Following debate among Austin ISD trustees and allegations of regional inequity, district officials reinserted the proposed construction of a new northeast middle school in Austin's Mueller development to the district's pending bond proposal. Tonight, trustees are expected to vote on whether to adopt an order calling for a bond election to take place in November. If approved by voters, the district would use taxpayer dollars to fund 32 projects with a combined cost of $1.1 billion. Several iterations of the bond package have been put before trustees. Throughout the process, the board has heard criticism of regional inequity regarding proposed projects, particularly from East Austin trustee Ted Gordon. The trustee said June 19 that without the inclusion of a new Northeast Austin middle school to alleviate overcrowding at nearby facilities, the district risks losing children in that area to charter schools. "Let's go for a bond that goes for the things we say we think are right," he said. "Without a northeast middle school and a solution for Garcia [Young Men's Leadership Academy] and Means [Young Women's Leadership Academy], we will lose District 1 and much of East Austin to charter schools." Gordon voted against last week's board approval of a list of bond proposal projects after several failed attempts by trustees to include a northeast middle school in the package without raising the district's property tax rate. The addition of a northeast middle school line item into AISD's bond proposal will cost approximately $61 million, according to the district. While the bond proposal exceeds $1 billion, AISD officials say they do not anticipate a tax-rate increase. Here's a map of the existing facilities included in the current bond proposal and their recommended improvements: