By Juan Montoya
Not content to already have students pay some of the highest tuition and user fees in the state, the TSC Board of Trustees continued its high-living ways and approved the completion of a $640,000 mural to be painted on the front of the school’s new library.
Either the board members – with the notable exception of Rene Torres – haven't figured out that we live in one of the most economically distressed areas in the United States with high poverty levels and comparatively low wages or they don't care.
More than $400,000 of the cost will come from the $68 million bond issue passed by college district taxpayers. The rest will come from the UTB general budget.
"This is not the time to spend," Torres told the local daily. "That money can be used for something else — add a new room to the library or buy more computers."
More than $400,000 of the cost will come from the $68 million bond issue from Brownsville taxpayers, money that has been designated for the school’s construction projects. But the additional funding will come from the UTB general budget, money that could have been used for many other purposes.
The new library, which opened in August, will hold only a third of the school’s books compared to the old facility. David Oliveira, the chair of the TSC Board of Trustees, said the aesthetics of the mural makes it worth the more than one-half million price tag.
More than $400,000 of the cost will come from the $68 million bond issue from Brownsville taxpayers, money that has been designated for the school’s construction projects. But the additional funding will come from the UTB general budget, money that could have been used for many other purposes.
The new library, which opened in August, will hold only a third of the school’s books compared to the old facility. David Oliveira, the chair of the TSC Board of Trustees, said the aesthetics of the mural makes it worth the more than one-half million price tag.
"I think that anything you can do to make your campus nicer helps you recruit students, recruit faculty, and get great programs," Oliveira told the Brownsville Herald. "This is a mural that we believe is going to be a spot that a lot of people will come to and remember. It will give our campus a uniqueness that will help us stand out."
The bond issue passed in 2004, but only after taxpayers rejected an original issue for $97 million to fund construction.
The administrators then pulled out all the stops and promised residents a new library. The issue was scaled down to $68 million and voters approved the tax.
Oliveira said he agreed that the mural was costly, but said that beauty comes with a price.
"You could build all your buildings with the ugliest features and spend less money," Oliveira told the paper.
The bond issue passed in 2004, but only after taxpayers rejected an original issue for $97 million to fund construction.
The administrators then pulled out all the stops and promised residents a new library. The issue was scaled down to $68 million and voters approved the tax.
Oliveira said he agreed that the mural was costly, but said that beauty comes with a price.
"You could build all your buildings with the ugliest features and spend less money," Oliveira told the paper.
2 comments:
...too bad you missed - maybe you didn't - the UTB/TSC socer doubleheader Saturday; UTB/
TSC highrer-ups ACTUALLY had special seats, and catered food! I kid you not. I would have been VERY embarrassed to sit apart from the students and community fans, VERY embarrassed .... Seats on high, seats white, food rich ...and across the pitch, the regular folk ....
This kind of behavior has become commonplace at an institution which prides itself on its "community roots." It is high time the community take back TSC and restore it to some semblance of accountability!
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