Ms. Shoven,
I have outlined below questions contained in your letter presented to the LISD school board at their March 10, 2007 meeting. Responses to each question are also outlined below. These responses have been formulated from information provided to me by LISD administrators, Mr. Alan King, Mr. Brant Buck, Dr. Penny Reddell, and Mr. Larry Williams.
1. "I would be interested to know the testing numbers from 1997-2004 compared to 2005-2007."
Two different sets of Academic Excellence Indicator System data for LHS North provided to the LISD by the Texas Education Agency are attached to this e-mail. One set of data provides student academic performance results on the TAAS from 1998-2002. The second set of data provides student academic performance results on the TAKS from 2003-2007.
2. "I have heard from District employees that when it rains, the walkways at Milliken flood causing great stress for the staff and students. What measures will be put in place to make sure our children and administrators remain dry during the inclimate weather?"
LISD Facility Services has not received complaints of sidewalks under water during rain storms or drainage issues as mentioned in the past few years. Drainage, sidewalks, and grading will be a part of the work of adding an addition.
3. "What was the root cause of the 290 sq ft of mold that was removed from Milliken in October of 2007? Are you fairly certain the root cause is gone and will most likely not resurface causing similar issues in the near future?"
Last year 290 sq ft of sheet rock which had been damaged by a roof leak was replaced. This work consisted of replacing sheet rock on one wall. The roof leak was repaired, and this work was confined to one classroom. The entire operation of Adult and Community Education which is currently housed at Milliken continued during this time. The roof is in a normal condition. We do not have excessive problems with the roof.
4. "Exactly how much of the $697 million dollar bond is set aside for repairs at the Milliken center?"
We will be adding 36,000 sq ft to Milliken at a cost of approximately 8.7 million dollars. The existing 96,440 sq ft will be renovated at a cost of approximately 4.2 million dollars.
5. "After you spend the money to update Milliken, approximately how long do you expect to extend the life of the building? Is the money vs. time ratio worth our effort?"
The renovation of the current facility and the 36,000 sq ft addition will extend the life of this facility to the same as a new building. This is more cost effective than building a completely new structure.
6. "What are the conditions of the bathrooms at Milliken? What is the condition of the water and sewage lines under the building?"
LISD Facility Services has housed a crew at Milliken for the past three years. One of their tasks is to ensure the proper operation of plumbing lines, sewer lines, bathrooms, air conditioners, heaters, etc. This crew has kept the facility in appropriate working condition.
7. "I assume the district will be redrawing lines to fill the classrooms. Which elementary schools do you think will be affected by the redrawing?"
Rezoning proposals in the LISD are normally reviewed during the preceding school year of the proposed school year of implementation. Therefore, if this facility was to be occupied in the fall of 2010, any rezoning proposals for any campuses should be reviewed during the 2009-2010 school year.
8. "Will there be buses available on a daily basis to transport children, not only during regular school hours, but also those involved in activities that extend beyond the normal school day, like tutoring, band, choir, and athletics practices, performances and games? What is the proposed yearly cost to bus all the children from the South side of Lewisville to the North side of Lewisville on a daily basis? How long will the typical child spend on the school bus?"
Buses will be available to students based on current LISD Student Services guidelines used for all other LISD middle school campuses. There should be no additional cost incurred by the LISD for busing students caused by the opening of this facility. A child should have no more than a 15 to 20 minute bus ride to and from this facility.
9. "What condition are the locker rooms, band hall, choir room, gym, and fields in? What is the estimated cost to bring them up to the standards of the other middle schools in our district?"
These areas will all meet the LISD standard and all should be in outstanding condition. The projected cost for renovation work in these areas is included in the $4.2 million planned for the existing building.
10. "What year do you plan to move the children there? How does the district plan to help the flow of traffic into and out of the area?"
This facility is currently projected to open in the fall of 2010 provided the bond package passes in the May election. LISD will work with staff, parents, students, and the community as it does with all other campuses in order to implement a flow of traffic which provides safety for all concerned parties.
I certainly do appreciate your bringing these questions to us in order to give us a chance to respond to all of them. I am hopeful these responses will alleviate some of the concerns you might have. If we can be of any further assistance please let us know.
Sincerely,
Dennis Winborn
Associate Superintendent
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Letter to LISD school Board about Milliken
Dear School Board Members
As a Lakeland parent and PTA president reading the bond proposal, I am confused as to why the district would choose to close Delay to students and move all 550 students to Milliken. I know Delay is overcrowded but I am hoping you can answer the many questions I have to help me understand how this solution became the only choice available to our students.
