Facing vocal opposition to the proposed $397 million school bond on the ballot this May, supporters formed the San Angelo United Political Action Committee (PAC) earlier in the year. They are working to end the bond-funding drought plaguing San Angelo’s schools.
Elizabeth Chambers is part of that effort. She spoke about how she got involved during a telephone interview on Tuesday.
Would be Smaller if 2018 Bond Had Passed
“I served on the Facility Advisory Committee,” {FAC) she said. “We met regularly for months at different locations, like Lake View and Central; and Reagan and Fannin and Bowie, just to get a feel for all of the different issues they have, and they took us on tours where we could see everything.”
Chambers said it was good to see it all first hand because it help put the $397 million in perspective.
“I wish it was a smaller number,” she said. “I was on the Bond Committee in 2018, and if we’d passed that bond, it would be smaller.”
PAC Formed Out of Facility Advisory Committee
Chambers said after the FAC had done its work, a small group of participants got together in February and have been meeting since.
“We formed the PAC,” she explained. “Basically, we’ve been out, raising money, and we’ve had a very positive response from community leaders and businesses — and also grass-roots donations from moms and dads.
“We’ve been blessed to have a few big donations, but it’s been kind of a mix.”
“I would say — having been involved with both of them — that the 2018 bond did not have as much support from the business community as this bond does.”
Support of Business Community Crucial
Chambers said she is very encouraged to see the Chamber of Commerce come out in strong support of the school bond. She spoke briefly about the importance of community support for schools where economic development is concerned, because one of the first things companies looking to relocate check into is the local schools.
Likewise, she pointed out that in attracting future doctors, nurses and other professionals to town, the quality of the schools is likely to be a strong consideration for them.
“To have ‘good’ schools you have to have good instructors, but you also have to have strong, intact buildings,” she said.
“There are the nay-sayers out there, spreading a lot of negativity, but we’ve just been getting out and talking to people.
“I talked to one older gentleman who said he wasn’t really against it, but his kids were long since grown, and his grandchildren don’t go to school here, so he didn’t know why he should be for it.”
Do You Want Good Doctors?
“I asked him if he liked seeing doctors here at Shannon… if he wanted to have to drive two-hours to another city to see a doctor in the future, because we don’t have enough doctors here anymore. I think that made an impression on him, because he goes to doctors.”
Chambers is a graduate of San Angelo schools who went on to Texas A&M, and says she believes it’s very important to have good, well-equipped schools that are preparing students for the trades as well as for college.
Preparing Students With Skills and Trades
“The only real ‘No’ that I got was from a man that asked ‘How are these facilities going to help with education? I’m for education first.'”
“So I gave him an example.
“I said ‘Not every kid is going to college; some kids are going to go right into trades, and out at Lake View they have a lot of kids learning trades. They have kids working with wood…learning carpentry and, currently, the wood shop is located in the old automotive shop — you know, with uneven concrete floors that slope toward drains — and it makes it pretty challenging to try and build something on unlevel ground.
“Then I told him about the floral design shop — that’s one of the most popular things to study right now — and they are just busting at the seams.
“Their refrigerator takes up too much room, and their workstations are tiny, and they’re trying their best, but both of these education spaces are inadequate.
“Just because it’s not geometry or algebra doesn’t mean its not education, and even with sports, kids learn a lot from being on a team.”
Joining Chambers in the door-knocking campaign are many educators, and plenty of SAISD students who will be up-and-out by the time most of these projects are completed, but want better facilities for their younger brother and sisters.
Also actively in the effort, a dedicated cadre who monitor social-media posts and try to actively dialogue with those who say they will vote “No.”
Details of the $397 Million School Bond
The May bond proposition is intended to pay for:
- $8 Million in safety and security upgrades
- $122 Million for a new Glenn Middle School
- $125 Million for additions and renovations to Central High School in three phases
- $29 Million for additions and renovations to Lakeview High School
- $45 Million for elementary additions and renovations.
San Angelo ISD held a press conference on April 10 to go over some details and address concerns and questions they have been hearing.
According to San Angelo ISD Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Merl Brandon, the district is trying to focus on renovating and replacing existing structures that are either failing or nearing the end of their useful life.
According to Board of Trustees President, Dr. Taylor Kingman, the bond election was called because there are too many band-aid repairs on deferred-maintenance projects throughout the district. The bond’s purpose is to create facilities intended to last for seventy years, with lasting renovations and sound construction.
Freeing-up Money to Spend on Teachers, Staff and Students
Another aim of the bond is to free up funds from the district’s maintenance-and-operations budget and put more money in teachers, staff, and students.
Kingman said the board realizes that this is a big bond. But it believes that this is a bond that will have a lasting impact, and the district will not be doing more band-aid work, leading to another bond election in two or three years.
Superintendent Dr. Christopher Moran said because San Angelo does not approve school bonds very often, the district has a lot of deferred maintenance. There is money in the bond to fix deferred-maintenance projects at every campus in the district, in addition to funding for safety and security at each school.
Reason for New Glenn Middle School
Moran said structural integrity issues at Glenn Middle School make replacing the 58-year-old original campus a necessity.
He noted that Glenn is the district’s second-largest campus by enrollment, right behind Central High School and with 1,263 students it is larger than Lake View.
Kingman pointed out that, situationally, Glenn is a circular building set on a hill.
While it may have been forward thinking for its time, is is very outdated now. The district cannot undo the fact that it was designed for a different concept in education, and originally envisioned as a school for 200-300.
Moran added that like San Jacinto, there are some problems with the building which just cannot be fixed or renovated in a way that makes sense financially.
The Board did not want to include projects that would not be sustainable in the long term for San Angelo, Kingman added.
Reason for Lack of Specific Cost List
Asked why the district had not supplied an exact list of included projects with price tags, Moran explained that typically when presenting a bond, school districts present big ideas, because the architects have not actually drawn up any plans yet, which would require money.
“We would get out over our skis a little bit when the bond hasn’t passed and bids have not gone out. That is why we do not have a lot of that specific information yet. If the bond passes, we can address those things in a more robust manner.”
Dr. Kingman noted that the trustees chose Parkhill as the district’s architectural firm because they work in West Texas and have good data on costs and pricing.
“Plans are expensive.” Kingman said “We don’t want to spend money for the plans first because it would not come out of bond but out of the maintenance-and-operations budget.” That would take money away from teachers and students.”
Taxpayers With Questions Encouraged to Call Superintendent
Moran encouraged any taxpayer that had those sorts of concerns to contact his office. He would be glad to sit down with them and go over the details. “We want to make people feel good with what we are doing as it is really a community decision.”
District enrollment has declined and is projected to continue to decline because of demographic changes. Moran said we have a declining birth rate and an aging population. San Angelo has experienced a 39-percent increase in its population over the age of 65 since 2010.
Dr. Moran said we need to plan for that. “The board has done a great job of avoiding building new campuses and instead using the exiting campuses we have and consolidating.
With this plan the board’s goal is to upgrade current facilities, reduce the number of failing buildings the district has to maintain, and provide appropriate educational spaces for students using current facilities.
— Jon Mark Hogg contributed to this report.
