Voters in the Decatur school district have once again rejected all three school bond propositions totaling $68 million that would have primarily addressed current maintenance issues.
Prop. A failed by a 56 to 44 percent margin. Prop. B was defeated 74 to 26 percent. Prop. C was rejected 57 to 43 percent.
School district leaders had hoped that since the bond was not expected to increase the property tax rate, it would be met with voter approval, even if it didn’t address student capacity issues like the larger bond election in May.
Decatur ISD Superintendent Chad Jones sent a statement to the Messenger shortly after the final results were announced expressing his disappointment and pointing out several times that the bond issue would have had no impact on a person’s tax rate.
“With all three of the NO TAX RATE RAISE propositions failing it is a sad day for Decatur ISD students and staff,” Jones’ statement read. “This was a no tax rate raise bond for HVAC, roofs, buses and student/teacher computers that are used each and every day for instructional purposes in propositions A and C. Proposition B involved athletics and is not directly tied to instruction, but the board wanted to hear the community’s voice, and they did.”
Jones pointed out that with Decatur ISD currently in a deficit budget like the majority of school districts in the state, and no new state funding coming yet from the Texas Legislature, any needed repairs will come from the maintenance and operations budget which includes other day-to-day expenses such as program funding and teacher/staff salaries.
During his presentations to the community for the bond election, Jones said he wanted to see increased turnout, particularly among district staff and parents, but the final results indicate the overall turnout numbers stayed about the same as the May bond election.
“It still leads us to question, if you won’t vote to fund a no tax rate raise bond, how will we keep up with future growth and overcrowding needs in Decatur ISD? I’m sad for Decatur ISD students and staff,” Jones stated.
The majority of the bond package featured money for replacement or repairs of items that have reached or exceeded their useful life span.
The life cycle projects were included in Proposition A, which totaled $54,910,075.
The biggest projects in the proposition were the replacement or repair of HVAC units and roof replacements.
Facilities receiving HVAC work would have included Rann Elementary, Young Elementary, McCarroll Middle School, Decatur High School, the technology building, ag building and field house.
Roof replacements would have taken place at Rann Elementary, Young Elementary and Decatur High School.
Carpet would have been replaced at Rann Elementary. Other flooring upgrades would have been a graphics refresh at the high school competition gym.
The multipurpose building would have received an interior paint refresh and the perimeter steel piping and fences at the baseball and softball fields would have gotten a fresh coat of paint.
The MPB would have also received an interior lighting upgrade.
Money in Prop. A would have also been used to purchase buses and establish a rotation for replacement of the bus fleet over time.
Technology upgrades in the proposition would have included interactive displays for classrooms, network infrastructure replacement and surveillance system refresh.
The auditorium at Decatur High School would have also received upgrades, including replacements of lighting and controls and the sound system
Two items would have included new construction: the addition of locker rooms for the tennis/soccer teams at DHS and an extension of the drop-off lane at Carson Elementary.
The $5,771,700 Proposition B would have included improvements to Eagle Stadium.
Upgrades would have included converting the grass field to artificial turf, new concession stand and restrooms and paint and wrap of the exterior metal fence.
Proposition C would have included $7,379,500 for instructional technology.
The money would have been used for the four-year replacement cycle of student and teacher devices. It would have included two replacement cycles for the high school Macbooks, replacement of devices at MMS, device refresh at the elementary schools, a laptop refresh for all district teachers and general specialty student technology.
The bond failed six months after a larger $331.2 million bond package failed. The spring bond issue included the construction of a new high school and the renovation of the current high school into a middle school, and it also included many of the same maintenance and technology items that were included in the latest bond package that failed with voters.
Loading Comments