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(Continued from pag* 4) l-- I find it difficult to believe that a beautiful, serviceable school would be torn down and then in 5 years ask the public to tax themselves more to build again. How dumb do you think the public is? 2 Add on if necessary. Buying new property and building fancy buildings would be a mistake. A good education is not determined by how fancy a building the students sit in every day. Answer from respondents favoring 2-2 system SECTION 2 - PAGE 5 - PLA1NDEALER - WEDNESDAY. MARCH II. ItTS 1-- I believe that the following old New England proverb sums up my feelings on the above issue: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." 2-- If you are a homeowner and your present home becomes too crowded, do you go out and immediately build a new structure or do you add on? l-- East campus school cannot legally be sold at auction. It is not the property of the school administration or the Board of Education. The April 8 referendum will not be successful. The Board of Education should have an appraisal made by out-of-town appraisers, one for the' building and one for the land, the cost of replacement of each in order to combat the ridiculous offer of $1,000,000 made by the McHenry hospital. 2-- The projected growth of 100 students for each of the next 5 years is a ridiculous estimate. It will never happen. All this and the furthur fact that there will be 550 to 600 students who will be transferred to the Johnsburg high school. l-- I feel that this would be a waste of taxpayers' hard- earned money. The amount of money it would bring would not be enough to rebuild or add on to West campus. Mcrice use of what we have already paid for. Think of the taxpayer. 2-- Whichever would be the least expensive, but adequate. Smoking lounges and free time areas are unnecessary. Go back to the old fashioned study hall and classrooms. With a little more supervision, better educated students and citizens will be the result. The old methods worked fine in the past. Answers from respondents favoring 2 4-year high schools 1--The school board cannot be foolish enough to sell East for less than what it is worth. If it costs $3 million to replace East, it should be sold for as near to that as possible or kept and renovated. Whatever is new, is not necessarily best. Accepting a $1 million offer from the hospital would be ignorant. 2--The school district in five years will be large enough to support two schools. If East cannot be sold for a reasonable amount, why not renovate it, improve the facilities, and use it and West as 2 4-year high schools. Take a look at Crystal Lake high school. Of course, the newer building will look and probably be nicer, but the cost would be kept down. 1--East is worth far too much as an educational facility to be torn down. 2--No comment 1--I feel it is worth more to the community as a school than the million dollars offered. 2--East should be utilized as a Junior high or middle school and a 4-year high school be planned. 1--A sin! 2--It'll be too big after the first addition, let alone the second. Buy some land now, use the two that you've got now and build a third when needed on the new land. 1--I don't like the idea! I detest it! The school building is well built, better than buildings of today. It can be kept up well. The thickness of old walls keeps heating bills down. Kids are there to learn not be in beauty. Be realistic and let them learn to be also! 2--How do you really know for sure how many pupils will be here. With the growth in this area maybe other schools will be built to suit needs in other areas like Lily Lake, Wonder Lake, Ringwood. Then we will be stuck with too big a building. With what we got we can make do very well. I'll bet there are rooms not in use at all times. 1--Should not be sold. Building is better building than West campus. I think 2 4-year school is a better plan than one larger school. I think every student gets a better education in smaller schools. 2--1 do not think the school growth will be so fast in years to come. Planned parenthood is going to make it smaller. 1--I think it will be needed as a school with all the new homes being built in the McHenry. 2--They will never get the money from the public to build a new school. 1--A bond referendum wouldn't be necessary if 2 4-year high schools were in town using old East. Why destroy something already useful and later on, replace it with a new school costing twice as much. 2--With inflation continuing on, keep old East and use it. Why tear it down now and replace it in five years - costing twice or more for building already here? The North Shore has every one of its old high school buildings. Do we have so much money to waste now and in the future? 1--East should be retained. It is ideally suited for Vocational and Business course study. 2--Hie next logical site would be to the northwest to serve Wonder Lake. If this had been done 10 years ago, Johnsburg would not now have its own district. 1--it should not be sold. Its continued use provides district with more options than one school. 2--If East campus is retained then this problem should not surface until much later. Then add-on will be sufficient. 1--I think it is a ripoff. To sell the property for $1 million dollars is a big giveaway. It's worth twice that. 2--At the rate of inflation today, how can the public stand a $10-112 million gouge? 1--We are against selling East campus. 2--No comment 1--Very sorry to consider it. It should not be sold. It's worth much more to the schools than sale price. 2--We need all the school property we have. None should be sold. 1--Against this sale 2--Would not have to if East campus was kept and remodeled. 1--I don't like it. I think you are giving it away. In 1057 we gave$l million. The land is worth more than that. 2--1 hate West. It looks like a barn. By now I think you should know that the referendum isn't going to pass so why try? 1--Do not sell. More important to sell Administrative building. 