I strongly dislike how they cleared the proposed site, it looks awful and was done poorly from an environmental standpoint, the light pollution in the are will be affected forever, and the bypass won't be an effective bypass at all anymore, as we'll now be slowed by that school zone/buses/traffic. I thought the point of a bypass was to PASS BY the schools and get where you're going without difficulty.

There are so many things wrong with this proposal I can't even get them all on paper. Lack of trust being top of the list.

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Originally posted by nancy:
Am I the only one irritated by the fact that a similar proposal was resoundingly voted down just 2 or so years ago? The voters already spoke it seems to me.

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Originally posted by BillWilliams:
Has anyone else begun to wonder about the high school situation ? A building that's only 7 years old, sitting on property that looks like could allow expansion --- yet is going to be replaced by a newer one located on the RR12 bypass ? And a lawsuit going to trial over faulty workmanship at the existing 2325 facility ? I certainly am in no position to be second-guessing people, but on the surface there appears to be something wrong here ......

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Let’s use that money we “might” get from the lawsuit against the builder of the high school to fix the high school. We don’t need another one just because someone gave 70 acres of land to enhance the value of his adjoining land on the new “loop”. (Who thought of that idea anyway? Do we need a loop?)

In addition to the concerns previously posted, my greatest concern is the tax increase. I believe it was KVUE who stated that our taxes would increase .10 for every $100. That in itself doesn’t sound so bad but when you consider the prices of our homes and their values we could easily be looking at several hundred dollars a month to fund this bond. Not everyone in Wimberley is rich or two income households.

This is a really big bond for a small village like Wimberley. With these type of increases Wimberley could easily become a town without a middle class. Let’s face it, those on the other end of the spectrum can easily afford the tax increase and can afford to send their children to private schools. Unfortunately, I can’t afford this type of spending and did not know about all this when I purchased my home this year.

We have a duty to educate our kiddos but children can learn anywhere if they have a teacher who inspires them. I am not talking a teacher that just teaches for the TAS test but one who makes every subject interesting to them. If we are going to have a tax increase I want my money to go for teacher raises not building bricks.

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Originally posted by YellowDogDem:
We don’t need another one just because someone gave 70 acres of land to enhance the value of his adjoining land on the new “loop”. (

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Actually, the donated land is 17-18 acres for the elementary school to be located off 2325.

The 70 acres is to be purchased from $840,000 from the bond for the high school on the new loop (between 12 and 3237).

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Originally posted by katec53:
I too have many questions about the PROPOSED high school that is to be built on the70+ acre of land between RR12 and Caliche Road from County Road 176 to the new By-pass road. The school board has not proven to me that they can and will be fiscally responsible with my $42M tax investment. Children learn in a good environment, not necessarily a multi-million dollar comples. Remember Honest Abe? He became president of these United States despite the fact that he was subjected to writing on shovels and the like ina one-room school building.

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So, IF the bond is passed, is the district going to expand music and art in the elementary schools, electives in the secondary, Jr. High & High Schools?

What type of security to these programs will be offered IF the bond is passed?

Or, will these programs be reduced again in order to make up the M & O?

With 5 schools, are more administrators going to be hired? Does the district have the budget for this expense without compromising other programs, teacher raises, etc.?

According to the Wimberley View (1/21/2006) and the powerpoint presentation on the WISD website, Strauss states that the last portable building purchased cost $125,000 from the M & O. (B/C they are harder to come by since the hurricanes.)
WELL, this seems exessive even despite the hurricanes! When was this purchased? Recently? Why, with an upcoming bond, spend that kind of money?
IF what has been said/written is correct; that the average property value in Wimberley (and is the jsut within the city limits?) is $150,000, then a family of 4 should be living in this portable full time!
How big is this portable? 2000sq feet?
Isn't a portable usually just two rooms with one or two bathrooms (not even a kitchen)?
I remember seeing that the average life for a portable is about 10 years (although sometimes used longer - OH that's safe!). SO, IF the bond is passed, and there is plenty of room for growth within the new schools, we will no longer need any portables.
THEN, what is the districts plans for the current portables? Hold on to them IN CASE we need them in 10 years and by then they will be too old to use?
OR, are they going to be sold to another district?
How will that money be allocated? Does it go back into the M&O to re-instate programs that were cut to buy these buildings in the first place or for teacher raises? OR, will it go into fostering more (un-needed) sports programs?
At $125,000 a pop and 22 portables in the district, and IF they were sold at say a discount (used) price of 1/2, that is still $1,650,000.00 for the district!
WOW! That alone would pay for the Renovations at Scudder and the current HS.
WHAT A CONCEPT!

Besides keeping thousands of Santa Ana’s compadres out of the Alamo for a bit longer, the few stone walls left standing after all this time help to provide San Antonio’s tourism epicenter and its national identity.

The case of the Monguls shows the failure of isolationism, not the failure of the stone wall. In order to defeat an enemy intent on your destruction, you have to strike the terrorists where they live and not depend on an engineering marvel to keep them out (but that is an entirely different topic). It is an amazing structure in that it has endured for hundreds of years still basically intact.

The last one was an example of a person that beat the odds against him, albeit only temporarily. He was actually admired and respected by his troops and opponents. A little bit crazy Stonewall but not a bad one.

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Originally posted by Stonewall:
I still see the good in those Stonewalls though.

Besides keeping thousands of Santa Ana’s compadres out of the Alamo for a bit longer, the few stone walls left standing after all this time help to provide San Antonio’s tourism epicenter and its national identity.

The case of the Monguls shows the failure of isolationism, not the failure of the stone wall. In order to defeat an enemy intent on your destruction, you have to strike the terrorists where they live and not depend on an engineering marvel to keep them out (but that is an entirely different topic). It is an amazing structure in that it has endured for hundreds of years still basically intact.

The last one was an example of a person that beat the odds against him, albeit only temporarily. He was actually admired and respected by his troops and opponents. A little bit crazy Stonewall but not a bad one.

I see the good in the bond too. I see the problems that currently exist in our schools. I know the dedication, decency, and desire to help our kids that the teachers and administration of WISD have. The bond package is good for our community, our property values, and our children.

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Originally posted by Stonewall:
The newest portable was actually a 'quad' which houses 4 classrooms. I challenge you house 4 families of 4 in this space.

Sometimes it is fairly easy to see when a question is not really a question but is rather a way of making a statement.

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I understand the need for the portables. But, yes these WERE questions posed to WISD (via their "email questions and comments to..." from the newsletter they mailed) that I have yet to see a response. This is the type of issues that the community has with WISD and they do not make the situation better when they do not respond at all!
... Unless you are on the WISD board, and this is the official response. If so, please inform us of your name so that we will know who this response is coming from.

Either way, the question is legitimate. The community has a right to know how the portables are going to be used; what is to be done with them, how the monies are going to be used, etc. when they are propsing such a high priced bond. If they cannot answer such BASIC questions (including some of the others in the previous post) or without getting upset, they should not be on the board and should not be asking HARD questions (to approve an expensive bond) of the community.
Whether one feels the bond is good or bad for the community, WISD should answer ALL questions so that everyone can make an INFORMED choice of their own. Again, they are not offering up answers until the questions are posed and even then, they pick and choose. This adds to the already uncertain attitude the community has about the WISD and it's spending habits.
A lie of omission, is still a lie! And that is how alot of people feel about them. They are not making strides in changing that feeling.

[This message has been edited by Blax (edited January 30, 2006).]