Posted on 02/10/2005 6:44:09 PM PST by TXBubba
McNeil students see 13-minute presentation on campus needs, angering bond opponents
By Bob Banta
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
ROUND ROCK — A 13-minute video produced by the Round Rock school district outlining the needs for new schools and renovations caused controversy Wednesday.
The $13,000 video, paid for with school tax dollars, was shown campuswide to students at McNeil High School during an announcements period on Tuesday. The video listed school facilities administrators hope will be funded through a $349 million bond proposal. Residents will vote on the bond issue March 5. Teachers and staff members were shown pointing out crowded conditions on several campuses and explaining the necessity for new computers.
Peggy Venable, parent of a McNeil student and an opponent of the bond package, said she believes the district used taxpayer money to promote the bond issue at a school.
"From talking to my daughter, I believe it was definitely advocating the bond," Venable said.
District officials say the video was objective and was intended to inform, not persuade.
"It is not a pro-bond video," said Cathy Brandewie, community relations director for the district. "The script was reviewed by our bond counsel to make sure there was no advocacy in it."
By Bob Banta
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, February 9, 2005
ROUND ROCK -- Debate over the Round Rock school district's $349.3 million bond proposal to build new schools focused on the taxpayer's pocketbook Tuesday.
Critics say that if voters approve the proposal March 5, the district will have to raise the school tax rate to an illegal level. They've asked the school board to cancel the election. School administrators say that won't happen. One state school finance expert said he agrees with the district's financial assumptions.
In December, trustees agreed to place before the voters a proposition to build two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school, along with new classrooms and renovations for existing campuses.
John Gordon, an engineer and member of a group called Helping Educators make Learning the Priority, said that adding to the district's current bond debt would force the portion of the tax rate that pays off bonds to eventually increase beyond the legal limit of 50 cents per $100 of property valuation.
Trustee Elizabeth Elleson, the sole board member opposing the bond proposal, said she wants school officials to respond to Gordon's projections.
"I have seen (Gordon's) numbers, and it sounds like they might be correct," Elleson said.
School tax rates have two parts. The maintenance and operations portion of the rate pays for teacher salaries, utilities and other items. The debt portion typically goes toward paying off bonds issued for capital costs, such as buildings.
Round Rock's total tax rate is $1.86 per $100 in assessed property value. Of that, $1.49 goes for maintenance and operations, and 37 cents pays for bond debt. The total value of taxable property in the district is about $13 billion.
Mike Jolly, the school district's financial officer, has estimated that if the bond issue passes, the debt portion of the tax would increase to 41 cents by 2007, 44 cents by 2008, and 47 cents by 2009. Jolly said the increase would reach 45 cents by 2010.
If the bond issue is approved, the tax bill on a $100,000 home would increase from $1,578 annually to $1,651 by 2008, school officials said.
Jolly said the board plans to issue the $349.3 million in increments over the next five years, which would give trustees a chance to scale down the debt if they decide that some projects can be eliminated or postponed. State officials also have the final say on bonds, he said.
"Before we sell each phase of these bonds, we have to get approval from the Texas attorney general's office," Jolly said. "They do their own figuring, and if they figure that we will go above the 50-cent limit on the bond debt portion of the tax rate, they won't let us sell them."
Paul Colbert, a Houston-based consultant on school finance and a former legislator and director of research for the Senate Education Committee, said Jolly's basic assumptions appear sound. He also said Jolly's estimate of 2 percent to 3 percent growth in the tax base over the next several years is "very conservative."
Colbert said state law does allow a district to raise its bond debt portion of the tax rate above the 50-cent limit to make payments, but only in drastic situations such as a sudden drop in the value of the tax base.
"That might happen in a one-horse town whose only factory closes, but it is not likely to happen in Round Rock," Colbert said.
Elleson said Tuesday that she is still skeptical.
"My response to that is that you can't predict the future," Elleson said. "We have had growth estimates that have turned out to be wrong. With uncertainty about the economy nationally and locally, I don't know if we can be that optimistic."
bbanta@statesman.com; 246-0005
Please ping any other freepers you know who might be able to help us fight this group. Round Rock spent $26 mil on a new football stadium last year (exceeding budget by 60%) yet they have no money for new schools.
The Frost Tower in downtown Austin was built for $137 mil and Round Rock wants to build a high school for $91 mil.
We had really good coverage on KLBJ today. No pro-bond calls in either morning or afternoon shows.
We were given a pamphlet when I graduated from high school defending the nuclear power plant where I live. It was actually pretty ironic as the area is pretty much pro-nuclear (it is a very conservative area actually).
The school district also actively recruits kids from other districts, then they complain they have too many kids and not enough space! Duh!
Schools have been doing this forever. I remember coming home from elementary school telling my Mom "to vote to pass the budget or they will take away our field trips".
