We write in support of the passage of Proposition A and Proposition B of the Pampa ISD Bond Election on May 6th.
Pampa has been a wonderful place for us to raise our family, and we now have grandchildren and even great grandchildren here. We naturally are invested in Pampa’s continued success.
It is our understanding that over 90% of the students at Pampa High School take at least one class in the badly outdated and undersized Career and Technology Education Building. We understand also that approximately 65% of students at Pampa High School do not pursue higher levels of education, making an up-to-date Career and Technology Education Building a necessity. Passage of Proposition A would enable PISD to add industrial maintenance programs that would include HVAC, electrical, plumbing, etc., so that students could leave high school with the skills to immediately join the workforce. It would also allow for the construction of a new Travis Elementary addition (4th and 5th grade campus) and Travis Elementary renovations (2nd and 3rd grades) to effectively replace the current 1959 vintage building.
Passage of Proposition B will, when Pampa’s tax base is extended with projects already in the making, provide advanced technology on all PISD campuses to enhance safety and security, and, eventually, allow renovations at all elementary schools; new buses and a new transportation facility; a badly needed ag farm complex at Pampa High School, and HVAC maintenance and traffic flow solutions.
Had the bond issue passed in 2006, costs for a new Career and Technology Education Building would have run between $150 to $175 per square foot. It is our understanding that 2023 costs will run between $300 to $315 per square foot. Given the current state of our nation’s economy, we see no indication that inflation and overall rising costs of just about everything will abate anytime in the foreseeable future. If we delay needed construction and improvements now, future costs will surely make current costs look like a bargain.
Prospects for the continued prosperity of Pampa, our youth, and our businesses and industry will surely be enhanced if we all support Proposition A and Proposition B. Please vote for Pampa’s continued success!
Yours very truly,
Ken and Carol Fields
