Community divided by OISD school bond issue

Leon Moore, who recently decided to run for a seat on the OISD school board, listens intently. OISD held two more school bond election meetings this week in the school auditorium. The intent of the meetings was again to inform the community about the purpose of the bond election, and OISD Superintendent Richard Scoggin felt it was a necessary repetition. The goal is to have the information available to as many people as possible.

The main topic of heated discussion at the April 20th meeting was that dirty four letter word...TAXES! Several members of the Flo community had questions about the actual taxing changes should this bond pass. Scoggin went into great depth about the probable tax changes. He referenced a chart on the power point as he spoke, gave examples and then encouraged everyone to go to the Oakwood ISD web site to use the tax calculator to figure the tax rate for their specific property. He assured seniors the tax rate for those over the age of 65 who had applied for and been granted a tax freeze, would not be affected by the bond. The only way that would change is if the home/ land owner made a significant change in their property. That would include building a new home or major home renovations. In such a case, their tax rate would increase regardless of the bond. This response seemed to appease many but one community member had other taxing questions. He wanted to know what would happen if he died and his children or grandchildren inherited his property. Scoggin told him that once the property changed hands, the new owners would be responsible for the higher tax just like anyone else unless they too were able to apply for the freeze.

OHS ag teacher Wesley Henson pleads with the community members to get along for the sake of the children. Another topic of discussion was location. Why must the school be so far away from those out in Flo or St. Paul, or those out so far they are almost in Buffalo or Centerville? Scoggin reminded everyone that if people balked at a $4.5 million bond, what do you think would be the reaction if they had to purchase land and build an entire new facility from scratch? He then went on to say that the bond would have to be increased drastically to move the location. Another member of the community brought up an accompanying problem: staffing. If the school were to purchase a piece of land farther out, then there would be a need to double the non-teaching staff of OISD. There would have to be double the principals, secretaries, teacher's aides, cafeteria staff, nurses, etc. Then the question becomes, Do we want to pay for double staffing too? Scoggin agreed that, if built at the present location, most of these positions can be shared with the Junior/Senior High School as they are at this time.

OISD Superintendent Richard Scoggin answers questions about the bond election. At the end of the meeting, Oakwood's Ag teacher, Wesley Henson, gave an impassioned speeched imploring the varying community members to put aside rivalries and think of what is best for the children. He also took the opportunity to lay to rest a rumor about his and his wife's decision to retire at the end of this school year. (Rose Henson is the 5th grade/English and spelling teacher at Oakwood.) Henson stated that he had taught at just about every school in the area but if he chose to continue teaching,

it would be right here at Oakwood. He said they were not leaving because they were unhappy at OISD. He said the sole reason for them leaving was, after 35 years of teaching, "We're tired."

The final opportunity to attend a bond election meeting was April 26 after a short school board meeting. The number of people in attendance at this meeting more than doubled from the previous two meetings, and the larger turnout was possibly driven by a letter which many in the community had received from the Flo Community Tax Payers Association. The letter asked voters to vote against the bond and gave several reasons that directly contradicted Scoggin’s powerpoint presentation.

The superintendent was asked to address the questions this letter brought up. The letter stated the bond would result in “increased taxes for the next 30 years”. Scoggins once again assured everyone that the bond they were seeking would be for 20 years and possibly even a shorter term. The letter stated that “some of the students that are being bused to Oakwood are on the bus for as much as two hours each way.” Scoggins stated that they had timed the routes and the longest bus ride a child had to endure was about an hour. The letter also stated “the school is still substandard in math and science”, and Scoggin pointed to last year’s TAKS test scores to confirm that Oakwood was not substandard in either field of study.

The superintendent ended the meeting by addressing specific tax rate questions and reiterated that the district’s online tax calculator could be used to figure individuals’ tax rate changes. He told the crowd he would be more than happy to go over any issues by phone, email, or “just drop in to talk”.