mrfootball Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 (edited) Residents Send Clear Message to Spring ISDSpring superintendent Ralph Draper, who started work at the district only four days before the election, said the message voters sent the school district is loud and clear."This bond election, at this time, was not the way they wanted to go," Draper said. "What we have to do is get everyone back to the table, including those who may not have been at the table before, to build broad-based community support for a plan that will meet the district's and students' needs.[snip]Members of the grassroots Homeowners Against Spring ISD Bond Propositions Inc. said they turned out against the three propositions because the Spring school district is not spending existing budget money wisely. Another round of bond debt would send the district's tax rate through the roof, they said."I think people turned out in large numbers against the propositions for two reasons," said Tom Matthews, a Northgate Forest subdivision resident and spokesman for the opposition group. "First was the hot-button issue. The propositions included things people just didn't think were right, including the natatorium, computers and new auditorium. The second was a pocketbook issue. The district is going to have to do things to control spending before voters will agree to a tax increase."Matthews said the group is not opposed to building schools to house students, but members want to see financial reform on the district level before they support future bond issues.Dr. Bert Williams, an opposition group member, said Homeowners Against Spring ISD Bond Propositions Inc. will not disappear now that the election is over."Our next move is to run a slate of officers against the existing school board members in the next election," Williams said. "We would like to see people with a fresh perspective on the board Edited July 21, 2006 by mrfootball Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 "Our next move is to run a slate of officers against the existing school board members in the next election," Williams said. "We would like to see people with a fresh perspective on the board Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfootball Posted July 21, 2006 Author Share Posted July 21, 2006 (edited) I think its an overall disgruntled tax base who've seen this go from being one of the best districts in the state to becoming a mostly low-income district rife with gangs and minority violence. The School Board did nothing to mitigate the intrusion, nothing to protect the homeowners against the dozens and dozens of low-income / section 8 apartment housing that was constructed on the far side of the district. They could've built new schools 10 or 15 years ago to handle this growth, but they're only just now about to open up DeKaney HS. A little too late, IMO. Edited July 21, 2006 by mrfootball Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 i have a rental property in spring isd. the last bond election, less than 6 years ago (i think), increased my mortgage payment considerably. you then hear that school quality has decreased in the area. yeah, property owners should be ticked off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfootball Posted July 21, 2006 Author Share Posted July 21, 2006 (edited) Homeowners Against Spring ISD Bond Propositions, Inc.Is this the same group that has expressed a desire to be re-annexed into Klein ISD? Edited July 21, 2006 by mrfootball Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston1stWordOnTheMoon Posted July 22, 2006 Share Posted July 22, 2006 The school tax rate there is insane. Its one of the reasons i avoided Northgate. Cy-Fair is not that much better either for rates. I say merge them all into HISD and i will get a bigger break in taxes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiredofschoolburea Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 From dealing with Draper, I think he is the first one that needs to be run out of office. What exactly has he accomplished during his almost 3 yrs here except provide elusive answers to direct questions? Once we get him out and get someone in there that doesn't mind talking to the "little people" of the district (you know those of us who pay taxes and his salary), then we need to clean house completely. Two knife incidents, stolen computer with all our kids personal info, what next? The 9 yr old incident with the knifw was not even related to parents of the school it happened at or other district resident, channel 2 had to tell us . And that incident was not even considered an assault!!!!????? Where is this zero tolerance I have to sign every year at the beginning of the school year? What is the sense of even having this policy if it is not enforced? When are we going to band together as local residents and remove these tax-dollar-sucking-a-pay-check out this district and get REAL qualified district reps? Has anyone even tried to talk to him in person or on the phone? Well, get ready to be spoken down to! Apparently receiving his Doctor of Education in 2006, after he was hired in 2005, that makes him much smarter than us common folk, so he uses little words to get his point across! Try it sometime, talking to him I mean, see if you hear that "gosh why am I even talking to you" tone in his voice. That tone only accompanies his voice if you're AGAINST his perfect resolution to a problem. Well, us little people need to send a big message and remove him from our district. Who knows what to do to remove him? Let's get this ball rolling and show him how "ignorant" we really are..... Spring superintendent Ralph Draper, who started work at the district only four days before the election, said the message voters sent the school district is loud and clear. "This bond election, at this time, was not the way they wanted to go," Draper said. "What we have to do is get everyone back to the table, including those who may not have been at the table before, to build broad-based community support for a plan that will meet the district's and students' needs. "Our next move is to run a slate of officers against the existing school board members in the next election," Williams said. "We would like to see people with a fresh perspective on the board Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 I think its an overall disgruntled tax base who've seen this go from being one of the best districts in the state to becoming a mostly low-income district rife with gangs and minority violence. The School Board did nothing to mitigate the intrusion, nothing to protect the homeowners against the dozens and dozens of low-income / section 8 apartment housing that was constructed on the far side of the district.Where was all of that built? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfootball Posted May 16, 2008 Author Share Posted May 16, 2008 Where was all of that built?I-45, Southside of FM 1960, Ella Blvd, Kuykendahl area Rankin, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 I-45, Southside of FM 1960, Ella Blvd, Kuykendahl area Rankin, etc.And I am in Ella Crossing (nice enough) but now there is a huge, un-named and undeclared apartment complex going up right next door (directly across from Bammel MS) ... what a farce my HOA is. They'd rather cite me for not cutting my grass weekly than protecting our interests and letting us know what is going on in the neighborhood.I formed two newsgroups (see my signature line) below to help keep us informed. Join if interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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