BOND PROPOSITION
Summary: To authorize not exceeding $210,000,000 of not exceeding 20 year
General Obligation Bonds of Parishwide School District of the Parish of Bossier, State of Louisiana, for the purpose of acquiring and/or improving lands for building sites and playgrounds, including construction of necessary sidewalks and streets adjacent thereto; purchasing, erecting and/or improving school buildings and other school related facilities within and for the District and acquiring the necessary equipment and furnishings therefor, and refunding and extending outstanding certificates of indebtedness.
Shall Parishwide School District of the Parish of Bossier, State of Louisiana (the "District"), incur debt and issue in series from time to time not exceeding Two Hundred Ten Million Dollars ($210,000,000) of general obligation bonds to run not exceeding twenty (20) years from date thereof, with interest at a rate or rates not exceeding nine per centum (9%) per annum, to be sold at par, premium or discount, approximately $202,500,000 of which bonds to be issued for the purpose of acquiring and/or improving lands for building sites and playgrounds, including construction of necessary sidewalks and streets adjacent thereto; purchasing, erecting and/or improving school buildings and other school related facilities within and for the District and acquiring the necessary equipment and furnishings therefor, title to which shall be in the public, and approximately $7,500,000 of which bonds to be issued for refunding and extending the outstanding Certificates of Indebtedness, Series 2008, of the Parish School Board of the Parish of Bossier, State of Louisiana; all of which bonds will be general obligations of the District and will be payable from ad valorem taxes to be levied and collected in the manner provided by Article VI, Section 33 of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana of 1974 and statutory authority supplemental thereto, with no estimated increase in the millage rate to be levied in the first year of issue above the 13.55 mills currently being levied to pay General Obligation Bonds of the District?
Here's the catch: "with no estimated increase in the millage rate to be levied in the FIRST YEAR of issue above the 13.55 mills currently being levied"
ReplyDeleteTo what specific projects will the money go?
Jim,
ReplyDeleteCan you get a list of projects and post for us. New schools to be built, old schools to be renovated and if teacher raises are included and anything else you can find out.
Well they needed %450 million the last time I heard about it, if we are going to maintain a first class school system. The parish is growing by leaps and bounds, but I hope that we are able to get more and more of the undesireables to go across the river. It is good to just go ahead and spend as much money as it takes to get the right people to relocate here. And good schools are a big attraction to the right people.
ReplyDeleteI will try to get a list of projects, I'm not sure at this point what they have decided on. I think the $450 million figure was a total 'wish list', I don't think they ever intended to go with the whole package.
ReplyDeleteI'll work on that list so we can get at least the initial phases out there.
We have a "C" school system, not a "first class school system". A good system is not made by expensive bricks and mortar, but by encouraging good teachers and firing the bad ones. Currently that's not part of our education system.
ReplyDeleteAs for population, according to Elliott Stonecipher, it's not students moving to Bossier:
(1) The February 2011 enrollment figure for all Bossier Parish schools - 20,302 - is only 1,617 school kids higher than the 11-year ago enrollment of 18,685 [February 2000, See LDE data here, "Total Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) Enrollment"].
(2) Those 1,617 additional students are an 8.7% total increase in enrollment during that decade-plus period, which means an average increase of under eight-tenths-of-one-percent per year since 2000 - much lower than the near-2% annual growth of the parish's total population.
(3) The trend line for future school enrollment is down throughout Louisiana and much of the rest of the nation. In Louisiana, during the 20 years from the 1990 to the 2010 census:
a. the number of female residents in the child-bearing age group of 21-44 dropped -10.6%, and,
b. the number of children under 5 years old dropped -6.1%, those 5-to-14 years old decreased by -12.5%, and high schoolers aged 15-to-17 dropped -0.6%.
Anon @ 4:00,
ReplyDeleteThe "undesirables" are already here and not going anywhere. Several of them are high up in city and parish government and in the school board.
12-5-2011 Shreveport Times included a list of potential projects which included $9Million for Bossier High School renovations. I find it hard to believe that the area around Bossier High school warrants such a pricey renovation when the population is certainly not growing or propagating school aged families.
ReplyDeleteMatt, thanks for the info, but you're laying logic upon idiots whose only response when they can't counter logic is, "go across the river if you don't like it!"
ReplyDeleteMatt,
ReplyDeleteDon't know if this has anything to do with the pricey renovations around Bossier High School (BHS), but there is talk about turning Rusheon into some sort of technical school for the parish and not using Caddo's technical training.
