ChampionsAdam

I haven't been there in a while, so I'm curious: how is the Klein area schools doing lately? I know Klein Forest is crap, but I've heard the rest of the district is starting to decline as well.

6 months ago you were living in southern California and now that you are here (in Westador ... zoned to Westfield) you know that Klein Forest is crap? Now that's rich!

http://redinktexas.blogspot.com/2008/07/ho...d-get-away.html

this is the truth. Klein isd is as corrupt as Washington DC.

Certainly not a surprise to me, I've said it from the beginning.

Greenwood Forest was developed Don Hand's Greenwood Corporation, who then built Champion Forest, not Kickerillo.

There was one swatch in the back of Ponderosa, but not all the way back, that flooded the worst. Worse even than lots closer to the creek. In this swath there were several homes they took out in the last block of Rolling Creek & west of it on the next blocks. I remember the homes and they were gone.

http://www.tedsimon.com/grenwood.html

http://www.kickerillo.com/company.html

My home is featured in Ponderosa Forest on Roanwood/Sugar Pine and in Fleetwood on Fleetwood Oaks Dr.

I was noticing this in the back of Ponderosa Forest off 1960 recently. It was odd looking down at the back of Rolling Creek Drive. It is an old Kickerillo development I think, well maintained with these big houses that look much like the other Kickerillo developments out in western parts of Memorial.

Once you get to the back though, the houses become very scattered where apparently FEMA? has bought out and demolished a few rather than continuing to pay out insurance funds.

I wonder what it takes to get a buy out like that. I have heard of it, but it must be a difficult process.

Ponderosa Forest is indeed a Kickerillo development as was Greenwood Forest.

I am unaware any of those homes having been demolished, the area that flooded was the north section to the rear of the subdivision. I believe improvements were made recently to those subdivisions that were affected.

Hi I'm Daniel Merritt I went to Krimmel Intermediate 2007 - 2008 in 8th grade and I was playing games everyday I got my laptop using a USB flash drive to transfer files between my Desktop to Laptop. I also found out exploits in the system to allow me to download the latest flash player. I also Downloaded a 8 GB Game called World of Warcraft and played it when I brought my laptop home from school each day. The schools internet filtering wouldn't allow me to play it at school but could play it at home. I used proxy websites that I create also to go anywhere I want when I am at school and at Home. I am Going to 9th grade 2008 - 2009 to Klein Oak next school semester and I'm looking forward to playing games at school. And thanks to computers I've gotten a lot smarter and Youtube is very Educational.

And people that usually say how are computers useful in our education learning at school Barely know anything about computers probably.

I am Really Smart with computers and how they work. I know HTML and PHP coding for websites and I have setup my own webserver.

I dont really think parents need to help there children work a computer they need to learn themselves.

Nice to know my property taxes increased so these kids can play video games in class.

Daniel, I think it's great that you have come on here to share your experience with the computer and clearly you are very knowledgable with the different applications.

I'm going to point out to you however that there are several grammatical errors in your post, perhaps it would be wise to spend more time during class listening to the teacher and less time playing with the computer.

Congratulations on your upcoming year at Klein Oak.

Dean Corll's home

FYI: That house is in Pasadena, and it was where Corll was living when Henley and David Brooks killed him. Can't remember which street, but it's off South Shaver just a block or two from Shaver Elementary School.

2020 Lamar, The house looks better today then it did in the pic

This is where Susan White was murdered several years ago by the deputy

Champion Forest/1960 to 45/Century Blvd in Texas City... 1 hour and 30 minutes in rush hour with no accidents or construction... fun stuff!

I haven't been to a Steak 'n Shake since I lived in Indianapolis... I hope they finally started accepting debit cards, it was always a pain in the rear to remember to bring cash to pay for your meal. Other than that minor annoyance, good food!

And I can assure you that you do not know me. I would welcome a Habitat build in my neighborhood with open arms. I live in a neighborhood that has public housing, section 8 housing, transitional housing, and even a homeless shelter. You know what? My neighborhood also has $5 million townhomes.

What I don't welcome into my neighborhood are the newcomers, mostly suburbanites who have moved back into the city after the kids go off to college, who want to change the city. They want to clean it up. They want to get rid of the housing and close the shelter. They want bars to close at midnight because of the noise. They want the gay businesses out. They want funky places replaced by national chains.

In 2 weeks, there will be a big fight about the Pine Street Inn's (New England's largest homeless shelter) plans to buy 3 condos to provide transitional housing for their clients. It is 2 blocks from my condo. I am showing up to support the plan.

Again, I would be very wary of any place in which the neighbors want to put blinders on about the real world. I would NOT want to live in a place in which home values trump all other matters. But hey, that's just me.

That's wonderful that you chose to buy/lease in an such a diverse area with mixed use. However, a vast number of us chose to live here because this type of housing stock did not fit with the area, had we wanted to live in an area such as the one that you describe we would have chosen to live around it. I personally do not want to live near a homeless shelter, bars, nightclubs , high crime or blight, regardless of the home sales prices in the area.

