With the vote on a $74 million bond to benefit Red Oak ISD on the horizon, district officials will hold a second town hall meeting Thursday evening.
The proposed bond, which was approved Feb. 13 by the Red Oak ISD Board of Trustees, has plans to build a new middle school, add a CTE wing to the current high school, as well as address several aspects of athletic facilities, classroom revolution ideas and safety standards, among other improvements.
According to the original announcement by ROISD, roughly 60 percent of the $74,085,000 proposed bond will be used to construct a second junior high on the west side of Interstate-35.
The second town hall meeting will be held Thursday, April 13 at the Learning Commons inside Red Oak High School at 6:30 p.m.
Red Oak ISD interim Superintendent Alan Oakley said, while he is enjoying his temporary role with the district, he hopes that the second town hall meeting will bring more community members. He noted the first was "lightly attended" but consisted of a very civil 35-minute session.
"We just want to get the word out about the facts. We are not trying to be persuasive," said Oakley, who is serving in the interim role while an outside hiring firm searches for the next superintendent of Red Oak ISD. "We are committed to what we believe but, legally, we have to be careful with how persuasive we appear. We are just getting the word out.
"[...] Bonds are complicated. They are complicated for the novice or professional alike. People just need information, and we want informed voters."
Oakley noted he has already been asked several times: "What if it does not pass?"
"Well, we have a middle school that is at capacity. We have a current campus at Live Oak that is going to take $32.5 million, approximately, to bring it up to code," Oakley said. "[The school] is good now because they are 1986 codes, but if we want to occupy it permanently then we have to do fire suppression systems, classroom mandated square footage, and it is an expensive proposition. The growth management committee felt that we are being better stewards of the money if we built a new campus on the west side to help with traffic."
He also noted that he is under the impression that the only alternative to alleviate the congestion at the current middle school is by bringing in portable buildings.
As previously reported by the Daily Light, the intricacies of the bond and final valuation of funds needed were established by 51 community members that comprised the ROISD Growth Management Committee. These community leaders did not include any ROISD administrators.
Over seven sessions and about four months, the group studied growth numbers, toured facilities, discussed options and, according to Oakley, reached a "conservative" approach to the bond size using only current tax numbers -- not those related to projected population growth.
"It is important to note, this was not a board generated bond initiative," Oakley explained. "This was generated when the board said you (Growth Management Committee) look at everything and you tell us what we need. We are not going to tell you, necessarily what we think. This group was a cross section of demographics and all of the schools were represented."
According to a previous ROISD release, all of the presentations by the Growth Management Committee were posted to the district's website with hopes of keeping the community involved as the process unfolded. The district also noted that, if passed, the bond will cost ROISD taxpayers approximately $10.83 in additional property taxes per month for every $100,000 of a home's value. It also stated that the increase does not apply to taxpayers who are 65 years or older, as long as they have filed for an over-65 exemption.
"Our district is growing. We are expecting our enrollment to grow to more than 8,700 students in the next 10 years, so we are trying to plan for that growth," stated ROISD Board President Henry Lozano in a district-issued press release after the board unanimously approved to place the bond on the May ballot. "[...] Red Oak Middle School is over its student capacity currently, and enrollment projections point to the need for a second middle school on the district's west side. That's what our Growth Management Committee is recommending, and, after studying the facts, we agree with such recommendation. The new middle school represents approximately 60 percent of the bond issue funding and is the biggest item in the bond proposal."
