Posted: Thu, 19 May 2011 08:07 AM - 14,814 Readers

By: Melissa B. Taboada

The Lake Travis school board tonight could decide whether to put a $158.5 million bond package on the ballot in November.

An advisory committee of district residents and business leaders brought a preliminary proposal to the board two weeks ago, arguing that bonds are needed for new buildings and expansions that will accommodate the growth. The package calls for two new schools, expansion of two existing schools, upgrades to existing facilities and other improvements.

"We cannot afford to not have this package pass. So anything that wasn't absolutely necessary, we took out," said Gary Loudamy , chairman of the bond committee who has two grandchildren in the district.

To pay for the bonds, the district's overall property tax rate would increase by about 9 cents in 2012-13, to $1.4083 per $100 of assessed property value. The tax bill on the average-valued home — estimated to be $295,361 after exemptions this year — would increase 7 percent to $4,159.57.

Demographers estimate that the 6,974-student district will hit its full capacity of 18,000 students by 2025, while averaging a 6 to 7 percent annual growth.

However, the referendum may be a hard sell, given the economy and a recent failed attempt to get Lake Travis district residents to approve raising the operations portion of the tax rate. Voters just 18 months ago sank a 2-cent property tax increase, rolling the operations rate back to $1.04.

Eanes school district residents shot down a $150 million bond package last November. The district then scaled back the package, and voters approved a $54 million proposal on Saturday . In the Austin district, trustees chose not to call for an operations tax rate increase election in June and are considering a November election. Austin trustees could also call for a May 2012 or May 2013 bond election.

The Lake Travis bond committee, composed of 28 parents, school volunteers and business leaders, started talks in March. District officials had already compiled a $266 million wish list. Administrators cut the total by $85 million before providing the committee a $180.8 million baseline. The committee further whittled down the package, taking out money for athletic and preschool facilities and technology upgrades.

"The decisions we made were made on facts and data and they were made with the student in mind, with the parents, educators and taxpayers in mind," Loudamy said. "We tried to keep them as the priority and I think we made the right decisions."

Voters approved the district's last two bond elections: a $126.8 million package in 2005 and a $36.3 million bond in 2003. District officials considered calling a bond election in 2008, but the sour economy dictated otherwise, said Jason Buddin , school board president.

"We should have had a bond election before now, but we ended up stretching that bond election as far and as tight as possible," Buddin said. "It's a need-based bond package. It's not a want list."

$158.5 Million Bond Election Proposal:

• $25 million: New elementary school
  
  
• $53.7 million: New middle school
  
  
• $20.6 million: Expand Lake Travis High School into the current Lake Travis Middle School
  
  
• $22.2 million: Expand Hudson Bend Middle School
  
  
• $20.7 million: Upgrades to six schools
  
  
• $16.1 million: Other improvements