First I would like to start out saying that I am not employed by NISD or a spouse of a NISD employee. I do however have children that attend school here and I am a tax payer. Everyone is bashing the maint. dept. but, I feel they have done a great job with the funds that they have. How could our children still be going to schools as old as the ones in our district if the maint. dept. hadn't been KEEPING UP? As far as the opposition...they are stating that the Bond Committee used a firm to help them decide what needed to be done. My reaction to this is...at least they are being proactive. The opposition just wants to complain but, I haven't seen their numbers. What will it cost to do what they are proposing be done? Until you put pencil to paper, 126 million looks way out there. I think once they put pencil to paper they will see that what they want done won't come cheap either. I have walked through these schools (thanks to NISD for opening them up for our viewing) and they are pitiful. Not only are they in bad shape but they are way overcrowded. I don't think the opposition has even addressed this problem. In the elementary schools we have students doing testing in custodial closets. Mops, brooms, a desk, a chair, and a lamp. Seems like a great place to me for a student to score high on a test!?! The gyms are not air conditioned, the bathrooms have no ventilation. My oldest child attends class across the hall from a boys bathroom. I have attended parties and could not believe the smell in the classroom thanks to the boys bathroom. Again, great learning environment. We have students doing reading and writing programs in the cafeterias. Has anyone checked out the below par lighting the the cafeterias. Again, great learning environment. My children have also attended classes in the portable buildings. On rainy days they cannot even hear the teacher talking because of the noise from the rain on the roof. Again, great learning environment. Has anyone had to sit in an assigned seat at the back of a room and could not hear your teacher but could hear the entire assignment of the class in the next room because of the thin, make-shift walls (great high school environment). Renovation the schools WILL NOT address the overcrowding at each of the elementary schools and the make-shift classrooms at the high school. It will also not address the problems at CO Wilson middle school. Anyone checked out the gym and changing areas here? Why add-on to a thirty year old school and then have to address the rear part of this school in 10-15 years. Address the problem now! I have had mixed emotions on the field turf but have grown on the idea. I am opposed to those who say we are spending money and will not educate one student by putting turf on the field. I disagree. No, Nederland does not have record numbers of students getting athletic scholarships but, there are those lucky few. I believe that alot of these students may not reach the college level without these scholarships, so yes turf on the field will educate students. Maybe not in our classrooms, but it enables them to achieve a greater level. Isn't that what education all about.
Again, I am a NISD tax payer and my taxes will go up. I might not have been raised with a silver spoon and I have had to work for every penny I have so I don't believe in wasting my money. I want my children to have the best and the only way I feel they can achieve this is by voting for the bond. The only way I see my children's opportunities to the newest technology, science labs and adequate learning environment is by voting FOR the bond.
