ADVERTISEMENT

Liberty HS in Iowa City

dgordo

HR Legend
Nov 15, 2001
26,607
38,568
113
Chicago
DO1eO3oUMAA30sp.jpg:large
 
North Liberty was put in a weird situation when they built their first elementary school in the 60s. They needed the ICCSD support and probably never saw the potential to grow to 20 thousand people.

They SHOULD have looked at going independent sometime around 2005 or so.
Just when they needed all the cash to build all of their other new schools?
 
Question - why is it when new government buildings (such as schools) are built, they aren't built with geothermal and solar panels? Aren't those prime targets for CC\GW?
 
Just when they needed all the cash to build all of their other new schools?

Would you rather own or rent?

Yes, at that time they hadnt built Van Allen. Garner, NLJH, addition at Penn, and High School. The town had the tax base and the votes to pass its own bond at the time and get out from under ICCSDs thumb. They should have done it.

Instead they got stuck in political limbo for a decade while ICCSD drug their feet and lost tons of money on open enrollments to neighboring towns.
 
  • Like
Reactions: UKGrad93
Question - why is it when new government buildings (such as schools) are built, they aren't built with geothermal and solar panels? Aren't those prime targets for CC\GW?
All the new Iowa City schools are geothermal. And solar panels don't pay back in a timely fashion for government buildings because they don't get the tax breaks for installing them.
 
Would you rather own or rent?

Yes, at that time they hadnt built Van Allen. Garner, NLJH, addition at Penn, and High School. The town had the tax base and the votes to pass its own bond at the time and get out from under ICCSDs thumb. They should have done it.

Instead they got stuck in political limbo for a decade while ICCSD drug their feet and lost tons of money on open enrollments to neighboring towns.
Under IC's thumb? IC drug their feet? NL should just say thanks for the money I gave to build their new schools.
IC is in a boom of new schools now. Thanks to NL for the coins they threw in the collection plate.
 
Question - why is it when new government buildings (such as schools) are built, they aren't built with geothermal and solar panels? Aren't those prime targets for CC\GW?

Pretty sure that Liberty DOES have a geo system, don't know about solar. I can say for sure though that ICCSD has put geo fields into several, perhaps all, of their remodeling projects in the past few years. Geo is pretty common in ICCSD.
 
Question - why is it when new government buildings (such as schools) are built, they aren't built with geothermal and solar panels? Aren't those prime targets for CC\GW?

The junior high in North Liberty is geothermal,... I would suspect that the elementary & high school are also....
 
The junior high in North Liberty is geothermal,... I would suspect that the elementary & high school are also....
Good to know, I wonder how many other government buildings are using Geo\Solar? I don't think any of our schools are... solar is easy to do right on top of the school.
 
Good to know, I wonder how many other government buildings are using Geo\Solar? I don't think any of our schools are... solar is easy to do right on top of the school.

It typically comes down to the budget they are able to justify for the project,... In our area the up charge on a typical, mid range, institutional geothermal system can be recouped in 8-12 years. Good investment for facilities that are planning for the long term....
 
It typically comes down to the budget they are able to justify for the project,... In our area the up charge on a typical, mid range, institutional geothermal system can be recouped in 8-12 years. Good investment for facilities that are planning for the long term....
Yep - that's why I don't understand why all government bldgs aren't that way, they are (especially schools) are around for decades its seems. Thanks for the info!
 
Ok, in case I wasn't clear enough earlier, here goes.

Every new school post Van Allen and most major remodels (Penn, Coralville Central, etc) is geothermal. Raw payback on geo for a school is about 10 years. Once you get the utility company incentives dropped on that, it drops to about 3 years.

No schools are using solar in eastern Iowa. There are no utility incentives for it. The only incentives are government tax credits, and schools don't pay taxes, so they don't help. Until panel prices dropped the last 3 years or so, the payback on solar was about 30 years. A roof lasts about 20, so you'll almost certainly have to redo the solar before it's paid for to redo the roof. That's not a good fiscal incentive. Even now, after the prices have dropped, the payback is probably more in the 15 year range. That's right on the edge of a good investment, and most owners don't take upgrades with paybacks like that.

Now, you're going to ask how I know all this. I or my company designed pretty much all the school HVAC systems for Iowa City since Garner, and some before that.
 
Under IC's thumb? IC drug their feet? NL should just say thanks for the money I gave to build their new schools.
IC is in a boom of new schools now. Thanks to NL for the coins they threw in the collection plate.