First, I read that the 9th grade program began at Milliken in 1997, but I have only heard test results since 2005 after the new Killough North building opened. I would be interested to know the testing numbers from 1997-2004 compared to 2005-2007. I am sure the first few years will be skewed and I am willing to take that into consideration, but I would like to see the impact, if any, providing a new, clean safe building had on our 9th graders test scores.
It is my understanding that Milliken was not an adequate 9th grade campus and because so we built the new Killough North Campus. Not only had the 9th graders outgrown the facilities, but the building needed repair. If the building was not adequate for students to attend for one year, why is it now fine for me to send my child there for 3 years?
I have heard from District employees that when it rains, the walkways at Milliken flood causing great stress for the staff and students. What measures will be put in place to make sure our children and administrators remain dry during inclimate weather?
Looking through the LISD website, I see there was major mold repair done just a few months ago. What was the root cause of the 290 sq ft of mold that was removed from Milliken in October of 2007? Are your fairly certain the root cause is gone and will most likely not resurface causing similar issues in the near future?
Exactly how much of the $697 million dollar bond is set aside for repairs at the Milliken center? Though the numbers do show that Milliken is a newer building, going from a 40 year old, newly remolded building, to a 31 year old building is a wash in my eyes. Yes, it is a bigger building, but bigger does not always mean better especially when it is in such a bad location compared to the families that will be affected by the change. After you spend the money to update Milliken, approximately how long do you expect to extend the life of the building? Lakeland is only 15 years older has been deemed unsalvageable, Delay is only 9 years older and will be used only to house administration. Is the money vs. time ratio worth our effort?
At Lakeland, one of our main concerns in our old building is our bathrooms. What are the conditions of the bathrooms at Milliken? What is the condition of the water and sewage lines under the building? Are they sound enough to withstand the abuse of middle schoolers?
Since Delay currently houses 550 students, and Milliken can easily hold 900, I assume the district will be redrawing lines to fill the classrooms. Though I know the actual lines will not be announced until the last minute, which elementary schools do you think will be affected by the redrawing?
Currently, many of the Delay students walk to and from school, will there be busses available on a daily basis to transport children, not only during regular school hours, but also those involved in activities that extend beyond the normal school day, like tutoring, band, choir, and athletics practices, performances and games? What is the proposed yearly cost to bus all the children from the South side of Lewisville to the North side of Lewisville on a daily basis? How long will the typical child spend on the school bus?
Back to extra curricular activities, how well have the facilities been kept? What condition are the locker rooms, band hall, choir room, gym, and fields in? What is the estimated cost to bring them up to the standards of the other middle schools in our district?
What year do you plan to move the children there? The city/state has said construction at 407 and I-35 will last for years. How does the district plan to help the flow of traffic into and out of the area?
Though I am fairly new to LISD, I have only lived here for 8 years, I have many friends and acquaintances who have been here for much longer. Through out my years here, I have heard Milliken lovingly referred to by my long time LISD friends as “the armpit of the district” the “wastelands” and “the dungeon” Many of my friends attended school there and they too are shocked it is in consideration to be opened to students again. I have asked parents and teachers alike if they would want to send there kids there, I have heard a loud “NO” from everyone. I have also talked to many long time Lewisville residents who attended Milliken either in middle school or in the ninth grade as students. None of them remember it fondly. When I asked them about riding the bus, they all remember long trips across town that frustrated both them and their parents because they knew they had other schools that were much closer. One friend even said, “As and adult, I choose to buy my house in Flower Mound because I knew, even as a child, Lewisville schools were treated different.”
Finally, I am proud to say my child attends Lakeland. I am convinced we have the best teachers and administrators in the entire district. I am proud of the work that Delay has done over the last few years and the turn around the school has made, but I do not fill moving Delay children out of their neighborhoods from one old building to a bigger old building is what is best for our students or our district. I am asking each of you as a parent and a school board member, if you lived in Old Town Lewisville, would you be proud to send your child to Milliken? If you can not say “YES, I would be proud to send my child to Milliken!” then why should I even consider sending my child there?
Respectfully,
Paige Shoven
PTA President
Lakeland Elementary
972-436-3225
pshoven@verizon.net
As a Lakeland parent and PTA president reading the bond proposal, I am confused as to why the district would choose to close Delay to students and move all 550 students to Milliken. I know Delay is overcrowded but I am hoping you can answer the many questions I have to help me understand how this solution became the only choice available to our students.
