2013-01-28 Reg - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Sharpe stated that Mr. Price said it all. He said he was very much in support of Proposition U and being from an educational background, knowing what a school could be, that was good-looking. He said that if your home was a good- looking then that was the way you acted. He said that if he was in a good school that looked good, it would make him feel good and he would learn better. He said they felt the University City School system should be the best, get the best and support it to be the best. Mr. Crow noted Mr. Price on being a proud parent of a student who was a graduate of University City Schools. Mr. Crow recognized and agreed with all the speakers regarding the kind of momentum we see in numbers with the children and in the press and thanked all of them for the great progress that have been made. He also thanked Ms. Pruitt for her leadership and the wonderful team that stands with her. Mr. Crow stated that it was wonderful to watch University City High School seniors go to the Inauguration for an incredible moment. He also stated he could not wait to help work on Proposition U. Ms. Carr thanked everyone who stood to speak regarding Proposition U. She stated that when she ran for City Council, people approached her and said they loved University City but were leaving because of the schools. She said she would tell them that it was a misconception and would have a discussion regarding the schools. Ms. Carr said she believed that schools are vital to the health and success of University City. She said her son attended Churchill and understood the need for good facilities because they had a science room for the first time instead of doing everything in the cafeteria. Ms. Carr stated that they should always strive to be better and attract families whose children would experience the benefits of University City. She said the better the City schools get the more the parents would want to keep their children here. Ms. Carr stated that she is in favor of this proposition and believed it was a great step forward. Mayor Welsch stated that the City of University City and the School District of University City are separate taxing districts that have different responsibilities, although interests often overlap and definitely overlap in our mutual desire to have a superb school system. She said right now, the City of University City has capital needs in the many, many millions of dollars with a 10-year capital improvement plan with a price tag of 63 million dollars. This breaks out to an annual expenditure of 10 million dollars, which is at a level she finds it hard to figure out how to manage. Mayor Welsch said she was focusing her attention on this shortfall right now. She stated that her first and principle responsibility is to the City and for her to figure out how Council can continue to provide the best high quality services to the residents. She personally felt it was best to leave it to the school board to educate residents and promote the bond issue because they are the people who understood the district’s needs, costs, and why this vote should happen right now. She said because of that she would respectfully abstain from the vote. Mr. Glickert stated it was a difficult decision for him and that he, his brothers and two of his sons were all graduates of University City High School. He stated that he has not heard much about the bond issue or the facilities’ needs. He said he 5