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we don’t get the opportunity to do something else.” Workforce needs In addition to accommodating enrollment growth, the bond package addresses a need for more CTE space, a department the district has focused on for the past two years by hiring a new CTE director and adding programs, Morrison said in an interview. Accord- ing to a benchmark set in the district’s 2021-24 strategic plan, 78% of students participated in at least one CTE course in the 2020-21 school year with a goal of 90% of students participating by the end of the 2024-25 school year. “Some of these programs are very dependent on the instructional space. If you’re going to teach students culi- nary arts, it’s really di cult to do it in a classroom that was built to be a math classroom,” Morrison said. The proposed $61.61 million cen- tralized CTE facility would provide certi cation opportunities to students and improve operational and facility e ciencies by avoiding two separate high school facilities, he said. The district could also add programs the community could bene t from, such as automotive technology and cosme- tology, Lynn said. “I know that there’s a lot of busi- nesses locally that see the value and are ready to partner with us on this,” board President Matt Fuller said in an interview. Registered voters within MISD’s boundaries can cast ballots during the early-voting period between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. April 25-30 and 7 a.m.-7 p.m. May 2-3. North Montgomery County Community Center 600 Gerald St., Willis Lone Star Community Center 2500 Lone Star Parkway, Montgomery West Montgomery County Community Development Center 31355 Friendship Drive, Magnolia East Montgomery County Fair Association Building 21675A McCleskey Road, New Caney South County Community Center 2235 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands Central Library 104 I-45 N., Conroe Magnolia Event Center 11659 FM 1488, Magnolia Spring Creek Greenway Nature Center 1300 Riley Fuzzel Road, Spring
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Funding a bond If approved by voters, Lynn said bond funds must be spent on the projects outlined; funds cannot be used for daily operations, such as pay raises, because bonded debt is paid by the interest and sinking portion of the overall tax rate. The maintenance and operations portion of the tax rate funds daily operations. “There are certain things that you can’t handle if you’re in a fast-grow- ing school district, and … you’ve got to put kids in schools, and you have to make sure that they’re not in over- crowding and unsafe environments,” said Greg Smith, executive director for the Fast Growth School Coalition. As a fast-growth district, MISD’s $80 million annual budget—about the cost of two elementary schools—is stretched to fund capital projects on top of daily operations, Morrison said. “A purchase of one bus is about three teachers. Every time you’re purchasing one bus out of that M&O budget, that’s three teachers that you can’t hire,” he said. Although the approval of the prop- ositions would raise the tax rate from $1.26 per $100 of valuation to $1.267 per $100 of valuation, Lynn said MISD’s rate is at its lowest since 2005. The anticipated tax rate increase would equate to a $22.75 increase per year on the average home valued at $350,000. However, homeowners over age 65 who have led a property tax exemption would not see an MISD tax rate increase, district o cials said. Should a statewide proposition increasing the homestead exemption for school districts from $25,000 to $40,000 also be approved, Lynn said the average $350,000 homeowner would pay $167.30 a year less to MISD. “[Residents] will reap the bene ts of an educated citizenry,” Fuller said. Maegan Kirby contributed to this report. www.elections.mctx.org SOURCE: MONTGOMERY COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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CONROE MONTGOMERY EDITION • APRIL 2022
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