Voters in the Round Rock (Texas) district will decide in May whether to approve a $572.1 million bond request that would provide funds for a sixth high school, a 35th elementary school and other facility upgrades.
“To provide our students with a world-class education, we must provide them with world-class opportunities, resources and facilities,” Board President Diane Cox says.
The district says the proposal will appear on the May 6 ballot as three questions:
- Proposition 1 – $381.7 Million: The money would pay for the most urgent growth and safety needs in the district,including High School No. 6, Elementary School No. 35, improvements to aging facilities, and replacement of aging technology at all schools
- Proposition 2 – $133.6 Million: Expansions at elementary, middle, and high schools to accommodate crowded facilities, a Career Tech High School, a Visual and Performing Arts Middle School and an Early College and Health Professions High School.
- Proposition 3 – $56.8 Million: Construction of an indoor aquatic center, the District’s Outdoor Athletic Facility No. 3, upgrades to Dragon Stadium and design of auditoriums at Round Rock and Westwood high schools.
Round Rock's most recent bond election was in May 2014, when voters approved a $299 million package.
The Austin American Statesman reports that in 2006, when voters approved a $267.6 million bond package, the district had 37,767 students. Today the district serves 48,217 students.
“People wonder why we do this; it’s because we are growing and these are the consequences,” District Superintendent Steve Flores says.
The district’s Citizens Bond Committee initially had a wish list of more than $900 million, but members whittled it down to $530 million. Changes by the school board brought the total to $572.1 million.
