Folks,
I had a letter published in the Neighbor section of The Miami Herald on June 15Th. Here's what I actually sent in to the editor:
There are always two sides to a story.
Neighbor Editor:
There are always two sides to an argument. In your recent publication of Neighbors you posted a letter from Mr. Larry Perez concerning State School HHH1. In the letter he decided to attack the employees of the Department of Planning and Facility of Miami Dade School for doing their job. Mr. Perez has given you half truths. He claims that they are in violation of the UDB rules implemented by the CDMP report written by the county. If you were to read what it actually states in section EDU-2A there are exemptions when building a new high school with in one mile of the UDB. The Dept. of Planning & Facility has done nothing illegal.
He is also claiming there was no public notice given when in fact there were 4 public notices advertised concerning State School HHH1. There's no hidden agenda as claimed by the opposition. As for eminent domain, this is a law that was passed several years ago by our elected officials not the school board.
The children of the community are currently being sent to the following high schools Felix Varela, Miami Sunset and Miami Southridge. As you are aware as of the 06-07 school year Miami Sunset High was at a 124% capacity, Felix Varela High was at a 130% capacity and Miami Southridge High was at a 138% capacity. A couple of years ago a mandate was passed by the voters from the state of Florida requesting the class room sizes be reduced. Even though the school board is trying to meet the mandate but as of today it has not been met. State School HHH1 will help in meeting this mandate.
When the fight for HHH1 started a few months back the residents that opposed the school claimed that property value, parking, traffic and CRIME will be a problem and they did not want the school “In My Neighborhood”. Now that they are getting a push back by the MAJORITY of the community that approves SS HHH1 with out change of location and with out delay, they changed their wording from “Stop HHH1” to “Relocate HHH1”. We are building a school for our children not a prison.
I am a resident of the community and my children will benefit from HHH1. SS HHH1 is scheduled to open in August 2010. In the next month or so every member of the school board will be asked to vote for the construction of state school HHH1. Our community has been waiting for this for a very long time. Dr Crew and the other members of the school board, there is only one solution. That solution is to listen to the MAJORITY of the community and vote yes for state school HHH1.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Today's School Board Meeting
Folks,
I've been listening to the school board meeting today and wow it's been fun. I rather watch grass grow or watch paint dry. When it came to agenda item E-15 School Board member Ms. Greer made her move as expected, to have the 5 year capital plan be reviewed. She stated that since school enrollment is declining there should be no more schools built. Then Ms Rivas-Logan spoke about and ran through a list on how many schools are still over crowded. She stated that one of the schools in need of help was South Dade High. Unfortunately Ms. Rivas-Logan was incorrect. Ms Greer made sure of that. You see South Dade High is now at a 80%. It's at a 80% because as of this spring a new high school was built to help out the over crowding on the same site. " I am Proud of this because this is the first time that a new school has been built south of 152nd street in 33 years" said Ms. Greer. Why is Ms. Greer contradicting herself? She acknowledges that a school was needed in her district but it's not OK for the other district's that need a new high school to have one? Ms. Greer, please make up your mind.
I've been listening to the school board meeting today and wow it's been fun. I rather watch grass grow or watch paint dry. When it came to agenda item E-15 School Board member Ms. Greer made her move as expected, to have the 5 year capital plan be reviewed. She stated that since school enrollment is declining there should be no more schools built. Then Ms Rivas-Logan spoke about and ran through a list on how many schools are still over crowded. She stated that one of the schools in need of help was South Dade High. Unfortunately Ms. Rivas-Logan was incorrect. Ms Greer made sure of that. You see South Dade High is now at a 80%. It's at a 80% because as of this spring a new high school was built to help out the over crowding on the same site. " I am Proud of this because this is the first time that a new school has been built south of 152nd street in 33 years" said Ms. Greer. Why is Ms. Greer contradicting herself? She acknowledges that a school was needed in her district but it's not OK for the other district's that need a new high school to have one? Ms. Greer, please make up your mind.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
School Board Metting on the 18th
The Miami-Dade County School Board will have a scheduled School Board Meeting on Wednesday June 18th, 2008.
Location: School Board Administration Building
1450 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, Florida
School Board Auditorium
Time: 6:30 p.m.
It is HIGHLY recommended that all residents of the community who have an opinion about “HHH-1” be in attendance. All the school board members will hear from residents that approve and disapprove the new high school. Therefore, we need to voice our concerns and make this high school happen. If you want your voice heard, please make arrangements and be at the School Board Meeting. Please click here and sign up to speak to the school board. The dead line is Monday the 16th before 3PM. Please do so. http://www2.dadeschools.net/schoolboard/board_speaker_form.pdf
Even though the Public Forum is scheduled to start at 6:30PM it might not start on time. They are still battling the budget and if history repeats itself, it won't start on time.
