LONGVIEW, Texas — Early voting has kicked off this week ahead of the May 4 election, and Longview ISD has one of the hottest items on the ballot. The district is asking voters to pass a more than $450 million bond proposal.
"This is really not just about facilities this election, it’s about how do we answer the question of “how do we spend funds as a district," Wayne Guidry, assistant superintendent of finance at Longview ISD, said.
It’s the same bond that the district has presented to voters before – featuring fixes to aging buildings, a new early childhood center, a multi-purpose sporting facility and renovations to Lobo Stadium. The district also tacked on the construction of an aquatics center.
Longview ISD has made propositions like this in the past, but voters haven’t really taken to it. This time around they’ve changed the way that they have presented the information to voters.
"In the first bond we asked people to come to us, which nobody did, for presentations. We relied on social media, which that didn’t really make a big difference. Well back in November this past fall we went out and did like 60 presentations, and so we went to a lot of people and talked to a lot of people, and we saw the approval rating double," Guidry said.
Guidry said that administration has strived to get out into the community to deliver bond information before this election, including knocking on doors in neighborhoods.
LISD’s Political Action Committee has also knocked on over 3,500 doors in the last few weeks.
"Yes, I think there is definitely a consensus that the community knows what’s going on. We’re so thankful that Mayor Andy Mack did an endorsement of the bond last week and so did the Longview Chamber of Commerce," Karen Haas, a volunteer member for LISD's Political Action Committee and LISD parent, said.
Early voting wraps up Tuesday, April 30. Election Day is May 4. For a list of local school and city elections, click here.