Dear editor,

The MISD has proposed a bond issue of $41 million to build a new high school, performing arts center, and vocational education center. By big city standards, the amount is not shocking. However, this is a high school with an enrollment of only 447. Therefore, the expenditure is $91,000 per student. And from what is posted on the MISD website, it appears that taxes could (or will) go up by $35 a month or $420 per year on a median Mineola home. This is a very high percentage increase (20 to 30!). Replacing old buildings would seem to be a good reason for the expenditure, but a comparison of the yearly average maintenance cost of the old building to the cost of the new one is in order. Upgrading facilities for high technology instruction might be a reason, but modern tech is wireless, thus obviating the necessity for running lots of CAT5 cabling.

In the proposal is an 800-1,600 seat auditorium. 800 is almost twice the enrollment of the school, and 60 percent larger than the smallest Broadway venue in New York. It would seem that this is more than a bit excessive. Are we really turning away hundreds of people from our school plays? Public debt has become spectacularly excessive at a federal level, but it’s even worse at a local level in Texas. It hasn’t been bad here in Mineola, and I’d hate to see us join this downward spiral because of a desire for a shiny new building for which we have not saved.

Regards,

Greg Smith