Cleburne ID 2016 School Bond Scam- Let's talk about reading

Ever wonder just how it is we learn how to read as kids?  It really takes a lot of one on one time, and it is best done early as possible.  My mom was a school teacher, and she taught me to read starting when I was four.  I read 'The Hobbit' when I was 5, and after that, I never looked back.  Now I read 4 inch thick tomes about geo-politics and history, just for fun, like some people read comic books.  Just like typing, having good reading skills is something that will help you your entire life.

Unfortunately, some folks aren't able to teach their kids how to read at home, and they have to leave it to the public school system.  That's fine, that's what the school is there for, but what happens when the school fails?

Well, then you get Cleburne ISD in Cleburne Texas.  This 2015-2016 school year, incoming 9th graders were tested for their current skill level on a number of topics, and most.. MOST.. were found to be reading at a 6th grade level.  That's horrible!  Right off the bat, that means none of them are reading for fun.. unless it's a comic book.  They're certainly not reading for education, which means later they'll have trouble reading just for a job.

Now, the Cleburne ISD administration and bond consultants would have you believe that if we just give them $130 Million Dollars without any oversight, they'll build a nice shiny new school building with that money, and that'll make everything all better.  Just one problem.  Kids in India that go to school in mud huts and later go on to become doctors over here have proven that you don't need a shiny $130 Million Dollar school building to be educated.  It's really all about the teachers, class sizes, and information technology, ie: books and, these days, computers.

Thanks to the internet, we live in the greatest renaissance of self-education and leaning known to man.  Have a question about anything?  Google it.  Look it up on Youtube.  You can learn about anything these days.  But!  You HAVE TO BE ABLE TO READ.

Now, if the proposed new school was going to help with class sizes, that would be an argument for it, but it won't.  As a matter of fact, the existing high school won't even be used at capacity for A DECADE.

Smells kind of like a scam doesn't it?  If this new high school was built, most of it would be sitting empty for a decade just waiting for the OTHER high school to fill up.

It really smells like someone just wants to get their hands on $130 Million Dollars without anyone looking over their shoulder to see how the money is spent, so that they can put.. just a little.. only a million or two.. in their pocket...

Read about it!  Google 'School Bond Fraud', or 'Texas School Bond Fraud'... this has been done before!

Plus, imagine how ripped off everyone in Cleburne will feel when the administration says 'Well, thanks for the money, but we've decided to built A NEW FOOTBALL STADIUM ANYWAY, and there is nothing you can do about it, NAH nah NAH nah NAH NAH!!  It could happen!  Nobody would get fired, nobody would go to jail.

A brick wall does not teach kids how to read.. good teachers do.