HAYS COUNTY, Texas — Voters within the Hays CISD narrowly approved a $115 million bond to address growth within the school district.
Just over 51% of voters voted in favor of the bond, while nearly 49% voted against it, according to May 7 unofficial elections results.
The $115 million bond was put on the ballot as a result of the district's continued growth. Hays CISD said the bond was needed as schools fill up with new students moving to the area. The bond will go toward building the district's 16th elementary school and designing its 17th as two of the elementary schools are set to hit student capacity in the next couple of years.
Without new school buildings built, the district's elementary schools are expected to hit capacity by 2025.
According to the Hays CISD website, the construction of the new elementary is estimated to cost just over $48 million while the design of the other schools will cost nearly $3.5 million.
The rest of the funding provided by the bond will go toward a new Academic Support Center, where all of the administration and staff would work under the same roof. The bond would also provide for the purchase of 55 new school buses. The new buses would add 20 to the existing fleet and the other 35 would replace aging buses slated for retirement.
According to district estimates, the center amounts to $57 million and the new buses will cost $6.7 million.
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