"Trustee Steven Nelson abstained; he later said he was not entirely happy with the list, but not entirely opposed to it, either."

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Wait a minute, so the first action by this grassroots candidate that's been so vocal about how the previous board of Trustees had not produced results for the community.....

.......is to abstain?

Maybe Mr. Nelson is realizing its far easier to yell from the bleachers and play armchair quarterback, than it is to sit on the proverbial hot seat and make actual decisions. That its easy to sound righteous at the podium, when you're one of the public, but not so easy when you have to actually work with your peers to come up with compromises.

Methinks Steve is thinking politics is all about perfect solutions, when perhaps it's really about choosing the best of otherwise crappy options with people you might even despise.

Oh well, its ok Steve. I'm chalking this up to you being a newby politician.

For now.

Sounds about right, Jester.

And, it sounds like you would know all about this.

What a great idea for for both schools! A Performing Arts Theatre! Graham always has sellouts for their performances. I hope it will hold more seats than it currentently does. It will be able to help the kids further their knowledge of the Arts.
The new tech. will be wonderful! Living here in Silicon Valley our schools should be up to date! Thank you for the students!!!

Attended Graham from 78 to 79, glad to hear money is being spent and that other middle school. The students, the teachers and the parent will be glad.

Mr. Nelson fails to communicate effectively on a regular basis at Board meetings. If he doesn't get his way, he throws a temper tantrum and yells. He is an embarrassment to the community and district. Not a very good example for students of this school district, but it appears that Mr. Nelson does not really care about the students anyway. It's all about politics and getting his name in the paper for him. Can anyone say recall?

This district has a long history of information going in only one direction, and that is decisions made at the district office without much input from those who actually do the teaching and live all day in the facilities.

To the powers at MVWSD, if nothing else, PLEEEZE ask the teachers what they want instead of letting the architects call the shots, as done in the past.

Whose bright idea was it to build a multi-purpose room at Graham that has no drinking fountain anywhere near the entire building?

There are high schools in San Jose that have brand new performing arts centers that have no designated rooms/spaces for the performers to change clothes, etc so the kids have to go use a classroom a couple hundred feet away.

Please ask the teachers who will be using the facilities what THEY would like to have in these facilities, not what Craig or the trustees or the architects THINK they should have.

And while you're at it, could we please get some recycling bins at Graham so students don't continue to throw their plastic water bottles into the trash?

To: Parent - resident of Waverly Park Neighborhood: site level staff ( teachers, admins, classified staff) are always and have always been invited to give their input into any new plans for their school site. Some staff choose not to attend these meetings, which are frequently before or after school. Sometimes they have even been scheduled for a staff meeting. It is really bothersome to read that someone really thinks staff is not or has not been consulted in the past.

To: Board Meeting Attendee: you've hit the nail on the head. Mr. Nelson has his own agenda at these meetings - he is not really interested in the students, community or school district. He just wants to create a scene, one up the other Board members, and be the center of attention.

If you ask me about 198 million dollars being spent, with 50 million dollars being divided between the two middle schools. That doesn't seen like a lot of money, 25 million for the list. Must be hard to decided what projects go forward and others have to wait.

Multiple commenters now have mentioned that they are displeased with Trustee Steven Nelson. I have attempted to report on this in the paper by mentioning anonymous comments left on the website. I would encourage all readers interested in sharing opinions on our local education officials to consider sending me an email at nveronin@mv-voice.com

Thanks,
Nick Veronin
Reporter - MV Voice