Vote for the children

The Waxahachie Independent School District's Board of Trustees recently announced an upcoming Bond Election. The funds raised in the proposed bond issue would provide much-needed facility improvements on all of the WISD campuses, would build a desperately-needed new elementary school, and would provide adequate funds to infuse the school district's technology program with the necessary hardware and software to take our students into the 21st century. A second proposition, if passed, would provide funds to build a new multi-purpose Fine Arts Center, which would allow WISD's fine arts programs (band, choir, drama, etc.) an adequate facility for public performances, and would also serve as a multi-media center. Also funded through the second proposition are necessary improvements to Lumpkins Stadium. It is a pretty hefty package. Proposition One comes in at just under $18 million, Proposition Two at about $5 million.

You may be asking yourself, "So why should I vote for this bond issue, anyway? That's an awful lot of money." Yes, it is an awful lot of money. So let me see if I can answer your question. In a nutshell, the answer is very simple. You should vote for the bond issue because our children need it. In effect, you are casting a vote for the children, for their future. You are voting to provide them with the facilities and the tools needed to help them prepare themselves educationally for life in the 21st century. You are not voting to give them caviar and hors d'oeuvres. You are voting to give them meat and potatoes. You are not voting to give them luxury and "fluff". You are simply voting to provide them with the necessary essentials for a well-rounded education.

A recent in-depth study of WISD's campuses by a community-based Long-Range Planning Committee revealed numerous improvements that are urgently needed. These improvements include things such as: additional classrooms to accommodate the growth in our student population, structural improvements required for compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, protection from the elements for students who stand outside after school waiting for their parents to pick them up or waiting to board the school bus, necessary improvements to heating and air conditioning units, painting, roof work, floor repair, upgrading toilet facilities (to make sure there are enough and that they actually work), providing adequate electrical outlets, additional parking. These are not "nice-to-have" items. They are necessary additions and renovations.

Top priority is building a new elementary school. T. C. Wilemon was originally built as a high school back before Noah and his family boarded the Ark (actually, it was built in 1917, a few years after the Great Flood). It has served this community well, both as a high school, and in more recent years as an elementary school. However, as an elementary school, it has outlived its usefulness. The repairs, renovations, and upgrades that would be required to bring it up to standards for continued use as an elementary school for many years to come, are simply cost-prohibitive. It would still be a 1917-built school with a couple of million dollars worth of modern bandaids and patches. It makes much more long-range financial sense to replace Wilemon with a new elementary school that will last well into the future.

That doesn't mean that Wilemon is a dying horse that needs to be put out of its misery with a shotgun to the head. It is a wonderful old building with much significant historical value to this community. Many of you have fond memories of school days spent in the grand old schoolhouse. For its many years of service, it deserves to be appreciated and even honored. And in reality, it still has some life left in it as an educational facility. But not as an elementary school for over 500 1st-5th graders. A new facility HAS to be built to serve that purpose. This is not an option. This is something that MUST be done, or our children will suffer the consequences of our unwillingness to move forward.

In the area of technology, we simply cannot afford to slip behind. Technology is the name of the game in preparing our children for the future. Whether we like it or not, computers are here to stay. With each passing moment, they become a more integrated part of everyday life, both in the home and in the workplace. The technology that drives this phenomenon is moving ahead at warp speed, and I'm afraid that we are condemning our students to mediocrity if we fail to provide them with adequate, up-to-date training in this vital area.

We are talking here about our children's future. We are talking about the precious souls who will one day be fathers and mothers, business owners and elected officials, scientists and educators. We are talking about paving the way for them to excel in their chosen fields of endeavor. We are talking about providing them with the necessary tools and training to become leaders.

"OK, so what's all this going to cost me?" The question is inevitable, and important. I could get philosophical on you and say something like, "It's not really a question of cost, it's a question of value." (I tried to be a salesman once and practiced using lines like that. I made about $200 over a period of three months. That's when I quit trying to be a salesman.) Actually, it really IS a matter of value over cost, but that doesn't make the question go away: "What's it going to cost me?" In a very real, down-to-earth, hit-me-where-I-live kind of way, the answer is "nothing". Well, at least nothing more. Really. Nothing more than what you are already paying. But how can this be? According to members of the School Board, the passage of this bond issue would NOT mean an increase in your school taxes. The whole thing can be accomplished simply by extending the district's current debt, stretching it out for several more years without raising the payments (kind of like re-financing a mortgage loan in order to come up with some extra money to enclose the garage or add on a sunroom).

So there you have it. We need to do some stuff for our kids, and it's stuff that's going to cost money. We can get the money to do it without digging into our pocket cash. The only REAL question that remains is: "Are our kids worth it?" I double-dog-dare ANYONE to answer "NO" to that question.

Paul O'Rear is just an ordinary guy who lives in Waxahachie, is married, and has two school-aged children.