EDITORIAL: Another year, another bond bid by Gainesville ISD
Jul. 25—The Gainesville ISD board will vote next month on whether or not to put over $90 million in bond issues on the November ballot.
Most of the money — $68 or so million — would go to fixing up district buildings, bringing them into compliance with state and federal regulations and create more classroom space for the district's steadily-expanding student population.
It would add, according to GISD estimates, 23 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to property tax bills in the district.
There would be a separate $25 million bond ask to build a new auditorium at Gainesville High School.
Gainesville, Era and other districts around Cooke County have tried and failed repeatedly over the last few years to get voter approval for other bond issues.
The GISD proposals, in particular, don't seem to have impressed older voters who no longer have kids in school. We at the Register have heard grumbling about how the junior high was just fine back in the day — a familiar refrain — and that property taxes are already way too high.
We won't quibble about that last point — property taxes are way too high. Hopefully, maybe, some of this tax reform coming from the Legislature will help.
We at the Register, however, are worried that said reform will somehow lead to state officials squeezing local school districts even harder than they do already. Through a budgeting mechanism called compression, state officials can claw money back from school districts that raise more money through local property taxes than they had projected for a given budget year. That can make it tough to do some of the expensive maintenance older school buildings routinely need, things like boilers, roofs and the like.
As we stated above, maybe the new property tax changes will help with some of that. It's too soon to say one way or the other.
Who knows? Maybe the local tide is turning. Lindsay ISD voters approved a $15.8 million bond by a nearly 2-1 margin, 368-165, in May. That bond money will pay for building renovations and new facilities, including a new high school wing and cafetorium with elementary classrooms.
We do know for certain that GISD's new proposals have been discussed, vetted and mulled over by district officials, parents, teachers and community members since early spring. Some proposals have been on the table for a few years now.
Superintendent DesMontes Stewart and the school board will make their best pitch at the board's Aug. 21 meeting. We at the Register don't plan to take a position, pro or con, on whether you should vote for these bond issues or not. We do, however, think you should go to the school board meeting to hear exactly what GISD officials want to do, why they want to do it and ask questions.
Hear them out; if you aren't convinced, then vote against the bonds. If you are convinced, then vote for the bonds.
