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Katy Citizen Watchdog$ |
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We’re Taxpayers. It’s Our Money. |
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The Cy-Fair “Taj Mahal”! |
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One of my daughters is a member of the Morton Ranch High School Color-Guard team. They had their final competition at Cy-Fair’s Berry Center. While I have driven past this monstrosity on many occasions, I had never actually had the privilege of going into the arena. Well folks I have to tell you that the Berry Center is undoubtedly the “poster child” for taxpayer ABUSE! I also had to pay $15.00 a person to get into the venue! $15.00 DOLLARS!! I’ve never paid more than $5.00 to $7.00 dollars for any high school event in my life!
I am here to report that this grandiose arena and stadium rivals some university facilities that I have recently been to; specifically the University of North Texas (“UNT”) and Southern Methodist University (“SMU”). A question that I have yet to get answered by my school district, Katy ISD, is why is it necessary to construct Division IA sports facilities in school districts? Why do our school buildings and sports facilities have to rival colleges and universities? With dropout rates rising every year and test scores falling every year why isn’t more of our money being spent in the classroom? Why is the lion’s share of our tax dollars being WASTED on extravagant school construction projects?
My understanding is that this complex cost the taxpayers of Cy-Fair $80 plus MILLION DOLLARS!! This center was the “lightning rod” that started the Cy-Fair Citizens (www.cyfaircitizens.org) this past summer. My group, known as the Katy Citizen Watchdog$ (www.katycitizens.org and www.radiofreekaty.com) helped the Cy-Fair group get kicked-off in its quest to bring reason and sanity back into school district spending. So how in the world did this happen?
Well that’s pretty simple; the situation exists because we taxpayers are battling greedy school board trustees and superintendents that think our hard-earned tax dollars are meant to be their personal entitlement programs. We are battling greedy school board trustees and superintendents that think they don’t have to answer to anyone in the way in which they spend those hard-earned tax dollars. We are battling greedy school board trustees and superintendents that manipulate the election process in making sure that bond elections and school board races are primarily held at off-times so that they can take advantage of voter fatigue and insure low voter turnout.
Too many of us, including myself, have been asleep at the wheel for way too long. This kind of abuse of taxpayer trust and waste of taxpayer dollars has got to STOP! We all need to realize that public education is in trouble; not just in Texas but all around this great land. But what I can tell you is that it won’t be government that will take back our public schools, it will be ordinary people who are involved in grassroots organizations, like the Cy-Fair Citizens and the Katy Citizen Watchdog$, that will lead the charge in taking back our public schools from those that are leading them down a path to ruin.
© 2007 by Chris Cottrell. All rights reserved.
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Chris Cottrell, Katy Citizen Watchdog$ |
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Date: 03/29/2007 |