2--Keep East and West. If a practical building had been built at West campus, there wouldn't be all these taxpayer problems today. 1--Negative - the building should be utilized as a 4-year high school - expanded or repaired as needed. 2--Keep East campus - don't add more funds to a "white elephant" on Crystal Lake road. Utilize West campus as is! 1--The only old section of East is the original little square. I graduated in 1947 and the additions have been built since that time thus making the major portion of the school less than thirty years old. In my estimation thirty years does not make a building old or out-dated. It would be a crime to demolish the building. 2--No comment 1--East campus is a well built building and should not be sold. I am a graduate of East campus and know the building really well. 2--Make 2 4-year schools of East and West campus. Bring them up to date. I think smaller schools are better schools. 1--Don't tear anything down, cost too much to rebuild. You are going to have 500 less students going to Johnsburg, so don't worry about enlarging. Do with what you have. 2--Repair East buildings and you won't have to add onto the West campus. You don't have to buy new property, keep East building repaired with no frills. 1--I think we should take advantage of both buildings, East and West campuses. 2--Keep both and make each a 4-year school. ' 1--I didn't graduate from this school so my feelings are not from the heart...just from the eyes. I'd hate to see the East building torn down and replaced with an ultra mod eyesore (like West) in the middle of town. I also would not like to see a parking lot there. The present building "fits in". Even if the hospital would build storage space it would not be in keeping with the style of the neighborhood. 2--It seems really foolish to tear down (or sell) what we already own and turn around and know that it will be replaced with another building in a few years. It is about time this town looks ahead more than five-ten years in their school building programs. We were sold a bill of goods ten years ago and we all are suffering for it now. What was done at that time has been outdated almost since West opened. It was never a good idea to have 2-2. I hope our present board is thinking with a clearer mind. If the second building won't be needed for a few years to house 2 4-year schools, that time (and money) can be used to put the present East in readiness. 1--I think this would be an economic and educational tragedy. To sell an educational plant valued at nearly 8 million dollars for l million is economic suicide. 2--It makes much more sense to maintain the educational plants we have now, rather than ask the taxpayer to build a new school at a new location. I am opposed to enlarging West to accommodate a large number of students. This is opposed to everything we have learned about the maximal school size which is 1,000-1,500 students a building. 1--I feel it is ridiculous to just give it away. I could accept a sale if the price was in line with its value as an educational facility. $1 million does not approach that figure. If it has to be disposed of, I would like to see it offered to McHenry county as a vocational facility. 2--1 would favor building another school if that were my only choice. My answer to the proposition is that East campus could be used as the 'other school' for ten years. At that time the community would be larger and better able to afford a new school, especially if some efforts are made to attract more industry and commercial enterprises to the community. 1--I am against the sale of East campus. It may need some repairs but it is a good sound building. 2--If we need another high school in five years why should East campus be sold. I say not to sell East campus. 1--I am definitely against selling East campus. Certainly it is not so bad that it could not be used. It is a beautiful building. Let's keep it. 2--Why tear down East campus. Repair it and either keep it 2-2 or make each school a 4-year school. With each school a 4- year program it surely should accommodate all the students with ease. 1--Do not sell East campus. Use as a 4-year high school along with West campus also a 4-year. 2--With the new Johnsburg high school, I do not believe there will be a need for additional school rooms. 1--Very much opposed to tearing it down until every conceivable method of keeping it has been studied and studied. 2--For the above reason I feel one should not tear down a building. It is my opinion East campus can be brought up to state standards at a cost less than building a new one. 1--Incredible. This building is part of McHenry. To tear down is absolutely disgraceful 2--Add on to West. They already have the property. 1--Do not sell. East is paid for. Have some pride and discipline in the school. Have a good building maintenance program. Do not sell 2--West was originally built as a 4-year high school. With all of the mistakes in the building, it was never able to function as such. The money they are asking for now will not make West a one 4-year high school. There will have to be another referendum. Then in five years another referendum. 1--Do not sell 2--No comment 1--An outside appraiser should be brought in to appraise the land. No (me from McHenry county should do it. 2--Keep East campus 1--Don't the third to fourth year students help to keep the first and second year students in line? 2--Therefore, East campus should not be sold. 1--I feel the district should hold on to it and make some repairs for some further use. 2--If proper planning is set into action I feel there will not be that much of a problem. Add as needed to West, eventually eliminate East as a separate high and use East as a Junior high or possibly Administration building, or Special Ed. 2--1 question the student growth projection considering what is happening elsewhere and the current economic situation. I am in favor of two schools as opposed to one super large. The present campus is difficult to reach for much of the district. I--The original building was built in 1923 and 1924. The cafeteria and gym above it was built in 1950. The classrooms on the south side were built in 1962. A retired electrician helped wire the original building and claims all wiring is in conduit and good for another 50 years. Do not sell at auction! 