John Whitmire: School for Deaf suggestion was harmless
February 10, 2015
State Sen. John Whitmire said his inquiry Monday into whether the Texas School for the Deaf campus south of downtown Austin could downsize was meant to be a harmless one inspired by his desire to help the school pay for the millions of dollars in pressing maintenance needs — particularly amid promises of big tax cuts from the state’s Republican leadership.
The Texas Facilities Commission, which took over day-to-day maintenance of the school last year, has identified numerous urgent capital needs at its 67-acre campus that have caused it to close some buildings, including plumbing and sewer system failures and “compromised” security and fire alarm systems. However, the agency said in a recent report, “there was not sufficient funding to allow these critical projects to proceed at this time.”
“It was just heartbreaking to hear the conditions that our students are in,” Whitmire, a Houston Democrat, told the American-Statesman, recalling testimony the day before to the budget-writing Senate Finance Committee from the school’s Superintendent Claire Bugen, who described some of the maintenance issues.
“We just can’t keep going down this path of dangerous buildings, violations of the fire code, dilapidated buildings,” Whitmire continued. “So I’m listening to her and I’m thinking, ‘Wow, there’s got to be a better way.’”
That prompted him to ask Bugen if the school could possibly operate on a smaller tract, noting it sits on some of the “most expensive land in Austin.” Then came a lengthy discussion among committee members about the large sums of money that could be generated by selling off parts or all of the land where the school has operated for 159 years.
The talk inspired a strong backlash Tuesday from parents and concerned members of the public, who said the campus should be left intact rather than sold to make a quick — if hefty — buck.
“This is beyond belief and this is not as simple as moving the campus elsewhere,” said Robert Giuntoli, a father of three children who attend the school. “The public needs to know what kind of school TSD is. It is one of the best in the country.”
Whitmire said he wants nothing but to keep it that way. But he noted that the tract is “sizable” and that his Republican colleagues have proposed billions in tax cuts and spending on big-ticket items like border security and transportation while suggesting they’ll leave billions more on the table to avoid exceeding a constitutional — although optional — spending limit. That doesn’t leave much wiggle room in the budget for anything else, he explained.
“I’m glad if I got people involved because they ought to be talking to the state leadership about properly funding and upgrading the facilities,” he said. “I’d like to think I came out of the meeting the deaf’s community’s best friend and I will continue to raise that issue to get them the funding to upgrade their facilities. One idea would be to use some of their own very valuable land for their own purposes.”
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