My name is Sara Moore, life-long resident of Ector County and the City of Odessa. I received my education through ECISD and graduated from Permian High School in 1974. I married another life-long Odessan who graduated from Odessa High School in the same year, and yes, we were able to work out our high school rivalry issues early in our marriage.
It was, indeed, a great honor when I was asked to take a lead role in the Political Action Committee, ODESSANS FOR A BRIGHT FUTURE, to promote the school bond. After having served on the two most recent community bond committees my interest and my passion for seeing a successful bond passage has only grown. Passing this $496 million dollar bond is a great step in the right direction for our community and here are the reasons why I believe it is so.
First, it has become abundantly clear to me that every resident of Ector County will benefit from the passing of this school bond. We are growing our own workforce for tomorrow. Students graduating from the career and technical education programs that we have in place are in demand already by local businesses and local employers of all kinds. We have the programs, but we need to expand the size of the classes and we need a facility to house all of these programs under one roof. This workforce for tomorrow will benefit us all in one way or another.
What is the scope of work that will be done with the passing of this bond? Obviously, a new Career Technological Education Center will be a great addition to South Odessa in terms of economic impact and to foster a partnership between the business community and the schools. In addition to that, a new Transition Learning Center for special needs students will house our 18-plus program, a program which teaches life skills to special needs students to help them transition into the community as independently as possible. We will build a new middle school in West Odessa which will result in a great economic impact on the neighborhood community. Major upgrades to each campus, repairs and upgrades to the Ratliff stadium (which is now 45 years old) and the surrounding complex will provide a better, safer environment for all. Major upgrades to both Permian and OHS campus facilities are needed in athletics and fine arts. An upgraded transportation facility to service and repair our large fleet of ECISD buses and vehicles safely and in adequately sized bays for today’s larger size buses.
On the website for ODESSANS FOR A BRIGHT FUTURE – odessansvoteyes.com, you can read and study all the details of the bond. All areas of Ector County and all the campuses in the district will be touched by this bond. Every resident will be able to benefit from something either now or in the near future.
So, why is passing this bond so important you ask? It’s simple. We have a great opportunity to take this giant step forward now for our students, for our teachers, and for our community. And we can do this $436 million dollar bond without a tax rate increase. That alone is a great incentive to move ahead. But, perhaps more importantly, it’s imperative to pass this school bond now so that we can prepare our students for the future. It is important because it is the right thing to do!
President Kennedy made a speech in 1963 to American University in which he spoke about world peace, and he made these remarks. “We all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future, and we are all mortal.” These words can apply to us today. We all live in Ector County, and we all breathe the same air. We certainly all cherish our children’s future and, yes, we are all mortal. There will come a time when we are no longer here. What will the next generation be able to harvest from the seeds we sow today. We all cherish our children’s future but what are we doing today to brighten their future?
It’s time for us to take this step together! I’m asking for your vote on November 7th. Please vote yes on all three propositions to the ECISD School Bond. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do!
Thank you all for being great neighbors, great community members and most of all, thank you for listening!
Sara Moore
Co-Chair
ODESSANS FOR A BRIGHT FUTURE