I choose to drive 30 minutes to downtown (with light Houston traffic..ha!) because I did not want to live near transitional housing or the other elements that you state that you enjoy, that's why we have a choice in where we live. As you are displeased with the Sububanites moving into your neighborhood and changing the dynamics, I too am concerned about low income housing changing the dynamics of my neighborhood. As you are planning to support retaining low income housing in your neighborhood, I am supporting my neighborhood to keep this type of housing out. Just as you state that you would be wary of living in my neighborhood because this project is not entirely welcome, I was wary of living in a neighborhood that did have this type of housing and chose not to live near it.

I see poverty, run down neighborhoods and properties each day with my profession and when I drive home in the afternoon I like to see well maintained homes, nice lawns and neighbors that share similar values... not a Habitat for Humanity project with people that do not necessarily understand or have the ability to take care of their home. As I stated before, not everyone is cut out to own a home, while they may dream of a home, understanding the costs and responsibilities involved is another. Seeing the projects completed by Habitat for Humanity of NWHC that have been completed is certainly eye opening and not something I want to have near me.

Again, it's about choice I would not choose to live in a mixed use neighborhood and I don't particularly welcome having $30,000 homes being built so close to my subdivision. There are neighborhoods that may very well benefit from having a Habitat for Humanity project, however, this is no benefit to my neighborhood or the schools that this will feed into.

This topic veered way off course.

To bring it back around, I think folks getting up in arms about a Habitat for Humanity build is pretty darn telling. I wouldn't want to live in a place that makes Habitat out to be a bad thing. I also don't think Jesus was a NIMBY.

I assure you that you would not be pleased with a Habitat neighborhood close to your home. You really need to drive out to their project in Tomball and see for yourself what these neighborhoods look like, in fact most of the wonderful people that participate in building these homes never come back to see what they look like a year or two after they are completed. Would you want to live near a neighborhood without deed restrictions, junk cars parked in the front yard, broken windows and sheets being used as curtains and used appliances in the front yard? While home ownership may be the American Dream not every American is cut out to maintain a home nor do they understand that owning a home goes well beyond simply paying a mortgage.

Habitat for Humanity organizations operate like a franchise and each one is different, I would say that for the most part most of them are doing this for the greater good of society, while others display an arrogance and lack of concern for the neighborhoods around them. I too believed that all Habitat for Humanity organizations were the same and I also believe that they were all good, my eyes have really been opened as I've learned more about this particular organization and have attended the various meetings. Again, don't simply take my word for it drive out to Cherie Cove and look for yourself and then ask yourself if this is something that you want close to your home?

interesting story about Greenwood Forest:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/spr...ws/5589610.html

I was one of the 200 homeowners that packed into the Greenwood Forest Residents Club. This is not something that is needed for this area, none of us is pleased with this project.

In case you didn't notice this is an Architectural board that mainly deals with projects around town, not school bonds.

But there's only so much you can say about a 1978 mock English Tudor in Spring, Texas

Fourth, your group is doing nothing but wasting its time. If there is one thing I have learned in all this time with KISD it is this, no matter what you do, or say, or present they are still going to do what they want to do regardless. In fact, the District would love it if the School Board went away so they could have freedom to do that without the red tape. You think these steering committees are done to find the best bond? Everyone knows these were stacked in favor of KHS, why do you think that is? This bond was made up before then, and is already a done deal, the election, and these town halls are merely small hurdles for the District. Sure you could vote it down, but that is a tremendous effort that the District thinks you are not capable of, and right now they are right. So keep putting your ads in the paper, etc, it is all time and money that you will never see a return on.

Why is this a waste of time? You admit in your post that you perceive the Klein Board as well as the Steering Committee as being either morally debased, arrogant or both. Which I personally would tend to agree with; why would any of us vote yes on a bond that does not benefit ALL of the taxpayers?

I was at Doerre, and I admit the 8th grade principal (Mr. Allen) was creepy.

He is a fast runner( I speek from experiance).

I was refering to the acadimics of KFHS.

Each time I read one of your posts I want to reach for a red pen!

What all of you are missing is that the Klein ISD Board of Trustees will vote for what is best for ALL OF OUR CHILDREN. I know what the Klein For All people really mean by "all" ... as in "all of the children North of 1960." Where was your outrage four years ago during the 04 Bond Election when people in Greenwood Forest were fighting to get better solutions in the South end of the district? Inevitably, somone is not going to get what they want -- guess, what -- It's your turn to NOT GET WHAT YOU WANT...that's what you call Divine Justice. Yes, I wish it wasn't necessary to rebuild Klein High... I wish we could all travel back in time and do a better job maintaining that facility .. but it is what it is.. right now and it really sounds like it's a lawsuit waiting to happen if you don't get the students out of there. But there I go again, talking about "children...." I know that's a lame idea when we're talking about a Bond issue .. because we're all consumed about getting ours.

The 2004 bond was voted down resoundly by the residents south of 1960, I had put a link on here for the survey that Klein did following the 2004 bond, that link no longer works apparently. As a Greenwood Forest homeowner I have talked with several neighbors who will be voting no on this bond, including a few who voted yes in '04.

