News

Committee to present LISD bond package

Print this story | Email this story

Three-year bond package could total $558 million
The Leander ISD Board of Trustees will receive a proposed bond package at its meeting Thursday, Aug. 16. It will then be up to the trustees to decide what they wish to present to voters this November. The meeting is set for 6:15 p.m. at the LEO Cafeteria, 300 S. West Drive, Leander.

The bond package was developed by the LISD Citizens' Facility Advisory Committee (CFAC), which has worked since June to project facility needs for the next three to five years. Vic Villarreal, CFAC steering committee chair, presented an update of the bond process to trustees Aug. 2.

Villarreal will likely present a three-year bond package totaling $558 million for construction and improvements. That figure was revised downward from the Tier 1 and 2 subcommittee recommendations of July 24, which topped $710 million.

The high school portion of the bond package stands at approximately $309 million. It calls for full funding for High Schools #5 and #6, land for High School #7, a new athletic stadium, and improvements to A.C. Bible Stadium.

High on the list of priorities is construction of High School #5 in the south of the district in time for a 2010 opening. Tier 1 subcommittee requests also call for design, furnishing and construction of High School #6 by 2012; $8 million to buy land for High School #7 by 2011; an additional stadium for $31 million by 2011 and $8 million for improvements to Bible Stadium by 2008.

The district already purchased land for the fifth high school with funds from the May 2006 bond election. The tract is located on FM 2222, south of 3M.

The need for a high school in the south part of the district has been driven in part by the pressure of enrollment growth on high schools to the north. As the student population grows, Cedar Park High School is growing crowded, which means students living near CPHS are increasingly being zoned into Vista Ridge and other high schools.

The middle school portion of the bond package calls for approximately $57 million, for construction and access road (design) for Middle School #8, and land for Middle Schools #10 and 11.

The latest elementary bond request stands at approximately $160 million for construction and furnishing for five elementary schools, road access and design for five elementaries, land acquisition for six elementaries, heating and air conditioning repairs, and security platform.

Technology bond requests total approximately $22 million, for instructional technology, new campus upgrades for Instructional Tech Leadership Team, computer replacement, data warehouse, telecommunications and fiber optic infrastructure.

The ancillary recommendation calls for about $7.6 million, for support services expansion, capital equipment (new buses), and existing facility utilization.

E-mail charles@hillcountrynews.com

Reader Comments