First Move to Action: Move the Service Center

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 9^th and 10^th grade classes. This would almost eliminate the stress on the High School by accommodating only the 11^th and 12^th 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 9^th and 10^th 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.