Whether it be $38 million or $7 million, I find it outrageous to give students laptops with taxpayer money.... no thanks!

What I find insane is coming back to the homeowners every 4 years and asking for more money. Again, over the last 2 years property assessments increased and so did our tax bills, this money should be used to repair and maintain structures. I've said repeatedly that builders should be assessed impact fees that are passed along to the homeowner for infrastructure for schools and other public needs for these new subdivisions, I suspect that there are more school age children living in the newer subdivisions than there are living in the older ones. Between the increased tax assessments and a bond this sounds like a real windfall! Perhaps a no vote would convince this district to be more prudent with taxpayer money.

Personally, I don't care for the idea of spending $38 million dollars for $1,400 laptops for every high school student. I would suspect that most of the students in Klein ISD have access to PC's in their homes already. I don't feel that every homeowner in Klein needs or desires to pay for this... myself included.

Okay calm down. It appears you may have misunderstood my original post. I was asking if I would face any prejudice out here because I am:

a) non-Caucasian

African-American

c) from an poorer background

When I read posts of the area, all I see are people bashing the people that have moved to North Houston/Spring/Klein, saying they are the reason the area is on the decline (I personally don't feel the area is on the decline). I don't want to be the object of their frustration, especially since I would be moving to the area with two tween age children. I don't want my nephews being treated badly because people are prejudiced.

So my post was not to bash anyone, I was simply asking if I would face any problems in the area since I do not share a similar background of people originally lived in the area. I am currently looking at a homes in Greenwood Forest and the surrounding subdivisions.

KayKayGirl,

As a Greenwood Forest homeowner myself I would welcome you and your family to the community. I would prefer to have a wonderful neighbor that took pride in their home and neighborhood than to have a closed minded and ignorant neighbor that lived like a slob. We have 3 African-American families on my street who maintain beautiful homes and I'm proud to have them as neighbors. These homes look better than they did when the caucasian families owned them.

Don't move into a house in the klein Forest atendence zone

Really? Why? Additionally, I have spelled attendance correctly for your review, they teach spelling at Klein Forest.

Sometimes it's cheaper to rebuild a school than renavate it

And besides a part of the ceiling collapsed in the Main Building today

Klein Oak is expected to grow and it is currently overcrowed.

Again... Maintenance. When my ceiling collapsed due to a water heater malfunction I had the ceiling repaired, I did not tear down my house. When wood rots you replace it, when the house needs paint you paint it and so on. Again, I would imagine it much less expensive to repair the problems than to raze the structures. It seems to me that Klein would prefer to tear down the older structures to make way for new, We'd all like new! I'd like a lot of new things, I can think of 50 things I'd like to do to my house but need to budget for, it's certainly alot easier to spend other peoples money. Take care of what you have and you won't need to hit the taxpayers up every 3 and a half years. As I said before the increased tax assessments over the last 2 years on the homes in Klein should be put to better use and to come to the taxpayers less than 4 years after the last bond is a slap in the face... as well as the wallet.

The new home builders should be assessed impact fees which are passed along to the buyer in the purchase price, this would lessen the burden of existing homeowners who are already paying high taxes.

I do not feel the district has been wise at all times with it's spending or it's decisions.

As I stated before, to come back to the taxpayers less than 4 years later to ask for more money when the property assessments over the last 2 years has increased considerably is disgusting.

I am having a difficult time swallowing tearing down parts of Klein High. It would seem to me that instead of tearing down why not maintain? Roofing, paint, carpeting and tile would be alot less expensive than tearing down and rebuilding. The high school that I attended is now almost 60 years old and was renovated and not torn down, the same can be said for the schools that my parents attended 40 years ago and grandparents attended over 70 years ago.

Can we assume that every few years Klein is going to come to us and ask for more money? Between escalating tax assessments and bonds homeowners will be feeling the pinch most definitely.

We all have to live within our budget and Klein needs to do the same.

I had recalled running across this a while back, Klein lost the Klein Forest area in 2004 and will likely see the same occur.

http://www.kleinisd.net/docs/postsum.pdf

Why will you be voting no on the Bond Plan?

How is this going to benefit my neighborhood? Why should I pay for new schools to the north when Klein Forest is over-crowded, has a negative reputation that effects peoples decision to buy in my neighborhood? Klein has ignored the residents living in Greenwood Forest, Huntwick and Fountainhead.

I've spoken with many of my neighbors who feel the same way. They got the bond through in 2004 and now they are coming at us once again. Nevermind the fact that over the last 2 years property assessments in Greenwood on average increased by $20,000 per home, what are they doing with this money?

I don't think that bussing the students up to Klein is the answer, it would make more sense to add another high school to the south and then re-align the district pulling some of Klein over to Klein Forest. Should they decide to re-align and build a school to the south then I would be interested in the bond.

Honestly, would you send your children to Klein Forest or to another Klein school given the choice? My vote is No to the bond.

As a Greenwood Forest homeowner I will be voting no on the bond.

Well damn ... really?

Really