By Catherine Cuellar, KERA 90.1 Reporter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-584726.mp3
Fort Worth, TX –
Sam Baker, Morning Edition Host: Early voting for municipal elections began this week throughout North Texas. Voters in far southwest Fort Worth will decide the District 6 city council race and consider the largest school bond measure in Tarrant County history. 90.1's Catherine Cuellar reports on how both issues affect inevitable growth and how it will be managed.
Catherine Cuellar, 90.1 reporter: As he stands before a map of the Crowley Independent School District, superintendent Greg Gibson sees great opportunity for growth - but with it, great need for more schools.
Greg Gibson, Superintendent, Crowley ISD: West of Hulen Mall, you can see the road bed for Highway 121. It will actually cut right through our district down to the Tarrant County Line and it will open up a possibility for a residential area with retail amenities That makes for a huge amount of growth in the western half of our school district.
Cuellar: That means doubling or tripling enrollment, which is currently about 14,000 students district-wide. While nearby Mansfield ISD has struggled to meet demand, Crowley wants to proactively fund expansion for the next decade. And while its $417 Million price makes it the biggest school bond measure in Tarrant County's history, if approved, an average district homeowner will still pay $300 less each year due to state property tax reductions. Most current and future Crowley ISD residents will live in Fort Worth's District 6, where incumbent councilman Jungus Jordan is challenged by his predecessor, Clyde Picht. Picht is a staunch fiscal conservative who vehemently opposes Fort Worth's Town Lake Trinity River Vision, even though the project doesn't fall within District 6.
Clyde Picht, District 6 candidate: It's a city project. It falls within all our districts because it takes a lot of revenue out of our districts. The more money is spent on that, the less there is for street repair, lighting, curbs, gutters, and code compliance we're not going to get if we keep subsidizing private development.
Cuellar: Picht was frequently a contrarian voice on the council, opposing everything from public art projects to the convention center hotel. In contrast, his successor, current District 6 councilman Jungus Jordan supports Fort Worth's Trinity Uptown Lake project.
Jungus Jordan, Fort Worth Council District 6: It's about economic development, prosperity for the city, future jobs, leaving a destiny behind for our children and grandchildren. It's something we must approach with sanity, reasonableness with every dollar of government money well maintained.
Cuellar: Both candidates take credit for District 6 progress - Picht saying he laid groundwork for eight years; Jordan saying he took action. Jordan's $57,000 war chest made him the second-best funded council candidate city-wide. He received thousands from a Trinity Uptown investor and the Bass Family, as well as $1,000 from Mayor Mike Moncrief's campaign. Picht raised almost $12,000, with his single largest gift of $5000 coming from the mayor's adoptive uncle, oil and gas man Tex Moncrief. A third candidate, Dalton J. Harrell is primarily self-financed.
Meanwhile, Crowley's superintendent Gibson looks forward to continuing the district's good relationship with the city.
Gibson: I would say that no matter which candidate won the election that the working relationship and personal relationship between Crowley ISD and the city that has been established, it's critical that it continue.
Cuellar: Construction of Southwest Parkway, the State Highway 121 tollway project which runs the length of District 6 from north to south, is scheduled to begin next year. But it's unknown if it will connect to the Trans-Texas Corridor, Governor Rick Perry's private tollway project. The state house and senate have just passed a two-year moratorium on privately funded tollways and if it stands, it will no doubt impact local races years for years to come.
For KERA 90.1, I'm Catherine Cuellar.