My mom would get so mad but I was too young to understand. Students would come around to each class to give "presentations" to the younger ones, amazingly enough dealing with the budget. I guess they thought that if they had kids do it, it had a different connotation than if they had a teacher do it.
They always passed. Always. This was on Long Island, the proverbial frog in the boiling water. I can't believe that people there think it is normal to pay 7 or 8 or 9 thousand dollars a year in property taxes.
Personally, I would much prefer that if the school district is going to tax people to death, the administrators would make sure the children are being taught the correct curriculum that will help them the rest of their lives.
School can be adequately held in very modest buildings!
But what impact did "good schools" have on property values? I've asked this question before, but never received a good response.
$11,000 for an 11 minute video.
Jeff ward was on fire today.
The teachers drive much better cars! There are two mandatory government indoctrination centers in my neighborhood I have to drive past so I can go to work to pay my property taxes. The parking lot is filled to the brim with giant SUV's, Corvettes, Audi, Lexus, Jaguar, Mercedes, customized PT Cruisers, you name it. Of course, the teachers are underpaid!
I think I heard one caller say the video was outsourced, even though they have a nice AV department on the payroll. The video portrays classes as very overcrowded, classes held in closets - but the spokeperson claims the video is not biased!
I suspect the $11K number is self reported. A good forensic audit would help clean things up.
What? No Bentley or Astin Martins? I'm sure that if you go to the airport, you'll see a couple of Gulf V's that belong to the principal and football coach.
In any event, this is America -- people more or less get the type of community they want. I've driven all over the country and in every small or medium sized town it's always easy to see what the residents pride themselves on by how they choose to spend their tax dollars.
The school district also actively recruits kids from other districts, then they complain they have too many kids and not enough space! Duh!
Interesting. I am a public school teacher, but I DON'T complain about such anymore. In fact, I love any housing development that goes up or any family that has lots of kids:). I think what they don't realize is that when the number of students goes down, people get layed off. I taught at an elementary school that had 1500 students once. We just all buckled together and had a wonderful year for most everyone involved. Yes, I like smaller classes as well as the next guy, but I think they should realize that I would rather have too many than not enough.
I think some teachers in other states can't comprehend what we have here. We don't have specialist teachers, school nurses, full-time librarians, classroom teacher aides (though there are some general ones), etc. Most elementaries have between 800-1000 (middle schools average about 1000-1500 kids and high schools about 2300) kids and we have the highest class sizes in the nation. We have the fewest administrators and spend the least in the nation too. Yet I think we do a pretty good job on the whole here.
Again, I'm not complaining if there's a little overcrowding. Each student, I have found, is a precious resource. I know what the other side is and it isn't pretty.
If private money is used I have no problem with a pro bond issue video being shown AS LONG AS the other side is given equal time. The FCC will not allow you to broadcast political advertising in a one sided fashion. A civics lesson would be good in Williamson County (very Republican) but only if both sides are presented. And the school district's actions have been VERY suspect on this one.
KVUE had a good story last night as well.
From the title I wondered what kind of James Bond video was being shown.
It may be controversial, but it's completely legal. The school has both the right and the obligation to explain the needs and plans of a bond election. However, they may not advocate passage of the bond, or go beyond providing factual information. Part of a bond counsel's job is to keep the line between advocacy and information in place. For examply, they can put up posters that say "VOTE", but they can't put up posters that say "VOTE YES!"
Round Rock is experiencing some serious growing pains. There's little doubt in my mind that new schools are needed. There are serious issues with cost overruns from previous bond projects. This is probably because the town has grown very quickly, and still approaches business from a small town point of view. BTW, I used to work with Cathy Brandewie. She's a good PR person.
I used to live in the Detroit suburbs. The starting salary was around $30K for a teacher, then jumped to $60K if they had a masters. Needless to say, they all quickly obtained a masters degree. Were the test scores twice as good for the kids with the teacher with advanced degrees? Nope. The best scores were found at the private school that paid $27K/year, Detroit Country Day. They sent the middle school kids to Space Camp in Huntsville for their science project! Yet they charged less than the public school wasted every year. So much for the $/score ratios.
"From the title I wondered what kind of James Bond video was being shown."
LOL, me too!
I'm still amazed I was allowed to read the 007 novels in 6th grade. They were right in the classroom, extras for advanced readers. They were filthy, as they remain. Good books, well done, but I wouldn't have permitted it, nor would I today. But that didn't stop me from reading a bunch of them.
But hey, I thought "Bridges of Madison County" was filthy. It was also, of course, pure tripe. Which IS worse.
The parking lot is filled to the brim with giant SUV's, Corvettes, Audi, Lexus, Jaguar, Mercedes, customized PT Cruisers, you name it.>/i>
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