Voter outreach underway for $669 million EPISD bond

EPISD has less than three months to convince voters to vote yes on a $669 million bond and officials are wasting no time in taking their message to the public. District officials were at a community meeting at the West Regional Command Center in west El Paso.

Ross Moore, president of the El Paso American Federation of Teachers, was also at the meeting determined to ask questions about the bond. He was concerned about the money actually being spent on earmarked projects. Moore was pleased with this answer.

“They will build a direct linkage, so if you vote for the bond, you are getting exactly what you voted for and not a bait-and-switch game at a later date,” Moore said.

EPISD Board President Dori Fenebock believes educating the voters is the key to the bond being approved.

“We are in an era of declining enrollment, we have half-empty school buildings and we need to invest in modern learning environment and that this is part of a consolidation process that will help us operate more efficiently and put more resources into the classroom,” Fenebock said.

But Moore said he and his teachers’ union are not ready to back the $669 million bond. He wants to make sure facilities that would be closed are used for things like public housing, community centers and adult education.

“(Buildings) not handed over to a charter chain, which is basically going to take even more kids out of EPISD and thus increase their financial issues and decrease the quality of education in the district,” Moore said.

EPISD Superintendent Juan Cabrera was at the community meeting and is preparing for a very busy schedule.

“We plan to hit as many as we can — any community meeting that we can get in front of in the district. So, I would expect three to five days a week we will be out there talking to folks all the time, all across the school district,” Cabrera said.

The district’s board of trustees unanimously approved the $669 million bond Tuesday night.

This is the biggest school bond proposal in El Paso’s history.

The owner of an average $138,000 home in the district is already paying about $1,395 a year in school district taxes.

If this bond is eventually approved by voters in November, the average district homeowner could pay an additional $212, bringing the school district’s portion of the property tax bill to about $1,600.

Some of the projects include:

Burges High School will be rebuilt at a cost of $56,783,048.

Jefferson/Silva High School will undergo $39,631,708 in renovations.
Coronado High School will be rebuilt at a cost of $73,885,792.
Lincoln K-8 will consolidate with Bond and Roberts elementary schools.
Henderson K-8 will consolidate with Bonham Elementary School.
The El Paso Independent School District is trying to streamline and modernize the district. The approved projects also include laptops for students and teachers, totaling $6,565,000.