^ Built in 2010. Today that would be $230M.  407,000 square feet (average Home Depot : 105K SF) for 2300 students.
Zero improvement in graduation rates. Ranked 287 out of 339 NJ high schools.
Because, you see; it's not buildings that teach students.

It was orchestrated thru a State-run "Schools Construction Corp", so you KNOW it was rife with waste & corruption.
This Corp was a result of a State Supreme Court finding stating that "students in the poorest city schools should have the buildings and resources [meaning; the buildings] comparable to those in the wealthiest suburbs."

In other words, a vanity project. Because [see above comment about buildings].

To that point: a 2005 State audit found the Corp was susceptible to "mismanagement, fiscal malfeasance, conflicts of interest and waste, fraud & abuse of taxpayer funds". 

You don't say.


 

The new 'failed model' for car sales- online 'dealers'?? ?
 

Maine sees issues with meeting their emissions goals.
 

Here's some bar-napkin math.

An estimated 50%+ of ME's emissions are from the transportation sector.
ME has 1,000,000+ vehicles registered, and they want to drop emissions by 45% in 8 years.

In order to drop emissions by 45%, they would have to replace 45% of the existing 1,000,000+ vehicles with BE's. That would be 450,000 brand new BE's that REPLACED existing IC's. The entire U.S. only bought 295,000 BE's last year.

Goals are all well & good, but you do your cause a disservice if it's wildly out of reach.
 

One area that needs to change in regard to commercial business vehicles is the ability to register them out of state and not pay any road taxes from the licensing of them. If a business is here in the state working, the vehicles that they use be it diesel, gas, Hybrid or BEV needs to be licensed in that state and they pay the same taxes as everyone else.

A ton of commercial vehicles work in multiple states.

18 hours ago, balthazar said:

School districts are fiscally out of control... but they make sure to hit the kids first with real tangible, gut checks, like 'we can't afford tissues anymore' when pleading for millions.

I've railed before here about the local city high school. They tore down the existing building, moved to a new site and built a $190 MILLION dollar building "for the future leaders of the country. $190,000,000 for 2300 students, or $93,000 per student. Could only find a couple pics of the interior, but the entrance had marble flooring and stained woodwork everywhere. Expensive as hell to build. Client of mine worked there, told me the building has TWO nurseries for babies. Maybe that's indicative of the unchanged mid 70% graduation rate and the national school ranking of 10,8xx.

What angers me the most is that energy-efficiency wise, the building footprint is horrible. In order to make it look absurdly upscale in a depressed city, they gave it a disproportionately high exterior surface area (TONS of jogs & levels & glass). But it was pitched 'for the children', so how dare you speak against it (I do not live in the city). 

You're here trying to tell me that a government-funded entity is mismanaging public money?!? 

The nerve you have. 

33 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

You're here trying to tell me that a government-funded entity is mismanaging public money?!? 

The nerve you have. 

Philosophically speaking...

Who in power and in charge with massive amounts of money, regardless if that person in charge is from the private sector or public sector, does NOT 'mismanage' money?

In the private sector, isnt that called fraud?  And there are many forms of financial fraud to boot? 

Not putting up a fight with you regarding your statement, just philosophically speaking and acknowledging that when it comes to money :

 

And yeah...mismanagement of public monies by different levels of government IS thievery in my honest opinion...

 

 

5 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

And yeah...mismanagement of public monies by different levels of government IS thievery in my honest opinion...

That's not an opinion,

The literal responsibility in the public sector is ethical management of funds- the problem is there's no accountability unless the mismanagement is blatantly criminal.

Edited December 23, 20214 yr by balthazar