Whenever there are school board elections in Rio Hondo, it always turns into a circus that chokes downtown traffic.
For what? A job that pays nothing?
This past May 7, there was a $20 million school bond election in Rio Hondo that didn’t meet with quite the same fanfare.
It was posted according to the letter of the law, barely. With the abysmal turnout of less than 10 percent of those registered.
It was a far cry from the rally claimed by Superintendent Garcia.
The result was 80 to 42.
Why is it that so many people did not know about this election?
I would like to know what the board members, who spend all that money to get elected, want out of the recent $20 million Bond Election.
Do they want their names on a plaque? I doubt it.
I smell a rat, maybe several.
I see, what I believe, are errors in judgment in the past, like having two football stadiums, one more than Harlingen.
The parking at the newer one is beyond pathetic.
Why do we need a new middle school/junior high when we already have four or five campuses with a lot of empty classrooms.
Parents are taking their kids out of the district in droves.
I understand the enrollment is in the decline. I have heard there may be problems in the current middle school that will be costly to fix if it is upgraded and that there is a problem with traffic.
It would be millions of dollars cheaper to work with what we have than to buy more property and build. The traffic can be routed to take the burden off the down town.
Another problem I see is the less than satisfactory product of RHISD. That is the quality of the education provided by the district.
The district has been given a below average grade of “D.”
This can be looked up on the internet at the following site: schoolrankings@ childrenatrisk.org. This administration owes their students, parents, and the taxpayer a better grade than that.
Why don’t they work on this instead of following the Federal Government model of accruing a huge debt that our grandchildren and their children will still be paying.
The current debt burden on the RHISD taxpayer is $18 million and this administration wants to add another $20 million. Our taxes are already too high.
Why haven’t the minutes for the Feb. 15 meeting (order calling for a bond election) been made public?
Too many eligible voters didn’t know about this election.
Just because it passed doesn’t mean that it has to be used. The people who don’t want unnecessary debt need to come out and be heard.
Let the school board know how you feel and how you will vote. The next board meeting is June 13. They are in a hurry, so let’s show up and put a stop to this nonsense.
Sincerely, Dennis Bates RH ISD Taxpayer
