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lisd bond election 02.18.10

the liberty isd facilities task force has recommended to the school trustees an $18.27 million bond election to fund renovations to the district’s aging facilities plus construction of a new administration building. this lisd task force of about 30 liberty school district residents, parents and teachers began meeting back in october. they have toured all the district’s FACILITIES. at an early meeting, the committee adopted a vision statement promoting district FACILITIES that inspire academic excellence. during tuesday night’s school board meeting, the group presented its findings. one member - lannise reidland – showed photographs pointing out the poor conditions of many of liberty isd’s facilities. reidland said many areas are not up to code nor do they comply with a.d.a. REQUIREMENTS. next, task force member sandra sterling detailed the group’s recommendations. sterling said everyone on the lisd task force agreed with the plan, saying she was very disappointed in the district’s facilities. breaking down the $18.27 million proposal, an estimated $8.31 million is for work at liberty high school – the oldest educational facility in lisd. this includes a new wing with – among other things - six science labs and two computer labs. sandra sterling pointed out that the high school was CONSTRUCTed in the late 1970s when personal computers were not in use. this new wing would allow for the addition of much needed technological IMPROVEMENTS to enhance the learning ENVIRONMENT. other work at the high school would include a new fire alarm system, improvements to wiring and cabling, plus renovations to meet HANDICAPPED accessibility and code requirements. another estimated $3.26 million is recommended for liberty elementary school for a library addition, a new fire alarm system, and ELECTRICAL IMPROVEMENTS. the liberty task force asks for approximately $2.16 million for stadium and field house IMPROVEMENTS plus $244,375 for exterior lighting at san jacinto elementary. finally, this group of liberty school district residents recommended construction of a 24,000-square-foot administration and co-op building along with the DEMOLITION of the old FACILITIES. this is thought to cost another $4.3 million. all these RECOMMENDATIONS total $18.27 million. the entire list of suggested renovations and IMPROVEMENTS is too long to list here. however, the PHOTOGRAPHS shown by lannise reidland documented neglected and outdated facilities that the task force unanimously AGREED needed to be renovated or replaced. the liberty school board then heard from two architectural firms along with the district’s financial advisor. also, chief financial officer margaret lee told trustees if these numbers hold up this package would add about 16 cents per $100 valuation to the current tax rate based on a 30-year payback. for a home valued at $100,000 after exemptions, that could cost a district taxpayer an added $164 in property taxes a year. for the average priced home in liberty school district, this bond package would add about $105 to their yearly property taxes. in order to hold a bond election in may, the school board must act by early march. with that in mind, liberty isd trustees will hold a workshop next thursday evening. then, if trustees decide to hold a may bond election, they will need to schedule a special meeting for early march to call that election. again, a liberty isd task force composed of district residents, teachers and parents has recommended the district hold what is estimated now as an $18.27 million bond election to make what they called much-needed technological improvements and renovations to liberty high school, liberty elementary school, the football stadium and san jacinto elementary. in addition, they are proposing a new ADMINISTRATION building. trustees have less than three weeks to act if they want to call for an election in may. that is one of only two times a year state law allows bond elections to take place.