Austin school trustees have been up to their favorite extracurricular activity: spending your money. Next month voters will be asked to approve a $345 million bond package according to the Austin American Statesman.

It’s for the children, so everyone open your wallets together. The bond package will include a new district-wide performing arts center, technology upgrades, and a new early-childhood center.

Renovations to two high school auditoriums were also approved. Touted as the “reason” for this particular bond package is the easing of alleged overcrowding.

While overcrowding may be a legitimate gripe, spending money on any of the aforementioned projects is wasteful and a fine representation of how out-of-control and unfocused our school bureaucracies have become.

If you must spend the money on education here’s a novel idea: spend it in the classroom, where it counts.

In passing, this bond package also includes monies to purchase land in South Austin but unless Austin ISD is planning on busing kids out to an open field for the day we will have to bear more multimillion dollar bond packages to see anything done about our overcrowding.

Daniel Greer

Daniel Greer is the Director of Innovation for Texas Scorecard.

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