Voters have begun casting ballots in the election to decide the fate of a $100 million bond package for Amarillo Independent School District.
Yesterday in the Amarillo Pioneer, proponents of the bonds and opponents of the bonds made their cases on why voters should vote to either approve or decline the bond package. Today, the Amarillo Pioneer will provide a break down of bond information, as provided by Amarillo ISD.
According to AISD's newsletter, Framework, the bond package will go toward four objectives: safety and security renovations (12 percent of total bond package), classroom additions (25 percent), facility updates (35 percent) and restoration projects (28 percent).
If passed, every Amarillo Independent School District campus, other than the Amarillo Area Center for Advanced Learning, De Zavala Middle School and Woodlands Elementary School will receive some project. Palo Duro High School and Fannin Middle School will receive all four types of projects. A number of other campuses, including Caprock High School, Austin Middle School and Houston Middle School, would see three of four projects completed.
Proponents of the bond issues say that the bonds must be passed to support students of the district and to save the district from future campus issues.
Jim Austin, AISD board president, said in Framework, that the bonds would be part of a long-term solution for campus improvements within the school district.
"Over the years, the district has done a good job with the upkeep of our facilities to carry us through to this point, but general maintenance is no longer enough. Replacement is now the only cost-effective solution," Austin said in an interview with Framework. "These projects will enhance the facilities and improve safety for our students, staff and for the community when they visit our schools."
Opponents of the bond issue say that the bonds are not needed, as the school district most recently had a bond initiative passed by votes in 2013.
Chance Lancaster, an Amarillo resident, wrote yesterday in an opinion piece for the Amarillo Pioneer that residents should vote down the 2017 bonds in order to keep the Amarillo Independent School District accountable.
"When a bond is paid off we never see that in our tax rates. When the bonds are paid off where is that revenue of money going as well since we didn’t have a tax rate decrease," Lancaster wrote in the article. "We can’t keep going to a bank for unlimited loans time and time again for the same issues twice that we are currently paying on."
If voters decide to pass the bonds this November, homeowners could expect to see a $4 increase per month in the total AISD tax bill, or about a $48 per year tax increase.
Early voting runs through November 3rd on the AISD bond issue. Election day is November 7th.
For more information about projects planned in the bond initiative, visit amaisddistrict.sharpschool.com/cms/One.aspx?portalId=18930063&pageId=36612210.
