Sun, May 18 2008
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Editor's note: the following is a partial transcript of a dialogue between JISD Superintendent Stuart Bird and school board members Joe Casey and Pat McCown regarding JISD's planning for the district's facilities needs.
JOE CASEY: I'd like to see a plan that's going to allow us to make decisions about what we want to have in the future with a long term plan. I'm not saying anything concrete, I'm not saying that's what we're going to do forever, but a plan that could be adapted and changed periodically -- once a year or so when a major thing occurs that may alter the plan like the fact that we just lost some businesses and some families are going to leave our town and some may come. We don't know. But, when big things like that happen, take a look at your plan and ask, 'Where do we want to go? What do we want to do?' I would like to see that plan because it would help us make good decisions about things like Nichols.
I'd like, also, to see the future plans for what that Nichols campus is going to be. Is it always going to be a middle school? I don't know. There's a lot of questions I have in my mind. I'd like to see a plan formulated and I'm not exactly sure how we go about doing that. I'm not sure if it's our job. But I'd like to see that articulated in a way that people could rally around it.
STUART BIRD: We've had a plan all along. But without a bond issue passing, the plan isn't going to ever work. We've looked at it three times now. Right now if I had to suggest something to you, and I can help you develop it, is we take a year, another year anyway... and kind of see where our enrollment goes. At some point in time, we might consider having another facilities study done as things change and see how much has changed there.
I think we have a plan; I think our plan is to do those things that we talked about originally with some sort of configuration regarding the elementary schools. I mentioned the fact that maybe we should look at building two new schools and renovating two. I don't know.
When we start talking about the plan, I've asked several times, 'What do you want to see in a plan.' Other than the ones that have already been told, I don't know where to go from there.
CASEY: I'd like to have a plan presented so the city knows where we're moving, knows where we're trying to go and have that articulated so that if somebody says 'What is your plan?' we can say 'Here it is right here.'
PAT McCOWN; We've seen in the last six months that a plan is worth about as much time as it takes me to wad up a piece of paper and throw it away. You can spend $20 counting $1 and that's all you'd be doing. We've had a plan forever and the plan lost this past bond issue. When it doesn't happen, then your plan stops. And you can sit around, wring your hands and do whatever you want to, but you don't have a plan when that happens. That's what your plan was and your plan got changed at that point in time. Do you understand?
You can gather up a committee and have a great plan, but until you get a bond passed, you haven't got a plan and you'll never have a plan because your plan was to pass the bond, go a few more years later and pass another bond and until you do that, you don't have a plan. You just have stuff written down on a piece of paper. You don't have anything.
CASEY: The bottom line is, it's depending upon the voters and the voter are depending upon the plan. So, I submit to you that...
McCOWN: Joe, did you hear what I said a little while ago. Just because they hadn't seen the plan... what are we going to do, write it on the wall so they can see it? We've had a plan. We spent thousands of dollars getting a plan.
I'll get you a copy of the plan; I've seen it. I helped write it.
CASEY: I've read that and I'm not sure I understand the plan.
McCOWN: How would you understand the next plan?
CASEY: I'm not sure I understand it and I sit in this seat. I'm sure I'm not the only one.
BIRD: It's very simple. It said we needed three new elementary schools. I don't know what's so vague about saying we need three new elementary schools. We need a new roof and air conditioning system at the middle school. We're about to do that. We're carrying out our plan.
McCOWN: Who are we going to finally trust to have a plan? That's what a school board is about is the community electing us seven guys and trusting us to have enough gumption to have a plan. We've had a plan all along and we've tried our darndest to follow it.
I'm just about sick of the community saying, 'Y'all don't have a plan.' That's garbage. We've had a plan all along.
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