By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school district will likely take a different tact on school bond funding after Hays city commissioners Thursday said they would not support a countywide sales tax to support school improvements.
The proposed half cent countywide city sales tax coupled with an increase in property taxes would have raised $89 million for a school bond over 25 years.
City commissioners said they did not think non-Hays residents should pay for Hays schools. They also expressed concerns about tying up the city’s taxing authority for such a long term.
The district had also floated a proposal that would have funded the bond in part with a 10-year citywide sales tax. However, Superintendent John Thissen will be discussing with the school board and others if that is an appropriate path based on the feedback from the city commission.
Thissen will be reporting on the meeting with the city commission during the school board’s next meeting on Monday. School district officials and the community Vision Team that has been tasked with forming a new bond project will meet on Tuesday.
Thissen said the discussions with the city is all part of moving forward with bond process.
District officials have moved their focus to what could be done with a project that would be funded with property taxes only.
In a survey conducted by the district’s architectural firm, DLR, respondents indicated they would be willing to pay an increase of $15 or less in property taxes on a $150,000 home for a school bond.
A 25-year bond at that level would raise about $56 million.
Thissen said district officials have discussed ways they could stretch those limited dollars, including pursuing a 30-year bond instead of 25-year bond.
The district’s research has indicated the elementary schools are in the most need of improvement and this is the area Vision Team members and survey respondents said they thought needed the most work.
A $56 million bond issue could include a new elementary school with renovations to Wilson and Roosevelt Elementary Schools.
The district would like to renovate O’Loughlin Elementary School to accommodate Early Childhood Connections, the Westside Program and the Learning Center.
Lincoln Elementary School would be closed.
The high school and middle schools would likely undergo less work without sales tax support, Thissen said.
Under a $56 million bond, Thissen said there would be facility needs that would not be addressed.
He added, “If we could have something quality for pre-K through fifth grade, that would be a fantastic relief. If we could at least get that done, we could show that we are getting somewhere. If we could get that part done, maybe that would build trust and be the proof of responsibility we need.”
The District’s Vision team plans to present a bond project proposal to the board at its June 26 meeting. The board would not vote on the issue until at least July, Thissen said.
A $94 million bond issue was rejected by voters in June 2016.
If a bond project is approved by the board, it could go on the ballot as soon as the November general election. The district would not have to pay for a bond vote that coincided with a general election.
It will be up to the board to decide the timing of any possible vote.
The school board will meet next at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Rockwell Administration Center, and the Vision Team will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday also at Rockwell.