BCISD calls for $33M bond election for improvements
The Burnet Consolidated Independent School District is eyeing major upgrades and improvements across the district to the tune of about $33 million.
On August 12, district trustees voted unanimously to call for a November 5 bond election. And the district won’t have to raise its tax rate this year to support the bond.
The bond package touches every campus: a new wing at Bertram Elementary School; remotely controlled locking systems on classroom doors at all campuses; upgrades to the Burnet High School theater; classroom acoustic improvements at Burnet Middle School; and upgrades to the athletic complex. View a complete list and estimated cost breakdown.
The board is looking at an overall tax rate of $1.185 per $100 valuation. If the board passes the proposed rate during its August 26 meeting, it would be the fourth year in a row the district has been able to lower the ad valorem tax rate.
As for the bond, the district started a comprehensive facilities need assessment in March. The needs assessment was informed by the previous 2013 facilities needs assessment, walkthroughs of facilities by architects and specialized consultants, and interviews with principals and department heads. The findings were presented to the board on May 6, which was followed by three additional meetings during which trustees reviewed costs, discussed the projects, and prioritized them.
Along with the trustees, a Facilities Community Advisory Committee made up of parents, community leaders, and residents helped with the process.
“The Board of Trustees, as elected representatives of the BCISD community, have been very involved and hands on in creating the list of priority projects at each campus,” Superintendent Keith McBurnett said. “The board was pleased that there was such a strong level of agreement of the priority projects among FCAC members.”
During the August 12 meeting, the board took in the committee feedback and information from the district’s financial advisor and bound counsel. After all that, members decided to put the bond before voters in November.
“The work of maintaining facilities and planning for the future is truly never done,” McBurnett said. “I applaud the Board of Trustees for the countless hours they have spent the past four months in studying this issue, and I thank the members of the FCAC for their valuable feedback.
“This bond proposal will address growth, security, learning environments, and aging systems, while at the same time, voters will recognize a tax rate decrease of 7.5 cents,” he added.
4 thoughts on “BCISD calls for $33M bond election for improvements”
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This is DAWG CRAP!. STOP THE MADDNESS OF RAISING TAXES AND FEEDING OTHER’S YOU LINE OF BULL.. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH… THERE IS NO NEED TO HAVE A BOND, NO NEED TO RAISE TAXES.
Tired of your taxes going up? Quit voting for School Bonds.
Read the fine print, TAXES WILL NOT BE RAISED THIS YEAR. But come 2020 if bond is approved your taxes will be raised. Mr. Burdett has put our school district in debt by over $50 million dollars along with his hand picked board. Just reminder this is a false statement YOUR TAXES WILL BE RAISE TO PAY FOR THIS BOND IN 2020. THEY ARE NOT TELLING THE WHOLE TRUTH.
You might want to correct the name you mentioned. Burdett and Mcburnett are not the same people. But yea your taxes will go up.