BTHOB-98 said:
chipotle said:
ATXAdvisor said:
While I completely understand and sympathize with those that are burdened with higher tax rates, if I read the bond info correctly for RRISD, this bond won't increase the tax rate at all. If property tax increases are primarily coming from property value increases, isn't that the way it's supposed to work?
I think what I read a few will and I think it's too convenient that the county can just put their finger in their mouth and up in the wind to determine a "value" that suits them.
What chipotle is talking about here is really the biggest issue to me. Its just pull it out of a hat.
Also, what I would like to see if more fiscally responsible decisions. Where spending $76 million on technology. Round Rock High School gives everyone a Dell laptop to take home every night. Every Child. Is that really necessary for education? Not for most of the kids at Round Rock High its not. People can afford to have a computer at home. Its not that expensive.
Plus there is no explanation on the "Capital Renewal" section. $127.0 Million*? Listing things like "replace HVAC and Electrical and plumbing systems." Where? What is actually broken? Replace Turf field at High Schools and Kelly Reeves. My kids play football. What Turf Fields need to be replaces?? They just tell you that this needed to happen and take advantage of the fact that no one knows if they really does.
Finally the main thing that frustrates me is make high school #6 "Shovel Ready Design". Were not even getting a high school out of this which is what is really needed. (There were were 1,000 freshman that entered Round Rock this year. There will be 1,000 next year and so on. eventually it will be 4,000+ kids) They will be back in a few years asking for another bond to actually build the high School. WE NEED SCHOOLS NOW!! Put that in the bond. I will vote for that. $508,000,000 and we will get ONE elementary school out of it. It is glut I tell you. Loss of focus on what really needs to happen.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VuuQtm8fwgQYmoPmSj1m4xj6WuIU_Dhw/view
RRHS has a bring your own device option where you can opt out of having one of their laptops. How many text books does a RRHS get these days... very few since they all have access to a computer and the text books are online.
All that maintenance is in there because the state raids the non-bond tax revenue.
They aren't building the HS with this bond because that was one of the complaints about the last bond that failed. Specifically, they complaint that the previous bond was to expand capacity at RRHS to over 4K students, and to justify the new HS, the board said they had too many kids are RRHS and really wanted it smaller (~3500) as they were finishing up and opening a new wing of classrooms (building 15). So which is it... need more HSs now because RRHS is over crowded and shoor RRHS capacity was expanded to a couple hundred students more than it has now.
The tax payers voted against every bond package last time. Didn't matter if it was the bond for more technology, the bond for maintenance, or the bond for new schools... they voted them all down. Didn't matter to the Westwood area taxpayers that the last bond inlcuded funding to complete phase 4 of their master plan to add much needed space there. There were some very vocal people against it and a lot of people,went along with voting it down without really looking at what was in it. And they voted 3 bonds down over what was essential 2 key issues.