There are a number of things wrong with the new bond proposed by Cleburne ISD's administration and bond consultants, but let's just start at the top of the list of problems. The new bond is being pitched as being necessary to build a new high school.
The most glaring problem with this, however, is that the current high school isn't out of room for students yet, and according to studies and school board members who toured the school with a clipboard and counted up available rooms vs student numbers, it'll be ten years before a new high school is needed due to space constraints.
If you're not familiar with the school bond proposed LAST year, it was for $150 Million Dollars, and it's primary focus was to pay for a new football stadium. After a grassroots information campaign to combat manipulation of the taxpayers in Cleburne by the school administration and bond consultants, it was voted down, but only barely.
Why would the school administration and bond consultants want a high school building that isn't needed? Could it be because it is easier to embezzle a million or two from large projects than small ones while sticking taxpayers with the bill?
If you google 'School Bond Scams', you'll find that school bond fraud is prevalent from coast to coast, and especially in Texas. Here's the way it works. The school administration arranges a 'steering committee' to meet regularly to talk about the proposed bond and what it will be paying for. However, the only purpose of the steering committee is to make it 'seem' like the bond has public support. Those local taxpayers who go to the meetings are manipulated using a process called 'The Delphi Technique', and it's purpose is to give 'false consensus' to a pre-determined outcome.
In other words, the school administration and consultants want people to think that they had some input, while the outcome of the meetings was already pre-determined, and the bond consultants running the meetings just have to use a few tricks to push everyone in the right direction. Usually this involves dividing everyone up into small groups, with the 'leader' of the group being a member of the school pushing the bond. Can you say conflict of interest? Dissenting opinions at each table are quashed by these group leaders, but when they can't do that, then an 'anonymous' vote is taken on the current issue being discussed, and the votes are only tallied by the consultants. Of course, the outcome always matches the bond consultants desired outcome, with anyone who was dissenting believing they are a minority, because they don't know how everyone else voted.
Cleburne Texas taxpayers didn't fall for this, because almost a third of them stopped coming to the meetings, feeling that they were being manipulated by the bond consultants.. and they were! However, in spite of that, the school and the bond consultants still reported that the steering committee advised continuing with the bond proposal.
Now, a number of different people and groups in Cleburne have advocated a smaller bond just to repair existing schools, who's maintenance has been allowed to go by the wayside. However, it is harder to steal money from a smaller bond, than it is a very large bond that is part of a big construction project.
Last year the school administration wanted $150 Million Dollars with no oversight or accountability, to build a new football stadium. It barely failed. Now, the school administration wants $130 Million Dollars to build a new high school, (when there are no space constraints and won't be for a decade), in addition to repairs to the other school building, and electronic tablets for the students. Of course, those tablets will be out of date long before the bond is paid off, but that is fodder for another post.
Basically, Cleburne ISD does not need a new high school for space issues, not now, not tomorrow, and not for ten years. This bond is a scam to have access to $130 Million Dollars without any oversight. If you wonder why there is some suspicion that the money might not be used 'efficiently', here is why..
In 2013 Cleburne ISD built a new concession stand at Wheat Middle School. It is 1040 sq ft, and has a kitchen, store room, and restrooms in it. It is on land already owned by the school. Here's the rub. They spent $277,000 dollars on it. Wow! That much money in Cleburne can get you a mid-sized farm, or a 3 story house with a garage, or a really nice Ferrari. Cleburne ISD built a really nice hot dog stand.
If they couldn't spend $277,000 thousand dollars responsibly then, what will they do with $130 Million now?
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