2--No comment i 1--This is a waste of perfectly good school facility. Instead of adding on to West campus the available money should be used to remodel and update East campus. 2--Ridiculous! If a new school will be needed in five years even with the expansion of West campus, why even consider giving up East campus? 1--That would be a very wasteful procedure. The new addition years ago cost around $1 million. Repair it with the regular maintenance crew increased. 2--This location is ideal! Repair what you have, but if an increase in size is anticipated, core facilities should be laid to accommodate the increase at the time of expansion - if you go that route. 1--Do not sell. 2--Won't need any more room. 1--I question the sanity of selling a building for $5 per foot, only to replace it with another building at $35 per foot. 2--Keep East campus and modernize it and there will be no need to look for a new location. 1--Terrible - absolutely the worst thing that could happen. We need that school and the price they offer is ridiculous. 2--First we should not sell East campus. We need 2 4-year high schools. It is a good building and should continue to be used. We do not need another new building. 1--A large portion of the East campus building is less than 20 years old! Not to utilize existing resources represents flagrant mismanagement! 2--If East and West were both 4-year schools, with pupils attending each according to the area in which they live (like the system used for the Junior Highs) will enlargement of West definitely be the only possible solution? 1--I think East campus should be turned into a 4-year school. The building is a better built building than West campus and should be saved. Small schools are better than larger schools. 2--Leave schools as are and make 2 4-year schools. Students have a closer relation to each other and teacher. 1--Absolutely stupid, insane - shows complete fiscal irresponsibility. We would be selling it for 10 cents on the dollar. We'd need to replace it in 5 years. In 1893 a new school will probably cost at least $10 million. It's a slap in the face to the earlier citizens of McHenry who worked hard to build and pay for East campus - Vz of it is only twenty years old. 2--This problem won't exist if we keep East campus. We'll probably need another school in ten years. We can then build a third school to house about 1,000 students in a location within the new growth area. 1--It is being sold too cheap. If nothing else it should be kept vacant for a while until an intelligent decision can be made. 2--Keep East campus until that time (vacant) then fix it up. 1--Ridiculous!! 2--Plenty of room with both schools and Johnsburg out. l--The property should not be sold unless the funds received will fully pay for additional required facilities elsewhere 1--Keep two schools as 4-year schools. When enrollment exceeds capacity, add to West campus. 2--See above. In 50 words or less, tell what yoa think the fatore of high school edacation in McHenry should be: Should the long range future growth of McHenry extend to the other side of the river, in our opinion, it would not make sense to plug up traffic busing kids over the bridge. The structure of another 4-year high school campus would then be in order. Since McHenry is growing, it is a citizen's responsibility to see that the type of person moving here is the kind he wants as a neighbor. Better schools will attract better-educated and more civically-aware people. Our taxes should be spent promoting the intelligent growth of McHenry. Back to basics! Lay a firm foundation the first two years to be expanded, as the student matures and is physically and emotionally capable of more adult scholastic decisions. They should move toward one 4-year school with a definite back to basics approach. Stronger discipline procedures should be put into effect immediately, i.e. closed campus, no smoking anywhere on the grounds, etc. The football field could be moved to West campus, and McCracken field can be a site for a future high school when the need arises in the near future. There would be a complete school complex in that area with the grade schools across the street A greatly increased emphasis on quality. The smart, college bound students should get more attention, and more enrichment in their education. Their scores on tests and in higher education would make all students' MCHS diplomas more valuable. Meanwhile the proposed new vocational wing will help provide the students not going on to with valuable training. Both the students and the community will benefit from more local skilled trades people. Good education in the basic subjects, whether one goes on to college or not. Do we need such an extensive program in iiiusic or sports? How many children take advantage of this? Just good education, so our children can support themselves. Good education doesn't mean a big new building. Good teachers do! McHenry should have a one building high school as soon as possible for as long as reasonable. There is too much duplication and waste with the present system. When a new campus is required a second 4-year school should be built at a location best suited to the population trend. The high school curriculum should be grounded in the necessary skills to function in today's society i.e. reading, writing, Math with some Science and Social studies; also requiring parent education and