Imagine that you've just paid off your mortgage loan, and the big bank that held the mortgage keeps sending you bills for your mortgage payment. The bank tells you not to complain because they “didn't raise your payment!”

Of course you'd reject this scam, yet Palos District 118 is using this approach to get voters to accept their $6.5 million taxpayer obligation increase from their referendum. We don't need deceptive semantics. We need smart, efficient ways to meet our student's needs.

Unfortunately, the plan presented by the board, which they worked hard to keep from voter accountability, doesn't meet those criteria.

It's reminiscent of some of the poor plans made in the last decade's renovation program. This doesn't surprise since two current board members were key in that fiasco, and the same architects are being used.

An example is the lab classrooms added at Palos South. Their oblique wall angles and poor aspect ratios made them a science learning nightmare. My children were unfortunate enough to have classes there, and they had to sit at kindergarten-size desks and chairs because of the board improperly sizing the width of the rooms. How sad that we paid for the best for our children, but the board shortchanged them with among the worst science learning environments in the state.

The same deficiencies are obvious looking at the West Pre-K plans. The walls have strange angles making the space uncomfortable for young children, and the poor storage, speech and toilet layouts in the new rooms jut out into the learning space obstructing teacher view of the student sitting space. Bad idea for 3-5 year old children, as any parent knows.

The large indoor shared playground they're adding instead of properly designing the optimal learning space might better be accommodated by more play area in the classrooms.

Given the cost of over $400 per square foot for the new building, about 50 percent above typical costs for this kind of work, our children and taxpayers deserve better.

I'm a strong supporter of early childhood education but this plan, as proposed, isn't worthy of our community or children.

For cost efficiency and function, renovation makes far more sense since Palos West only has 452 students yet capacity is over 900, according to the facility assessment prepared by the architect. At 35 feet per student for classrooms, there should be twice what we need available for new Pre-K space. Let's use the unused space to do things right for the children.

Let's reject this ill-conceived plan and referendum and give the board a “do-over” to get it right for the children and taxpayers. Our present and future children deserve no less.

Bob Shelstrom, Palos Park

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