For more than a decade, the Denton (Texas) school district says, student enrollment has been climbing by about 1,000 students a year and now has surpassed 26,000.
More classrooms are needed to handle the growth, and the Denton school board has proposed a $312 million bond issue for Nov. 5. The money would pay for nearly $330 million in projects; the additional funds come from savings the district achieved in projects from its previous bond issue, in 2007.
The district wants to build a fourth high school, at a cost of $149.6 million; a ninth-grade addition at an existing high school, for $49.9 million; two elementary schools for a total of $50.8 million; a middle school for $48.2 million, and land purchases for $18 million.
The bonds also would pay for renovation of existing schools and improvements in energy conservation.