Ysleta ISD bond passes: What’s next?

The Ysleta Independent School District community spoke and 59 percent voted in favor of passing the $430.6 million bond. This is big turnaround from May when only 49 percent voted in favor and the bond failed.

There’s 31 bond projects to get done. At this point, there’s no timeline, but Superintendent Dr. Xavier De La Torre said the goal is to get started quickly.

“It’s the board turn,” said YISD Board President Shane Haggerty, “the board needs to step up and we need to deliver.”

From new turf to new technology, new roofs and campus security, YISD has to prepare for its total makeover. There are four major projects that, by far, are the most expensive, costing nearly a quarter of a billion dollars by themselves. They include building new schools: Bel Air Middle, Del Valle Middle, Mission Valley Elementary and Thomas Manor Elementary. Eastwood High is set to get major renovations, including a three-story classroom wing.

“We need to make sure we’re diligent that we are on top of everything,” Haggerty said, “from having an oversight committee, to making sure we’re spending every single dollar the way that we should.”

“I put my face and name behind this for almost 18 months,” said De La Torre. “It has to go exactly has how I presented it.”

The district said the first step is to assemble a bond oversight committee, made up of community members with expertise in finance and construction. Then the district will meet with the architects. The architects will recommend the first wave of projects to get started on. From there a timeline will be drawn up..

“We have to make sure to deliver because people are trusting us and its about time they start trusting government,” De La Torre said.

De La Torre said assembling the bond committee should take place within the next couple of weeks.