The sixth graders are to be going back to their respective elementary schools, and the seventh and eighth graders are going to be going to BHS. The Lampkin Building at BHS will house the middle school.
@Matt: As I understood it from some earlier post, the renovations at Bossier High are to accommodate bringing up the 7th and 8th graders from Rusheon. BHS is supposed to be one of those "consolidated schools" which are now giving Caddo so many problems discipline-wise.
ReplyDeleteWill they bring "B.T." back to build things? Somebody needs a new house or at least some a.c. work.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind them spending the money if it's needed. Just spend it wisely. Their track record is not good though.
ReplyDeleteHey Matt or Jim,
That good information you guys output there. Did y'all apply for the P.I.O job?
"undesirables" meaning inner city children - aka black. Unless of course he is a good athlete and then he is the "right people."
ReplyDeleteYou said it, 6:05, except that I don't care anything about athletes, let them move over there and go to Evangel.
ReplyDeleteIt would be well worth raising taxes to do urban renewal in that whole area around Hamilton Road. And by urban renewal, I don't mean section 8 housing, all of that belongs on the other side of the river. I mean buy out the current property owners, tear all of that mess down, re-plat the area with bigger lots, and re-develop the area with upscale houses. Our subdivisions up in North Bossier are wonderful, as are those down around the Jimmie Davis. But we need to re-develop those old areas so the undesirable element can not afford to live in Bossier Parish.
No, "B.T." is not coming back, but "D.C." was "B.T." boss and now "D.C." got promoted to be everybody's boss.
ReplyDeleteI went to apply for the P.I.O position, but I was escorted out before I could hand my resume.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'd last a week in that office. I'd be fired for telling the truth to the public.
Anonymous 5:11pm and 7:50am- Your comments show your level of ignorance. BT was cleared by the FBI of any wrong doing. During the investigation he suffered several strokes and has recently battled the beginnings of dementia. Not to mention his wife had a heart attack due to the stress of all the school board nonsense!!! I can attest that BPSB is the last thing on BT's mind!
ReplyDeletePeople just need to understand that it is DemocRat taxation which is bad, give-a-ways like Social Security, food stamps, medicare, medicaid, LaChip, section 8 housing. All that stuff, Fair Deals, New Deals, and Great Society socialism is what we need to oppose. In general, federal and state taxes are bad, and destroy the economy. But local taxes are bad if you live in a bad place, and good if you live in a good place. We live in the most wonderful place on Earth, and our taxes should reflect that, and we should just have really big taxation here. We don't want just anybody to be able to afford in Bossier Parish, just the best and the brightest and the wealthiest. We have to be the flagship for the rest of the world. A showplace so that people who could live and prosper anywhere, choose to live here. You know the Bible says if they ask for your coat, give them your cloak also. If they need 450 million dollars, we should not expect them to make-do with 210 million dollars, like we want to live in a make-do society here. We should go ahead and give them 500 million so they can really do over the schools right.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous 9:51.
ReplyDeleteIt seems your premise is that the government authorities are acting completely out of prudence and necessity, and have no tendency toward waste or corruption. Simply on the basis of $10million alone for Bossier High School shows there's more to this game than pure necessity. It could be school loyalty, nostalgia, or just plain ignorance.
The school board doesn't need $450 Million to improve school performance. They don't even need $250 Million. Buildings don't affect student performance, teachers do. If you don't track teacher performance, even a billion dollars won't make a "C" district into an "A" district.
Also, @Anonymous 9:51. You sound like a European socialist. That a good society needs high taxes to pay for it. That's not the case.
ReplyDeleteI know from living in South Bossier that crime is far lower than some of the more expensive places to live.
Taxes are bad when the governments levying the taxes waste money, line their own pockets, keep the public out of the process, and cover up bad management. Taxes are good when they address legitimate concerns of government, SERVE the public, and minimize waste, fraud, and abuse.
Anon 9:40 If you will read my comment it says that BT is not coming back and I know BT as well as anyone and I know he got a bad rap. My point was that DC was his boss and never shared in any of the responibility as to what happened. Now DC is the Superintendent !!! BT suffers through this mess and DC gets promoted.
ReplyDeleteEinstein said insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Why does anybody think giving the bpsb massive funds to spend will get a different result than the money they were given not too long ago for air conditioning that was fraudulent and for construction projects that were not necessary? How did spending over $100k for concession stands help make our kids smarter?
ReplyDeleteAnon 10:43. Why we now handing DC millions to now spend? It will make Jane smith's construction look like the budget for an outhouse.
ReplyDeleteWow! Matt is back! The cougar must be having her cage cleaned.
ReplyDelete