One of the comments asks the question, “Have the PRO Prop 123 people thought through carefully its possible failure.” Wow!...first time ever that someone questioned if the ‘Yes campaign’ actually had a plan if this failed. So, why wouldn’t the ‘Yes campaign’ have another plan? Because ‘how could they lose?’….they have millions in funding, they co-opted the AEA et al, they held the teachers hostage with salary contracts…had it sewn up! In the bag! They even provided the argument to assist the weak Legislative opposition, “Well, if this doesn’t pass, Arizonans have spoken, they don’t support public education”
Who authored this diabolically genius Prop 123? (many say it was written by the ‘Freedom Center’ at ASU) Now Happy as pigs in…, well, happy as clams, Doug Ducey and disciples proceeded to apply the dollars that the state should be giving to the schools to tax credits for the wealthy and oh, by the way, let’s give $5,000,000 to those ‘Freedom Centers’..what a f’n surprise!
I can’t even be nice anymore. We are being duped and without the grass roots effort of a few people at the NOPROP123.com committee, there would be no way that the truth would have reached so many people.
Thank you to Morgan Abraham and all the committed citizen volunteers of AZ that understand that if we allow this to pass, we are being a party to the demise of public education in our state.
There is so much more to this story…and the plans have been in the works since Ducey was Treasurer: Classrooms First Initiative and A for Arizona are jointly going to pick and choose those schools that will benefit from state dollars.
Vote NO and don’t stop there…get involved. With your help we can make a significant change to the make-up of our legislature this November…make a commitment for the next 6 months to actively get out the vote, find out about the candidates, not just are they an R or D, what have they done? Who do they align themselves with? What have they sponsored and promoted? If we truly want to make a difference in Public Education, this is how we do it!
It is time for someone in the AEA, ASBA, AASBO to come out and apologize for getting us into this mess. We all make mistakes as Mr Wheeler has shown. It's not how we make mistakes but, how we correct them that defines us.
The time is NOW. Stand up for what you have to know is a sham that will change our constitution & the way we fund public education forever...
Vote No on Prop123.
This idea is the beginning of the end of public education in our state.
In order to prove that charter schools are the answer to our problems, people like Biggs, Ducey, Yarborough etc create their own reality. Defund the public schools and continue to defund the schools then complain about how poorly they are doing.
We must vote in pro-education legislators that actually care about our children's future.
If Prop 123 wins, it will be tied up in the courts.
If Prop 123 loses, we go back to the courts but, then at least, we have not supported a change to our constitution that ultimately fails our youngest AZ citizens.
David Safier wrote a short article about the "real" Craig Barrett in 2013 including this
"... by Barrett, who stays under the radar except when he helped campaign against Prop 204, the one cent sales tax for education. But his real power isn't in swaying public opinion. It comes from whispering in Governor Brewer's ear and steering the legislature toward adopting his educational ideas ie:
Don't add a penny to K-12 school funding. Freeze it right where it is, even though we're spending about 20 percent less than five years ago and we're near the bottom of the nation in per-student funding.
Send more money to charter schools. That, of course, would mean less for district schools. And districts can forget about trying to pass bonds or budget overrides. Those funding options would be wiped out. But charters would still be able to float bonds to build new schools. So if Arizona's student population goes up, districts would have no way to handle the overflow, and charters would be more than happy to step in and fill the void.
Set teacher salaries based on student performance, not experience or education. Those lucky teachers in high-performing, high-rent districts could expect their salaries to climb at the expense of teachers in low-income areas. And schools, like teachers, would get performance bonuses, meaning those same high-rent districts would find themselves with extra cash while districts with low-income students who need the most resources would see their allotments shrink. And if any district slips into failing territory, the state would take it over. No extra money would go along with the takeover, just loss of local control."
Now we are dealing with Prop123, that will lead to the death of public instruction in our state.
I don't know anything about the septic and I am not Ms. Mathews. Though, my guess is that they will not operate a business that smells like sewage and I also guess that if this was a concern that they willingly would have a conversation about it... unless it doesn't matter what their answer is.
As with any construction project, the county has their inspectors and their permit process. The building plans need to be approved just like any other project. This, of-course, would include a proper sewage system.
Zeke R: After I read your comments, I went back and re-read the Buffer Zone ordinance as well as the report that Robert Johnson wrote. He is the former Director of the Pima County Planning & Development Services Department, and the original architect of the Buffer Overlay Zoning Ordinance. In this case, it appears very clear that the Bike Ranch meets or exceeds the requirements of the buffer zone ordinance. What is wonderful about the ordinance is that there are clear restrictions as to what can and can't be built within the buffer zone.. purposefully to protect the park. The ordinance does not say that you cannot build.
