July 2010 - Community Impact Newspaper

Community Impact Newspaper • impactnews.com July 2010 | 21
Education Focus Eanes Independent School District 2010
Eanes ISD may propose a bond election as early as August
By Tiffany young
By the time students return to school for the fall
semester, the Eanes ISD board of trustees will have
decided whether to pursue a bond election this November.
The district has already spent about a year in the
planning process, with community forums at each of the
district’s schools; a community bond advisory committee;
and discussions throughout an election for school
board members, which resulted in re-electing Ellen
Balthazar to Place 7 and electing Dr. Colleen Jones to
Place 6 and Dr. James “Kal” Kallison to Place 5.
If the board decides to hold an election, it will also
need to decide on a dollar amount for the bond proposal
and whether to break the bond into separate proposals.
For example, the election could be broken by technology
Tiffany Young
Tiffany Young
Courtesy EISD
High school
needs, Americans with Disabilities Act improvements
and new facilities if the board is unsure residents would
pass the full amount, but want to ensure some needs are
taken care of.
The original list of projects totaled almost $165 million
but has been scaled down to about $125 million.
The reduced proposal includes repurposing Valley View
Elementary as the district’s administration building,
constructing a new elementary west of Loop 360 off
River Hills Road, and relocating Westlake’s Alternative
Education Program and The Learning Center from
portable buildings to the Central Administration building
on Westlake High School’s grounds. Other major
projects would include renovations to Eanes Elementary
School, an addition to Forest Trail Elementary for
Eanes Independent School District bond projects total: $125.12 million
Westlake
$15.79 million
• Renovate Family Consumer Science classrooms
• Build a new facility for The Learning Facility
• Add a student activity center (a covered field used by
athletics, band, students groups and possibly special events
and youth sports)
• Construction of stadium projects
• Replace technology/equipment in Performing Arts Center
and stadium
• Replace musical program instruments and equipment
Middle schools
Hill Country
$2.25 million
• Repair track
• Repair/replace turf
• Add moveable bleachers,
scoreboard and lighting to
field
West Ridge
$6.55 million
• Rebuild track and football
field
• Add bleachers, scoreboard
and lighting
• Add retaining wall for track
and erosion control
• Upgrade heating, A/C and
central plant
Courtesy EISD
Tiffany Young
Tiffany Young
Elementary schools
District-wide
Barton Creek
$3.3 million
• Replace existing plant,
including chillers, boilers,
pumps, towers and insulate
duct work in mechanical/
electrical room for energy
conservation
Bridge Point
$0
• None except repairs and
improvements included in
the district-wide upgrades
Cedar Creek
$600,000
• Replace heating and A/C
Central Administration
$1 million
• Repurpose for the Alternative Education Program and The
Learning Center
Transportation
$1.5 million
• Bus replacement
District-wide
$51.39 million
• Construct a new maintenance and operations facility
• Distribution facility and record storage
• Add to the cameras/access control system
• Add a special education permanent facility
• Americans with Disabilities Act improvements
• Technology improvements
• Maintenance repairs and replacements
• LCRA radio program, phase III
• Special education renovations
special education and replacing portable buildings on the
campus, technology upgrades across the district, adding
facilities for specialized student services, a student activity
center at Westlake High School and facility upgrades,
including some to meet current accessibility standards.
Eanes ISD has one of the lowest tax rates in Central
Texas at $1.2025 per $100 value. An estimate of how
much a bond would increase this amount is not yet
available.
While the board could propose a bond for any amount,
the board is considering the proposed projects below.
For more on the bond proposal, visit www.eanesisd.
net/news/news-and-announcements/facility-planning.
Tiffany Young
Tiffany Young Tiffany Young
Tiffany Young
Sponsored by:
Eanes
$15 million
• Rebuild/new construction
Read a related story at
more.impactnews.com/7284.
Forest Trail
$2.74 million
• Replace portable buildings
with permanent classrooms
• Repair heating and A/C
and upgrade ventilation to
ASHRAE standards
Valley View
$25 million
• Repurpose Valley View to a
mixed-use facility
• Build a new elementary
school on River Hills Road
Source: Eanes ISD