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Letters to the Editor
Swim center could provide tool to teach water safety
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
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Dear Editor:
Eanes school board member Robert Durkee was quoted as saying that the addition of a swim center would be among the things that would make this a world-class district.
The reason we should have a swim center is not so that this would be a world-class school district, although it would help to do that. We need it rather so that our children can learn the important lesson of how to be safe around water. This is a crucial and critical skill in an area such as this that is surrounded by water in the many lakes and swimming pools.
Also, since this is such a warm climate, people are often out around this water nearly nine months of the year.
A swim center would be an asset that would contribute significantly to the life-long safely and pleasure of this district’s students.
Margery Lindsey
Lost Creek
Are you aware our district is running a deficit of $4 million a year? Combine this with the districts proposed $150 million bond package. And let’s not forget this is all part of nearly half a billion in spending they are proposing as part of the “long term vision” of the board and superintendent.
Since we live in a city surrounded by swimming holes, rivers, lakes, etc … Can we maybe show a little restraint and hold off building a swimming pool?
YOu should check this out. If the City of Westlake uses money towards this project it will not be available for Lost Creek residents or any non Westlake Hills residents to use during the off hours from the District.
Pay careful attention to the details.
A swim center. An indoor practice facility. New track at HCMS. In a recession. Static to declining property values. Static to declining enrollment. These are signs that the people proposing them are in denial, much like Miss Havisham waiting for her bridegroom while the dress falls to pieces around her. There could be a time in the future for such dreams; it is not today.
I will vote against all 3 bonds. The hodgepodge of what is important scaling to a wish list that includes a swim center is indecipherable. Given that Dr. Wellman will be able to build what she wants with whatever money is raised, I won’t vote to give her any money at all until she can stand in front of this community and assure us that the dollars we raise in a bond will be spent for significantly all the items it is intended to fund. No more $600,000 for cameras. No more new turf while Eanes Elementary continues to decay. No more ADA promises unfulfilled.
Vote against all three bond proposals. Tell our trustees to do their job, and to put forth a bond proposal that makes sense, for which they and the Dr. Wellman are truly accountable, and that we can afford.
The track at HCMS is in severe disrepair! How was it ignored for so long? Its not that HCMS needs a “new” track. It needs a track that can be used by all the kids. I am embarrassed for HCMS. Take a tour of HCMS’s backyard before saying no to this fairly basic need.
The track at HCMS would be prized in many districts. My kid goes to HCMS. I use the track with him on weekends. It is beyond just being functional. It is, however, not new.
Get over being embarrassed by the lack of a shiny new track at HCMS, and be happy with what you have. Things don’t need to be new to be useful. There are many pressing needs in EISD, but a swim center and a new track at HCMS aren’t at the top of the list.
HCMS does need a track, but does it need a $2.3 MILLION track? And that swim center? $6.2 million.
https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicItemDownload.aspx?ik=30464899.
To Seriously: No, other districts would not “prize” the HCMS track. Other districts have been blessed with the fruits of Robin Hood, thanks to districts such as ours, and have incredible facilities. Do we need “shiny, new” as you say another commenter expects? No, but having a solid, crack free, level track is a reasonable thing. Cracks, hills and valleys in the HCMS track are the reason why there is a sign next to it that says “Do Not Run On Track”. It is also the reason why all my cross country and track athlete children had to run elsewhere while attending HCMS.
By they way, if you are running on the track at HCMS, you are breaking school rules.
The HCMS track and it’s AC system replacement/repair was supposed to be funded by the 2006 bond. EISD diverted the money elsewhere. Why would you think that they’ll act any differently with this bond? They’ll publish a list of projects that will be funded with the bond, they’ll get the bond passed, and then they’ll spend the money on whatever they want. The past is the best predicter of the future.
And if I wanted to go fly a kite on a Sunday afternoon at the WHS practice field, I’d encounter the same ‘keep off’ sign as found on the HCMS campus; breaking school rules. I guess we don’t all get to use what we paid for with our tax dollars. Don’t imagine we’ll get to use the proposed natatorium or sports center either.
There are no “keep off” signs at the WHS practice fields. With fieldturf the school doesn’t have to worry about the grass getting destroyed.
You’d be crazy to run on the HCMS track. Unless you want a broken ankle.
