JACKSONVILLE —
The Jacksonville Independent School District Board of Trustees met Tuesday afternoon in a specially called meeting with one goal in mind: To unanimously call a bond election.
JISD Superintendent Dr. Joe Wardell said this will be the school’s fourth such attempt and added he hopes this will be the one which sees success.
“When you look at what it is potentially buying for the district, it’s worth it,” Wardell said of the $49.865 million bond program which, if passed in November, would increase district property taxes by about 19 cents per $100 valuation.
“The average home in the district is worth approximately $87,681,” he said. “With this bond issue in effect, it would cost $138.09 in a year — only $11.51 per month.”
In July the Board of Trustees approved a district 10-year plan which recommended high-impact renovations such as new East Side and Joe Wright elementaries.
Wardell said any significant building plan will require a bond election be passed.
Wardell said in a previous meeting without a bond election passing, the district would not have access to a variety of state and federal funding.
He estimated the bond issue would be about 58 percent of the total amount of funding the school would receive from all combined sources.
According to school officials, early voting will be held between Oct. 18 and Oct. 29 at various locations. Election Day is Nov. 2.
Board President James Houser said the board is excited and ready to go.
“We believe the community will support it,” he said.
Houser also said anyone with questions should call the school administration office at 903-586-6511 and ask to get in touch with a board member, or visit www.jisd.org to find e-mail addresses for each board member.
“We’ll be cranking out information,” Houser said.
Board Member Blaine Verhelle said he hopes the bond issue will pass successfully.
“It’s good for Jacksonville,” Verhelle said. “It’s good for the kids. It’s a good opportunity to take care of our needs.”
Board Member Joe Casey said the board was more than ready to act on the recommendations of the citizen committee involved in forming the district’s 10-year plan.
“Our facilities are very overcrowded,” Casey said. “The average age of the structures is around 50 years old and the core areas are simply stretched too far.”
Board Member Jim Tarrant said each board member had devoted ample time to research the issue before the Tuesday meeting and was ready to make a decision as the meeting began.
“We’ve got the data,” Tarrant said. “We already digested it.”
An opportunity was given for those in attendance of the open meeting to speak out in favor or against the bond election, but none took it. The unanimous decision was the only call made during the meeting and adjournment followed.
Local News
Related Photos
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JISD Board President James Houser, left, and Superintendent Dr. Joe Wardell read over documents Tuesday night at a specially called meeting to decide to call for a $49.9 million bond election. Progress photo by Nathan Straus
Discussion
JISD calls bond election
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