LISD takes stance against TTC
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com

Citing its potential harm to the district, the Louise ISD school board passed a resolution against the proposed route of the Trans-Texas Corridor.

The subject first came up last monthg, when Superintendent Andy Peters was asked to draft a resolution opposing the TTC route and instead recommending upgrades to the existing U.S. 59, which borders the athletic facilities of the Louise campus.

El Campo ISD board members passed a similar resolution in February, and ECISD Superintendent Mark Pool presented it to Texas Department of Transportation representatives at an El Campo public hearing on the project. Louise's resolution mirrors that document in many aspects.

In 2002 the TxDOT unveiled the Trans-Texas Corridor, a 4,000-mile multi-modal transportation system that would be as much as a quarter-mile wide with multiple vehicle lanes for car and truck traffic, rail lines for freight and passenger trains, and right-of-way property for future utility uses

The most-recently proposed route for the road places it north of Louise, cutting the school district in half, and LISD's resolution notes the TTC's impact on bus routes and student safety as reasons for opposition to the controversial project.

As well, the resolution states concerns about a drop in tax revenues, since property values in the district might plummet.

"The Board of Trustees of the Louise Independent School District opposes the Recommended Preferred Corridor and any plans for the Trans-Texas Corridor other than a plan that follows the existing footprint of U.S. Highway 59 through Wharton County," the resolution concludes.

It passed unanimously by a 6-0 vote, with board President Zack Williamson absent. Peters will send copies of the resolution to TxDOT and the district's state and federal representatives.