Comments by freedomofspeech1

Written on Updated POLL & BLOG: Marco City Council supports high school in the park:

Well said Ed, lets keep this issue clear....its not about Lely, or a High School on Marco...its about LAND USE....this is our park and we only have 2 on the island....Winterberry and Mackle...once you allow the land to be used as a school it will NEVER be a Public park. The people of Marco will be second class citizens in their own park. City council needs to separate their emotions here and treat this as it should be.
How dare this group even ASK for the land to be used as a school.

Written on Updated POLL & BLOG: Marco City Council supports high school in the park:

Marco Charter has a good sports program for a MIDDLE school....they play sisters of the mary schools like FBA,NCA,COMMUNITY,SEACREST...If you want your athlete to compete against that for 4 more years be my guest. That is not REAL HS sports. That is the highest level this school will ever offer.

Written on Updated POLL & BLOG: Marco City Council supports high school in the park:

I just finished watching the city council meeting at the city website. Terri DiSciullo once again is 100 percent on point! She essentially stated that the issue before us should not focus on whether we are in support of a High School on Marco Island, but rather on the requested location of the school. To agree or disagree as to whether we NEED this school is not the issue and should have no bearing on council's support. The issue is CLEAR...Land Use. This land is for the public recreational use and should be preserved 100 percent for that purpose. Any infringement upon that detracts from the intended use. The organizers for the school claim it takes no green space away but rather compliments the area. Terri points out that while it does not take away it substitutes public use for school use. The Mackle Park master plan was to increase recreational use for all islanders. The school will substitute those plans with their needs. Space used for classrooms and cafe's will take away from our ability to offer a first rate Community Center. The school will eventually monopolize the parking and fields, thereby minimizing the public's access and use when they want it. Lets face it, once the school is there it will never be a park. It will be a school and they will have priority over its use and the public will be waiting in line. With Marco having such limited green space we cannot afford to minimize the general puclics access even minimally.
I applaud Terri for pointing out these key issues. Everyone should go to the city website and view the 11/9/09 City Council meeting and see for themselves.

Written on Updated POLL & BLOG: Marco City Council supports high school in the park:

This will fail. The first thing that needs to be done is ASK the eligible students if they would go to this school in lieu of any other options.
After being truthful about what the school will offer, you will find that very few parents will want to waste their childs high school years at such a shallow school.
Does anyone know that we currently have a high school option here on Marco? Yes, the First Baptist Church has a High School here...how many are jumping on that wagon which is virtually VIRTUAL!
This Marco High School will not be able to offer the curriculum that a public school can.
They wont be able to offer several foreign language options, various academies and anything that closely resembles a Band. Forget about athletics, that will be a JOKE.
Look I dont want to keep hearing that school is about learning and not all the other "stuff", because IT IS! Kids make memories by being a part of the entire experince. What will be their memories??? Looking at Mackle Lake?
Mark my words...these dumb people will force this down our throats, NO ONE will attend and it will be a FINANCIAL DISASTER!

Written on Marco to consider building a high school in the park:

in response to personone:

Selfish. Lely High School sucks. You don't learn a thing at that school. That's the problem with marco there are so many old retired people there who don't care about the kids. Half the people there drive all the way barron, naples, or even gulfcoast because Lely is such a horrible school. Having a school on the island would be a huge help, if they made it a good one. For the kids at least.

Personone who are you to judge Lely High School??
Did you attend the school??
Literally hundreds of students including a majority of the Marco students attend and have attended that school and most move on to attend some of the best universities in the country!
I will not go into details because I dont feel this is about bashing the other schools in Naples, but Lely by FAR has the least amount of incidents in the county. Go to a Lely football game and what do you see??? Marco Island!! Marco Island comes out in huge numbers to support THEIR school. Attend some of the athletic events and what will you see?? Marco student athletes participating in great numbers!
Look at the Marco Eagle and what do you see?
Roger Lalonde covering a Lely sporting event in which a MARCO student athlete is EXCELLING!
If you live on Marco then Lely is your school....GET OVER IT!
When was the last time MarcoNews covered a Marco student that attended Barron, Naples or Gulf Coast???
Not going to happen because most of the kids that go there and live on Marco keep it quiet. Are these kids ashamed of what they are doing?
You draw your own conclusions...I have mine!

