https://thegoldenhammer.net/tag/corruption/

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That's why a contingency is needed, and why it is necessarily "fat", but not on the order of 45%. That's a ridiculous claim.

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You can call it a ridiculous claim all you want, that is how CISD stated it during information sessions. Now what I think they meant to address were a flurry of $21,000 line items (117 to be exact) that folks were raising an eyebrow at. Buried on one of their websites it states these are a bunch of $15,000 items that they built 43.75% into. During FTF sessions they presented it as being built into everything. This contradiction gives me pause as to whether or not these knuckleheads know what they are doing.

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$21,562.50 is used for all line items estimated at a base cost of $15,000 adding in an additional 43.75% (typical average 40% - 45%) for soft costs (architecture fees, engineering fees, permits, etc.) and inflation.

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Anyhow, I am still pleased with the result.

Soft costs are typically less than 10% of total costs.

how many socks do you have?

Didn't read this whole thread, but enough to see:

some Golden Hammer
some defending the bond
and responses of thankfulness that it didn't pass....


My thoughts:

I don't want to live where the ISD is crappy. I live in a decent area because I assume that my neighbors, like myself, are willing and able to throw money at the district in order to have great pay for our teachers, top notch facilities (yeah....turf fields), and no freaking portables.

There are really only two arguments for voting against I suppose (correct me if I'm wrong)

1. Unwillingness to invest in the ISD because we don't need fancy stuff/don't want to pay more taxes
2. A mistrust or a suspicion of corruption in the school board

If your reason is #1.........I don't understand you

I can understand reason #2. But if the person leading the charge and providing everyone with information is this Golden Hammer idiot........than how in the world can you take that side seriously?

I read his facebook posts when seeking information on the bond. All I saw was social media bait for weak minds. He struck me as a man who had a personal vendetta against someone on the board. Either that or a national inquirer want-a-be who is looking to gain fame and notoriety by constantly screaming shocking statements on social media in an effort to shape a reader's opinion and get "a like", without ever really following up on resolutions or rebuttals (even if the rebuttal is perfectly logical and explains the seemingly shocking claim).

And so I turned from his garbage and tried to determine if there was any reason to mistrust the school board. (Because the cost doesn't bother me. I am ok paying more taxes in order to keep my kid out of a portable. And after mine are long gone, I am ok paying more in taxes to keep your future kids out of portables. It helps my property value, attracts the best and brightest professionals who want quality education for their kids....etc...)


So someone help me out with reason #2.......Why should I mistrust the Conroe ISD board? What have they done that has shown they are clueless, crooks, or bad managers of their resources?

Disclaimer: I have 1 kid who graduated from Oak Ridge, one in middle school, and one in elementary. All CISD schools.

Diggity said:

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Soft costs are typically less than 10% of total costs.

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Incorrect. Soft costs are typically 20-30%, as that has to include design, surveys, testing, owner provided furnishings and equipment, technology, project management/bond overhead, etc. In most bond programs, roughly 70-75% (sometimes as high as 80%) goes into the actual construction contracts.

dlance said:

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$21,562.50 is used for all line items estimated at a base cost of $15,000 adding in an additional 43.75% (typical average 40% - 45%) for soft costs (architecture fees, engineering fees, permits, etc.) and inflation.

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That sounds about right for items that are that small. These have to be budgeted as if each one were individually accepted. To get someone to tackle a single $15,000 scope of work, you have to apply a "**** with factor". If there are 100 of those and they are ALL accepted as one bundle, the true soft cost is probably lower. But for budgeting purposes, you have to line item them individually.

itsasock19 said:

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https://thegoldenhammer.net/tag/corruption/

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Here's the thing: while there are a few worthy discussion points, and a few things that defy explanation (like listing all of the Architects before the Bond even passed, not sure what they were thinking there), these rants and conspiracy theories typically assume a level of competence and coordination that simply doesn't exist. While this blogger is picturing a room full of people smoking cigars while crafting devious plans to cheat taxpayers, the reality is almost all of this was done by mid-level local government employees working via email and a few meetings catered by Jason's Deli. The "Citizen Action Committee" likely never met at all. They took a few donations and spent it printing flyers and yard signs at Kinko's. Let's not act like they're the friggin' tobacco lobby.