Location: School Board Administration Building
1450 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, Florida
School Board Auditorium
Time: 6:30 p.m.
It is HIGHLY recommended that all residents of the community who have an opinion about “HHH-1” be in attendance. All the school board members will hear from residents that approve and disapprove the new high school. Therefore, we need to voice our concerns and make this high school happen. If you want your voice heard, please make arrangements and be at the School Board Meeting. Please click here and sign up to speak to the school board. The dead line is Monday the 16th before 3PM. Please do so. http://www2.dadeschools.net/schoolboard/board_speaker_form.pdf
Even though the Public Forum is scheduled to start at 6:30PM it might not start on time. They are still battling the budget and if history repeats itself, it won't start on time.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Enough is Enough!
Folks,
It has been brought to my attention that a member of the school board is citing with the small group residents who are opposed to HHH1. This member will try to delay the vote because they want to review the 5 year capital plan concerning charter schools and the declining enrollment in some areas of the county. This is just a cop out. We need to write letters to the all the members of the school board and tell them Enough is Enough. We want a vote to be put on the table and let's all move on and get this well over due high school built with out change of location and WITH OUT DELAY. HHH1 will not be built if we the MAJORITY of the community does not speak up.
It has been brought to my attention that a member of the school board is citing with the small group residents who are opposed to HHH1. This member will try to delay the vote because they want to review the 5 year capital plan concerning charter schools and the declining enrollment in some areas of the county. This is just a cop out. We need to write letters to the all the members of the school board and tell them Enough is Enough. We want a vote to be put on the table and let's all move on and get this well over due high school built with out change of location and WITH OUT DELAY. HHH1 will not be built if we the MAJORITY of the community does not speak up.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Answering some of the points being made.
I'm trying to find actual written proof that should help you make up your mind. Recently you have read several comments made about how the department of planning and facility has acted in "Shady Practices". I will try to find the actual truth. One of the points being made is that they are building the school with in a half mile of the UDB (Urban Development Boundary} They state that a high school needs to be built a minimum 1 mile of the UDB. This is partially true. Currently HHH1 is about a quarter of a mile of the UDB. But if you read the actual Miami Dade CDMP report there is an exemption. Here's what it actually states:
EDU-2A.
It is the policy of Miami-Dade County that the Miami-Dade County Public
School System shall not purchase sites for schools nor build new schools
outside of the Urban Development Boundary (UDB), and that new
elementary schools constructed should be located at least 1/4 mile inside the
UDB; new middle schools should be located at least 1/2 mile inside the
UDB, and; new senior high schools should be located at least one mile inside
the UDB. In substantially developed areas of the County where suitable sites in full conformance with the foregoing are not available and a site or portion of a site for a new school must encroach closer to the UDB, the majority of the site should conform with the foregoing location criteria and the principal school buildings and entrances should be placed as far as functionally practical from the UDB. The same criteria of this paragraph that apply to public schools also pertain to private schools.
http://www.miamidade.gov/planzone/cdmp/plan/X%20-%20Educational%20Element.pdf
What it states is that a new high school can be excluded from these rules if it falls under what I high lighted. I will try to continue to find more info in the coming days.
As for the "eminent domain" issue, I agree with all of you who are against it. The Government has no right to take land from a citizen. That it is why I protested it when the law was made. I fought the government not the local school board. They are just following a law that should not be in place. If you have problem with it like I do write your local representative and tell them to reverse the law.
EDU-2A.
It is the policy of Miami-Dade County that the Miami-Dade County Public
School System shall not purchase sites for schools nor build new schools
outside of the Urban Development Boundary (UDB), and that new
elementary schools constructed should be located at least 1/4 mile inside the
UDB; new middle schools should be located at least 1/2 mile inside the
UDB, and; new senior high schools should be located at least one mile inside
the UDB. In substantially developed areas of the County where suitable sites in full conformance with the foregoing are not available and a site or portion of a site for a new school must encroach closer to the UDB, the majority of the site should conform with the foregoing location criteria and the principal school buildings and entrances should be placed as far as functionally practical from the UDB. The same criteria of this paragraph that apply to public schools also pertain to private schools.
http://www.miamidade.gov/planzone/cdmp/plan/X%20-%20Educational%20Element.pdf
What it states is that a new high school can be excluded from these rules if it falls under what I high lighted. I will try to continue to find more info in the coming days.
As for the "eminent domain" issue, I agree with all of you who are against it. The Government has no right to take land from a citizen. That it is why I protested it when the law was made. I fought the government not the local school board. They are just following a law that should not be in place. If you have problem with it like I do write your local representative and tell them to reverse the law.
Monday, June 2, 2008
A need to answer all the recent comments made.
