Votes rolling in for Hays USD 489 bond issue

By JAMES BELL
Hays Post

After a week of advanced voting in Hays USD 489 for a proposed $94 million bond issue, over 5 percent of eligible voters already have cast ballots.

“We’ve mailed out 241 ballots and in-person, as of this time, we have had 535 people in,” Ellis County Clerk Donna Maskus said early Thursday afternoon.

There are 14,788 eligible voters for the bond issue, she said.

Advanced voting will continue through noon June 6, with regular voting beginning at 7 a.m. Tuesday, June 7, ending at 7 p.m.

Qualified voters within the city limits of Hays will poll at the American Legion, 1305 Canterbury, and qualified voters from the district outside of the city will poll at St. Nicholas of Myra Parish, 2901 E. 13th.

The ballot has three questions: One totaling $8.9 million for new multi-purpose rooms at Hays High and Hays Middle Schools, one for $85 million to be used for deferred maintenance, classroom expansion, renovations and safety and security upgrades, and a sales tax proposal that would help fund the bond issue through a sales tax within the city of Hays.

The half-cent sales tax would only apply within the city of Hays, and if passed, would take effect next year after the expiration of a countywide sales tax that was used for county projects, including renovations at the Ellis County Courthouse and a new Emergency Services building.

The first two questions can be passed independently, but the sales tax question is contingent upon a successful bond election.