“Kelly acknowledged that BISD officials were surprised by the parking problems that have plagued Champion High School since opening day because the new school has 79 more parking spaces than Boerne High School did last year and the number of students is virtually unchanged.Kelly said he now realizes that Boerne High School has better pedestrian access than Champion High School and that the streets around BHS provide alternatives to on-campus parking. Because Champion High School is relatively isolated, Kelly said students have fewer off-campus parking alternatives, thus there is more demand for on-campus parking at Champion this year than there was at BHS last year.“I feel that I should have anticipated this different setting as we planned parking for Champion High School; thus I feel it is necessary to correct our problem now,” Kelly said.”
Are you kidding me? BISD selects a site on a major highway, outside of any residential neighborhood, continues to resist building the required sidewalks (causing students to walk on the highway shoulder) and Kelly says he was surprised that the different setting created problems?!!
In addition to this expense, a BISD newsletter reported a while back that the school district
had to purchase additional buses (more drivers and fuel) for students close in to the school who would normally have walked to the old high school but can’t walk to the new one, due to its location on a major highway.
The average Kendall County resident looked at Kelly’s choice of a location when it was announced and saw problems. Why so close to the existing high school? Why put it on a major highway that is already expected to have congestion problems, with essentially one entrance in and out?
Mr. Haberstroh, who is both the Construction Bond Manager for BISD and sits on City Council, wears two hats on theses issues, which currently include failure to build a sidewalk, addressing proper road drainage so the City can take over Charger Boulevard and enforcement of the no parking agreement. How does he avoid potential conflicts of interest?
But the really astounding thing in this ‘problem,’ is the amount of tax dollars (by far our biggest county tax hit and growing every year!) we fork over and that those who are managing it did not ‘anticipate’ such an obvious problem in their choice of location.
Remember the public outrage at the per acre cost for the BISD land and being told that it was a ‘deal’? Was part of that deal related to the fact that at the same time this school location was being considered, two nearby properties were being planned for future development- The Trails of Herff Ranch and the Hagee property (now Esperanza)? Engineer, Mike Coyle, was hired by both The Trails of Herff Ranch and Esperanza. He was also sitting on City Planning and Zoning.
Didn’t this school location become a financial enhancement for these developments and their associates?
Before dismissing this idea, remember that Dr. Kelly wrote a letter, on BISD stationary, to the State Natural Resources Committee, supporting the approval for Esperanza’s water district. Dr. Kelly later attempted to downplay this letter of support as having been written by someone else and that he simply signed it. He has apparently stated he was not representing BISD. Dr. Kelly’s letter, in which he identified himself as the BISD Superintendent and was written on stationary with the district’s letterhead, was presented and read at the State Committee hearing by Mike Coyle.
A Boerne Star column, written by Dr. Kelly in support of Esperanza, is currently being used on Marlin Atlantis’ website as a glowing endorsement for their development corporation from a school district superintendent.
Is this simply sour grapes about development or no growth rhetoric? Not hardly - this is about cold hard cash- ours! Residential development, unlike commercial or even undeveloped land, costs taxpayers more in services than it brings in. Add to that cost poor location planning and you have to ask if taxpayers are underwriting private interests. There’s a lot of that going around these days!
Dr. Kelly says it is necessary to ‘correct our problem now.’ The ‘correction’ he is going to make is to spend more of our money- we will pay for his ‘failure to anticipate’. Taxpayers should ask if the school district- who works for us- has demonstrated common sense in future planning, school placements and whose best interests have been served.
Anonymous
