Last chance to stand up and be counted.

Your physical presence is requested, tonight ONLY for a couple of hours.

Don't bother with a baby sitter - BRING THE KIDS, too!

Help south Austin convince AISD trustees that we are growing MUCH faster than their consultant's data shows, so we MUST get this new Middle School on the bond package.

Kiker will get a new wing with 8 new classrooms, but that still leaves it with 22 classrooms in portable buildings.

AISD has apparently decided that portable buildings are all we can afford for YOUR kids !!

AISD says that we need one middle school for every 3-4 grade schools. Well, look around and count them up. The ratio is 5 to 1 right now, and south Austin, as usual, is worse off than north Austin.

The board told me last night that ''there are no districts'' the separate north and south Austin -I disagree. It may not be on any map, but you can see it in the way they fail to recognise how fast we are growing here and that all the magnet and special campuses are north of the river.

FYI - Travis HS is just as old and run down as McCallum HS.

We have more portable classrooms in south Austin than in north Austin.

South Austin is busing our kids to school closer in and sometimes across the river. Some of our south Austin kids are actually leavin the district to go to Eanes schools !!

If you don't stand up and demand this new Middle School tonight, the board will continue to focus only on downtown and north Austin for new schools. We lose, your kids end up in overcrowded classrooms, and oh yes, your property values will bottom out. Who wants to buy a house where the schools are overcrowed, where the kids are on buses to distant campuses, and where portable classrooms are considered normal ?

You decide and you have to do it tonight.

Covington MS is off of William Cannon Dr. Take the exit off MOPAC, drive one block towards Brodie lane, the turn right to find the school. Sign in and be counted. Leave your comments. You can decline to speak or you can show your kids how democracy works in America and take your 2 minutes to
Thank the board for a good bond package, but insist that they add the middle school for southwest Austin, which only adds 7% to the bond package.

You'll sleep better tonight and your kids will respect you in the morning!

Call for all of southwest Austin

The bond package will fund repairs and security upgrades for almost all of the schools, but the additional middle school will benefit south Austin the most.

This is something for every neighborhood in south Austin to pay attention to. Thers is something in the bond package for every school.

All we are asking for is to add the middle school in the south.

Alsok, so funding for a Science Center at Travis HS and a Performing Arts Center at McCallum. Both are 50 year old schools and well run, but way behind with modern facilities.

McCallum lacks A/C and heating, still has mold problems, and they have never gotten the rat problem under control. Many senior teachers have no classrooms, and still, parents and kids are attracted to their excellent reputation for the arts programs.

I don't know much about Travis HS, but the teachers explained that their labs are nearly useless and their technical equipment is outdated, they trip over extension cords all day long, and you can't use a portable building for lab work - too small and too dangerous.

Both schools lack sufficient computers, highspeed routers, and worse, their teachers don't know as much as the kids, with regard to the computers and media arts !! Their is no facility to get teachers the time, experience, and fast-track training that they need !!!


Help us out in south Austin. Call everyone you know.

A new middle school means more school time and less time on the bus.

Hearing Report

The hearing went smootly. 80 or so adults showed up, 49 signed up to speak, although only 37 actually did speak.

There were about 15 kids, too. Even Colleen Fennessy spoke, which was one of the highlights.

The message was clear and well delivered. Carolyn Merritt made one of the best two minute speeches I've ever heard, complete with the facts and fresh data that underscored the CCR message that her committee has been working on all year long. AISD just didn't have the right census and enrollement data that reflected our exploding growth out here.

Jim O'Reilly talked to the growth in Circle C Ranch, which shows no signs of a slow down. Quentin, Ed, and Steve each took their turn with different angles on the same message, always supporting the additional needs of Travis HS and McCallum HS.

Two CCR residents actually insisted on restoring the full $600M bond package, too!

There was only one speaker who questioned the AISD spending and financial managment.

And the signs - everyone had signs and stickers on their shirts. At the close of her remarks, Carolyn asked everyone who supported Austin kids to stand up, and it was a great moment !

We did our best work tonight. Thanks to all of you who turned out, to those who spoke out, and those of you who will go to the polls and support this bond package in September.