The Whitesboro Independent School District (WISD) held a second town hall meeting on Wednesday, April 17 to give the community an opportunity to ask questions about the upcoming school bond package. Despite moving the meeting to 6 p.m. so that more people could attend after working hours, the meeting only attracted 28 people, some of whom had attended the previous meeting.
Superintendent Ryan Harper began his presentation by explaining the amount of growth the school district is seeing. While the district currently has 1,778 students enrolled in its schools, they’re currently anticipating 2,000 students in 2030. The current building structures as they are will not be able to accommodate such growth. In fact, three of the four Whitesboro schools are already at maximum capacity.
Realizing that something needed to be done, the district formed a committee of about 30 community members to work together and come up with a solution for WISD. Initially, the plan was to build a new high school with 800 student capacity. However, the cost was so high that it would have maxed out the entire tax rate the district is allowed. The committee went back to the drawing board.
“If we couldn’t find a solution that moved us north (at the high school level), we decided to look at moving south (at the elementary school level),” Harper said.
The lower level grades in the district are seeing alarming growth. At Hayes Primary School, which houses grades Pre-K through 2, the classrooms are at 22 students per teacher. While this is the legal maximum capacity for class size, Harper said it’s hard to teach that many kids, so they “try to avoid that.” The portable building at Whitesboro Intermediate will hold two classrooms next year. To ensure students are receiving the best education possible, the district says something needs to be done.
Harper outlined the two-part $118 million bond in detail. Proposition A (for $100 million) includes an Early Childhood Center, High School Auditorium, High School Career Technology Addition, Agri-Science Arena and district renovations/buses/safety and security. The tax increase for residents would be an additional 12.3 cents per $100 valuation.
Proposition B (for $18 million) is for a multi-purpose building for all students. This indoor arena would be a place for athletics teams and marching band to practice; Special Olympics and field day in the event of bad weather; summer workouts; and potentially be open to the public during the summer. By law, this proposition must stand on its own. The tax increase for this proposition would be an additional 5.8 cents per $100 valuation.
(For more details about what each of these propositions entails, please see the March 29, 2024 issue of the News-Record.)
As for timeline, if the bond were to pass, it would take a year to design the additions and renovations. Then, it would take anywhere from 18 months to two years to build with the goal for all the projects to be built simultaneously.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Harper took questions from the audience. During this time he explained that there would be no tax rate impact for voters 65 and older who qualify for the homestead exemption. Those who meet the age requirement simply have to apply.
When asked about the potential school voucher program that would allow parents to use public dollars for private education, Harper said it shouldn’t affect the bond or tax rate at all.
Another question focused on the Career Technology Center and why WISD doesn’t partner with Grayson County College for dual credit classes. Harper explained that there are several logistics problems with dual credit classes, including scheduling classes and busing students to and from the campus. By creating their own Career Technology Center in this bond, the district could avoid those issues and provide a more comprehensive and effective learning experience.
When asked by one audience member why the bond wasn’t split up more, as some aspects of Proposition A were appealing while others seemed extraneous, Harper pointed out that Proposition A touched every aspect of WISD. From athletics and agriculture to each of the four schools, Prop A (according to the priority list created by the planning committee) was as pared down as they felt it could be while still meeting the needs of the district.
Whitesboro is already utilizing several portable buildings to help house the number of students across its campuses. If the bond doesn’t pass, the short-term solution is to continue adding more portable buildings. But that’s only putting a Band-Aid on the problem.
“If the bond doesn’t pass, we’ll have to reassess things and find out why. We’ll revisit this in November or May [elections]. Then things from our list will begin to disappear,” Harper said.
For the first time, a Whitesboro student was in attendance at the bond meeting. Freshman Layke Cole, a member of Student Council, had strong feelings about the current state of student life at the school.
“If we don’t get [the bond] passed, it’s going to be pretty bad,” Cole said. “I see it every day. The overcrowding and the congestion is so bad, it’s hard to even get to your classroom. These [items in the bond] are all needs in the community.”
Both Proposition A and Proposition B appear on the current voting ballot. Early voting is at City Hall from 8 a.m.-5p.m. April 22-26 and 7 a.m.-7 p.m. April 29-30. Election day is May 4.
To learn more about the school bond, visit www.whitesboroisdbond.com.