offering as broad a base of electives as possible for student exploration. The school environment should be as humanizing and responsive to the affective domain as possible. I feel the future of all education should get back to basics, heavily stressing reading, writing and arithmetic. Too many of our high school graduates are unable to fill out an application for employment or add a column of figures without the aid of a calculator. We're robbing our students of a good, solid education and in the long run, the entire community is affected. If a smaller town as Johnsburg can take care of their students and buildings why can't McHenry? The 3 R's still come first - for education - enjoyment only when available (money). I feel there are too many activities! Let's keep our heads above water. We all want the best, but only when we can afford it. Let's stay off the "credit card". To provide an education first and cost second. The community will wily be as good as its educational system. We should strive for the very best. More emphasis should be put on the quality of education. Right now the school is turning out a lot of very badly educated young men and women. Under one roof the young people will geta better education, get to know one another better, cheaper to maintain, staff better education for our children. I believe in the basics. Then have night classes for individual teaching, such as Music, Art. We must stress Math, at least so they can balance their bank book. The construction of one high school should be number one consideration at this time because of cost factors such as staffing and administration. I would be totally opposed to 2 4- year high schools. The present football field should be sold and constructed on West campus property. This would help cost. I would like to see the high school board of education publish the student enrollment by grade in the newspaper. Another issue first: Continue to address the financially responsible voting adult community with all educational issues. Stop using the school children to influence the adult population via threats and school sponsored indoctrination. Strive to maintain educational quality; reduce administration overhead by organizing more efficiently. Spend money on good teachers not administrators. I hope McHenry can recover from what I feel has been a setback financially and in curriculum (withdrawal of Johnsburg students). I favor keeping a 4-year approach on one campus. My hope is that curriculum can be brought back to previous standards, but I do favor a more traditional presentation. Should be decided by board of education and administration, however, I will not support a referendum until I see more competence. It should be the best high school it can be, that is, it should have quality programs for all students. It should demand of kids the best they can produce. What system, what facility it operates in is secondary to that goal. All of the students at West campus with more discipline. McHenry high school should sell East - Now! Put an addition on to West because it is imperative to get all the students back to one building. In 5 to 10 years we may need to consider building another 4-hear school. By that time our enrollment would be close to that of Crystal Lake which is going to 2 4-year schools next fall. McHenry high, I feel, offers a very good program right now. If this level of education can be kept with Johnsburg pulling out it would be great. One area that could be improved is giving the students a bit more advice on classes they should be taking to educate them for their careers. Too many kids come out of high school ill prepared for jobs because they did not take the right classes. I do not think 2-year programs work. School facilities should cover all 4-years wherever located. I feel eventually, if population in area increases, two high schools are inevitable since we already have five public and one parochial elementary schools feeding into high school system. If East campus is retained it would cost approximately $2% million to rehabilitate. This would not require a bond issue. This would still require two principals, engineers, maintenance crews, etc., to operate both schools. One 4-year school at West campus would save the above salaries covering almost $500,000 yearly. We must too, think of giving the youth of McHenry the best school possible. Four years in one building! High school is such an important stepping stone in the growth of a student. It determines his college thoughts and peer identity. How he relates to his teachers and upper classmen directs his future. I'd like MCHS to remain at its high standards striving to keep all the grades together and providing top education and athletic opportunities. The best possible 4-year (one building) school, with, of course, the lowest taxes. Two four year high schools should operate in McHenry after the city has grown large enough to support both. A new facility should be constructed so that students would receive equal treatment in school. Forcing some students to attend the old death trap called East campus would be a real injustice. How would a taxpayer feel if he was forced to attend old East campus, while his neighboring taxpayer was allowed to use the new facility at West campus? Let's keep things fair for the students All four years in one building is more educationally sound, so the school should work toward a quality education for all the students under one roof. I'd like to see this community really do something positive with their schools, instead of constantly voting down referendums. All students - freshmen through seniors - in one building. A definite trend toward better training in skilled trades as well as a good college prep program. We have not touched the real need for career planning and training. With college coats what they are a lot of students would go into the work world. (Continued on page 4)