Can I pick my jaw up now?

DISD (of which we're NOT a part, thank goodness) has just put forward a bond package they want the voters to approve.

It's worth $1.35 billion.

Billion.

With a B.

$1,350,000,000.00.

I can't imagine it. With a 50 year repayment schedule, that's still $27,000,000 a year not counting interest. They have 158,126 students enrolled according to their fact sheet. While I realize they have to basically dynamite the old infrastructure of the former Wilmer-Hutchins ISD, this bond package is in excess of their annual operating budget. They want to almost double their current bonded indebtedness.

This strikes me as monumentally stupid.

At least Garland isn't alone in doing it with debt. It seems that the City of Garland and DISD need to wean themselves away from debt. It may take decades. Maybe even a century, but something has got to be done because someone is going to have to pay for this, and I don't want it to be my kids or grandkids.