PROPOSITION A – Includes many “must have” items that seem to have the broad support of the community – especially the new High School. While District Administration will be prohibited from encouraging voters to say “Yes”, rest assured that an “Advocacy” team will be formed to demonstrate active support. Presented here, however, will be facts and questions which the voters are encouraged to review as they consider going into $1 Billion in debt and whether to agree to the increase of taxes.
What’s in the $548M Prop A?
Everything that anybody wanted…see for yourself.
LTISDTransparency.org’s Summary of Proposition A Details
Using the data from the “Meeting #4” publication of the Long Range Facility Planning Committee, here is a recap of what is in Proposition A.
Key Considerations which Support a “No” Vote
The High School and campus improvements are items within Proposition A which are generally supported. Unfortunately, there are several issues which point to sharpening the pencil and telling the Adminstration, the Long Range Facilities Planning Committee and the Board of Trustees to “Bring Us a Better Bond Package”!
$44M for a Competition Arena
The $44M Competion Arena is part of Proposition A. Designated by the District as a “gym”, there are 2 questions: is it a gym or a luxury athletic spend, and if it is a luxury athletic spend, should it be in a separate proposition for the voters to decide on the education value vs. tax increase?
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Contingency and Bond Admin Costs
The full 3% contingency and bond administration fees (totaling $19.5M) for all 3 Propositions are included in Proposition A. Is this right? If Prop B and C fail, then Prop A is over-inflated. If Prop A and C fail, and Prop B fails, then there is ZERO contingency and bond administration fees. A better bond would have the 3% contingency and the administration fees follow the projects.
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Elementary School Capacity Management
Rough Hollow and Bee Caves Elementaries are overcrowded now – with District Administration saying “No” to rezoning. New construction of new schools would not be completed for another full year – making students, teachers and parents suffer today.
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More Administration Overhead
$38.4M for an Administration Building addition, an Educational Development Center addition, and a new Maintenance and Food & Nutrition Services building is a large portion. None of the Maintenance and Operations (M&O) (the operating costs) for this 47,700+ sq. ft of space in these new buildings have been provided.
Why Aren’t We Spending More $ on Education???
Many industries need qualified labor. HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical, construction, cabinet making, tile installers, solar, energy conservation, etc. etc. Shouldn’t we be spending more money here and less on athletic infrastructure?