First, I read that the 9th grade program began at Milliken in 1997, but I have only heard test results since 2005 after the new Killough North building opened. I would be interested to know the testing numbers from 1997-2004 compared to 2005-2007. I am sure the first few years will be skewed and I am willing to take that into consideration, but I would like to see the impact, if any, providing a new, clean safe building had on our 9th graders test scores.
It is my understanding that Milliken was not an adequate 9th grade campus and because so we built the new Killough North Campus. Not only had the 9th graders outgrown the facilities, but the building needed repair. If the building was not adequate for students to attend for one year, why is it now fine for me to send my child there for 3 years?
I have heard from District employees that when it rains, the walkways at Milliken flood causing great stress for the staff and students. What measures will be put in place to make sure our children and administrators remain dry during inclimate weather?
Looking through the LISD website, I see there was major mold repair done just a few months ago. What was the root cause of the 290 sq ft of mold that was removed from Milliken in October of 2007? Are your fairly certain the root cause is gone and will most likely not resurface causing similar issues in the near future?
Exactly how much of the $697 million dollar bond is set aside for repairs at the Milliken center? Though the numbers do show that Milliken is a newer building, going from a 40 year old, newly remolded building, to a 31 year old building is a wash in my eyes. Yes, it is a bigger building, but bigger does not always mean better especially when it is in such a bad location compared to the families that will be affected by the change. After you spend the money to update Milliken, approximately how long do you expect to extend the life of the building? Lakeland is only 15 years older has been deemed unsalvageable, Delay is only 9 years older and will be used only to house administration. Is the money vs. time ratio worth our effort?
At Lakeland, one of our main concerns in our old building is our bathrooms. What are the conditions of the bathrooms at Milliken? What is the condition of the water and sewage lines under the building? Are they sound enough to withstand the abuse of middle schoolers?
Since Delay currently houses 550 students, and Milliken can easily hold 900, I assume the district will be redrawing lines to fill the classrooms. Though I know the actual lines will not be announced until the last minute, which elementary schools do you think will be affected by the redrawing?
Currently, many of the Delay students walk to and from school, will there be busses available on a daily basis to transport children, not only during regular school hours, but also those involved in activities that extend beyond the normal school day, like tutoring, band, choir, and athletics practices, performances and games? What is the proposed yearly cost to bus all the children from the South side of Lewisville to the North side of Lewisville on a daily basis? How long will the typical child spend on the school bus?
Back to extra curricular activities, how well have the facilities been kept? What condition are the locker rooms, band hall, choir room, gym, and fields in? What is the estimated cost to bring them up to the standards of the other middle schools in our district?
What year do you plan to move the children there? The city/state has said construction at 407 and I-35 will last for years. How does the district plan to help the flow of traffic into and out of the area?
Though I am fairly new to LISD, I have only lived here for 8 years, I have many friends and acquaintances who have been here for much longer. Through out my years here, I have heard Milliken lovingly referred to by my long time LISD friends as “the armpit of the district” the “wastelands” and “the dungeon” Many of my friends attended school there and they too are shocked it is in consideration to be opened to students again. I have asked parents and teachers alike if they would want to send there kids there, I have heard a loud “NO” from everyone. I have also talked to many long time Lewisville residents who attended Milliken either in middle school or in the ninth grade as students. None of them remember it fondly. When I asked them about riding the bus, they all remember long trips across town that frustrated both them and their parents because they knew they had other schools that were much closer. One friend even said, “As and adult, I choose to buy my house in Flower Mound because I knew, even as a child, Lewisville schools were treated different.”
Finally, I am proud to say my child attends Lakeland. I am convinced we have the best teachers and administrators in the entire district. I am proud of the work that Delay has done over the last few years and the turn around the school has made, but I do not fill moving Delay children out of their neighborhoods from one old building to a bigger old building is what is best for our students or our district. I am asking each of you as a parent and a school board member, if you lived in Old Town Lewisville, would you be proud to send your child to Milliken? If you can not say “YES, I would be proud to send my child to Milliken!” then why should I even consider sending my child there?
Respectfully,
Paige Shoven
PTA President
Lakeland Elementary
972-436-3225
pshoven@verizon.net
Why Lewisville Families should VOTE NO
First, let’s start by saying that I do think that LISD does need the money it is asking for, our children deserve the best we can give them, but I do not think blindly handing over ¾ of a billion dollars will best serve our students. Some of the money the school board is asking for is earmarked to be spent wisely, and I do not think any of us would argue that relief is not needed at Flower Mound, Marcus, and Hebron High Schools, new technology is always needed, a technology center would be nice in The Colony so their children don’t have to be on the bus all day, the current natatorium has issues that need addressed and even that Marcus HS is deserving of a stadium equal to that the other High Schools use on those all important Friday Nights!
