It Passed! Now Comes the Hard Part

Well, bless my soul! The BISD school bond issue was actually approved. As I said downstream, it's not perfect, but there was so much that was necessary that I felt it was important to support it.

There's been a lot of bitching about the football stadium/natatorium. I can't see anything but good coming to Beaumont as a result of all of the district's schools using the same facility for sports and other competitions that need similar arenas. I lived here in the 70's-80's before all of the school consolidations were finished. There was incredible dissension in the community, much of it due to the rampant racism AND classism that existed then. True, it still exists today, but isn't anywhere near as virulent as it was back then. Sharing a sports facility can only help to eliminate further the niggling in the background suspicion that one school has better "x" than another, for whatever reason.

Pasadena Independent School District has shared a common football stadium since long before I was in public schools. There were four schools sharing the facility when I was in high school. Now there are five. Problems with that? None that I'm aware of; however, I can only imagine scheduling got a bit more difficult when they added that fifth school three years ago. Scheduling certainly wasn't a problem for the previous years with four schools, and BISD only has three high schools at the moment. (A fourth is planned for the future.)

The other thing people are bitching about is its being built in the first stage. The thing people forget is that the sports complex isn't the only thing being built in the first stage. Sheesh! Talk about tunnel vision!

So ... now comes the hard part.

There was honest disagreement with the bond issue, and valid points of concern were raised. Here's what I hope will happen (not counting on it, though, people being the cantankerous critters they are):

Several of those who were vocally against the proposal have offered to help bring things into being if it passed. For those of you whose noses have gotten out of joint over the opposition (both past and present), pop them back in place and let the opponents have a stake in bringing this new vision of the future into being. Sure, they may operate as roadblocks instead of bridge-builders. But sometimes we need someone to stand in the road and say "Wait a minute! There's a better way!"

And to the opponents, it's wonderful of you to ask questions and poke harder into making things the absolute best they can be for our students, present and future. Just don't use that as an excuse to subtly sabotage the good which can come from fulfilling the promise of this bond proposal.

There are those out there who have a legitimate gripe that they were left out of the initial process. LET THEM IN! And not just in token numbers. Look at the demographics of the community and make sure that each racial/ethnic group is represented in a proportionate basis.

We all have a stake in making sure the promise of this bond proposal comes into being, the promise of a community which may finally begin mending the brokenness of past injustice and providing for all of our young people an education in equitable facilities.

I don't deny that we've a long way to go. BISD has many obstacles besides facilities to overcome. However, the fact that we've taken action on the first thing gives me hope that our community may come together to tackle the others. Prayers arising that this might be so!