STOP THE PRESSES: Austin-American Statesman comes out AGAINST AISD Props. 1-4

Oh. My. Gosh.

Vote for Mia's future; say 'no' to the rushed bond package; money quote:

The district’s board and administration is asking for permission to borrow $892 million — the largest in the district’s 132-year history. The four bond propositions on the ballot are the results of many hours of hard work by the district’s volunteer bond advisory committee and by district staff. And while we appreciate the commitment of time and effort, the American-Statesman cannot recommend passage of any of the four items presented to district voters.

The newspaper is a strong supporter of public education, and that support makes this decision difficult. But we cannot in good conscience recommend approval of a package that is riddled with questionable cost estimates and expenditures and rushed for inclusion on the May ballot.

....

Had the propositions not been structured to bundle needed projects with costly wishful thinking, voters could have separated mere want from true need. Bundling the projects was a political choice — not an academic one. The same goes for ignoring or overlooking the potential for full use of existing buildings before rushing to build new ones.

Trustees seek permission to build new schools when vacancies exist at facilities — mostly east of the interstate.

....

Waiting for a spot on the November ballot after a more thorough vetting of the items would have made the bond requests more affordable as well as supportable.

To reiterate, it is a departure for the American-Statesman not to support a school bond issue, and we did not reach this decision easily.

Consider that Mia, the cute little girl on the flyer, will grow up and be into her 30s paying back millions in unnecessary debt the bond propositions would impose on her.

 Cahnman's Musings is pleasantly shocked by this development, but we'll take it.

Let's slow this process down; vote AGAINST AISD Props. 1-4.

Early voting runs through tomorrow, find early voting locations here.

Election day proper is Saturday, May 11th, find election day polling locations here.