However, to turn over $221 million for unnamed schools, to be built somewhere in our district, is not being good stewards of our money. (86.7 million for three elementary schools, 20.8 for five elementary additions, $107 million for two middle schools, and $9.9 million for two middle school additions) At least two schools in our district, Southridge in Lewisville and Morningside in The Colony are busting at the seams with portables and students, but the district can not promise them relief. We trusted the board with our money in 2005, and though they did very well deciding to rebuild Lakeland Elementary, I am disappointed that Independence will open at ½ capacity because the board drew the lines the suffice the parents in Castle Hills who refuse to send their children to a brand new school. They spent 20 million dollars on a school that will take years to fill, while the students and teachers at Morningside and Southridge long to be in a permanent building.
Next the board has come up with a wonderful idea to convert Milliken Center back to a middle school for the low price of only $13 million. After the update, Milliken will house 800 children. Where is Milliken? It is on the East side of I35 and 407, the old 9th grade campus, and before that the old Milliken Middle School. It was built in 1977 and has not been used as a school since 2005. It has almost no window, only in the doorways and the hallways, a small parking lot, oh and it is on the EAST side of the highway backed up to the lake, very convenient for most Lewisville residents.
Ok, great who will go there? Well, the 550 Delay children of course. Wait a minute, who goes to Delay right now? Some Southridge students (Corporate and Edmunds and it shares a parking lot with Durham MS) some Creekside students (across the street from Southridge) most of Central (Right next to Delay at Fox and I35) and most of Lakeland (Fox and Edmunds). So the great idea is to bus all the children from the south side of Fox to the north side of 407, very economical in this day and age. Don’t worry though; the state will pay for the busses because they are more than 2 miles away. So glad I don’t pay state taxes, oh wait, I DO pay state taxes.
Well that counts for the first 550 students, who will fill the next 250 seats at Milliken. College Street students for sure. From there, no one knows. The logical choice would be Valley Ridge, they are the closets, but then again, so is Highland Village and McAuliffe. ‘But we don’t go to LHS, our kids will go to Marcus”, is what Highland Village and McAuliffe parents have said to me. That is true; however, the district has never said they would not combine feeder schools at the elementary and middle school level. In fact, the brand new Killian Middle School does just that, ½ its students go to The Colony HS and the other ½ go to Hebron HS. Lines will not be drawn until the 2009-2010 school year to be in place for the 2010-2011 school year.
When I asked if had been considered to rebuild Delay, keep the kids in their neighborhood, I was given an astounding no. That would take too much money and too much time. I do not see how spending a few extra million (30 million for a new middle school vs. 13 to convert Milliken) is too much money. Think of the time alone the children would spend on the bus each day. The majority of families at Delay qualify for free or reduced school meals. Currently many students walk to and from school because it is the best option for them. They are close enough to walk home after athletics, band, and tutoring. These children and their families can not and do not have arrangements to get to and from a school that is in some cases 4+ miles away from their home to be involved in extra curricular activities without the help of extra school buses. When I asked the district about extra buses, I was told the same arrangements given to all other schools would be provided to the Milliken students.
I have also asked about redrawing all the lines to better align the middle schools, not possible. Most Delay students live closer to Durham, Huffines, and Hedrick Middle schools than they do to Milliken, but they draw the short straw, and are the ones to be bused out to the “new” school built in 1977.
Lastly, LHS is slated to be split yet again. While Flower Mound, Marcus, and Hebron will be taking advantage of the wonderful program that Killough North has built, LHS will be changing a system already working. There is no doubt that Killough North is a wonderful program, the best in the state, the shining star of LISD….or so the numbers show. Teachers, students and parents will argue the split has done nothing more than divide the campus and exclude ¼ of the student population. Now, instead of working to include them, the bond is going to exclude yet another grade. They will compete in athletics, UIL, and academics. We will have two 9th grade and two 10th grade sports teams, one JV and one Varsity team, one band, one JROTC and ultimately only one Valedictorian. I don’t know the right answer for LHS, but I know enough to understand no one knows the right answer for LHS and until answers are thought through and given to the parents we should not change a program that is working well enough to be the best in the state!
