I don't currently live in or near Galveston, but there is a possibility of me relocating (UTMD) there. I have a few questions as fas as island life goes. Can anyone tell me about the schools, living in general, or have any advice or recommendations about Galveston?

If you have the choice to live on the mainland but be close to the island, is it worth it?

School system is as bad or worse than any in the state.

It's UTMB... just so you know.

UTMB...typo...typing too fast.

How is League City?

League City schools may be the best in the county. MUCH better than Galveston public schools. One downside to League City (now the largest city in the county) is that it is growing very quickly and traffic is becoming an issue.

Clear Creek ISD (League City/Friendswood) is a much better district that GISD.

As the other poster mentioned, there is quite a bit of traffic in LC, particularly if you live off of FM 518.

If you can get a bit further south of there, say between 518 and 646 you can avoid a lot of the traffic in LC and be a bit closer to the island. From FM 646 to the island in the morning will run you about 25-30 minutes, but it can take probably another 10-15 minutes to get over to UTMB once you're over the causeway.

For those of you who speak with such authority I would like to know the source of information you use to proclaim a particular school district as the worst in the state or best in the county.

The Galveston Daily News has had several articles about it as has the Houston paper. When Pt. Arthur and Beaumont schools are described as "stellar" in comparison, that speaks volumes because Pt. Arthur I.S.D. nearly had to be taken over by the state.

Not so fast my friend....

Both Parker and Oppe Elementary schools are recognized schools by the TEA and have been this way for a number of years. Weis Middle would be recognized if they could get their math scores a tick higher as well.

It's far from the worst in the state, that's a strong statement to utilize without using fact to back it up.

Clear Creek ISD is indeed a great district, the numbers will show that.

That may be so and I was just judging by what has been written which is always about the high schools and school board. I have no kids there, but as a homeowner on Bolivar, I know a few of the full time residents that do have kids have opted for the getting their kids into High Island ISD. Possible they did that for transportation purposes.

I would think someone would prefer to drive a few miles to High Island rather than put their kid on a ferry every day to get to Galveston and then figure out how to get from the ferry landing to Ball High.

Lots of people continue to spout the "word of mouth" stuff--"Galveston schools are crap"--not really.

Lot of kids leave the GISD and go to TAMU, tu, occasional Military Academy, Stanford, Ivy League, etc.

You CAN get a good education in Galveston.

When you measure a school by all the scores they produce, somehow you have to factor in the abundance of people in Galveston's subsidized housing, many of these people do not place a high value on education. Many don't have a family structure in place to encourage education--this lowers the standard scores.

Not trying to say the GISD is problem free but I do believe you can get the same quality drugs at Friendswood High and Clear Lake High as you can get at Ball High.