Rebuilding A Busted Bond
“What a lot of people don’t want to say is that this is an opportunity for those that didn’t support that bond package and didn’t like some of the items that were in that package, to redo all that,” said school board member Joe White.
“Watch us as we go through this process,” he said of how the board will determine its priorities to rank capital projects. “And if it looks like your money is fixing to be grabbed and stuck to do something else, you better fill this room and let people know that you expect the bonds that you passed to go to the projects that you approved.”
Some of those projects include new gymnasiums, tracks and fields, stadiums, and auditoriums. In that light, other board members said the public would be better served if CMS started from scratch and worked within the parameters of what is a new fiscal reality, using priorities that would address the most pressing needs with limited dollars.
“Anything that’s not a classroom, I’d have a tough time supporting,” said school board member Rhonda Lennon. “Working off the ’07 bond priority list is kind of like writing up a grocery list like you have five kids in the house, but three of them have already moved out. There’s going to be stuff on that list that isn’t a priority.”
Relieving overcrowded schools, she said, should be one of the board’s top concerns and pointed to Torrence Creek Elementary in her north county district as a prime example. The school is currently bursting at the seams at 160 percent capacity and overflowing with about 1,200 students and fields of trailers for classrooms.
At the same time, board member Joyce Waddell, whose district includes several older inner-city schools, stressed the need for giving attention to facilities in desperate need of renovations and updates.
It’s a balancing act with no easy solution, said board Chairman Eric Davis. In addition to identifying and considering schools that are overcrowded and over-utilized, which often gain most of the attention, he said board members in setting priorities should also examine schools that are under-utilized.
“We have put in front of us some difficult challenges,” Davis said. “I think the hard work is what’s in front of us and that, frankly, is solving these problems in a low- to no-capital environment.”
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