Conroe is one of the fastest growing school districts in the state. It and other districts say they need voters to OK bonds to keep up with the influx of students.
Portable classrooms, like these at Nimitz Middle School in Odessa, are often used to help schools manage growth. One elementary school in Conroe has 22, the school district's superintendent said. Both school districts are asking voters to approve more debt to build and repair school buildings.— a weekly dispatch about the people, places and policies defining Texas, produced by Texas Tribune journalists living in communities across the state.
To manage the growth, the Conroe school board approved a $1.9 billion bond proposal that will appear on the November ballot. Conroe voters will decide whether the district takes on almost $2 billion in debt to fund the construction of eight new schools, additional classroom space, new technology, an outdoor swimming pool and other campus renovations.
Conroe’s bond package would result in a two-cent tax rate increase. Skeeter Hubert, school board president for Conroe ISD, said he feels confident the Conroe bond packages will win voter approval despite that slight tax increase. A committee of 150 people met almost every week between January and June to put together the bond package.
Meanwhile, the House and Senate remain in a stalemate over private school vouchers, a legislative proposal that would allow Texas families to use tax dollars to send their students to private schools. After lawmakers failed to pass a voucher bill during the regular session, Gov., which would allow parents to use state funds to pay for private school tuition. It now sits with the Texas House, which has historically opposed voucher-like programs.
School districts have long used ballot measures to fund new capital projects, in part because the money districts receive from the state cannot be used to fund new construction. Over the past five years, school districts have consistently accounted for the highest amount of tax-supported debt.
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