Please take the time to read both documents as I believe you may see things differently after reading them. I appreciate your concern.
My understanding is that this parcel across from the park is zoned SR. So, without any special requirements, the land can be subdivided into 45 acres of residential lots. Along with a residential neighborhood, you have streets and maybe sidewalks, 2 to 3 cars per household, lights, fences, pools etc. After reading the proposal for the Bike Ranch, I am in support of it. I would much rather see a beautifully planned,open-space project with no walls and fences where only 20% of the land is developed. Wouldn't you? The gentleman, Ricardo Small, makes this project sound like a strip mall...really? The owners of this property appear to be designing a resort with the utmost care and concern for our environment; powered by solar energy, using gray water, LEED certified, minimal disturbance of the natural environment.
This is a perfect fit to be located across from the Park as the owners of the Bike Ranch are actively concerned about keeping our skies dark, keeping our air clean and preserving our desert. I am so happy that this project is being proposed. It is a perfect fit for the area.
Recent Comments
Who authored this diabolically genius Prop 123? (many say it was written by the ‘Freedom Center’ at ASU) Now Happy as pigs in…, well, happy as clams, Doug Ducey and disciples proceeded to apply the dollars that the state should be giving to the schools to tax credits for the wealthy and oh, by the way, let’s give $5,000,000 to those ‘Freedom Centers’..what a f’n surprise!
I can’t even be nice anymore. We are being duped and without the grass roots effort of a few people at the NOPROP123.com committee, there would be no way that the truth would have reached so many people.
Thank you to Morgan Abraham and all the committed citizen volunteers of AZ that understand that if we allow this to pass, we are being a party to the demise of public education in our state.
There is so much more to this story…and the plans have been in the works since Ducey was Treasurer: Classrooms First Initiative and A for Arizona are jointly going to pick and choose those schools that will benefit from state dollars.
Vote NO and don’t stop there…get involved. With your help we can make a significant change to the make-up of our legislature this November…make a commitment for the next 6 months to actively get out the vote, find out about the candidates, not just are they an R or D, what have they done? Who do they align themselves with? What have they sponsored and promoted? If we truly want to make a difference in Public Education, this is how we do it!
The time is NOW. Stand up for what you have to know is a sham that will change our constitution & the way we fund public education forever...
This idea is the beginning of the end of public education in our state.
In order to prove that charter schools are the answer to our problems, people like Biggs, Ducey, Yarborough etc create their own reality. Defund the public schools and continue to defund the schools then complain about how poorly they are doing.
We must vote in pro-education legislators that actually care about our children's future.
If Prop 123 wins, it will be tied up in the courts.
If Prop 123 loses, we go back to the courts but, then at least, we have not supported a change to our constitution that ultimately fails our youngest AZ citizens.
"... by Barrett, who stays under the radar except when he helped campaign against Prop 204, the one cent sales tax for education. But his real power isn't in swaying public opinion. It comes from whispering in Governor Brewer's ear and steering the legislature toward adopting his educational ideas ie:
Don't add a penny to K-12 school funding. Freeze it right where it is, even though we're spending about 20 percent less than five years ago and we're near the bottom of the nation in per-student funding.
Send more money to charter schools. That, of course, would mean less for district schools. And districts can forget about trying to pass bonds or budget overrides. Those funding options would be wiped out. But charters would still be able to float bonds to build new schools. So if Arizona's student population goes up, districts would have no way to handle the overflow, and charters would be more than happy to step in and fill the void.
Set teacher salaries based on student performance, not experience or education. Those lucky teachers in high-performing, high-rent districts could expect their salaries to climb at the expense of teachers in low-income areas. And schools, like teachers, would get performance bonuses, meaning those same high-rent districts would find themselves with extra cash while districts with low-income students who need the most resources would see their allotments shrink. And if any district slips into failing territory, the state would take it over. No extra money would go along with the takeover, just loss of local control."
Now we are dealing with Prop123, that will lead to the death of public instruction in our state.
As with any construction project, the county has their inspectors and their permit process. The building plans need to be approved just like any other project. This, of-course, would include a proper sewage system.
Please take the time to read both documents as I believe you may see things differently after reading them. I appreciate your concern.
This is a perfect fit to be located across from the Park as the owners of the Bike Ranch are actively concerned about keeping our skies dark, keeping our air clean and preserving our desert. I am so happy that this project is being proposed. It is a perfect fit for the area.