By Taylor Kaiser
On Tuesday, October 14th, CISD Superintendent Stephanie Howell hosted a livestreamed Town Hall at Collins Intermediate informing the public on how the $205,000,000 bond will be spent, and how it will affect the taxpayer.
CISD Courtesy Photo
“Why is Corsicana having a bond election?” The district asks.
The district is growing, and CISD hired demographers to conduct a comprehensive study. Over the next ten years, they projected that Carroll Elementary, Collins Intermediate, Sam Houston Elementary, and Corsicana High School will exceed current capacity. If the bond passes, the addition of an Early Childhood Center (Pre-K and Kindergarten) for CISD will alleviate the crowded elementary schools and offer Pre-K for all students in the district.
46.8% of the bond goes straight to the high school, which is suffering from severe plumbing issues.
“Last year in the spring, almost every single high school restroom was overflowing. We had two restrooms I think that worked. Our maintenance department does not have the equipment to correct those problems,” Mrs. Howell told the audience.
The high school will also receive a new Career and Technical Education center, expansion of the kitchen/cafeteria and renovated classrooms.
Other items included in the bond are improvements to Collins, Bowie, Fannin, buses, HVAC and roof repair, and a new agricultural facility for CISD students, which will include an arena for kids to show their animals.
If the CISD bond passes, the district projects a tax impact of $0.3024, or 30.24 cents per $100 valuation increase. For the average home in CISD valued at $205,801 that would be $16.58 increase.
For a home valued at $300,000 it would be $40.32 a month. Corsicana has one of the lowest tax rates when compared to surrounding areas. Mrs. Howell assured the audience that even with the bond passing, Corsicana would remain one of the lower taxed districts. Homeowners aged sixty-five or older and those with disabilities qualify for an exemption.
Mrs. Howell addressed the ballots; even if you have an approved homestead exemption your ballot will read “THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE” due to Texas State laws requiring all school bond elections include this language.
After the presentation, community members were able to ask Mrs. Howell questions. Topics included discussion on where the new agricultural facility will be placed, the Bond Oversight Committee, square footage required by law per student, storm shelters, fire suppression systems, and CISD accountability scores.
“A lot of people have talked about our accountability scores, that they are not where everybody thinks they should be. ‘Do we deserve a bond because of the D rating?’ But if we start them a year earlier, research says that they are going to be more successful,” Mrs. Howell stated, referencing Pre-K for all students enrolled at CISD regardless of income bracket, if the bond were to pass.
A local mother, who typically homeschools her children, told Mrs. Howell she enrolled her son in Pre-K at Carroll to use the district’s special needs programs and there was not a teacher available for her son and others. “And so, he [Mr. Betts, Principal] was scrambling to find classrooms and teachers for these kids. I was there until almost 11 AM on the first day of school. The staff was great, and everybody was friendly, but they moved a bunch of us that were not provided for into the library. The next day, I withdrew my son.”
The final comment was an emphatic plea from a local, “We do not need to cut anything short. We expect these kids to have a high-level education. We should give them the opportunity to get a high-level education. We are the biggest school in the county with the worst facilities in the county. We should be the class act of the county, and we are not.”
Early voting starts Monday, October 20th. Election Day is Tuesday, November 4th.
For more information on the CISD School Bond, and to see renderings of the proposed facilities, visit corsicanaisdbond.com.
