Two school bonds on May 4 ballot

• Two school districts have bonds on the May 4 ballot.

Two local school districts have called for bond elections, which voters will see on the ballot this May.

Chapel Hill ISD

Proposition A

• Elementary upgrades
  • Add 6 early childhood classrooms
  • New elementary gym
  • Playground accessible bathrooms
  • Add 120 new seats for the early childhood classrooms.
• Ag mech expansion
  • Add classroom
  • Add safety showers & restrooms
  • Area for metal processing
• Junior High Secure Entrance and Access to The Well

A common concern from Mount Pleasant residents is how the bond would impact them, the taxpayers.

Daniel Pritchett, superintendent of Chapel Hill ISD, said, “0.099 cents is the current tax impact of the proposed bond. When you calculate that for a $200,000 home, you’d see a monthly increase of $8.25 a month, or $99 a year.”

Additionally, if you are over the age of 65, Proposition A won’t cost you more than your frozen tax dollar amount.

Pritchett said this bond would not only make more space, but also be safer for the students, “Right now, we do not have a secure entrance for the junior high. It is actually located in the middle of our campus, so any parents coming to pick up a kid or drop off a kid, they're basically coming to the high school, checking in there and then they go down to the junior high through the campus to check in.”

Early voting for this bond is going till April 30, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Chapel Hill Administration Building.

On Election Day, May 4, you can vote for Proposition A at various locations, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Those locations are as follows:

• Cookville Fire Station: 814 CR 4045, Cookville, TX
• NTCC Wesley Fellowship: 2886 FM 1735, Mt. Pleasant, TX
• Titus County Courthouse Annex: 105 W. 1st St, Mt. Pleasant, TX
• Living Truth Fellowship Church: 523 Dunn Ave, Mt. Pleasant, TX

Harts Bluff ISD

Another bond up for voting is the bond for Harts Bluff ISD. This bond is split into five propositions. Each one covers multiple facilities to make space for students and faculty.

• Proposition A: High school expansion
  • Adds 9 classrooms, 2 science labs, computer lab, media center, & counseling offices
  • Cost: $6.6 million
  • Tax impact: 13.82 cents
• Proposition B: cafeteria expansion
  • Expands dining area inside & outside, adds kitchen space with new entrance
  • Cost: $1.4 million
  • Tax impact: 2.93 cents
• Proposition C: gymnasium expansion
  • Additional game court, seating, & locker room
  • Cost: $6 million
  • Tax impact: 12.57 cents
• Proposition D: fine arts room
  • Adds a choir room
  • Cost: $1.1 million
  • Tax impact: 2.31 cents
• Proposition E: Little Red Schoolhouse expansion
  • Adds 7 classrooms & administration space
  • Cost: $4 million
  • Tax impact: 8.37 cents

Superintendent of Harts Bluff ISD, Dr. Bobby Rice, said, “We have a really nice facility, it’s just the space that’s an issue. We have teachers that have to share classrooms and sometimes it’s a struggle to provide the space they need. In the cafeteria, we’re in the process of adding a freezer outside. There’s just not enough place in the kitchen to store food.”

If all five propositions pass, the total cost would be $19.1 million and the total tax impact would be 40 cents. If you are 65 or over, there is no tax impact over your frozen amount.

Dr. Rice said there is a bond calculator at www. hbisd.net. If you enter your home value, it can calculate how much the bond would impact your taxes. He expressed that he hopes the bond will pass, because he thinks it will genuinely help the community in the long-run, “The board members and myself, we all live in Harts Bluff ISD. I know this is a tax increase, but we’re not trying to put it off on someone else. It affects all of us, but I think it’s the right thing to do for the kids.”

Early voting for these bonds goes on until April 30. You can vote at the Titus County Elections Office at 110 S. Madison in Mt. Pleasant.

On Election Day, May 4, the voting will be at the Civic Center, 1800 N. Jefferson Avenue in Mt. Pleasant.

See the full story in Wednesday’s edition of the Tribune.