Klein ISD homeowner urges to Vote NO!

As you may know, Klein ISD is considering a bond proposal that will go to the voters on May 10, 2008. At the time of writing, the current proposal is for a whopping $640 million bond, 20% of which is to rebuild Klein High School.

Dr. Cain has said that the current facility is “up to code” http://www.kleinisd.net/docs/kisd.min112907.pdf yet they want to spend nearly $151,000,000 to rebuild Klein High School and the annex that houses the TEP/AEP program. There is no doubt that Klein High School is an old school and needs some remodeling. But it is not a wise use of our tax dollars to spend $151,000,000 right now to rebuild this facility when our district has such a need for building NEW schools. Certainly the current Klein High School, which is safe and sustainable, can last another 4 years until the next bond referendum is developed.

The current plan calls for High School #5 to open on Spring Cypress in 2011. But there will be no rezoning from 2011 – 2013 while this new facility houses Klein High School. So while there is a new high school that is needed in order to relieve overcrowding at Klein Oak and Klein Collins, no relief comes until 2013. This alone is reason to vote against this proposal. Klein Oak is terribly overcrowded, and we need relief now, not in 2013!

$640 million is a huge amount for what we NEED to accomplish. We definitely need new schools, but we have to be smart about how we accomplish this. Only $302.7 million of this bond provides for “new seats”. Of course we have a need for more than just new schools; existing schools need repairs, we need more busses, etc. But as one person said, “There are a lot of things I’d like to do to my house, I just can’t do them all at once.”

While our area is still experiencing a tremendous amount of growth, the overall economy is struggling. We need a bond proposal that addresses the needs of the entire community while recognizing we can’t do everything at one time. The KISD Board of Trustees will be voting on this proposal at their March 11 board meeting. Unless they make some major changes to it, I encourage you stand up and vote NO. Then they will be forced to listen to the community and bring us a bond proposal that includes everything we NEED, not everything we WANT.

For more information, go to http://www.kleinforall.com/ and stay tuned for more updates….