Back to the drawing board

Emotions run the gamut from anger to sadness to acceptance after Comal school district taxpayers voted down Tuesday bond propositions that would have added new athletic facilities on campus.

Of the five propositions on the ballot, three passed – one to give district teachers and auxiliary staff a pay raise; one to build new campuses, buy new buses and purchase land; and another to fund technology upgrades and network infrastructure.

Superintendent Andrew Kim lauded voters for their support of Proposition A and the teachers, custodians, bus drivers and paraprofessionals..

“They, along with our paraprofessional and auxiliary employees, have navigated through one of the toughest times in the history of our district,” he said in a statement to the district.

However, Proposition C –  which would have meant a new field house for a multitude of sports, upgraded baseball lighting, a new dugout and a golf practice facility – did not pass. Proposition C failed with 7,464 votes for the improvements and 9.420 against.

Proposition D, which would have paid for upgrades to Davenport and Canyon Lake high school stadiums, also failed.

The failure of Proposition C disappointed spring sports athletes as well as dance and cheer.

“I’m very angered,” junior and varsity girls soccer player Isabel Partida said. “Sharing a locker room with over five sports isn’t necessary, nor is it sanitary. Girls soccer is a big program that goes far and has loads of potential, and it’s condescending that we are forced to be cramped.”

Varsity and junior varsity dance teams share their gym space with the cheer teams during both the football and competition seasons.

“It is a little upsetting just because we do share the dance room between JV cheer, varsity cheer and Spurs as well as Silvies (Silverados),” freshman Silverado dance team member Allison Bailey said. “But, I’m not too upset about that. It isn’t the greatest. I feel our school is considered to be older compared to the other schools around us even though we’re just as important as they are to the district.”

Additionally, plans for a new wrestling facility failed with Proposition C. The wrestling team practices in a storage shed across from the agricultural barns, near the student parking lot.

“I feel a little sad, I’m not gonna lie,” sophomore and junior varsity wrestler Brock Battistoni said. “There is a lot of sports that share fields or share weight rooms, so it would be more efficient to the players and coaches.”

Despite their disappointment, some wrestlers continue to make the best of their situation without the possibility of a new wrestling gym.

“It’s all right,” junior and wrestler Melina Gutierrez said. “We could always get new air conditioners for the room; just because we didn’t get a new room doesn’t mean we have to get upset. The place we have right now is perfectly fine, but could also be a bit bigger.”

Kim said he understood the athletes’ reactions.

“I feel their (student athletes’) pain.” Kim said. “I am just saddened by the fact that we were not able to get some of their facility needs.”

For school board trustee Russell Garner, the defeat of Propositions C and D weighed heavily.

“While bond propositions focused on athletic facilities failed everywhere across the state during yesterday’s election, I think we could have done a better job educating the voters,” Garner said. “The vast majority of our students would have benefited from the projects proposed in propositions C and D, and we serve on the school board for the students of CISD.  So I feel like we have not completed our mission to enable the success of the students of CISD.”

Although Proposition C did not pass, students and teachers still wonder if there is another way to make upgrades to the athletic facilities on campus.

“Well since Proposition C was defeated, it will be back to the drawing board for our athletic facility upgrades,” Garner said. “However, we do have projects for SVHS in Proposition B, specifically for the dance studio and ROTC facilities.  These projects were dependent on some of the projects in Proposition C, which failed, so it will take some time to figure out how we can proceed.”

For now, student athletes will be left with their current facilities. 

“I feel for all of the athletes and all of the other students across CISD who would have been positively impacted by the projects in Propositions C and D,” Garner said. “Specifically for the athletes at SVHS, this is a setback. However I know the coaches at SVHS have taught their athletes to handle adversity and use it to make them stronger and more resilient.”