Cost-free e-mail chains are not the only tool supporters plan to use. On Tuesday, $27,500 had been raised by a specific-purpose committee formed by the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce to push for passage of the bond issue. The committee also had $17,450 in pledges which would provide a total of $44,950 for mailings and other promotional materials. No money had been spent yet, according to the campaign finance report filed Tuesday with Beaumont Independent School District.

E-mails already seem to be getting the word out. Gene Bush, a supporter and Citizen Bond Advisory Committee member, said he has used the effective, expedient method before in other political races and issues he supports.

"You can get your message out to a bunch of people without having to enter into an immediate debate with them," Bush said.

Last week, Bush forwarded to dozens of people in his address book an e-mail solicitation for support for the bond issue written by Nancy Beaulieu, who is working with the chamber committee to push for passage. Among Bush's comments added to the top, he wrote, "While this proposal is not a cure-all, it does represent a major step forward and is deserving of support."

Michael Getz replied to everyone in Bush's e-mail group with one of his own listing "10 reasons why I am voting no to the BISD bond proposal and I hope you do too."

His solution, stated near the end of his e-mail, is "Vote 'NO' against this bond issue and insist that the school board come back with a new proposal that is more narrowly defined and creates specific, identifiable projects to be funded with the first mandate being to get rid of all the portable buildings at every campus in Beaumont."

As it stands, the proposal would get rid of all portable buildings, but goes far beyond that and a project timeline has not been established.

Getz said of the people who responded to his e-mail, only one asked him to remove them from his list. The others told him they agreed, he said.

E-mail had not been a political activism tool for Getz before, but he found it effective.

"You can do things with e-mail that takes a lot longer if you try to do it one person at a time over the phone," Getz said.

Bush said he considers Getz a friend - "we just happen to be on other sides of the fence" - but he did not appreciate Getz co-opting his e-mail list. Fortunately, Bush said, he only got about a fifth of it, since Bush sends his mass e-mails in several lots.

More costly promotions could be on the way since supporters have money to spend. Contributions reflected in Tuesday's report included $5,000 donations from Regina Rogers, Beaumont Bone & Joint Institute and the Beaumont Board of Realtors, with lesser contributions of $50 to $3,000 from others.

Pledges of $5,000 came from Eastman Chemical Co., Trinity Industries and Capital One Bank, with lesser pledges of $200 to $1,000 from others.

Tuesday also was the deadline for proposals from companies vying for project management duties if the bond issue passes. Six companies submitted proposals: Parsons of Houston, a consultant on proposal development; Lan Walton Management of Houston; Pegasus Texas Construction of Dallas; Region 4 Service Center of Houston; The Facility Group (PBK) of Smyrna, Ga.; and URS of Atlanta.

School trustees could choose a project management firm Oct. 18. Superintendent Carrol Thomas said district officials will work with the project manager to establish a timeline. In voting to call the election, the school board committed to establishing a project timeline before the election.

Early voting runs Oct. 22 to Nov. 2, with Election Day on Nov. 6.

BISD Bond on the Net:

E-mail in favor of the bond
Bond Facts attached to above e-mail

E-mail not in favor of the bond

Tell us what YOU think.

Recent BISD bond letters to the editor

BISD Bond proposal details (pdf)

BISD Bond PowerPoint presentation (1.8 mb pdf)

BISD's bond Web site

Bond supporter's Web site: BISDBond.com