Speak up: Readers tackle Gilbert school spending, apartments, parks, water

Gilbert Public Schools details $36.2M override spending

Wanna bet they give themselves raises and conferences before they fix maintenance problems. Never vote for teacher wage increases or school budget increases. The Administrators get first dibs on the money. — John S.

I'll take that bet. It's illegal to funnel money or move money around that has been specifically appropriated for maintenance and repairs. Teachers are begging for new chairs that aren't collapsing under the weight of students, but if there is no money appropriated for equipment, the duct tape comes out. You can request to see the financials. Districts usually post links because of these types of misinformed accusations. Unlike most charters, public schools are kept on a very, very short leash. — Sylvie K.

J. Alexander's coming to Gilbert

So happy for the one that opened in Chandler; will be nice to have one in Gilbert as well. Delicious food. — Karen S.

Gilbert rejects Residences at the Reserve apartment proposal

Is the Gilbert Town Council learning its lesson? Multifamily and condensed housing is not good for the soul-literally. — Keith M.

Gilbert council advances $99 million in park construction

This council is determined to spend all the money they can before they leave office and leave the new council and the residents with this spending mess. Thank God they will be gone but not soon enough. — Nicki R.

Where's the funding coming from, and is it money already in the coffers or is it just more of the spend what they don't have and let others worry about it scenarios? — Ron D.

Anyone who listened to the meeting or attended should be able to tell you that the funding for all the parks projects is separate from any general funds and are paid for by a 1/2 cent tax that the voters approved however many elections ago. At least that's what I got out of it. Glad they are continuing to build the parks that were supposed to be done in 2020; maybe by 2030 it'll finally be done. I think phase 2 was another year or 2 before it was complete, but anyone wanting details should watch the video for themselves. — Josh N.

Gilbert eyes Stage 2 conservation as Colorado River cuts become reality

Support it only if it can be demonstrated that a sustainable limit to future water use is established that does not rely on groundwater, and that any conservation savings are committed to add to reserves, not additional development. — Warren K.

There are limits to how much can be saved through conservation alone. People still use a lot of water for showers, cooking, washing clothes, washing dishes, cleaning, and flushing toilets, especially for a typical family of 3 people. In other words, we just can't conserve our way out of this water crisis. The other water savings has to come from farms being fallowed and stopping all new housing construction totally. — James R.

I'd like to see Gilbert slow down the pace of growth, especially limiting/blocking new construction of apartment complexes, golf courses, data centers, and commercial farming. — Al P.

We have friends who moved to Gilbert from Duluth, Minnesota, (on the edge of Lake Superior, assuming it's still named that) in 1984. They were shocked to find that water cost less in Gilbert than Duluth at that time. I do not know what the specifics were then. It is now roughly five times more in Gilbert than Duluth. — Gordon J.

Slow growth, expand collection mechanisms for what rainfall we DO get, invest in desalination plants (yes, we have no coastline, but we could partner with California), restrict some water use. — Mary G.