Not only are we going to put 9/10 on two separate campuses, the South location is not being built like all the other 9th grade campuses. It is being built to look just like Hebron HS. Why? So when the “next board” is ready to add a 6th high school, the building is already there, only the lines will need to be redrawn. When will we need a 6th high school? We don’t know, for sure if this bond passes, the building will be there.
The bond proposal gives some interesting information on enrollment as well. Their projected numbers say that in 2008, we will have a district wide enrollment of just over 50,000 students and in 2011 we will have about 55,000 students district wide. That is a fair estimate based on enrollment over the last several years. Now the interesting part comes when you compare these numbers to the task force report that estimates that the 9/10th grade population at LHS will grow by over 1000 students, 20% of the estimated growth for the entire district, in the same time frame. Right now all of LHS (9-12) is about 4000 students, but 2011, the task force is estimating the two 9/10 campuses alone to house over 4000 students. Their numbers for the needed expansion do not meet the numbers given for the entire district. Where does the board or the task force think 1000+ high school students are going to come from? Yes, we have some families moving in, and the middle schools are all full, but 20% of the growth for the district will be in one school? As John Stosal would say….Give me a Break!
Many administrators and PACK volunteers (those who have agreed to go around and present the bond on behalf of the board, i.e., the ones that want the money in the first place) will tell you we are afraid that state legislation will soon be forcing “rich” schools to give a portion of their bond money to the “poor” school. In essence Robin Hood taxes will be charged to our bond money. Though this could and quite possibly will be in our future, it can not happen until state legislation votes on it. They are not in session again until January 8, 2009. If they decide to enforce this new system, it will not happen until after January 8th. School bonds must be voted on during a regular civil election; which is why we are voting in May this year instead of October like the school board would have preferred. If we vote NO and the bond fails, the school board does have time to correct the bond, make it fair or ALL LISD students, tell us where they are wanting to spend the money and still get it on the ballot for the November election.
If the school board included the sites where new schools that will relieve Southridge and Morningside will be built, come up with a suitable plan for our middle schools, and give more details on how the split LHS will effect our children, I will happily support giving them ¾ of a billion dollars, until then I ask everyone to vote NO on May 10th. I have been told LHS feeder school parents have never turned out and voted for a bond election. I think it is our turn to let the school board know that we are paying attention, we do care and we do vote when it matters. Let LISD know we support our kids; we support ALL our kids….VOTE NO on MAY 10th!
However, to turn over $221 million for unnamed schools, to be built somewhere in our district, is not being good stewards of our money. (86.7 million for three elementary schools, 20.8 for five elementary additions, $107 million for two middle schools, and $9.9 million for two middle school additions) At least two schools in our district, Southridge in Lewisville and Morningside in The Colony are busting at the seams with portables and students, but the district can not promise them relief. We trusted the board with our money in 2005, and though they did very well deciding to rebuild Lakeland Elementary, I am disappointed that Independence will open at ½ capacity because the board drew the lines the suffice the parents in Castle Hills who refuse to send their children to a brand new school. They spent 20 million dollars on a school that will take years to fill, while the students and teachers at Morningside and Southridge long to be in a permanent building.
Next the board has come up with a wonderful idea to convert Milliken Center back to a middle school for the low price of only $13 million. After the update, Milliken will house 800 children. Where is Milliken? It is on the East side of I35 and 407, the old 9th grade campus, and before that the old Milliken Middle School. It was built in 1977 and has not been used as a school since 2005. It has almost no window, only in the doorways and the hallways, a small parking lot, oh and it is on the EAST side of the highway backed up to the lake, very convenient for most Lewisville residents.
Ok, great who will go there? Well, the 550 Delay children of course. Wait a minute, who goes to Delay right now? Some Southridge students (Corporate and Edmunds and it shares a parking lot with Durham MS) some Creekside students (across the street from Southridge) most of Central (Right next to Delay at Fox and I35) and most of Lakeland (Fox and Edmunds). So the great idea is to bus all the children from the south side of Fox to the north side of 407, very economical in this day and age. Don’t worry though; the state will pay for the busses because they are more than 2 miles away. So glad I don’t pay state taxes, oh wait, I DO pay state taxes.
