I did not grow up in Odessa, but I have lived here and operated a private business for the last 41 years. I think that qualifies me as an Odessan. My wife and I raised three boys that went through the ECISD system grades K through 12. Interestingly enough, two of my sons attended OHS and the third PHS. So, I consider myself a “both-sider”, not east-sider or west-sider.
On May 7th we have a very important vote in 2 bonds for ECISD. The first involves monies to repair, update classroom technologies, and build facilities for tech training. The second bond is for the building of a new high school, which seems to be the more controversial of the two. OHS was built in 1945. PHS was built in 1957, when Eisenhower was our president! OHS and PHS were built to house 2200 to 2500 students. Today both schools are housing 4000 students each.
Betenbough Homes has plans to build 10,000 homes in northeast Odessa. Parks Bell Ranch to the east, projects 9,000 people living in their eastside addition when completed. The Nacero gasoline plant in Penwell will bring in approximately 500 families and they will attend ECISD schools.
But where are we going to put these new students? We cannot pack 7000 kids in our current two high schools. And if we were to have another oil boom or attract any other large industries and more families, what are we going to do with them?
This is the first time in my 41 years here that I’ve felt compelled to reach out to the citizens of Odessa for political reasons.
This bond issue cannot be trivialized to simply a westside vs eastside issue. The numbers don’t lie. It’s just a plain fact that we need another high school for the betterment of our children’s education. How is a child supposed to be able to learn in a classroom of 40 to 45 kids? We’re already behind and playing catch up.
Sure, taxes will go up slightly. $12 dollars per $100,000 appraisal evaluation. I don’t like taxes going higher either, but this is for our local children. West Texans tend to be conservative, but I feel we always try to answer the bell when it comes to supporting our children and community. All monies in this bond will go to buildings repair and update. No monies will go to teacher salaries or administrative costs.
Please vote yes for both bond issues this May 7th. Early voting start April 25th.
Thanks for reading,
Don Hembree
Odessa
