The superintendent of the Ysleta Independent School District was featured in an El Paso Times article the other day.
What they wrote when quoting the superintendent goes a long way explain by example one of the problems with our local governments.
They wrote:
The largest project remains the $93 million renovation of Eastwood High School, though the price tag is nearly $20 million more than what was proposed this spring.
Under the May proposal, YISD would have completely rebuilt the school. The new plan would renovate 85 percent of it but at a higher caliber, De La Torre said, offering the analogy of a model home’s upgrades versus the standard home buyers end up getting.
“What we were getting was the base price,” he said. “We weren’t getting the marble; we were getting the Formica.”
Formica
Not only do these people want $430 million of your money but they are publicly stating that they want our public schools to be luxurious. His statement was not accidental. The Times reported this:
Under the May proposal, YISD would have completely rebuilt the school. The new plan would renovate 85 percent of it but at a higher caliber, De La Torre said, offering the analogy of a model home’s upgrades versus the standard home buyers end up getting.
Standard home buyers
The district needs to understand that El Paso is one of the poorest of the major cities while having the 5th highest taxes of America’s 50 largest cities. Many citizens cannot even afford their own home. They get taxed through their landlords and in tragic twist of circumstances do not qualify for property tax exemptions. Yes the poor are disadvantaged from a property tax perspective.
The thought of building fancy school buildings when utilitarian ones will do when El Paso is in the economic situation that it is in is foolish.
Buying votes
The article showed the superintendent intending to buy the voters.
He quoted Hughes: “Not everybody is going to get everything they want, but everybody is going to get something that they want.”
And then:
Hughes’ job ended after the trustees approved the bond issue, but De La Torre said he is considering hiring other consultants to help push the proposal forward.
Our school officials could get into trouble if they use taxpayer money to advocate for this bond issue.
We deserve better
Brutus
Just as I’m glad I do not live within the boundaries of EPISD, I am glad I am no longer inside those of YISD, as well. Having worked for YISD at one time, I would offer this one comment: If the district does not properly maintain its campuses, it will just be a matter of time before they come back crying for another “upgrade” for Eastwood and other schools. Isn’t it funny how a homeowner can live in a house for a lifetime, and then, the same house can pass from owner to owner for decades, and even hundreds of years, but schools can’t?
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If you own your home and pay the mortgage: You take care of it!
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