The proposed 90 Million Dollar Bond for ROISD is history! Some of the people have spoken. The bond proposal failed 65%-35%. It is a shame that only 791 voters bothered to go to the polls for a proposal that would have dramatically raised house payments and forced more than a few homeowners to reconsider living in the Red Oak area.

I honestly thought that more voters would have taken the time to vote. Elections are not a “slam-dunk” or a “done deal”. This should show our students and children the old adage of “every person’s vote counts” actually holds water. Hopefully parents, teachers and friends will drive this message home. If you don’t vote…you can’t complain about the outcome either way.

The Superintendent and School Board should take a hard look at the results and apply these questions to further bond discussion and proposals:

Were the demographics cited in all presentations actual or vapor-demographics from the North Texas Council of Governments as I was told face-to-face? If questionable demographics were used, the voters saw through the smoke and mirrors. You’ll ask where one gets the proper demographic numbers. That’s what we pay you to find out and present honestly. A little number crunching by staff and students could go a long way to rectifying this issue. Use real numbers and voters will give you a real victory.

When the next election is called in November (as per previous news articles), will the Board look to the community and put together an advisory board? I voted against the bond because it was over the top and did not represent a fiscally responsible proposal; asking for funding only where it was necessary. I also voted against the bond because I felt the district was saying the voters were stupid if they did not agree to this massive increase in property taxes. You didn’t get community buy-in before the “spin” started. This is Politics and Business 101. The cart was before the horse and the proposal failed on these points.

Using the Education Foundation as a mailing resource and endorsement for the bond was lame and disingenuous. How much money was spent by the district and Education Foundation for the quality (very nicely done) printing? I am asking for a full accounting of this project publicly. The address label was marked “To the Parents of”. This indicated the district used my tax money yet again by the use of the student management system to generate the addresses, print the labels and have them affixed to the mailer. Is this action a proper use of district funds, time and materials?

Using the failure of this bond proposal to come back with a palatable bond program won’t work either. The Superintendent and Board cannot lose on this one. If the voters do not vote for the “reasonable bond issue”, great hue and cry will be made about “what will it take to get our students the proper facilities?” Know now that using this transparent argument won’t float. The Superintendent and Board should have done things right the first time. Now the issue may become more contentious as students could be used as bargaining chips in any future bond proposals. Don’t do it! We’ll call the bluff!

It is time for all interested parties to come together and learn from this failed proposal. Red Oak can grow from the process and begin to work together instead of polarizing into pro and against camps. The Superintendent and School Board must take a major leadership position on this issue. The statement was made in the Red Oak High School newspaper that Red Oak is moving from a predominantly rural to a suburban community. This is quite true. The infux of well educated and fiscally responsible families has changed the face of politics in Red Oak. Politics as usual will not get the job done.

I’m looking forward to working with the ROISD administration and Board to get a reasonable long-term construction project in place and moving. Your voters are obviously very cash conscious. Doing anything less will not be the right thing for students and not politically sound for future re-election possibilities.