L-k CISD to hold public meeting July 19

By Bobby Horn Jr.
news@casscountynow.com

LINDEN— On July 19, Linden-Kildare CISD patrons will have another chance to learn about the district’s facilities’ needs and plans to address those needs at a public meeting which will be held at the high school auditorium at 6 p.m.
This is the second meeting the district has held to explain the situation facing them and the need for a bond election.
The district is seeking $8 million in schoolhouse bonds. These will then be repaid over a 15-year period in order to ensure the lowest possible interest rate.
Last year the Linden-Kildare CISD conducted of a survey of parents, staff and district patrons to find out what they thought were the district’s greatest needs. “The number one issue, without question, was improving our facilities,” District Superintendent Trevor Rogers said.
This past spring a facilities committee was created to review the district’s needs and bring back a recommendation.
After touring the district’s campuses, as well as facilities in Hughes Springs (which just completed a renovation project) and consulting with a third party to get cost estimates, the committee has returned with a list of priorities, Board Member Marlon Sullivan said.
“These are needs, not wants. There is no fluff here,” he added. Sullivan said the district was competing with not only other Cass County schools but also schools in Jefferson for students and that the facilities needed improving if they were going to attract the students. “That’s just the nature of the beast,” he added.
Priorities outlined
The first priority, he said, was improving security at all of the campuses. Sullivan said that once a person enters a campus they have easy access to hallways and classrooms. Security vestibules need to be built at each campus which would require passing checkpoints before accessing the interior parts of the campuses. Sullivan said they also need to upgrade their technology and cyber-security at all of the campuses.
The facilities committee also recommended district-wide replacement of the HVAC system. Parking was an issue highlighted. Sullivan said that from campus to campus parking is either insufficient or in serious need of repair. “They’re (the parking lots) are in poor, poor condition,” he said.
Sullivan said that improvements are also needed at every campus to make them ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible. This is especially true for restrooms and at the athletic facilities, he noted.
Specific campus renovations mentioned included renovations of the front (old part) of the elementary and new covered walkways as well as bringing the football stadium into ADA compliance.
Sullivan said that they would also like to repurpose or improve buildings that were constructed in the 1970s. He said that they hope to repurpose the old fieldhouse (which is now used as a visitor’s locker room) into a concession stand to serve both the home and visitor side and create additional restrooms. The Vo-Ag building, which had seen little improvement since it was built in 1975, is also in need of renovations, he said. “Our kids deserve someone better,” he said. This is also true of the band hall, which was built in 1974 and does not have ADA accessible restrooms.
Renovations are also needed at the baseball and softball fields, Sullivan said. He noted that the lights at the field can only operate a 10 percent of the foot candles available. “It’s not good,” he added. “It’s unsafe.” Upgrades are also needed in the fields’ parking lots and walkways to make them ADA-compliant.
The cost of renovations
Sullivan said that it became obvious that there were more need than there was money available. When the committee first began looking at the needs, he said, they came up with a $20 million price tag. Realizing this was too high, they began to look for ways to cut the project down to the highest priorities. This dropped the price tag down to $8 million, although Sullivan was quick to point out that this was “not set in stone.”
With the current interest rates, an $8 million bond paid out over a 15-period period would raise the tax rate by 30.2 cents. For a home valued at $100,000 it means an additional $25.16 a month or $37.67 additionally a month for a $150,000 home.
Those who are 65 years or older can apply for a tax freeze on the tax bill for their homestead which, while the tax rate may go up, will not require them to pay more property taxes than they are paying now.
The school board’s goal, Sullivan said, is to bring the issue before voters on the November General Election Ballot.