I-dineout has several consecutive
months of comments fighting against one local school bond issue or another in Liberty County Liberty County
But any good analysis will reveal
all districts don’t face the same situations and they are not all asking
taxpayers to do the same thing. For those who listen to what Liberty ISD’s bond
election is considering, I believe they will find this election one every voter
should consider voting “for”. It wilset the stage for 15 to 20 years of
great opportunity for our children, our grandchildren, teachers and community
by refreshing our two oldest campuses.
If you are a conservative, I am sure you are not for pulling
the taxpayer wallet out every time some one wants something new, but you
probably don’t look at every school bond issue in terms of “pass” or “fail”
either. Some schools like Dayton ISD may have to work extra hard to get a
normally supportive community because of the amount of money they are
borrowing. Some voters simply vote against spending money on anything. But informed
voters that are willing to consider issuing of school bonds may pay close
attention to each and every item that is on the list of what the bond is
covering and, just as some voters viewed the election in the Dayton ISD bond
issue, they may decide the district has extended their “need list” into a very
expensive and extensive “want list”. Some of the voters in that election
objected to the nearly $100 million rather than the idea of borrowing money to
give the school a shot in the arm. I
don’t think anyone could find that in Liberty ’s
proposal.
Why do I say that? I am banking on two things. Trust and
personal knowledge.
First “trust” is important and
leadership from top to bottom is working to invite the public to be part of the
process. Not only are they saying to come and hear and look and see how you
believe after you get first hand information, they are also going out of their
way to leave the decision up to as many voters as possibly can be enticed to
the polls.
The committee that has endorses issuing these bonds is
doing more than selling the community that this is needed, I am certain they
will hold town meetings, publish community newsletters, and maybe even develop robust
websites in order to get feedback and ultimately to make sure this community
legacy is one we are all proud of.
School districts are also up against jaded public opinion,
an offshoot of increasingly divisive politics at all levels of government. Unfortunately,
public confidence in any publicly-funded institution, including our public
schools, erodes more and more with each passing year. I have certainly been an
outspoken voice at times that has screamed “hold on to your wallets” and at 57
years old I guess some would expect that of me here, but I believe the public’s support for the
amount of money the committee has recommended and for the needs should be
considered favorably as we enter the process.
This is not the federal government in D.C. or the state
government is Austin
wanting more money from us, this is the “local control” and local decision
making some of us believe should be used on many more of the important
decisions in our lives.
But pass trusting the
leadership, personal knowledge should increase voters to lean toward a “yes’
vote. Personal knowledge, including if you attended school in what is now known
as the administration building, should help you realize we need to pass a
school bond. Liberty
This building is just one
example, albeit an obvious one, of the need to make some changes. I chose it
because my more libertarian friends fight almost any public expenditure by
making the simple assertion that money should have been set back all along as
this was planned for.
I have two comments about a
statement that sounds good but does not meet the reality test. First comment:
“In reality, it is a rare person or organization that sets back money and pays
cash for a building. While it seems ideal, it has not happened and we need to
go forward from here. Low interest rates make this a good time to go forward.
Second comment: There is only
one constant involved in the school business and in Liberty ISD. It is not the
school board or the Superintendent, we have had many of those. Long term
planning is being done by the current board and administrators, for example a
bus rotation plan that uses grants and a time schedule to keep the fleet current.
This is good solid business planning, but the only consistent “controlling
authority” has always been the taxpayer. And we need to examine the current
proposal and see if we can catch up with what needs to be done to give our
children and our community a school that has the best chance of success while
at the same time holds our yearly tax bills down.
Richard Pegues
Richard Pegues
