TYLER, Texas — **EDITORS NOTE: The video above is from May 2017.
The Tyler ISD Board of Trustees has officially called for a bond election for May, and officials say there will be no tax rate increase.
According to a Tyler ISD statement, "the proposal was developed by the administration and presented to the Tyler ISD Board to balance campus capacity, address aging buildings, and increase safety and security."
The bond will ask voters to consider an $89 million package for the construction of new Hubbard Middle School and Early College High School campuses.
Tyler ISD's current debt tax rate is $0.335. While taxes will be used for payment of bonds, the tax rate will not be increased.
"We’re really proud of that. We’ve been super conservative and efficient with the funds that (taxpayers) have given us to the tune that we have paid off $60 million of debt early," Tyler ISD Board President Wade Washmon said.
Election Day for the bond is set for May 7. All registered voters within the Tyler ISD area can vote. People must register to vote by April 7. Early voting runs from April 25 through May 3.
Concluding a 20-year plan, this bond is the fifth in a series that were approved in 2004, 2008, 2013 and 2017 to renovate and rebuild 22 campuses. The most recently passed bonds totaled $198 million and funded the remodels at Tyler Legacy and Tyler High.
"This is the last piece of a 20-year program that Tyler ISD has had in rebuilding our entire town," Washmon said. "When people come in from out of town, they’ll be able to see that we value education and this is where our workforce is coming from."
Washmon said Hubbard is the last middle school within Tyler ISD that hasn't been updated in several decades. Moore, Three Lakes and Boulter middle schools have all been redone with funds from a 2013 bond.
"If you drive by Hubbard or you went to Hubbard, it looks the exact same as it did in the 1960s. We got safety concerns over there," he said. "We’re looking for a more modern building that matches the rest and it’ll match the capacities of other schools."
Having a new Hubbard Middle at its current location will allow programs to become modernized and bring safety and security through the building, Washmon said.
Early College High School is currently housed at the old Stewart Middle School building, where it shares the space with the district's RISE Academy (a program for students who need help to graduate). Washmon said ECHS is near capacity and a new building would allow for more students to enroll.
"We’re looking forward to getting the Early College High School kids in a facility that matches that program and moving the RISE kids into a portion of Stewart that has been updated," he said.
Through Early College High School, students earn both a high school diploma and a Tyler Junior College associate's degree.
"Most of the students save about $30,000 by the time they graduate because they’re getting their first two years of college," Washmon said. "They need a facility that’s collegiate-looking. They'll feel a little bit more like college students while they’re going there."
Tyler ISD trustee Andy Bergfeld said the board takes the use of taxpayers' money seriously and stressed the importance of education.
"The businessman in me knows that without a doubt, if we don’t value education and part of that is valuing it through the facilities that we provide for our children, our community’s not going to be an attractive place," Bergfeld said.
The official bond website states students will continue to be housed on the current campuses during the construction process and could possibly move into the new buildings as early as the 2023 Christmas break.
The district says the money will be used as follows:
New Hubbard Middle School - $63M
- Replacement of the 55-year-old campus comparable to the 2013 Boulter, Moore and Three Lakes projects
- Located on current site designed to exact specifications as other middle schools
- 1,200 student capacity
- Updated safety and security features
- Improved traffic flow and designated parking areas
- Meets or exceeds all energy/building codes, ADA, TEA, and UIL requirements
New Early College High School - $26M
- Located next to Tyler ISD Career and Technology Center
- 650+ student capacity
- Cafeteria to be shared with CTC students
- Updated safety and security features
- Dedicated parking areas
- Meets or exceeds all energy/building codes, ADA, and TEA requirements
More information on the bond can be found here.
The most recent school bond passed with 83% of the vote in May 2017.
**The $198 million bond was approved to renovate both Tyler and Tyler Legacy high schools and included:
Safety and security upgrades to include single point of entry for visitor access;
2,750 student capacity single building structure (renovate existing building with addition of new learning areas) with new façade & centrally located administrative areas;
New and renovated interactive spaces to include classrooms, laboratories & collaboration areas;
Revised drive and parking areas to address traffic flow;
Meets or exceeds all ADA, TEA and UIL requirements for academic, fine arts and athletic activities.
**This information was provided by the Tyler ISD 2017 Bond website.