I am just going to guess that you went to City High and were in favor of the social engineering program that ICCSD recently conducted.

IC has some new schools but some of that is consolidating schools that were failing or not well attended. The real boom is in NL/North Coralville with the addition of VA, BG, NLJH, NLHS, Borlaug and one to be named soon.

Its not a matter of a pissing match of what area is better or if you like the district. If you like it, great. There are some things I do like about it and some things I dont. If we didnt get a HS in NL, my kids would not be going to ICCSD though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HallofFame
There was a movement to withdraw from ICCSD a while ago, but it never gathered steam and there are MASSIVE hoops that you have to jump through to accomplish it. I was for it but was not actively involved in the process. In any case there were too many people who opposed the idea.
 
North Liberty police have taken into custody a person believed to be responsible for a threat that closed Liberty High School on Friday.

The Iowa City Community School District announced early Friday that all classes and activities at Liberty would be canceled for the day after administrators say they received a credible threat to "shoot up the school."

Police took the person believed to be responsible for the threat into custody at about 9:30 a.m., according to a news release. Extracurricular activities at Liberty resumed Friday following the arrest of the suspect, the release said.

Nick Bergus, a North Liberty spokesman, confirmed the suspect has been charged with first-degree harassment, an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison, and threat of terrorism, a class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Because the person taken into custody is a minor, police will not release further information, according to the release.

"We’re not releasing information whether or not the suspect is or is not" a student at Liberty, Bergus said.

636390969666994593-170823-06-Liberty-High-first-day-ds.jpg
Buy Photo
Liberty High students gather on the first day of school in North Liberty on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017. (Photo: David Scrivner/Iowa City Press-Citizen)

The threat was reported late Thursday and included a reference to an individual student, according to a message posted to the Iowa City Community School District's website. The message warned students and staff not to report to Liberty on Friday.

North Liberty Police Chief Diane Venenga said the threat was made through an anonymous profile in an Instagram group chat among students.

Four North Liberty police officers investigated the threat overnight, Venenga said, but it was unresolved on Friday morning, leading the school to cancel class, according to the message.

Venenga said Friday morning before the arrest that she did not believe there was an ongoing threat to the public.

Venenga students and families connected with the anonymous posts spoke with police Friday morning as part of the investigation.

Classes at other schools in the district were held as normal on Friday.

A news release from the district said Liberty reopened to staff at 1 p.m. Friday and that varsity boys and girls basketball coaches would be in touch with them about practice plans.

http://www.press-citizen.com/story/...e-credible-threat-against-students/873636001/
 
A juvenile was taken into custody Friday morning for making threats that prompted the cancellation of classes at Liberty High School in North Liberty on Friday.

North Liberty police, who took the minor into custody around 9:30 a.m., said they are not releasing any more information, including whether the student is a Liberty High student.

North Liberty Communications Director Nick Bergus said the juvenile will face charges of first-degree harassment, an aggravated misdemeanor; and threat of terrorism; a Class D felony. Bergus, citing Iowa Code, said the criminal complaints for the minors charges would not be released as the offenses are not foricble felonies.

The school reopened for extracurricular activities.

North Liberty Police Chief Diane Venenga said a “concerned individual” contacted police at 8:30 p.m. Thursday to report the threats that were made in a group chat on Instagram. The juvenile threatened to “shoot up the school” and made threats toward a specific student, who was included in the chat, according to Venenga and the Iowa City Community School District.

“It came from an anonymous account,” Venenga said Friday morning. “The threat was naming an individual and that activity would happen today that would cause harm.”

Police have not said whether the minor had the capacity to carry out the threats.

Because the investigation into the threat was not resolved by Friday morning, the decision was made to cancel classes and activities at Liberty High. Students and faculty were advised to stay away from the building.

Classes at other schools in the district were not affected. Venenga said other schools in North Liberty are aware of the threats and police are continuing with normal patrol operations.

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...ty-high-school-leads-to-cancellation-20171117
 
Good to know, I wonder how many other government buildings are using Geo\Solar? I don't think any of our schools are... solar is easy to do right on top of the school.

Translation: "Guess I was completely and utterly wrong, but let me turn to being wrong about the exact same thing elsewhere to pretend I'm still right!"
 
I was at the state school board meeting this week and there were several companies pitching solar.

I’m not a genius but I assume they wouldn’t be there if the didn’t have a market with the schools in Iowa.
 
ADVERTISEMENT