You question why they would include such unnecessary fluff and assume it's so they can use it for ulterior motives. Truth is they are public sector employees that are afraid of losing their job above anything else, so they include whatever is the most "safe" and they assumed it would pass without sharpening their pencil or working really hard to tightly manage costs. That doesn't make them evil or corrupt. Just kind of lazy and risk averse. Which is the profile of a mid-level local government employee.

Disclaimer: I don't have kinds in CISD, but in Humble ISD.


I can see corruption on a school board, as the local elections are all about turn-out and name recognition. And getting that is hard. So...if I'm on the board and I have a construction company friend, why not throw work their way if they donate to my campaign? Who's going to investigate? Who's going to know?

As posted from somewhere else:

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1) Federal government is less corrupt (yes, even this current one) than most state governments
2) When science/knowledge actually discovers something new, it applies to the whole country, not just a state (or local region).
3) Federal government also is less likely to do stupid regulations than state government. I.E., when you are trying to protect the nation from a nuclear war, you don't have time to do things like pass laws preventing car companies from selling direct to consumers, instead forcing them to use local 'dealers'.

Small government has less media on it, so they get away with more crime; more stupid laws that help a vocal local group while hurting the general people; more laws based on local motives rather than tested and proven facts.

In short, small government is always more evil than big government - as proven by the smallest and worst from of government, Home Owners Associations (LET ME FLY MY US FLAG YOU SoBs!)

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So with that, school boards can get away with a lot due to not that much attention. So you could have fairly rampant corruption. How many CNN/FN/MSNBC/etc reporters come to the CISD meetings and report? The 'fluff' in the bids/quotes from construction companies are there to be channeled RIGHT BACK to the board member's campaign offices.

And on a flip side, as I said before, turn-out is king: how great would it be to the construction company to remind their local workers working on a new school to A) vote in the local election, B) hey, BTW, candidate X voted for this project, so show them you care!

On a sad note, you probably only need like $5 to $10k in donations to a school board member to essentially "buy" them. So if you have extra scratch, go for it!

~egon

Worm01 said:

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dlance said:

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$21,562.50 is used for all line items estimated at a base cost of $15,000 adding in an additional 43.75% (typical average 40% - 45%) for soft costs (architecture fees, engineering fees, permits, etc.) and inflation.

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That sounds about right for items that are that small. These have to be budgeted as if each one were individually accepted. To get someone to tackle a single $15,000 scope of work, you have to apply a "**** with factor". If there are 100 of those and they are ALL accepted as one bundle, the true soft cost is probably lower. But for budgeting purposes, you have to line item them individually.

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Know how I know you didn't really read my whole post?

Conspiracy theorists are the best.

Throwing out all sorts of blanket accusations while having no clue what "qualifications based selections" means in regards to State of Texas law.

Another day, another idiot.

Dr. Doctor said:

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Disclaimer: I don't have kinds in CISD, but in Humble ISD.


I can see corruption on a school board, as the local elections are all about turn-out and name recognition. And getting that is hard. So...if I'm on the board and I have a construction company friend, why not throw work their way if they donate to my campaign? Who's going to investigate? Who's going to know?

As posted from somewhere else:

Quote:

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1) Federal government is less corrupt (yes, even this current one) than most state governments
2) When science/knowledge actually discovers something new, it applies to the whole country, not just a state (or local region).
3) Federal government also is less likely to do stupid regulations than state government. I.E., when you are trying to protect the nation from a nuclear war, you don't have time to do things like pass laws preventing car companies from selling direct to consumers, instead forcing them to use local 'dealers'.

Small government has less media on it, so they get away with more crime; more stupid laws that help a vocal local group while hurting the general people; more laws based on local motives rather than tested and proven facts.

In short, small government is always more evil than big government - as proven by the smallest and worst from of government, Home Owners Associations (LET ME FLY MY US FLAG YOU SoBs!)

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So with that, school boards can get away with a lot due to not that much attention. So you could have fairly rampant corruption. How many CNN/FN/MSNBC/etc reporters come to the CISD meetings and report? The 'fluff' in the bids/quotes from construction companies are there to be channeled RIGHT BACK to the board member's campaign offices.