Written on Marco to consider building a high school in the park:

in response to Fossil:

getreak: I don't know why I bother. You are either a kid on the football team or the parent of one. Football is not a requirement to be accepted to a University. If that were true, Harvard whould have the best football team in the nation. The football program only benefits those kids who have extrodinary athletic ability. Less than 1% of any high school athletic program are so gifted. If you really believe what you say, then tell me why students who do not play football, belong to the cheerleader squad, movie club, yearbook club, etc., even get into a University? I'll give you a clue: It has something to do with hard work and using extra time to study so you may graduate at the top of your class. Attending school is not supposed to be fun, it's a place to work hard and learn how to surviive in a very competitive environment. Good luck to you.

Fossil if you believe attending school is not supposed to be fun than you are out of touch with reality. MOST students in the country are not as driven as you allude to. Many students wouldnt stay in school if they werent given the opportunity to explore a wide variety of activitites and curricula. The Marco school wont even be able to offer the academic curricula that a public school can. The kids that attend that school wont even be able to enroll in the courses that Lely or any other public school does. This is not even about extras, its about the whole experience. Will some be attracted to this school? Of course! There will always be a group that desires this type of education. For those....they have a choice now on Marco....The Baptist church has a high school program that is essentially virtual....ENJOY!

Written on Marco to consider building a high school in the park:

in response to Fossil:

The comments above against building the high school are from people who do not care about our community. If they did, they would be working to support this effort not tear it down. Marco Island needs a high school for our children. The only "full-service" requirement is to give the school everything it needs to educate our children. All the rest is a waste of money and designed to entertain. There are thousands of communities throughout the U.S.A. the size of Marco Island, that are able to provide their citizens with a high school. Marco Island citizens have more wealth then most of them. It is a crime that this project was not already completed. Support this effort.

Fossill says "All the rest is a waste of money and designed to entertain." You are completely out of touch will reality. If you think people will send their kids to a school where they cannot get a well rounded education that includes extracurricular activities and sports than you are wrong. As a matter of fact many universities will not accept an applicant unless they illustrate a well rounded high school experience. This site is too small. The number of children that potentially will attend is too small. GIVE UP! IF YOU LIVE ON MARCO YOU ACCEPT THE FACT THAT IT IS A RETIREMENT/RESORT COMMUNITY. THE MAJORITY OF THE INTELLIGENT PEOPLE ON THE ISLAND SEND THEIR KIDS TO THEIR ZONED SCHOOL WHICH IS LELY. THERE IS A SMALL MINORITY OF PEOPLE THAT MANEUVER THE SYSTEM AND SEND THEIR KIDS TO OTHER PUBLIC SCHOOLS. THERE IS ALSO AN EVEN SMALLER AMOUNT THAT ATTEND PRIVATE SCHOOLS....THIS PROPOSED SCHOOL IS A PRIVATE ENDEAVOR AND SHOULD BE FINANCED 100% WITH PRIVATE DOLLARS WITH ZERO ASSISTANCE BY THE MARCO ISLAND TAXPAYERS!

Written on Marco to consider building a high school in the park:

We will not give up OUR public land for a private school. There is limited park space on Marco and there is no way we should allow this to happen. I cant believe the Director of Parks is in favor of this! This can in no way enhance the experience of ALL Marco Islanders and will only service a few. If the few want a school go find it somewhere else. There is a very fine school 20 minutes off the island that is a FULL SERVICE High School. This land is totally inadequate for a bonafide school. What I can see happening here is if they get the land as shown on the diagram, they will eventually expand and take over the ENTIRE park. PEOPLE OF MARCO STAND UP AGAINST THIS RIDICULOUS PROPOSAL!

Written on Winterberry reopens:

Look, dont think that the improvements arent a positive thing....they are...but...I am no expert but the field doesnt look like a "little league" field...the field looks more like a softball field. There is no infield grass and there is no fence in the outfield. Does anyone know if they are planning on laying some sod on the infield?

Written on Charter school officials find themselves on the defensive :

Once again....GIVE UP ON THE IDEA OF A MARCO HIGH SCHOOL....IT CAN NEVER PROVIDE WHAT A "FULL SERVICE" PUBLIC SCHOOL CAN....IF YOU WANT YOUR KID TO NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE A PART OF "REAL" SPORTS,CLUBS AND OTHER EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITES LIKE BAND. THEN SEND THEM TO THE MARCO HIGH SCHOOL BECAUSE THATS WHAT YOU WILL GET...AFTER 8 YEARS OF BEING WITH THE SAME KIDS IT IS TIME TO BRANCH OUT AND MIX WITH THE "REAL WORLD"...HATE TO TELL YOU BUT MARCO IS NOT THE REAL WORLD!

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