Last evening, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick was giving a presentation on the current status and future plans in Texas. The conversation drifted to school funding (which will be a priority in the next Legislature) and then to the McKinney $220 million bond. The Lt. Governor stated that he would not vote for a stadium with the cost of the MISD proposed stadium. He also would not vote for a capital bond that included band uniforms since those did not belong in such a bond. He, of course, cannot vote in McKinney’s bond election, but his views are telling on the approach of MISD to spending our tax money.
Find further information in a letter to Citizens of McKinney from Grassroots McKinney.
From: Grassroots McKinney PAC
To: Friends and Citizens of McKinney
McKinney ISD’s $220 million bond proposal has divided McKinney and roused much passion. We want you to make an informed choice. There are some good things in the bond proposal, but there are also some bad things and some just plain ugly things. Unfortunately, MISD made a deliberate decision to give citizens NO choice in what projects are approved – it is an all-or-nothing bond vote by design. If you want the good, you must take the bad and the ugly with it.
Who are we? Grassroots McKinney is a small PAC formed by concerned citizens like you to promote accountability, transparency and fiscal responsibility in local McKinney government. Our financial supporters are primarily individuals and do not include large corporations hoping to profit from the bond projects, such as Stantec and Team McKinney. These instead have donated large amounts to the Vote for McKinney’s Future PAC, the pro-bond PAC.
Highlights (or lowlights) of the bond proposal:
(1) All or Nothing vote on proposal – deliberately gave no choices
The District knew that the stadium and other projects would be unpopular. Therefore, the bond is proposed as an all-or-nothing package, unlike the City of McKinney bond which gave voters a choice of projects.
(2) The most expensive high school football stadium in America
Despite failing to justify a new stadium, except to say that Ron Poe stadium is old, the bond proposes to build a $72.8 million stadium, surpassing both Allen and Katy stadiums.
(3) $1 Billion in debt
If this bond is approved the debt load (including required interest) of McKinney ISD will be over $1 Billion (yes that is billion with a “B”). That is $41,000 per student, among the highest locally and in the state. Your children will be paying this off.
(4) Little emphasis on academics
The bond fails to provide any significant attention to academic excellence. MISD is performing at an average/mediocre level, yet there is no science center, STEM center, or anything pointing toward improving academic achievement. Instead, the bond concentrates on athletics and fine arts. These are important, but secondary to academics.
The District has forced citizens to vote the whole bond up or down. This bond has fatal flaws. We strongly urge you to vote NO for this bond and send it back to MISD to develop a bond proposal more in line with what students need and citizens want.
It’s OK to Just Say NO!