Scoot26

I understand what he's saying TCole, but I say it's a futile effort. As long as Robin Hood exists, HPISD will have to have larger class sizes to cut back on costs.

In order to keep class sizes down...

* There has to be sufficient space to pare class sizes down since smaller classes require more classrooms

* More teachers have to be hired

Don't underestimate our administration or the parents of this district. Everyone is at their wits end with robin hood and if it means more construction projects, then we will see it done. The problem within most districts is that they put their fate into the hands of the state legislature. Yes, we'll have to accept robin hood, but trust me, no one in this district will let this school crumble by the actions of the state. The good thing is that our schools don't have much of a rate of growth because of the restrictive size of the area.

Highland Park High is only one school, and no matter what, there will always be different students with different needs - HP High cannot serve ALL of those students, and so students need other schools that may better fit their interests. The advantage of large urban districts such as Houston ISD and Dallas ISD is that they can offer different programs catering to different students and schools of all shapes and sizes.

This question should kill the "The endowment will allow HP to reduce its class sizes as well as develop programs similar to those offered at the specialized DISD magnets." argument - How is HPISD going to offer all ranges of courses and social environments and programs at one high school? How is HPISD going to offer all of the same courses that are found at all six of the DISD Townview magnets and Booker T. plus have an athletic program and a traditional program and yet keep the campus at a small class size? (I'm not mentioning the DISD schools just for their sizes but also for their specialized academic programs and courses) How is HPISD going to offer both a laid-back environment and a highly competetive environment at the same school?

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with what HPISD is trying to develop in terms of course offerings. But at the same time, there are always going to be different schools with different environments. There will always be different styles of learning and different approaches to education. A single school cannot offer everything - HP High should strive to offer a traditional education with a reasonable class size (HP faculty should strive for around 20 kids) - And kids who would do better with more specialized training and programs and/or different programs attend other schools.

And why should we "strive" for 20 kids per teacher? Why can we not strive for 12-14 per teacher? HP is not trying to be everything to everyone. I understand that each school has it's own personality, it's own record, etc., but without a doubt, we offer one of the best well-rounded programs possible in the state. That is the biggest draw to our district. The problem today is that student programs are having to depend more on donations to survive. Our students should never have to ask for donations to keep their programs. The people in this district want this endowment, and we will get our school back to where we want it, regardless of what the state legislature hands us or residents of Dallas want.

If HPISD didn't have such a successful program, nobody would even be having this debate.

Just a quick thought...

How many Highland Park/University Park residents USE Dallas city services nearly every day? From roads to rail to water/sewer facilities in their office buildings?

The argument that DISD kids shouldn't be eligible for HPHS is kinda moot when you think about how the folks in Dallas pay for loads of things that Park City folks use for free on a daily basis.

And you forget that the residents in Park City also pay taxes to the city of Dallas. Their property taxes go to the HPISD while the property taxes of the Dallas resident's go to the DISD.

And most of those services aren't free.

As a Highland Park resident and tax payer, let me address some of your notions.

1. If the school is overcrowded, it won't get any additional students. "Extra seats" implies that the building is under capacity. If it is over capacity, it gets no one. Also, you missed the phrase "fill to capacity" - i.e. if the building is under capacity, allow additional students in to fill the school to capacity, not OVER capacity.

Since all of the HPISD campuses seem to be either new construction or historically significant construction, tearing down and building larger campuses is out of the question. Expansion may be possible, but I am not sure if it is.

One of the main goals of establishing this endowment is so that HPISD can reduce their class sizes, and reestablish programs that had to be cut because of funding that was stolen from us through robin hood. This fund will pay for new teachers so class sizes will drop, it will pay for our teachers to have the best resources available, it will pay to make sure our teachers are well qualified and educated in their respected fields, it will pay for new extracurricular programs so that our students can enjoy a broad range of activities.

However, you want to see this school stuffed to capacity. Our schools already have class sizes well above the state average, and I can promise you, the parents and residents of HP are not happy about it. You should come to a board meeting sometime or to a parent event, and talk to the administrators and parents. You will find that the residents of HP overwhelmingly want to see our class sizes drop to the low to mid teens. This isn't going to happen when we are having to pay over $75 million a year of our hard earned money to other schools in the state. The residents, myself included, are sick of it. Therefore, I will gladly give to this endowment to see that the future of this community and its schools continue to thrive.

2. This would be made up for allowing a number of HPISD people to send their kids to DISD schools for free. It's just an "exchange" of students with some HPISD students going to DISD schools and some DISD students to HPISD schools.

"How on earth do poor kids who live outside the district "deserve" to be treated like rich kids in the district?"

The philosophy behind public education is that all citizens need to be educated. HPISD is a public school district. Even if it technically only covers wealthy areas, it ought to educate interested folks from surrounding areas IF space permits.

If that was the case, our schools will always be crowded. It is not HP's problem that the DISD might have substandard schools in its system. It is not HP's problem that their classes are overcrowded. It is not HP's problem that 82% of students in DISD are economically disadvantaged. It is not HP's problem that DISD's test scores are lacking.

DISD needs to get their own schools in order and the residents in the DISD district should not be allowed to use the HP system because their own schools are lacking. If a family wishes to send their student to HP, then they are free to move into the district. If they can't afford it, well then, welcome to reality. If they have complaints about their school, then they are free to turn to their own school leaders and the state legislature.

It is our parents, students, teachers, and community leaders who have made Highland Park high school into what it is today. We don't put our success in the hands of the state legislature nor do we owe our success to Dallas or the residents in the DISD. DISD and the state of Texas owes a lot more to HPISD than we owe to them. The truth of the matter is that without our money, DISD and other districts in Texas would be really hurting. So please don't chastise us for trying to protect and keep in place a bedrock of our community.