By Tim Fleischer Editor-in-Chief

Salado Independent School District voters will decide on two proposed Salado ISD bond issues 7 a.m.-7 p.m.  Nov. 7. Polls will be open at 42 locations throughout Bell County and a Bell County voter can cast their ballots at any of the locations. Polling locations can be found at https://bellcountytx.com/departments/elections/election_day_locations.php

The ballot will read as follows:

“PROPOSITION A The issuance of $235,960,000 of bonds by the Salado Independent School District for a new high school; renovations at Thomas Arnold Elementary School; re-purpose existing high school for an intermediate school; information technology infrastructure and HVAC replacements, and levying the tax in payment thereof. This is a property tax increase.”

“PROPOSITION B The issuance of $34,490,000 of bonds by the Salado Independent School District for a new stadium complex and levying the tax in payment thereof. This is a property tax increase.”

The district has contracted with PBK Architects, Inc. of Austin for design work at a rate of 6% of the actual construction cost. 

The agreement sets out the following costs for items in Proposition A:

New High School: 1,000 Student Capacity with core spaces sized for 1,500 at a cost of $179,307,000.

TAE 1 & 3 Replacement + Site Improvements: 800 Student Capacity at a cost of $52,008,750.

Re-purpose Existing High school at a cost of  $1,775,000. The high school will be re-purposed as an intermediate school.

IT Infrastructure Upgrades for Skyward and Document Storage at a cost of $324,000.

Instructional Technology Upgrades for Interactive Flat Panels (IFP) in Classrooms at a cost of  $486,000.

Bi-Directional Amplifier at a cost of $351,000.

HVAC Unit Replacement at Existing High School at a cost of $1,728,000.

The agreement sets out the following costs for items in Proposition B: New Stadium Complex with 5,000 seats at a cost of $34,489,539.

The proposed projects follow the recommendation of the District’s Facility Planning Committee composed of 47 community members and 11 non-voting administrative members. The committee met seven times since February to build consensus on a long range facilities plan for the district.

The committee recommends the following long range future projects: Second Elementary School, Fine Arts Auditorium for High School and Animal Barn for the High School. These are not included in the propositions.

Zonda Education, in a demographics study for Salado ISD, predicts that enrollment in Salado schools will increase by an average of more than 6% per year through 2032 at which year the enrollment is predicted to be 4,149 students. 

The ballot will include 14 proposed amendments to the Texas constitution. Verbiage of those amendments can be found at saladovillagevoice.com.