Mat and Bill Pro/Con: Does the school district need a specialized engineer?

An offer you can’t refuse

Mathew Pellegrino

Bill, while you ask if this is an expense we really afford, I have a better question: Can we afford not to? What if it affords savings in the long run?

You’re looking at a temporary picture right now, but not at the permanent one.

The school district is paying the county on the side to help it out with something that is NOT beyond their control. They are looking to hire this person to work for them to avoid having to spend time and money paying a separate entity.

Let’s say the school board wants to have a fire line inspected. Automatically, they call the county up. They then pay the county to have their inspector come out and inspect the lines to make sure they are working properly. That response time from the county to come out and check the lines can be anywhere from an hour to a week, depending on how backed up they are with other inspections.

Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick said, sometimes it takes time for county inspectors to come do special inspections for the district.

Some construction projects like Jay High School don’t have time to wait.

If the district can find a specialist to do all of its inspections, they can save the expense from the county and just pay someone to do a job they should have had filled a long time ago.

Right now, the district does have an engineer, but that engineer only specializes in certain areas. By hiring a more educated specialist, the district can avoid having to go to the county for their inspections.

Yes, the district will still have to make a phone call to have inspections done, but it will be done through one person, and there won’t be a waiting period because that person will be on the payroll.

Yes, this person will be getting paid good money, but I’m sure the school district expects them to do the job and  do it in a professional and timely manner.

Less time will be spent making phone calls, and more time will be spent getting things done. Many things once paid for will now be able to be completed at no additional cost. And all of these things will be done by one person instead of many.

The district has spent millions of dollars over the past few years in construction projects, and many of those projects are still going on. Sometimes, several of them have been going on at the same time.

Wyrosdick says the county has had to cut back its employees. Who is the district supposed to lean on if they have to cut back hours on the inspector? 

I think the school district is taking a step in the right direction. It can ultimately avoid conflict and save money.

Only you, Bill, would argue with that?

Engineer is a costly, but good idea

Bill Gamblin

Mat, I understand the school system wants to hire an engineer to have on staff, but I am wondering if this is an expense we can afford.

Recently, the new Jay High School project was completed and it wasn’t that long ago the school system completed a cafeteria at Central School, a football complex at Pace High, etc.

Maybe I am being a little bit conservative, but I am wondering what construction projects are on the books now?

Worse yet, if you look at the schools that have been constructed, they have been using the same plans and designs since they were drawn up prior to David Holland being the school superintendent.

If we are going to use the same plans for each project, what is the need for such a costly and expensive hire?

I understand Santa Rosa County or the City of Milton having an engineer on staff due to the vast number of projects from water and sewer and many other improvements, but not our school system.

I am a concerned citizen and taxpayer as well as a parent.

We had school grades fall from A’s to B’s, but we are more interested in hiring an engineer.

There is something wrong with this picture.

If we make this move and add an engineer’s salary to our school system’s expenses, how long before this person needs a secretary? What will that be? Will the engineer need a vehicle? What type? What will that cost?

We bet all that could add up to an amount that could easily pay the salaries of a few extra teachers. The extra teachers might help the at-risk students who didn’t graduate - something which eventually proved to be costly to Pace, Milton, and Navarre.

Or better yet, how about using that money for a reading coach for high schools like Jay, Central, or Gulf Breeze?

Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Bill Emerson pointed out one or two students who remain behind at a small school like Jay or Central could prove to be costly when you look at making the necessary improvements.

I don’t see how a coat of paint or a redesigned sidewalk or a new school entry is going to help make those gains.

If we are sitting on a bundle of money then why not put the money in the classrooms where it is needed instead of another administrator and more red tape?

I have heard, over and over, how under-funded our school system is when it comes to students and that we are one of the bottom three districts when it comes to state funding for our youngsters.

If that is the case, I can’t see where we have the money to fund this position.

Have we sacrificed enough teaching positions to the point that this hire is now possible?

Money is short and times are hard for us all.

When the system cries it needs more money to educate our children how can it then justify this expenditure?

I want to see a school system interested in hiring more teachers even if they are spoon-feeding information to children so they can pass the almighty FCAT.

A district-wide engineer is not going to be able to do that unless he is traveling around the district teaching advanced math in his off time.

Despite my ultimate dislikes of our school grading system set by the state bureaucrats, I don’t see how this position will help us reach the goal or standard being set for our children.

Ultimately, this decision is about as wise as our state educators deciding that high school students only need to know U.S. history from the reformation until today.

Stuff like the Declaration of Independence, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, the Three-Fifths Compromise, American-Indian War, and so much more is being ignored.

Is that what lies ahead for our schools?

I have been vocal about supporting education and the necessary moves in these tough times, but this idea needs to remain “under construction” for a lot longer.