Now we come to the construction of schools and other projects that apparently will not be built as desired and all of a sudden we have costs that are higher than was expected .
The STAR posted an article on the recent meeting of our board and administration on what they were going to do with the projects. As we read on it, we sort of got two stories going. Our board members like Avila and the CIP Chief state that the cost of the construction has risen since the bond and that's what you have to deal with. I don't recall in the last bond ever debating these issues I wonder what was different because those were more difficult times. In the article they mention that the issue is the labor shortage which is increasing costs, so which is it? If you need workers to reduce the cost there are plenty of people looking for work that are hands on labor. Something doesn't feel right about all of this and I am sure that due to the closeness with AECOM and now Mr. Avila who has a construction in the family background, I am sure feels he has the lead on this.
What also doesn't sound quite right is why they are having to reduce classrooms to save on costs when I would of hoped that they did the right surveying to make sure that what was needed at each school was taken into account. So now you don't need extra classrooms then if this was to go ahead without changes what would you have done with the extra classrooms? Why don't you have the right numbers when it comes to student population increase? Sounds to me that the construction issue is not everything that is being told to the public. Yes we do face an industry like any other that will have costs rise but then we hold the purse on that because we can find a company that will do a good job at a lower cost. We are not talking about chum change when it comes to the projects, these are in the millions so I am sure that there is not one company that will say no I won't do it and let the money go.
So we took to the internet and found a report by the state comptroller that shows construction of schools within our state. Houston built nicely at a lower cost and they are way bigger than us. We echo Moss' (yes I know) message, show the bids, show everything before you vote because we need to see what we are getting. Most of those reductions do come on the East Side, what are the reasons there? Don't hide it FWISD!
Don't settle for what Avila says basically, we just have to deal with it and that's it. No, we are responsible for the people's money and it is our duty to do everything to get it done right and at a good cost.
Read for yourself. P.S. The star makes you pay to read the article but we have it here.
The link to the Comptroller's Report is below the article.
STATE REPORT: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B58nQYNsVgwwN09TREJpZVVObVk/view?usp=sharing
