Posted 1:28 am Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Carlisle ISD Calls $7.5 million Bond Election
By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer
HENDERSON -- Carlisle Independent School District school board members have called a $7.5 million bond election to be held Nov. 2.
Staff Writer
HENDERSON -- Carlisle Independent School District school board members have called a $7.5 million bond election to be held Nov. 2.
Officials said overcrowding and the need for more classroom space prompted them to call the election.
The bond would fund renovations to the high school, such as new air conditioning and lighting, as well as about 7,000 square feet of additional classroom space there.
It also would pay for 10,000 square feet of additional elementary classroom space, a new agricultural science facility, a multi-purpose facility for elementary students -- complete with a stage and basketball court -- renovations to the field house and concession area and parking improvements.
Carlisle ISD's buildings are housed on the same campus, and all students share one cafeteria.
Superintendent Mike Payne said the projects will allow CISD to get rid of its portable buildings, while potentially giving it room for growth.
In the past 10 years, enrollment has increased by about 35 percent, he said.
And "we're still on the same track and growing steadily," Payne said. "So we're projecting growth is going to continue, and we're trying to get out there and (get facilities) to a point where we have some breathing room."
The district is projecting a 31- or 32-cent increase to its total tax rate -- which is $1.27 per $100 valuation and is proposed to drop 2 cents this coming budget year -- if the bond issue is approved. That would increase taxes by about 24 or 25 percent.
For the average home in the district -- with an average value of about $45,000 -- this means a projected annual tax increase of $150 for most homeowners, Payne said.
None of the 31- or 32-cent tax rate increase would take effect until 2011-12.
Payne has said the district is in "dire need" of more classroom space for kindergarten through 12th grades, and there are some other things that need to be done as far as infrastructure.
The hope, he said, is to add classrooms and modernize the older buildings, most of which were built in the 1930s and 1940s.
Board member Kevin Curbo has said most class sizes at the elementary and middle school levels have about 65 to 70 students. Therefore, the district is running out of room as the students move to the next grade.
"It's not a matter of wish or want; it's a matter of, we're going to be in tents if we don't do something," he said earlier this month.
Payne also characterized the issue, saying there are 640 students in Head Start through 12th grades, and the district is housing about 60 students in portables.
Because of these issues, the district developed a facilities study committee in the spring, which includes parents and teachers.
Payne said the district also employed an architect who has worked with officials on developing a 10-year master plan that addresses facility needs.
Carlisle ISD's last bond election was in 2006, when an estimated $1.3 million was issued to construct a new band hall and renovate the cafeteria.
If voters approve this year's bond issue, Payne expects the projects to be bid out in late spring or early summer 2011.
