Ysleta ISD pitches $442.5 million dollar facilities plan
The Ysleta Independent School District has put out a plan that said it needed $442.5 million to keep the district running and stay competitive. If approved Wednesday by the board of trustees, it would go to voters on May 9.
YISD Superintendent Xavier De La Torre said it needs the plan, which calls for tax payers to approve a 10 percent property tax increase up to $1.50 per $100 home valuation from $1.36. That would cost an extra $140 a year for every $100,000 in taxable property valuation.
De La Torre said feedback from taxpayers has been positive, especially because the number could have been even higher:
“The original number, when you took everything under consideration, the work of Jacobs and committees, climbed to $677 million. It was at that point we understood the burden on our tax payers and realized we would not move forward with that aggressive of a plan.”
De La Torre told ABC-7 he and other Ysleta school leaders agreed that $442.5 million would keep the district competitive and it’s a number that could be sold to the voters. The master plan details the rebuilding of some schools and the closing of others.
Included in the plan are $89 million toward schools in the Del Valle area, $85.1 million for Eastwood area students, $46.8 million for those around Hanks High School, and $65.7 million would fix up Bel Air High School and neighboring schools.
The remaining $155 million would be spread across Parkland, Riverside, Ysleta, and district-wide improvements all listed as immediately needed by the district.
Bel Air High School is 58 years old, and listed in sound condition by the district. The $22.7 million bill for the high school alone includes $12.7 million in basic improvements and repairs to things like the mechanical and electrical systems and roofing. The plan calls for $2.5 million for artificial turf on the football field and lighting for the baseball and softball fields, along with $2 million for visual and performing arts facilities and $5.5 million for a new gym.
Del Valle High School is listed at only 28 years old and having a strong facility assessment but the rest of it’s feeder pattern would be looking at one entirely new school along with renovations and closures.
Del Valle would get $7.2 million for things like building repairs, new field turf and gym floor replacement. The plan calls for Camino Real Middle School to be cleared, closed and the property held or sold off. In return, the district wants to build a new Del Valle Middle and Mission Valley Elementary School, at a cost of $67 million. Renovations close out the rest of the learning community with $14.8 million in renovations for Lancaster, Lebarron, and Presa elementary.
