Bonds will help Las Cruces transform schools

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Las Cruces Public Schools voters passed a $50 million bond measure with a wide margin Tuesday.

In all, 5,030 voters (89 percent) supported the measure, while 633 (11 percent) voted against it, according to unofficial results from the Dona Ana County Clerk's Office.

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Two questions on a separate ballot for the Gadsden Independent School District also passed with strong support from voters.

Mayfield High chemistry teacher Erin Taylor said she was glad to see the bond measure pass because it will mean new furniture for the school. She has 160 students, and the instructional method has been switched from a traditional lecture configuration with desks aligned in rows to one in which students are arranged in groups "actively participating in their learning."

"Our traditional desks don't work well for what we know is best for kids," said Taylor, also science department chair. "For me this is especially important as we transition to the new science standards which necessitate a much more student-centered classroom. I am excited to see the changes coming at Mayfield."

Officials have said some of the furniture at Mayfield High is decades old.

LCPS Superintendent Greg Ewing said he views the broad margin as an expression of support for not only the district's infrastructure, but also its students, staff, teachers and officials. The district's goal is to provide "safe, modern facilities," something the funding helps achieve.

"It's a win for children, it's a win for teachers, it's a win for principals and it's a win for school staff," he said. "Every day our staff is in school buildings alongside the parents and community. We try to provide the best educational opportunity available for our students."

Continued Ewing: "We are most appreciative of the community supporting our schools and supporting our children."

GISD Superintendent Travis Dempsey said in a news release the passage of the issues "allows Gadsden ISD to deliver on the responsibility to provide a safe, functional and top notch educational experience for all our students.

"The passage of both our 2 mill levy and the general obligation bonds represents the strong commitment our communities have to ensure we provide the best possible learning environments possible for all the students of Gadsden ISD," he said.

In LCPS 5,681 voters out of the 85,821 eligible voted, a 6.6 percent turnout, according to the clerk's office. That "far exceeded" the 2016 school bond election, in which turnout was 3.4 percent, according to the clerk's office.

In GISD 535 voters out of the the 24,359 eligible voted, a 2.1 percent turnout. There wasn't an equivalent election in 2016 to compare the numbers to, but in 2014 there were 576 total voters, according to the clerk's office.

County Clerk Scott Krahling, who's been promoting efforts to increase turnout in local elections, said the election was a "success." He believes efforts to boost turnout are working.

"Our team administered an excellent election, and I'm glad that the total number of people who voted in LCPS more than doubled since the last special election," Krahling said in a news release. "We have a long way to go before we get everyone voting in every election, but people want to vote and we are on the right path."

LCPS's bond question is a once-every-four-year opportunity to generate revenue for physical projects in the district, officials have said. No new schools are proposed to be built in LCPS with the funding, but some schools facing overcrowding, such as Fairacres Elementary, would be expanded. Playground equipment and security enhancements are some of the other items on the list.

Ewing said a schedule for the construction of the new projects will be presented to the LCPS school board at an upcoming meeting. It will include expected project start and end dates, he said.

After coordinating the sale of the first set of bonds, the first round of projects will begin as soon as possible, Ewing said.

The district won't issue the full $50 million in bonds at once. Rather, different rounds of bonds will be sold over the next four years, as some projects wrap up and other ones begin.

If the measure had not passed, the list of LCPS projects would be postponed, proponents had said. Ewing said the district would have had to cut into funds for salaries, such as teaching positions, to accomplish the projects if it had failed.

Proponents say the passage of the bond won't raise taxes in the Las Cruces school district. A school bonds committee, by capping the amount of the proposed bonds at $50 million, aimed to keep the schools' share of property taxes flat.

GISD officials have also said the measures won't raise property taxes.

Tribune Content Agency
School bonds Bond elections New Mexico
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