And on a flip side, as I said before, turn-out is king: how great would it be to the construction company to remind their local workers working on a new school to A) vote in the local election, B) hey, BTW, candidate X voted for this project, so show them you care!

On a sad note, you probably only need like $5 to $10k in donations to a school board member to essentially "buy" them. So if you have extra scratch, go for it!

~egon

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I got bad news for you, but this kind of small time corruption goes on in both large and small districts. But, I will tell you as someone who works with a LOT of school Districts, I very rarely see something that's just straight up bribery or collusion or anything like that. 99% of the time, Board Members in small Districts are good, local people who are genuinely looking out for the betterment of their District. MOST of the time. The larger the District, the more likely you are to see a Board Member who thinks they can put on a good show and then run for Senate.

In fact, the biggest control preventing corruption isn't the media, it's the free market. Design & Construction in the K12 market is a VERY small world and everyone knows what goes on. When an Architect or Contractor gets work through some shady practices, other Architects and Contractors will snitch them out in a heartbeat if it cost them work. Virtually everytime you see some local corruption uncovered, it's not due to investigative reporting, it's thanks to "anonymous tips".

While you are correct on the smaller spotlight letting people get away with more, 99.99% of the time, all a greater spotlight would reveal is stunning incompetency and not criminal or unethical behavior.

Worm01 said:

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Dr. Doctor said:

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Disclaimer: I don't have kinds in CISD, but in Humble ISD.


I can see corruption on a school board, as the local elections are all about turn-out and name recognition. And getting that is hard. So...if I'm on the board and I have a construction company friend, why not throw work their way if they donate to my campaign? Who's going to investigate? Who's going to know?

As posted from somewhere else:

Quote:

---

1) Federal government is less corrupt (yes, even this current one) than most state governments
2) When science/knowledge actually discovers something new, it applies to the whole country, not just a state (or local region).
3) Federal government also is less likely to do stupid regulations than state government. I.E., when you are trying to protect the nation from a nuclear war, you don't have time to do things like pass laws preventing car companies from selling direct to consumers, instead forcing them to use local 'dealers'.

Small government has less media on it, so they get away with more crime; more stupid laws that help a vocal local group while hurting the general people; more laws based on local motives rather than tested and proven facts.

In short, small government is always more evil than big government - as proven by the smallest and worst from of government, Home Owners Associations (LET ME FLY MY US FLAG YOU SoBs!)

---

So with that, school boards can get away with a lot due to not that much attention. So you could have fairly rampant corruption. How many CNN/FN/MSNBC/etc reporters come to the CISD meetings and report? The 'fluff' in the bids/quotes from construction companies are there to be channeled RIGHT BACK to the board member's campaign offices.

And on a flip side, as I said before, turn-out is king: how great would it be to the construction company to remind their local workers working on a new school to A) vote in the local election, B) hey, BTW, candidate X voted for this project, so show them you care!

On a sad note, you probably only need like $5 to $10k in donations to a school board member to essentially "buy" them. So if you have extra scratch, go for it!

~egon

---

I got bad news for you, but this kind of small time corruption goes on in both large and small districts. But, I will tell you as someone who works with a LOT of school Districts, I very rarely see something that's just straight up bribery or collusion or anything like that. 99% of the time, Board Members in small Districts are good, local people who are genuinely looking out for the betterment of their District. MOST of the time. The larger the District, the more likely you are to see a Board Member who thinks they can put on a good show and then run for Senate.

In fact, the biggest control preventing corruption isn't the media, it's the free market. Design & Construction in the K12 market is a VERY small world and everyone knows what goes on. When an Architect or Contractor gets work through some shady practices, other Architects and Contractors will snitch them out in a heartbeat if it cost them work. Virtually everytime you see some local corruption uncovered, it's not due to investigative reporting, it's thanks to "anonymous tips".

While you are correct on the smaller spotlight letting people get away with more, 99.99% of the time, all a greater spotlight would reveal is stunning incompetency and not criminal or unethical behavior.

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I mean, dude's in Humble ISD. He should be an expert in stunning incompetency.

Humble ISD Bond Update

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"These are some things that we have to figure out on the front end before we even take a step," she pointed out.

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Congrats, taxpayers, you gave them $575M over a year ago and they are still "figuring things out". But they got that turf installed.....