Making Education A Priority!

Since the Texas school finance trial is wrapping up today, (and the first judge to tackle this has ruled it all oh, so unconstitutional,) I thought it might be a good time to just post an example of how local school districts have"made education a priority" over the past decade.  While local districts have been denouncing those eeevil state legislators for not spending enough on public schools, as it turns out local leaders have been busy building, building, building, and of course state-of-the-art football stadiums have been very important.

After passing a $559 million bond package in 2007, Leander ISD demolished and rebuilt one football stadium (A.C. Bible,) for $12 million, and completely built a second stadium, (John Gupton,) for $22.5 million.  The really fun part is that LISD football fans can sit in the Gupton stadium on Friday nights and actually see the Round Rock ISD's $27 million stadium (Kelly Reeves,) only 2.4 miles away.

Pretty cool, huh?

Well, maybe not so cool if you are a Leander ISD parent or taxpayer.  You might be wondering why the district has empty school buildings, $1.8 billion in debt, and a negative Fitch rating.  

But, hey, the football is great.

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Leander ISD's John Gupton stadium is near the top of the map; Round Rock ISD's Kelly Reeves stadium is near the bottom right.