Voice For Liberty

Tag: Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey

  • Wichita school district’s favorite architect stands to win big

    Shortly after USD 259 (the Wichita school district) passed a bond issue in 2000, a contract was formed between the district and its favorite architectural firm, Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey Architecture. The contract, portions of which you can read here, pays this firm one percent of the bond amount for “Project Management Services.” Plus expenses,…

  • Raising Wichitans’ Taxes in a Recession is Not A Good Idea

    “Democrat Barack Obama says he would delay rescinding President Bush’s tax cuts on wealthy Americans if he becomes the next president and the economy is in a recession, suggesting such an increase would further hurt the economy.” (Associated Press, September 7, 2008) Contrary to assertions by Wichita school interim superintendent Martin Libhart and school board…

  • In Wichita schools, smaller classes mean adding on — and subtracting

    Today’s Wichita Eagle contains a story about the need for additional classroom space to support the initiative of USD 259, the Wichita public school district, to reduce class size.

  • Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey Architecture: Wichita School District’s Favorite Architect Has Hand in Everything

    Recently I obtained the contract for the construction of Stucky Middle School for USD 259, the Wichita public school district. Something I observed is that Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey Architecture was not the architect. Instead, it was Gossen Livingston Associates, Inc. Gossen Livingston was one of the hosts for the kickoff of the “Yes For…

  • Records Requests Sent Today

    Today, I’ve made two records requests under the Kansas Open Records Act. The first, to USD 259, the Wichita public school district, is this: All correspondence between USD 259 and Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey Architecture and its representatives from July 1, 2007 to the present. I ask for both written and electronic correspondence such as…

  • Mark McCormick’s Wichita School Bond Bias

    Writing from Scottsdale, Arizona Today’s Mark McCormick column in the Wichita Eagle (Opponents of school bond skip specifics) provides an example of this columnist’s bias, and how this bias leads to his rapidly losing credibility among Wichitans. Bias is okay for a columnist. Everyone is entitled to a point of view. After reading a few…

  • Wichita School Safe Rooms: At No Cost?

    Writing from Scottsdale, Arizona At the September 8, 2008 meeting of the board of USD 259, the Wichita public school district, safe rooms were on the agenda. A few things I learned: It appears that it was by serendipity that the district discovered that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would help pay for the…

  • Carol Rupe, Kansas School Board Member, Speaks for the Wichita School Bond Issue

    In a letter to the Wichita Eagle, Kansas school board member Carol Rupe makes the case for supporting the Wichita school bond issue. It’s not remarkable that a member of the public school bureaucracy would support increased spending on schools. Her letter is remarkable, however, in what it says, and what it doesn’t say. For…

  • Increasing the Wichita School Bond Issue: Why Was Courage Required?

    Talking to news media during a break in the meeting of USD 259, the Wichita public school district, on Monday August 11, 2008, Connie Dietz referred to her surprise motion to increase the amount being asked for by $20 million, remarking “I knew what I wanted to do, and I guess I was trying to…