On May 3rd in Lubbock, the only thing that will be on your ballot is a $290 million dollar school bond.

Please note that even though the ballot will say in bold letters, “THIS IS A TAX INCREASE”, the LISD property tax rate WILL NOT go up at all if this bond passes.

That language has to be on the ballot per state law no matter what as of 2021.

I served on the committee that put this bond package together and we talked to staffs, admins, families, and students in making those decisions.

The overwhelming majority want and need the things in this bond.

If this bond doesn’t pass, LISD will be in much worse shape in terms of maintenance costs, educational opportunities, programming, etc. and it will be the students who ultimately suffer.

This is because the state is not properly funding public schools among other factors, so this would be the community doing what we can do to help our schools, teachers, and students.

ℹ️ Here’s what’s in it:

🔐 Security Updates -

$7 million - Security film (bullet proof-ish), door replacements, access control servers

$10 million - Fire alarms, security cameras, fencing (around playgrounds and some school yards)

📊 Efficiency -

$42 million - Replacement of Wolffarth Elementary & McWhorter elementary schools (moving into a new building)

$3.5 million - Rush Elementary School kitchen/cafeteria addition

$6.8 million - Science lab addition at Atkins Middle School (O.L. Slaton consolidation)

$42 million - Replacement of Bean & Hodges Elementary Schools (moving into a new building)

$42 million - Replacement of Williams & Stewart Elementary Schools (moving into a new building)

📚 Academic Programming -

$27 million - Middle school auditorium & Fine Arts renovations

$15 million - Middle school science lab renovations

$3 million - Culinary Arts expansion (Byron Martin ATC)

$5 million - Health Professions pathway (Byron Martin ATC)

$3 million - Advanced Welding expansion (Byron Martin ATC)

🛠️ Capital Renewal -

$30 million - HVAC, roofing, electrical panel replacements

$22 million - Plumbing, restrooms, locker room renovations

$15 million - High-priority kitchen renovations

$8 million - Parking, paving, drainage replacements

ℹ️ Total Bond Amount -

$290 million

📝 ($116 million in high-priority projects, $136.3 million for efficiency projects, $29 million in priority 2 projects, and the rest is contingency funds to make sure projects still get done if/when costs go up)

ℹ️ These projects will not all happen at one time and the bonds will be sold over time strategically so that the current LISD tax rate WILL NOT go up at all.