By MARY RAINWATER
The Palestine Herald
PALESTINE
March 20, 2007 10:15 am
—
While Westwood Independent School District trustees agreed that the district’s facilities needs were great, they also determined that having a united community was important in meeting those needs.
After hearing results of a facilities study conducted by Dr. Arnold Oates of East Texas School Planners during previous meetings, the board gathered at a workshop Monday to discuss the results of that study and determine their next move.
“I have had a few people contact me asking what we would be doing as far as calling a bond election and how that would effect taxes,” WISD Superintendent Dr. Ann Griffin told the board. “But before we moved to that first step — calling a bond or forming a community committee — I wanted to have the board discuss the different scenarios presented by Dr. Oates.”
Those scenarios — ranging in price from $34 million to about $54 million — were presented to the board members at their Feb. 20 meeting. Highlights of each scenario include:
• Scenario I — Maintenance and upgrades of elementary and primary campuses; construction, renovation or expansion of student common areas at the junior high campus; replacement of the gym, field house and band hall at the high school; and relocation and combination of the administration, transportation and maintenance departments.
• Scenario II — Maintenance and upgrades of elementary and primary campuses; construction of a new high school campus; renovation of the current high school for the middle school (grades 6-8); and converting the junior high campus to house the district’s DAEP program as well as administrative offices.
• Scenario III — Realign primary grades to include Head Start, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first-grade students; expand the elementary campus to include first through fifth grades; construction of a new high school campus; renovation of the current high school for the middle school (grades 6-8); and converting the junior high campus to house the district’s DAEP program as well as administrative offices.
• Scenario IV — Realign primary grades to include Head Start, pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students; realign the elementary campus to include first through fourth grades; convert the junior high campus to an intermediate school for students in fifth and sixth grades; construction of a new high school campus; and converting the current high school to a junior high campus for seventh- and eighth-grade students.
• Scenario V — Realign primary grades to include Head Start, pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students; realign the elementary campus to include first through fifth grades; construction of a new junior high school campus; and the demolition and reconstruction of the middle school campus to convert it to a high school.
Trustee Jay Patzke opened the board discussion, stating that he felt the board needed to know where the district stood financially in regards to calling a bond.
“I think we really need to know the maximum tax rate required for whatever bond we present,” he said. “We need to determine our tax base and how much money we would be allowed to generate for facilities.”
Griffin told the board that she had been contacted by several securities firms who were interested in making financial presentations to the board, but felt it was too soon to hear that information.
“One I consulted did tell me that none of these scenarios would surpass the district’s financial limit,” she explained, “and the board would not be eligible for debt-reducing state aide until 2009.”
Trustee Wayne Duhon agreed with Patzke, adding that he did not want to see the board get “in too deep” before deciding what to do.
“We don’t even know about costs — costs that have to be paid by someone in the district,” he said. “I don’t want to get in this for nothing.”
Board president Carolyn Booker reminding trustees that no decision they made on the issue would be easy and encouraged them to share their concerns regarding the different scenarios and offer input.
Trustee Shane Lindsey was first to share his opinion on the scenarios, first stating that he would like to see any one of them come to fruition in the district.
“I have been part of this district for over 20 years and in my mind nothing has changed here in regard to facilities,” Lindsey said. “I want to know why other districts that we visit during sporting events — ones that are very comparable to our size — have some new facility to see and be proud of.
“As a taxpayer, I want to know why my child does not deserve something new,” he added. “It aggravates me as a tax payer that for so long nothing here has changed.”
Lindsey then called for the formation of a community committee to offer input to the board about what they want to see in the way of new facilities.
“We don’t know what they want because we have never asked them,” he said. “We need to sit down with the community and ask them what they think.”
Duhon agreed with Lindsey, stating that without support from the community their efforts in passing a bond would be for nothing.
“If we are going to raise taxes, and if we decide we want to pursue this,” he said. “We will have to pursue it in a way that will draw support from people in the community.”
Griffin told trustees that she was more than willing to get the ball rolling to form a community facility committee, but also felt the board had a long way to go in making a decision about calling a bond.
“I recommend that we gather the maximum number of people involved and do this,” Patzke said about the formation of a community group. “I am willing to spend the money, and I think the people of this district are willing to see some new facilities.
“We just need to now how much we can spend.”
As to scenario preferences, Patzke said he leaned toward Scenario 4 which called for the creation of an intermediate campus and the construction of a new high school.
“I just can’t see converting the junior high to an administrative campus,” he added. “I would rather put the money where the students are.”
As per instruction by the board, Griffin stated she would have a securities adviser speak about the district’s financial status and bond options during their regular meeting Monday.
Also during the workshop, trustees heard a report on a recent Region VII Education Service Center safety audit and discussed the status of current year building projects.
————
Mary Rainwater may be reached via e-mail at mrainwater@palestineherald.com
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.