Waelder ISD pursues bond issue for a third time

For Waelder ISD, it is time to see whether the third time is the charm.

For the third time in a calendar year, Waelder ISD will attempt to pass a bond issue to make improvements to their aging school campus while also lowering interest rates and refinancing existing debt.

Superintendent Ron Lilie said the board has authorized a $10.3 million bond measure to be placed on the Saturday, May 6 ballot — a decrease of about $3 million from the $13.745 million Waelder ISD tried unsuccessfully to pass last November.

Waelder ISD had also tried to pass a $13.6 million bond issue in May 2022, only to see it shot down by voters, sending them back to the drawing board.

“We have scaled back what we could to lessen the impact,” Lilie said. “We will have our bond election on May 6, with $7.1 million for improvements and $3.2 million for refinancing existing debt.”

Lilie said Prop A, for $7.1 million, would apply a large portion of the bond to “increase safety and security, including vestibules at the building entrances, door and lock upgrades, window film and other enhancements, and upgrades and additions to the fire alarms and intercom system.”

In order to make the bond issue more palatable to voters, the WISD Board of Trustees has removed requested improvements to the district’s bus barn and “will take that on separately as an addition instead of a rebuild.”

“We have also removed the covered walkways between buildings, and some site improvements, including parking, pedestrian bridge, and various other general grounds improvements,” Lilie said. “The Lifeskills building has been removed from major renovations, and will receive cosmetic upgrades. Improvements to the career and tech building will be scaled back, as will improvements to the 4H barn.”

However, the measure will still include the addition of some new fifth and sixth grade classrooms; flooring and paint as needed; closing in the pavilion to add gymnasium facilities; and remodeling of the existing cafeteria to accommodate training, meetings, club meetings, and office space for staff and therapists, Lilie said.

The $3.2 million measure will refinance the district’s existing debt to lock in lower interest rates for a longer term, which should save the district a lot of money, Lilie added.