Robin Hood has nothing to do with a school having a shiny new track; whoever said that a few posts back doesn’t know what he/she is talking about. Capital improvements do not come out of Robin Hood money. So little prividged Westlaker rest assured the shiny new track you feel entitled to has not been built with your tax dollars in some other presumably unworthy district.
EISD has done a great job of making people believe the districts financial woes are all RHood related. This is Nola Wellman’s equivalent of the WMDs in Iraq. It gets public support bit it simply isn’t true. EISd has plenty of money. What they don’t have is discipline and a focus on academics first.
Yes school finances in Texas are very screwed up. But Robin Hood, as bad as it is, is not the reason HCMS doesn’t have a new track or needs to beg from EEF to pay teachers. Look for the answers there at your monthly trustee meeting.
No, other districts do not directly use Robin Hood money to build shiney new tracks, but they are able to use their Robin Hood money in a way that frees up their other funds so they can use those for capital expenditures. In addition, despite the dire warning of the “bloggers of negativity”, other districts are passing bonds and investing in their schools and their students.
There is absolutely no reason for a school district to “use Robin Hood funds in a way to free up other funds for capital expenditures.” To start with, that would be against the law, and some trustees in some districts think poorly of that. That notion is rooted in some pretty significant misunderstanding of school finance. You want proof? Drive around. You won’t see capital acquisitions in South Texas, far East Texas, or the Panhandle; they are just getting by because they already rely on RH money to operate their schools. They are not adding to the capital structure because their communities cannot afford it. So your point that other districts are passing bonds this year is simply conjecture: show me another district asking to double its debt in one fell swoop.
That way lies madness, Think Again. So I ask you to think at all.
The people on this message board who are pointing out that now is not the time to raise taxes on homes, spend loosely (have you seen the laundry list of pork?) use capital funds for operating expenses (See Mr. Allensworth’s editorial: that is one smart guy) are not “bloggers of negativity” they are people who are thinking critically, and critical thought is required.
Just believing the best is how the US got to where it is now financially. Just believing the best is how Enron ruined peoples lives. Just believing the best is how families spend more than they can afford and end up devastated when there is a hiccup.
And if you keep believing the best, Think Again, you are ignoring that the only thing that will keep EISD from being bankrupt in five years is a misplaced hope that the State of Texas will fix school finance. Have you seen the mounting for sale signs in your neighborhood? I sure have. We are not immune to national problems. We are in the middle of a recession, house values are plummeting across the country, and you somehow think that a nationwide problem will somehow pass EISD by.
If you want a little preview, Google “California School Finance.” That should open you eyes, if not your mind.
Anyone who thinks we will all be runnin’ over to the Eanes swimming pool when it gets hot is … truly uninformed. And even if we could all jump in, it’s not a priority for a public school district that is begging for money at every turn. Parents have been teaching their children to swim forever. Surely the well-heeled parents in Eanes ISD can figure out how to water-proof their children. There are plenty of private pools, public pools, and country club pools in the area not be mention lakes.
I will vote NO NO and NO on the bonds.
No valid reason has been given to vote for the proposed bonds. Good stewards of the districts finances do not ask for more money in stressful economic times. Vote no, and send a clear unequivocal message to the Board.
Well, “vote no”, there are clearly many who support the reasons behind offering the bonds. The district has proposed a flexible slate of choices for the voters. Many understand the need for investment in our schools regardless of the current economic times. History has shown that “this too shall pass”. Let’s hope so.
I am a parent who has a child that worked her way through the EISD class ranks and through college. I also have a younger child still working up through the class ranks.
I owe thanks to those who invested in bonds in the past. I will support these bond proposals so others will benefit in the future. Good investments help generate good results.
I am a parent of two that have finished WHS and one still in middle school, and I believe that investments must be properly focused on academics first.
You can’t thank a building. Investments in teachers pay far more dividends than investments in swimming pools. If you want EISD to stay excellent, vote “no” to these bonds, and focus our board and our administration on getting the best teachers, in environments that are not in poor repair.
We should start over on these bonds: giving the current trustees $150MM to spend is like giving Sarah Palin a Neiman-Marcus charge card: everything looks so appealing, they just want to have it all.
As the parent of a student who left Eanes ISD because of the emphasis of athletic over academics, I will not vote for a swim center, indoor football field or new stadium scoreboard. I believe the district leadership is irresponsible.