Residents in Eanes ISD will have the opportunity to vote on an $80 million bond package May 4 after the board of trustees officially called a bond election at a packed Jan. 29 meeting.
The bond, which will appear as Proposition A on the ballot, will call for the issuance of bonds to be used for district projects, including:
- instructional, co-curricular and extracurricular spaces, including robotics, wrestling and aquatics;
- safety and security improvements;
- student programs and support, including technology systems and equipment;
- promotion of energy efficiency and conservation;
- facility systems and site improvements throughout the district, including plumbing, roofing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, surfaces and other systems; and
- the purchase of new school buses.
If approved by voters, the bonds would be issued in multiple sequences. $69 million would go toward improvement and upgrade projects. The three proposed facilities---robotics expansion, the aquatics center and multipurpose facility prioritized as a space for the wrestling team---would cost about $15 million total.
Bond language stipulates that no more than $4 million can come from outside sources for the facilities, meaning $11 million in bonds would fund them. The issuance of those bonds would be contingent upon board approval after permitting has been complete and more exact maintenance and operations costs---and whether an aquatics facility would cost money, break even or bring in a profit---are established.
The language also allows for an aquatics facility to be combined with a multipurpose facility should the board determine that is the best option.
Everyone who addressed the board regarding the bond during public comment at the Jan. 29 meeting spoke in favor of one or all of the proposed facilities.
A May 4 election to fill places 4, 6 and 7 on the board of trustees was also called.
Place 6 is currently held by Colleen Jones, and Place 7 is held by Ellen Balthazar. Both seats are up for full three-year terms. Place 4 was vacated by Julia Webber’s resignation and is temporarily filled by Rob Hargett; it will be up for election for the two-year remainder of the term.
The deadline to file an application for a place on the ballot is Feb. 15.