4/22/8		DISD Bond Proposal deserves a NO vote.
David Tuthill

Former Mayor Ron Kirk writes Why the DISD bond package deserves your vote (DallasNews.com, 4/21/8).

He's right about one thing.   The DISD bond proposal deserves my strong NO vote.

Why?  Only look at the long-term history of the DISD scandals to see why a NO vote is needed. 

You could rehash the technology vendor’s yacht trips, limo drivers for trustees, a trustee’s massive 5-figure cell phone bills, misuse of federal funds, and the credit card scandal.  Then there's the inept investigation into credit scandal which cost more than the original credit card abuses.  The DISD has major problems.

We've had troubled reigns of inept school superintendents like Bill Rojas, Yvonne Gonzales and Mike Moses.

There are questions on how schools tabulate the dropout rate, which seems to be another example of smoke and mirrors.

The scandals never seem to end.  With the DMN piece Dallas ISD hands millions in contracts to top leaders' firms about  the conflict of interest of administrators on major projects vs those who have vested interest with corporations they represent vs the taxpayers and children they should be focused upon.  

And, what about the audit that will tell us if finally the DISD trustees, and the district, have gotten their act together?  It was promised, by these same trustees, to be released before the bond proposal so voters would be assured that the DISD house is in order.  We sure would not want it to be released before taxpayers vote on the $1.35 Billion bond proposal.

As far as DISD trustees are concerned, it is the same song but a second verse of the same old thing.

The DISD administration and Ron Kirk will not be happy until we all are taxed out of our homes.  Kirk fails to note the proposed rate increase will also be accompanied by the never ending district appraisals that in my hood have increased in excess of the 10% per year cap (30% in three years) that have inflated our tax bills.  

Last year, the Appraisal District thought my property value increased in excess of 48% despite the downturn in the housing market.  This attitude, with rising fuel and food prices, record home foreclosures, a floundering real estate market has exacerbated the sub prime lending fiasco that is making its way though our economy.

Just what we need are more property taxes for our elected officials to squander.  Don’t worry after all it’s only taxpayers' money that is being squandered.  It is for the good of our elected officials and not the children!

David W. Tuthill