Mass Inciter’s Strategic Plan For The CSD:

Lesson # 1: Turning A Liability Into An Asset

The Christina School District owns the old Astro Power Building in Pencader Business Park, right off of Rt 896. As it stands, this ginormous abandoned facility is a black-eye to the district, a slap in the face to the tax-payers who funded it, and a hell of a liability. From what I understand, the building would need major improvements to function as either a school or a sale-able property.

Although it’s designed to generate energy (more than enough to off-set maintenance costs), the building’s vacancy actually costs the district for utility bills and loan payments for the money borrowed from the State for its purchase. Since the commercial real estate market in Delaware is in the dumper right now, what can be done with this property?

My strategic solution provides a source of positive cash-flow, an actual use for the over-paid contractors that the district is so fond of, will generate some well-needed positive press for the district and, most importantly, raise at-risk student testing scores. I propose that the old Astro Power building be turned into temporary Section-8 housing for the district’s many homeless students and their families.

Think about it…the building is its own energy source. It’s huge and can be sectioned off quite economically. At their insistance, the district could even use some of those overpaid contractors that they are so fond of.  Since the district is so hell-bent on improving test scores, then a plan to provide students with a real roof over their heads should be a no-brainer. A well-rested child – one who doesn’t have to wake up in the back seat of a car, worry about where dinner or breakfast will come from, or secretly “shower” in the sink at school - will probably stress less and test better.

My taxes helped fund this Wise purchase; so did yours. What an egregious waste of money! The way I see it, the building belongs to us, since it’s NEVER going to be used as a school. If this district is going to have the gall to try to pass a referendum and raise my taxes after blatantly wasting my hard earned money, then I want to actually see a return on my investment.

It's a sin to let a perfectly good district owned building go to waste when it can be used for the benefit of our students (and their families). Moreover, it would actually save the district a lot in transportation expenses. Believe it or not, district buses drive around looking for the homeless students each morning and picking them up at random locations.

Lesson # 1 Summary: Waste not, want not.