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The local school district says it needs money to fix air conditioners, revamp athletic fields, replace school buses and expand digital access to every student in the district, and they are asking Lake Havasu City property owners to pay the way.

A panel of Lake Havasu Unified School District officials and teachers Saturday afternoon explained the $67.3 million bond on the November ballot and answered questions at a tea party sponsored forum at Abundant Grace Church.

While only a small number of people raised their hands when asked by the moderator if they were undecided on the school bond, the event drew a larger crowd than many of the election forums the group has hosted over the past months.

The questions ranged from why primary school students need computers to whether the district presents a clear picture of its finances to the community and how much the bond will cost with interest a little more than $100 million over 23 years if they sell all they bonds that would be approved.

Superintendent Gail Malay and the other district representatives argued funding cuts from the state, especially for building and equipment repairs, have left the district with rundown athletic fields, out-of-date air conditioning units and schools that need roofs repaired and carpets replaced.

They also said the district was only able to replace things as they broke with its current budget but a bond could help update the district infrastructure, creating efficiencies that would save money in the long run.

Do we as a community care about our buildings? Do we let our homes run down? I know I dont, Malay said.

More than $10 million of the bond is also earmarked for technology improvements such as a new phone system, faster and expanded Internet bandwidth and access to tablet-type devices for every student. Some of the audience members asked why it is necessary for educators to rely on computers, but the teachers on the panel pointed to a wide variety of programs and applications that can be used to facilitate teaching at all grade levels.

But not everyone in the crowd was buying what the district was selling, asking why the bond issuance needed to be so large and questioning whether education as a whole was headed in the right direction.

The money is a leverage for the people, and if they are not satisfied in the direction of the school district, they need to vote against (the bond) to keep that leverage, said David Beaumont from the crowd.

Read more from the original source:
Tea party forum dives into Havasu school bond specifics