Trustees of the Keller Independent School District decided last week to split a proposed $168 million general obligation bond issue into two propositions. The bond questions on the Nov. 4 ballot will consist of $142.3 million for new schools and $25.6 million for a second football stadium.
Proposition 1 will include $56.5 million for an intermediate-middle school hybrid campus, $23.7 million to build the district’s 22d elementary school, and a $10.2 million renovation of an existing building to provide full-day kindergarten. The proposal also includes $22.9 million for technology upgrades, $16.4 million for facility maintenance, and $1.2 million for a natatorium.
Proposition 2 will provide funding for a second district multipurpose athletic stadium to accommodate the addition of a fourth high school varsity program. The new stadium would be located on the site of a high school set to open in fall 2009.
The bond package contains all the projects proposed by a 25-member citizens bond advisory committee.
After a somewhat contentious debate in the district, trustees of the suburban Fort Worth district ended up voting 6 to 1 to split the package into two ballot questions. Trustee Cindy Lotton said the school board was not divided.
“This is not an adversarial board at all,” Lotton said. “We all agree on the need for the bond election. We just had differing opinions on how to present it.”
The district’s GOs carry unenhanced ratings of Aa3 from Moody’s Investors Service and A-plus from Standard & Poor’s.
