The FCBOE admitted they made mistakes in the last redistricting fiasco and have sought to rectify it for the next go round. They need to be commended for that. It takes courage to admit mistakes and even more courage to change the way you do things. If you compare the cost of the expert they are hiring to the cost of the faulty software program they purchased for last redistricting he seems a bargain. Remember we have middle schools with trailers and a white elephant new middle school in the middle of the county opening at 35 percent capacity. Something went wrong.

if you wait till you need a new school, you've waited too long. it takes time to build it and you have to plan ahead. when they try to do something about the trailers the parents are all up in arms and no one wants to go to the new school so what is your solution?

I yam what I yam...Popeye

and do it right the first time round 2) Leave land acquisitions to the experts too that way taxpayers are not stuck with unwanted land and bubbas best friends are not getting rich off the taxpayers.

A doctor might be a cancer expert, but it does not mean he/she can cure it.

School redistricting involves making forecasts about age-specific population counts within limited areas with boundaries that can be shifted while the forecasts are being made. Because people are free to live where they want (within practical limits) and to have or adopt children liable to attend public schools, it is impossible to make accurate forecasts of an area's future school-eligible population. It doesn't matter whether you are an expert or not. That does not mean one must give up on making a forecast, and an intelligent, knowledgeable person can make a fairly decent short-term forecast, but it does mean it is foolish to throw a lot of money on a so-called expert who, mark my words, will never walk on water no matter what.

Compounding the problem is that the further one looks into the future, the weaker the forecast. School buildings can last 50 years and some have lasted even longer. A school location that is optimal when the school is built can turn into a not so good location long before the school building can be scrapped. Population shifts also take place. School redistricting plans thus have short useful lives.

No matter what redistricing plans an expert comes up with, there will always be complaints. Hiring a very expensive out-of-town expert won't change that. It's just money thrown away. Taxpayer money. For the sake of deflecting criticism. Weak people can't bear criticism.

I too also wonder just how amazing a person can be when it comes to school districting, to the point that our system pays 5K a day for that expertise. Does this consultant have the power to soothe everyone who doesn't agree with boundaries, that they aren't "city schools," that there are too many this-or-that in this district, etc? Good luck.

Maybe the mega-consultant can suggest that building one-level buildings instead of multi-story is asinine, wastes space, etc. OMG, they might have to add an elevator to the design to comply with ADA! Geez, the horrors.

This is a total waste of money by a school board that hasn't been in touch with the people who they serve for some time. Time for another purge.

NUK

I'm glad they sought help but I'm am a little leery about paying anyone $5,000/day. Steven Hawkins doesn't charge that much.

Will the FCBoE use this person as a shield for future complaints from the parents? "It wasn't us who decided".

I will give them some credit for at least trying.

When the last Wieland subdivision was given the green light in Tyrone by the Council, Smola, Letourneau, and the Mayor voted for it against a jeering crowd. They were standing up yelling it would overcrowd the schools. No one paid them any attention. Now they are trying to pass a rezoning for downtown Tyrone to houses on 1/4 or 1/8 acre. There is no sewer in downtown. None of this rezoning land to higher density is wanted by the taxpayers. Wonder why some people keep on with their agenda and not the taxpayers?