EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Voters in the Canutillo Independent School District will decide the fate of a proposed $387 million bond.
The bond addresses items ranging from security to repairs to debt repayment.
Election Day is May 4. Early voting began this week and lasts through Tuesday, April 30.
Gustavo Reveles, spokesperson for Canutillo ISD, told KTSM the bond was designed by community members and says it will determine the future of the district.
“We want to make sure that our buildings match the type of instruction that’s happening in our classrooms. And that’s hopefully something that the community feels and agrees with,” Reveles said.
The bond proposal has two propositions.
Proposition A is for $379 million and addresses safety and security, school repairs, technical education and the “right placing of schools.”
Proposition B is for $7.2 million and focuses on repayment and refinancing of debt incurred during the pandemic.
“We have four schools that would be rebuilt and three of them would be relocated in order to address growth potential. That’s going to Canutillo Middle School, Alderete Middle School, North Mesa Early College and Deanna Davenport Elementary School,” Reveles said.
Proposition B is similar although it focuses on technology and the repayment of debt accumulated during the pandemic when students were given laptops for remote learning.
Reveles told KTSM this isn’t the first time the district has attempted to pass a bond.
“Those previous two bond proposals were rejected by the community, facing some issues of trust and issues of people wanting to learn more about the needs of the community. So what we did this time around is we created a committee of citizens, taxpayers, parents, students, teachers, and we included people that we knew and had been vocal against those bond proposals,” Reveles said.
He said the district has a backup plan if the bond doesn’t pass.
“The district is already designing a very dire budget situation that will require school consolidation, school closures and teacher cuts and student programing cuts,” Reveles said.
If the bond passes, it will cost the average homeowner in the district $3.17 a month, according to the district.
To learn more about the bond, click here.
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