I wanted to ask all the citizens of Ector County to vote for YES for the school bond proposition A and B. I am a native Odessan. I went to Blackshear elementary then moved to LBJ the first year it was open in 1989. I then went to Nimitz and Permian High in 97. We went to State in 95’ and I was commencement speaker for my graduating class. 25 years since I graduated and there has been no addition of a high school. I am not even sure when Permian and OHS were erected. I do see Nimitz now has 10 portables littering their fields.
Don’t let people try and convince you we do not have student population problem, we do. I understand a major concern is that we calculate the vote based on the cost of living going up but not wages. The way to solve that is through quality education and a new high school can help. My son has 45 kids in his math class, that is a lot of distraction. I have a lot of pride in my hometown, and I want to see if flourish and thrive.
My office is the only business on Bonham Ave. alongside the tennis courts. This year my windows to my building have been broken, money stolen, and trash dumped along my 1-acre lot and on and on. MCH has recently erected a fence which prohibits foot traffic through their property but now students pool in my lot where they smoke, drink and fight. It’s the worst I have ever seen it in my 15 years at the location.
Odessa does not need to settle for or need any more prefabricated classrooms that are not meant for years of abuse by pubescent teens. Lubbock has 7 high schools. There are a lot of needs in Ector County. We must start to tackle them one bite at a time. The West side will get a school, the need isn’t going anywhere but we have an opportunity at hand to ease some of the burden from the system. Let’s also not forget the bond will also provide jobs for the people of our community.
One thing we all agree on is that we need a new school. The where seems to be the major issue. There are 10,000 people in the area of the proposed new school and there are land resources available. That is why the site was chosen. Contact your school board members to invest west as well but right now we need this school and the maintenance. It is also important we elect competent leaders to plan for and forecast the growth needs in Ector County.
An education system is a pillar of every successful community. The more schools the better so let’s start building them and seize on the opportunity to advance Ector County residents education and update existing facilities.
Don’t let ECISD get left with more portables. It takes us coming together for what is best for our children. There are new businesses opening all the time and bringing families with them. Nacero for example will in the next 7 years be building. They will need to recruit workers and their families to live here. We will lose quality, professional families without quality education. Leave something for the future of Odessa and Vote YES on the School bond A & B
I’d like to thank Dr. Scott Muri, Lorraine Perryman, and Delma Abalos for their relentless efforts to improve the quality of education for the citizens of Ector County.
Ben Quiroz D.C.
