Battle brewing over massive school district complex

(9/15/06 - KTRK/HOUSTON) (KTRK) -- The majority of residents voted to have it built, but now some are concerned about the real costs that could come with the Berry Education Support Center in Cy-Fair ISD. The nearly $73 million facility is already seeing some high operating costs.

Depending on who you ask, the Berry Center is either a state-of-the-art facility that will help educate your kids or a taxpayer-funded building that's over-the-top and is underused. In the Cy Fair School District, a new citizen's group is shining a light on the building project. And as we found out first hand, not everyone likes the attention.

Every time Alan Rankin drives by the new center, he cringes a little.

"It's not an educational facility. It's a sports center," he said. "It's a teacher conference center. They're renting it out to private for-gain venues."

Rankin and three other friends recently formed a group that's promising to watch how the Cy Fair school district spends its taxpayers' money. His actions didn't make the district happy. It says this stadium, arena, and conference center is crucial to a growing community.

"We've grown to 91,000 students," said Kelly Durham with the Cy-Fair Independent School District. "We're the third largest school district in the state of Texas. About 10 years ago, we were about half that size."

Supporters say they built this facility because voters approved a bond referendum back in 2001. But opponents say the voters didn't know exactly what they were asked to pay for.

"What we're trying to do is promote some sort of accountability and fiscal responsibility that tax dollars need to go toward education," said Rankin.

The school district says the facility provides a venue for performances, student outreach, and teacher education that cannot be measured by its $72 million price tag. The district even taped our interview with its spokesperson, saying the video will be used for training purposes, some of which might even take place at the Berry Center.

"The primary reason was to support students and staff," said Durham. "We had no place for training. We had no place for graduation. We have no place for things like large tournaments."

Besides sports and teacher education programs, the school district says the center is also used for graduations.

The electricity bill for the center's first months was more than $80,000. That information upset members of the citizen's watch group. However, the district says most of that bill went to start up costs of opening the building. It says the center's monthly electricity bill is now around $35,000, which the district says is reasonable for a large commercial building.
(Copyright © 2006, KTRK-TV)

Get more News »

• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•