe that building B can be renovated in a cost effective manner to provide functional educational and administrative facilities for our school.
9. Would you support financially a collaborative project with the municipality regarding immediately “turfing” the field at Mellon in preparation for the High School renovation project?
Since the earliest I could vote for any proposal would be next year, it would be premature for me to speak to any ‘immediate’ plans. However, I think your proposal is very interesting and has in it opportunities to benefit the school district and the community. I would like to hear specifics with regards to plans and costs before venturing a final opinion.
10. Do you support re-turfing the high school stadium’s field this summer in preparation for Fall sports in 2009?
The idea of re-turfing the field, before other High School plans are known, is also premature. We do not know the sequence of construction and, thus, do not know how the field facilities will be impacted by the High School improvements. While re-turfing appears to be a good idea, it should be planned in conjunction with the entire High School project, not in isolation.
Labels: mt. lebanon school district; mt. lebanon school board; athletic facilities
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home