Below is an article written in the Plano Star. I hope that the message is clear that there are alternatives to the planned Service Center yet the current board members are refusing to listen.
http://www.planostar.com/articles/2013/05/23/allen_american/news/460.txt
I wish to motion that the Allen ISD School Board table the
development of the new Transportation and Service Center for discussion and
investigation into the bonds adaptation to a re-development effort for the
Lowery Freshman Center. But I need a second to make that happen. It is truly up to the residents to make their message known in this case.
By tabling the development of the new Service Center we will
administer the will of the residents by not building the new service center
within any new, or existing, residential communities within the City limits
accept for the consideration of the existing facilities of the Lowery Freshman
Center. By doing so we prioritize the needs of the students first, most
specifically those needs of the freshman class, to develop a new and safer
environment for their education.
By focusing on the redevelopment of the Lowery Freshman
Center to the “Lowery Center” I would propose that a new facility be
constructed on its property to accommodate both the 9th and 10th
grade classes. This would almost eliminate the stress on the High School by accommodating
only the 11th and 12th grades. It would also directly
contribute to a reduction of the student-teacher ratio as well as a progressive
improvement of the academic standings for our student body in whole.
By redevelopment I would call for a complete re-design of
the existing Lowery Freshmen Center property. (See Figure 1 below) I would
recommend that the old baseball field and the practice field, located just to
the north of the old football stadium, be allocated to a below grade and walled
secure facility for bus parking. Entrances can be built at the north end of the
bus parking as well as the bottom southwest corner of the same planned bus
parking area. Being that the current bus parking area already feeds bus routes
into these transit areas there will be little to no effect on the current
traffic patterns.
I would recommend that the old football stadium; the parking
to the south of the stadium; and the old tennis courts be raised as to make
room for a new facility to house the 9th and 10th grade
students. New tennis athletic facilities for the Lowery Center would be
incorporated into the new design. The old football stadium may not be necessary
given the two stadiums already present on the High School campus, plus the
practice fields and the baseball fields. More baseball fields could be built
next to the existing baseball diamonds on the High School campus. This will
allow for better usage of all facilities.
I would further recommend the purchase of the land just to
the north of the current bus parking lot and the existing freshmen center. This
land could be included in the overall design of the Lowery Center.
As for the existing bond allocations for the transportation
and service center these funds will still be specifically used for building and
expanding those requirements; only in this case they will be focused on
building into the existing Lowery Center. It should be noted that the original bond does not specify any location within the school district. The selection process for the current site was purely on the prior boards approval process. Therefore a decision to look at new locations still resides with the current school board.
A bus fueling point could be
including in the below grade bus parking area on the Lowery campus. By having
the new bus parking area below grade we eliminate the catastrophic risk of the
above ground fueling points and could even investigate burying and advanced
fueling point in the newly acquired land to the north of the current bus
parking area. We may even want to entertain outsourcing the fueling center to
the gas station to the north of that land parcel. It should be further noted that by building the facility below grade we also eliminate the eye-sore of bus parking from any surrounding neighborhoods to the East. Any unused funds would be put
to a vote as to its application to the development of the Lowery Center. If a
renegotiation with the State is required then we will address it when the time
comes.
In the end the redevelopment of the Lowery Center will not
only positively impact the student body when it comes to safety, academics and
development, but it will also allow the city to maintain a “one-high school”
frame of mind for at least the next 15 years.
Now we just need to make the residents voice heard.
ANY DISTRIBUTION OR COPYING OF THIS MESSAGE IS PROHIBITED WITHOUT THE WRITTEN CONSENT OF DR MYERS.