Well that counts for the first 550 students, who will fill the next 250 seats at Milliken. College Street students for sure. From there, no one knows. The logical choice would be Valley Ridge, they are the closets, but then again, so is Highland Village and McAuliffe. ‘But we don’t go to LHS, our kids will go to Marcus”, is what Highland Village and McAuliffe parents have said to me. That is true; however, the district has never said they would not combine feeder schools at the elementary and middle school level. In fact, the brand new Killian Middle School does just that, ½ its students go to The Colony HS and the other ½ go to Hebron HS. Lines will not be drawn until the 2009-2010 school year to be in place for the 2010-2011 school year.
When I asked if had been considered to rebuild Delay, keep the kids in their neighborhood, I was given an astounding no. That would take too much money and too much time. I do not see how spending a few extra million (30 million for a new middle school vs. 13 to convert Milliken) is too much money. Think of the time alone the children would spend on the bus each day. The majority of families at Delay qualify for free or reduced school meals. Currently many students walk to and from school because it is the best option for them. They are close enough to walk home after athletics, band, and tutoring. These children and their families can not and do not have arrangements to get to and from a school that is in some cases 4+ miles away from their home to be involved in extra curricular activities without the help of extra school buses. When I asked the district about extra buses, I was told the same arrangements given to all other schools would be provided to the Milliken students.
I have also asked about redrawing all the lines to better align the middle schools, not possible. Most Delay students live closer to Durham, Huffines, and Hedrick Middle schools than they do to Milliken, but they draw the short straw, and are the ones to be bused out to the “new” school built in 1977.
Lastly, LHS is slated to be split yet again. While Flower Mound, Marcus, and Hebron will be taking advantage of the wonderful program that Killough North has built, LHS will be changing a system already working. There is no doubt that Killough North is a wonderful program, the best in the state, the shining star of LISD….or so the numbers show. Teachers, students and parents will argue the split has done nothing more than divide the campus and exclude ¼ of the student population. Now, instead of working to include them, the bond is going to exclude yet another grade. They will compete in athletics, UIL, and academics. We will have two 9th grade and two 10th grade sports teams, one JV and one Varsity team, one band, one JROTC and ultimately only one Valedictorian. I don’t know the right answer for LHS, but I know enough to understand no one knows the right answer for LHS and until answers are thought through and given to the parents we should not change a program that is working well enough to be the best in the state!
Not only are we going to put 9/10 on two separate campuses, the South location is not being built like all the other 9th grade campuses. It is being built to look just like Hebron HS. Why? So when the “next board” is ready to add a 6th high school, the building is already there, only the lines will need to be redrawn. When will we need a 6th high school? We don’t know, for sure if this bond passes, the building will be there.
The bond proposal gives some interesting information on enrollment as well. Their projected numbers say that in 2008, we will have a district wide enrollment of just over 50,000 students and in 2011 we will have about 55,000 students district wide. That is a fair estimate based on enrollment over the last several years. Now the interesting part comes when you compare these numbers to the task force report that estimates that the 9/10th grade population at LHS will grow by over 1000 students, 20% of the estimated growth for the entire district, in the same time frame. Right now all of LHS (9-12) is about 4000 students, but 2011, the task force is estimating the two 9/10 campuses alone to house over 4000 students. Their numbers for the needed expansion do not meet the numbers given for the entire district. Where does the board or the task force think 1000+ high school students are going to come from? Yes, we have some families moving in, and the middle schools are all full, but 20% of the growth for the district will be in one school? As John Stosal would say….Give me a Break!
Many administrators and PACK volunteers (those who have agreed to go around and present the bond on behalf of the board, i.e., the ones that want the money in the first place) will tell you we are afraid that state legislation will soon be forcing “rich” schools to give a portion of their bond money to the “poor” school. In essence Robin Hood taxes will be charged to our bond money. Though this could and quite possibly will be in our future, it can not happen until state legislation votes on it. They are not in session again until January 8, 2009. If they decide to enforce this new system, it will not happen until after January 8th. School bonds must be voted on during a regular civil election; which is why we are voting in May this year instead of October like the school board would have preferred. If we vote NO and the bond fails, the school board does have time to correct the bond, make it fair or ALL LISD students, tell us where they are wanting to spend the money and still get it on the ballot for the November election.
If the school board included the sites where new schools that will relieve Southridge and Morningside will be built, come up with a suitable plan for our middle schools, and give more details on how the split LHS will effect our children, I will happily support giving them ¾ of a billion dollars, until then I ask everyone to vote NO on May 10th. I have been told LHS feeder school parents have never turned out and voted for a bond election. I think it is our turn to let the school board know that we are paying attention, we do care and we do vote when it matters. Let LISD know we support our kids; we support ALL our kids….VOTE NO on MAY 10th!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)