Decatur Commission Set To Vote On $75M School Bond Referendum Tonight
Decatur Metro | June 1, 2015 | 9:35 am
After many months of community discussion, the Decatur City Commission will take up the School Board’s request tonight to place the request for a $75 million GO bond on the November 3rd ballot to build more schools to accommodate growing student enrollment.
Decatur School Board Chair, Garrett Goebel, submitted this formal request to Mayor Jim Baskett…
Dear Mayor Baskett:
Please accept this formal letter asking that you place the request of a 75 million dollar bond on the November ballot. The School Board has reviewed a myriad of information over a period of 20 months. We have come to the understanding and decision that in order to meet the growing student population projections; we must ask the voters for their approval of a General Obligation Bond.
We are comfortable that we have provided you with the information necessary. We are also pleased that various results indicate that 90% of the survey respondents recognize and are aware of the needs of the school system.
The Superintendent has been working with our financial advisor, Dianne McNabb, and the Bond Attorney, Terri Fin nester. Attached to this letter you will find the appropriate documentation.
The Board is asking that the Commission take up this action on June 1, 2015.
Thank you for your assistance with this matter.
Meeting starts at 7:30p this evening. You can tune in for the live broadcast HERE or check it out on Comcast channel 25.
About time. Our City Council has been asleep at the wheel and, as usual, seemingly paralyzed to take more proactive steps.
If the voters approve this huge tax increase it will do nothing but set into motion a vicious cycle where the only people moving into the city are people with school aged children who need to use the schools and the people currently living here without children will either decide they are sick of paying the high taxes and sell or be forced to move because they cannot afford to live here any more.
If you build it, as they say, they will come … that is families with school aged children.
Isn’t this already happening?
No need to make it worse. Staunch the flow by voting NO!
My household plans to vote no.
But I am curious what would really happen if the GO Bond fails? I recall reading somewhere that Decatur is required to educate the kids. What happens if we truly do not have a physical place for another kid? If every trailer is full, and every place to put a trailer is full, what happens next? I’m wondering if someone can shed light on this.
Eminent domain? If you have any rooms in your house that are big enough to serve as a classroom, I’d worry.
Seriously, I imagine overcrowded classrooms, split shifts, rotating school calendars, renting space would eventually be invoked and then the dissatisfaction with that would either lead to another referendum or some other controversial solution.
And yes, I believe that CSD is obligated to educate all bona fide resident children unless it dissolves itself or works out an agreement with another system to educate a portion of its kids. My hometown did that for a while with high school until it built its own. Of course, there would be a cost to that too.
Split shifts would be very unpopular, but likely the only option in the scenario Curious describes.
I’m wondering how much the sentiment of the Haves (people with kids) has changed over the last year+. Perhaps splits shifts would be unpopular, but what if not passing the GO bond keeps my Have Not family in COD? Many of us have just received a tax increase based on appraisals, but a GO bond will push my taxes even higher.
I’ve asked the question many times: what are parents willing to accept? A couple of people have posted answers, and now I’m wondering if there has been any change in opinion on the school crowding issue by parents over the last year.
Is keeping me in the City more desirable to parents now?
Or is more money to build schools still the only viable solution to parents?
As a parent and fairly long-term resident, if CSD can find a way to legally create a seat for every enrollee — whether that requires trailers, split shifts, rented space, or whatever — that would be my preference. Coming out with a *new and improved* version of an already desirable product is not just an exercise in addressing current capacity. It will also exacerbate demand moving forward.
I say hunker down and weather the storm with existing resources, if at all possible. Let’s be the iPhone 4 (or maybe 5) of school systems.
Thanks for your comments Scott.
I agree with everything you said. Putting in new school facilities will likely result in driving families like mine out and bringing in even more kids. I hope that parents with kids in the system now are considering your viewpoint as the better option for our entire community in the long run.
“I say hunker down and weather the storm with existing resources, if at all possible. Let’s be the iPhone 4 (or maybe 5) of school systems.”
This^.
I’m also a fan of the Decatur/Avondale Estates Consolidated School System idea as well, btw.
If that happens go ahead and put me down as a no vote on any and all bond issues!