To members of the community,
I have received many emails and comments in the last several days. For the emails explaining your side of the story, I thank you for pointing out the reasons why HHH1 should be relocated. Even though I don't agree with most of the points made but I respect your point of view. To the several other emails that were rude and immature, I just erased them. To the one email that said to "watch my back" and "lock my door" please seek professional help. Life is short. The one thing I keep hearing and reading is that HHH1 is an overflow school. That the overflow is from Felix Varela and Miami Sunset. I've heard numbers ranging from 1800 to 2100. They state that the over flow will not allow our children to attend HHH1. Where do you think the over flow children live? Those children are the ones we are fighting for. They already live in our community. That is why we are fighting for HHH1. We want our children back home. We will continue to agree to disagree, but please keep it civil.
I have received many emails and comments in the last several days. For the emails explaining your side of the story, I thank you for pointing out the reasons why HHH1 should be relocated. Even though I don't agree with most of the points made but I respect your point of view. To the several other emails that were rude and immature, I just erased them. To the one email that said to "watch my back" and "lock my door" please seek professional help. Life is short. The one thing I keep hearing and reading is that HHH1 is an overflow school. That the overflow is from Felix Varela and Miami Sunset. I've heard numbers ranging from 1800 to 2100. They state that the over flow will not allow our children to attend HHH1. Where do you think the over flow children live? Those children are the ones we are fighting for. They already live in our community. That is why we are fighting for HHH1. We want our children back home. We will continue to agree to disagree, but please keep it civil.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
A need to post this email I received.
Folks,
Here's an email that was sent to me concerning HHH1. It's a must READ!! Yolanda is talking about a post she saw on the opposition's web site. What the post choose to not include is that state school YYY1 is currently being built and scheduled to open in 2009. Once the school is opened it will help out Miami Killian and Miami Palmetto High in their over crowding. I guess they just made our argument in how important it is to build HHH1.
I am a home owner at Corsica Estates and my daughter currently attends Norma Butler Bossard. I've been well aware of the new high school way before it even went to court to obtain the land under Eminent Domain. I was also highly involved in petitioning to assure that Norma Butler and Jose Mas Canosa would be built for our children. Therefore, when I started seeing the signs in my neighborhood to stop the new High School, I was bothered. How could they state that they were not aware? Well how involved are they in there community. Not much because this has been on the facilities web site for well over a year and has come up on several board meetings. I even tracked on the clerk of courts web site. Please let me know how I could be of assistance for my neighbors and I am willing to do what ever it takes to assure that the school is built, which I believe will be. I already wrote a letter to every school board member and to the commissioner of education and governor.
All schools in Dade County have been and continue to be built within communities so what makes there’s better than others nothing at all. Our children are not criminals and on there web-site they have a picture of Ron Ehman Park with cars lined up and quoting Joe Fernandez the Park Manager. Well I personally know Joe as for my children attend summer camp there and I think they use his words and turned them around to there advantage. I know first hand the hardship of having to commute my child to school everyday. My son is a freshman at Southridge and instead of having him catch the bus at 6:10 I take him every morning and it is not easy.
Regards,
Yolanda
Here's an email that was sent to me concerning HHH1. It's a must READ!! Yolanda is talking about a post she saw on the opposition's web site. What the post choose to not include is that state school YYY1 is currently being built and scheduled to open in 2009. Once the school is opened it will help out Miami Killian and Miami Palmetto High in their over crowding. I guess they just made our argument in how important it is to build HHH1.
I am a home owner at Corsica Estates and my daughter currently attends Norma Butler Bossard. I've been well aware of the new high school way before it even went to court to obtain the land under Eminent Domain. I was also highly involved in petitioning to assure that Norma Butler and Jose Mas Canosa would be built for our children. Therefore, when I started seeing the signs in my neighborhood to stop the new High School, I was bothered. How could they state that they were not aware? Well how involved are they in there community. Not much because this has been on the facilities web site for well over a year and has come up on several board meetings. I even tracked on the clerk of courts web site. Please let me know how I could be of assistance for my neighbors and I am willing to do what ever it takes to assure that the school is built, which I believe will be. I already wrote a letter to every school board member and to the commissioner of education and governor.
All schools in Dade County have been and continue to be built within communities so what makes there’s better than others nothing at all. Our children are not criminals and on there web-site they have a picture of Ron Ehman Park with cars lined up and quoting Joe Fernandez the Park Manager. Well I personally know Joe as for my children attend summer camp there and I think they use his words and turned them around to there advantage. I know first hand the hardship of having to commute my child to school everyday. My son is a freshman at Southridge and instead of having him catch the bus at 6:10 I take him every morning and it is not easy.
Regards,
Yolanda
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