Yes on the AISD “health & safety” bonds
The last time Austin ISD got voter approval for a bond package, the ensuing construction program became mired in scandal and cost overruns. That one, in 1996, was for more than $350 million. This one is for a mere $50 million, of which $12 million is going to clear out mold in South Austin schools that were built shoddily during the Eighties. See a pattern here? Then why are we endorsing these bonds?
Because the alternatives are worse. Mold has attained the status of a new plague — and a massive potential legal liability for AISD. The district is wise to not only clean up its current mold expeditiously, but also to retrofit almost every other AISD campus to forestall future mold problems. That’s where the balance of the $50 million is going, and while such projects might normally be paid for out of the operating budget, AISD doesn’t really have the money there to spare. So a bond package — which the district says should not require a tax increase — is a sensible step, at least on paper. Citizens should remain watchful, though, that this bond program is implemented fully and well.
A dozen other local jurisdictions will be holding elections Feb. 2 — including the city of Georgetown, which is holding a contentious recall election of the mayor and four council members. The Chronicle encourages all citizens in those jurisdictions to vote.
This article appears in February 1 • 2002.